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https://www.wikihow.com/Not-Get-Creeped-out-by-a-Chain-Letter
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How to Not Get Creeped out by a Chain Letter
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If you've received a chain letter that has a creepy story or asks you to do something, don't worry. These letters are usually just jokes or a way to spread computer viruses. Don't click any links or open any attached files, since these can contain viruses or malware. They'll often try to get you to share the email to avoid some bad thing happening, but just ignore it. That way, you'll break the chain and stop other people from getting the message. Even if it came from someone you know, the person's account might have been hacked. If you're unsure if an email is real or not, don't be afraid to ask someone else for a second opinion.
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Think: What is the chain mail? Is it, "BBQ at my house! I won't like if you don't come!"? If it is, you're fine (it's not really an alarming thing, just a friend who expects you to show up and might be sore at you if you don't). If not, continue on. Don't get drawn into reading it. Usually at the top there is something such as, "Don't read this" or "Stop". If there is, you should stop and delete it. Chain letters often tell you to "read" or "don't read" as a ploy, playing on your initial curiosity so if you read them, they'll eventually hit you with a bunch of baloney designed to push your panic button or use any other emotion you have against you for one purpose only: to get you spreading it further. However, if you are curious, or a rebel or just want to read it, continue. It's just a piece of text with maybe some graphics and animations. It can't actually do anything to you. Stay rational and sensible. Often the email or comment will be some story, commonly about some monster or fictional dead kid attacking people. Don't lose your head and get scared. There's no such thing as monsters, you've known that since you were small. No chain letter is going to cause one to blip into existence to kill you or anyone else. You know dead people are dead, and can't go around attacking you, pulling you down some nonexistent well or do any of the things these supposedly creepy chain letters claim. None of these creepy stories forwards can actually cause that to happen, either. If you choose to read it, keep in mind the fact that every one of these scary chain email stories are absolutely untrue. Keep thinking this as you read it. Understand that the consequences of not following along with what the chain communication do not exist. After you read the story, it will say something like, "If you do not send this to ten more people, you will die in two days." Think again: Will this really happen to you? Will you actually die because you didn't send an email? How is it even possible that a made up story and text and pixels created by some anonymous hoaxer can actually kill you? It can't, any more than your computer monitor and keyboard. There's no more chance of a piece of made-up email tracking you down and killing you than there is of your computer suddenly coming to life and giving you a hug or a slap. Chain letter emails are not living beings and they are not magic. They can't physically do any more harm to anyone than an email you personally write. Don't send it to anyone else. Doing this stops other people getting it and passing it on and it getting worse. Keep the email. Even if it is absolutely creepy, keep the mail and smash it. Write out all of the things wrong with it and make yourself laugh at the utter ridiculousness of the story and the threat attached. Keeping the message is also a good way of stopping a troublesome emailer: you tell someone (teacher, parent, friend, etc.) you have proof of getting this unwanted email. If convenient, ask anyone else who is definitely not creeped out by the chain letter for their ideas. If you get them to dissect and ridicule the story for the fake-creepy, absurd junk it is, you and probably them will end up having a good laugh over it. This completely turns the tables on whoever actually started the chain letter that creeped out the unthinking, easily scared people who got it before you did and passed it on. Being a chain-breaker is good and never killed anyone. Confront the sender. The person that sent you the chain letter sent it because they either thought it was funny or were duped into sending it. If you know the person who sent you the email, let them know that the letter is fake and that they shouldn't send it to people. If they send you another email, follow steps 1-7 again. If the person sends you three or more emails, tell someone else. You can even report them to their internet service provider if they keep sending you unwanted email. The situation is getting out of hand. Tell the person you will block their address if they keep sending you this junk. Chain letters are against the terms of service of many ISPs - they are a type of spam. Report threats to a proper authority. If the chain letter includes a threat, such as: "I will break into your house myself and (enter bad event) you!", it may be appropriate to inform an authority (police, principal, etc). (see Warnings).
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Think: Don't get drawn into reading it. Stay rational and sensible. Understand that the consequences of not following along with what the chain communication do not exist. Don't send it to anyone else. Keep the email. Confront the sender. If they send you another email, follow steps 1-7 again. If the person sends you three or more emails, tell someone else. Report threats to a proper authority.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Use-Dead-Eye-in-Red-Dead-Redemption
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How to Use Dead Eye in Red Dead Redemption
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To use Dead Eye in Red Dead Redemption Level 1, start by completing the second mission, "New Friends, Old Problems." Next, equip yourself with a firearm and hold the Aim button to enter Aiming mode. Then, hold L2 or LT to aim your gun and click R3 or RS to activate Dead Eye mode. Once you're in Dead Eye mode, your screen will turn red and the action will slow down. Press R2 or RT to fire shots, keeping in mind that you can only shoot one bullet at a time using Dead Eye Level 1. You can press R3 or RS again to cancel Dead Eye mode. Finally, be sure to keep your Dead eye meter filled by getting headshots on your enemies and using certain items, like snake oil, chewing tobacco, and moonshine!
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Complete at least the second mission, "New Friends, Old Problems." This mission is for Bonnie Clyde, and unlocks the first level of Dead Eye. You won't be able to use it at all until you complete this mission. Fill your Dead Eye meter. Using Dead Eye drains the meter on the right side of the map. You can fill your meter by killing enemies or using certain items. Getting headshots on enemies will fill your meter faster. The meter doesn't need to be full to use Dead Eye, but you'll have less time available. You can use the following items to fill your meter: Snake Oil Chewing Tobacco Moonshine (Gives unlimited meter for 10 seconds) Tonic (Made from harvesting plants after completing Legendary rank on the Survivalist challenges) Equip a gun. Dead Eye is best used with a firearm, preferably one with several bullets. You can use Dead Eye with throwing weapons like the Throwing Knife, but you can only throw one per Dead Eye use. You cannot use throwing weapons and Dead Eye in multiplayer. Hold the Aim button to enter Aiming mode. You'll need to be aiming in order to trigger Dead Eye mode. Hold L2 or LT to aim your gun. Press the right stick in to activate Dead Eye mode. While aiming, click R3 or RS to activate Dead Eye mode. Your screen will turn red and the action will slow down to a crawl. While you're in Dead Eye mode, you are invincible. Press R3 or RS again to cancel Dead Eye mode. You won't recover any of the meter you used. Press the trigger to fire while in Dead Eye mode. For the first level of Dead Eye mode, time will slow and you'll be able to line up and fire off shots. Press R2 or RT to fire shots while in Dead Eye mode. You can only shoot one bullet at a time using Dead Eye Level 1 Upgrade Dead Eye to Level 2 by playing through the story. You'll eventually unlock the next level of Dead Eye mode during the "You Shall Not Give False Testimony, Except for Profit" mission from Nigel West Dickens. The Level 2 version of Dead Eye will allow you to automatically mark multiple targets so that they all get shot at once. Use Level 2 Dead Eye to mark targets. When you enter Dead Eye mode after upgrading to Level 2, you'll be able to automatically mark targets by moving your aiming reticule over them. Enter Dead Eye mode and then move your reticule across multiple targets. You'll see little marks appear on them automatically as you move the reticule. Shoot your marked targets. After marking targets with Dead Eye Level 2, press R2 or RT to fire. Marston will shoot all of the marked targets in rapid succession. Marston will automatically fire at all marked targets if the Dead Eye meter runs out. You'll still shoot at someone even if they try to take cover. It's recommended that you mark targets near cover first, so that they have less time to get out of the way before getting shot. Upgrade Dead Eye to Level 3 in Mexico. You'll be able to get the third level of Dead Eye after you reach Mexico and meet Landon Ricketts in Chuparosa. Complete the mission "The Gunslinger's Tragedy" to get access to the third level of Dead Eye. Mark your targets manually with Level 3 Dead Eye. The third level of Dead Eye gives you the most precise control, but can also be the most difficult to master. While in Dead Eye mode, press R1 or RB to mark each target. You can mark as many targets as you have bullets available in your weapon. Shoot your marked targets. After marking your targets in Dead Eye mode, press R2 or RT to fire. All of the targets you've marked will be shots like in Level 2. Use Level 3 Dead Eye to make bulls-eye shots. You can use this advanced targeting to pull off incredible shots, such as five headshots in a row, or shooting the gun out of someone's hand. When you enter Dead Eye, take quick stock of your situation and place your targets where they'll be the most effective. Shooting a horse while someone's riding it will take them out of the fight for a few moments. Shooting a gun out of someone's hand will buy you time or spare their life, depending on the situation. Using Dead Eye Level 3 can make some of the hunting challenges much easier, especially when hunting birds.
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Complete at least the second mission, "New Friends, Old Problems." Fill your Dead Eye meter. Equip a gun. Hold the Aim button to enter Aiming mode. Press the right stick in to activate Dead Eye mode. Press R3 or RS again to cancel Dead Eye mode. Press the trigger to fire while in Dead Eye mode. Upgrade Dead Eye to Level 2 by playing through the story. Use Level 2 Dead Eye to mark targets. Shoot your marked targets. Upgrade Dead Eye to Level 3 in Mexico. Mark your targets manually with Level 3 Dead Eye. Shoot your marked targets. Use Level 3 Dead Eye to make bulls-eye shots.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Decorate-Canvas-Shoes-With-Markers
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How to Decorate Canvas Shoes With Markers
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If you want to customize your shoes to your outfit or mood, transform basic white canvas shoes using markers. Use permanent, fabric, chalk ink, or acrylic markers to make sure your design doesn't bleed or wash off in the rain. Cover any parts of your shoes that you don't want to decorate, like the soles, with tape. You can also remove the laces to keep them out of the way. Play with some design ideas on paper, or get right to work on your shoes by doing things like coloring along the seams or around eyelets to create accents. Another way to decorate your shoes is to use geometric patterns or sketch out a cartoon character. Once you have your basic design down, color it in. To set your design and protect it against the weather, use a waterproof acrylic spray on your sneakers.
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Decorate a pair of white or off-white canvas shoes. Any brand of shoes will do. Just make sure they are canvas and not another material like suede, leather, or even synthetic leather. If you'll need to stretch the shoes , do that before you decorate. If you are less than confident in your design or coloring skills and have concerns about messing up, you can opt for a cheaper pair of shoes from a thrift or other discount store. Gather decorating materials. In addition to your shoes, you'll need the tools to decorate them with precision, personality, and style. A pencil will help you plan your design beforehand and offer you many chances at revision before moving on to coloring. Get a set of permanent, fabric, chalk ink, or acrylic markers in a variety of colors. That way, you'll have lots of options when deciding on a color palette. Thin-tip markers will lend maximum precision to your designs without much bleeding. Black markers are useful in tracing designs. Rubbing alcohol can create a smudged effect after you're done coloring. Set up shop in a well-ventilated area. These materials can give off fumes. Once you've gathered them, find a workspace where fumes can disperse so you avoid getting dizzy. Protect your shoes with tape. Be aware of the parts you don't want colored. Remove the laces so you don't get stray marks on them. If you would like to keep marker off the soles, tape over them up with painters or masking tape. You can also use tape to protect the other parts of a shoe when you're decorating a specific area. Spark your imagination by asking yourself questions to guide your design. Is there a picture or pattern you particularly like? Do you have a color palette in mind? What passions or interests of yours can you represent visually? Remember that your designs will be permanent, so make sure to choose something you will be comfortable wearing over time. Color along seams or around eyelets to create accents. This will create a look that is tasteful yet distinct. Draw patterns made from geometric shapes or create your own. Artists and designers combine and repeat visual elements in regular arrangements to convey meaning, represent ideas symbolically, and delight viewers. When decorating with patterns, think in advance whether you want your shoes to be identical, symmetrical, complementary, or clashing, so you know how to apply your patterns to your shoes. Think about what colors you need or want in order to make your patterns. Take a free-form approach by drawing doodles. If you don't want the uniformity of a pattern, doodles can bring a sense of funky playfulness to your design. Cover one or both shoes with a single picture. This approach requires extra planning and can be more labor-intensive than the others, but it is highly rewarding. There are many tutorials and templates available if you're afraid your artistic skills don't measure up to the task. Pay special attention to where the shoes meet if you are drawing a large picture. For example, many artists use the toes of both shoes to create contiguous scenes. Use tongues, toes, and heels to draw faces. These larger or more regularly shaped areas provide a nice backdrop for detailed and irregular drawings. Save the inner and outer sides for complementary flourishes. These areas naturally accommodate smaller and less intricate designs. Sketch your design with pencil, if necessary. This way, you will have a template to work from and can easily edit any mistakes you might make. Pencil will also wash out in the washing machine if you've drawn too much to erase by hand. Color in your designs or create doodles or accents. Be as precise or as free with your markers as you want. Choose a color palette. Then pick one place to start coloring and move along the shoe from there. You can color from front to back or vice versa. A warm color palette includes reds, oranges, yellows, creams, and browns. A cool color palette features muted blues, greens, and grays. A mixed color palette can combine these colors and include bolder colors like pink, turquoise, and purple. Work on your shoes concurrently if you want them to match or look identical. For instance, if you color a blue diamond on one shoe, immediately do the same on the other in a corresponding spot. Use lighter-colored markers first. That way, you can easily color over any mistakes. Add deeper colors for extra vibrancy. Colors will naturally fade with wear. Making colors deeper from the start combats fading over time. Use a black marker to distinguish your designs. This finishing touch can make your designs really pop. Trace the outlines around and inside your design to distinguish different colors, pattern elements, and images from each other. Shade elements of your picture and draw shadows to give your design depth. Decorate your laces to match your shoes. This is another small touch that can add personality to your look. You can choose from a variety of methods for decorating your laces. Use a paint pen to draw dots or other small shapes on your laces. Color your laces with markers or fabric paint in ways that complement your overall shoe design. Dip your laces in a dye mixture or Kool-Aid to give them a consistent color. Smudge the colors on your shoes with rubbing alcohol. This will give your shoes a tie-dye effect. Apply the alcohol with a paintbrush, spray bottle, or dropper, enough to cover the parts of the shoe you want to smudge. Place the shoes in a dry place away from anything that could spill on them. Allow your shoes to cure for at least 24 hours so the ink sinks into the fabric. Set your designs and protect them against weather-related wear using waterproof acrylic sprays. You can also use beeswax to create this seal. Decorate with textural elements. Measure the area on your shoe where you want to apply the material. Use a tape measure to find the length and width, or trace the exact shape. Cut the amount of material that matches your measurements. Almost any material can work for this purpose, including studs, spikes, glitter, buttons, beads, embroidery, fur, fringe, and lace. Apply your material using a strong craft adhesive like hot glue or E6000. Use stencils to create uniform patterns. These premade patterns will make your shoes look professionally made. You can use Mod Podge and glitter to apply stenciled patterns. Mix Mod Podge and glitter in a bowl until you get a mixture with the amount of glitter you want for your stencil pattern. Lay a rubber stencil flat and smooth out any places where the stencil is not totally flat on your shoe. Dip a sponge pouncer in your Mod Podge and glitter mixture, and gently press the pouncer onto your shoe through the stencil. Lift up the stencil, wash it, and reapply the mixture until the stencil pattern covers your shoe. Stuffing your shoes with paper can make it easier for the stencil to lay flat so you can paint each shoe evenly. Print your own patterns for a fashionable, all-over-print look. You can transfer any pattern you can print. All you need is iron-on paper. Find a pattern you like, print it onto the iron-on paper, and cut out the pattern as you would like it to appear on your shoes. Iron the cutouts onto your shoes according to the directions on the iron-on paper. Let iron-on paper cool before peeling the paper from your shoes. Create free-form patterns with foam or sponge stamps. Cut the stamp patterns you want from a larger piece of foam or sponge. Pour acrylic paint into containers for you to dip your stamps. Dip the stamps in the colors you want. Apply your stamps where you want them on your shoe. You can cut stars, circles, or chevrons that extend the length of your shoes. Chevrons and long lines on the sides of shoes give them a racing-stripe look. Dip toothbrushes in acrylic paint for an even greater variety of unique patterns. Dye your shoes with fabric dye or Kool-Aid. Mix dye powder or Kool-Aid with hot water until the mixture is about 2.5” deep in a baking dish of your choosing. Hold the part of the shoe you want to dye in the dye bath for 3 minutes each, and repeat with each new part of the shoe you want to dye. Use rubber cement to protect the soles and a damp paper towel to clean up excess dye. Expand your color and pattern combinations with fabric paint and paint pens. Use a paint pen to add polka dots, or use fabric paint to color entire sections of your shoes. Add a splash of old-fashioned paint. Scour your house for leftover paint cans, and tap into your inner Jackson Pollock. Remember, there's no wrong way to decorate your shoes. The point is to have fun making something you'll enjoy. Use a paintbrush to apply strokes, streaks, or gobs of paint. Drip paint directly from the bucket or tube for a splatter effect. Finished.
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Decorate a pair of white or off-white canvas shoes. Gather decorating materials. Set up shop in a well-ventilated area. Protect your shoes with tape. Spark your imagination by asking yourself questions to guide your design. Color along seams or around eyelets to create accents. Draw patterns made from geometric shapes or create your own. Take a free-form approach by drawing doodles. Cover one or both shoes with a single picture. Sketch your design with pencil, if necessary. Color in your designs or create doodles or accents. Use a black marker to distinguish your designs. Decorate your laces to match your shoes. Smudge the colors on your shoes with rubbing alcohol. Place the shoes in a dry place away from anything that could spill on them. Set your designs and protect them against weather-related wear using waterproof acrylic sprays. Decorate with textural elements. Use stencils to create uniform patterns. Print your own patterns for a fashionable, all-over-print look. Create free-form patterns with foam or sponge stamps. Dye your shoes with fabric dye or Kool-Aid. Expand your color and pattern combinations with fabric paint and paint pens. Add a splash of old-fashioned paint. Finished.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Nail-Fungus
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How to Get Rid of Nail Fungus
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To get rid of nail fungus, try mixing baking soda and water and applying the paste to your nail for 10 minutes before rinsing it off. Repeat several times a day to see results. Alternatively, you can try applying an antifungal essential oil to your nail every day for several months. Just mix 2 drops of an antifungal essential oil, like eucalyptus or peppermint oil, with 12 drops of a carrier oil, like olive or coconut oil, and apply a couple drops of it to your nail for 10 minutes. You can even get rid of nail fungus by massaging some mentholated topical ointment, like a vapor rub, into your nail once a day. If the nail fungus doesn't respond to home treatments, schedule an appointment with your doctor so they can help you treat it with medication.
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Drop an antifungal essential oil on the nail once a day for a natural treatment. Mix 12 drops of carrier oil, such as olive or coconut oil, with 1 to 2 drops of an antifungal essential oil. Then, put 1 to 2 drops of the mixture on the nail and leave it to soak for 10 minutes. To help the oil penetrate the nail, you can gently scrub the oil into your nail with an old soft toothbrush. If you have diabetes or a weakened immune system, skip trying the home remedies and get medical attention as soon as you notice the fungus on your nail. Repeat this every day for at least 3 months in order to treat the nail. Brush snakeroot extract onto the nail 2 to 3 times a week if you don't want to use drops. Purchase an anti-fungal treatment that contains snakeroot extract, an effective antifungal. These treatments usually contain brushes that you use to dip into the extract and spread onto the nail. Treat the nail 2 or 3 times throughout the week and let the nail dry. You'll need to apply the snakeroot extract for about 3 months before you can see results. Buy snakeroot extract at your local health store, supermarket, or online. Rub mentholated ointment into the nail once a day for long-term treatment. Research has shown that massaging a mentholated topical ointment into the nail is an inexpensive and effective treatment. Dip a clean cotton swab or finger into the ointment and then spread it onto the nail with the fungus. Keep doing this once a day until the infection clears. If you want to do this before you go to bed, consider wearing gloves or socks to prevent the ointment from rubbing off on your bed. Keep in mind that it may take up to a year before the nail is treated. Try applying a baking soda paste on the nail at least once a day for an inexpensive option. Although more research is needed, one study suggests that baking soda can slow the growth of the fungus. To use baking soda, put baking soda into a small bowl and stir in enough water to make a spreadable paste. Put the paste on your nail and leave it for 10 minutes. Then, rinse off the nail and dry it completely. You can try this remedy several times a day, but it may take up to a year before you see results. Although you may see some home remedies that promise a cure by mixing baking soda with vinegar, this hasn't been proven to be effective. Schedule an exam if the nail fungus doesn't respond to home treatment. If you've tried home remedies for at least 3 months for a fingernail or 12 months for a toenail and haven't seen improvement, contact your doctor. You should also schedule an appointment if the nail looks like it's becoming discolored or thicker. If the nail becomes very thick, it can be difficult to treat it using home remedies so it's important to get a medical diagnosis and treatment plan. The doctor will take a nail culture and examine it under a microscope to make a diagnosis. Take prescription oral medication for 8 to 12 weeks to treat the fungus. Prescription medications are one of the most effective treatments for nail fungus, even though they can take a few months to work. Your doctor may prescribe terbinafine tablets every day to treat the fungus. Talk with your doctor about side effects, such as rashes and liver problems. Let your doctor know if you're taking antibiotics, asthma medications, heart medications, or antidepressants since oral antifungal medications can interact with them. Brush on an antifungal lacquer every day for at least 2 months to treat the nail. If you're concerned about the side effects of oral antifungal medications or your nail infection isn't severe, your doctor may prescribe a clear antifungal polish that you use once a day. Trim the nail and wash it with water or rubbing alcohol before you brush the polish onto the nail. Some antifungal lacquers only need to be used every other day or a few times a week, so ask your doctor for specific directions. Try topical creams if less than half of the nail is affected by fungus. If your doctor thinks your nail might respond to light treatment, they'll probably have you soak the nail in water before applying a urea-based cream which will soften the nail even more. You'll cover it with a bandage for 1 day and then soak the nail again. Then, you'll scrape the nail off and apply more cream. Repeat this treatment for 2 weeks. You'll apply an antifungal cream after you've scraped off the infected part of the nail in order to completely clear up the nail. Opt for surgical removal if your nail doesn't respond to oral or topical treatment. For severe infections, your doctor might want to remove the nail so they can put medication directly on the infection that's under the nail. Once the nailbed is treated, your nail should eventually grow back healthy. Pick breathable socks and comfortable footwear. Your feet should be dry throughout the day to prevent fungus from growing. Wear socks that wick away moisture and ensure that your shoes aren't so tight that your toenails are pinched. Try to alternate your everyday shoes so one pair can air out before you wear it the next time. This will prevent trapped moisture from getting into your nails. Wear rubber gloves when washing dishes or using cleaning products. This not only prevents you from coming into contact with bacteria while performing chores around the house, but it also keeps your hands dry. Since fungus likes warm, moist places, keeping your hands dry can prevent an infection. Change the gloves if liquid gets trapped in them since you don't want your nails to be soaking in dishwater or cleaning solution. Wear shoes or sandals in public places. Since you could pick up a fungus from walking barefoot in public places, always wear your own sandals. Remember to wear them in public showers, locker rooms, or at public swimming pools. Avoid sharing someone else's shoes or sandals. Trim your nails and keep them clean. Wash dirt out from under your nails and trim them straight across before they get long. Although you can paint your nails occasionally, give your nails a break between colors since the paint can trap moisture and increase your risk for infection. If you get your nails done at a nail salon , ensure that they sterilize their equipment and tubs every client.
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Drop an antifungal essential oil on the nail once a day for a natural treatment. Brush snakeroot extract onto the nail 2 to 3 times a week if you don't want to use drops. Rub mentholated ointment into the nail once a day for long-term treatment. Try applying a baking soda paste on the nail at least once a day for an inexpensive option. Schedule an exam if the nail fungus doesn't respond to home treatment. Take prescription oral medication for 8 to 12 weeks to treat the fungus. Brush on an antifungal lacquer every day for at least 2 months to treat the nail. Try topical creams if less than half of the nail is affected by fungus. Opt for surgical removal if your nail doesn't respond to oral or topical treatment. Pick breathable socks and comfortable footwear. Wear rubber gloves when washing dishes or using cleaning products. Wear shoes or sandals in public places. Trim your nails and keep them clean.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Apply-Dental-Wax-on-Braces
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How to Apply Dental Wax on Braces
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To apply dental wax on braces, start by pulling off a little piece of the wax and rolling it into a pea-sized ball. Roll the ball between your fingers for a few seconds to warm it up, which will make it easier to apply. Then, press the ball of wax onto the bracket or wire that's causing pain. Rub your finger over the wax a few times so it stays in place.
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Acquire a box of dental wax. When you first received your braces, it is likely that your orthodontist gave you a pack with some essential supplies. Dental wax should have been included in the pack. If you lose it or run out, you can easily buy another box from your local drugstore, or ask your orthodontist for some more. You will probably find that your braces irritate the inside of your mouth most when you first have them, so they will require more wax. Over time, the skin on the inside of your mouth may toughen up and you may find you require less wax. Wash your hands. Scrub your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, then dry them thoroughly. You don't want to bring any bacteria into your mouth, especially if you have a cut or sore. Shape a small ball of wax. Pull off a little piece of wax from the pack and roll it with your fingers into a ball shape. You want it to be just big enough to cover the bracket or wire irritating your mouth. A blob the size of a popcorn kernel or pea will usually do the job. Roll the wax for at least five seconds. The warmth from your fingers will soften it and make it easier to use. Using too much wax may result in the wax falling off. Locate painful areas. Wax can cover up any area where sharp or rough metal is irritating your inner lips and cheeks. The most common places are the brackets on your front teeth, and the sharp wires at the far back of your mouth. Pull your cheek out and look for any bright red or swollen areas, or gently probe your cheek to find tender areas. You should protect all of these before they develop into cuts, or get infected. If you're having trouble seeing, use a metal rod or small spoon to push out your cheek. Brush your teeth. This isn't completely necessary, but it may reduce bacteria buildup and keep the wax cleaner. At least remove any food stuck in the braces where you plan to apply the wax. Dry off your braces. Before you apply the wax, dry off your braces with a tissue. The drier the area is, the longer the wax will stick. Press the wax over the painful area. Using your thumb and forefinger, press the ball of wax over the bracket or wire causing you pain. If the wire is at the back of your mouth, push as far as you can, then withdraw your thumb and use your forefinger and tongue to position the wax. The wax is edible and non-toxic, so it doesn't matter if you swallow it. Rub it in place. Rub your forefinger over the wax a couple times to stick it in place. The wax should still stick out a little, forming a small bump. Allow the wax to work. Once you have applied wax to your braces, your mouth should heal itself quite quickly. The wax barrier stops the irritation and allows the mouth the time to heal any sore spots. As you become accustomed to your braces, you will find they cause less and less irritation and you won't have to use the wax as often. Reapply the wax regularly. Keep some wax on you when you are out and about. Replace the wax twice a day, or whenever it starts to fall off. Do not leave it on for more than two days, as bacteria can build up in the wax. The wax will pick up food as you eat. If the braces are too painful to let you eat without wax, replace the dirty wax after you finish your meal. Take off the wax before brushing your teeth, or you'll get wax caught in your toothbrush. Consider dental silicone. One common alternative to dental wax is dental silicone. This comes in strips that you apply to braces. The silicone is more resilient as it impervious to the saliva and enzymes in your mouth, which means that you will have to reapply it less frequently. The downside is that your braces must be completely dry before you apply it. If you want to try silicone, ask your dentist for a tester pack, or buy a small amount from the store and test it out for a few days. Contact your orthodontist if the pain persists. If you have tried wax and silicone and they haven't helped, get in touch with your orthodontist. Persistent irritation and sores can become infected and lead to more serious problems. If you are having a really tough time with your braces, don't be shy about getting in touch with your orthodontist. They will help make them more comfortable.
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Acquire a box of dental wax. Wash your hands. Shape a small ball of wax. Locate painful areas. Brush your teeth. Dry off your braces. Press the wax over the painful area. Rub it in place. Allow the wax to work. Reapply the wax regularly. Consider dental silicone. Contact your orthodontist if the pain persists.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Find-Your-Secret-Admirer
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How to Find Your Secret Admirer
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If you want to find your secret admirer, you can use the clues they leave behind to narrow down who it might be. If you received a handwritten letter or note, compare the handwriting to the handwriting of people you know to see if you can find a match. Or look for patterns in the notes or gifts they send you. For instance, if your secret admirer uses the word “awesome” a lot, you might be able to match that with someone you already know. Or if they sent you a plate of cookies, they're probably someone who likes to bake. If your secret admirer contacted you online, try chatting with them more to see if they'll reveal their true identity or at least give you a hint about who they are. If you're not having any luck, ask your friends if they've heard any rumors about someone having a crush on you.
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Carefully read their note(s). If you received a physical note, like a handwritten letter in your locker, or a note left in your backpack, you can consider clues like the location, the timing, the handwriting, and the tone. If your admirer has approached you online through an anonymous email or a chat message, you will need to consider clues like the screen name or email address, the tone and content of the message, and the timing. If the note is handwritten, look at the handwriting on it. Compare the handwriting with the writing of people that you know. Think about your friend, your crush, or the person who sits next to you in English class. If you have gotten an email or chat message from someone that you don't know, look at the email address or screen name. The person may not have used a personal account to send you the message, but you might be able to draw clues from the name that he or she chose. Consider any gifts that your admirer has given you. Perhaps you received a bouquet of flowers, a bag of your favorite candy, or a mix CD. You can use clues from the gift to figure out who gave it to you. If your secret admirer gave you a plate of fresh cookies, they probably likes to bake. Think about the people you know—especially anyone that you suspect might have a crush on you—and whether or not they like to bake. If your secret admirer gave you a mix CD, they probably care a lot about music. Think about the music lovers in your life. Keep an eye out for people who are always humming, or who always have headphones plugged into their ears. Think about the songs on the mix: they probably include some of your admirer's favorite songs, so you might be able to identify him or her by her music taste. If your secret admirer bought you something from a store, consider just asking the clerk who bought that item. Consider when and where your admirer contacted you. Think about who would have been able to send the message at the time that it was sent. Think about who would've had access to the place that you found a note or gift. Piece together the circumstances to give yourself a clearer picture of how your admirer operates. If your secret admirer left a note in your locker at school, there's a good chance that he or she goes to your school and has seen you using your locker. If your secret admirer left a gift at your house, he or she either knows you well or found out your address from someone else. If you suspect that a specific person is your secret admirer, but they were home sick from school on the day that you found the note, then that person may not be the admirer. He or she may, however, have asked a friend to place the note. The note may also have been planted a day or two before you found it. Respond and gather more information. If you received an anonymous email or chat message, reply to the message and try to strike up a conversation. If someone left a handwritten note for you, consider leaving a note of your own in the same place in case your admirer finds it. Get to know your admirer via chat or email. Ask questions. Without being pushy, try to get your admirer to reveal his or her true identity. Avoid leaving personal notes out where anyone could find them. Not only does this reduce the chances of your admirer actually finding the note, but it opens up the possibility of someone else finding the note and using that information to mess with you. Look for patterns. How does your admirer write? How does he or she usually contact you? Does he or she have any quirks (e.g. figures of speech, unique spellings, references) that might help you identify him or her? Think about people you know that display those traits. Your admirer might not realize that he is giving himself away by using words that he uses in real-life conversations. Does your admirer say a certain word or phrase a lot? For example, maybe he or she says "awesome" a lot during your chats, or maybe uses the word "totally" to emphasize points in a handwritten note. Think about people you know who use that phrase often. Does your admirer make spelling mistakes? If you can identify any, do you know anyone who makes those spelling mistakes? For example, you might notice that a friend of yours always misspells "definitely" as "definetely." Look around you. Is there anyone who is talking to you more than normal or looking at you in a flirty way? Is there someone who acts awkward around you but looks like they're trying to hide it? Try to notice whether anyone has been staring in your direction a lot. If so, pay a little bit more attention to them. Look into their eyes and give a sly smile. If this person shows any more signs of attraction, he or she might be your admirer. Ask around. Create a web of information to help you find your secret admirer more quickly. Reach out to your friends for help, and see if they can give you any clues. Even if they don't outright know who your admirer is, they might have heard some gossip that points you in the right direction. Be careful who you tell about your secret admirer—some friends might take the opportunity to give you unreliable information, to gossip about your situation, or even to forge "secret admirer" notes of their own. If someone left a note or delivery at your doorstep, ask your neighbors if they saw the deliverer. If so, ask for the deliverer's physical appearance. Consider confronting your admirer. If you think you have found your secret admirer, the surest way to know is to ask. It may be better to ask and be wrong than to not ask and never know. Keep in mind that if your admirer is keeping her identity a secret, she is probably shy about talking to you directly. Don't confront this person loudly, in public. Be gentle, tactful, and open-minded. Look at their eyes when you ask. See if you can spot any visible changes. Do you see the person's pupils getting smaller? Any signs of blushing or flushing, or the maybe-admirer moving his or her head back slightly? If the person repeatedly denies that they are your secret admirer, then they're probably telling the truth. Do not push them. Keep looking. Be tactful. You don't need to flat-out ask "Do you like me?" Try something more subtle, like "I've been finding these really sweet notes in my locker this week, with the most beautiful drawings on them. Do you know anything about that?" Try asking your suspected admirer questions, face-to-face, that might reveal him or her as your admirer. If your admirer added you on social media, ask the suspect whether he or she uses that site. If your secret admirer draws you pictures, ask the suspect whether he or she likes to draw. Respect your secret admirer's privacy. Consider why your admirer chose to keep his or her identity a secret. Your secret admirer may be hiding their identity because they are not free to admire you openly. They could be shy, they could have strict parents, or they could be in another relationship that they are not prepared to risk ruining. It's okay to confront your admirer, but you may not want to be to be too forward. If you are patient, your admirer might reveal his or her identity to you. Consider whether you really want to know. Deep down, maybe you want them to remain secret so as not to burst the bubble. Sometimes it can be reassuring to have a secret admirer in the background. Accept or turn down your admirer. Once you have found your secret admirer, there may be a bit of tension. Your admirer has made his or her feelings clear, so now it's your turn to reveal whether or not you feel the same way. If you like your admirer, get to know each other. Consider asking them out or waiting for them to ask you out. If you are not interested, you will need to be clear about your feelings so that your admirer knows it's time to back off. If your secret admirer is not who you had hoped, be kind and turn them down gently. They will probably admire you even more for your honesty. Be direct and straightforward. Don't play with their emotions. Don't get too emotionally invested. Maybe you will find your secret admirer, you'll fall in love, and you'll live happily ever after. Right now, however, you don't know anything about them. Your secret admirer might be someone that you don't want to get involved with. He or she might even be your friend or sibling playing a prank! Do your best to find your secret admirer, but don't take it too seriously until you know who you're dealing with. If you are patient, there's a good chance that your secret admirer will get over the shyness and reveal him or herself. You may be the object of their affection, but that doesn't mean that you're obligated to go seek them out. Try to not to build up a fantasy in your head. Your admirer could be anyone, and you don't want to get your feelings hurt if he or she doesn't turn out to be the person you expect.
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Carefully read their note(s). Consider any gifts that your admirer has given you. Consider when and where your admirer contacted you. Respond and gather more information. Look for patterns. Look around you. Ask around. Consider confronting your admirer. Be tactful. Respect your secret admirer's privacy. Accept or turn down your admirer. Don't get too emotionally invested.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Sesame-Oil
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How to Make Sesame Oil
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To make your own sesame oil, start by toasting sesame seeds on a baking sheet at 350 degrees F. After about 5 minutes in the oven, stir them up and put them back in for another 10-15 minutes. When the seeds look golden brown, take them out and put them on a plate to cool. Then, pour the cooled seeds into a large pot, add oil, and heat the mixture on the stove for 5 minutes. Once the mixture heats up, transfer it to a blender and process it for 1-4 minutes, or until the seeds break into small pieces. Let the blended mixture sit for 45 minutes to 2 hours before pouring it through a cheesecloth to separate the oil. Finally, store the oil in a glass jar with an air-tight lid and keep it in the fridge!
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Use about 3 cups (710 g) of seeds to make 1 cup (237 mL) of oil. Use more or less sesame seeds based on how much you have available and how much oil you want to yield. Making 1 cup (237 mL) of sesame oil is a good amount for general cooking and skincare needs. If you want to make a lot in advance, double or triple the amount of sesame seeds. Bake the sesame seeds at 350 °F (177 °C) for an effortless option. To do this, spread the seeds across a baking sheet. Then, place the baking sheet in the middle of your oven rack. After 5 minutes, stir up the sesame seeds so they don't burn. Then, cook them for another 10-15 minutes. Your sesame seeds are thoroughly toasted when the outside is a golden brown color. Toast the seeds in your stovetop to ensure they don’t overcook. Place your sesame seeds in a medium-sized saucepan, and set your stovetop temperature to medium. Heat up the seeds for 10-15 minutes, and continuously stir the sesame seeds with a mixing spoon as they warm up. You should notice a pleasant, nutty aroma as the seeds toast. Remove your sesame seeds from the heat when they are golden brown. Whether you are using the stovetop or the oven, put your sesame seeds on a plate after they turn a golden brown shade. This way, the seeds cool down quicker. The golden brown color is a sign that the sesame seeds are toasted properly. Avoid overcooking your sesame seeds. If your seeds turn medium-dark brown, they are overcooked and will not produce great sesame oil. To prevent this, watch your sesame seeds closely throughout the toasting process. Remove them from heat as soon as they become a light shade of golden brown. If you overcook your sesame seeds, that's okay! Simply throw them out and try again. Mix every 1/4 cup (59 g) of sesame seeds with 1 cup (237 mL) of oil. Pour your sesame seeds inside a medium or large pot. Then, pour in a cooking oil of your choice, based on the amount of sesame seeds you are using. You can use either peanut oil, sunflower seed oil, vegetable oil, or coconut oil to help you separate the oil from the sesame seeds. If you are using 3 cups (710 g) of sesame seeds, use 12 cups (3 L) of oil. All of these work well to help you extract the sesame oil. Heat the oil and sesame seeds on your stovetop for 5 minutes or so. After you mix together the sesame seeds and cooking oil, use a medium heat setting to warm up the ingredients. Warming the sesame seeds in the oil helps extract more of the oil from the seeds. Pour the mixture into a blender. Once the oil is warmed up, turn off the heat and place your blender in the sink. Carefully pour the oil and seeds from the pot into the blender, aiming to get as much as you can inside. This way, you can separate the cooking oil from the sesame oil. Blend up the sesame seeds until they are broken into small pieces. Put the lid on your blender and select a medium chop setting. Blend the ingredients for 1-4 minutes or until the seeds are broken down. You can stop blending when the seeds look completely crushed up, rather than in granules. The ingredients should easily mix together because of the cooking oil. If you have difficulty, try stirring the ingredients or using a higher heat setting. Let your ingredients sit for 45 minutes to 2 hours. After you blend up the ingredients, let it sit in the blender for a while. The sesame oil rises to the top, and you can easily separate it after the other oil sinks to the bottom. Depending on what oil you used, the sesame oil may separate at different rates. For instance, when using peanut oil, it may only take 45 minutes for your oil to separate. If using sunflower seed oil, it may take up to 2 hours. Pour the mixture through cheesecloth if using an oil other than peanut. Pick a small- or medium-sized bowl and stretch the cheesecloth over top. Secure the cheesecloth with a string or rubber band. By doing this, you easily extract the sesame oil from the cooking oil. Using cheesecloth ensures no seeds get inside your oil. Do this if you used sunflower oil, coconut oil, or vegetable oil Use a bowl to naturally let the oil separate if you're using peanut oil. If you used peanut oil, the separation process is slightly different. Simply pour your ingredients into a bowl, and let it sit for at least 45 minutes. At this point, the sesame oil naturally raises to the top. With peanut oil, you do not need to pour the ingredients through cheesecloth since the oil easily separates on its own. Pour the sesame oil into an airtight container using a spoon. If you poured the oil through cheesecloth, simply pour the strained sesame oil into a glass jar or plastic container. If you are using peanut oil, use a large metal spoon to transport the oil little by little into your container or jar. For example, use a liter-sized mason jar with an airtight lid. Refrigerate your sesame seed oil to preserve its shelf life. If stored in your pantry, sesame oil lasts for 6-8 months. However, by putting it in your fridge, you can keep it for up to 2 years. If the oil smells sour or tastes bitter, it has spoiled.
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Use about 3 cups (710 g) of seeds to make 1 cup (237 mL) of oil. Bake the sesame seeds at 350 °F (177 °C) for an effortless option. Toast the seeds in your stovetop to ensure they don’t overcook. Remove your sesame seeds from the heat when they are golden brown. Avoid overcooking your sesame seeds. Mix every 1/4 cup (59 g) of sesame seeds with 1 cup (237 mL) of oil. Heat the oil and sesame seeds on your stovetop for 5 minutes or so. Pour the mixture into a blender. Blend up the sesame seeds until they are broken into small pieces. Let your ingredients sit for 45 minutes to 2 hours. Pour the mixture through cheesecloth if using an oil other than peanut. Use a bowl to naturally let the oil separate if you're using peanut oil. Pour the sesame oil into an airtight container using a spoon. Refrigerate your sesame seed oil to preserve its shelf life.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Type-Musical-Notes-on-a-Macbook
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How to Type Musical Notes on a Macbook
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You can easily type musical notes on a Macbook by accessing the built-in special characters. To type musical notes in your web browser, open the “Edit” menu on the toolbar and select the option for “Emojis & Symbols” or “Special Characters.” From there, choose the symbol you want to add by clicking on it. To add musical notes using your input menu, open up the systems preferences menu by clicking on the Apple icon on the top left-hand corner. Then, choose the option labeled “Keyboard.” Click the box next to “Show Input menu in menu bar.” You can then add musical notes anytime you want to by clicking on the input menu in the menu bar at the top of your screen and choosing which note you want to add.
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Open your browser. You will be able to complete this task in any of the newer versions of Safari, Chrome, and Firefox. Go to your special symbols. Each browser will be slightly different, but you can usually accomplish this by going to "Edit" in the Menu Bar and then selecting "Emojis & Symbols" or "Special Characters." Select your symbol. From the window that appears, you can search "Musical Symbols," "Musical Notes," "Notes," or any other variation in order to show the available options. Once you have found the note you would like to type, highlight it by clicking on it. Drag the symbol. Once you have highlighted the symbol, drag it to where you would like to place it in your text. Open System Preferences. This can be done by selecting the Apple icon in the upper left-hand side of your screen or by clicking on the silver icon that resembles a cog from your task bar. Go to "Keyboard. " This should be in the second row of icons. Make sure "Show input menu in menu bar" is selected. Under the tab entitled ""Input Sources," tick the box next to "Show input menu in input bar" at the bottom of the window. Place your cursor. Make sure to place your cursor where you want to input a musical symbol. Select the Input Menu icon. This can be found in the upper right-hand corner of the menu bar and resembles the Command symbol on your keyboard. If it does not appear, go back and make sure you have selected the "Show input menu" box in System Preferences. Select "Show Emojis & Symbols. " This will prompt a window to appear where you can search for "Musical Symbols" and highlight your choice from the given options. Drag the symbol. Once you have highlighted the symbol, drag it to where you would like to place it in your text. Research a music writing app. If you are looking to type more than just a few decorative musical notes on a page and want to actually start writing your masterpieces on your macbook, there are a few great options out there for music writing applications. Finale NotePad is a wonderful option but for Mac software, it is a bit pricey at almost ten dollars. A few great and free options are MuseScore and ScoreCloud. Download the software. Download the software you have chosen either from the app store or from their site. Make sure to be wary of scams and viruses. For this tutorial, we will be focusing on MuseScore but most of the software will operate in basically the same way. Navigate from the Start Center. When you first open the music writing app, you will see a window entitled "Start Center." This is where you will be able to open existing projects or start a new one. Enter the title. Create the title of your new piece before continuing on. Select from a template. After you name your piece, you will be able to select from given templates or choose to create your own. It is here that you will be able to choose your key, tempo, clef, and whatever else you need in order to write your piece. Start writing! Once you have entered the basic information for your piece, select "Finish" and start working on your music.
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Open your browser. Go to your special symbols. Select your symbol. Drag the symbol. Open System Preferences. Go to "Keyboard. Make sure "Show input menu in menu bar" is selected. Place your cursor. Select the Input Menu icon. Select "Show Emojis & Symbols. Drag the symbol. Research a music writing app. Download the software. Navigate from the Start Center. Enter the title. Select from a template. Start writing!
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https://www.wikihow.com/Prevent-Pregnancy
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How to Prevent Pregnancy
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One way you can prevent an unexpected pregnancy is by using a condom when you have sex. If you're a woman, you can also talk to your gynecologist or health care provider about getting prescribed birth control pills. If you don't want to take a pill every day, you can get a birth control implant in your arm, vagina, or uterus. For a permanent way to prevent pregnancy, you can get a vasectomy if you're a man, or undergo tubal ligation if you're a woman.
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Condoms. Latex condoms are worn on the penis during intercourse. They prevent pregnancy by keeping semen from coming into contact with fertile eggs. Condoms are often given out for free at health clinics, and they're available for over-the-counter purchase for about $1.00 a piece at drug stores and grocery stores. An added benefit of condoms is that they protect both parties from sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) as well as pregnancy. Condoms are made from thin latex, so they occasionally tear during intercourse. When this happens, the chances of pregnancy go up. Some people have allergies to latex condoms, and choose condoms made of plastic instead. Female condoms. Also made of latex, female condoms are shaped like a ring with a pouch. The pouch fits inside the vagina, while the ring stays outside the body to hold it in place. They collect semen during intercourse so it never has a chance to enter the woman's body. Female condoms cost about $4.00 a piece and are available at drugstores. Female condoms reduce the risk of STDs by protecting the vagina from directly getting touched. Female condoms are slightly less effective than regular condoms, and some people say that they are less comfortable to use. Diaphragms. These shallow cups made of silicone are inserted inside the vagina and over the cervix to prevent semen from contacting an egg. They are commonly used in combination with spermicidal jelly, which prevents sperm from moving, in order to increase efficacy. Since every woman's body is a slightly different shape, diaphragms must be fitted to make sure they're the right size. Talk to your gynecologist or health clinic worker about getting fitting for a diaphragm. Diaphragms are quite effective, but they don't prevent the transmission of STDs. Birth control pills. Birth control pills, often referred to in shorthand as "the Pill," consist of synthetic estrogen and progestin hormones that keep a woman's eggs from leaving her ovaries, so that pregnancy can't happen. When taken properly, they are extremely effective. Contraceptive pills are available on a prescription-only basis from your gynecologist or health care provider. The Pill must be taken every day, at the same time each day, to work properly. Skipping a few days could decrease its efficacy. The Pill causes some women to experience side effects. Different brands of pills have different levels of estrogen and progestin, so your doctor may prescribe a different brand if one seems to be causing negative side effects. Other hormonal devices. The same hormones that make birth control pills effective can be distributed to the body by other means. If you don't like taking pills every day, consider these options: Depo-Provera, or the birth control shot. This shot is administered in the arm once every three months. The shot is very effective at preventing pregnancy, but it has been reported that side effects are possible. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/2\/2c\/Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-5Bullet1.jpg\/v4-460px-Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-5Bullet1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/2\/2c\/Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-5Bullet1.jpg\/aid1383676-v4-728px-Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-5Bullet1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"} The birth control patch. The patch is usually placed on the arm, back or thigh. It distributes hormones through the skin and has to be replaced every few weeks. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/7\/70\/Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-5Bullet2.jpg\/v4-460px-Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-5Bullet2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/7\/70\/Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-5Bullet2.jpg\/aid1383676-v4-728px-Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-5Bullet2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"} The birth control ring. The ring is inserted into the vagina once a month. It releases hormones to prevent pregnancy from occurring. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/9\/9b\/Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-5Bullet3.jpg\/v4-460px-Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-5Bullet3.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/9\/9b\/Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-5Bullet3.jpg\/aid1383676-v4-728px-Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-5Bullet3.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"} The birth control implant. A small rod is inserted in the arm, and it releases hormones to prevent pregnancy for up to three years. It must be inserted and removed by a health care provider. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/f\/f8\/Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-5Bullet4.jpg\/v4-460px-Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-5Bullet4.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/f\/f8\/Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-5Bullet4.jpg\/aid1383676-v4-728px-Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-5Bullet4.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"} Intrauterine Devices (IUDs). The IUD is a small metal device inserted in the uterus by a health care provider. One type of IUD works by releasing hormones, and another type is made of copper, which affects the mobility of sperm and stops them from fertilizing the egg. IUDs are extremely effective and last up to 12 years, although they can cost from $500 to $1,000. If you're concerned about disrupting your menstrual cycle, consider the copper IUD, which doesn't interfere with your hormones or cause hormonal birth control-related side effects. Abstinence. Abstaining from vaginal intercourse prevents pregnancy by preventing the man's semen from coming into contact with the woman's egg. Abstinence is one hundred percent effective in preventing pregnancy when it is used continuously. Some people define abstinence as abstaining from all sexual contact, but in order to prevent pregnancy, only vaginal intercourse needs to be avoided. Abstinence requires strong willpower, and some people might find it difficult to rely on this birth control method for long periods of time. It's important to have another birth control method in place once abstinence is ended. Fertility awareness. Also called natural family planning, this method of birth control requires having sex only during times of the menstrual cycle when the woman is not fertile. During times when pregnancy would be possible, periodic abstinence is employed. For fertility awareness to be effective, the practitioner must understand and respect the perimeters of her fertility. Fertility awareness often involves three different ways for calculating fertility : the calendar method, the mucus method, and the temperature method. Used together, these three methods are very effective at determining exactly when a woman is fertile. The calendar method requires tracking the different phases of the menstrual cycle on a calendar, then noticing patterns over time and using the patterns to predict when ovulation will occur. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/a\/af\/Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-8Bullet2.jpg\/v4-460px-Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-8Bullet2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/a\/af\/Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-8Bullet2.jpg\/aid1383676-v4-728px-Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-8Bullet2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"} The mucus method involves checking vaginal mucus, which changes in color and consistency when a woman is fertile. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/4\/45\/Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-8Bullet3.jpg\/v4-460px-Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-8Bullet3.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/4\/45\/Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-8Bullet3.jpg\/aid1383676-v4-728px-Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-8Bullet3.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"} The temperature method involves checking the body's basal temperature every day and noticing when it goes up a few tenths of degree, which signals that ovulation has occurred. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/8\/8e\/Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-8Bullet4.jpg\/v4-460px-Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-8Bullet4.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/8\/8e\/Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-8Bullet4.jpg\/aid1383676-v4-728px-Prevent-Pregnancy-Step-8Bullet4.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"} The downside of fertility awareness is that it requires a lot of time and attention. If you forget to check mucus or temperature for a few days, you may miscalculate the days during which sex should be avoided. The upside of fertility awareness is that it its completely natural, requiring almost no money, no outside hormones, and no uncomfortable devices. Female sterilization. Surgery is conducted to close off the fallopian tubes in a process called tubal ligation, preventing the possibility of pregnancy. This method is extremely effective at preventing pregnancy, but it is not to be taken lightly, since it is difficult or impossible to reverse. Vasectomy. Men may choose to undergo a process that blocks their vas deferentia, through which sperm flow, preventing them from mixing with semen. When the man ejaculates, his semen does not contain sperm, making it impossible for him to get a woman pregnant. Vasectomy may be reversed in some cases, but it should not be considered unless the intention is to become permanently sterilized. Use emergency contraception. Also called Plan B, emergency contraception consists of two pills containing levonorgestrel that are ingested as soon as possible after sexual intercourse. The sooner they are taken, the more effective they are at preventing pregnancy. Emergency contraception is available at most pharmacies and from your healthcare provider. Emergency contraception should not be a replacement for regular birth control; it's a last resort to be take after unprotected sex.
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Condoms. Female condoms. Diaphragms. Birth control pills. Other hormonal devices. Intrauterine Devices (IUDs). Abstinence. Fertility awareness. Female sterilization. Vasectomy. Use emergency contraception.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Princess-Cake
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How to Make a Princess Cake
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To make a princess cake, start by pouring cake batter into 3 round pans and 1 ovenproof bowl. Bake the pans for around 25 minutes and bake the bowl separately for about 50 minutes at 325°F. Next, level off the tops and cut holes in the centers. After that, frost and stack each layer and then frost the whole cake. Freeze for 45 minutes, spread on the final coat, and texturize with a spatula. Finally, place a Barbie-sized doll in the center and decorate with designs and candy for the dress.
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Mix the cake batter. Depending on your chosen cake base, follow the recipe and directions on the cake box to make the cake batter. Be sure you have all the necessary ingredients that the recipe calls for. Both boxes of cake batter can be made at the same time, but don't increase the beating time. Don't make more than two boxes of cake batter together. If you plan to make more cake batter, prepare them in separate batches. Prepare your cake pans and bowl. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease your three, round, 8-inch wide cake pans and one, 8-inch wide, 1½ quart ovenproof glass bowl, by rubbing the inside of the pans and bowl with approximately ½ tablespoon of vegetable shortening. Sprinkle flour over the coated pans and bowl, and tap out any extra flour. The bowl will function as a cake pan for the top portion of the cake, which will be rounded, and serve as the top of the princess' dress. The width of the bowl should relatively match the width of your cake pans. A same sized bowl will make the cake alignments a lot more uniform. Don't use cooking spray to grease the pans. When the cake batter is mixed and the pans and bowl are ready, pour 3¼ cups of batter into the ovenproof bowl, and split the remaining cake batter amongst the three remaining cake pans. There will be a little less than 2 cups for each remaining cake pan. Bake the cakes. Bake the pans together in the oven for about 23 – 30 minutes and bake the bowl separately for about 47 – 53 minutes. The bowl cake will be completely baked when you can insert a toothpick into the cake, and it comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool for about 10 minutes before you turn them over and remove them from their baking containers. Let the cakes cool completely for about 45 minutes – 1 hour before you start working with them. Allowing the cakes sufficient enough time to cool will help them crumble less as you cut and frost them. Level off the tops of the cakes. Use a large, serrated knife to slice off the very top portion of the various cake layers. You should only be slicing off about ¼ inch of cake from the different cake layers. This leveling off of the cake layers will help the cakes stick together when you frost and stack them. Cut the bowl cake layer in half, horizontally to make two even portions. Consider using a spinning pedestal to rotate the bowl cake as you cut through the middle of the cake. Prepare your frosting. You can decorate your cake with colored, commercial frosting, white, commercial frosting dyed with food coloring to the color of your choice, or you can make your own frosting. Buttercream frosting is a very popular and common frosting choice for homemade cakes. Whichever you prefer, have approximately 4 – 5 cups of frosting mixed and ready to be used in a separate bowl. The frosting amount really depends on how much frosting you plan to use on your cake, but it also allows for enough extra frosting to decorate and pipe the rest of the cake. For a typical frosting formula, consider doubling the recipe. If you plan to purchase white, commercial frosting and dye it with food coloring, you will only need a couple drops of food coloring to change the color of the frosting. For example, if you want to dye white frosting green, consider adding one drop of blue dye, and two drops of yellow dye. Start will less dye, and build upon it. You can always add more dye to darken the shade of the frosting. Cut holes in the middle of the cake layers. Use a pastry cutter to cut a 1¾ diameter hole into the center of all the different cake layers. Simply place a round, 1¾ diameter pastry cutter on the center of a cake layer, and push the cutter down through the cake. Gently pull the pastry cutter up from the cake, and remove the cake portion in the center of the cutter. Continue to cut a hole in the center of all the cake layers. These center holes are where the princess doll's legs will fit into the cake. Frost and stack the cake layers. Place a cardboard round (the same size as your cake) underneath your cake before you start frosting and decorating it. That way, the cardboard can easily be moved when you're ready to present your cake. Also, consider placing the cardboard round and the cake on a spinning pedestal, so it's easier to manipulate as you decorate and frost the cake. When you're ready to frost, scoop a dollop of cake frosting (about 1/3 cup), and use a knife or an offset spatula to evenly spread out the frosting on top of the cake. Place another cake layer on top of the frosting, with the cut off, leveled surface of the cake layer facing down. Again, use your spatula to spread out a thin layer of frosting on top of the cake. Keep stacking the layers of your cake until you place the final, rounded bowl cake layer on top. Once all the cake layers are “glued” together with the frosting, cover the entire cake with a preliminary crumb coat layer of frosting. Spread out a frosting crumb coat. Scoop up dollops of frosting, and spread them out all over the entire cake. Use your offset spatula to smooth out the frosting around the cake. You could also try using a piece of paper to smooth out the crumb coat. Curve a piece of paper cut into an approximately 2-inch wide strip, and curve the paper to follow the shape of the cake. Place the piece of paper at the bottom of the cake, and tilt and draw the paper up the side of the cake to the top, so the paper drags along the cake frosting. Wipe off any excess frosting on the side of the frosting bowl, and continue to smooth out the frosting around the rest of the cake. Place the cake in the freezer. Place the frosted cake in the freezer for about 45 minutes to harden the crumb coat, and make it easier to add the final frosting layer on top of the crumb coat. Spread the final coat of frosting on the cake. After the cake has had time to set in the freezer, continue to add frosting (one large dollop at a time) to the cake. Use your offset spatula to evenly spread out the frosting all over the cake. Use gentle, steady, even strokes to distribute the frosting all around the cake with your offset spatula. Try to make sure there are no thin areas of the frosting that expose any cake base. You can use the same paper dragging method suggested to even out the crumb coat, to even out the final layer of cake. Simply curve a piece of paper at the base of the cake to match the cake curvature, hold the paper from the two bottom corners, and softly drag the edge of the paper over the frosting as you pull the paper up toward the top of the cake. Having the cake on a spinning pedestal as you add your final layer of frosting can really help make the application process easier. You can spin the pedestal as you keep your offset spatula still to create an even spread of frosting. Texturize the frosting. Along with the paper technique to smooth out the frosting, you can also use your spatula to create patterns in the frosting. Consider using the tip of your spatula to gently press into the frosting and create vertical lines along the cake or little swirl marks, mimicking dress fabric detailing. Place the princess doll in the center of the cake. Undress the princess doll, or use plastic wrap to cover and protect the princess' clothing. Lift up the doll's arms so they don't poke into the cake, and place the doll into the center of the cake. Be careful not to let the princess' hair touch the rest of the cake frosting. If her hair is too long, consider also wrapping her hair in plastic wrap. Use a little bit more frosting to fill in and cover the center hole of the cake. Decorate the cake with frosting. If you have a couple of pastry bags and different shaped frosting tips, you can add and pipe frosting designs around the cake (which is now the dress of the princess) with different colored frosting. Consider adding frosting detail around the princess' waist to cover up any imperfections. Always squeeze out a bit of frosting from your pastry bag to clear out any air pockets. Decorate the cake with candy. If you don't have different colored frosting or pastry piping materials, you can simply use edible cake decorations and candy pieces to design and embellish the princess cake. Consider using colored sugar sprinkles, jellybeans, or other small, decorative candies to accent the princess' dress. Present the cake. Use your cleaned offset spatula to slide underneath the cardboard round, and transfer the princess cake onto to a clean serving platter a little larger than the size of the cake. Be very careful not to knock off or smear any frosting or decorations when transferring the cake.
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Mix the cake batter. Prepare your cake pans and bowl. Bake the cakes. Level off the tops of the cakes. Prepare your frosting. Cut holes in the middle of the cake layers. Frost and stack the cake layers. Spread out a frosting crumb coat. Place the cake in the freezer. Spread the final coat of frosting on the cake. Texturize the frosting. Place the princess doll in the center of the cake. Decorate the cake with frosting. Decorate the cake with candy. Present the cake.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Keep-Your-Sandbox-Safe-and-Sanitary
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How to Keep Your Sandbox Safe and Sanitary
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While children love to play in sandboxes, they can also pose several safety hazards, so you'll want to take steps to keep yours safe and sanitary. To prevent bacterial growth, keep your sandbox covered when it's not being used. At least once a week, use a rake or clean litter box scoop to remove any clumping sand or foreign objects. You'll also want to plan to replace all of the sand every 1 to 2 years. Since you can't wash the sand itself, wash any toys in the sandbox with soap and water or wipe them down with disinfectant wipes. You'll also want to keep your pets away from your sandbox since one accident can lead to a variety of harmful bacteria and parasites. Finally, remember that no matter how clean you keep your sandbox, there's still some risk of contamination, so make sure children wash their hands as soon as they're done playing to keep any germs they've picked up out of their mouths.
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Keep it covered. The best way to keep unwanted visitors out of your sandbox is to keep it covered whenever it is not being used. A good cover will also keep your sand dry, which will prevent bacteria from growing in it. Many store-bought sandboxes come with covers. You can also purchase retrofit covers, or you can build one using plywood. If the sand gets wet while your children are playing, be sure to let it dry out before you put the cover back on. Plant a bug-repelling garden. You may not be able to keep every last bug out of your sandbox, but you can help keep lots of them away by planting insect-repelling plants near your sandbox and adding some natural ingredients to your soil. Mint and basil are both natural, non-toxic insect repellents. Mint also repels rodents. Be sure to cut off any flowers that grow on your plants, as they may attract bees. Try spreading out some coffee grounds in your garden to repel slugs and snails, and cinnamon to repel ants. Don't let your pets play in the sandbox. Pets can easily mistake a sandbox for a litter box, so it's best to keep them out of the sandbox at all times, even when you are supervising. A single accident in the sandbox can contaminate it with a variety of harmful bacteria and parasites. For example, it is common for cats to have toxoplasmosis in their feces. Toxoplasmosis can cause serious problems for anyone with a weak immune system, such as young children and pregnant women. Keeping your pets up-to-date on all vaccinations can help prevent them from spreading disease if they do get into the sandbox. Watch out for leaky diapers. Your sand can also become contaminated by human feces, so try to make sure your little ones always have clean diapers on when playing in the sandbox. If the sand is contaminated by human feces, then children who play in it may contract E. coli. E. coli is especially dangerous for young children. If your children aren't potty trained, never let them play in the sandbox without wearing diapers. Clean the sand regularly. To make sure your sandbox stays clean, use a rake or a clean litter box scoop to sift through the sand. This will help you find any foreign objects or clumping sand, so you can remove them immediately. The frequency with which you should clean the sandbox depends on how often it is used. If it gets heavy use, clean the sand at least once a week. Replace the sand periodically. Because there is no way to keep the sand in your sandbox 100% clean, it's a good idea to replace the sand every one to two years. Wash sandbox toys. While you can't wash the sand in your children's sandbox, you can wash the toys that they play with in the sandbox, which can reduce their exposure to contaminants. Wipe down all toys with disinfectants to help keep them germ-free. If a toy can't be easily cleaned, don't let your children play with it in the sandbox. Wash your children's hands after playing. No matter how well you clean your sandbox, there is still some risk of contamination. For this reason, it's best to always thoroughly wash your children's hands as soon as they are done playing in the sandbox. This will help keep any germs that they picked up out of their mouths. Do not allow your child to eat or drink anything in the sandbox. Have your child wash his or her hands with soap and warm water for one to two minutes. Antibacterial soap is not necessary. Just use some regular soap. Avoid introducing gravel. Children can get scratched if coarse material like gravel finds its way into the sandbox. To prevent this from happening, avoid placing gravel near the sandbox, where it might be tracked in. Raking out your sandbox regularly should help you find any gravel that may have gotten in. Prevent splinters. Many DIY sandboxes are built using wood, which can cause splinters. To avoid this, build your sandbox with the right type of wood, or avoid using wood altogether. Avoid railroad ties, which tend to splinter easily. If you want to use wood to frame your sandbox, use landscaping timbers, which are perfect for outdoor use. You can also use materials other than wood to build your sandbox, such as plastic lumber. If your wooden sandbox starts to splinter, sand it down to prevent injury. If you do get a splinter, then you should try to remove it with tweezers right away. Splinters can invite infection and they are harder to get out the longer you leave them in. If you cannot remove the splinter easily and it is red and causing pain after a few days, then see a doctor to get it cut out. Avoid toxic wood. Wood that has been chemically treated for outdoor use is less susceptible to rot and insect damage, but some of the chemicals that are used to treat it are extremely toxic. Avoid any wood that has been treated with Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA), which contains the toxic chemicals chromium, copper, and arsenic. It's easy to recognize chemically treated wood, as it typically has a greenish hue to it, although this does not necessarily mean that it has been treated with CCA. There are other chemicals that can be used to treat wood, which are safer than CCA. If you want to use pressure treated wood for your sandbox, opt for wood that has been treated with alkaline copper quaternary (ACQ) , borates, copper azole, cyproconazole, or propiconazole. Use the right sand. Some sand that you can buy may contain minerals that are potentially harmful to children if inhaled. The biggest concern is tremolite, which is found in some play sand and may have adverse health effects similar to those of asbestos. To avoid this, only buy natural beach sand or river sand for your sandbox. Avoid any sand that contains crushed limestone, marble, or quartz, as these may also contain tremolite. Regardless of the material, avoid any sand that is overly dusty.
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Keep it covered. Plant a bug-repelling garden. Don't let your pets play in the sandbox. Watch out for leaky diapers. Clean the sand regularly. Replace the sand periodically. Wash sandbox toys. Wash your children's hands after playing. Avoid introducing gravel. Prevent splinters. Avoid toxic wood. Use the right sand.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Stencil-Fabric
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How to Stencil Fabric
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To stencil fabric, start by choosing fabric and paint that are contrasting or complementary colors so the final design will show up clearly. Next, position the stencil on the fabric and affix it by using the stencil's sticky backing or by taping down the edges. Then, hold the paintbrush vertically and apply the paint over the stencil using a stippling motion until you've completely filled in the empty spaces. Finally, lift the stencil up off the fabric carefully and let the paint dry for 24 hours.
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Choose a single-overlay stencil. Not every image makes a good, or feasible, stencil. A single-overlay image is a great way to start out for someone new to fabric painting. This means that you'll transfer the image onto, and use, a single sheet of stencil. Basic silhouettes work best or pictures with deep contrasts. If you are adapting a design, make sure it will work as a stencil. Take time to plan how you will cut and try to plan only one overlay. If you plan to include writing, go online and look at various fonts. Select a stencil of the right size. It's easiest to find a shape or image that fits your piece of fabric right away and doesn't require any adjustments. However, it is possible to shrink or enlarge an image before making your stencil. Print out the image and then use a copier's zoom function to adjust and reproduce it. You could also look at the image on your computer and use a design program to change the size. Make a stencil from acetate if you want a reusable option. Acetate is a thin plastic that is often used for transparencies on overhead projectors. Lay your sheet of acetate on top of a piece of wood or glass. Place the image for your stencil on top of the acetate and then cut around the negative space (the areas you want to paint) with a sharp matte knife. Lift everything up and you will have an acetate stencil that you can use for fabrics. Acetate sheets come in different thicknesses. A thin sheet will be flexible and can mold more easily to moveable fabrics, but it will be easier to tear. A thicker sheet will be tougher to cut, but is more durable. Make a vinyl stencil if you want a bendable option. A vinyl sheet is a great option for stenciling, as it is sturdy with a sticky backing that can hold onto a fabric. Lay your vinyl down flat. Smooth or iron it out to remove any wrinkles. Place your image on top and use a matte knife to cut out the vinyl in all of the to-be-painted places. Many online craft shops also offer vinyl stencils for sale. Make a freezer paper stencil if you want a quick option. Cut down a piece of freezer paper to roughly the same size as your image. On a solid and sturdy surface, place your image underneath the freezer paper sheet. The shiny, waxy side of the freezer paper should face downward, the dull paper side towards you. Cut your design out with a craft scalpel or matte knife. Freezer paper is somewhat transparent, so you should be able to see your image under it. If you can't, go over the outlines of your image with a permanent marker to make it more visible. Avoid wrinkling or bending your final piece of freezer paper, as this could create spots where paint can seep through the sides. You can also trace the image with a pencil or pen onto the freezer paper and then cut it out with a paper of scissors. Some crafters use a cutting machine. In this case, simply feed your freezer paper into the machine with the shiny side still facing downward. Make a laminated printed stencil if you want a computer-based option. Use your household printer to print out the image or design that you've selected onto regular paper. Then, run the image through a lamination machine. Get a pair of scissors and cut out the negative space where you want to paint through the stencil. You can also laminate the paper after you've already cut it, but then you'll need to cut it once more to remove the inside lamination. Repair any mistakes. When you look at your stencil make sure that you've removed all of the required spaces, including the insides of letters. Take a moment to fix these details before you start painting. If your stencil breaks at a seam, you can usually apply a bit of painter's tape to the spot to hold it together. Just remember to go slowly when cutting in order to reduce the chance of mistakes. Keep texture in mind when choosing a fabric. Go with a natural fiber cloth with a fairly smooth surface. Avoid any fabrics that have a stain resistance finish and do not use softener on the fabric beforehand or after painting. It's fine to iron your fabric before starting, if desired. Soft or floaty fabrics can be difficult to use for stencils. It's best to save these fabrics until your pretty comfortable using stencils. Choose fabrics and paints in complementary colors. The tone of the fabric will affect the final look of the paint. If you go with a light paint and a dark fabric, then you'll likely need to apply multiple paint layers to keep your image from being tinted. If you choose two similar colors, such as lilac and lavender, make sure that there is enough contrast for the paint to actually stand out and be visible. It's a good idea to buy some extra fabric to test colors out on and to practice painting with. Use fabric or acrylic paint. Fabric paint usually works the best and has the benefit of being both washable and dry cleanable. You'll need to dry the fabric after application and usually heat set it as well. Acrylic paints are easy to use, but aren't quite as durable and will usually wash off over time. If you decide to use acrylic paint, handwashing the fabric can make it last longer. Position the stencil on the fabric. Hover the stencil directly over your piece of fabric. Verify that it is in the right spot and then slowly lower it down. To keep your stencil from moving, you can peel away the vinyl backing beforehand or spray a bit of canned adhesive on the back of it. If you are using a paper stencil, you might want to secure it with painter's tape on the edges. If you are painting a shirt, this is also the time to place a piece of cardboard or freezer paper inside the shirt to prevent the paint from seeping through. Coat your brush with an even amount of paint. Squirt a quarter-sized amount of paint onto your palette and dip the tip of your sponge or brush into a color. Move the tip around a bit to remove any excess paint. The goal is to have a colored, but generally dry, brush. Any extra paint that stays on the brush or sponge might create uneven lines on the final product. It's better to apply multiple layers than to rush through a single heavy coat. Apply the paint with a gentle pounding motion. Hold your brush or sponge vertically and touch the fabric with an up and down motion. The result will be a series of touches that bleed together in a process called stippling. Keep going until the entire area is the color you desire. Pull out a paper plate and do a few practice strokes on it to test the paint level and your technique. Watch to see that the imprint looks uniform and fairly dry. If the fabric looks a little wet as you continue, that is okay. It will even out as it dries. To create crisp edges, do a gentle swirling motion. This will fill in these spaces with paint without leaving lines. Lift the stencil. You can either remove the stencil as soon as you've finished painting or wait until the whole thing has dried for 24 hours and then take it off. The danger of waiting is that your stencil might stick to the fabric and possibly even tear. However, waiting usually lessens the possibility of paint smears. When you lift the stencil, move slowly and keep the removed stencil from falling back towards the fabric. If you lift the stencil and notice that there are portions that still need to be painted, you can try to set the stencil back onto the fabric. However, unless you place it back perfectly, there is a possibility that you could blur or smear the outlines. Touch up with a small brush. Once the stencil is off, take a close look at the painted fabric. Get a very fine brush, dip it lightly into your paint, and correct any areas that are unfinished. Look at letters, in particular, to ensure that you've completed the middle “bridges” in letters such as “B.” You can also use the fabric paint color to go around the edges of the stenciled area to clean up any rough spots. If you decide that you don't like the final product at all and you are using fabric paint, you might be able to wash the fabric immediately and remove the entire image. Lay the fabric out to dry. Place the fabric down on a smooth surface and let it dry for around 24 hours. The paint will likely dry before this time is up, but it's best to let it set a bit to avoid transfer onto other surfaces. Clean up your supplies. Get some soap and warm water and wash off your brushes and your stencil, if it's vinyl or acetate. Wipe down a laminated stencil with a wet paper towel and then set it aside to dry. If you clean everything right away this will keep them ready for another project in the future. If you used a non-laminated paper stencil, do not try to wipe off the paint remnants. Lay it out to dry on a flat surface and, depending on how much paint it absorbed, it may be usable again. Iron to help the color set. After the 24 hours has passed, get out your iron and place it on the medium-hot setting. Layer a thin piece of clean fabric over the newly painted area, to protect the paint from bubbling as you iron. Go over the entire painted area of your fabric for 3-5 minutes. If it's possible, you can also set the paint by ironing the back of the image. For example, if you stenciled a t-shirt, you could fold it open and apply the iron from within. Some crafters suggest using a finishing spray instead, but it is really your choice. It sometimes helps to see if the paint manufacturer suggests any specific way to finishing fabric projects. Most fabric paints do well with ironing, but some acrylics can bubble. Make sure to check for warnings on the paint container or fabric before applying heat to the finished image.
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Choose a single-overlay stencil. Select a stencil of the right size. Make a stencil from acetate if you want a reusable option. Make a vinyl stencil if you want a bendable option. Make a freezer paper stencil if you want a quick option. Make a laminated printed stencil if you want a computer-based option. Repair any mistakes. Keep texture in mind when choosing a fabric. Choose fabrics and paints in complementary colors. Use fabric or acrylic paint. Position the stencil on the fabric. Coat your brush with an even amount of paint. Apply the paint with a gentle pounding motion. Lift the stencil. Touch up with a small brush. Lay the fabric out to dry. Clean up your supplies. Iron to help the color set.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Cut-Led-Strip-Lights
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How to Cut Led Strip Lights
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Cutting LED strip lights is easy as long as you cut them in the right place. Always cut your strip on the line between 2 sets of copper dots so you can easily connect it to another strip or a power source. Measure the space you want to attach the strips to and cut your strip to the nearest cut line between the copper dots. To connect strips, use a quick connector. All you need to do is pull the small plastic bar of the connector back, peel the adhesive backing from the end of the strip to expose the copper terminals, plug the strip into the connector, and close the plastic bar again.
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Measure out the length of LEDs you need. The LEDs come in 1 long strip. You can cut off individual LEDs when you need them, but they have to be cut at specific points to work properly. Determine how long your LED strip needs to be before cutting off any lights. Find the cut line on the LED’s copper dots. Look for a pair of copper dots on the back of the LED strip. The copper dots indicate where each light connects to the next one on the strip. You will see a dotted cut line running between the copper dots. Choose the line closest to the LED length you measured earlier. The line is the only place you can safely cut the LEDs. If you cut anywhere else, some of the LEDs won't work. Cut the LED strip apart with scissors. A pair of scissors will do the job. Hold the lights still and cut along the dotted line. You should be cutting between the copper dots. Line up the cut carefully to avoid damaging the LEDs. Align the quick connector with the LED strip. Quick connectors can be purchased along with LED lights and are hassle-free ways of completing the electrical circuit. The LED will have a + and - printed on the back. Line up the connector's black wire with the - and the red wire with the +. Pull the plastic bar 1⁄8 in (0.32 cm) off of the quick connector. Hold the connector in 1 hand. Find the small plastic bar, usually colored black, at the end. Pull this bar forward to open the connector. Be careful, as the connector is delicate. Peel back the LED’s adhesive backing 1⁄4 in (0.64 cm). Pull the backing off the LED just enough to expose the copper terminals at the end. If your LEDs don't have this backing, you will have to cut the plastic off of the terminals. Use a box cutter or knife to cut into the plastic and scrape it away to expose the terminals. Don't cut all the way through the LED. Plug the LED into the connector. Slide the LED's end directly into the quick connector. Make sure the wires line up properly. The black wire should connect to the +, while the red wire should connect to the -. Close the plastic bar on the quick connector. Pull the plastic bar back onto the LED to hold it in place. The LED should not budge when you let go of it. This also protects the connection from damage. Connect the quick connector’s wires to the same-color wires on the power source. Use a terminal wire connector from a home improvement store. Plug the wires into the connector, then turn the connector's screws clockwise to hold the wires in place. Plug the power supply cord into the terminal's other end. If the LEDs don't light up, check the connections. Mixing up the + and - wires may be the problem. Otherwise, you may have cut the LEDs in the wrong place. Scrape the plastic cover off the end of the LED strip. Use a sharp knife or box cutter. Cut into the plastic right above the copper dots at the end of the LED. Remove enough plastic to expose the copper dots, then scrape the blade along them to clear off any plastic debris. Solder metal on top of the copper terminals. Heat up a soldering iron and hold metal solder wire over the LED. Melt the solder wire directly onto the copper dots. Use enough solder to form small puddles of metal that cover the copper completely. Cut a small hole in a plastic end cap. Get a plastic end cap from a home improvement store. Use the knife or box cutter to pierce the cap's closed end. Scrape away the plastic until the opening is wide enough to fit wires through it. Cut the wires to length and slide them through the cap. You will need a black and red wire, which align with the LED's terminals. Measure out the length of wire you need to connect the LED to your power source. Leave a little extra length, about ⁄ 2 in (1.3 cm), on the end of each wire. Slide the wires through the small hole you cut into the cap earlier, not the larger opening. Strip the wires with wire strippers. Strip about ⁄ 2 in (1.3 cm) of casing off the ends of the wires. Clamp the wire strippers to the wire's end. Press down on the handles to cut through the wire casing. Twist and coat each wire end with solder. Work on 1 wire at a time. Twist the end of the wire to wrangle all the frayed strands together. Heat the soldering iron again, then melt the solder onto the exposed wire. Do this for each wire. Solder the wires to the LED. Match the polarity, aligning the black wire with the LED's - and the red wire with the +. Touch the soldering iron to the solder on the LED to liquefy it, then attach the wires. Hold the wires in place until the solder solidifies again. Once the solder has cooled, pull on the wires to make sure they are soldered in place. Connect the wires to the power source. Plug the other end of the wires into the power source. You may need to twist the wire ends and cover them with shrink tube or an end cap before testing the electrical circuit. You can also repeat the steps to solder the wires to another LED. Glue a silicone end cap onto the LED. Get another plastic end cap. Fill it halfway full with silicone glue. Then, push the cap onto the free end of the LED strip. Make sure the LED reaches the cap's back. Test the LED lights. Flip the switch on the power source. All of the LED lights should activate. If they don't, the wires might not be placed correctly. Check that the colored wires match the correct terminal on the LED. Also make sure the wires are securely soldered to the LED.
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Measure out the length of LEDs you need. Find the cut line on the LED’s copper dots. Cut the LED strip apart with scissors. Align the quick connector with the LED strip. Pull the plastic bar 1⁄8 in (0.32 cm) off of the quick connector. Peel back the LED’s adhesive backing 1⁄4 in (0.64 cm). Plug the LED into the connector. Close the plastic bar on the quick connector. Connect the quick connector’s wires to the same-color wires on the power source. Scrape the plastic cover off the end of the LED strip. Solder metal on top of the copper terminals. Cut a small hole in a plastic end cap. Cut the wires to length and slide them through the cap. Strip the wires with wire strippers. Twist and coat each wire end with solder. Solder the wires to the LED. Connect the wires to the power source. Glue a silicone end cap onto the LED. Test the LED lights.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Simple-Handmade-Birthday-Card
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How to Make a Simple Handmade Birthday Card
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To make a simple handmade birthday card, fold your paper in half twice if you're using printer paper, which will make the card more sturdy. Place the paper flat on the table, then carefully fold it lengthwise and widthwise so the edges match up neatly. If you're using cardstock or construction paper, you can create a flat postcard design or just fold it in half once for a folded card. When you're ready to decorate your card, write a personalized message in it using a marker pen. Alternatively, use different colored pens for different letters for a fun look. You can also glue photos or glitter onto the front of the card to give it a creative touch.
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Think about who the card is for. Is this card for a child or an adult? How long have you known the recipient? Do you want to make a silly card or a sophisticated one? Take a moment to think about this person, what they like, and what you enjoy about being their friend. Gather your materials. Set up a workstation with all your tools and supplies. For a simple handmade birthday card, you'll need: Construction paper, cardstock, or any paper you have. Coloring utensils such as markers, crayons, and coloured pencils. Glue (optional) Stickers (optional) Glitter (optional) Ribbon (optional) Pom-poms (optional) Other add-ons (optional) Choose your paper. The paper possibilities are virtually endless. You can use any paper you have around the house or use colored paper. Pick whatever kind of paper is easiest and most fun. Here are some options to consider: Printer paper is easy to work with and you might have some on hand. Cardstock or construction paper is heavier and will feel more like a store-bought card. Scrapbook paper might include patterns or borders to start you off with more than just a blank slate. Decide on a format. You can create a traditional folded card, or a flat postcard style card. You can even fold your card in half and then half again. Here are a few things to think about: If you are using printer paper, you will probably want to make a folded card. Printer paper is thin and flimsy, so folding it will make it a bit sturdier. If you are using cardstock or construction paper you can easily fold it or cut it into a flat postcard style birthday card. Create your template by folding your paper (optional). If you decide to fold your card, place your paper on a table in profile layout and fold it in half to bring the top and bottom edges together. Line up the edges of the paper and make the fold slowly to keep the edges as even as possible. If you'd like, you can take your folded card in profile layout and fold it in half again, bringing the top and bottom edges together to make a sturdier card. Make a sharp clean crease if you are folding construction paper. If you decide to use scrapbook paper, decide whether or not to fold it based on its thickness. Create your postcard style template (optional). Take a ruler and measure out a card between 3 1/2 and 4 1/4 inches high and between 5 and 6 inches long. This is the size of a standard postcard. You can get creative with the dimensions of your card and make the edges curvy. If you want to make a postcard style birthday card and have thin scrapbook paper, you can glue it to a piece of cardstock to make it stronger. Write "Happy Birthday! " Once you have selected your paper and your card format, it's time to get started on creating your simple birthday card. You can use a thick marker or a combination of different colors to write, "Happy Birthday!" on the front of your card. If you prefer not to hand write it, you can also print the words using a word processor and cut them out for your card, or use the printed piece of paper as your template. You can make the words big and center them on the front of your card, or write them small based on your preference. There is no wrong way to do it, but since it is a birthday card, it should say, "Happy Birthday" somewhere! Design the card. The great thing about making cards by hand is that you can create them specifically for their recipient. Print out a picture of the two of you. Draw a birthday cake with the appropriate amount of candles. You can even write the beginning of a phrase that will end on the inside or back of your card. Try something like: I hope you have a great day today. Celebrate! It's your birthday! Happy birthday to a great friend. I like your birthday. Without it, I would not have such a great friend. Have an awesome birthday! I want to wish a happy birthday to one of the coolest people I know. Happy birthday to you! Add a fun memory that you and your recipient share. Use the front of your card to start the story and finish it in the inside or back of the card. For example, "Remember last year when we went rock climbing on your birthday? I can't wait for our next adventure, Happy Birthday!" Include a personal message on the inside or back of your card. Think about your relationship with this person and some of the fun memories you share. You can write an inside joke or congratulate them on accomplishments they have made in the last year. Use this space to tell them something light and fun that you would like them to know. Wish them the best for next year too! Decorate the inside or back. Depending on how much room you have, you may want to draw some more pictures or include another photo. Draw pictures of candles, balloons, birthday cakes, or cartoon characters of you and your recipient. Look up a line from your favorite poem, or find a funny riddle to include. Sign the card. Include your full name, first name, or whatever name your recipient knows you by. Include a phone number, email address, or mailing address if you would like to offer your recipient an easy way to keep in touch with you. Decorate the edges of the paper. You can use a hole punch to punch some holes along the side of your card and string a ribbon through the holes or use craft scissors to cut a patterned shape along the edges of your card. Craft stores sell scissors in the scrapbooking section that have shaped blades. They can give you a scalloped, wavy, or zigzag edge when you cut with them. If you don't want to cut the paper, draw a pattern on it with glitter glue. For example, you can make a combination of wavy lines and dots. Add some layers to your card. Cut out different shapes in colored paper and glue them onto the top of your card to add a splash of color and a thicker surface. This is a great way to make use of scrap paper. You can tie a ribbon around an additional piece of paper that you glue down to your template for a fun and fancy creative touch. Make a story. If you have a little bit of extra time, you can turn the card into a mini graphic novel. Divide the card into a grid and tell a little story. Draw pictures of you and your recipient using a fun memory from your past. You can put the story on the outside of the card or on the inside. If you are putting it on the inside, it can take place of the message! Add embellishments like stickers, stamps, glitter, or fabric. Tailor the card's decorative details to the recipient. For example, if it's your mom's birthday and she loves gardening, add a stamped flower image or draw the outline of a flower with glue and cover it in glitter. Visit your craft store's scrapbooking section. There, you'll find all sorts of embellishments, including cabochons, stickers, buttons, and washi tape. If you don't know what the recipient likes, consider tailoring the card to the theme of the party instead. For example, if the party's theme is "ocean," add some fish stickers!
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Think about who the card is for. Gather your materials. Choose your paper. Decide on a format. Create your template by folding your paper (optional). Create your postcard style template (optional). Write "Happy Birthday! Design the card. Include a personal message on the inside or back of your card. Decorate the inside or back. Sign the card. Decorate the edges of the paper. Add some layers to your card. Make a story. Add embellishments like stickers, stamps, glitter, or fabric.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Pass-a-Urine-Drug-Test
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How to Pass a Urine Drug Test
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Your best chance of passing a urine drug test is to drink lots of water before your test to flush out the metabolites caused by drugs that are in your system. To prevent your urine from looking too clear when you take the test, take between 50 and 100 mg of B2 or B12 vitamins — they'll turn your urine yellow. You can also try taking 4 aspirin a couple hours before your test to interfere with the test results.
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Drink lots of fluids before the test. Also called flushing, this method remains one of the easiest, cheapest, and most successful ways to get a false negative on a pee test. Pee tests do not measure the amount of drugs in urine; they measure the amount of metabolites in the urine. Drugs are ingested and then come out of the system as metabolites. Drinking more water will help your body produce metabolites that aren't tainted by drugs. Urinalysis checks for 31 different metabolites caused by marijuana, 4 caused by cocaine, 3 caused by opiates, 1 caused by Phencyclidine, and 5 caused by amphetamines. Be careful not to over-hydrate. Although rare, it is possible to drink too much water and damage your internal organs, enough so to become fatal. This is called water intoxication. If you notice your pee becoming excessively watery — a clear tip-off for some analyses — try taking the vitamins B-2 or B-12. These can also be found in B-Complex multivitamins, and turn the color of your urine yellow. Take about 50 to 100 milligrams. Try taking diuretics, like Midol. Diuretics help your body rid itself of water and sodium. Coffee, diet pills, and certain prescription drugs are also diuretics, but they're not as effective as Midol at ridding your body of the water that contains those telling metabolites. It may sound weird to have Midol if you're a dude, but don't worry, you'll thank Midol after your drug test comes back negative. Try peeing into the cup mid- or end-stream, not immediately. How you pee into the urinalysis cup matters. Try peeing a little bit into the toilet, and then direct your stream into the cup when you're nearing the end of your stream. Pee near the end of the stream is supposed to contain fewer metabolites than pee at the beginning. Try also to pee several times in the morning before taking the drug test. Your pee will contain more metabolites if you haven't already gone to the bathroom before you take the test. Be smart and chug some water first thing when you wake up the day of the test. Try taking an aspirin a couple of hours before the test. One study suggested that taking 4 aspirin 4 to 6 hours before the screening can mess with the test, EMIT. Don't worry, 4 aspirin in a single serving will leave you fine, albeit a little light-headed. Don't waste your money on commercial products that disguise or clean urine. There's no evidence that these products work. On top of this, they're expensive, and many of the ingredients are simple diuretics, which you can purchase or make for far less cash. It's pretty safe also to assume that drug testing companies are trying just as fast to come up with ways to detect these substances as manufacturers are coming up with ways to invent them. If you can, stay away. Gather supplies. You'll need a full range of vitamins and healthy drinks to protect from hyperhydration. This method takes at least a week, but it's healthier than overloading your system with water, which can flush out important vitamins, nutrients, and electrolytes. To do a healthy flush, you'll need to constantly replace what is being flushed out. Stock up on the following: Multi-vitamins Sports drinks Fresh fruits and veggies Tea (green detox tea Other diuretics (cranberry or apple juice, coffee, etc.) Drink plenty of fluids. Drink 20 to 40 ounces of sports drink per day to restore your electrolytes and keep you hydrated. Drink roughly 1 gallon (3.8 L) of water to flush your body of toxins. Drink the tea and other diuretics throughout the day as well. Do not drink more than 2 gallons (7.6 L) total of fluids per day. Take the vitamins as directed. Replenish your body by taking a multivitamin either once or twice a day, as directed on the packaging. Exercise every day. Build up as much of a sweat as possible, since sweating is a way to detox your body. The kidneys and the bladder can only filter so much in such a time. Sweating helps the body excrete waste through your pores, as well as your bladder. Eat healthy food. Your body will need all the nutrients it can get. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and lean proteins the week before your drug test. Pay attention to your body. If you feel sick, you could be taking in too much water in too short a time. Your health is more important than passing the drug test, so don't overdo it. Drink cranberry juice or take cranberry supplements. Cranberry is a natural diuretic, meaning it will help your body flush itself of water and sodium, though not at the rate that Midol might. Although there is some doubt about cranberry's effectiveness for regular drug users, it really can't hurt if you use it responsibly and in combination with other methods. Try experimenting with zinc. Many drug users report successfully passing an EMIT test after taking zinc sulfate. The zinc is reputed to bond to the metabolites and guide them into the fecal tract instead of the urinary tract. Take about 250 mg of zinc sulfate the night before your test. Avoid eating too many solids. Then, the morning of your test, take the same dose of zinc sulfates. Do not take any more than this if you choose to use zinc. Over-medicating with zinc can lead to harmful mineral deficiencies and should be avoided. Be careful about niacin. Some people choose to use Niacin, or vitamin B3, in the hopes that it will help them pass their drug test. Niacin has not been proven effective at masking drugs in the urinalysis. Moreover, it's possible to experience very adverse side-effects with over-medication. If you do choose to use Niacin to try to cover up drugs in your system, be careful. It's probably safer to try to use another product or method. When all else fails, spike it. This is a last resort, but if you can't try any of the above methods, you can try to spike the urinalysis. Bleach, detergent, or blood is rumored to be capable of throwing off the results of the test in order to buy you more time. If you have long fingernails, try hiding a small amount of bleached laundry detergent crystals underneath them. Then, when it comes time to take the test, add the detergent crystals to the pee sample and be sure to mix well. This may buy you enough time to take the test again another time when you're more prepared.
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Drink lots of fluids before the test. If you notice your pee becoming excessively watery — a clear tip-off for some analyses — try taking the vitamins B-2 or B-12. Try taking diuretics, like Midol. Try peeing into the cup mid- or end-stream, not immediately. Try taking an aspirin a couple of hours before the test. Don't waste your money on commercial products that disguise or clean urine. Gather supplies. Drink plenty of fluids. Take the vitamins as directed. Exercise every day. Eat healthy food. Pay attention to your body. Drink cranberry juice or take cranberry supplements. Try experimenting with zinc. Be careful about niacin. When all else fails, spike it.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Be-Real
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How to Be Real
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Being real is about understanding who you really are so you can be authentic and do what's best for yourself. While peer pressure can be hard to resist, try to focus on your own values rather than going along with the crowd. If your friends pressure you to do things that don't align with your values, spend time with different people! Your friends should make you feel positive about the real you and not tear you down for not conforming. If you're not sure what your values are, try writing in a journal to get to know yourself better. You could also try taking an online personality test. Keep in mind that your personality and values can change over time, and that's okay. Let your past selves go and focus on who you are right now.
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Understand what authenticity means. Psychologists define authenticity as manifestation of a person's true self in their everyday lives. Basically, it means that your core self is reflected in what you believe, say, and do everyday. People who are real accept themselves and all of their strengths as well as their weaknesses. They behave in ways that align with their values and avoid behaviors that do not fit neatly with their values. At its core, authenticity is about being real and genuine. The first step to being real begins when you actively decide to be genuine. This has to be a conscious decision. You will also have to commit to acting in accordance with who you are even though sometimes this will be challenging and you will feel vulnerable. Realness may require you to do things that will be unpopular with other people. You may also have to acknowledge aspects of yourself that are less favorable, but this is important because acknowledging what you value or do not value about yourself leads you to live an open and honest -- and more real -- life. Being real has benefits for your mental health. Research has shown that authentic people feel better about themselves and are more likely to show resilience in the face of personal challenges and less likely to engage in self-destructive coping mechanisms like alcohol abuse or other risky behavior. Authentic people also tend to demonstrate more purpose in their choices and are more goal-directed and committed to seeing things through to success. Cultivate a commitment to be more self-aware. The key to realness is self-knowledge and self-awareness. It's important that you take time to know yourself on a very deep level. Being real means living your own life, not the lives of others. Throughout our lives, and particularly our childhood, we pick up messages based on what other people and say and do and incorporate these into our own belief system. Eventually, we assume that these thoughts are our own. The project of becoming more self aware works to assess all of these beliefs and values and see which ones are really your own and which you've incorporated simply because you saw them reflected in others. The benefit of self-awareness is that once you know your values, you can then determine your actions in order to ensure that these two things align. This is how you really become real. For instance, if you decide you believe in God, then perhaps going to church every Sunday is a way of affirming this belief and means something important to you. However, if you decide you don't believe or are unsure, maybe you stop formally attending church for a while as you figure things out. Realize that self-awareness is a constant pursuit, not something that you can really master and then not think about again. One way to practice increasing self-awareness is to frequently evaluate what you're feeling. You can set 5-10 random timers to go off throughout the day, to remind you to check-in with yourself. Try to put your feelings into specific words. Are you simply sad, or are you feeling vulnerable? Are you happy, or are you feeling emotionally fulfilled? Write to and about yourself. To discover your true self, reflect on and write a list of everything that is important to you and what truly resonates in yourself. The process of choosing and writing words might help you clarify what exactly your inner values are. Consider writing in a journal. A journal helps makes you more aware and also provides you with a direct means to look back on and reflect on the past. It can also help you track patterns or trends in your life. If you have troubling journaling and find yourself "writing around" the big issues, you can also consider writing with a series of prompts, such as "Things I love" or "Who am I right now". Set a timer for 10 minutes and write about that topic for the duration of the timer. This exercise helps you focus in on what you're trying to discover about yourself. You can also try an exercise where you fill out the rest of this sentence and either share it with a friend or keep it to yourself: "If you really knew me you'd know this: ___________." This exercise invites introspection and helps people boil down who they are to those most essential values and components. Ask questions constantly. Embark on a journey of curiosity and ask yourself questions to recenter yourself and decenter other people's views and scripts for your life. These questions and/or hypothetical situation can help you think about really matters as you develop your answers and provide the motivation needed to steer your life on its true course. Questions might include: If money didn't exist, what would you be doing with your life? If your house was on fire, what three things would you make sure to grab? What do you think you have to lose? What sets you apart from other people? These questions can also be more direct. Try not to think too much but just to follow your intuition. For example, are you patient or impatient? An introvert or an extrovert? Do you take responsibility for your mistakes? Are you someone who says 'yes' or 'no'? Do you prefer mornings or nights? Try reexamining some of your 'core beliefs' that you've had since childhood. Immersing yourself in other cultures, philosophies and religious thought can help you make a unique, informed decision about what is authentic for you. Evaluate your self-talk. Self-awareness means to listen to yourself. Think not only about what you say and do in the world, but also what you say to yourself. How do you talk to yourself? What's going on in your mind? Is a negative diatribe where you lament how you do things and criticize yourself for not being smarter, prettier, nicer, and the like? Or are you generous with yourself and try to focus on the positive and move forward from mistakes? Assessing how you talk to yourself internally will give you a sense of how you truly feel about yourself and your life course because it is that interior world that is your most real self. Every day set aside a few minutes to sit quietly and listen to your inner voice. Try taking deep breathes and tapping into your mind and its thoughts. Alternatively, you could also stand in front of a mirror and "confront" yourself by talking out loud. Say everything that you think out loud. Take a personality test. Although each individual is undeniably unique, psychologists who study personality also belief that there are certain personality types that share characteristics in common. Knowing which personality type applies to you might help you understand why you think, feel, and act like you do. Though there is no shortage of personality tests online and through social media, the best-known test is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which identifies four psychological scales: Extroversion-Introversion, Sensing-Intuition, Thinking-Feeling, and Judging-Perceiving. The test suggests that each person has a preference for one of the two sides of each scale. It's important to note that personality tests, while interesting and useful to some extent, cannot fundamentally tell you who you are. Keep in mind that some have low statistical validity and reliability. Moreover, your identity is made up of much more than just four factors on a personality test, after all. However, such tests may give you some food for thought as you ponder and reflect on the results. Become more aware of your feelings. Our feelings and emotions are our spontaneous reactions to our life experiences and can provide useful information and feedback about ourselves and our place in the world. Not everyone likes tuning into or thinking about their feelings, but it is a useful exercise because it tells you what you like and dislike, what makes you happy, sad, uncomfortable, anxious, and so on. One thing you can do to try to be more aware of how you feel is to reflect on the physical manifestations of emotions. For example: The feeling of butterflies in your stomach might signal nervousness or anxiety. A heated feeling in your face might indicate embarrassment or anger. Clenching your teeth or jaw might be a sign that you're upset, frustrated, or angry. Do something for and with yourself. Take a day off and go for a hike by yourself. Eat at a restaurant alone. Or, better yet, travel by yourself. Some people find that some alone time is the best way to learn about themselves. They learn about what they can and can't do and what they want and don't want and usually emerge from a temporary solitary experiment feeling stronger and more in tune with themselves. Maybe, for example, you discover that you really enjoy "getting lost" in cities and prefer wandering around as opposed to scheduled tours. Sometimes it can seem in our modern world that to want to be alone is weird and unsettling. But some alone time can have several benefits; it can help you build your confidence, realize that you don't need the validation of others, learn to value your own opinions (as opposed to those of others) as well as invite opportunities to reflect on recent changes and "rearrange your mental furniture" to adjust to your changing life. Alone time can also help you home in on what exactly it is you want from life and give you that sense of purpose and direction so many of us crave. Redefine your values. Keep in mind that being real is a constantly evolving process. Life changes, and so will your values. You're not the same person at 30 years old as you were at 15. Over the years, you'll likely suffer from cognitive dissonance, a psychological term that refers to the stress or discomfort experienced when you hold contradictory beliefs or your beliefs and actions do not match, at some point(s). So you will constantly need to be learning about yourself, sorting through your beliefs and discarding what is no longer relevant and embracing what matters in the moment. Being real is a constant process of redefinition of yourself and who you want to be. Maybe, for instance, when you were 13 years old, you wanted to be married and have children by 26 years old so you could be a young mom. However, if you're now 30 and neither married nor a parent, you may need to reevaluate that goal and belief. Maybe you decided that your education and career are your top priorities, or maybe you just didn't find the right partner. Or maybe your beliefs changed and you no longer believe in the institution of marriage. Reflecting on your life and your interior self (those thoughts and feelings from within) can help you redefine what it is you believe and your identity at different stages in your life. Note that it's hard to be real at any age if you don't know what your fundamental desires, wants, needs, and values are! You have to be willing to realize that things change and, most importantly, that YOU change over time. Foster an open mind. Be open and expose yourself to new ideas and multiple perspectives on things. Binary (e.g., good-bad thinking) can trap you in a cycle of judgement and really limit to your ability to be your true self. Embrace life as a constant cycle of learning; as your opinions, ideas, and values change, so will your interior and real self. Being open can mean different things. Read a book or take a class on a subject you don't know much about or even a subject you think you already have mastered. This can help you answer questions you have about the world around you and develop your own set of beliefs. For example, a lot of university students undergo a transformation in their self-identity as they learn and are exposed to new things and are separated from their parents really for the first time. Learning is one way to open your eyes and discover what resonates with you. Maybe you have questions about religion, so you decide to take a university class on the different religions. Maybe you want to know about your position as a woman in the world and so you take an introductory class on women's studies. Remember that maintaining a sense of curiosity about the world is one way in which to keep yourself excited and energized about life. Let your past self go. It can be comforting to assume that life - and by extension our own selves - stays the same over time. Although there may be elements of your identity (such as being creative or an extrovert) that are consistent across time, there's also a lot that changes and that can be scary and unsettling. For example, maybe as a child you were taught not to support gay marriage, but now you feel conflicted because you've changed your perceptions as you matured. That's okay. Change is good. Change can be transformative. Let go of your past self and embrace your new self. Embrace who you are in the moment and what feels right to you NOW. It's scary, but that how you become your most real self. Cultivate courage. Being real means being courageous. Sometimes you make yourself vulnerable to the criticism of others if you go your own way and don't conform to who everyone expects you to be. Moreover, being more introspective may cause other shifts in your life that you need to be prepared for. For example, perhaps in the process of self-reflection, you realize that you are not happy in your current relationship and that you spend much of your time trying to pretend to be the perfect girlfriend who does all the expected and correct things. It takes strength and courage to fight against social pressures and the reactions of others. Remember that you are always deserving of love and acceptance. You are who you are and if people can't love you for that, then perhaps they're not the right fit for your life. To truly overcome your fears, try digging deeper into what might be fueling them. That way you can address the true problem. For instance, if you think you're afraid of success, maybe what you're really afraid of is trying and failing, or of not seeming as smart as people think you are. Avoid shaming yourself. Becoming more self-aware means also realizing that you are an imperfect human and that you have flaws. But no one is perfect. Perhaps you are a control freak or bossy. Instead of shaming yourself, accept those imperfections and try to find ways to cope with and alleviate them. Also consider how those flaws can be thought of as positives in some situations; your control freak nature, for example, means that you are never late with assignments or meetings. Moreover, because you have flaws, this makes you better able to empathize when other people make errors. All of the different parts of yourself - flaws and all - make you who you are. Don't go along with the crowd. In all too many situations, we end up acting like everyone else or doing what everyone else is doing in order to fit in. This happens especially in high-pressure situations like a party where you don't know any one or a business meeting where you feel expected to impress. Usually our desire for social acceptance outweighs our desire to be our real selves. However, this defeats the practice of being real. At its core, being real means being yourself and saying and doing things that reflect who you are as a person. Pretending to be someone or something your not just to fit in with others only promotes that sense of fakery that you're trying to fight against. Moreover, it's important to note that most people find they end up with more and closer friends when they are themselves and that they achieve more success when they stick to the things they like to do. You find truer satisfaction in your social circle and career when you fit those things to who you are not the other way around. Peer pressure can be a very real and dangerous phenomenon. Remember there are many harmful things that people have done to themselves and to others (from smoking to bullying to genocide) simply because they cared so much about the opinions of others and felt that their reputations would be harmed if they didn't. Don't do anything you don't want to do. Remember that at the end of the day, only you have to live with yourself all the time. Listen to and follow your inner spirit. Avoid surrounding yourself with toxic individuals. Toxic people are those people who masquerade as "friends" who pressure you to do things you don't want to do (like drink alcohol, make fun of others, or skip out on work) or who make you feel guilty or shameful for who you are. For example, if you have friends who make fun of you for wearing black all the time and for not dressing like a 'proper girl', this is not healthy for you. Your friends should make you feel positive about yourself and help make you your best self, not tear you down for not conforming. Be willing to say 'no' - and sometimes 'yes' - to others. When you don't want to do something that other people want to you to do because it challenges your values, you have to be willing to stand up for your beliefs. All of us have the natural urge to people-please, so it takes courage to say 'no' to others. Even though at first you may feel unsettled and a bit nervous to say 'no', you will eventually like the feeling of staying on track with your genuine self. At the same time, you should also say 'yes' sometimes when other people invite you to try something new or unexpected. This also takes courage because we're all afraid of disappointing or failing other people. For example, maybe your friends invite you to try Ethiopian food or kayaking one weekend - go for it! Being real also means trying out new things and learning about yourself in different ways, even if you may fall or fail along the way. That's what makes us human. Know that you don't have to prove anything to anyone. All people want to be validated by others. We want others to feel proud of us and want to be connected to us. But you have nothing to prove; you don't have to show the people around you or the world in general that you are a good person who does good things. Similarly, you don't have to hide those flaws that make you human. Guess what, if you're late sometimes, chances are that other people have been late at some point in the past. Being real means not only accepting your own strengths and weaknesses but letting other people see those as well. Trust that if you can forgive and accept yourself, others will too. It's exhausting to constantly pretend to be someone you're not for the benefit of others. Be real with people and they'll probably accept and embrace you to an even greater extent because they can see that you're just like them - a normal human being who makes mistakes sometimes but also does great things and has lots to offer. For example, maybe you have a tendency to be late, but you always insist on finishing a job before you leave the office. Be a good communicator. Be mindful of how you communicate with others and what and how you say things. Be honest with your thoughts and opinions but remember that you can be real without denigrating the thoughts and opinions of others, particularly in situations where you don't agree. Remember that what we want to say is only valuable and constructive if we can express it thoughtfully and well. It's usually best to use "I" statements that focus on your values and actions, rather than focusing others since "You" statements are often perceived as accusations. For example, if you are a committed vegetarian, you can communicate your beliefs about it without having to call your meat-eating conversation partners "vicious murderers." Instead, let them know why YOU are a vegetarian, without condemning their own choice to eat meat. Being real means being true to yourself, but this doesn't mean that you shouldn't respect other people's own version of realness. Always, always think before you speak. This is a good rule for life in general, but is especially useful in touchy or difficult situations. Tell someone about your commitment to be real. Designate someone close to you who you love and trust and who helps center you as a person. This might be a partner, a family member, or a close friend. Whenever you are entering into a situation where you might be vulnerable, such as a work meeting with your difficult boss, call on that social support to help bolster your confidence and avoid falling into the trap of inauthenticity. When you're feeling anxious, call your designated person and let her know how you're feeling. For example, you might confess that you've actually been prepping what you think your boss wants to hear and not what you actually want to or should say. Just telling someone else that you've been going the wrong way can help you stay conscious of your behavior and readjust as needed to stay on the path of realness and honesty. In most cases, supportive people will tell you to "be yourself" in difficult situations. They're right. Listen to that advice. Develop a power anthem or routine. There are a lot of social situations where our nerves fail us and we feel like caving in our promises to ourselves. For those moments when you feel uncertain in the face of others or the world, such as going to a party or wedding where you don't know anyone or starting at a new school or job, get yourself pumped up and feeling good about yourself. Write of a few key words that you use to define yourself and repeat - or even yell! - them. Read one of your favorite, inspiring poems out loud. Make a playlist with a few of your favorite songs that inspire you to be you. Whatever it is that you choose to do, make sure it helps you bring you back to yourself. Finding that focus will remind you who you are and what's important to you. Accept the realness of others. Remember to treat others as you wish to be treated. What is real for one person will be very different than what is real for another person. It is important to not assign value or judgement; after all, for each everyone of us, it is what it is. Everyone is different, and that's okay - and in fact, it's what makes the work exciting and dynamic! Differences between people - whether they be sexual, spiritual, professional, physical, and so on - should not frighten us. Instead, accept honor the differences and realness of others and they will do the same for you.
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Understand what authenticity means. Cultivate a commitment to be more self-aware. Write to and about yourself. Ask questions constantly. Evaluate your self-talk. Take a personality test. Become more aware of your feelings. Do something for and with yourself. Redefine your values. Foster an open mind. Let your past self go. Cultivate courage. Don't go along with the crowd. Avoid surrounding yourself with toxic individuals. Be willing to say 'no' - and sometimes 'yes' - to others. Know that you don't have to prove anything to anyone. Be a good communicator. Tell someone about your commitment to be real. Develop a power anthem or routine. Accept the realness of others.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Address-a-Cover-Letter
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How to Address a Cover Letter
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To address a cover letter, begin with a formal salutation followed by the hiring manager's title and full name. For example, you could write, "Dear Mr. John Smith." If you don't know the manager's gender, simply drop the title and use their name. Alternatively, you can address your letter "Dear hiring manager" if you don't know their name. Before sending your letter, be sure to proofread your address for spelling mistakes, since it will be the first thing the manager reads from you.
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Read the job advertisement. Most job ads will include direct instructions on how to apply. For example, near the bottom of some job postings, it will say "Apply to the attention of...” and then give a name. Search the company’s website. If the hiring manager's name is not available in the ad, check the company's website. Tracking down a name will make your letter more personal, which stands out in the applicant pile. It also shows your willingness to do research, a good sign for a future employer. While the advertisement may not have a direct name, it will have some contact information, perhaps an email address or phone number. Use those when searching the company directory to see whose name comes up, and address your letter to that person. Many companies will list hiring managers and department heads on their website. If you have a specific name to search for, but no contact information, examine the way the company lays out its email addresses. Most businesses will use a set convention, such as [email protected]. Searching for a specific address written in the company's preferred style will likely turn up additional information you need. Finding addresses like this can also be a method for cold-contacting managers higher in the company. This can be a good way to build connections, but will be less helpful if you try asking directly for a job. If searching for an email or phone number doesn't turn up a specific name, look for the person you would be reporting to, a manager or department head. Use your network connections. Chances are you won't be approaching this company blindly. You will be able to get some information about the business and its employees through a variety of additional means beyond the business itself. If you are applying on the recommendation of someone else, ask that person who will be handling your letter. Track down people in the business through a social site like LinkedIn. You can search the site for people with particular titles or positions within the company used its advanced search functions. A site like LinkedIn also allows you to ask your connections to introduce you to their connections. This is helpful if they know people in the company you are applying to, especially if it is the hiring manager. Send the person a note asking for the introduction, making sure to include why you want the introduction. Call the company. If the name is not available in the advertisement, and you cannot get anything from a company directory, call the company directly. When you talk to someone there, be sure to ask directly for the name of the person to whom you should be addressing your letter. Make sure you know the title of the position you are applying for, and any other information like a search number, to help the person on the other end get the right name. Look for titles. However you find the hiring manager's name, make sure you also find out any titles he or she uses. You need this to address your letter properly, and you don't want to refer to a “he” as a “she.” Take note of special titles like “Dr.” or “Your Honor” (for a judge), or political titles like “Senator” or “Assemblymen.” Use a formal salutation. This is your introduction to the company, so you should be as professional as possible. Use the hiring managers first and last name, and include the title “Mr.” or “Ms.” You can use additional titles such as “Dr.” if appropriate. If you cannot determine the appropriate gender, and don't have a more neutral title like “Dr.” available, drop the title. If you cannot find an individual name, you may address a group of people, such as “Hiring Professionals” or “Selection Committee.” There are an increasing number of companies that are more informal, and it might be more in keeping with their culture to use first name only. If you are familiar with the company's practices, and know this would be acceptable, go ahead and use the first name only. Of course, if you aren't sure, it is always best to stay professional. Proofread your letter. For the purposes of addressing the letter, pay special attention to spelling the hiring manager's name properly. It will be one of the first things they notice, and misspelling the manager's name will not help you stand out in a good way. It will appear careless and sloppy right away, not the image you want to project. Keep it short. Your cover letter is only meant to be an introduction, not a complete work history (that's what your resume is for). Your cover letter shouldn't be any longer than a page, and if you can make it even shorter, that's a good idea. Use the right format. Check the job ad to see what format to use for your letter. If the ad asks for a PDF, you don't want to submit a Word Document. If you are working in the incorrect format, make sure you convert the file before submitting your application.
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Read the job advertisement. Search the company’s website. Use your network connections. Call the company. Look for titles. Use a formal salutation. Proofread your letter. Keep it short. Use the right format.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Evict-a-Tenant-Without-Rental-Agreement
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How to Evict a Tenant Without Rental Agreement
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To evict a tenant without a rental agreement, start by searching online for the eviction laws in your state or country so you don't break the law. For example, in Maine, you'll need to provide the tenant with a “Notice to quit” in writing and give them 30 days to vacate the premises. If your tenant refuses to leave the property after the notice period, file a petition to evict them with your local courthouse. You'll also need to serve your tenant notice of the petition so they know when to attend court. If you win the lawsuit, take the judge's order to your local police or sheriff's department so they can evict your tenant for you.
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Confirm that you have no written lease. Make sure that you didn't execute a written lease but forget about it. Most state laws provide greater protection to tenants who have rental agreements. Check your emails also to see that you didn't create a rental agreement through email. An agreement can be informal; it does not need to be an extensive written lease. If you are worried that the tenant might try to object to the eviction, then make sure you didn't accidentally make promises through email. Even where a tenant has an oral agreement, the tenant is still considered a “tenant at will.” Read the state law. Your state law spells out the steps you need to take to evict a tenant, even when the tenant has no rental agreement with you. For example, in Maine, a landlord must provide a “Notice to Quit” in writing. State law may also tell you the precise language that you must use when giving notice. For example, if you want to evict someone in Maine because they have not paid their rent, then you need to include the following language: “If you pay the amount of rent due as of the date of this notice before this notice expires, then this notice as it applies to rent arrearage is void. After this notice expires, if you pay all rental arrears, all rent due as of the date of payment and any filing fees and service of process fees actually paid by the landlord before the writ of possession issues at the completion of the eviction process, then your tenancy will be reinstated.” To find your state law, search the Internet for “your state” and “eviction.” Pay attention to the requirements and follow them to the letter. A tenant can successfully dispute an eviction if you do not give sufficient notice or do not include required language. Meet with a lawyer. If you have legal questions about the eviction, then you should consult with a lawyer. A lawyer can make sure that your Notice to Quit conforms to the requirements of state law. He or she can also help you file a petition for eviction with a court. To find a qualified attorney, you should contact your state bar association. Bar associations are private groups of attorneys. Many of these groups either run attorney referral programs or can point you to county bar associations that run referral programs. Give sufficient notice. Your state law will tell you how much notice you must give the tenant. In Maine, you must give the tenant either a 30-day or 7-day “Notice to Quit.” If you give a 30-day notice, then you do not need a reason for the eviction. If you give a 7-day notice, then you will need to state a reason. The eviction cannot occur, however, before the last day for which rent has been paid. Thus, if you accept rent for the month of March, you cannot evict before the last day of March. The amount of time will vary by state. In Texas, for example, you only need to provide three days' notice , and in Massachusetts, you must provide 30 days (unless if the tenant hasn't paid their rent, which in that case is 14 days). Provide notice in writing. You should type up the Notice to Quit and keep a copy for your records. You must also properly serve the notice. Check your state law, which should clarify what are acceptable methods of service. If you fail to serve notice properly, then the Notice to Quit could become ineffective. Generally, you can serve notice in the following ways: personally serve on the tenant leave the notice with the tenant's spouse mail it to the tenant using first class mail have a sheriff or constable personally deliver the notice Do not forcibly remove the tenant. You cannot forcibly throw someone out of the apartment, even if there is no rental agreement. Instead, you will need to get permission from a court. You need to prepare to file an eviction lawsuit. You shouldn't try to lock out the tenant either. Avoid changing the locks or turning off utilities in the hopes of forcing someone out. You could end up being fined if you do so. Gather relevant evidence, such as the date the tenant first moved in, the amount of rent, and the reason why you want to evict him or her. You will also need a copy of your Notice to Quit. File a petition with the court. You will need to complete a petition to evict the tenant. Your courthouse should have a form for you to fill out. Ask the court clerk for the form. You will probably have to pay a filing fee, which will vary by court. Be sure to serve notice on the tenant. Notice will consist of a copy of the petition and a summons (which you can get from the clerk). Ask the court clerk for acceptable methods of service. Generally, service can be made by someone 18 or older who is not a party to the lawsuit. You may also be able to serve notice by using a private process server or the sheriff. You will probably have to pay a fee if you hire someone to serve notice. For example, a private process server can cost $45-75. A sheriff's fee is usually comparable. Attend a hearing. If the tenant wants to fight the eviction, then you will need to attend a hearing before a judge. As the landlord, you will go first. Explain to the judge the reason for the eviction and when notice was given. Ask the judge if he or she wants to see your copy of the Notice to Quit. The tenant will go next. It is very difficult for a tenant without a rental agreement to successfully dispute an eviction. However, the tenant could argue that you are motivated by discrimination or retaliation. The tenant will need to provide evidence that you discriminated on the basis of a protected characteristic (race, gender, age, etc.) A bald accusation will not be enough. One way to defend yourself against a charge of discrimination is to point out that you allowed the tenant to rent from you in the first place. If you had a problem with his or her age, religion, race, etc., then you would never have rented to them. Take the order to the sheriff. If you win at the hearing, then you should take the judge's order to the sheriff's department. The sheriff will then notify the tenant and tell him or her the date on which law enforcement will show up to evict them. You cannot evict the tenant yourself, even after receiving the judge's order. Instead, you need to let law enforcement handle it. Change the locks. After the tenant has been evicted, you should change the locks in case the tenant had a copy of the key made. Be sure to wait until the tenant has been evicted before switching the locks. Check for damage. If the tenant damaged the apartment, then you can bring a suit to recover for the damage. Walk through the apartment and take photographs of any damage. You cannot recover for normal “wear and tear.” Nevertheless, if the tenant cause more serious damage (like a hole in the wall), then you should document it. You will first need to apply the tenant's security deposit (if there was any) to cover the damage. You can then recover any amount that is not covered by the security deposit. Before suing, however, you should consider whether the tenant has any money in the bank that you could collect. If you evicted the tenant because he or she couldn't pay rent, then it may not be worth your time to pursue a lawsuit. For information on how to file a small claims case, see File a Case in Small Claims Court.
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Confirm that you have no written lease. Read the state law. Meet with a lawyer. Give sufficient notice. Provide notice in writing. Do not forcibly remove the tenant. File a petition with the court. Attend a hearing. Take the order to the sheriff. Change the locks. Check for damage.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Store-Rice-Crispy-Treats
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How to Store Rice Crispy Treats
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You can store rice crispy treats at room temperature for 3 days or in the freezer for up to 6 weeks. Before you store your rice crispy treats, cut them into squares so they're easier to grab and eat. Place the squares in a ziplock baggie or an airtight container. Make sure to place a sheet of wax paper between each layer so the rice crispy treats don't stick together. You can keep the container out on the counter, in a cupboard, or anywhere else that will stay room temperature. Or, throw them in the freezer, where they'll be good for a few weeks. When you want to eat them, just let them thaw at room temperature for 15 minutes.
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Cut the rice crispy treats into individual squares. For quicker, easier access, go for smaller squares that you can just grab and eat. If you're storing a lot of leftover rice crispy treats, cut them into larger slabs that will fit in your largest airtight container. Put the leftovers in an airtight container or zip-lock baggie. Choose a container that will hold all of the leftovers without leaving too much extra space for air at the top. The less air space, the longer the treats will stay fresh! Stack the treats into the container or baggie in single layers. Press out any extra air from the baggie, then seal up the treats either with a lid or zip-lock. Containers should be able to hold several layers, while baggies will probably only hold 1 or 2. Place a sheet of wax paper between each layer to prevent sticking. The wax paper will act as a buffer and keep the rice crispy treats from bonding and sticking together. Measure out the size of your container or baggie, then cut the wax paper to fit. Store the treats at room temperature for up to 3 days. Store the container on the counter, in a cupboard, or anywhere that will stay room temperature. Room temperature can fall anywhere between 64 to 73 °F (18 to 23 °C). After 3 days, you should throw away the old rice crispy treats and just whip up a new batch ! Eat the treats as soon as possible for the best flavor and texture. If you wait too long, the rice crispy treats will lose their soft, gooey consistency. Once they go stale, they'll turn rock-hard. Make sure to eat these treats right away to enjoy them at their best! Cut the rice crispy treats into even squares. Use a knife to cut the pan of rice crispy treats before you store them. This will help each piece to freeze evenly and make it easier to pull out individual treats once they're frozen. Place the squares in an airtight container or freezer bag. If you use a container, fill it up layer by layer with the treats, then seal the top. Freezer bags are a great alternative for when you can't find the right size of container or don't want to leave your containers in long-term storage. Simply fill a freezer bag with 1 or 2 layers of treats, press out any extra air, and seal it up tight. If you're using a container, look for one made of either plastic or glass pyrex to store your squares. Try to find the right size of container that won't leave too much extra space at the top. Eliminating extra air will help keep the treats fresher for a longer amount of time. Lay a piece of wax paper between each layer of treats. This will help prevent the rice crispy treats from sticking and bonding. Measure your container or freezer bag, then cut the wax paper to about the same size. This will make stacking and sealing much easier. Use a piece of tape to mark the date on the container. To help you keep track of the treats' freshness, make sure to place a piece of tape on the top of the container and write down today's date. These labels will help you easily determine whether or not the treats are edible when you find them in your freezer later. Place the container in the freezer and keep the treats for up to 6 weeks. Up until 6 weeks, you can keep enjoying these sweet treats. After 6 weeks, the treats will likely lose most of their moisture and turn rock-hard. If you see any containers with a date label from more than 6 weeks ago, just throw away the old rice crispy treats. Let the frozen treats thaw for 15 minutes before eating. To eat a frozen rice crispy treat, take it out of the freezer and let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before eating or serving. This thawing period will bring back some of the rice crispy treat's original softness and gooeyness.
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Cut the rice crispy treats into individual squares. Put the leftovers in an airtight container or zip-lock baggie. Place a sheet of wax paper between each layer to prevent sticking. Store the treats at room temperature for up to 3 days. Eat the treats as soon as possible for the best flavor and texture. Cut the rice crispy treats into even squares. Place the squares in an airtight container or freezer bag. Lay a piece of wax paper between each layer of treats. Use a piece of tape to mark the date on the container. Place the container in the freezer and keep the treats for up to 6 weeks. Let the frozen treats thaw for 15 minutes before eating.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Take-a-Headshot
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How to Take a Headshot
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To take a headshot, choose a simple backdrop, like a solid color or a minimalist design. Then, to capture the most flattering look, set up a main light above and slightly to the left of yourself to create a soft appearance. Additionally, shoot from above with your forehead tilted slightly forward for a strong jawline. As you work to capture the best image, try sitting, standing, and leaning poses to find the most natural look.
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Talk about expectations. Ask your client how they plan on using their headshots. The tone of the photo will depend on the type of image they want to project. A headshot for a model to take to an agency, for instance, should be very minimal, while an actor's headshot might show a little more personality, and you might choose an informal, relaxed setting with props for a small business owner who wants a picture for their website. Listen to the words they use to describe themselves. This will help you understand the tone they have in mind. Words like "professional", "approachable", "fresh", and "versatile" all convey different emotion. Think about how you can use your client's facial expressions and body language to bring their vision to life. Offer makeup and wardrobe suggestions. Some everyday makeup trends don't translate well to camera. Recommend clean, simple makeup that showcases the subject's natural appearance. Clothing should be simple, flattering, and non-distracting, and jewelry should be minimal. Suggest colors that will complement the client's skin tone. For instance, subjects with medium or dark skin often look great in bold, bright shades that contrast with their coloring, while clients with fair skin might look best in a darker color. Recommend that your clients be comfortable. A photo shoot is no time for ill-fitting clothes or tight shoes. If your subject feels uncomfortable, it will show in the picture. Suggest that your client avoid clothes which made from scratchy or clingy materials. Tell your client to drink plenty of water. Hydration is important to giving skin a healthy glow. The subject should also avoid soda or alcohol and greasy, salty foods the days of the shoot, as these can make a person look bloated and tired. Instead, recommend that they eat a light, healthy meal beforehand so they'll have plenty of energy. Choose the perfect time for the shoot. Try to find a day when the subject has plenty of free time. Being rushed on the way to or from the shoot might cause your client to feel stressed, and this can show in the final photograph. If you're shooting outside, think about the lighting at different times of day. Try to schedule the shoot for the first hour of the day after sunrise or the last hour before the sun sets. This is known as the golden hour because of the beautiful glow it gives to photographs. Choose a simple backdrop. The focus should be on the client's face, not on what's behind them, so choose a plain backdrop. Opt for something in either a solid color or with a minimalist design. If you're shooting outside, use a wide aperture to blur the background. Avoid wide-angle lenses. Lenses with wider angles can distort a person's face. Instead, use a lens with a narrow focus to slim your subject's face. Look for a lens with a large aperture and a small f-number. An aperture of f/4 is good for natural light, while f/8 is usually best for studio lighting. Set your camera's ISO at 100 and the shutter speed at 1/200th or 1/250th of a second. The ISO determines the sensitivity of the camera's sensor. A lower setting means less sensitivity to light and a finer grain in your photograph, which will help create a crisp image. The shutter speed determines how much light is let into the photograph. The measurement indicates how long the shutter is open (1/250th of a second, for instance). Faster shutter speeds are good for capturing fast motion, while slower speeds are usually used for creative photography. Normal range is considered 1/30th to 1/250th sec. Set your main light above and slightly to the left of your client. Using a reflector directly across from the main light will fill in shadows on the face, creating a soft, flattering appearance. Eliminate shadows on the backdrop by pointing a light behind the subject. Diffuse the flash. Having the flash hit the face directly can be too harsh. Diffuse the flash by using a softbox or umbrella, or by bouncing the flash off of a nearby wall. This will cause the light the wash across the face in a more flattering way. Use an ice-breaker to make the client feel comfortable. If your subject feels nervous or self-conscious, it will show in the picture. Start with an ice-breaker, like making silly faces or standing in exaggerated poses. Try this while you're shooting your lighting test. Be positive. Most people aren't used to having their pictures taken, so keep your tone encouraging, and keep the conversation going through the shoot. Try to capture what makes your client unique. Everyone has gestures and facial expressions which are unique to them. Animated expressions are best for headshots, so talk to your client about different topics to see what they're passionate about, then shoot the results. Ask questions about what the subject likes to do in their free time, as well as their job, their family, and their pets. When you hit on a subject they seem interested in, ask them more about it. For instance, talk to a dog lover about which parks in the city are the most dog-friendly, or ask a music lover about any shows they've seen recently. Share funny stories from your photography experience to put your client at ease. Just be sure to never badmouth a former client - that always comes across as unprofessional! If the energy in the room seems to drop, suggest a wardrobe change or come up with a new pose to shake things up a little. Shoot from above the subject for the most flattering angle. In general, a top-down shot is the most flattering, as it eliminates the look of a double chin. Have the client tilt their forehead slightly forward, which strengthens the look of the jawline. In some cases, shooting up from the bottom can convey strength and authority. Practice a few shots to see if you can find the angle you like. Try sitting, standing, and leaning poses to see which look the most natural. Sometimes, subtle changes can make a big difference. Make slight adjustments to the subject's posture and the angle of their head as needed between shots. Folded arms can convey strength, but it can also look very stiff, especially in women. Try asking them to drop the shoulder closest to the camera for a more natural look. Action shots can demonstrate a person's profession. Show them holding a prop or acting out something they would do at work. Try turning the body to a 45 degree angle with the subject's head facing directly at the camera. Print a contact sheet. This is a page with thumbnail images of the photos you have taken. Go over them with your client, and see which pictures you both agree are the best. Stick to minimal edits. You can change the white balance, tweak tones, and remove blemishes or stray hairs, but you don't want the finished product to appear too edited. A headshot should be an accurate representation of your client. Shoot your headshots in color unless your client asks for black and white. Black and white has become less popular for headshots in the past few years, but they are experiencing some resurgence, especially on social media. Ask your client what they prefer, and try different versions of the same shot to see which you like.
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Talk about expectations. Offer makeup and wardrobe suggestions. Tell your client to drink plenty of water. Choose the perfect time for the shoot. Choose a simple backdrop. Avoid wide-angle lenses. Set your camera's ISO at 100 and the shutter speed at 1/200th or 1/250th of a second. Set your main light above and slightly to the left of your client. Diffuse the flash. Use an ice-breaker to make the client feel comfortable. Try to capture what makes your client unique. Shoot from above the subject for the most flattering angle. Try sitting, standing, and leaning poses to see which look the most natural. Print a contact sheet. Stick to minimal edits. Shoot your headshots in color unless your client asks for black and white.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Stop-a-Panic-Attack-Due-to-Fear-of-Sickness
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How to Stop a Panic Attack Due to Fear of Sickness
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If you're overwhelmed by fears of becoming sick, recognize that your thoughts and feelings are panic symptoms. For example, tell yourself that your fear of fainting is because of the panic attack. To get control of your feelings, ground yourself by tuning into your physical senses. You can do this by touching an object in your environment, like a set of keys or even an ice cube, and focusing on how it feels. Once you feel more grounded, challenge your negative thoughts and replace them with more realistic ones. You can also calm yourself by breathing deeply or working on a task.
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See your fears as a symptom of a panic attack. If you're having a panic attack, the fears you have can overwhelm you. If you're thinking things like, "I'm going to throw up" or "I'm going to have a heart attack," these thoughts can really derail you. Instead of seeing these thoughts as rational, recognize them for what they are. Think of them as symptoms of a panic attack, and not a representation of actual reality. Take control of your thoughts as they come through. For example, you may think to yourself, "I am going to get sick. I'm am going to pass out. I am going to throw up." When these thoughts come, think to yourself, "I am having a panic attack. I am afraid of getting sick because of my panic attack." By viewing negative thoughts as a symptom of a panic attack, you will be better equipped to reject them. You will not believe what you think, because you'll recognize the thoughts as one of many symptoms of a panic attack. Ground yourself. When your thoughts are spiraling out of control, seek means to remind yourself of the present moment. You do not want to get swept up in thoughts of sickness. Look for means to draw yourself back to the present. During a panic attack, you may feel like nothing is real. You may feel hazy or dreamlike. Look for something tangible to reach towards. Run your fingers through your hair. Grab ahold of a physical object, like a purse or bag. Place your hands on the wall. Challenge your irrational thoughts. When you begin to worry about becoming sick, actively challenge these thoughts. Do not let the fear of sickness take over. Stop and question the thoughts as they come. Write your thoughts down on a piece of paper. This can help you get your thoughts out of your mind to view them objectively. Write down anything you're afraid of regarding sickness. For example, "I think I'm going to have a heart attack. I think I'm going to throw up." Then, read the list back to yourself. How rational are these thoughts? In all likelihood, panic-inducing thoughts are not based in reality. Seeing your fears written down on paper can help you recognize their irrational nature. Use positive self-talk. Self-soothing techniques can really help derail a panic attack. When you find your thoughts spiraling out of control, stop and assess things rationally. Give yourself positive affirmations to stave off feelings of anxiety. Do not become self critical. Many people feel ashamed of panic attacks, and beat themselves up as a result. Try to avoid this tendency. Instead, repeat positive things to yourself. For example, "You're having a panic attack, but you're going to be okay. You're not really going to get sick. It's just a panic attack." Try to show yourself basic kindness when experiencing panic. Distract yourself with cold sensations. Something cold pressed against your skin can steer your attention away from thoughts of sickness. If you have ice cubes nearby, hold one in your hand as long as you comfortably can. Transfer the ice cube to your other hand. Repeat as needed until you begin to calm down. If you don't have ice cubes, anything cold can help. Try running your hands under cool water or placing a cold beverage against your wrist. Use deep breathing. Slow, steady breaths can help ground you during a panic attack. They can also slow symptoms like rapid heartbeat, which you may mistake for signs of an illness. When your thoughts start to spiral regarding potential sickness, take a few deep breaths. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen. Breathe in a way that directs airflow into your abdomen. The hand on your abdomen should rise, while the hand on your chest stays relatively still. Hold the breath for a count of 7 and exhale for a count of 8. Then, repeat about 5 times until you begin to feel calm. Try to breathe from your belly and gain control of your diaphragm. This will stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system and calm and relax your body. Stimulate your mind. It's a good idea to do something to stimulate your mind if you can't stop thinking about sickness. Force your mind to focus on something else in order to alleviate symptoms of a panic attack. Do any activity you can. Go for a walk. Take a shower. Brush your teeth. Any small activity can help shift your thoughts elsewhere. Exercise can help lift your mood. You can try going for a run or doing a few jumping jacks in your living room. Try cognitive behavioral therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most effective forms of treatments for panic attacks and panic disorders. CBT focuses on shifting the way you think to make you approach irrational thoughts in a more effective manner. During CBT, therapists will encourage you to challenge the irrational thoughts you experience each day. A therapist may, for example, ask you to stop and think when you begin to feel the fear of sickness. He or she may want you to ask yourself something like, "What's the worst that can happen if I did throw up? How likely is it, really, that I'm going to throw up right now?" You will begin to realize your thoughts are not rational during CBT. You will eventually begin to see your fears more realistically and be able to more effectively cope with irrational thoughts. Ask a doctor or psychiatrist about medications. Sometimes, medications can be used effectively to treat panic disorders. If you have recurring panic attacks due to the fear of sickness, ask your regular practitioner about medication. You can also ask your psychiatrist if you're currently seeing one. Antidepressants can be used to treat panic attacks, especially if the panic attacks are caused by an underlying mental health disorder typically treated with antidepressants. While they can be effective, they typically take a few weeks to take effect. If you're suffering from debilitating panic attacks now, you may need something that's faster acting. The medications that are typically the most effective are Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and Serotonin–Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs). If SSRIs and SNRIs aren't a good fit for you or aren't effective, benzodiazepines may be beneficial. Benzodiazepines are a psychiatric drug that work very quickly to alleviate symptoms of anxiety. Typically, benzodiazepines work within a 30 minute period. While they can quickly relieve symptoms during a panic attack, they can be addictive. Be careful about taking benzodiazepines if you have a history of substance abuse. Short acting benzodiazepines like klonopin and lorazepam are more likely to be helpful, while less like to be addictive. Talk to your doctor about your concerns of panic and anxiety for help choosing a medication that will work best for you. Discuss any new medications extensively with your doctor or psychiatrist. Different medications come with different risks and side effects, and what will work for you heavily depends on your personal medical history and current symptoms. Learn about the nature of panic. Sometimes, simply knowing more about panic can help you cope. Understanding how and why a panic attack occurs can help you see where your thoughts are irrational. You can read up on panic attacks and panic disorders online or elsewhere. If you are diagnosed with a panic disorder, ask your psychiatrist or therapist to direct you to proper reading material. He or she may be able to provide pamphlets, show you websites, or recommend books on panic attacks and panic disorder. You can also ask about support groups. You can find a support group in person, or online. A support group can help you learn coping mechanisms from others. Avoid certain substances. Tobacco and caffeine all tend to make anxiety worse. Caffeinated beverages, coffee, and products containing tobacco should be avoided. You should also check any medications you're currently taking. Some medications contain stimulants. You can ask your doctor about switching medications or changing the dosage if you believe a medication is causing panic attacks. Engage in relaxing activities. Yoga, meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation can keep you grounded in the present. This will teach you to avoid letting the fear of getting sick spiral out of control. You can look for affordable yoga and meditation classes in your area. If classes are out of your budget, try looking for guided routines online. You can find guided progressive muscle relaxation techniques online. If you're seeing a therapist, he or she may be able to help you with progressive muscle relaxation. See a doctor to rule out medical issues. Sometimes, panic attacks are caused by an underlying medical issue. If you frequently fear sickness, your anxiety may be caused by something physical. See your regular doctor for a full exam and explain to him or her you are having panic attacks. Low blood sugar, hypothyroidism, and certain cardiac problems can trigger panic attacks. Your doctor can help determine which tests are needed based on your medical history and any symptoms you're experiencing. If you recently stopped taking any medication, medication withdrawal can cause panic attacks. Medical conditions associated with the likelihood of panic attack include asthma, coronary artery disease, hypertension, ulcers, cystitis, and migraines. Evaluate whether you have the symptoms of panic disorder. Panic disorder can be a cause of frequent panic attacks. If you're having panic attacks that are unrelated to physical symptoms, see if you have any symptoms of panic disorder. If you suspect you have panic disorder, see a psychiatrist for evaluation. If you have panic attacks on a regular basis, which are unrelated to any external situation, this is a sign of panic disorder. You may also find yourself stressing out about experiencing a panic attack. It may get to the point that you're nervous about leaving your home. You may notice your behavior changes. You may, for example, avoid areas where you previously experienced a panic attack. Consider the possibility of hypochondria. An acute fear of sickness could be related to a psychiatric disorder known as hypochondria. This is an anxiety disorder centered around a fear of illness and medical problems. Consider whether you may be suffering from hypochondria. You may obsess over having a serious disease. You may find yourself interpreting small physical changes as a serious illness. You may frequently seek out medical testing. You may distrust a doctor's reassurance of your health, and find yourself going to the ER or a doctor's office frequently. Conversely, you may avoid medical care out of fear of being diagnosed with a serious ailment. If you have hypochondria, you may search the internet to diagnose yourself and quickly become convinced you're seriously ill. You may also check your body a lot for any signs of illness or changes. Talk to a psychiatrist if you think you may have hypochondria. A psychiatrist can diagnose you, offer you proper medication, and may refer you to a therapist. Another important treatment for hypochondriasis is to develop a good physician-patient relationship and have regular doctor's appointments and check-ups. Seek evaluation from a psychiatrist. Only a qualified doctor or psychiatrist can diagnosis you with panic disorder, hypochondria, or another mental health issue. You should make an appointment with a doctor or psychiatrist if you think you have hypochondria. If you have not already had a physical exam, an exam and some blood work may be necessary. You may also talk out the symptoms you're experiencing. The doctor or therapist will ask you many questions to best determine your diagnosis. You also may have to fill out a self-assessment questionnaire.
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See your fears as a symptom of a panic attack. Ground yourself. Challenge your irrational thoughts. Use positive self-talk. Distract yourself with cold sensations. Use deep breathing. Stimulate your mind. Try cognitive behavioral therapy. Ask a doctor or psychiatrist about medications. Learn about the nature of panic. Avoid certain substances. Engage in relaxing activities. See a doctor to rule out medical issues. Evaluate whether you have the symptoms of panic disorder. Consider the possibility of hypochondria. Seek evaluation from a psychiatrist.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Clicker-Train-Your-Dog
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How to Clicker Train Your Dog
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To start clicker training your dog, use your clicker and a treat every time you catch your dog doing something good to associate the noise with positive behaviors. For example, if your dog lies down quietly, click immediately and give a treat. You can also use the clicker to reinforce verbal cues. For example, give the verbal cue for your dog to "sit," and as soon as your dog performs the desired action, click and reward with a treat.
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Learn how to use a clicker. A clicker, which is available at your local pet store, is a small, handheld plastic device with a button or small metal tongue that you press down on to make a clicking noise. The key to using a clicker is to use it at the exact moment that your dog performs the expected behavior. The sound of a click should always be followed by some type of reward (eg, food, toys, verbal praise). Keep in mind that the clicker is the signal that a reward is coming, rather than being the reward itself. With the clicker, your dog will learn two main things–the exact moment that he is doing the right thing, and that a treat always comes after the click. The clicker can be a much more precise method than verbal cues ("good" or "thanks") to communicate with your dog during a training session. This can help speed up the pace of training. You could think of the clicker like the winning buzzer on a game show–the noise signals the exact moment that the correct behavior or action is being performed. Introduce your dog to the clicker. Before you can use the clicker for training purposes, you will need to teach your dog what the clicker means to him. This is known as “charging” the clicker. While you are in the room with your dog (any quiet room will do), hold a treat in one hand and the clicker in the other. Press down on the clicker once. When your dog turns to you at the sound of the click, immediately give him the treat. You will need at least a handful of treats, since you will be practicing this over and over. Repeat this several times. Vary the amount of time that you hold the treat in your hand before using the clicker so that your dog does not begin to expect when the treat will come. If your dog wants to sniff and try to get at the treat, keep your hand closed and wait until he loses interest in the treat before using the clicker. Observe your dog’s response to the clicker. Some dogs may be sensitive to the sound of the clicker. If your dog runs away when he hears the clicker, the sound is probably a little too harsh for him. To soften the sound, you could wrap a towel around the clicker. You could also use a different clicking device, such as a ballpoint pen, that would have a quieter clicking sound. If he continues to run away from the clicking noise, you will probably need to rely more on verbal cues to train him. Choose a quiet location. Once your dog has learned what to expect with the sound of the clicker, you can use it to train him to do different commands (e.g., sit, down, stay). It would be best to train him in a quiet location without other people or distractions around. If you have a fenced in backyard, you could also clicker train him outside. As your dog becomes more comfortable with clicker training, you can use the clicker in areas that are louder or have more distractions (e.g., room with a TV on, dog park). Click when your dog is in the act of good behavior. One method of clicker training your dog is called “catching”– you will click as soon as you catch your dog doing a good behavior that he's already pretty good at doing on his own. For example, if he is in the room with you and decides to lie down to get more comfortable, click as soon as he lies down and immediately throw him a treat. When he gets up to eat the treat, wait until he lies down again and repeat the process. The “catching” method will only work when your dog already knows how to do the good behavior without being commanded to do so. The clicker training will reinforce to him that he is doing the right thing, which will encourage him to repeat the good behavior. Use the clicker at each small step of a new behavior. This is called “shaping”– by using the clicker and immediate reward at each small step, you are shaping the new behavior as a whole. For example, if you want to train your dog to go lie down in a specific area, click and reward him as soon as he turns his body in the direction of that area. You can then click and reward him at each small step: beginning to walk to the new spot, arriving at the new spot, starting to lie down, and fully lying down on the floor. By using the clicker and reward at each small step, you will be providing him with continual positive reinforcement as he is learning the new behavior. He will think that this learning is fun and will likely perform the new behavior with eagerness. You may need to practice each step of the new behavior over and over again before moving to the next small step. Use a food lure. For this method, the treat is used to lure your dog into doing the expected behavior. A food lure is commonly used when training a dog to lie down. For this behavior, you would hold the treat right in front of your dog's nose and slowly move the treat down to the floor. Your dog will follow the treat down. When his elbows hit the floor, immediately click and reward him with the treat. When you see that your dog consistently responds with the food lure, remove the food lure but continue to hold your hand in front of his nose as if you have a treat. When he lies down, immediately use the clicker and give him a treat. Eventually, your dog will learn how to lie down by following only your hand signals without the lure of a treat. The “lure” method can sometimes be quicker than the “shaping” or “catching” methods. Add a verbal cue. Adding a verbal cue is helpful regardless of which method of clicker training you have been using to train your dog. You will say the cue first and then wait for your dog to do the desired behavior. As soon as he does the behavior, click and reward him with a treat. Your verbal cue should be short and direct, such as "sit" or "down." Sentences, such as "Be a good boy and stay" or "Roll over for mommy" would be too long. Make sure that you give the verbal cue before your dog does the behavior so that he knows to listen for your command and then respond to it. If you have used the “lure” method, give the hand signal after saying the verbal cue.
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Learn how to use a clicker. Introduce your dog to the clicker. Observe your dog’s response to the clicker. Choose a quiet location. Click when your dog is in the act of good behavior. Use the clicker at each small step of a new behavior. Use a food lure. Add a verbal cue.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Obtain-a-Business-License
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How to Obtain a Business License
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To obtain a license for your business, first visit the U.S. Small Business Administration to find out in which municipality you should apply for the license. Then, determine which code your business has to abide by, and make sure you fill out all of the paperwork for that application, which should be located on the SBA website or your city's website. Fill out the forms, including the type of business, business address, name of owner, contact information, federal ID number, and number of employees. Once you file your forms, pay the fee for the application and wait to receive your license.
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Determine where to get your business license. You'll need to get a license from the city in which you're planning to operate your business. Whether you'll be renting office space or operating your business from your home, you'll need to get a license in the place where your business address is located. Every city has a database with a list of addresses that fall within that municipality. Search online for your city's name + business license to find the correct webpage. You can also find the right information by way of the US Small Business Administration (SBA)'s website. Whether you are just starting out in business, or are firing up a new venture, the SBA has a wealth of information, not just on rules and regulations, but on everything from how to name your business to how to get funding. Their page on permits offers information where to get licensed, with details specific to your locale and your industry. Know your business code. Different business types have different codes, and you'll need to know this information to get a license. Different codes will require specific application processes, and every city has its own set of requirements. You may need nothing more than a simple Assumed Business Name (often called a DBA), or you may want to start a corporation. Whatever you are searching for, your city will undoubtedly have a form for it. Check your city's business license site for information. If you use the SBA website, you'll need to locate your state agency and narrow down your location by city or county. You may be presented with a list of links and information relevant to obtaining any of the licenses and registrations you need to conduct virtually any type of business. Locate the forms you'll need to fill out. Whether you go directly to your city's website or use the SBA as a resource, you'll be presented with an extensive list of business entity types for your state. Locate the one that is most applicable to your needs. To get the forms, you can either download them from the site or go to your City Hall and pick them up in person. In addition to the basic forms for obtaining a business license, you may need to fill out other forms and apply for permits specific to your situation. For example, if you're operating your business from home, planning to remodel your building space, planning to use hazardous materials, planning to sell food, etc., you'll need to make sure you get the required permits. Follow the links to your form, reading any important information that may be presented along the way—including descriptions, fees, requirements, and so on. Fill out the forms. You may do this online or print the forms and fill them out by hand. Some states make provisions for performing these functions directly online, but will generally require you to create an account before being able to do so. You will generally be required to provide the following information about your business, in addition to other information specific to the type of business you are operating: Type of business Business address Name of business owner Contact information Federal ID number Number of employees File your forms. Either using the online forms, or US mail, file your forms with your city's finance department. Your city's website will contain the proper contact information for form submission. Pay the filing fee. Each city has its own requirements regarding the filing fee that goes with your business license. It usually ranges from $50 - $400 or more, depending on what type of business you're operating. There may be an additional processing fee of $25 or so as well. Wait to receive your license. The time it takes to process your license will vary, depending on the type of business entity you are creating. For example, a DBA might take just a couple days, whereas a corporation could take up to 2 weeks. Each state will vary. You may need to pick up your license in person and provide identification to prove you are the business owner. You may need to get fingerprinted, unless the city already has your fingerprints on file. Follow the ordinances that pertain to your business. Once you start operating, it's important to follow the rules laid out by your city for the type of business you're operating. For example, if you opened a restaurant, be sure to get the required permits, liquor license and health inspections. You'll also need to renew your business license according to your city's laws. In some cities you will need to display your business license in your business location. You'll need to report any major changes to the facts on your business license application promptly.
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Determine where to get your business license. Know your business code. Locate the forms you'll need to fill out. Fill out the forms. File your forms. Pay the filing fee. Wait to receive your license. Follow the ordinances that pertain to your business.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Train-an-Older-Dog-to-Walk-Calmly-on-a-Leash
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How to Train an Older Dog to Walk Calmly on a Leash
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To train an older dog to walk calmly on a leash, stop walking as soon as your dog pulls on the leash. Then, hold the leash firmly, but resist the urge to pull the dog back to you, which will only cause it to pull harder in the opposite direction. Once your dog calms down and looks back at you, reward the positive behavior with praise and a treat. Alternatively, try walking in the opposite direction when your dog starts to pull in order to send the message that you control the pace and direction of your walks.
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Pick the right kind of leash. A dog that needs leash training could benefit from the use of a training lead. This is a short leash that keeps the dog at your side. This kind of leash will let you correct bad behavior quickly and effectively by redirecting the dog away from distractions. Avoid using punishment-based training techniques. A shock collar, choke chain, or prong collar has no place in retraining. While it might seem tempting to use a prong collar or choke chain, these work by inflicting pain and having the dog associate pain with pulling. Not only could these devices cause actual physical harm to the dog, but they work using fear rather than helping the dog to learn in a positive way. In addition, these collars are generally the mark of an inadequate trainer who doesn't know how to correct such behavior in any other way. Don't let this be a label applied to you, but instead retrain your dog in a humane manner using canine psychology. Tackle the excitement associated with wearing a leash. The chances are the dog is beside itself with excitement as soon as the leash appears. This is because it associates the leash with a walk. You want your pup to be calm when you set off, so that you are more likely to succeed in retraining. To this end, clip the leash on and off the dog in the house, but without going for a walk. Your aim is to break the assumption that because the dog has a lead on it is going for a walk. For example, when you are home, clip the leash on but go about your normal routine in the house. After 5 - 10 minutes, unclip the leash and carry on as usual again. Repeat this every half hour or so, so the dog becomes desensitized to wearing the leash. Keep in mind why dogs pull on the Leash. Dogs most commonly pull because they are excited to get where they are going, which is usually an exciting place full of interesting smells such as the park. Dogs repeat behaviors when they get a reward from doing that behavior. In this case, the action of pulling on the lead is it's own reward because the dog perceives they get where they want to go more quickly. Tackle the excitement of walking out the door. Once the dog is calm when you attach the leash, try taking it outside. This is likely to reboot the whole excitement thing, because this time it looks like the dog really is going for a walk. To counteract this, set aside plenty of time. Walk out the door with the dog, shut the door, pause, then re-enter the house. Repeat this until both you and the dog are bored, and its lost all interest in pulling on the lead because the chances are it is going straight back inside and not on a walk. Teach the dog to stop pulling on the lead. This works best if you set aside plenty of time, and are prepared to not actually get as far as your intended destination. Put the dog on the lead and calmly leave the house. As soon as it starts to pull on the leash, stop dead in your tracks. Hold the leash firmly, but do not try to pull the dog back to you. If your dog needs lots of exercise, try playing ball in the yard to tire it out beforehand so that it gets its exercise. If you let him pull you to the park during the retraining period then you will undo all the good work done to date. Reinforce positive behavior. When your dog turns its head to look at you, give a hearty "GOOD DOGGY!" then move forward and keep on walking. About every three or four times this happens, give the dog a treat. Try an alternative method of training if you are not having success. When the dog pulls, stop and set off walking in the opposite direction. If the dog then tanks ahead of you and pulls in the next direction, stop again and change direction. The message you are sending to the dog is that when it pulls it gets no further forward, therefore there is no point in pulling. Using this method, however, when the dog tries to get you to move faster, it results in you stopping, which means no movement at all. Pretty soon, the dog will realize that you and you alone are in control of the walks. You determine the time, place and speed. Once the dog has established this, it will no longer pull. Take your time with this training. It takes time to change ingrained behavior. Commit to daily training but don't assume that your dog will change its behavior after just a week. It may take a lot longer for your pup to get the messages you are sending it and make the changes you desire. Hopefully, after about a month of taking walks like this, your dog will no longer be taking you for a walk! Similarly, don't use this method for extended periods of time. It takes time and repetition more than extended training sessions. For instance, do not try to take long walks with this method. Your dog will soon tire or get bored from this training.
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Pick the right kind of leash. Avoid using punishment-based training techniques. Tackle the excitement associated with wearing a leash. Keep in mind why dogs pull on the Leash. Tackle the excitement of walking out the door. Teach the dog to stop pulling on the lead. Reinforce positive behavior. Try an alternative method of training if you are not having success. Take your time with this training.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Use-Social-Media-for-a-Business
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How to Use Social Media for a Business
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To use social media for your business, start by choosing platforms that your target audience frequently uses. For example, Snapchat and Instagram would be good platforms if your customer base is younger, whereas Facebook and Pinterest tend to draw an older crowd. Then, once you've chosen the right platforms, start sharing content related to your business, like links to your website, photos of your products and events, or helpful articles. Additionally, you should network with other people on social media by sharing and commenting on their posts.
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Begin with your long-term goals. Before you can start to use social media for your company, you need to ask yourself some fundamental questions about why you're doing it. Answering these essential questions will help you accomplish your social media promotion goals. "What am I attempting to achieve?" "Do I want to boost sales?" "Am I concerned with customer service?" "Do I foresee expanded visibility for my business?" Choose your social network(s). There are various social platforms. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest – the list goes on. Starting out with social media for your business, you may want to start on all of the networks. But the truth is you can't (and shouldn't) try to build your online presence on each of these platforms hastily. Start small-scale, and boost your social networks once you have plenty of time and finances to commit to scaling up your social presence. For businesses whose products are visual (think clothes, art, food), Instagram or Pinterest may be the way to go. Advertising on Instagram has the power to move people — inspiring them to see a business differently or take action. Pinterest and Instagram are great for companies that depend on appearance, and perception. Products that are colorful, branded or photogenic are superb for this type of social media. Facebook should always be included in your social media accounts. Three quarters of Americans use Facebook, so many customers are familiar with the way Facebook works, and will be more willing to connect. LinkedIn is great for business to business communication YouTube, Vine and Snapchat are perfect for brands with access to high-level production equipment and a lot of banter. Decide which audience you need to target. Not everyone who potentially sees your brand will be interested, particularly if you are marketing sports equipment to elderly people. Adolescents and teenagers prefer networks like Vine, Snapchat, YouTube, Tumblr, and Instagram. People who are engaged and expectant moms go for Pinterest. Younger parents to grandparents alike can be found using on Facebook. Business leaders are all about LinkedIn. Influencers and bloggers use Twitter and Tumblr the most. Create your social media business account. This account should be separate from personal accounts, and should be solely dedicated to your business. You should have a separate account for each social media platform you have a presence on (i.e., you should not use a Google or Facebook account to log into everything). Facebook. Facebook is by the far the best platform for promoting brand awareness, as nearly 75% of Americans adults use the site. Facebook is a great platform for promoting virtually any brand, due to its very heterogeneous user base. Instagram. Instagram is a great option for brands that rely heavily on images, such as clothing companies and retailers. It's also particularly effective for reaching young adults (from teens to late twenties), Hispanics and African Americans. Google+. While Google+ hasn't expanded as well and as quickly as many people predicted, it can be a great platform to reach males in the technology industry, as two-thirds of the network's users are men, the majority of which are engineers or work in other technological jobs. Pinterest. Pinterest is a first-rate social platform to reach females, especially for brands marketing jewelry or apparel. Brand your page. Choose a username, profile photo, logo, bio and website URL consistent with your other accounts. When choosing your profile picture, your logo is usually the best pick. The bio should be extremely similar, if not the same for all accounts, and should include links to other social media platforms. Connect your account(s) to your other social media accounts. On Instagram, if you integrate your accounts, you'll easily be able to share content simultaneously on multiple social networks. Someone who follows you on a connected account, such as a connected Facebook page, will see you are on that platform and follow you there. Create a social media team. Once your social presence begins to increase, you will be unable to handle every aspect yourself. You have to run your business and you'll need help. Try to build a “perfect team” of people who all bring different assets to the table Pick a writer who can find compelling social content. This person should be able to add a good caption to photos, write blogs, and add comments, bios, or text-based operations. As your company grows, you may find you need more than one person for this job. Pick a photographer. On social media, photos are the most engaging type of media. Get a camera that takes decent photos, and take pictures that will humanize your company. Pick graphics and video techs who can take you into the multimedia sphere. These people should be able to find relevant videos, infographics, GIFs, photos and other multimedia and link it to your product. Track your marketing strategies. Pick someone who can track your progress and assess the strengths and weaknesses of your campaign to be your analytics person. This person should keep track of which posts got 350 likes and which got 15, and use this data to craft better posts. They should also keep track of the audience, and let the team post accordingly. Create a budget for the social media team. Most small businesses won't have a budget for adding these positions on a full-time basis – but don't worry – there are an amazing number of people looking for jobs available to you, for almost any budget. Create an action plan. Brainstorm ideas about the ways you can reuse the content you've already created and the steps you can take to make new content. Can you repurpose any news coverage you've received and share it on social media? Can your photographer take new shots about an upcoming event and post the images on Instagram or Snapchat? Can your graphic designer make branded graphics? Can you create posts that address your customers' problems, interests and concerns that are relevant to you? Can you post sneak-peeks behind the scenes, ways your product or business is helpful in the real world, and showcase client stories, and how you helped them succeed? Share the correct mix of content. Using social media for business, you need a good mixture of self-promotion, testimonials and/or reviews, and randomness, as well as unique content that has nothing to do with you. Self-promotion includes hyperlinks that lead to your website, photos of peeks behind the scenes, and major or minor news about your business. Testimonials are reviews (pulled from Yelp, or another website reviewer), an email, or a blog or article promoting your product. Randomness can include funny photos, memes, holiday wishes, quotes that relate to your business, shared articles and other content that is interesting and relevant Start networking. You have to use social media to win at social media. The good news is that in social media land, it's OK to swipe from other people.—it's called sharing, and you should do it often. At least ten minutes each day, try to take a peek your feeds. Regardless of what network you use, you should be actively following experts in your industry Retweet the experts' articles Like their posts Share their updates Comment on their blogs Link to content created by them. Use trending hashtags. If hashtags are not used, your posts will reach very few viewers, Use hashtags relevant to your brand. In addition, add trending hashtags like #tbt, and #stylechat. For example, if you sell ice-skates, use #Winter, #Hockey, #Iceskates, #Winteriscoming. If you sell pizza, use #Pizza, #Stayathome, #SaturdayNight, #Lazy #Delicious. If you sell clothes, use #Fashion, #Clothes, #{Item of clothing} #{Material}. and #stylechat Use memes sparingly. Memes, when used right, can promote your business and connect with your viewers. But if used wrong, memes can make you seem gimmicky. If you sell ice-skates, use the "Socially Awkward Penguin" meme, the "Meanwhile in Canada" meme, and the "Winter is Coming" meme. If you sell pizza, consider using the "Me Gusta" meme, the "Rage Comics" memes, the "Haters Gonna Hate" meme (sometimes appears as a GIF), "Yao Ming Face" meme, the "Doge" meme, and the "forever alone" meme. If you sell clothes, use the "Overly Attached Girlfriend" meme, the "Bad Luck Brian" meme, "The Most Interesting Man in the World" meme, and the "Challenge Accepted" meme. Hold contests. Offer a shoutout, a follow, or other social media prize. Alternatively, offer a real prize through yourself or companies like Amazon. Encourage people to share your posts with a #CompanyNameContest2016, and pick one randomly, or by another method. Share your expertise. Post little-known, fun facts in the form of questions with a special offer presented to the first person to answer correctly. Tell people to like your next photo, and the first person to do so will win a prize. Do not tell them when you will be posting. Avoid syndicated messages. While you could use tools that allow you to write one message and have it appear on a variety of social media outlets, you risk losing the genuine feeling behind the message. You can and should use similar language as you promote your offer on different sites; just be sure to change up the words while keeping in mind the tone of each network. Provide value. While including fun posts that reflect your personality is a must, it's important to create content that benefits your followers. That can mean posting tips on best practices, providing access to white papers, or offering special deals on products or services that only appear on your social media page. Ask questions that start conversations. Many users of social media like sharing their opinions, so ask people who follow you to respond to topics that are related to your brand and they find interesting.. For example, a gym or a fitness center may post a question asking followers to vote on their favorite sports for summer to be entered into a drawing to win a free personal trainer for a year. Ben and Jerry's posted a photo of their "Everything but..." ice-cream with the question "What did we miss?" This got hundreds of replies and comments. The questions you post should excite and engage follows and make them want to not only buy from you, but refer you to others. Post while people are most active. Depending on the network, this is usually around lunchtime when people are on their break, and in the evening, when people are relaxing at home. Not sure when your customers are most active? Ask. Otherwise, you may squander a lot of time skimming the surface of multiple social platforms with few results.
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Begin with your long-term goals. Choose your social network(s). Decide which audience you need to target. Create your social media business account. Brand your page. Connect your account(s) to your other social media accounts. Create a social media team. Pick a writer who can find compelling social content. Pick a photographer. Pick graphics and video techs who can take you into the multimedia sphere. Track your marketing strategies. Create a budget for the social media team. Create an action plan. Share the correct mix of content. Start networking. Use trending hashtags. Use memes sparingly. Hold contests. Avoid syndicated messages. Provide value. Ask questions that start conversations. Post while people are most active.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Buy-Airline-Tickets-with-Credit-Card-Reward-Miles
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How to Buy Airline Tickets with Credit Card Reward Miles
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If you've stacked up enough reward miles on your credit card, you can buy airline tickets online. For most reward programs, you'll need to set up an account on their website first. Once you're signed into your account, you should be able to view your balance and redeem your reward miles directly through the website. If your credit card is with the airline itself, go to their website and search for flights there. Just enter your member number or input it during the payment stage after you choose your flight. You should also be able to redeem your miles over the phone. Look in your credit card rewards information for a phone number dedicated to award travel or search online.
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Create an online account for your credit card. Most rewards programs use an online account to redeem miles or points. Visit your credit card company's site to set up an online account. American Express, for example, has a sign in box in the top left corner. Be sure to create a secure password that you will remember. Online accounts also let you track your spending on the card and may even allow for paying your monthly balance. Check your points balance online. Most credit card account sites will have a "Points" or "Balance" tab, which will show your current reward miles or points. After checking your balance, look for a tab that says “Redeem” or “Use Points” or something similar. If you prefer to book reward travel by phone, then look in your credit card rewards information to find the phone number or extension that is dedicated to award travel. Try to prepare your travel date and destination options ahead of time for expediency. Choose a flight through your credit card site. Your credit card account should offer the option to search for flights that are purchasable with reward miles. Most credit cards will have limitations based on airlines, dates of travel, and destination, so you may have to search a little while and possibly compromise to choose a flight that works for you. Your card may offer the option to use some of the points rather than all of them. For example, if you are purchasing a $400 ticket, you might use just enough points to pay for half of the price. During the payment stage, look for an option about redeeming points. There should be a box where you can input how many points you want to use, or perhaps a checkbox that says “Use points for whole price,” or something similar. Search for flights on an airline website. Booking directly through an airline often gives you the best prices because there may be lower overhead or booking fees. If you have a card that is affiliated with that airline, you'll be able to log in with your member number or input it during the payment stage after you choose your flight. You can also use frequent flier miles that you've earned with that specific airline. Use a flight aggregator to select a ticket. You can book a ticket through a flight aggregator such as Expedia or Orbitz. You are able to use credit card rewards points provided that you have a credit card that is affiliated with those sites. For example, Expedia uses Citi Thank You Points and Orbitz pairs with Visa. Some aggregators may allow you to use a non-affiliated card. If that option is available, you will find it once you choose flights and are inputting your payment information. You may not be able to use reward points from a non-affiliated card. Many aggregators also have their own rewards points programs that allow you to earn books when you repeatedly book through their site. This can be a good way to get the most of using reward points. Select the ticket that fits you best. You'll often want to choose the cheapest option, but amenities and flight dates will also come into play. Choose based on your preferred airline, the dates that work best for you, or seat and cabin preferences. Once you have selected your ticket(s), the site will automatically move you onto the payment stage and you'll be asked to input your information. Input your information. Each credit card, airline, or flight aggregator site may offer slightly different payment options. When you get to the payment stage, you may have to log into airline or aggregator accounts if you have not already. Type in frequent flier information if you are asked and rewards member information if available. You will most likely only be able to use rewards points from the card that you input to pay for the ticket with. Finalize your ticket purchase. Once all of your information is inputted, you will be asked to make a final confirmation that all of the information you typed in is corrected. Check everything carefully. Ask your credit card company for detailed rewards information. If you are planning to sign up for a new card, learn as much as you can about the rewards system. If you have the card already, contact customer service and request any information they have about their rewards program. Be sure to find out what purchases are eligible for earning rewards. You may be surprised by some of the restrictions. Be aware of how card cancellations affect your points. If your credit card is paired with an airline or a hotel, then your points are most likely earned with that company rather than the bank. Cards that are not paired with another company will only earn points with the issuing bank or credit company. Points earned through a second company (like an airline or hotel) are safe when you cancel, but points earned through a bank will be lost. Check the value of each mile (or point) you earn. Earned miles or points may differ in value from one credit card company to the next. Ask your credit card company directly to find out exactly what your miles are worth. You can also look for websites that list point values from various credit cards. Many credit card miles are worth 1 cent. This means that if you have 40,000, you can redeem them for a ticket that costs up to $400. Open a new credit card account. Many credit cards offer a sign on bonus when you start a new account. Even if you don't need another credit card, sign up for one and earn those initial points. You don't have to spend money on that specific card. This can be especially useful if you get a card that is paired with an airline that you already have a card or frequent flyer account with. Start an investment account. Many credit cards partner with brokerage firms so you earn points when you invest money through those firms. Fidelity is one company that has this type of partnership with American, United, and Delta Airlines. You may earn points each time you deposit money into those investment accounts. If you are not comfortable investing, make sure you know what is required of you before starting an investment account. Shape your spending around earning miles. As you continue to earn miles, begin to change your spending habits to earn as many points as you can. If shopping online earns you more points than shopping in the store, do it. If certain restaurants earn you points and others don't, eat at the restaurants that earn points more. Some people make it a hobby to search out the best miles earning options that are available. If travel is important you, develop a spending strategy that earns you the most miles possible.
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Create an online account for your credit card. Check your points balance online. Choose a flight through your credit card site. Search for flights on an airline website. Use a flight aggregator to select a ticket. Select the ticket that fits you best. Input your information. Finalize your ticket purchase. Ask your credit card company for detailed rewards information. Be aware of how card cancellations affect your points. Check the value of each mile (or point) you earn. Open a new credit card account. Start an investment account. Shape your spending around earning miles.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Dubstep-Dance
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How to Dubstep Dance
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To dance to dubstep music, focus on the sub base, which is the part of the song that feels like a vibration. When the music pulses, mimic the vibrating effect by bending your knees a little and releasing them most of the way back up. Repeating this movement should make your body pulse up and down quickly and subtly. At the same time, shake your arms, but make sure you shake them much more lightly than you shake your legs so the effect still looks subtle.
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Master isolations. If you've ever taken a dance class, you're probably familiar with isolations. This is when you're moving a part of your body but nothing else -- hence isolating it. It may sound simple, but it's very difficult to move any part of your body without at least minimally affecting another. With the robotic like sounds of dubstep, it's essential. Stand in front of the mirror. Start with your head and neck and move down your body, attempting to rotate each part of you independently. Go counterclockwise and clockwise with every part -- your shoulders, chest, abs, hips, down to your ankles. Work with the smallest bits -- finger, fingers, wrists, forearms -- once you get the hang of it. Nothing else should be moving. When you get the hang of moving in circles, experiment moving up and down. You'll be moving on different planes while isolated for the majority of the time. For example, when moving your arm up and down, you're not using your wrist or elbow. Hold it strong, but move your arm leading with your shoulder ; in fact, only your shoulder should be working. Learn how to "pop" with your abs. There are many helpful YouTube tutorials that take you through this process. Basically, you are moving your abs outwards and back in at a fast paced rate or to the beat of the music. With dubstep, that's pretty quickly. Think of your body like a clam shell that's opening and closing. Your top and bottom halves should be coming in to meet at the middle. Practice this until you have it down, as it forms many of the basic moves to dubstep. Balance. You'll be doing a lot of work in slow motion. This means that the majority of the time your weight will not be evenly spread on both legs. And because of the smooth flow of the slow-mo parts and the choppiness of the glitchy parts, there is no wavering in dubstep. There will be times when you're on your toes or the sides of your feet. Start practicing now! Yoga will help, too. Hear the rhythm. Unlike something classic like the waltz (a simple 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3), dubstep goes very fast; often you'll be hitting 1/8 notes and the likes thereof. If you can't hear it, you can't dance to it. Find a song you want to dance to and start drumming it. When you can hit all the filler notes (the small ones aside from the 1, 2, 3, 4) with your hands, you can start doing it with your body. Vibrate. In almost all dubstep songs, there is a sub-base (where the music itself seems to vibrate) -- the music changes from accenting 1, 2, 3, 4 to 1 and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 quite clearly. When you hear this, it's appropriate vibrating time. Bend your knees into a slight squatting position. Release them back up mostly, so that you are moving your body slightly up and down. You're basically shaking with conviction ever so slightly. Do this quickly and subtly. You want to minimize your movement but increase your speed as to have your body sort of vibrate, not jerk around. Do it even lighter with your arms and hands. If your appendages move too much, you'll look like a T-rex running from a meteor. Stop. Dubstep music goes from very fast and choppy to slow and smooth. When you're transitioning, hit a split second dead stop. You'll be doing your robot thang, BAM, and into your slow-motion groove. The stop should be barely perceptible -- in fact, only you should know you hit it -- but it will accentuate the transition. This will generally always be on the downbeat. There will be a very clear point where your fast movements die and slow motion should take over. Which brings us to... Be convincing in slow motion. Everyone can move slowly. Most of us do. But in order to do slow motion and look like you're actually in slow motion, you have to stay alert to every part of your body. Your eyes must blink slower, your feet must hit the ground at slower angles, and you even have to swallow slower. It's easy to get your core down, but following through with your feet will probably be the hardest part. Once the tip hits the ground, it's tempting to put all your weight down. Ultimately, this is a balance issue that you will get better at with time. Get twitchy. A common sound in dubstep sounds, quite frankly, glitchy. It's akin to a broken record or a scratched CD when a certain beat is repeated over and over. When that happens, small twitches go from normal, everyday movements, to quite visually interesting shifts. Start with just your head. Twitch it back and forth along with the music. It should just be 4 or so head shakes -- it doesn't last long. Work on different levels. Bending at the knees, take your body down a bit on each beat, being careful not to move your arms or neck/head. You're not only working left and right, but vertically. Isolate your arms. On each beat of the "twitch" move your arm/s independently from your body. The rest of you should not be moving. Make sure to hit every beat of the glitch! Glide. You know the move -- it looks almost ethereal. You're going to pivot onto your toe and lean all of your weight onto it. Remember how we talked about balance? This is precisely why. The knee above your pivoted foot should be bent. Then, slide the other foot away from you. This foot should never come off the ground. It is literally sliding. If you can't slide, change shoes. Always, always, always have one foot with a pointed toe and one foot on the ground. Switch. Your flat foot should take up a mirrored pivoted, heel up position and your other foot should be put flat on the ground, turning in. Take this foot and slide it in toward you. Repeat. That's really all it is! Remember: the knee is bent on the heel that is popped. One heel is always popped, so one knee is too. Do the wave. Bet you never thought that would be popular again, huh? There are two basic waves: the arm wave and the body wave. Both of these are heavy on the isolation skills. Let's start with the arm wave: For the arm wave, hold one arm out. Throw your hand down, followed by bending your elbow up. If it has to be said again, isolations. Then, shrug the nearest shoulder, momentarily followed by expanding your chest. Repeat along the other arm, starting from the shoulder. For the body wave, imagine pulling a bar through your chest. Your shoulders should roll back and your chest should stick out, starting the wave movement. The further your chest is out, the better. Then, pull the bar down, shrinking your chest back and your stomach out. What's next? The same thing -- pull that bar down a bit more, pulling your stomach in and your hips out. To end it, pop into a sitting position. Not moving your core (isolations!), pop out your knees (on your tiptoes), fold them in, and center your weight. When you master this wave going down, take it back up in the reverse.
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Master isolations. Learn how to "pop" with your abs. Balance. Hear the rhythm. Vibrate. Stop. Be convincing in slow motion. Get twitchy. Glide. Do the wave.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Find-Information-Online
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How to Find Information Online
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To find information online, start by typing in few simple search terms using the search engine of your choice. If you need very precise results, put quotations marks around your search terms to get results that contain those exact words or phrases. It's also a good idea to try synonyms and rephrasing your queries to complete a thorough search. If you're looking for a specific kind of information, you can use specialized online libraries such as academic databases, IMDb, medical archives, and video databases.
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Experiment with different search engines. For the most part, everybody knows Google, but there are several other great search engines to work with. These include Bing, Yahoo, Lycos, and Ask.com. Rather than always relying on Google, experiment with a variety of search engines. Each one may return different results. Begin with simple search queries. When you use search engines, it is best to limit your query to a few concise words. Try to think of the simplest way to describe what you're looking for. You don't need to use complete sentences, rather simply type a few important terms. For example, if you were trying to find information on the actor John Wayne, but you couldn't recall his name, you might try searching "cowboy actor." Search with quotation marks. Anytime you are looking for a specific phrase, type the phrase inside the quotes ("the phrase") and search it. The quotation marks tell your search engine to look for any place those specific words appear. This will help streamline your search, and weed out things that are not relevant to you. Try alternative words. Whenever you search for something, try searching a few different ways. Use synonyms and/or put your query in a different form. This will cause your search engine to return different results, helping you locate what you need. Bookmark useful results. Whenever you conduct research online, it is easy to move quickly and lose track of places you've visited. Use the bookmark function on your web browser to record useful websites as you go. Search academic databases. If you are looking for peer-reviewed academic articles, the best place to start is an academic database. If you attend (or work for) a university, you can probably access exclusive databases through your library's online catalog. If this is not the case for you, try Jstor, ARTstor, Ebsco, or Google Scholar. Be aware, however, that not every article you find will be available for free. Look into specialized online libraries. The internet contains specialized online libraries for many, many different subjects. Seeking these collections can help to speed up your search, as well as provide reliable places to return to for all sorts of information. For information on the Arts, check out the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), Art Cyclopedia, or UBUWeb. For information on history, try the Perseus Digital Library, Project Gutenberg, or Digital History. For medical and scientific articles, visit BioMed Central. Look for videos. When individuals search for information online, they tend to think in terms of text, but many useful educational videos exist online as well! In fact, sometimes a video is the best way to learn what you seek. Many informative user-generated videos exists on Youtube. For more reputable information provided by professionals, search for videos on TED (otherwise known as TED talks). Utilize review sites and price-comparison sites. If you are looking on the internet for something to buy, you can use review sites and/or price-comparison sites to locate the best version of what you need for a competitive price. Review sites like Amazon, Reevoo, and Trustpilot can help you decide if a particular product is worthwhile. Price-comparison sites like Money Supermarket and Comparethemarket.com can help you find the best price. Check out RSS feeds. Many websites operate newsfeeds (otherwise known as RSS feeds). You can use an RSS reader to compile information from various RSS feeds. This allows you to see when new information appears on your favorite sites, without having to visit them one at a time. Some good RSS readers include Feedly, Newsblur, and Flipboard (tablet only). Determine what kind of information you need, and where you are most likely to find it. Before you begin any kind of search, it is best to think carefully about what kind of information you need. For instance, what subject field does this information fit into? (Is it art, science, how-to, etc?) Then (now that you are aware of some different types of online resources) consider where information like this could be found. Identify your “keywords. ” Think about what you need to know. Identify three or more key terms that are central to your search before you begin. These terms are going to guide your search. Searching for these terms through search engines, databases, or online libraries will lead in the direction of the information you need. Verify whether or not a source is primary. Whenever you find information online, read through it and figure it out whether it is a primary source, or if it is referencing something else. Most of the time, this information can be found on a web page, however, if you find information with no author data or citations at all, it may be suspect. Chase footnotes. Most strong online articles with contain citations or footnotes. These are places where you can learn more about the subject you are studying! Follow these footnotes to the primary sources your author is citing. This is the best way to gain a deeper knowledge of a subject. Maintain a log of where you have been. Whenever you conduct research (online or otherwise) it is essential for you to take notes. Keep a log of the websites you visit. Next to each one, jot down anything useful you learned, and any other important notes to remember. This way, when you go back and try to use the information you have obtained, you have a handy guide showing you where you find what.
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Experiment with different search engines. Begin with simple search queries. Search with quotation marks. Try alternative words. Bookmark useful results. Search academic databases. Look into specialized online libraries. Look for videos. Utilize review sites and price-comparison sites. Check out RSS feeds. Determine what kind of information you need, and where you are most likely to find it. Identify your “keywords. Verify whether or not a source is primary. Chase footnotes. Maintain a log of where you have been.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Open-a-Boutique
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How to Open a Boutique
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If you want to open a boutique, start by deciding what kind of items you want to carry based on your interests, and choose a location that is visible, easily accessible, and the best price. Then, create a business plan that focuses on your financial, marketing, management, and organizational goals for the boutique. Meet with an accounting to go over the plan and secure funding, and order enough stock to keep your shelves full for one month. Be sure to create a visually appealing storefront to draw in customers!
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Decide what type of boutique you want to open based on your interests. There are high-end fashion boutiques that sell clothes from top designers, modern fashion boutiques that sell popular brands, and boutiques that sell children's clothes. Pick what you're passionate about. For example, if you love piling on costume jewelry and scarves when you go out, you might enjoy running an accessories boutique. Be careful about choosing too narrow of a niche. Appeal to as many customers as possible by keeping it more broad. So instead of a store that sells exclusively cat T-shirts, open one that sells a range of quirky tees and tops. You can even sell your own designs if you have dreams of becoming a jewelry or fashion designer. Choose a location with the best traffic, visibility, and price. You want to be in a spot that has a lot of potential customers and where your store will be easy to find and get to. The rent or lease price also needs to be in your budget. Spend time scouting different locations before you settle on one. Think about the kind of customers you want. If you're selling to college students, find a spot within walking distance of campus, for instance. Keep in mind that trendier, downtown areas will come with much larger price tags. Consider opening in an up-and-coming area that may be slightly cheaper but still have potential. Get a second opinion from a real estate professional. They can provide valuable insight into which areas are the best bang for your buck and which ones to avoid. Evaluate the competition in your area to guide your own planning. Find out what other boutiques or stores that sell similar products are closeby. Look at what they're selling, what their prices are, and how they're marketing their business, for starters. Incorporate some of their strengths into your own business plan and figure out how you can improve on their weaknesses. For example, if they have a successful social media giveaway campaign, think about making social media a big part of your marketing strategy. If you see comments online ranting about a nearby boutique's outrageous prices, consider setting yours a little lower. Use their mistakes to make your business better. Studying the competition will also help you understand your target customer. Spend a day browsing your competitors' stores and analyze the type of people shopping there along with their shopping habits. Write a business plan to define your goals and act as a blueprint. Clearly state your boutique's mission and primary goals, then document every detail related to making your business successful, like costs, staff, inventory, supplies, marketing, and more. The more detailed and granular you get with your plan, the better prepared you'll be moving forward. Meet with an accountant to determine the viability of your business plan. Getting professional financial advice from an accountant is worth the extra cost. They can help you figure out a realistic budget and pricing structure for your boutique based on your business plan. If anything sounds unrealistic financially, they'll let you know so you can avoid making a costly mistake. An accountant will also be able to explain what taxes you'll be responsible for, how different decisions will affect your bottom line, and any accounting issues unique to your industry. Choose a certified public accountant (CPA) who is skilled at generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Ask the bank about a small business loan if you're willing to take a risk. Some banks offer loans to entrepreneurs, although they're often in smaller amounts because of the high risk involved. The bank will require documents like your business plan and detailed budget along with personal financial information. Make an appointment at your local branch to find out what's available. Having a good credit score of 680 or higher will improve your chances of getting approved. Loans are risky because you'll have to take on the repayment debt yourself if your boutique fails. Pitch angel investors or venture capitalists using your business plan. Venture capitalists invest money from a venture capital firm whereas angel investors are often wealthy individuals looking to put their own money towards new opportunities. With a well-written business plan and a little charm, you can exchange stake in your boutique business for funding. Look for investors online or ask friends and family if they know of anyone. If you're working with an accountant, they also might have recommendations. Do your research first. Since you're just starting out, look for smaller, local investors who have been involved in ventures similar to your own in the past. Use your own personal savings if you have 1 year of expenses set aside. Entrepreneurs often dip into their own bank accounts to fund their ventures. But you need a safety net in case it fails. A good rule of thumb is to have enough saved up that you can cover at least 1 year of your personal living expenses first. Consider taking a part-time job to bank a few extra bucks if you have time during the early stages of planning your boutique. You might have to forgo taking a salary for yourself during the first few months of your boutique so having enough savings to live off of is important. Interview and hire employees if you need more help. Unless your boutique is super small, you'll likely want extra hands. Post fliers around town, put an ad up on an online job site, or spread the word that you're hiring. Host interviews to screen your candidates and select the ones who you like and who you think would be reliable and hardworking. Always run a background check and check a potential employee's references before extending an offer. Order just enough inventory to stock your shelves for the first month. As a new boutique owner, you aren't sure exactly how much of each product you're going to sell, so ordering can be tricky. The goal is to have enough that you aren't selling out but not so much that you're left with too many in the back. Order based on your sales projections for the first month in your business plan. Ask the company you're ordering from if they have a suggestion. They'll often have industry knowledge that they're willing to share with newcomers. Find out if the supplier has a return policy in case you over-order. Err on the side of ordering too much. After all, if you sell out, you'll be turning away potential customers! Furnish and lay out your boutique in a way that flows well. Customers should be able to shop freely without bumping elbows so keep aisles wide enough for 2 people to pass through. Fill the space with racks and eye-catching displays so it doesn't feel empty, either. Zones, which group similar products together, also make shopping easier for customers. Place your most expensive pieces or the pieces you think will sell best to the right of the entrance. Add a “decompression area” just inside the door as a transition space. It should be inviting, free of clutter, and give customers a chance to survey the entire store. When it comes to furnishings, don't forget the staples like a cash register and sales counter. Create a clean, inviting storefront to draw in customers. Your storefront is the first impression customers get of your boutique. Pretty it up with beautifully-designed window displays, ample lighting, or potted plants. Keep it clean and free of trash and debris by regularly sweeping the outside entrance. Change up window displays once every 2 weeks to create visual interest and attract new customers. Check your local regulations before adding any permanent structures like awnings or changing the front of the building with paint or other repairs. Design a basic website with information about your boutique. Even if you aren't planning to sell any products online (yet), a website is a good way for people to learn about your boutique. Include store hours, a basic description of what you sell, contact information, and pictures of some of your products. Choose an easy-to-remember domain name, preferably using your boutique name. For example, if your earring boutique is named “All Ears,” register your domain as www.allearsboutique.com. You can check if a domain name is available by visiting any domain registry website. Hire a graphic designer or web developer to build your website for you or design it yourself. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly since most people access the internet through their phones or tablets these days. Start social media accounts for your boutique to gain new followers. Choose the social media platforms that work best for your demographic and product. Visual-heavy platforms like Instagram and Facebook are good for posting pictures of pretty clothes and accessories. Post frequent updates about your grand opening or behind-the-scenes videos of getting the boutique ready for business to build hype. Twitter is good if you have a younger demographic and YouTube makes sense if you want to post longer-form videos like of fashion shows, events, or tutorials on how to wear your products. Put links to your boutique's social media accounts on your website and all advertising. For example, a flyer might have the Instagram logo and your handle at the bottom with “Follow us!”. Spread the news of your boutique opening through word of mouth. Friends and family make for the best free advertising. Tell them all about your new business venture and ask them to share the information with their own friends and families. Then those people will tell their friends, and so on and so forth. Don't be shy. Talk to everyone about your boutique, whether it's your next-door neighbor or the stranger you meet at a cocktail party. Network, network, network! Say something like, "I'm starting this awesome new boutique that sells super cute yoga apparel. You and your friends from Bikram class should come check it out!" If you have business cards, pass those out when you're spreading the word of your boutique so people have your contact information. Advertise your boutique via local media, signs, and flyers. Think small when it comes to paid advertising. Target the media channels and places that will benefit your boutique the most for the lowest price. This could be a short ad on a local radio or TV station, flyers posted around the neighborhood, or signs on the side of the highway. Other creative advertising ideas include passing out car magnets or window decals, designing online ads, or sponsoring a local event like a charity race or fundraiser.
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Decide what type of boutique you want to open based on your interests. Choose a location with the best traffic, visibility, and price. Evaluate the competition in your area to guide your own planning. Write a business plan to define your goals and act as a blueprint. Meet with an accountant to determine the viability of your business plan. Ask the bank about a small business loan if you're willing to take a risk. Pitch angel investors or venture capitalists using your business plan. Use your own personal savings if you have 1 year of expenses set aside. Interview and hire employees if you need more help. Order just enough inventory to stock your shelves for the first month. Furnish and lay out your boutique in a way that flows well. Create a clean, inviting storefront to draw in customers. Design a basic website with information about your boutique. Start social media accounts for your boutique to gain new followers. Spread the news of your boutique opening through word of mouth. Advertise your boutique via local media, signs, and flyers.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Check-and-Add-Radiator-Fluid
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How to Check and Add Radiator Fluid
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To check or add radiator fluid, start by parking your car on a level surface and turning it off before raising the hood. Then, use a rag to open the radiator cap and check if the fluid is near the top, which means you have enough coolant around your radiator. If the fluid is not at the top of the opening, fill the empty space with 1 part antifreeze and 1 part distilled water. For cars with an overflow tank next to the radiator, add the coolant through the cap in the overflow tank, instead of directly into the radiator.
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Park your vehicle on even ground and open the hood. In order to check the fluid level in your radiator, the vehicle needs to be level so the fluid line isn't slanted or uneven. Find an area with level ground and open the hood of the vehicle. If the vehicle is parked at an angle, it may be more difficult to reach the radiator cap. Make sure the hood is propped open securely so it doesn't fall on you while you're checking the fluid levels. Turn off the engine and wait for the vehicle to cool down. When your vehicle's engine is hot, the radiator is hot and can release steam, which can burn you if you're exposed to it. Before you begin checking your radiator fluid levels, you need to make sure the engine isn't running and wait until it's cool enough to touch. If you've been driving for a few hours, wait at least 1 hour for your engine to cool down. Check the fill line on the reservoir, not the radiator, if your vehicle has one. Most modern vehicles have an overflow tank or a fluid reservoir that holds the radiator fluid. Look for a clear or see-through plastic container connected to the radiator by a tube. Check the side of the tank to see if the fluid level reaches the fill line. The tank may have a line that says “Full” or it may just have a raised line demarcating the maximum fluid level. See if the fluid reaches the fill line in the radiator if you don't have an overflow tank. In most vehicles, the radiator is located in the front of the engine and has a small cap with 2 little rounded edges on the side. To remove the cap, press down on it and twist counterclockwise to release the locking mechanism and pull the cap off. Then, check to make sure the fluid reaches the "fill" line. If your radiator doesn't have a fill line, but you can see the fluid full to the top of the radiator, then you don't need to add any fluid. Use a towel or a rag to cover the radiator cap if you can't wait for the engine to cool down before you check or add fluid to the radiator. Use the type of antifreeze specified in your owner's manual. Your vehicle may require a specific type of fluid for the radiator. Take a look through your vehicle's manual to see what type of antifreeze you need to add. Alternatively, search for the specific type of antifreeze that you need for your vehicle online. Some antifreeze will have directions to mix and dilute the fluid with 50% distilled water. Follow the directions carefully. IAT formula antifreeze is green in color and is the most common type of fluid used in vehicles. Many GM vehicles use an orange antifreeze known as Dex-Cool. If you have an older vehicle, you may need a formula with a special additive to allow the antifreeze to work effectively in your vehicle. Fill the overflow tank, not the radiator, if your vehicle has one. If your vehicle has a radiator fluid reservoir or overflow tank, do not add fluid directly to the radiator. Instead, remove the plastic cap from the top of the tank and pour the antifreeze into it until it reaches the fill line marked on the side. Add the fluid to your radiator if your vehicle doesn't have an overflow tank. To prevent spilling any of the fluid when you add it, place a funnel inside of the opening of the radiator. Start adding the fluid in small amounts. Don't pour all of the antifreeze at once or it could spill out of the radiator. Allow the fluid to bubble and settle in the radiator, then check the level. Continue slowly adding fluid until it reaches the fill line. Make sure the funnel is clean so you don't get any dirt or debris in the radiator. Spilling antifreeze on your engine could cause it to stain your engine or produce smoke when the engine heats up. Fill the radiator itself only if your vehicle doesn't have an overflow reservoir! Replace the cap when the radiator or overflow tank is full. After you've added enough fluid to reach the fill line on either the overflow tank or radiator, replace the cap to prevent any of it from spilling out when the vehicle is in motion. Turn the cap clockwise until it clicks into place. Drain and replace the fluid if it looks milky. The antifreeze should be slightly transparent and should be the original color of the fluid when you added it to the radiator. Milky or cloudy fluid is a sign that the fluid has been contaminated with oil, which indicates a serious problem with your engine. Release the plug on the bottom of the radiator to drain the fluid, then replace the plug and refill the radiator with fluid. Bring the vehicle to a mechanic to inspect your vehicle immediately to prevent further damage. Check the fluid in the overflow tank or reservoir as well. Use a flashlight to look down into the fluid to inspect its color and appearance. Look for particles floating in the fluid for signs of a breach in the radiator. If you see small particles or dirt in the antifreeze, it's a definite sign of contamination. Bring the vehicle to a certified mechanic who can check the rest of your radiator and engine to identify the source of the contamination. Do not drive the vehicle except to deliver it to a mechanic. Particles and contamination could damage the engine and require costly repairs. Inspect the fluid in the overflow tank for any debris or particles. Dip an antifreeze test strip into the fluid to check its condition. Over time, antifreeze can lose effectiveness and may need to be replaced. But before you do that, you can test it to see how well it's performing. Take off the radiator cap and insert an antifreeze test strip until it contacts the fluid inside of the radiator. The test strip will change color once it absorbs the antifreeze. Check the testing kit to see what the color indicates and what action you should take. You can find radiator fluid testing kits at auto supply stores and online. Hold the test strip in the antifreeze for at least 3 seconds.
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Park your vehicle on even ground and open the hood. Turn off the engine and wait for the vehicle to cool down. Check the fill line on the reservoir, not the radiator, if your vehicle has one. See if the fluid reaches the fill line in the radiator if you don't have an overflow tank. Use the type of antifreeze specified in your owner's manual. Fill the overflow tank, not the radiator, if your vehicle has one. Add the fluid to your radiator if your vehicle doesn't have an overflow tank. Replace the cap when the radiator or overflow tank is full. Drain and replace the fluid if it looks milky. Look for particles floating in the fluid for signs of a breach in the radiator. Dip an antifreeze test strip into the fluid to check its condition.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Stay-Up-All-Night-at-a-Sleepover-with-Friends-(Tween-Girls)
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How to Stay Up All Night at a Sleepover with Friends (Tween Girls)
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If you want to stay up all night at a sleepover with your girl friends, start by keeping the lights on so no one gets drowsy! You can play upbeat music, challenge each other in video games, or watch action movies to keep everyone excited and occupied. Old-school sleepover classics like pillow fights, charades, and Twister will definitely keep everyone moving and entertained. If you want to try something collaborative and fun, consider starting a group craft or art project that everyone can work on.
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Listen to music and sing along. Upbeat music can make you feel more awake, so crank up your favorite song as loud as you can without disturbing the adults, and sing along with the words if you know them. If you don't know the words, try making up your own! Watch action movies that will keep everyone excited. When you're trying to decide what to watch during the sleepover, avoid dramatic movies with sweeping music and a slow plot, since these might put everyone to sleep. Instead, pick a movie with upbeat music, fast-paced action sequences, and a lot of humor, which is more likely to keep everyone interested. A few age-appropriate, exciting movies to show include Teen Beach Movie , Karate Kid , and The Avengers. Take turns playing video games that get everyone involved. Video games can make time fly by, so if you're looking for a way to pass a few hours, try putting on a game everyone can play. Try a game that's made up of short segments, like a racing or combat game. Then, switch players after every round so no one feels left out. Longer story-based or building games like might not be as exciting for everyone to play. If you have a lot of kids at the sleepover, try breaking everyone into 2 teams. Whenever someone from one team loses a match, the next person from their team takes the controller, and so on until everyone's had a chance to play. You can also look for fun Android and iOS games you can play with a group of friends, like Heads Up!, Reverse Charades, or Bam Fu. Research random topics online and share interesting facts. If you start to get bored, get on your phone or tablet and look up something you've always wondered about. For instance, you might have always been curious about who invented the first socks for dogs, or you may have always wanted to know how to make a hologram. See if anyone can come with a question that the Internet doesn't know the answer to! If you have an online assistant like Alexa or Siri, try to ask it the silliest questions you can come up with. Plan a craft or art project if you're hosting the sleepover. Having a craft at your sleepover takes a little advanced planning, but it can be a lot of fun! Make sure you have enough supplies for everyone to get involved, then bring out the craft once everyone's settled in. Fun sleepover crafts include making dreamcatchers out of string braiding your own making your own friendship bracelets. If your friends like fashion, you could do makeovers, including painting your nails , braiding each other's hair , or experimenting with makeup. You can even make your own facial masks and put them on each other for a fun spa night! Get active with a pillow fight or a game like Twister. Just like exercise can help you feel more awake, so can fun games that keep you active! Activities like pillow fights, charades, and Twister are all old-school sleepover classics for a reason—you'll feel more awake if your body is moving, but they're also just plain fun! Remember, don't hit anyone with a pillow if they don't want to participate! Get creative and come up with your own games, like having a dance-off with ribbon wands. Tell jokes and play funny games like Telephone. Not only can laughing can make you feel more awake, but it's also a great way to have fun with your friends. Try having a competition where you all tell jokes, and the last person to laugh is the winner. You can also practice doing stand-up comedy routines or play games like Telephone. In Telephone, one person picks a phrase and whispers it to the person beside them, who then whispers it to the person next to them, and so on. Even something as simple as "apples and bananas" can get turned into something hilarious if someone misunderstands it! If you have a smartphone or a tablet you can use, try watching a compilation of funny animal videos on YouTube or TikTok. Keep the lights on. Bright lights help your brain feel less tired, so if you're trying to stay awake, ask the host if it's okay to leave all the lights on in the room where you're having the party. That may be all it takes to keep you and your friends awake late into the night. If the grownups insist on turning the lights off, try using the flashlight app on your phone or tablet to keep things lit up! Eat a healthy snack every 2-3 hours. To help keep yourself alert, eat frequent small snacks with foods that are high in protein, fiber, and iron. For instance, you might have sliced apples or a handful of snack mix every few hours. Not only will the protein make you feel more alert, but you'll have a steadier stream of energy by eating small meals instead of one big one. Other healthy snacks include avocado toast, carrots dipped in hummus, or celery with peanut butter. Avoid foods with a lot of carbs and sugars, like soda, cupcakes, brownies, and ice cream. Although they're popular foods to have at sleepovers, when the sugar wears off, you'll end up feeling drowsy. For a quick boost between snacks, chew a piece of gum! Peppermint is especially helpful at making you feel more awake. Drink a glass of ice water every time you snack. Being dehydrated can make you feel tired, so make sure you drink plenty of water if you want to stay up all night. In addition, the extra-cold blast from the ice will help wake up your brain! If it's cold outside, try opening a window for a few minutes to keep it nice and cool inside so you'll feel more awake. Do 10-15 minutes of light exercise if you're getting sleepy. One easy way to boost your energy when you get sleepy is to get your body moving. Try having a push-up competition , get everyone to do 50 jumping jacks , or run in place. If no one else wants to exercise with you, try doing a few stretches , like reaching your arms way above your head, then bending down to touch your toes. That can help get your blood flowing, which may make you feel more alert. You can also use an exercise app to find some quick cardio moves you can all do together.
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Listen to music and sing along. Watch action movies that will keep everyone excited. Take turns playing video games that get everyone involved. Research random topics online and share interesting facts. Plan a craft or art project if you're hosting the sleepover. Get active with a pillow fight or a game like Twister. Tell jokes and play funny games like Telephone. Keep the lights on. Eat a healthy snack every 2-3 hours. Drink a glass of ice water every time you snack. Do 10-15 minutes of light exercise if you're getting sleepy.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Ripen-a-Cantaloupe
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How to Ripen a Cantaloupe
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To quickly ripen a cantaloupe, place it in a large brown paper bag with a ripe apple or banana. Roll the top of the paper bag to close it. Leave the bag out at room temperature for a few days, checking periodically to test the ripeness. To tell if your cantaloupe is ready to eat, gently press on the blossom end of the melon, which is the end without any stem remnants. If it yields just slightly, it's ready to eat. You can also sniff the blossom end to see if it smells sweet and fruity—if it does, it's ready to be eaten.
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Check the cantaloupe once the color changes. Never harvest a cantaloupe when the outer rind is still green, since these melons are undoubtedly unripe. Once the cantaloupe changes to a tan or yellow color, though, it is probably ripe. Do not harvest the cantaloupe based solely on color, though. While a green cantaloupe is definitely unripe, a yellow or tan cantaloupe may not be quite ripe yet. Even if the melon is not quite ripe, however, noting the color will give you an idea of whether or not the fruit is close to being ripe. You must allow the cantaloupe to mature completely on the vine. Unlike other fruits, melons do not develop any sugars once they are harvested, so the cantaloupe will not become any sweeter after you remove it from the vine. The color and texture may change afterward, but the taste will not. Look for a crack around the stem. The melon is usually ready to harvest when it is "full slip." This means that there will be a small crack that completely encircles the stem where it is attached to the cantaloupe. If you aren't sure whether or not the crack is deep or complete enough, test it by applying pressure to the side of the stem. Place your thumb directly next to the stem and apply pressure to the side of the stem. You should only need to use a little force, and the stem should begin to separate easily. Harvest the cantaloupe. As soon as the color is right and the crack around the stem is complete, the cantaloupe is ripe. It should be harvested right away. Do not wait too long to harvest a ripe cantaloupe. If the melon falls off the vine on its own, it has likely become overripe, and both the taste and texture will be distorted as a result. Know what to expect. As noted earlier, the taste of the cantaloupe will not change when you ripen it off the vine since its flesh does not contain starches capable of converting to sugars. The texture, color, and juiciness of the fruit can improve, though, so this process is still beneficial if you have a freshly harvested mature melon or one that is only slightly unripe. Place the melon in a brown paper bag. Use a brown paper bag that is large enough to fit the cantaloupe with a little extra room. The fruit should not be squeezed into the bag too tightly. Ideally, you should leave a little room for airflow inside the bag. Make sure that you close the top of the bag when you are ready to let the melon begin ripening. The closed paper bag traps the ethylene gas produced by the cantaloupe as it ripens. The production of ethylene gas increases in the presence of additional ethylene gas, so keeping the gas concentrated within the space of the bag speeds up the ripening process. You need to use a paper bag instead of a plastic one. Paper bags are porous, so carbon dioxide can escape and oxygen can enter. Without at least this much airflow, the cantaloupe can begin to ferment. Consider placing a banana or apple in the bag. If you place a ripe banana or ripe apple in the bag, even more ethylene gas will be produced inside the space of the bag, and the ripening process will speed up even more. Bananas and apples produce notably high amounts of ethylene gas once they ripen, making them better options than most other fruits. Leave the melon out at room temperature until ripe. Usually, the process will only take about two days, if not quicker. Make sure that the place you store the melon is neither excessively cold or excessively hot. You should also avoid areas that are heavy in moisture or particularly drafty. Check on the progress of the cantaloupe throughout the process to make sure that it has not ripened early. Check the stem end. If you purchased a cantaloupe instead of harvesting one from your own garden, first verify that no part of the actual stem is on the melon. If it is, you should give up on that cantaloupe now, since it suggests that the melon was harvested before it was able to fully mature on the vine. A cantaloupe like that will never ripen. Also check the rind around the stem end of the cantaloupe. If there are any tears in the rind, those could also suggest that the fruit was picked too early. Make sure that the stem end is slightly indented since this indicates that it was easily plucked off the vine. If the stem end protrudes, that could be another sign of a premature harvest. You should also avoid cantaloupe when the stem end has notably soft, moist spots around it. That could suggest that the fruit is actually over-ripe. Look at the netting on the skin. The rind should be covered with a thick, coarse netting that appears well-defined over the entire surface of the melon. That netting can, however, stand out more easily on some areas than it does in others. Do not expect it to be perfectly uniform throughout. Note the color. If you did not harvest the fruit yourself and are growing it from a second party, check the color of the rind before you make a purchase. The rind should be tinted gold, yellow, or tan. A green-tinted rind indicates that the fruit is unripe. Use your sense of touch. Gently press on the blossom end of the cantaloupe. When you do, it should yield slightly. If it feels hard, you should allow the melon to ripen at room temperature for another day or so. On the other hand, if the cantaloupe yields too much or feels mushy, the fruit is likely over-ripe. Similarly, you should pick up the melon as you check it over, as well. When ripe, the cantaloupe will feel heavy for its size. Sniff the cantaloupe. Take a whiff of the fruit at its blossom end, rather than at the stem end. The "button" of the fruit should be just below your nose as you inhale, and you should be able to sense the familiar fragrance of a ripe cantaloupe when you breathe in. If you cannot smell anything yet, try ripening the cantaloupe for another half a day or so. If you are unfamiliar with the smell of a cantaloupe, simply sniff for a notably sweet scent. The blossom end is where the softening begins and the aroma first develops, so the scent will be strongest and easily noticed there. Finished.
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Check the cantaloupe once the color changes. Look for a crack around the stem. Harvest the cantaloupe. Know what to expect. Place the melon in a brown paper bag. Consider placing a banana or apple in the bag. Leave the melon out at room temperature until ripe. Check the stem end. Look at the netting on the skin. Note the color. Use your sense of touch. Sniff the cantaloupe. Finished.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Lower-Cholesterol-Naturally
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How to Lower Cholesterol Naturally
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To lower your cholesterol, start by eating foods that are high in soluble fiber, such as oatmeal, whole grain bread, apples, pears, kidney beans, walnuts, and almonds. Alternatively, you can take a fiber supplement in powder or tablet form. Then, lower your intake of trans and saturated fats by replacing butter or margarine with olive oil, and cutting back on meat, full-fat dairy products, and egg yolks. Finally, focus on eating foods that have high levels of healthy cholesterol, such as fish, which has Omega-3 fatty acids that minimize the risk of heart disease.
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Eat more high-fiber foods to naturally reduce your cholesterol. Foods which are high in soluble fiber will naturally reduce your cholesterol. These are easy to find and taste wonderful, especially when well prepared. Some foods you may want to include in your diet include: Vegetables. Eat lots of high-fiber veggies, such as broccoli, spinach, cabbage, kale, and carrots. Oatmeal. Don't dress it up with lots of butter or milk, as this will nullify the beneficial effects. Pumpernickel, rye, and other whole grain breads. These are a great source of fiber and are very filling. High-fiber fruits like apples and pears. Who doesn't like apples and pears? You can also eat prunes, which get a bad rep but actually taste like healthy candy. Beans, such as kidney, garbanzo, pinto, and black beans. Take fiber supplements to easily boost your intake. If you aren't getting enough fiber through your diet, then you could also try adding a fiber supplement. These can come in the form of mixable powders, chewable tablets, or a number of other forms. Follow the directions for use listed on the packaging to get the most benefit. Cut back on saturated and trans fat because they can raise cholesterol. This will help keep you from building more bad cholesterol. Instead of using butter and coconut oil, you can switch to using olive oil. Other foods that contain high amounts of trans fats include: Meat Full-fat dairy, such as cheese, yogurt, milk, and ice cream Eggs, particularly the yolks Packaged cookies, cakes, and crackers Margarine Consume omega-3 fatty acids to help prevent heart disease. Fish contain essential omega-3 fatty acids, which can help minimize the risk of heart disease. High amount of Omega-3 is found in salmon, mackerel, sardines and tuna. Grilled or baked fish is definitely the ideal choice to go. Salmon Herring Mackerel Flaxseeds Walnuts Take red yeast rice under the supervision of a naturopathic doctor. Red yeast rice is commonly used in Chinese medicine and cooking. It can produce similar cholesterol lowering effects as a statin, so it's important to take it under the supervision of a naturopathic doctor. Take red yeast rice exactly as prescribed if your doctor advises you to. Red yeast rice contains monacolin K, the same active ingredient as the cholesterol drug lovastatin. Be aware that red yeast rice may also contain a contaminant called citrinin, which can cause kidney failure in some people. Exercise 30 minutes a day to help manage your cholesterol. Normal physical exercise is often a good way in reducing cholesterol naturally and it also raises your good cholesterol. A simple 30-minute walk every day for 5 days a week can help you a great deal. If you don't have time to attend the gym use the stairs instead of the elevator. Quit smoking to improve your HDL cholesterol levels. Not only does quitting smoking have far-reaching effects for your overall health, it may also help to improve your good cholesterol levels. Talk with your doctor about smoking cessation aids and programs that might help you quit. Moderate or abstain from alcohol. Some studies indicate that certain types of alcohol, such as red wine, might help in lowering cholesterol, but this is only true if you drink it in moderation, which is no more than 1 drink daily for women and no more than 2 drinks daily for men. However, if you don't drink, don't start! Eat a low-fat breakfast to fuel your day. Watch out for dairy and meat products high in cholesterol, as these tend to sneak in to breakfast items. Alternate between these three example breakfast options: Half a cup of non-fat vanilla yogurt and 1 cut apple (mixed), and 1 cup cooked oatmeal. One cup of low-fat cottage cheese, one pear, and one whole-grain bagel. Almond butter on whole grain toast (2 pieces) and 1 banana. Have a light lunch with extra veggies. Lunch is a great time to fit in vegetables which are high in fiber to keep you from feeling weighed down while you finish your day. Alternate between these three example lunch options: Spinach salad with salmon, garlic, and cracked pepper. Use Italian dressing. Naan topped with lean grilled chicken, cucumbers, and olives. Rye bread sandwich with arugula, low fat mozzarella, garlic, and tomatoes. Eat a healthy dinner with lean protein and veggies. Dinner is another time when high cholesterol foods tend to sneak in. Avoid eating out or eating boxed dinners, as these are often high in cholesterol, saturated and trans fats. Examples of healthy dinners include: Lemon pan-seared halibut, steamed broccoli, and garlic oven-roasted potatoes. Quinoa with steamed kale and mackerel. Grilled salmon and arugula salad with vinaigrette dressing. Include healthy, high-fiber snacks throughout the day. Eat one snack in between breakfast and lunch, as well as lunch and dinner. These are a great way to sneak in more fiber. Examples of healthy snacks include: Celery and carrot sticks. 1/2 cup hummus and 4 pieces of broccoli. 1 cup of walnuts. Drink water throughout the day. Adults need about eight 8 fl oz (240 mL) glasses of water every day, but this can vary based on your activity level, weight, and other factors. Drink a glass of water with meals and whenever you feel thirsty. Talk to your doctor if you’re worried you have high cholesterol. Since high cholesterol has no symptoms, the only way to know for sure if you have it is to get tested by your doctor. Visit your doctor to get a simple blood test, which will be painless but may cause discomfort. Based on your results, your doctor can help you make dietary and lifestyle changes to help lower your cholesterol. You're at a greater risk for high cholesterol if your diet is rich in fatty red meat, cheese, chips, cookies, and other high fat, high sugar foods. Your doctor may recommend you take cholesterol lowering medication if they believe diet and lifestyle changes won't be enough. Most people will need to have their cholesterol checked once every 3-5 years, but you may need more frequent checks depending on your results. Ask your doctor about medication if your cholesterol remains high. While many people can lower their cholesterol by changing their diet and lifestyle, this isn't always possible. Sometimes high cholesterol is caused by your genetics. Fortunately, your doctor can prescribe medications called statins to help you lower your cholesterol. Talk to your doctor to find out if this is right for you. You'll still need to maintain your diet and lifestyle changes to get the most benefit from your medication. Check with your doctor before taking supplements. While supplements are generally safe, they aren't right for everyone. They may interact with your medication and could worsen some medical conditions. Always talk to your doctor before you add a supplement to your diet to make sure it's safe for you. Tell your doctor which supplements you plan to take, such as omega-3 fatty acids. Remind your doctor of the supplements and medications you're already taking.
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Eat more high-fiber foods to naturally reduce your cholesterol. Take fiber supplements to easily boost your intake. Cut back on saturated and trans fat because they can raise cholesterol. Consume omega-3 fatty acids to help prevent heart disease. Take red yeast rice under the supervision of a naturopathic doctor. Exercise 30 minutes a day to help manage your cholesterol. Quit smoking to improve your HDL cholesterol levels. Moderate or abstain from alcohol. Eat a low-fat breakfast to fuel your day. Have a light lunch with extra veggies. Eat a healthy dinner with lean protein and veggies. Include healthy, high-fiber snacks throughout the day. Drink water throughout the day. Talk to your doctor if you’re worried you have high cholesterol. Ask your doctor about medication if your cholesterol remains high. Check with your doctor before taking supplements.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Cut-Hair
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How to Cut Hair
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To cut hair, start by wetting it if you'll be using scissors or leaving it dry if you'll be using clippers. If you're cutting long hair, separate it into sections so it's easier to work with. Before you start cutting, pull up a picture of the hairstyle you're going for so you have something to reference. Then, slowly work your way around the head and trim the hair to the desired length. As you're cutting, pull different sections of hair together with your hands to check that the length is even.
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Wash the hair. In the same way that an artist starts with a fresh canvas before painting, you want to start with clean hair before cutting. Hair that's dirty or full of product makes it harder to cut and see the natural shape. Use a shampoo and conditioner made for the specific hair type. There are products to fit every need--color-treated hair, dry hair, damaged hair, thinning hair, hair that lacks volume oily hair, normal to dry hair, and natural hair—so pick the one that's best based on hair type and needs. If hair is prone to knots or tangles (such as chemically treated or bleached hair), use a de-tangling conditioner or spray on a de-tangling product. You don't want your comb to get stuck when you run it through hair that has mats or tangles. Keep the hair wet if cutting with scissors or a razor. You can best see how the hair naturally falls when it's wet. Also, it's easier to follow cutting guidelines on wet hair so your cut is more precise. Note that this is only the case with straight hair. Cutting curly or wavy hair properly when it's wet can be difficult, as the water will cause the hair to temporarily lie flat and straight. Unable to see the normal curls/wave pattern, you may inadvertently cut it improperly; creating uneven texture (you'll end up cutting some curls in half and some completely off, resulting in bits of hair sticking straight out unevenly). For Black hair, make sure to dry the hair completely before cutting it. Wet hair sticks together, which helps it stay in place while you cut. Keep a bottle of water with a spray nozzle nearby so that you can dampen the hair if it begins to dry while you are working on it. Work with dry hair under special circumstances. Make sure hair is dry if you plan to use clippers or if you want to carefully thin the hair to make sure you don't remove too much fullness. Do a dry cut if you're simply trying to remove split ends; they're easier to see when the hair is dry. If you're pressed for time, a dry cut saves the need for washing and drying. Figure out the desired cut. Whether you're cutting your own hair or someone else's, before you can do anything, you need to figure out what look and cut you're going for. Ask the other person (or yourself) what shape the cut should be, how long the hair should be cut to, or if there are any style inspirations you can use as a guide. Determine face shape. A hairstyle should work with a person's face shape and complement his or her features. Oval. An oval face shape is considered to be the one shape that can wear any type of style. Round. A layered top that provides fullness and height and thinned out hair below the cheekbones all work to lengthen the look of the face and give the illusion of a narrower chin line. Heart shape. Go for a style that offers more fullness lower on the face and less fullness at the forehead. Square. The idea here is to soften the face so wispy bangs and wavy styles help to create this effect. It's best to avoid straight lines, straight bangs and straight or flat hair for this face shape. Oblong. Avoid flat, long straight hair because this will make the face look even longer. Consider a bang, especially a side-swept bang to create the illusion of a shorter forehead for the person with this longer face shape. Diamond. Choose a cut with lots of layers. Avoid bangs unless you go with a slightly off-center curtain bang. Get detailed instructions for the particular cut you plan to make. You don't want to "wing it" when it comes to creating a hairstyle. Learn as much as you can about how to do a specific type of cut before you attempt it. Watch online videos. Check YouTube and websites dedicated to hair for videos that depict the steps involved in creating the hairstyle you've chosen. Be sure the person who is doing the demonstration is an experienced stylist. Page through hair style magazines. Some magazines offer tutorials with photos that will show you how to do your cut. Check out sites belonging to hair product companies. Companies that produce and/or sell hair products often include "how-to's" on their websites. Instagram and Pinterest are also great for inspiration. Familiarize yourself with terminology. You need to understand some of the specialized terms stylists use when talking about cutting hair so that you can follow instructions more easily. Angle indicates the position of the scissors when cutting; you may be holding them vertically, horizontally, or at 45 degrees. Elevation refers to which direction the hair is pointing when you're holding it to cut. When the ends point to the floor, that's considered to be zero degrees of elevation. When it's pointing to the side and parallel to the floor, it's at 90 degrees. When hair is held so that the ends point to the ceiling, it is at 180 degrees. Razoring is a technique used to create wispy layers or to remove volume and thin the hair. Layering means creating variable lengths of hair through an established cut. The longer layers give the illusion of length and the shorter layers create volume. Graduation is a style of hair cutting where the hair is cut progressively shorter towards the back to create a curvy shape. A graduated bob is an example of this. Separate the hair into sections. Cosmetology courses teach sectioning techniques including four-section, five-section and seven-section parting. This may vary from place to place. To do seven-section parting, divide the scalp into seven sections: top, right side, left side, right crown, left crown, right nape and left nape. Leave a one-half inch band of hair to hang loose around the perimeter of the hairline. Start by making a clean parting line from the point just behind the ears on one side to the matching point on the opposite side. Next, make parting lines on each side of the head just along the parietal ridge to isolate the hair at the top of the head. Comb the hair smooth toward the center of the section at the top of the head and twist it up into a knot and clip with a butterfly clip to secure it. Do the same on the right and left sides of the head. Now, create a parting line down the center of the back of the head. Isolate the right and left crown sections by parting the hair in a line from behind the ears to the center parting just created. These horizontal partings should meet to form a straight horizontal line across the back of the head. Comb to smooth these sections and twist and secure them as with the previous sections. The remaining two sections – the left and right nape – are easily secured into separate twists. After the sections are secured, go back over the head, section by section, and let down a one-half inch strip along the outer edge (aka perimeter or hairline) and re-twist and secure the hair sections. Follow the style instructions. In some cases, you will work from the back of the hair to the front; in others you'll start at the front; in still others you'll cut around the perimeter and proceed from there. Each style is different and requires a different plan of attack. Proceed slowly. Keep in mind that a typical salon appointment can be anywhere from a half-hour to an hour-and-a half in length. You're not a professional stylist, so it's going to take you longer to complete your cut. Don't rush it. An uneven style may have to be fixed by a professional and only time can fix a too-short "do." Cross-check your cut. Take segments of hair from matching positions on each side of the head and bring them up to a central point. They should be even in length with one other. If not, your cut is uneven and you need to fix it. Understand the purpose behind texturizing. Texturizing is thinning out the hair to remove excess bulk. Texturizing scissors, regular scissors and razors can all be used to remove hair. Use point cutting. Point cutting is typically used on medium-length to longer hairstyles to soften the bluntness of the cut, add texture and interest or remove bulk. It is also good for texturing curly hair. Comb and lift up a thin segment of hair; hair should be held between the fingers and perpendicular to the scalp. Point your scissors inward towards the scalp and cut inward at a steep angle to make the "points" and create a textured edge. The width and depth of your points will determine if the effect is subtle or more chunky. Deep parallel point cutting uses the length of the blade to reduce weight, creating a “layered” look and feel without actually creating layers. Learn about notching. Notching works the same as point cutting; the difference is that it's used on shorter, straight styles to create a wild or spiky look. This technique may be challenging at first, but it will become easier with time and practice. Try freehand notching. To use this technique, take your scissors and randomly snip away pieces hair to remove bulk and reduce volume. Freehand notching is done further up the hair shaft than notching, which focuses on the hair ends. Use slithering. This is a good choice if you want to remove bulk from the ends of long hair. Hold the hair perpendicular to the scalp and keep your scissors slightly open. Slide your cutting shears along the length of the hair away from the scalp. Use slicing. Slicing adds movement and texture by reducing the weight of the hair. This technique is performed once the haircut is complete and can be done on either wet or dry hair. Hold your scissors open (cutting freehand) and slide them down the shaft of the hair, slowly opening and closing the blades as you go. The more you open and close your scissors, the more hair you'll remove. Warning: Be careful not to close your blades all the way or you will cut off a whole section of hair. Try the shears-over-comb technique. This particular technique is often used for men's haircuts. It allows you to cut close to the head and create a softer look than you would get using clippers. Starting at the hairline,lift a section of hair with your comb. With the lower blade of your scissors parallel to your comb, cut off the hair that sticks past the comb. Keep the blade of your scissors moving; stopping mid cut will create little nick marks. Do most of the cutting with the center part of the blades rather than the tips, which can result in choppy, uneven cuts. After you've cut the first section, lift some of the cut hair along with the next section you want to cut to act as your guide. Don't cut any of the hairs from your previous cut - they are just there to guide you. Work your way around the hair using this technique. Cut with a razor. A razor can be used to eliminate bulk. In some cases, razors are used in place of scissors to complete an entire haircut. Part hair vertically down the middle and again horizontally about halfway down the back of the head. Pin up the top two halves and leave the bottom one free; this is your starting point. Use a fine-toothed comb to pull up the hair at about a 45 degree angle and slide the razor (also held at a 45 degree angle) in short, choppy motions down the ends of the hair to the tips. Work your way up through the back of the head, then along the sides. If the hair is short, it's ok to razor pieces at the top of the head as long as they're covered by more, unrazored hair. Do not use razoring on fine, wavy or curly hair; you'll end up with hair that's droopy, frizzy or flyaway. Sweep up hair. Before you begin blow drying, it is a good idea to sweep the hair off the floor first. This will prevent the hair from blowing everywhere. Dry the hair. You can't see how a haircut really looks until it's dry and styled. Once the hair is dry, you can see and trim any uneven ends or shorten the length of the bangs or the overall style. If possible, let the hair dry about 70-80% of the way on its own. Put your dryer on the coolest setting keeping the dryer about 6-inches away from hair at all times and moving it around continuously. Despite the bad rep blow drying hair gets, one study found that using a hair-dryer at the right distance and temperature can actually cause less damage than letting hair air-dry. Water causes hair to swell. The longer the hair stays wet and swollen, the more pressure it puts on the delicate proteins keeping hair intact, which can lead to more damage. Do final trimming. Cross-check the hair again and fix any unevenness. This is also the time to trim any too-long bangs or remove any extra fullness.
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Wash the hair. Keep the hair wet if cutting with scissors or a razor. Work with dry hair under special circumstances. Figure out the desired cut. Determine face shape. Get detailed instructions for the particular cut you plan to make. Familiarize yourself with terminology. Separate the hair into sections. Follow the style instructions. Proceed slowly. Cross-check your cut. Understand the purpose behind texturizing. Use point cutting. Learn about notching. Try freehand notching. Use slithering. Use slicing. Try the shears-over-comb technique. Cut with a razor. Sweep up hair. Dry the hair. Do final trimming.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Cram-for-a-Test
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How to Cram for a Test
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To cram for a test, note any important concepts, definitions, or equations that you might find in your notes or textbook and write them down on note cards to review later. After you go over all of your notes, look at the beginnings and ends of textbook chapters to review key points and summaries. Then, try taking a practice test, which you can either make up, use the textbook questions for, or base off your study guide. If you find that you're having a hard time remembering important facts, then try memory devices such as making concepts into acronyms, rhymes, or songs.
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Make good notes. If you have minimal time to study for an exam, having good notes and note-taking skills will be essential for getting the most out of the night before. Find out what you really need to study. If your teacher holds a review session before the exam, take advantage of the opportunity. You'll find out what topics the teacher thinks are important and you'll have an opportunity to ask questions (although if you're having to cram, you probably have a few too many questions at this point). Many teachers hand out study guides, so be sure to use them. While they probably won't cover everything that will be on the test, you'll at least be able to focus on the key topics. Get out your lecture notes. Assuming you attended class regularly, you should have some notes to look over. If you don't have any notes, try to get copies from a classmate. Your class notes are a treasure trove of important knowledge because your teacher covers what he or she thinks is most important. Note the important concepts. As you go through your notes, find important definitions, concepts and equations. If you don't know them by heart, write them down on a separate piece of paper—your cramming notes—or on small note cards. This will help you identify what you need to know, and you'll have a handy set of flash cards. The act of rewriting may also help you memorize the content. If you're a good visual learner, then this will definitely help. If you're a good auditory learner, meaning you learn by hearing, recite the words as you write them down on the note cards. If you have enough time, consider rewriting your note cards several times. It may seem like overkill, but if you're trying to learn facts and information, it's very helpful. If you're trying to learn equations or more practical applications, this repetition is not as useful. Study effectively. You obviously won't have time to cover everything that might be on the test, but you can narrow down what will likely be covered and find ways to best focus on these concepts. Identify key topics. Go through your study guide and your cramming notes and look up the important or most repeated topics in your textbook. Scan the key sections of your text and write down any new information you find that seems important. The idea here is not to write down everything, but rather to identify the specific ideas, facts or equations that are likely to be on the test and focus on those topics as much as possible. Look at the beginnings and ends of textbook chapters. The first page of a chapter often identifies key points that will aid your understanding of the material. The last couple of pages will often summarize the chapter, define or highlight key terms, and, in the case of math texts, list important equations. Contemplate possible essay questions (if applicable) and how you would answer them. By now you should have at least a light grasp on the material. Think about the overarching concepts involved and outline (preferably on paper) your approach to essay questions. Do a light run-through. This is where the rubber starts meeting the road. Soak up all the information you've furiously assembled, test yourself, and evaluate quickly how you might have done. This should tell you what areas of study you still need to focus on. Review your flashcards or cramming notes first. Go through the key topics quickly. If you feel you understand and can remember a certain topic or equation, cross it off the list or set that flashcard aside. If you come up with additional questions, look them up in your notes or online (just make sure to use a reliable website). Test yourself. If your teacher handed out a practice test, do it now. If not, do the practice tests or review questions at the ends of your textbook chapters. Only do the questions that are directly relevant to the concepts you've identified as important. Don't spend a lot of time on each question. If you get stuck on a question, note it and come back to it after you grade your test. Grade your self-tests. Be honest with your grading. If you're not, you will only hurt yourself when it comes to the actual test. Look at the questions you got wrong and compare those to your cramming notes or flashcards. You may need to make some new flashcards or revisit some of the concepts you thought you knew. If facts aren't sticking, and studying isn't going well, try some memorization strategies. The brain never forgets. Forgetting a piece of information is either the failure to properly store it, the failure to recall it, or the failure to store it in a way that it can be found. Practice some simple memorization techniques to help you supercharge your last-minute cram session. Try using a mnemonic device. That's just a fancy word for "memory device," meaning a quick and simple way to remember something. Remember when your teacher taught you ROYGBIV to help you remember the sequence of colors in the rainbow? Making something into an acronym, like "ROYGBIV," is a mnemonic device. Try using "pegs" to hang the information on. It could be making the information into a rhyme, relating it to an image you're familiar with, or telling yourself a story about it you know you'll remember. Try to take information that's digested with one sense (words are digested through sight) and try to digest it in another. Try chunking. This just means organizing something under a category. For example, if you're studying Finance, try to group stocks, bonds, funds, etc. under one big category, securities, and understand what that category means. Organize key ideas under concepts. Pack up and get some sleep. Sometimes, you just don't have enough time for sleep, but do try to get as much sleep as possible before your test. It's a good idea to get the bulk of your cramming in before going to bed and then get up with enough time to review a bit more. If you pull an all nighter, you will be tired and more prone to making careless mistakes on the test. Studies indicate that loss of sleep erodes memory performance. Not only this, lack of sleep will make last-minute bits of information more difficult to recall. So focus on cramming as much as possible before getting sleepy and go to bed at an early hour. Get a light, balanced breakfast at least an hour before the test. Avoid eating only carbohydrates, and instead grab a meal that is high in protein (eggs), omega-3 fatty acids (salmon), fiber (black beans), or fruits and vegetables. Some "super foods" that help increase brain function and longevity include: blueberries, salmon, nuts and seeds, avocados, pomegranate juice, green tea, and dark chocolate. You may consider chomping down on one or two of these as part of your breakfast. Plan a study session. Study in the car or on the bus with a friend. Get a few friends together the hour before the exam and quiz each other on key concepts. You want the information to be as fresh as possible in your mind. Be sure not to let the study session devolve into social hour. Review all your cramming notes or flashcards one more time. Right before the test, go through every one of your flashcards or notes, even if you think you have memorized them. You want everything to be fresh in your mind when you take the test. If you are having some trouble remembering a certain definition or equation, write it down six or seven times in a row. That should firmly imprint it on your brain. Identify a particular piece of information which is most important for the test and which you really need to remember. Make sure you do not take an info longer than three to four words/one formula at a time. Stare at your most important piece of information for at least 1–2 minutes. Concentrate well. Rewrite as the exam approaches to maximize memorization. Get to the exam room early and visit the bathroom. Get to the exam room at least 5 minutes before the test, and make sure to hit the little girls' or boys' room before you settle down into your seat. You don't want to worry about nature's call while you're taking a test. After that, settle down, relax, and be confident. Visualize success.
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Make good notes. Note the important concepts. Study effectively. Do a light run-through. If facts aren't sticking, and studying isn't going well, try some memorization strategies. Pack up and get some sleep. Get a light, balanced breakfast at least an hour before the test. Plan a study session. Review all your cramming notes or flashcards one more time. Identify a particular piece of information which is most important for the test and which you really need to remember. Get to the exam room early and visit the bathroom.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Do-Laughter-Yoga
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How to Do Laughter Yoga
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To do laughter yoga on your own, start by clapping your hands to stimulate the acupressure points in them and increase your energy level. Next, practice deep breathing with laughter by inhaling deeply for 4 seconds, then releasing 1 or 2 big belly laughs as you exhale. Alternatively, chant something like “Yay” or “Very good” at the end of each breath to help you feel more joyful. You can also try a more playful exercise, like singing an upbeat song and adding a deep laugh after you sing each line.
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Warm up by clapping your hands. Most laughter yoga sessions begin with warm-up exercises that involve clapping and synchronizing your movements. Begin by clapping with your hands parallel to each other, which will stimulate the acupressure points on your hands and increase your energy level. Continue to clap with a 1-2-3 rhythm, moving your hands up and down and swinging them from side to side as you clap. You can then try your first chant, in rhythm with your hands. Say “ho ho, ha-ha-ha”, breathing from your belly with deep inhales and exhalations. You can continue clapping and chanting as you move around the room in a circle or from side to side. Make sure you are breathing from your diaphragm with deep inhales and exhales as you clap and chant. Do lion laughter exercise. Another warm up you can try is lion laughter, which is derived from the Lion Posture. Stick your tongue out fully and keep your mouth open. Stretch your hands out like the paws of a lion and roar, then laugh from your belly. You should feel a nice stretch in your facial muscles, your tongue and your throat. It will also help you to loosen up and play around. Practice deep breathing exercises with laughter. Another key element of laughter yoga is stimulating deep breathing to help you release big belly laughs. You should practice deep breathing throughout your entire laughter yoga session to allow you to access deep laughs. Activate your breath in your diaphragm, which is located just below your ribs. Place your hands on your diaphragm and focus on taking full inhales and exhales through your nose, expanding and contracting your diaphragm. Inhale deeply for the count of four and then exhale through your nose to the count of four. As you exhale, release one to two big belly laughs. Continue to do this, deepen your breath equally on your inhales and your exhales with an even breath cycle, with laughter at the end of every exhale. You can also chant a mantra as you inhale and exhale, such as Forgive / Forget, Live / Let live, Release/Heal. Do playful exercises. Loosen up by trying playful exercises to encourage laughter and joy. The idea is to motivate yourself to laugh for no reason other than out of joy and fun. Sing a playful song that goes “Every little cell in my body is happy/ Every little cell in my body is well/ Feel so good ….. feels so swell”. As you do this, tap your head, shoulders, knees, and toes. You can also add a deep laugh after you sing each line. Do a vowel laughter exercise, where you pick up your right hand and say the letter “A” by drawing out the vowel. Then, pretend to toss the letter “A” aside. Continue with the letter “E”, picking up your right hand and drawing out the vowel. Then, pretend to toss the letter “E” aside. Do this for “I,O, and U”. Try the electric shock laughter exercise by pretending every surface and object you touch gives you a shock of static electricity, from touching a wall to touching a part of your body. Jump back every time you touch something, smiling and laughing as you do this. Chant “Very good” and “Yay” after every exercise to cultivate playfulness and joy. You can also swing your arms in a V shape as you say these chants. Try value based laughter exercises. These laughter exercises are made to help you practice laughing and deriving positive feelings from certain emotions or situations. In these exercises, you will confront a strong emotion and learn to laugh at it, finding the fun and joy in negative emotions. Start with the embarrassment laughter exercise, where you think of an embarrassing incident and retell it out loud in gibberish, laughing as you re tell it. You may raise your hands and clap as you do this, focusing on speaking only gibberish and laughing as you “tell” the embarrassing story. Do the applause exercise, where you clap quietly and make quiet humming noises to signal approval. Let the humming get louder until you are laughing and clapping faster and wilder. Try to be as loud as possible to show your approval and really applaud as you laugh. Try an apology or forgiveness exercise, where you think of a person you would like to apologize to and say “I'm sorry”, or think of a person you would like to forgive and say “I forgive you”. You can then laugh after you show forgiveness or accept an apology. You can also do this with actions by holding your ear lobes, crossing your arms, bending at the knee and laughing. Greet everyone with a laughter exercise. Most laughter yoga sessions with a partner or a group begin with a greeting exercise, as this helps everyone get used to laughing in front of each other. Start by introducing each other in gibberish, using made up words instead of real words. You can then initiate a greeting with a handshake, where you look into the person's eyes and laugh gently. You can also place your hands together in prayer at the center of your chest, make eye contact with the person, and laugh gently. If there is a leader in the group, the leader can walk around the room and clap, laughing with a “ho ho ha ha ha”. The rest of the group should then respond “very good, very good, yay!” and clap with their arms raised. Do a hearty laughter exercise. Get everyone more accustomed to deep, hearty laughter by doing a hearty laughter exercise. Have everyone sit in a circle side by side and then have one person give the command, “1,2,3”. On three, everyone should start laughing at the same time, trying to match the tone and pitch of each other's laughter. Then, have everyone spread their arms out towards the sky, tilt their head back, raise their chin, and laugh heartily. The laughter should come straight from the heart. After everyone has laughed heartily, someone will start to clap and chant “ho ho ha ha ha” five to six times. Everyone should start to chant with him. At the end of sixth chant, the exercise is complete. Have everyone take two deep breaths. Try an argument laughter exercise. This exercise is great for getting the group to communicate with each other through laughter. Divide the group equally on opposite sides of the room. Have the groups look at each other and point at each other. Then, encourage them to laugh at each other with big belly laughs. Continue this for three to four minutes, with each group laughing louder and louder at each other. Practice a good job laughter exercise. This is a good exercise to end a laughter yoga session. Have everyone sit in a circle and make eye contact as they give each other a “thumbs up”, “high fives” and laughs. This will reinforce the positive aspects of the session and function as a way for the group to bond with each other. Be aware of the philosophy of laughter yoga. Laughter yoga was created by Dr. Madan Kataria, “The Laughter Guru”, who believes in the power of laughter and its ability to provide physical and holistic benefits. To reap the scientifically proven benefits of laughter, you will laugh continuously for at least 10 to 15 minutes in a laughter yoga class. The laughter must also be loud and deep, like a belly laugh coming straight from your diaphragm. Laughter yoga classes create a safe, open space where you can laugh loudly and fully for prolonged periods of time. According to the philosophy of laughter yoga, it is important to maintain a sense of childlike playfulness and openness when practicing this form of yoga. Rather than rely on your sense of humor or laughing at something you find funny, you will commit to laughing on a daily basis and teach your body and mind to laugh on command. Through a combination of deep breathing, physical movements, and deep laughing, laughter yoga ties the mind and body together, creating harmony between them. Though you may not feel happy or motivated to laugh, laughter yoga can help you learn to laugh as a form of exercise. Keep in mind the physical benefits of laughter yoga. There are many physical benefits associated with laughter, especially with laughter done on a consistent basis for thirty minutes to one hour a day. These benefits include: A higher release of endorphins: Laughter has been proven to encourage the release of endorphins, which are feel good opiates that carry signals of attachment and bonding to your brain. They also create a happier state of mind and boost your sense of self-worth and optimism. Improved circulation to your lymphatic system: Deep laughter involving deep inhales and exhales can help to ensure your major organs are fully oxygenated, giving you big bursts of energy and release. It can also massage your lymphatic system and promote better circulation to your digestive and lymphatic systems. A stronger immune system: Better circulation can also boost your immune system and increase the amount of anti-viral and anti-infection cells in your body. A healthier cardiovascular system: Laughter can help to lower your blood pressure and your pulse rates, ensuring your cardiovascular system is functioning properly. A form of catharsis and stress relief: Laughter is also a known form of catharsis and release, helping to release blocked emotions, mental issues, and any depression or anger. Laughter can function as a nonviolent way to release heavy emotions you may be carrying that could be detrimental to your health. Recognize the holistic benefits of laughter yoga. There are also holistic benefits to laughter yoga, which can help to improve your overall health, physically and emotionally. These include: Better emotional intelligence: Laughter encourages a sense of play and childlike behavior, which can help to improve your emotional intelligence and your social skills. An increased sense of joyfulness: Prolonged laughter can help you feel joy and have fun, despite any obstacles or problems you may be experiencing. Feeling joy is primarily a physical experience and you will be able to feel a real sense of joy doing laughter yoga. Laughter yoga may help if you have a Type A personality since it can help you loosen up while still being mindful. A better grip on negative emotions like depression, anxiety, and stress: Through laughter, you can exert a better sense of control over negative emotions that may be bringing you down, such as depression, anxiety, and stress.
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Warm up by clapping your hands. Do lion laughter exercise. Practice deep breathing exercises with laughter. Do playful exercises. Try value based laughter exercises. Greet everyone with a laughter exercise. Do a hearty laughter exercise. Try an argument laughter exercise. Practice a good job laughter exercise. Be aware of the philosophy of laughter yoga. Keep in mind the physical benefits of laughter yoga. Recognize the holistic benefits of laughter yoga.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Diagnose-Diverticulitis
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How to Diagnose Diverticulitis
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To diagnose diverticulitis, monitor yourself for common symptoms, like pain in the lower abdomen, constipation or diarrhea, bloody stool, nausea, vomiting, and fever. If you think you have diverticulitis, make an appointment with your doctor so they can do a blood and urine test. They might also recommend a CT scan of your gastrointestinal tract or x-rays of your large intestine.
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Check for pain in your lower abdomen. The most prominent symptom of diverticulitis is usually sharp, consistent pain in the lower abdomen. This pain may be felt on either side, but tends to occur more on the left. The pain may be persistent for several days, or it may come and go. Abdominal pain is usually accompanied by abdominal tenderness. This may be noticeable when someone or something touches your abdomen, when you sneeze, or when you stretch. Watch for changes in your bowel habits. Both constipation and diarrhea can be signs of diverticulitis. Diverticulitis causes constipation because food cannot pass easily through your bowels, and the bowel walls become constricted. Diarrhea is usually a result of overflow from the resulting constipation. Constipation is more common, but if you experience either of these symptoms in conjunction with lower abdominal pain, you should make an appointment with your health care provider. Diverticulitis can also impact how frequently you have a bowel movement, as well as how big the movement is. If you notice substantial changes in your bowel frequency or volume, this could be another symptom of diverticulitis. Monitor your stool for blood. In some cases, diverticulitis may result in blood in your stool. If you have other symptoms of diverticulitis, check for blood before you flush. If you have black or tarry-looking stools or notice blood in your stool, contact a medical professional right away. Bleeding from diverticulitis typically occurs high up in the bowel, causing your stools to look tarry or black. Black stools are a more common sign of bleeding in diverticulitis than fresh blood in the toilet. Blood in your stool could be indicative of a number of serious medical problems, including diverticulitis. If you see blood when you go, seek medical help as soon as possible to rule out more serious issues such as colon cancer. Look out for nausea and vomiting. Vomiting is a common symptom of diverticulitis. If you are experiencing unexplained nausea and vomiting, especially in conjunction with severe and persistent abdominal cramps or pain, get medical attention right away. Take your temperature to check for a fever. In some cases, diverticulitis may cause a fever along with other symptoms. Fevers associated with diverticulitis may also come with nausea, vomiting, or other flu-like symptoms. If you have both abdominal pain or tenderness and a fever, make an appointment with your doctor to screen for diverticulitis. A fever is a relatively uncommon symptom of diverticulitis. Abdominal pain, cramping, and vomiting are the most typical symptoms. Any temperature over 98.6 °F (37.0 °C) is considered a fever, but fevers generally aren't considered severe unless they are over 100.4 °F (38.0 °C). If you have a high fever, seek treatment at an immediate care or urgent care center right away. Make an appointment for a physical with your health care provider. Screening for diverticulitis generally starts with a standard physical unless you're experiencing extreme symptoms. Your doctor will check your overall health profile, along with examining your abdomen for tenderness or signs of pain. If you are experiencing serious symptoms or severe pain, seek emergency medical treatment right away. If you experience sharp pain that is localized to 1 part of your abdomen, this is a sign of a medical emergency. You may experience this type of localized pain with either diverticulitis or appendicitis, and it will be extremely severe (a 10 on the numeric pain scale ). Get a blood and urine test. A basic blood and urine test will help your doctor screen for signs of infection, inflammation, and anemia. You may be able to complete your tests in your doctor's office, or you may have to go to an affiliated hospital or clinic, depending on your health care provider's in-house setup. Have a CT scan done on your GI tract. During a CT scan, an x-ray technician will use a combination of x-rays and computer imaging to create a comprehensive image of your gastrointestinal (GI) tract. This procedure is painless, and requires you to lie on a table that slides into a tunnel to capture the x-rays. The images are then used to check for both diverticulosis and diverticulitis. Prior to your scan, your technician may give you a solution to drink and an injection of a dye called a contrast medium. This medium makes it easier to see inside your body during the procedure. Ask about a colonoscopy. In a colonoscopy , your doctor will use a long, thin, flexible tube with a tiny light and camera attached to it to look inside your colon. This can help them directly identify diverticulosis and diverticulitis, as well as other conditions that may potentially be causing your abdominal pain. This is an outpatient procedure, but you will generally be given a sedative or anesthesia to help manage any associated discomfort. See if you need a lower GI series. This procedure uses a chalky liquid called barium to make your large intestine more visible on x-rays. During this process, you will lie flat on a table, and your radiologist will use a thin, flexible tube to fill your large intestine with barium. They will then take x-ray images to check for the pouches that cause diverticulitis. This procedure may cause some discomfort. Generally, though, the discomfort is not so great that you will need anesthesia. The night before your procedure, your doctor may provide you with a set of instructions to help you empty your bowel as much as possible. If they do, follow them closely. The cleaner your bowel, the easier it will be for the scan to detect any issues. Assess your personal risk level for diverticulitis. Diverticulitis is more likely for some people than it is for others. Take a look at your personal health risk profile to see if you have an increased risk of diverticulitis. If you are low on the diverticulitis risk spectrum but still have abdominal pain, you may have a different condition. Diverticulitis risk factors include: Aging. Those over the age of 40 are more likely to develop diverticulitis. Obesity and a sedentary lifestyle. Regular exercise lowers the risk of diverticulitis. Smoking. A diet rich in animal fats. Taking certain medications including steroids, opiates, ibuprofen, and naproxen. Request a liver function test. Liver function tests are blood tests that can help rule out other causes of abdominal pain, such as liver disease or gallstones. Check with your health care provider to see if a liver function test is necessary. If it is, it can often be ordered and completed at the same time as your other blood tests. Ask about a pelvic exam. Symptoms of diverticulitis can be similar to those associated with pelvic injuries or diseases, such as pelvic inflammatory disease. Talk to your doctor about screening for pelvic disease with a standard pelvic exam.
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Check for pain in your lower abdomen. Watch for changes in your bowel habits. Monitor your stool for blood. Look out for nausea and vomiting. Take your temperature to check for a fever. Make an appointment for a physical with your health care provider. Get a blood and urine test. Have a CT scan done on your GI tract. Ask about a colonoscopy. See if you need a lower GI series. Assess your personal risk level for diverticulitis. Request a liver function test. Ask about a pelvic exam.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Oil-Based-Stains-from-Fabrics
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How to Remove Oil Based Stains from Fabrics
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To remove oil-based stains from fabrics, gently blot the stained area to soak up any excess oil. Next, sprinkle baby powder or cornstarch over the stain and let it sit for 15 to 30 minutes before scraping it off. Then, scrub the stained area with an old toothbrush and a mild dish soap solution, rinse the area with clean water to remove the soap residue, and let it air-dry!
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Blot as much oil as possible from the item. As soon as the spill occurs, use paper towels to blot up as much oil as possible from the garment. Don't rub the fabric, which would cause the oil to spread. Check the garment care tag. Before treating the stain, read the care tag on the item. If the item is dry clean only, take it to the cleaners as soon as possible. Otherwise, find out if the garment can be laundered normally or if it needs to be hand washed and laid flat or hung up to dry. Take note of the temperature requirements as well as adjust your stain-removing strategy as needed. For instance, if your item says to wash in cold water only, use cold water rather than hot in the following steps. Apply powder to the stain and let it sit for 30 minutes. You can use baby powder, baking soda, talcum powder, cornstarch, or waterless mechanic's soap to further remove the oil from the fabric. Sprinkle the powder over the oil and let it sit for 30 minutes to absorb as much oil as possible. Then, use a spoon to scrape the oil and powder off the garment. Alternatively, you could rub plain white chalk over the spot to absorb the oil. Scrub the stain with soap and water. Rinse the item with hot water, then apply a few drops of regular dish soap to the stain. Scrub the soap into the fabric with a toothbrush, then rinse it with hot water. The dish soap can be clear or colored, just make sure it doesn't have added moisturizers. As an alternative to dish soap, you could use shampoo, laundry soap, or aloe vera gel instead. Wash the garment by itself. As long as your garment is machine washable, you can pop it in the washing machine and launder it as usual. Follow the instructions on the care tag to determine the hottest water temperature the fabric can take. If the item is delicate, hand wash it. If your fabric is delicate, use a gentle detergent. Air dry the garment if the stain remains. Before putting the garment in the dryer, check to see if the stain is gone. You may need to let the item air dry so you can inspect the fabric when it's dry. If you put the item in the dryer and the stain isn't gone, the heat will set it into the fabric. Be sure to air dry any delicate fabrics rather than putting them in the dryer. Remove a stubborn stain with hairspray or WD-40. If you let the item air dry and still notice a stain, or if the stain is older and has set in, you can still remove it from your clothing. Spritz hairspray or WD-40 onto the stained fabric. Let it sit for 20 minutes, then launder the item as usual. Although WD-40 is an oil, it works by “reactivating” set-in stains so they can be easily removed by laundering. Don't use WD-40 on delicate fabrics. Soak up the excess oil. Use an old towel or paper towel to blot up as much of the oil as you can. Avoid rubbing the towel into the fabric, which could spread the stain. Sprinkle the area with powder and let it sit for 15 minutes. Use baking soda, talcum powder, baby powder, or cornstarch to soak up the oil. Just sprinkle it on the stain and let it sit for 15 minutes. Scrape away the powder and repeat if necessary. Use a spoon to scrape away the powder or vacuum it up. If oil is still visible on the fabric, add fresh powder to the area and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then, scrape it away with a spoon or vacuum it up. Blot the stain with soapy water or solvent. Mix 2 cups (470 ml) of cool water and 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of dish soap in a bowl or bucket. Dip a clean rag into the soapy water and use it to blot the stain. Keep blotting until the stain is gone. Alternatively, you could use dry cleaning solvent or Lestoil in place of the soapy water. Be sure to test it on an inconspicuous area of the fabric first. Remove the soap with a clean, damp sponge. Wet a clean sponge with cool water. Press it to the stained area to remove the soap, solvent, or Lestoil and any remaining oil. Soak up the excess liquid then allow the fabric to dry. Blot the wet spot with a clean towel to absorb as much liquid as possible. Then, allow the fabric to air dry.
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Blot as much oil as possible from the item. Check the garment care tag. Apply powder to the stain and let it sit for 30 minutes. Scrub the stain with soap and water. Wash the garment by itself. Air dry the garment if the stain remains. Remove a stubborn stain with hairspray or WD-40. Soak up the excess oil. Sprinkle the area with powder and let it sit for 15 minutes. Scrape away the powder and repeat if necessary. Blot the stain with soapy water or solvent. Remove the soap with a clean, damp sponge. Soak up the excess liquid then allow the fabric to dry.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Rent-a-Post-Office-Box
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How to Rent a Post Office Box
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To rent a post office box in the United States, fill out the application online or print out the form and fill it out. Designate on the form which PO box location you prefer and the box size you want, and don't forget to list the names of anyone else authorized to collect mail from your box. Be ready to submit a photo ID, like a driver's license, and a non-photo ID, such as a vehicle registration card, when you turn in your application!
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Fill out the application forms. You can apply online at usps.com , or print out a form from http://about.usps.com/forms/ps1093.pdf and take it into your local post office. Before you start, consider these questions: Where do you want your post office box to be? Are there two branches near your house? Would you prefer one over the other? Or is there only one post office where it's feasible for you to rent a box? What size do you want? Post office boxes come in five sizes. The smallest is 3 inches (7.6 cm) by 5.5 inches (14.0 cm); the largest is 22.5 inches (57.2 cm) by 12 inches (30.5 cm). Fees are based on size, so try to get the smallest one for your needs. Note who is authorized to receive mail at your post office box. You'll be able to list names on the application. Prepare two forms of ID. Whether you apply online or in-person, you'll need to provide the U.S. Postal Service with two forms of identification. Here's what you need: Photo ID. For your first form of ID, you could use a driver's license, state identification card, passport, alien registration card, or any form of photo ID issued by a government, the armed forces, a recognized educational entity, or a corporate ID card. Non-photo ID. Your second form of ID must be somehow tied to your physical address. Acceptable forms include your current lease or mortgage, your voter or vehicle registration card, or your home or vehicle insurance policy. Be aware that your birth certificate, Social Security card, and credit cards are not valid forms of ID. Pay your fees in advance. You can reserve it for 3, 6 or 12 months. Note that the fees for a post office box will vary by location. Not every branch will price them equally. Collect your post office box keys. You should receive two keys for every box. Expect to pay a security deposit for each key, which is refundable when you return them and close your post office box. Some post office boxes can be opened with access codes, much like a public school locker. Write down your combination in a secure place, or memorize it. Aim to collect your mail in a timely manner. Given that there's limited space in your post office box, accumulation is a potential problem. If you let it get out of hand, the Postal Service could suspend your lease. If you're going to be out of town or unable to pick up your mail for a significant period of time, make special arrangements with the postmaster. As long as you do this in advance, you shouldn't encounter any problems. Make sure your post office box size can accommodate your mail volume. If you end up receiving large packages or a lot of mail, consider renting a larger box. Update your information promptly. If any of the information on the form you used to get a post office box is outdated (for example, you moved), be sure to update it as soon as possible. You can update it online, or visit your local post office. Be aware of how refunds work. In some cases, you can get a refund for your post office box if you decide that you do not want to rent it anymore. Here's the general schedule: 3-month lease: No refunds 6-month lease: Within the first 3 months – half the fee paid After 3 months – no refunds 12-month lease: Within the first 3 months – three quarters of the fee paid Within the first 6 months – half the fee paid Within the first 9 months – a quarter of the fee paid After 9 months – no refunds. Consider a Royal Mail post office box. If you are over 16 and have a permanent address in the United Kingdom, you can apply for a variety of Royal Mail post office boxes. Note that you must have a permanent address. If your address is in "care of (c/o)" of someone else, you cannot apply for a post office box. Be aware that you cannot choose which post office you would like to use. The one that usually distributes your mail is where you're allowed to have a post office box. Choose what kind of post office box you want. Royal Mail provides three options : PO Box Collect: This is a traditional post office box. You'll travel to your local post office branch and physically collect your mail. PO Box Delivery: Items addressed to your post office box will be delivered to your home or business address. PO Box® with Transfer of Normal Address Mail: This places all the mail sent to your name in your post office box, where you will physically collect it. Choose a term. Royal Mail post office boxes may be leased for 6 or 12 months. Payments must be made in advance. Download an application from http://www.royalmail.com/delivery/inbound-mail/po-box/details. Your application should include: Proof of address. You can submit one of the following items as proof of address. The item you include must be the original, and less than 3 months old : Bank or building society statement (dated within the last 3 months) Phone bill for a landline only Utility bill (gas, electricity or water dated within the last 3 months) Council tax bill Royal Mail Account number for an existing service Payment for your post office box; you can pay via direct debit/check or postal order. Mail in your application and wait for a response. Your post office box should be ready for use in two weeks or less. Royal Mail will notify you when your address has been verified and your box is prepared. Post your application to: PO Box Application Team, PO Box 740, Barnsley, S73 0ZJ
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Fill out the application forms. Prepare two forms of ID. Pay your fees in advance. Collect your post office box keys. Aim to collect your mail in a timely manner. Update your information promptly. Be aware of how refunds work. Consider a Royal Mail post office box. Choose what kind of post office box you want. Choose a term. Download an application from http://www.royalmail.com/delivery/inbound-mail/po-box/details. Mail in your application and wait for a response.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Decoupage
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How to Decoupage
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To decoupage, start by cutting up pieces of soft, flexible paper to decorate your item with. Next, wash and dry the surface of the item so it's nice and clean before you get started. Then, use a paintbrush to paint glue onto a small area of the item. Once the glue is on, press a piece of paper over it and smooth it out. Repeat with the rest of the paper and then let the item dry for 8 hours. Finally, apply another layer of glue over the decoupage to seal the paper in place.
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Cover your workspace with paper to protect it from messes. Lay down several sheets of newspapers or an old cloth. This will prevent damage to your work surface and make cleanup easier. You may also want to put on an old t-shirt or an apron to protect your clothes. Choose the material you want to apply. You can use almost any paper or light fabric material to cover your surface. Wrapping or origami papers are great because they're decorative and a good weight. Other types of material for decoupage include: Wallpaper Magazines or catalogues Greeting cards Fabric or paper napkins Pages from old books Select the surface you want to decoupage. You probably already have a good idea of the item you want to decoupage. For example, you might want to update a chair, mirror, or box. You can decoupage onto wood, metal, glass, or ceramic. Consider decoupaging: Vases or pots Plates, trays, mugs, or bowls Lamps and lampshades Frames Hardcover book Glass or plastic bottles Tear or cut the material to fit on the surface of your object. Use sharp scissors or a craft knife to cut the paper or fabric into shapes or an outline. If you'd like a rustic look, tear the material so it has rough edges. Decide if you'd like to place just a few pieces of material or if you'd like to overlap several pieces. For example, if you're covering a dresser, you may just want to cut 3 large pieces of paper that fit 3 drawers perfectly. If you're decoupaging a small box, you might want to rip a variety of materials and overlap them on all sides of the box. Pour a little glue in a small dish to use as an adhesive and varnish. Go to a craft supply store or purchase decoupage glue online. If you'd rather buy just glue, choose PVA glue since it will dry clear. Pour a small amount into a dish and set it on your work surface. If you prefer, use a glue to make the decoupaged item and then apply a standard varnish later. You may be able to use a spray glue, if you can find one that dries clear. Dip a brush into the glue and apply the material to the surface. Dip a small paint brush or a larger foam brush into the glue in the dish. If you're decoupaging a small item, brush the glue onto the back of the material and press the piece onto the object. If you're decoupaging a large object, use the brush to spread the glue directly onto the object. For example, brush the glue onto an entire dresser draw and then quickly press the material onto the glued surface. Dry the item and varnish it if you'd like to protect it. Leave the item in a well-ventilated space and let it dry completely before you use it. If you'd like to protect the item from peeling and give a slight gloss, spread another layer of glue across the entire surface and let it dry. You can buy a varnish that dries clear, matte, or glossy. Sand and fill in any holes if you plan to stain or paint the furniture. If you'd like to refinish the furniture before you decoupage, remove the hardware such as the handles and lightly sand the furniture with medium-grit sandpaper. Wipe away the dust and fill any holes with wood filler. Let the filler dry and sand it to smooth any bumps. Wipe the dust away each time you sand the furniture. Apply primer or paint if you want to refinish the furniture. To change the look of the furniture before you decoupage, apply a primer and let it dry. Then apply your choice of paint. While you should avoid latex paint because it will bubble and blister when you decoupage, you can use: Acrylic paint Chalk paint Spray paint Watercolors Waterbase stain Clean and dry the furniture. If you've painted the furniture, let it dry for at least 24 hours before you begin. If you're not painting it, wipe the furniture clean with warm, soapy water. Then let it dry completely. Cut out or tear the material you want to apply. Use scissors or the craft knife to cut out the paper or fabric you're going to decoupage onto the furniture. For example, if you're decoupaging a dresser, you could cut long strips of wallpaper or tear smaller pieces of book pages. Decide where you'll place the material. If you're decoupaging a large piece of furniture, it's a good idea to plan where the pieces of paper or fabric will go. Consider laying them out so you can see if you like where they're positioned before you glue them to the furniture. You might not need a plan if you're decoupaging 1 or 2 large pieces, but it's helpful if you'll be making a patchwork effect with lots of smaller pieces. Spread the glue onto part of the furniture and apply the material. Dip a paint brush or foam brush into your glue and spread it over a small area of the furniture. Quickly place the paper or fabric onto the glue and use your fingers to smooth out any wrinkles or bubbles. If you're decoupaging a large piece of furniture, avoid coating the whole thing in the glue before placing some of the material on it. Some of the glue will dry before you have a chance to apply the material. Continue to decoupage until you've used all of your material. You don't have to wait for the material to dry before you spread more glue and put more material on the furniture. Let the furniture dry for at least a 2 to 4 hours. Once you've finished decoupaging the furniture, leave it to dry in a well-ventilated space. The furniture should be dry to the touch before you apply a varnish. Follow the manufacturer's instructions about drying time since they'll vary by product. Seal the furniture with another coat of glue. Spread a thin layer of glue or varnish over the entire piece of furniture. This will keep the materials in place and protect the furniture from wear. If you'd like more protection, let the first coat dry and apply another coat of glue or varnish. Paint and seal the terra cotta pots. Get out as many clean terra cotta pots as you want to decoupage and wipe them clean. If you want to paint the pots so they're colorful, paint them with acrylic paint and let them dry completely. Then coat the inside of the pot with a sealer such as an acrylic or water-based polyurethane sealer. If you don't want to paint the outside of the pot, you'll need to apply a sealer to protect the pot from water damage. Cut the material you want to apply. Take your paper or fabric and cut out the design, image, or shape as you want it to appear on the pot. For example, if you're covering the pot with photos of roses, cut the outline of the roses with the stems and leaves. For an improvised look, you could tear the material instead of cutting it. You can also cut out interesting shapes to make an abstract design on the pot. Use a brush to coat the bottom of the material with glue. Dip a paint brush or small foam brush into the glue. Spread a thin layer of it on the back of your cut or torn material. If you'd like a large, bold image on your pot, just decoupage 1 image. For a fun pattern, stick smaller torn or cut images onto the sides of the pot. Press the material onto your pot. Set the material on the pot and smooth it out with your fingers so there are no bumps or wrinkles. If you put too much glue on the back of the material, it may leak out of the sides. Use a cotton swab to wipe away the excess so you don't have bumps on your pot. Continue to apply the rest of your materials to the pot. You don't need to wait for the material to dry if you'd like to overlap other pieces over the material. Cover the pot with a layer of glue. Dip a foam brush into glue and spread it evenly across the entire outside of the pot. Apply a thin layer so it dries quickly and clear. Let the pot dry completely. If you'd like an extra layer of protection, brush on another layer 15 minutes after the base layer has dried. You may only need to apply 1 layer if the decoupage items you've decoupaged thin materials or the pot won't be placed outside.
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Cover your workspace with paper to protect it from messes. Choose the material you want to apply. Select the surface you want to decoupage. Tear or cut the material to fit on the surface of your object. Pour a little glue in a small dish to use as an adhesive and varnish. Dip a brush into the glue and apply the material to the surface. Dry the item and varnish it if you'd like to protect it. Sand and fill in any holes if you plan to stain or paint the furniture. Apply primer or paint if you want to refinish the furniture. Clean and dry the furniture. Cut out or tear the material you want to apply. Decide where you'll place the material. Spread the glue onto part of the furniture and apply the material. Continue to decoupage until you've used all of your material. Let the furniture dry for at least a 2 to 4 hours. Seal the furniture with another coat of glue. Paint and seal the terra cotta pots. Cut the material you want to apply. Use a brush to coat the bottom of the material with glue. Press the material onto your pot. Cover the pot with a layer of glue.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Grill-Zucchini
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How to Grill Zucchini
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To grill zucchini, start by heating the grill to medium hot, and slicing the zucchini into circular slices about ¼ to ½ inch thick. Then, toss the zucchini with olive oil until all the pieces are evenly coated. Next, lay them on the grill for 2 minutes, then flip them over and cook for another 2 minutes. Let the zucchini slices cool on a clean serving dish, then sprinkle with the seasonings of your choice and serve immediately.
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Heat up the grill. Grilled zucchini is delicious when well-seared. This requires using a grill that is at least medium-hot. Hotter grills would brand a set of appealing blackened grill marks, but if you're worried about burning your vegetables, you may want to opt for medium heat. You can always simply cook your zucchini for longer if they aren't done to your liking. Heating up a grill is easy. Turn a gas grill on, start the flow of gas and hit the lighter, close the lid, and let the grill heat. If you are using a charcoal grill , light the charcoal. Wait until the charcoal is ashy and glowing orange. While waiting for the grill to heat up, do the prep work for your meal. For example, you may want to set the table, prepare the other dishes, or start chopping your zucchini. Slice the zucchini. The key to grilling zucchini is to use thin slices, not thick pieces. Thick pieces of zucchinis may end up charred on the outside but uncooked inside. You can cut the zucchini into rounds, cubes, wedges, or even strips! Chop zucchini into circular slices about ⁄ 4 to ⁄ 2 inch (0.64 to 1.27 cm) thick. These are easy to cut and easy to eat. This is a good choice when the zucchini is to be eaten as its own dish. Chop zucchini into cubes approximately ⁄ 4 to ⁄ 2 inch (0.64 to 1.27 cm) on each side. These bite-sized chunks work well for kabobs. Chop your zucchini into wedges. Long, thin wedges cook well on the grill. Cut the zucchini into eighths lengthwise. Slice your zucchini into long, thin strips. These are a little challenging — you need to cut the zucchini lengthwise into thin, paper-like strips just ⁄ 16 inch (0.16 cm) thick or so. This requires a steady hand, but it's great for when you want to roll up ingredients in the zucchini pieces to make mini "wraps." Drizzle the zucchini with oil. When your zucchini pieces are all chopped up, transfer them to a mixing bowl. Drizzle on about 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of cooking oil per zucchini. Mix the contents of the bowl until the zucchini pieces are all evenly coated. The oil will lend the zucchini pieces a little extra flavor, help them cook, and keep them from sticking to the hot grill. Olive oil is a good choice for its flavor, but it has a low smoke point, which means it will start smoking at hot temperatures. If you don't want to deal with the extra smoke, you might want to try an oil with a higher smoke point, like vegetable oil, canola oil, or peanut oil. Grill the zucchini for 2 minutes. Use a set of tongs to pick up the zucchini pieces and lay them on the grill one at a time. You should hear a sizzling sound as soon as the zucchini touches the hot surface. Grill the zucchini for about 2 minutes uninterrupted. If you chopped your zucchini into thin pieces, be sure to lay them at a 90-degree angle to the bars of the grill so they don't fall through. If you're worried about your zucchini sticking to the grill, use a grill brush or a paper towel to carefully paint the bars of the grill with oil before laying the zucchini pieces down. Flip the zucchini and cook it for another 2 minutes. After a few minutes of cooking, the sides of the zucchini pieces touching the grill should be well-browned and tender. Flip the zucchini pieces over to cook the other side and let sit for a minute or two. Repeat as needed until the zucchinis are tender and browned all over. For zucchinis that are evenly-cooked to perfection, flip your zucchini pieces in the same order as you added them to the grill. This ensures that all the sides will cook for the same amount of time. Season and serve the zucchini. When your zucchini pieces are cooked on all sides, transfer them from the grill to a clean serving platter. Let them sit for a few minutes until they are cool enough to eat, then sprinkle them with the seasonings of your choice and serve them immediately. Congratulations — you've just made grilled zucchini! There's no "right" seasoning to put on your zucchini, but if you're looking for something everyone will like, try lightly seasoning with salt and black pepper. Other good choices include garlic salt and cajun seasoning! Try this recipe as a low-carb, easy side dish with your next meal. Marinate the zucchini in vinaigrette to add flavor. When you're tired of the ordinary zucchini taste, try spicing things up by soaking your zucchini in a flavorful marinade before cooking. Combine a little cooking oil with your favorite acidic ingredients (like vinegar or citrus juice), throw in the seasonings of your choice, and let the vegetables soak before cooking. For example, mix ⁄ 4 cup (59 ml) of balsamic vinegar and ⁄ 2 cup (120 mL) of olive oil. Add a few pinches of garlic powder and a spoonful of dried rosemary, basil, and oregano — whichever you have. Pour into an airtight container, add your zucchini pieces, and let them soak for at least a few hours before cooking. If you are in a hurry and don't have time to marinate your vegetables, don't worry. Simply toss them in a bowl with about ⁄ 4 cup (59 ml) of Italian vinaigrette salad dressing per zucchini and cook them immediately. Make a lemon-garlic sauce for a savory zucchini dish. Zucchini's mild taste goes great with tangy citrus flavors, the savory twang of garlic, and the richness of butter. This lemon-garlic sauce makes a great addition to plain grilled zucchini — use it in place of cooking oil to paint the vegetables before grilling. Melt 1/2 stick of butter with 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of lemon juice. Grate about 1 tablespoon of zest from the lemon peel into the mixture. Stir in 1 tsp (3.28 g) of garlic powder and 1 tsp (1 g) of dried oregano. If you have some, add a pinch of curry powder as well. Paint the zucchini pieces with the sauce and grill as normal. Sprinkle the zucchini with citrus seasoning salt for a tangy option. Looking to add a little extra flavor to some plain old grilled zucchini pieces? Try making a citrus-tinged seasoning salt by mixing zest from your favorite citrus fruit with ordinary salt, then sprinkling it on just before serving. You can use lemons, limes, oranges, or whatever else you want. Cook the zucchini pieces as normal, then set them aside. As the zucchini cools, grab 3 lemons and use a fine grater or a microplane to grate the zest from the peels into a small pile on a cutting board. Add about 1 tbsp (17 g) of salt to the pile of zest, then use a knife to chop the salt and zest, combining them. Immediately use this to season the zucchini and serve. If you wait too long, the salt will dissolve. Serve the zucchini with pesto sauce if you like to dip your veggies. Zucchini is great on its own, but if you're looking for a dish that's a little more satisfying, try serving it with a hearty pesto sauce. You can dip the vegetable pieces in the sauce, like chips and dip, or slice them extra-thin and make mini-wraps with the sauce — it's up to you. Cook the zucchini pieces as normal. Add 1 cup (20 g) of basil leaves, 1 clove of garlic, ⁄ 2 cup (120 mL) of olive oil, and 1/4 cup (~33 g) of toasted pine nuts or walnuts to a blender. Pulse until well-combined. Gradually pour in 3/4 cup (~75 g) of grated Parmesan cheese, pulsing as you go to form a thick, rich pesto sauce. Serve the zucchini with pesto on the side or as the filling in mini-wraps. Whip up zucchini kabobs for a fun twist. Skewering zucchini pieces on a kabob by themselves or with other ingredients gives your guests a delicious, fun-to-eat meal. Zucchini pairs well with most common grilling ingredients, so depending on what you have available, you can make the exact kabob flavor combinations you desire. Good ingredients to add to a kabob with zucchini pieces include: Vegetables: Summer squash, bell peppers, onion chunks, mushrooms Meat: Chicken, lamb, pork, beef Melt Parmesan cheese over zucchini for a rich dish. Savory, nutty Parmesan cheese goes well with the moderate flavor of zucchini. Melting the cheese over zucchini pieces on the grill gives a dish that's deliciously crisp and blackened on one side and richly cheesy on the other. See below for instructions. To make Parmesan zucchini, cut the zucchini into wide, thin pieces, then oil them and lay them on the grill as normal. Carefully sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top of each piece, then close the lid and allow the pieces to cook for 2-3 minutes. When the zucchini is tender and the cheese is melted, remove the pieces from the grill — you don't have to flip them. Grill zucchini with other vegetables in a grill basket for a healthy side dish. Looking to cook a lot of vegetables on the grill at once? One easy way to do this is to use a grill basket, which is basically a small metal cage with handles that's sold as a grill accessory. Filling a grill basket with mixed vegetables and cooking over a hot grill gives the vegetables deliciously crisp, blackened exteriors while allowing their flavors to blend together. Best of all, this keeps the rest of your grill free for meat or other dishes. To prep vegetables for cooking in a grill basket, chop them into similar-sized pieces and toss them in olive oil. Add your favorite seasonings (rosemary and garlic powder are good choices) and stir to combine. Put the veggies in the basket and set the basket on the hot surface of the grill. If you don't have a grill basket, you can get a similar effect by folding your vegetables into a pocket made from aluminum foil. Look for a small-to-medium-sized zucchini. Bigger is not better when it comes to finding the perfect zucchini to grill. Larger zucchini tend to have their flavor "spread out" through the vegetable. That is, they're usually somewhat watery and flavorless compared to smaller zucchinis, so choose the latter for grilling. A good rule of thumb is not to pick a zucchini that's much bigger than a hand-held flashlight. A zucchini's taste starts to suffer after they reach about 6–8 inches (15–20 cm) in length. Look for a vibrant color. Did you know that not all zucchinis are green? In fact, perfectly-ripe zucchinis can be green, yellow, and even white. No matter what color of zucchini you get, check the vegetable to make sure its color appears rich, bright, and vibrant. Dull or dead-looking zucchinis, on the other hand, may be a sign that the vegetables are past their prime. Feel for a firm, smooth texture. A ripe zucchini that's ready for grilling should be firm and crisp. However, it shouldn't be outright hard — the flesh should give very slightly when squeezed. Run your hand down the length of the zucchini to check for nicks, cuts, and other deformations. If you find any, pick a different zucchini. The best zucchinis have a very soft, subtle "hair" on them. You should be able to feel this light, bristly texture with the back of your hand. Store zucchini in the fridge for about a week. Fresh, high-quality zucchini lasts about a week in the fridge. If you can, place the zucchini in a paper bag, rather than a plastic one. Airtight plastic materials can trap in moisture, making the zucchini get slimy and spoil faster. Tightly-wrapped zucchinis also store for months in the freezer. In this case, you will want to wrap the zucchini tightly in plastic wrap or place it in a tight ziplock bag. Blanching the zucchini before freezing it can prevent it from discoloring and losing its texture while frozen.
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Heat up the grill. Slice the zucchini. Drizzle the zucchini with oil. Grill the zucchini for 2 minutes. Flip the zucchini and cook it for another 2 minutes. Season and serve the zucchini. Marinate the zucchini in vinaigrette to add flavor. Make a lemon-garlic sauce for a savory zucchini dish. Sprinkle the zucchini with citrus seasoning salt for a tangy option. Serve the zucchini with pesto sauce if you like to dip your veggies. Whip up zucchini kabobs for a fun twist. Melt Parmesan cheese over zucchini for a rich dish. Grill zucchini with other vegetables in a grill basket for a healthy side dish. Look for a small-to-medium-sized zucchini. Look for a vibrant color. Feel for a firm, smooth texture. Store zucchini in the fridge for about a week.
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https://www.wikihow-fun.com/Act-Like-a-Mermaid
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How to Act Like a Mermaid
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If you want to act like a mermaid, wear your hair in long, loose waves, adding in hair extensions if you need to. Opt for minimal makeup in blues, purples, and teals, and don't be afraid of shimmer! You can either wear your own mermaid tail or opt for long, flowy skirts if a tail isn't practical, Once you look the part, spend as much time near the water as possible. Since mermaids live undersea and aren't familiar with life on land, act perplexed by ordinary things, and try coming up with unique ways to use household items, like combing your hair with a fork.
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Grow your hair out below your shoulders. Since mermaids are known for their long, luscious locks, growing your hair out past your shoulders will help you look the part. Aim to grow your hair past your shoulders at least, if not longer. If this is for a costume or event, consider wearing hair extensions or a wig instead. Style your hair into beachy, wavy locks. Think of mermaids in The Little Mermaid, Splash, or even the Starbucks logo, and you'll note that most mermaids have effortlessly wavy hairstyles from spending their days underwater. If your hair isn't naturally wavy, opt for a new style to achieve a wavy look. Don't damage your hair though. Being a mermaid means embracing who you are, so if your hair is curly, kinky or straight, you should rock it the natural, healthy way If it feels right, you can style your hair to look like you've just stepped out of the ocean. Try putting water and salt in a squirt bottle and spraying your hair a few times throughout your day. Finish off your wavy hairstyle with beachy accessories. Put fake starfish, coral combs, or even a sprinkle of sand in your hair to show that you're a true mermaid. Try looking for mermaid-themed hair accessories at the dollar store, or look for shells and coral at the beach. If you can't find any accessories at a store, make your own! Hot glue a shell to a hair clip, then paint it with glittery, shimmery, purple paint. Wear minimal, waterproof makeup for a natural mermaid look. Because mermaids live under the sea, they tend not to wear a lot of makeup. Use your makeup strategically to enhance your natural beauty without looking over-the-top. Be sure to use waterproof products in case you go swimming! Use light blues, greens, and purples to shade the outer corners of your eyes and highlight natural ocean tones. Wear a good, non-clumping black mascara. Wear a blue, purple, or clear lip gloss. Buy a mermaid tail. You can order custom-fit mermaid tails from different specialty vendors online. These tails are the perfect touch for authentic mermaid attire, and can help your swimming style to resemble that of a mermaid. If you can't afford a mermaid tail, no worries - you can still act like a mermaid with other, less expensive accessories. Wear long, flowy shirts and skirts. For everyday clothes, stick to long clothes that flow with your natural movement, and wear oceanic colors, such as blues, greens, and purples. This style will remind people of the soft ocean waves. Try pairing a flowy shirt with a pair of jeans, or a crop top with a flowy blue skirt. Wear a mermaid shell bikini top, when appropriate. On days when you're lounging at the beach or the pool, wearing a shell-shaped bikini top will signal your mermaid status to those around you. Pick tops in sea-friendly colors like blue or purple. Alternatively, make or buy a mermaid sea shell T-shirt. It's a crop top that has a pair of sea shells printed over your chest to mimic a sea shell bra. Stick to casual, open-toed shoes. Since real mermaids don't wear shoes, there's no need to draw attention to your feet. Opt for simple flip-flops, sandals, or water shoes, and, if possible, find shoes that incorporate shell or starfish designs. Paint your nails and toes to match the colors of the sea. Try subtle shades of pink, blues, or turquoise. If you want to draw more attention to your nails, paint mermaid-centric designs on them such as starfish, anchors, or even scales. Alternatively, if you are a tropical mermaid, consider tropical colors, such as pink, orange, or yellow. Wear coral and shell jewelry. To be a true mermaid, you have to accessorize like one. Take a trip to the dollar store and load up on “thingamabobs,” including coral or shell necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. You can also try making your own shell jewelry. Spend as much time near water as possible. To be a true mermaid, you should come as close to full-sea immersion as possible. While you don't need to travel to the bottom of the ocean to mimic a mermaid's real home, you should definitely make a splash into more accessible watering holes. If you live near the ocean, spend your days in the water or on the shore. If you don't live near the ocean, try to lounge near a lake, swimming pool, or river. If you have time for a vacation, consider going to the beach so you can spend more time near the ocean. Redecorate your room to look like the ocean. Even if you can't live underwater, you can make your room into mermaid paradise by decorating with shells, coral, and pictures of the ocean. Paint your walls blue, and surround your bed with fake coral, plants, fake seaweed, and anything else that will make you feel like you're under the sea. If you can't paint your room, consider hanging up ocean-themed pictures. Removable wall decals are also a great option. Find other sea creatures to hang out with. Being a mermaid on your own can be lonely, and if you find some fellow sea creatures, not only will you make some friends, but your act will be more convincing. You can also look for other sea creatures, such as starfish, crabs, or tropical fish to add to your coterie. This doesn't mean that you have to start a saltwater aquarium, although you certainly can if you wanted to. Alternatively, visit your local aquarium. Go to a mermaid convention. These conventions involve large, organized gatherings where mermaids come together to swim, play in the water, watch mermaid performers, and connect on all mermaid-related matters. If you can make it out to a convention, you'll be able to fully immerse yourself in a mermaid paradise and meet plenty of other mermaids! Mermaid conventions take place annually across US cities including Greensboro, NC, Las Vegas, NV, and Miami, FL. Watch mermaids in movies for inspiration. Check out some popular mermaid movies and TV shows, like "The Little Mermaid," "Aquamarine,” and "H2O.” Watch how these famous mermaids talk and interact with each other, and try to mimic their behavior in your everyday life. You can take notes on a pad of paper, but you don't have to. Create a mermaid name. If you want to act like a mermaid, having a mysterious, ocean-like name will make you seem more convincing. You can find a list of traditional mermaid names and their meanings online, or, if you're feeling creative, make up your own! A few examples of mermaid names to get you started include Nerida (the Greek word for mermaid), Viviane (meaning "lady of the lake"), and Cleodora (the daughter of a river god in Greek mythology). Act slightly bewildered by the world around you. Because mermaids live undersea, they are typically confused by life on land. Act perplexed by perfectly ordinary things, and try using normal items in slightly misplaced ways. For example, you might use a fork (aka “Dinglehopper”) to comb your long hair. Mermaids are also confused by technology, as there are no computers or televisions underwater. Instead of texting, use a large shell or conch to call your mermaid pals on your “shellphone”! Walk with uncertainty. As a mermaid, you're likely to be a little confused by how your legs work. Adjust your walking style to appear uncertain of your legs, and find a way to safely stumble or trip while you're walking. Never endanger yourself while trying to walk like a mermaid. If you're walking with uncertainty, be sure to maintain control of your body so you don't hurt yourself! Sing, and sing a lot! A true mermaid sings beautifully and skillfully, whether to herself or for an audience. This is one of the most distinct features of well-known mermaids, so you should play it up whenever you can. If you're not naturally a good singer, practice singing as much as possible until you feel more comfortable with your voice. Have a look of longing and melancholy when you sing, and try thinking of your life in another world. Work on your swimming skills. A true mermaid should have impeccable swimming skills, and she should be more comfortable in the water than on land. Treat swimming as a form of exercise, and spend some time improving your underwater fitness. When you swim, put your legs and feet together as though you're wearing a single fin. If you've purchased a tail, you can also try training with the tail. Think of moving like a dolphin, and use your core muscles to propel your body forward underwater. Since mermaids can breathe underwater, work on your underwater breathing skills, and see if you can train yourself to stay underwater without air for longer periods of time. Take a mermaid class. If you're really committed to acting like a mermaid, you can take special classes devoted to teaching the art of being a mermaid. These classes take place at indoor swimming pools, and focus on teaching mermaid swimming technique, mermaid dances, and underwater tail technique. They also offer tail rental services. While mermaid classes are not essential to acting like a mermaid, they will certainly make your performance more convincing.
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Grow your hair out below your shoulders. Style your hair into beachy, wavy locks. Finish off your wavy hairstyle with beachy accessories. Wear minimal, waterproof makeup for a natural mermaid look. Buy a mermaid tail. Wear long, flowy shirts and skirts. Wear a mermaid shell bikini top, when appropriate. Stick to casual, open-toed shoes. Paint your nails and toes to match the colors of the sea. Wear coral and shell jewelry. Spend as much time near water as possible. Redecorate your room to look like the ocean. Find other sea creatures to hang out with. Go to a mermaid convention. Watch mermaids in movies for inspiration. Create a mermaid name. Act slightly bewildered by the world around you. Walk with uncertainty. Sing, and sing a lot! Work on your swimming skills. Take a mermaid class.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Relax-While-Getting-a-Cavity-Filled
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How to Relax While Getting a Cavity Filled
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To help yourself relax while getting a filling, consider bringing headphones so you can listen to some calming music or an audiobook while you wait. If you plan to wear headphones during the procedure, ask your dentist if that's okay. Try not to arrive more than 5-10 minutes before your appointment time, since waiting can make you feel more nervous. To make yourself as comfortable as possible, use the restroom before your procedure and have something to eat if your dentist says you can. Before the filling, ask your dentist for detailed information about what will happen and how you can prepare. If you're really nervous, you can ask them about sedation options to help you relax.
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Bring headphones and listen to an audiobook or music. Listening to music or a funny audiobook before and while you're getting a cavity filled can help you relax. Consider what best relaxes or distracts you, whether it's loud, heavy music or something more calming. Make a playlist and show up to your appointment with a good set of headphones that'll drown out any sounds from the dentist's tools. Talk to your dentist in advance to make sure wearing headphones, especially a bulkier set, won't interfere with their work. Make sure that the volume is not too high so that you will still be able to hear the dentist's instructions for you. Don’t show up too early. Showing up more than five or ten minutes early might make you more nervous. While it's always good to show up on time or a little early to appointments, you don't want to have to sit in the waiting room for a while anticipating the procedure. If you do arrive to the office too early, wait in your car or outside until a few minutes before your appointment, since waiting rooms themselves can be a source of anxiety. The sound of the drill turbine can provoke anxiety in some people, so try to avoid hearing it if possible. Empty your bladder and take any recommended dietary precautions. Talk to your dentist in advance about whether or not you can eat before the procedure. If you've already made arrangements for a general anesthetic, or a sedative that makes you unconscious, you may not be able to eat after midnight the night before. In addition, go to the bathroom before your appointment. It's a lot easier to relax while sitting in the dentist's chair for a while if you don't have to use the restroom! See a pediatric dentist. Kids are not simply smaller versions of adults, so it's important not to take a child to an adult dentist. Not only are pediatric dentists specially trained in kids' oral health, they are more familiar with methods that help kids relax in the dentist's chair. They are also more likely to have a kid-friendly disposition, better word choices, and more patience with little ones' fears. Pediatric dentists are also more experienced at calming down children and their offices are decorated in a way that is meant to create a fun place for children. Consider whether or not a parent should be in the room. Depending on a child's age and personality, it may or may not be appropriate for a parent to be present during a filling. Additionally, some dentist offices prefer one or the other, so if you're a concerned parent, consult with your pediatric dentist. If you're more comfortable with one or the other, you can do some research and find a dentist whose practices match your preferences If you do stay in the room during the filling, stay in a place where the child knows you're present but can't see your face. They'll respond to even subtle faces you might make and could become anxious or move around. Keep a calm, pleasant expression on your face and say reassuring things. If you aren't in the room, stay in the waiting room. Don't leave to run errands in case you are needed for anything. If you're not in the room and are worried, the office's staff will keep you informed about what's going on with the procedure. Ask them for an update if you're concerned. Choose words carefully and consider tone of voice. Pediatric dentists are typically very sensitive about the words and tone of voice they use with a young child, and parents should follow suit. It's important to explain things in terms that are appropriate and make sense for the child. Speaking in a calm, controlled, and positive tone of voice is just as essential as using kid-friendly words. Try explaining that one of their teeth has a cold or is sick, and that the dentist is going to make it feel better. Use positive reinforcement to remind a young child how great of a job they're doing, that you're very proud of them, and that going to the dentist is part of growing up that they should take pride in. Promising a reward after may also help, so you might remind your child of this if you are allowed to be in the room during the procedure. Consider nitrous oxide as an anesthetic. Dentists are using nitrous oxide as an anesthetic for children more frequently in recent years. There are no harmful effects or side effects associated with nitrous oxide, regardless of age. This method of sedation can be especially beneficial for children who are extremely afraid of needles or would otherwise require restraint, as it's much safer for kids than general anesthesia. Choose the right dentist. Do some research before going with a dentist to fill your cavity, especially if you or your child don't already see one regularly. Find a dentist by asking friends or family for referrals of a dentist they trust, or you could read reviews online to see what other people think about dentists in your area. In addition, call offices to shop around for a dentist who's not only highly skilled, but deeply sensitive and empathetic. If you have a dentist you can trust, it will go a long way toward alleviating the anxiety you feel. Verify their qualifications by calling the office and asking about their degrees and licensing. Some dentists hang televisions or posters from ceilings, play music, or use other means to distract patients during procedures. If the TV is 3D capable, then you can wear 3D glasses during the procedure. If you or your child experiences significant fear of the dentist, consider calling offices and asking what distraction methods they use. Ask your dentist about anesthetic and sedative options. Typically, an oral gel is first administered to the surrounding gum tissue. After a minute or so, a needle injects Novocain to numb the area completely. A sensitive dentist will time these steps so that you won't feel anything. However, since some people don't respond to Novocain or Mepivacaine or are severely afraid of needles, you should discuss the sedative process, cost range and coverage, and available options. General anesthetic is rarely used for fillings, but is sometimes administered in cases of severe fear or anxious of dental procedures. You're not able to drive after general anesthesia, so make sure to set up a ride if necessary. Also, take into account the side effects, which usually include dizziness. Nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, is a common dental sedative. Unlike general anesthesia, you're allowed to eat prior to being administered nitrous oxide Oral sedatives, or sleeping pills like Halcion and Valium, are becoming more commonly administered in dental-phobic patients. If your dentist is trained to offer these medications, make sure you understand when and how much to take, and set up rides to and from the appointment. Learn about fillings from your dentist and by researching. Understanding why ignoring a cavity can makes things much worse can help you relax during a filling. Fillings are important because they get rid of decay and act like a normal tooth, allowing you to continue to chew and talk. They also protect the pulp against external factors, so having it done as fast as possible can save you from expensive root canal treatments. Ignoring a cavity and not getting a tooth filled can lead to much more significant dental work, like crowns, root canals, or tooth extractions. Knowing that a filling isn't the most intense dental procedure to fix cavities can help you face your fear and relax. Even if a cavity does require a crown or root canal, these are tried and true procedures that will help you feel better in the long run. If you need to have a big procedure done, try making an appointment for a routine cleaning first. That way, you can get to know your dentist and build a relationship with them. Know that lots of people are afraid of the dentist, but it's important to get your teeth taken care of in order to maintain your overall health. Ignoring a cavity can lead to infections that can make you very sick, representing a threatening danger for your overall health. Have your dentist explain which kind of filling is best. Fillings are either composite, which are made of plastic and glass, or amalgam, which is made of silver and other metals. Amalgam fillings have been used for almost two hundred years, and while composite ones are newer, they're becoming more and more advanced as time goes on. Amalgam fillings are stronger, and usually the best option for kids. Composite fillings are usually more expensive and don't last as long, but are the same color as natural teeth. You will need to get these checked annually to ensure that the margins are intact and there is nothing getting into the area beneath them. You might read about how amalgam fillings contain a small amount of mercury, but you shouldn't be worried. When it's combined with other metals, mercury isn't harmful unless you have an allergy. Amalgam fillings have also been around a long time, so there's plenty of evidence to show that there are no long-term harmful effects. Ask your dentist to explain the procedure and show you the tools. While some people express fear of seeing and hearing dental tools, others are more concerned about what they don't know or see firsthand. If you typically experience a fear of the unknown or fear of not having control, consider asking your dentist to explain the procedure in detail and tell you about how each dental tool works. Do your best to know what you're afraid of and why. Know yourself and if you're generally more or less comfortable when you know all the details about something scary. In addition, ask your dentist about any maintenance for your fillings. Typically, every 6 months when you come in for your filling, your dentist will give you an X-ray to make sure the filling isn't loose or broken, and that there isn't any decay recurring under the filling.
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Bring headphones and listen to an audiobook or music. Don’t show up too early. Empty your bladder and take any recommended dietary precautions. See a pediatric dentist. Consider whether or not a parent should be in the room. Choose words carefully and consider tone of voice. Consider nitrous oxide as an anesthetic. Choose the right dentist. Ask your dentist about anesthetic and sedative options. Learn about fillings from your dentist and by researching. Have your dentist explain which kind of filling is best. Ask your dentist to explain the procedure and show you the tools.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Deal-With-a-Terrible-Dad
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How to Deal With a Terrible Dad
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If you have to deal with a terrible dad, do your best to minimize his influence on you by keeping your distance and reminding yourself that he's responsible for his own behavior. Also, resist the urge to take up his bad habits. Instead, search for other male role models to look up to. While relationships with other people may not necessarily replace the relationship you have with your father, try to build a positive support group around you, so you have friends and family to lean on when you're stressed. When you find yourself struggling emotionally, unload all of your thoughts and feelings toward your dad into a letter, which you don't actually have to send. By simply giving yourself an outlet for your pent-up emotions, you can begin to heal.
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See that he’s the problem, not you. Are you blaming yourself for your dad's angry outbursts, excessive drinking, neglect, or emotional instability? Many kids think their parents behave badly because of something they did wrong. If this sounds like you, stop blaming yourself. No matter what your dad or anyone else says, you're not responsible for his behavior. Your father is an adult, so he's responsible for himself. If you're having trouble realizing that you're not to blame, talk to another adult about what you're feeling. It may also help to remind yourself by reciting an affirmation like, “Dad is responsible for himself. I am not to blame for his behavior.” Remember that your dad's behavior does not have anything to do with you. His behavior may be the result of how he was raised, his own trauma, a mental illness, or other factors. Avoid picking up his bad habits. Living in the household with a dad who has negative habits may make you worry about picking them up. It's true that there's a chance that kids can develop habits--how to handle relationships, conflict and substance abuse from their parents--but it's not a certainty. Take positive action in your life. That way, you'll be able to sidestep his influence and avoid developing these behavioral patterns later. To minimize your chances of substance abuse, participate in extracurriculars at school. Involvement in such activities lowers your risk. Try to identify the unhealthy behaviors you don't want to pick up from your father. Then, look for another role model who demonstrates the types of behaviors you do want. Similarly, if you are being neglected or abused, start working with a counselor to address these issues. Getting help can help you minimize your chances of demonstrating the same behavioral patterns with your own children. Find other male role models. You can soften the influence your terrible father has on you by seeking out positive relationships with male role models. Form relationships with male leaders in your school, work, or community. These influences may counter some of the negative effects of having a bad father. Participate in mentoring programs like Boys Club or Girls, Inc. You might also connect with positive male role models by reaching out to teachers, coaches, community leaders, or spiritual advisors. You might reach out by saying something like, "Coach Greg, I really look up to you. My own dad is hardly ever around. Do you think you could mentor me?" Consider your friends' dads as well. If you have a friend who has a good dad, then you might ask your friend if it would be okay if you tag along for some of their activities. Build a positive support group. You can further absorb the negative effects of a terrible father by surrounding yourself with supportive friends and family. While relationships with others can't necessarily replace your father, they can offer protection against stress. Lean on good friends and family members for social support. Keep your distance. If your terrible father is a part of your life, but you find his presence tends to make things worse, get some distance from him. Protect yourself from further psychological harm by reducing the amount of time you spend around him. If you visit your father only occasionally, ask your mother if you can stop the visits. If your father lives in the same household as you, limit the time you spend around him by excusing yourself to your room whenever possible. Identify the things that have hurt you. Start by making a list of the belief that you have about yourself, and consider how each one of these beliefs was formed. Then, work on identifying behaviors that come from those beliefs and work on refuting them. For example, if your dad has told you repeatedly that you're not smart, then you may have accepted this. This belief may have affected your grades. You can refute this belief by asking for additional help with subjects that have been challenging for you and by improving in these areas, you can show yourself that you are smart. Write a letter, but don’t deliver it. Unloading your thoughts and feelings onto a sheet of paper can be cathartic, giving you an outlet for pent-up emotions. Deal with any unresolved feelings about your father by writing a letter. Write out everything that you have ever wanted to say to him in as much detail as possible. After you've finished writing, read the letter aloud to yourself as if you were sharing it with him. Then, destroy the letter by burning it or tearing it to shreds. This exercise is designed to help you heal, so delivering the letter is not required. However, if you'd like to send it, go for it. Start a self-care practice. There are many negative effects of having a father who is physically or psychologically absent, such as poor future relationships and mental health problems. Counter these effects by nurturing yourself with regular self-care. Self-care can be anything that helps you feel nurtured. Try watching your favorite movies or TV shows, going for a quiet walk in nature, or massaging away the tension in your shoulders. Learn to identify your strengths. Feeling unloved or alienated by your father can result in self-hatred and low self-esteem. To counter these emotional problems, make an effort to highlight your personal strengths. Doing so can help you feel more self-confident despite lacking needed support from your dad. Sit down and make a list of all the things you're good at. If you have trouble coming up with strengths, ask a close friend to help you. Post your list on your mirror so that it's always visible. Add to it when you discover more strengths. Write down compliments you get from other people, such as teachers or other adults that you respect. Then, when you're feeling low, look at the list of compliments to remind yourself of what other people really think of you. Confide in a friend you trust. The emotional wounds of having a terrible father may run deep, but it can help to share your feelings with others. Identify at least one friend with whom you can share your innermost thoughts and feelings. Talking to someone can facilitate the healing process. You might reach out by saying, “My relationship with my dad is really troubling me. I could use someone to talk to.” Talk to someone in authority. In addition to talking to your friends, it can also help to tell an adult what's happening at home. Try talking to another relative, a teacher, or your school counselor. You might say, "Things are really tough at home. Dad's drinking is getting worse and I don't know what to do." Know that some people in authority might have to report your father's behavior to the police or child protective services. If you do not want to your father to get into trouble, you might avoid going into specifics with these individuals or talk to a peer's parent or an adult relative instead. Don't argue with an abusive dad. If your dad is angry or violent, avoid arguing or trying to reason with him. In such a situation, the best way to handle the situation is to remain quiet and only speak when you are directly spoken to. Arguing or trying to explain your perspective may make him angrier and put you in harm's way. Find a safe place to go. If you live with an abusive father, think of a place you can escape to when he's at his worst. Getting out of his sight may protect you from verbal or physical attacks. If you have younger siblings, bring them along, too. A safe haven might be a friend's or neighbor's house or a park near your home. Tell someone about the abuse. To stop the cycle of abuse, you have to speak out. Doing so can be frightening as you might fear the abuse will get worse if you tell. However, if you say nothing, you can't get the help you need. Pull aside an adult you trust, such as a teacher, coach, or school counselor, and tell them what's happening at home. Most people who work with kids in an official capacity are mandated reporters. This means that they have to call child protective services or the police if they suspect or hear about abuse, and if they don't, they get in trouble. If you are in the US or Canada, you can also call the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child for assistance 24 hours a day. If you're in the United Kingdom, call 0808 800 5000 to speak to someone anonymously. Call the police if you're in immediate danger. If your dad is threatening to harm you or someone else in your family, don't hesitate to alert the local police. Never assume he will calm down or that his threats are empty. If you are in a life-threatening situation, call 911 or your local emergency services number right away. See a therapist. Participating in therapy can help bring to light some of the wounds you have developed due to having an abusive father. It's a safe place to explore and try to resolve long-buried feelings that are affecting your ability to thrive. If you are a minor, ask your mom or guardian if you can talk to a therapist. You can also ask your school counselor if there is someone who you can talk to while you're at school. If you are an adult, ask your family doctor for a mental health referral.
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See that he’s the problem, not you. Avoid picking up his bad habits. Take positive action in your life. Find other male role models. Build a positive support group. Keep your distance. Identify the things that have hurt you. Write a letter, but don’t deliver it. Start a self-care practice. Learn to identify your strengths. Confide in a friend you trust. Talk to someone in authority. Don't argue with an abusive dad. Find a safe place to go. Tell someone about the abuse. Call the police if you're in immediate danger. See a therapist.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-Man-Hours
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How to Calculate Man Hours
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To calculate man-hours, start by dividing your project into separate components, like excavation, construction, and plumbing. Then, estimate how many hours of labor it will take to complete each component. Next, divide the number of hours by the number of 8-hour workdays within the amount of time you have to complete the project. Finally, divide that number by 8 hours to find out how many workers you would need to finish the project.
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Divide your project into components. The first part of calculating the man-hours you will need to do a job is to split up the project into smaller components. Then estimate the amount of hours needed to complete each component. These components should be designated according to the type of labor involved. If you are building an apartment complex, you will need excavation, construction, electrical, plumbing, and so on. Make sure that every component of your project is included in the estimate. Determine the type of workers you need. This largely depends on the complexity of the tasks that need to be accomplished. You don't need a foreman to do every job. Some simpler tasks can be done by assistants or apprentices. Figuring this out is harder for larger jobs that require a mix of labor to do tasks that range from simple to complex. Estimate the time needed to complete each component. Once you have determined your components and the types of labor each requires, estimate the total number of man-hours it would take your workers to complete a step from start to finish. Do not include breaks. This number should be the hours of dedicated labor it will take to finish a step. If you are familiar with the type of work required in a step, you can draw from past projects to get time estimates. For example, if you know it took one worker ten hours to install four new windows, or 2.5 hours per window, your current project will likely be similar. If a step in your project includes a type of labor you're not familiar with, you should do some research in preparing your estimate. Depending on the project, you may be able to get valuable information online or from another contractor. You can also hire a consultant familiar with the type of labor you need. This person can help you estimate the hours required in a certain step. Factor in things like job difficulty when making your estimate. If the windows on your upcoming project are on the seventh story of a building, and your old project's windows were on the first story, increase your hours-per-window rate to reflect this difference. Include estimates for time spent on administrative tasks that may be required by the contract. Include hours for supervisors. You may also include project hours for a foreman or manager, who will lead the team of workers and manage reporting details and timeline compliance. Some projects may require more than one supervisor or foreman, managing different components of the project. Other projects may require different levels of supervision. You may have foreman managing workers in different components of the project and an overall supervisor who manages all of the foremen. Use your estimates to prepare a project timeline. Your client will likely specify a time for completion of the project. Perhaps he will ask you to indicate in your bid how soon you can complete your work. You can use the steps and hours you have calculated to develop a project timeline. Determine which components can be completed simultaneously and which must be completed sequentially, where the input of one process depends upon the output of the previous process. If you know when each step of the project needs to be completed, you can divide the number of hours needed to complete a step by the number of eight-hour workdays in the time period. You may be able to extend or shorten the project timeline by adding or removing laborers. The more laborers you have, the faster you can complete a step. Some projects may require more than 8 hour days or 40 hours week to meet schedule. They will require overtime which should be charged to the job For example, if you have one month to lay the foundation of a new home, and you know the foundation requires 1000 hours of labor, divide 1000 by the number of eight-hour workdays in the month to calculate the number of laborers you need to hire to complete that step on time. (1000 project hours / 20 work days in the month = 50 hours per day; 50 hours per day / 8 hours per worker = 6.25 laborers needed.) Round the number of laborers up or down to a whole number, and adjust accordingly the number of workdays required. Be realistic about the number of workers you can hire in a given time period. If you need seven electricians to complete wiring in a week, this may be unrealistic, depending on the availability of electricians in your area. You may need to extend your timeline to accommodate the availability of labor for your project. If you plan to complete multiple steps at the same time, you'll need separate laborers to work on each step. Prepare and submit your bid. Add the hours for each type of labor you need, so you have a total for each type. If you require just one type of labor, you can combine all of the project hours into one number. If you need multiple types of labor, your bid should specify the total hours for each type. You should include all labor costs including taxes and benefits. Some Federal contracts may require a minimum wage for each category of workers. Also, include any markup you plan to charge. As an example, imagine you have been hired to install a new kitchen in a medium-sized home. You have divided your project into steps, each requiring plumbing, electrical, and general construction work. Your bid should reflect the total electrician man-hours, plumber man-hours, and general-laborer man-hours, as well as the pay rates for each type of labor. Adjust your man-hour estimates as the work progresses. Because time estimates are really just guesses, you will need to update your estimates as your project goes along. You will probably bill your client based on the actual hours your team works, so you should provide your client updated hourly estimates as time passes. This helps prevent surprises for your client when billing time rolls around. Include a "fudge factor," which is an increase in estimated time due to unknown causes. The amount of fudge factor depends upon the complexity of the job, availability of labor, dependence upon outside agents, and the relationship of one process to another. Most contractors make it clear that their bid is only an estimate, that actual hours will vary, and that clients will pay for actual hours worked as the job progresses. However, it is possible a client will want to pay you a lump sum based on your estimate and not pay for actual hours worked. Pay close attention to any contract language that would signal this kind of arrangement, as this requires very careful estimation on the part of the contractor. If your client will pay you based on actual hours worked, remember that your bid served as an estimate, and that you should not charge for significantly more hours than you planned unless you can cite reasonable justification. If you run into problems and know you are going to go over your time estimates, keep the client informed in order to prevent miscommunication. Have a written agreement that defines contingencies and out-of-scope work. Include the process for identifying and approving these changes, such as necessary approvals and documentation. Collect information on your workers. Maintain accurate employee files for everyone working on your project. That will include payroll records and all legally required documents. If you are using engineers, electricians, plumbers, or other licensed workers, you will need to keep on file proof of their active certifications. This is required for most engineering and construction jobs whether or not they are government contracts. It is your responsibility to ensure everyone working for you is properly certified, including subcontractors. You may pay people who are not your employees to do work on your project. These "subcontractors" work for you, the contractor, and you bill your client for their labor. Even though subcontractors are not actually your employees, you should gather their certification information and keep it on file. As the contractor, you are responsible for ensuring that anyone you hire to work on a project is qualified, unless otherwise specified in their contract. Government contracts generally require additional employee and subcontractor information indicating compliance with federal law. This may include reporting on employees' ethnicity and pay rates to ensure there is no discrimination taking place on the jobsite. If you have a government contract, read it carefully and follow all of the instructions for hiring and reporting in order to prevent difficulty in getting paid. Track your workers’ time. To submit accurate reports to your client, you need a reliable method of tracking how many hours your workers are on the job. You can use a time clock or a written time sheet, but these records should be verified to ensure they are accurate. Depending on your contract, you may be subject to periodic audits and may be required to prove that the hours you submit are justified. One way to ensure the accuracy of time reporting is to establish supervisors over each employee or employee group. At the end of the week when an employee submits his or her timecard, the supervisor can review and sign the card, certifying the information is correct. This will prevent employees from submitting time cards for hours they did not work. You may also consider using an electronic timecard system to track your employees' work on the job. Be sure the system is controlled to prevent abuse. You'll want to be able to prove that's the case if your hourly reporting comes under question. Government clients are required by law to gather all of this information before paying their contractors, because they are using taxpayer money to pay for the work. You can expect a heightened level of scrutiny when reporting time on government jobs. Carefully follow all reporting instructions detailed in your agreement. Send your client payroll reports at regular intervals. Your contract should specify how often you are to report man-hours to your client in order to receive payment. When you submit these reports, you will likely transfer information from your payroll and timekeeping documents to a dedicated report for your client comparing a number of hours you are charging to the estimates you submitted during bidding. If there are large variances between your actual hours and your estimates, you will need to provide explanations of these variances to your client. Use your records to prepare future estimates. At the end of a project, your time-tracking information will be extremely valuable, as it gives you details about how long it took to complete specific jobs. You can use this data to create hourly estimates, such as the number of hours per square foot of laid tile or the down time after laying fresh cement. Use this information to improve your future bids and keep your business profitable.
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Divide your project into components. Determine the type of workers you need. Estimate the time needed to complete each component. Include hours for supervisors. Use your estimates to prepare a project timeline. Prepare and submit your bid. Adjust your man-hour estimates as the work progresses. Collect information on your workers. Track your workers’ time. Send your client payroll reports at regular intervals. Use your records to prepare future estimates.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Know-if-You%27re-Being-Bullied
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How to Know if You're Being Bullied
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It can be hard to tell if you're being bullied, but there are both verbal and physical signs that can help you figure out what's going on so you can get help if necessary. While punching, hitting, or shoving are all signs of bullying, there are other ways people may bully you without touching you. For instance, a bully may invade your personal space or make loud noises to make you uncomfortable. A bully may also yell at you, mock you, or taunt you. Some bullies may give you backhanded compliments or spread rumors behind your back, which are just subtle ways of tearing you down. If you're being bullied, don't be afraid to ask for help. You can tell a teacher, supervisor, parent, or close friend about what's going on. The bully's actions are never your fault, and you deserve to feel safe!
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Note if the person punches, hits, or strikes you. One of the most obvious signs of bullying is physical assault in the form of punching, hitting, or striking. The person may physically harm you with his own hands or an object, or he may threaten to physically harm you. Often, a bully will physically assault their victim continuously over a period of time, with each assault becoming more violent and aggressive. Many bullies shove or push their victim. If you are being bullied, the bully may inflict minor or major physical injuries on you in places that they know not very many people will see or notice. They may do this to avoid suspicion from a parent or a supervisor. Notice if the person invades your personal space. Bullies can also inflict physical discomfort in more subtle ways, such as invading your personal space on a continual and relentless basis. If you work in a cubicle or an office, for example, the bully may come in and sit right on your desk or stand in front of your cubicle or office door. If you are trying to work in the library at school, the bully may come and sit right on your school books or pull up a chair very close to you. Invading personal space is often done by bullies who are trying to intimidate you or scare you, without using actual physical assault. Bullies may also invade your personal space and then escalate their bullying tactics to physical attacks. Consider ways they can cause pain without hitting you. Making loud noises, pointing bright lights at your eyes, and shoving stinky things in your face can be bullying if the person is doing it with the intent to cause you pain, or ignoring your requests to stop it. They don't have to hit you in order to hurt you. Causing sensory pain; this may be tailored to a disability such as flashing lights at a photosensitive person or making loud noise in order to watch an autistic person jump and whimper Trying to irritate an injury, such as prodding a broken arm, or dropping things for you to pick up when you have a painful knee injury Trying to trigger a medical condition, such as using flash photography to try to trigger a seizure in an epileptic person, or showing graphic content to someone who has PTSD or a phobia Check if you are physically uncomfortable in the presence of the person. Often, your body will respond to bullying in psychosomatic ways, which is a physical illness that occurs due to mental trauma or stress. This could be an overwhelming feeling of nausea, anxiety, or stress when you are in the presence of the bully, or more physical symptoms like throwing up, a rapid heartbeat, headaches, and panic attacks. You may experience physical discomfort in the presence of the bully or during times when you are not around the bully. The night before school, for example, you may feel physically ill at the thought of having to see the bully. Or, you may become nauseated and sick on your drive to work because you know you will need to see the bully in the office. These are all psychosomatic responses to bullying and often will only go away if you deal with the bully. Notice if the person screams, yells, or shouts at you. Verbal attacks in the form of screaming, yelling, or shouting can also be considered bullying. The bully may yell insults at you or mock you loudly in the presence of others. They may also taunt and yell at you when you are alone with them. Often, verbal abuse can be as damaging as physical abuse, as you can be mentally and emotionally hurt by the bully's words. Verbal abuse can often go undetected if it is done quietly and constantly, so it is important to notice if the bully is causing you psychological pain through hurtful words. Discern the difference between constructive and destructive criticism. Constructive criticism is well-meaning, specific, and designed to help you improve. You come away knowing exactly how to do better. While it can hurt if done too bluntly, it isn't bullying. Destructive criticism contains no useful advice, and is often personally insulting. An example of specific and helpful criticism is "This article could use some work. It's a stub at this point, and could benefit from an expansion regarding how to ask the guy out." An example of destructive criticism is "This article is useless, unhelpful, and just plain stupid. Clearly the writer has no idea what they are talking about." Occasionally, people give ill-meaning advice that appears constructive, but is meant to shut you up instead of help you. This advice may make little sense, and they may flood you with nonsensical critiques intended to frustrate you or erase your agency instead of help you. Note if the person speaks ill of you to others. Bullies also tend to defame you to others by spreading mean-spirited lies or rumors about you or by making fun of you to others. They may speak ill of you a professional level, such as spreading lies that you continually miss deadlines or that you cheat on every test. They may also speak badly of you on a personal level by attacking your character through lies about your relationships with friends, partners, and family. You may hear about the bully's lies through your friends or coworkers and feel a sense of shame or guilt. Remember that you are not responsible for the bully's actions and you are not to blame for the bully's bad behavior. Consider if they criticize you based on gender or minority status. A bully may draw on existing power dynamics, such as discrimination against Muslims, to attack you. This can make you feel isolated and unsafe, especially when they have the power of general discrimination on their side. Minority status can include race, religion, disability (including disability symptoms), LGBTQIA status, gender presentation, size, ethnicity, and more. Or, they may try to insult you by comparing you to a stigmatized group, such as saying that you look girly or that you sound like you're disabled, even if you are not a member of that group. Pay attention to how the person treats you in a group or in front of others. The bully may act in a discriminatory manner to you by singling you out in a group. They may then announce that they are going to treat you differently than everyone else. This is another way for them to exclude you from the group and humiliate you. Consider how you feel about the situation. Maybe you feel that power dynamics are at play, and you're scared to talk to them, or they can stop you from doing things you care about. Conversations with them may end with you feeling powerless, frustrated, or unable to express how you feel and what you want. You might find your mind wandering back to them again and again, wondering how to deal with them or why they treat you this way. Try explaining your feelings using "I" language to the other person. A good person cares about how you feel. For example, if you feel hurt when they joke about your accent, they will stop making those jokes as soon as they find out; they are clueless and not a bully. A bully will tell you that your feelings are unimportant or nonsensical—anything to justify not listening to you. Recognize when the person seems to set you up to fail. Often, bullies in the workplace tend to try to exercise their power over you in overt ways. One way they may try to exercise power over you is to place an unreasonable amount of workload on you so you are set up to fail. They may also continually pressure you over your missed deadlines or upset clients as a way to make you feel small and helpless. The bully may also do this in a school setting, where they get you in trouble with your teacher and causes you to suffer academic setbacks or penalties. They are likely doing this as a way to limit your progress or to prevent you from succeeding. Ask your coworkers or friends if they believe you are being bullied. Sometimes it can help to get an outside perspective on the situation. Ask your coworkers or close friends if they notice how the person is acting towards you, both physically and verbally. You may want to ensure there is always a coworker or a friend in the room with you when you are near the bully so they can observe the bully's behavior towards you. They may then be able to deduce if you are in fact being bullied. Talk to a teacher or a supervisor. If you feel you are being bullied, it is important that you not keep the bullying a secret or hide it from people who can help you. You may be afraid to come forward and report the bully due to fear of backlash from the bully or rejection from your peers. Or you may feel socially isolated from everyone around you and feel no one cares about your well being. But reporting the bully will be the first step to getting the bully to stop hurting you and can help you to recover from the trauma caused by the bullying. If there is a teacher at your school you feel close to and trust, reach out to them and talk to her about the bullying. You may want to wait until after class or before class so there is no one else in the room and you can confide in her one on one. If there is a supervisor that you feel you have a good relationship with, talk to her about the workplace bullying you have been experiencing at work. Set up a meeting one on one so you have some privacy and can confide in her in a comfortable environment. Reach out to a counselor or therapist. Your school counselor is trained to address bullying and can often provide professional advice on how to deal with your bully. As well, if you go to a therapist regularly, you may want to talk to her about the bully and discuss ways in which you can address the bullying and make it stop. If you are not comfortable with talking to your school counselor, you can also talk to someone via a teen health hotline, found here: http://www.teenhealthandwellness.com/static/hotlines. The hotline is run by individuals trained to help people in need and can often offer a sympathetic ear to discuss your issues. Confide in a parent, partner, mentor, or someone close to you. Parents are often unaware that their child is being bullied and are only aware of the signs of bullying once their child brings it to their attention. Reach out to a parent or a sibling you feel you can talk to. Together, you can both work to find a solution for the bullying and make sure it stops before it gets any worse.
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Note if the person punches, hits, or strikes you. Notice if the person invades your personal space. Consider ways they can cause pain without hitting you. Check if you are physically uncomfortable in the presence of the person. Notice if the person screams, yells, or shouts at you. Discern the difference between constructive and destructive criticism. Note if the person speaks ill of you to others. Consider if they criticize you based on gender or minority status. Pay attention to how the person treats you in a group or in front of others. Consider how you feel about the situation. Recognize when the person seems to set you up to fail. Ask your coworkers or friends if they believe you are being bullied. Talk to a teacher or a supervisor. Reach out to a counselor or therapist. Confide in a parent, partner, mentor, or someone close to you.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Wash-an-Electric-Blanket
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How to Wash an Electric Blanket
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To machine-wash your electric blanket, start by removing the cord from your blanket. Then, soak the blanket for 10-15 minutes in cold or warm water, depending on the manufacturer's instructions. To wash the blanket, set your machine to "delicate" and add a small amount of detergent. After washing the blanket for a few minutes, put it on a rinse cycle for 1 minute before giving it a full spin. Finish by drying the blanket for 5-10 minutes with the drier on low.
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Disconnect the power cord before cleaning. Your electric blanket features a control cord that provides power through a wall plug. Whenever you want to clean the blanket, remove this cord from the blanket. Before removal, turn off the blanket and unplug it. The control cord should never be submerged in water. Before cleaning the blanket, check to make sure that all of the wire heating elements within the blanket are positioned as they should be, and that none of them have worn through the blanket's fabric. If the wire heating element has worn through the fabric in any location, or the connection point between the blanket and the control cord is damaged in any way, discontinue use of the blanket. If you have an older electric blanket with a control cord that is not detachable, do not wash it in a washing machine. Instead, carefully hand wash the blanket, taking care not to submerge the control cord. Check the manufacturer’s recommendations. Your electric blanket will come with a user's manual that includes specific washing instructions. These instructions may be included on a “product care” label attached to your blanket, a booklet in the blanket's packaging, or on the packaging itself. Almost always, you'll be directed to pre-soak the blanket, wash it briefly on a gentle cycle, and rinse. A brief spin cycle will also likely be recommended. Pre-soak the blanket. Most manufacturers recommendations will direct you to soak the blanket for anywhere from five to fifteen minutes. In addition to the specific amount of time, they will also recommend different temperatures of water, ranging from cold to warm. If a specific temperature is not mentioned regarding temperature or duration of pre-soak, go with a cold water soak for fifteen minutes. Wash briefly and gently. Almost all modern electric blankets can be washed in your washing machine. Most manufacturers do not recommend a full wash cycle, however. In fact, most blankets only need a few minutes' wash on your machine's “delicate” or “gentle” cycle. Use only a small amount of a mild washing detergent. Do not use any other cleaning chemicals. In particular, never bleach your electric blanket. Rinse and spin briefly. Rinsing cycles can be even shorter. Just one minute of rinsing with cool or lukewarm water is the standard recommendation. Meanwhile, most blankets do benefit from a single standard spin cycle. Take care when hand washing. Though it may surprise you, modern electric blankets are intended to be washed in a washing machine. If you have an old blanket that is not damaged in any way, however, you may want to wash it by hand. For instance, if your blanket's power cord is not removable, it needs to be carefully washed by hand. The key is agitating the heating elements within the blanket as little as possible. To wash by hand, dunk the blanket (not including any electrical cords) into a tub with cold water and mild detergent and swish it around for a minute or two. Let it soak for fifteen minutes, squeeze soapy water out, and rinse in cool water before drying. Ensure the blanket can tumble freely. One important factor is the size of your dryer. Some smaller dryers may not be large enough to wash a large electric blanket. The main criteria is the blanket's ability to tumble freely. If there is not enough room for your blanket to tumble in your dryer, consider air drying your blanket instead. Check the manufacturer’s recommendations. Your user manual will also include specific instructions on drying your blanket. Some models may even require a brief dryer “pre-heating” period, akin to pre-heating your oven. Otherwise, you'll likely be directed to dry your blanket somewhere between five and ten minutes. Unless directed otherwise, always set your dryer to “low” when drying your electric blanket. Remove the blanket from the dryer while it's still damp. Stretch the blanket after laundering. Depending on your blanket's manufacturer, it may need to be stretched back to its normal size after washing and/or drying. Since the blanket will still be slightly damp, it will likely be easy to reshape. In order to do so, have someone else help you. Stand across from one another, with both of your arms reaching along opposite edges of the blanket as far as possible. Then simply gently pull apart from one another. Air dry your blanket. To allow the blanket to dry the rest of the way, or if you simply wish to entirely air dry your blanket, drape it over a clothesline or shower rod that will be able to bear its weight. Note that it is extremely important to wait until an electric blanket is fully dry before plugging it back in and/or using it again. Do not dry clean your electric blanket. Many people believe dry cleaning is gentler, and thus preferable for an electric blanket. This is not the case. In fact, it's extremely important to avoid dry cleaning your electric blanket, as the chemicals used in dry cleaning can damage the insulation that surrounds the blanket's heating elements. Do not iron an electric blanket. In general, you want to do as little cleaning, treating, and otherwise caring for your electric blanket as possible. In particular, never iron an electric blanket, as an iron can easily damage the blanket wires' insulation. Inspect the blanket after washing and drying. If, during washing or drying, any of the heating wires within the blanket become displaced or otherwise damaged, do not use the electric blanket any further. If you are at all uncertain about the condition of your blanket, the best option is to avoid using it. You can check to ensure the wires are all in place by holding the blanket between you and a bright light source. The wires should all be evenly spaced, and never overlap. Take care at the laundromat. Most manufacturers recommendations will direct you not to dry your blanket in a commercial dryer, such as those at the laundromat. The reason is heat: commercial dryers can get much hotter, and risk damaging your blanket. However, if you are careful to set the dryer at its lowest heat setting and check frequently to prevent drying the blanket all the way, you can safely use most commercial dryers.
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Disconnect the power cord before cleaning. Check the manufacturer’s recommendations. Pre-soak the blanket. Wash briefly and gently. Rinse and spin briefly. Take care when hand washing. Ensure the blanket can tumble freely. Check the manufacturer’s recommendations. Stretch the blanket after laundering. Air dry your blanket. Do not dry clean your electric blanket. Do not iron an electric blanket. Inspect the blanket after washing and drying. Take care at the laundromat.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Start-a-Social-Club
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How to Start a Social Club
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To start your own social club, come up with a theme to find people who share a common interest, like dancing, yoga, or art. Invite a few friends to help you get the club up and running, and recruit more members by posting on social media and putting up flyers on bulletin boards around your community. If it's a school group, find an adult who can act as your advisor. Find a location and set a time and date for your meetings, then plan fun activities to keep your new members interested in the group!
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Brainstorm a theme. Before you start making a club, you need to come up with a subject. If drawing is your hobby and you want to meet more artists, that can be your theme. Keep the theme as broad as possible. You can make a group about knit tags, but it may be difficult for you to find enough people who share that interest to grow a group out of it. Instead, make your group about knitting in general and share your love of knit tags during group time. Consider what clubs exist in your area. Does your theme fill a need in your community? Search online or in gathering grounds such as a local community center, churches, or schools for similar clubs and avoid copying their theme. Find interested people. Most clubs start small with a few interested people. You can do this with a few of your friends. It doesn't matter if these people intend on staying long-term if they help you get the club up and running until you can recruit more members. Other options include advertisements such as flyers posted on bulletin boards and telephone poles, posts to social media, and words in town bulletins and newspapers. Try asking among acquaintances such as fellow church members. Someone may refer someone they know to your group. School groups usually require a few interested people to be recognized and receive funding. Some colleges, for instance, require a minimum of ten members. Check with your school. Find an advisor. Many schools require you to have an advisor to lead the club, grow it, and make it successful. If you're forming a club outside of school, you aren't required to have the help, but a school advisor can help you register your club, find a meeting location, provide guest speakers, and more. Choose an adult who will take responsibility, stay interested in the group, and be responsive to your group's needs. Usually you can find this person among teachers you're familiar with or professors in your study branch. Choose a location. Once you have a few people who will attend your first meeting, settle upon a location. You can do this by asking your prospective members for a place that's good for them. Often this location is someone's house or a restaurant since new groups don't have many members or money to spend on renting public space. If you're in school, your advisor or the school can refer you to their classroom or a room where there won't be a class around the time you want to meet. When your group grows, you can consider renting larger spots such as a room at a church or a community center. Pick a time. Now that you've got a place to meet, set a time. If you already have several members interested in joining the group, discuss with them a time that's best for the majority of people. Often this will be after school or work or evenings on weekdays. It's important to get as many people involved in the group as possible in order to establish the group and help it grow. Once the group starts expanding, you'll be less able to plan around the schedules of every member. Submit your registration. Check with your school to find out what form you need to submit to be recognized as a group. If you're doing this outside of a school, you won't have to do this, but everyone else needs to respond to a club commissioner or outline the group on an official application. Clearly write out the name of the club and what its purpose. You will likely need information such as your faculty advisor's name, budgeting concerns, and group activities. Remember to make the information on the form as clear as possible. Confusing the commissioner or the school board that will vote on your application will surely cause your application to be rejected. Break the ice. Before you start the meeting, you'll want to make sure everyone's settled and as comfortable as possible. To do this, you can simply introduce yourself, but it helps to have an icebreaker activity. This can include anything like having people introduce themselves and state their experience with the group's theme and why they're there, such as having three years experience coding computer games for fun, but feel free to get creative. Creative icebreakers, for example, can be tossing a beach ball around and having people add a word to a story or answer a question you've written on a section of the ball. Don't pressure shy members to speak. Reassure your group members that they can pass if they don't feel comfortable sharing. Define the club’s purpose. Chances are you already have in mind what the group is about and have discussed this a little with prospective members. However, bring these ideas to the first meeting. Discuss with your members again why you are starting this club. Why do you want to create this club? Write these answers into a basic mission statement. For instance, if your club is about photography, you may wish to connect to others over a love of photography. Write a mission statement saying exactly that. Determine the club’s long-term goals. Once you have a basic idea of the club's purpose, use it to determine what the club should accomplish and what the members will do together. The club members will share a common interest in the subject, but your club will benefit from having something to achieve and activities that allow members to have fun. Talk to your members about what they want to get out of your meetings. For example, for a photography club, you can discuss photographs, improve your knowledge of photography, and go on trips together. Decide what resources members need. Many clubs require nothing more than one's presence. However, some clubs require extra material. If you want to start a book club, members have to have their own copy of the books you discuss. For other groups, such as ones about social anxiety, you can print out copies of lessons and worksheets and provide the material yourself. Introduce the leadership. While conducting the first meeting, introduce yourself to unfamiliar members. Welcome them to the group. Tell them who you are, why you've created the group, and what experience you have with the subject. Then introduce anyone else responsible for the group and have them share the same facts about themselves. A social group usually lacks a formal structure. Groups that charge membership, raise funds, or get involved in politics may have to declare their type of group to the government. As your group grows, consider appointing other members to handle tasks such as a deputy leader to back up your role, a treasurer to handle expenses, a secretary to contact members, and a membership manager to keep track of group membership. Define group membership. What does it mean to be a member of this group and what is membership like? Many social clubs have an open door or simple rules like having social anxiety to be in a social anxiety group. Other clubs may demand qualifications such as advanced computer coding skills, being a certain age, and so forth. Is there a charge to be a member? What benefits to members receive for being a part of this group? Make sure these rules are clearly communicated. Outline the group’s finances. Many social groups won't need to do this since many groups have members show up as they please and pay for themselves. A ski group can have members pay their own way on trips, for meals, and chip in for snacks. Other groups need to identify what money they bring in, such as membership fees, expenses, how the money will be used, and draft a budget. You as a leader may wish to do this for yourself. Include any officers you've appointed. You'll need to consider your own budget, such as what you can afford to spend on meeting rooms, food, advertising, and materials for the meetings. Make a charter. A charter is a document that establishes the rules of the club. If your club is small, for fun, and has little structure outside of yourself as leader, you can simply write down all the rules. Outline the group's purpose, leadership, and rules such as how members should act and respect one another. Larger and more organized groups need to outline issues such as leadership position terms, how voting on group issues works, and how many members need to be at official meetings. Decide when you’ll meet next. With your members, come up with a time you'll meet next and, if possible, future meetings. A group may choose to meet every Sunday, for instance. Consistency is good for keeping all members on the same page, not forgetting meetings and having a set time to indicate when they refer others to the group. A time schedule doesn't have to be set immediately. It may take a few meetings to come up with a good day and time and afterwards you may still need to switch to accommodate others. Establish meeting structure. The introductory meeting of the group is a good time to indicate what you want the group meeting to be like while also listening to what other members want. For the next meeting, start breaking the time into segments. The first part of your book club can be about sharing how your week went while having snacks. The second part can be discussion over the assigned reading. The third part can be about addressing any concerns or suggestions. Recruit new members. If you want a larger group, decide how you'll grow your group. Consider placing advertisements on bulletin boards around town, starting a page on social media, making a website, and having members recruit new members. The more the word of your group spreads, the better chance you'll have of finding new people who keep the group going and provide new insight. Sign up for a website such as Meetup.com. There is a fee for listing the group, but the listing may make your group easier to find for interested people. Conduct member outreach. In order to keep old members and attract new ones, it helps to get everyone in contact with one another. One way of doing this is a social media page. Another is a member's forum. You can also design a newsletter you can email to your members. By creating contact, members talk to one another, which is appealing to potential members and helps you share information while promoting group solidarity.
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Brainstorm a theme. Find interested people. Find an advisor. Choose a location. Pick a time. Submit your registration. Break the ice. Define the club’s purpose. Determine the club’s long-term goals. Decide what resources members need. Introduce the leadership. Define group membership. Outline the group’s finances. Make a charter. Decide when you’ll meet next. Establish meeting structure. Recruit new members. Conduct member outreach.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Thistles
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How to Get Rid of Thistles
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To get rid of thistles, cut off any unopened buds or flowers as soon as you see them to prevent the plants from going to seed. If the plant has fully matured, cut them at the base, right under the leaves. Alternatively, use a weeding tool or your hands to pull out the plant by the roots. After getting rid of the thistles, prevent the growth of new plants by spreading a heavy layer of mulch over your garden, or any bare spots in your yard.
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Spray white vinegar on the thistles to slowly kill them. Pour household white vinegar into a spray bottle. Then, spritz the vinegar directly onto the thistle plants until the plants are dripping with vinegar. Typically, this means 1 or 2 sprays per plant. Expect the vinegar to take a few days to a week to kill the thistles. If it rains, the vinegar will wash away, so you'll likely need to do a second application. Household vinegar typically has a concentration of 5%, so it's fairly weak. You can buy a 20% concentration of vinegar at a gardening store or online. This formula isn't safe to consume, but it's great for killing weeds. It's typically labeled as “horticultural” vinegar and can kill the thistles in as little as 2 hours. Pour epsom salt around the thistle at ground level to possibly kill it. Epsom salt may starve plants because it prevents them from getting nutrients. Since it can kill any plant, sprinkle the epsom salt directly at the base of the thistles. This will slowly choke off the thistles so they die. Use regular epsom salt that you can buy at the grocery store or online. Keep in mind that in small amounts epsom salt can fertilize plants that are lacking in magnesium and sulfate. That means it doesn't always produce consistent results. Look for an organic herbicide for more reliable results. You can buy a commercially-sold organic herbicide that's formulated to kill weeds. However, read the label to make sure the plants you want to preserve will survive. Then, follow the instructions on the label to mix and apply your herbicide. You can find an organic herbicide at a local gardening store or online. Talk to a store employee if you're not sure which one to get. Some organic herbicides will kill all of your plants, so use them with caution. Cut down the thistle to its base to stress the roots. Mow or cut the thistle right before or during the flowering stage so it can't distribute its seeds. Then, cut it again as soon as you notice new growth. This will deplete the roots and make it hard for the thistle to survive. If you're dealing with creeping thistle, it's best to cut it when it reaches 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) long. Typically, this will happen around early June. Don't let the flowers dry out because they'll spread thistle seeds. Dig out the roots if you only have a few sprouts. Since thistle can grow roots as deep as 20 ft (6.1 m) deep, it's easiest to dig it up when it's just started growing. Use a shovel or trowel to dig up the ground around the root system. Then, remove all of the roots and discard them in the trash. If the roots already go deep, you'll likely need to use multiple strategies to get rid of your thistles. Dig up as much of the root system as you can. Then, watch the plot and immediately cut down any thistles that sprout back up. Don't put thistle roots or part of the thistle plant in your compost pile. If you do, it will likely blossom in the compost pile and spread from there. Cover the area with plastic, cardboard, or 3 in (7.6 cm) of straw mulch. Since thistle needs lots of sunlight to grow, mulching may prevent it from sprouting up. If you don't mind covering an entire plot, use plastic mulch or pieces of cardboard to cover the thistle patch. If you're trying to get rid of thistle in a border or flower bed, add several inches of mulch around your plants. This will allow the plants to continue to grow healthily while also choking off the thistles. When you first plant a border or bed, use plastic mulch around the plants to prevent thistle from sprouting up. This will take care of the problem before it starts back up. Plant grass seed to combat thistles in your yard or a field. Thistles need a lot of sunlight and water, so competing plants can sometimes kill them. Grasses, especially alfalfa grass, are an easy option for adding competition to a large area. Sprinkle the grass seed over the plot and let it kill your thistles. If you leave a plot empty, thistles will continue to grow there because it's an ideal environment. It's best to mow the plot regularly. The grass should easily rebound, while the thistles will likely die. Let livestock munch on your thistle if it’s in a large field. Livestock like cattle, sheep, ponies, goats, donkeys, and llamas will snack on thistle if they're placed in a field with it. They may prefer the thistle when it's younger, but some animals will eat it at any stage of growth. If you have livestock, place them in the field where the thistle is growing. Toxic varieties include milk thistle and Italian thistle. Typically, your animals won't eat these types. However, check that your thistle is edible before you introduce your animals to it. Introduce insects that eat thistle. There are insects that enjoy eating thistle, which weakens the plant so it dies. While this can take an entire growing season, it's a natural way to clear thistle from your plot. Release the insects into your plot, then monitor the thistle to see if it's being eaten by them. Insects that naturally eat thistle include the adult thistle-head weevil, thistle rosette weevil, thistle-stem gall fly, flower weevil, stem-mining weevil, yellow starthistle bud weevil, and yellow starthistle hairy weevil. Pick a systemic weedkiller with glyphosate for a bed or border. This type of weedkiller (Roundup, SBM Job Done General Purpose Weedkiller, Doff Glyphosate Weedkiller) targets the weeds directly, so it usually doesn't kill other plants that are around the weed. This makes it a great option for flower beds and borders that have thistle sprouts. Try this weedkiller if you want to treat a plot without killing the other plants. You can find one of these weedkillers at a gardening store or online. Get a non-selective broadleaf herbicide with clopyralid for a yard or field. This type of herbicide (Weedol Lawn Weedkiller, Vitax Lawn Clear 2) typically kills all of the plants in the plot, so it's typically best for large areas that are overgrown with thistles. Consider this type of herbicide if you don't think organic treatments will help. You can find a non-selective broadleaf herbicide at a gardening store or online. Spray the herbicide onto the plants. Mix the herbicide in the container according to the directions. Then, apply the pesticide directly onto the thistle to kill it. Saturate the plants and the soil around them. As you spray the herbicide, try not to get it on the surrounding vegetation. Make sure you wear your personal protective gear while you're spraying the herbicide. Put on protective eyewear, a face mask, gloves, a long-sleeved shirt, and pants. The best time to apply the herbicide is during the growing season, which is typically spring and fall. Wait about a week for the thistles to start to die. The herbicide will take time to work, so don't expect immediate results. Monitor the plot of thistle to make sure the herbicide is working after a week. Watch for the thistle to fade in color and turn yellow. Then, it should start to wilt and die. The herbicide will prevent the thistle from getting the nutrients it needs to survive. This causes the thistle to slowly die. Re-apply the herbicide if thistles reappear in the plot. Sometimes one treatment isn't enough to kill off the thistles. If the thistles persist, doing a second or third application of the herbicide may help get rid of the weeds completely. Check the label on your herbicide to find out how long you need to wait before re-applying the product. Then, do another application to treat the thistles. Expect to make at least 2-3 applications.
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Spray white vinegar on the thistles to slowly kill them. Pour epsom salt around the thistle at ground level to possibly kill it. Look for an organic herbicide for more reliable results. Cut down the thistle to its base to stress the roots. Dig out the roots if you only have a few sprouts. Cover the area with plastic, cardboard, or 3 in (7.6 cm) of straw mulch. Plant grass seed to combat thistles in your yard or a field. Let livestock munch on your thistle if it’s in a large field. Introduce insects that eat thistle. Pick a systemic weedkiller with glyphosate for a bed or border. Get a non-selective broadleaf herbicide with clopyralid for a yard or field. Spray the herbicide onto the plants. Wait about a week for the thistles to start to die. Re-apply the herbicide if thistles reappear in the plot.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Hold-and-Use-a-Cane-Correctly
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How to Hold and Use a Cane Correctly
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To hold and use a cane correctly, hold it in your hand on the side of your good leg, because this hand will naturally swing forward when your opposite leg takes a step. Each time you take a step with your bad leg, move your cane forward and place it on the ground at the same time as your foot so it absorbs some of the weight. If you're walking up stairs, hold the banister with one hand and your cane in the other. Take the first step up with your good leg, then bring your bad leg up to the same step. If you're going down stairs, use the same process, but take the first step with your injured leg instead.
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Assess how much help you need. Canes are the lightest walking aid, and transfer weight to your wrist or forearm. They are generally used to aid light injuries or to improve balance. A cane cannot and should not sustain a large portion of your body weight. Choose your style. Canes come in a variety of forms in order to meet the needs of different users. Variables to assess include: Grip. Some canes are meant to be held with your palm and fingers, while others can also provide support for your forearm. Whatever you select, make sure the grip feels solid and manageable, not slippery or too big. Shaft. The shaft is the long part of the cane, and can be composed of wood, metal, carbon fiber polymer and other materials. Some shafts are collapsible for easy portability. Ferrule. The tip or bottom of the cane is usually covered in rubber to provide better stability. Some canes have three or four ferrules at the bottom instead of just one; this enables them to carry more weight. Color. Although many canes are plain or unadorned, you don't have to settle for a pedestrian grey cane if you don't want to. You may even be able to find a customizable cane that matches your personality as much as it supports your frame. Check the length. To select the proper length for a cane, stand up straight with your shoes on and arms at your sides. The top of the cane should reach the crease on the underside of your wrist. If the cane is a proper fit, your elbow will be flexed 15-20 degrees when you hold the cane while standing. Cane length is usually about one half the cane user's height, in inches, wearing shoes. Use this as a rule of thumb. If your cane is too small, you'll need to bend over in order to reach it. If your cane is too big, you'll need to lean over onto your injured side in order to use it. Neither option is ideal. A perfectly fitted cane will keep you upright while providing support. Hold the cane using the hand that's on the same side as your good leg. It sounds counterintuitive, but it's true. If your left leg is hurt, you should be holding the cane in your right hand. If your right leg is hurt, hold the cane in your left hand. Why is this? When humans walk, we stride with our feet and swing our hands at the same time. But when we stride with our left foot, we swing with our right hand; when we stride with our right foot, we swing with our left hand. Handling a cane in the hand opposite our injury replicates this natural arm movement, giving your hand an opportunity to absorb some of your weight while you walk. If you're using a cane for better balance, consider putting it in your non-dominant hand so that you can continue to use your dominant hand for everyday tasks. Start walking. When you step forward on your bad leg, move the cane forward at the same time and put your weight on them together, allowing the cane to absorb more strain than the leg. Don't use the cane to step with your good leg. As you become accustomed to the cane, it will ideally feel like a natural extension of yourself. To walk up stairs with a cane, put your hand on the banister (if available) and place your cane in the other hand. Take the first step with your strong leg, then bring the injured leg up to the same step. Repeat. To walk downstairs with a cane, put your hand on the banister (if available) and place your cane in the other hand. Take the first step with the injured leg and the cane at the same time, then bring down your strong leg. Repeat. Assess how much help you need. If you cannot put any weight on an injury, such as if you're recovering from knee or foot surgery, then you'll need one or two crutches (preferably two for improved balance). They'll sustain weight better than canes will, and allow you to get around with only one leg. Get the height right. Most crutches are forearm or underarm crutches. After you've been told by a doctor to use one or the other, the only thing you need to worry about is the fit. For underarm crutches, the top should be an inch or a little more below your armpit and the grips should be even with your hips. Start walking. Place both crutches on the ground about a foot in front of you, and lean forward slightly. Move as if you're going to step with your injured side, then shift the weight to the crutches and swing forward between them. Come down on your uninjured leg while holding your injured leg elevated so that no pressure is placed on it. Learn how to sit down or stand up on crutches. Put both crutches together in the hand on your good leg side, like a long and extra sturdy cane. Slowly lower yourself down or up, using the crutches for balance. Learn how to go up or down stairs with crutches. Start by putting both crutches under one arm, parallel to the floor. Then, you can either hop up or down the stairs on your one good leg, using a banister for assistance. Alternatively, you can lay your crutches down on steps, sit down, and pull them along with you as you use your good leg to sit on the next step.
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Assess how much help you need. Choose your style. Check the length. Hold the cane using the hand that's on the same side as your good leg. Start walking. To walk up stairs with a cane, put your hand on the banister (if available) and place your cane in the other hand. To walk downstairs with a cane, put your hand on the banister (if available) and place your cane in the other hand. Assess how much help you need. Get the height right. Start walking. Learn how to sit down or stand up on crutches. Learn how to go up or down stairs with crutches.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Motivate-Students
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How to Motivate Students
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To motivate students, start by establishing clear expectations and encouraging students to meet them. Students feel less motivated when they're not sure why they're doing poorly, so provide rubrics, detailed instructions, and examples of successful assignments. Additionally, give projects that allow students to think outside the box, like putting on a science-related play, to get them engaged. Providing choices about who to partner with, opportunities for extra credit, and helpful feedback will also help students feel empowered.
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Understand why motivating students is such a challenge. The thing about students is that they are exposed to so many different people acting as "teachers" in their lives. Everyone and everything is trying extremely hard to stimulate these students, make them think, make them work, and make them into people the world can be proud of. Because of this overwhelming input of stimulus and influence, students struggle to find their own identity and are inherently suspicious of anyone who tries to influence them. Once they have recognized this, they tend to deal with the constant environmental pressure by adopting one important policy: "I will only allow you to influence me if you prove to me that you're worth it." This policy is their mechanism of making sure that the right person gets to them at the right time, and it's a good way of doing it. The only time it becomes an issue is when they get impressed by a person who is a bad influence, or when a good person makes no effort to impress them. Make a positive impression. If you want to motivate your students, then you have to prove that you are person who is worth listening to. They may be suspicious of you on the first day, but you can work to earn their trust and respect. To do this, you have to stand out to them. You can't do this if you blend into the murky background of life. You need to stand out, catch their attention and hold it. Here are some ways to make a positive impression on your students: Be vocal. Have an opinion and make sure you submit it at an appropriate time. Avoid talking too much and/or being too opinionated. You need to come across as being informative, intelligent, and as a person who is not afraid to speak their mind, not someone who is arrogant and self-centered. Be passionate about what you're teaching. Wide eyes, a grin and barely suppressed enthusiasm does wonders for a student. Even if they're not interested in your subject, your manner would amuse them. Most of all, because you are adamantly expressing your love for a subject, they will tend to mark you as a genuine person. Be energetic. Enthusiasm is contagious. It is also a lot harder for students to fall asleep in class if the teacher is bouncing off the walls (not that I am recommending bouncing off the walls). Make sure you have the energy to market your subject and yourself well. Put an effort into your appearance. You need to make a good impression; make sure you walk into class looking good. Try to dress a little better or differently than the average person. Go the extra mile. Do more than the average teacher is expected to do. In the case of a student who is struggling to turn in work on time, the next time it happens, call him after class and go through the entire assignment with him. Help the student write it, show the student how to do research, and show him some papers other students have written. This is great because it eliminates multiple problems: if it's the student's attitude, you are eliminating their excuses and if they genuinely were struggling with the work, they know exactly how to deal with it now. Be attentive, answer all questions and make sure they've completely understood your actions. Make sure you tell them that you will not work with them like this again. Ask them if they have understood and wait for their affirmative response before dismissing them. Of course, there's a difference between going the extra mile and letting your students take advantage of you. You should give them extra help when they need it, but do not do so if it means sacrificing your principles. Offer extra information about your subject. If you want the students to be excited about what you're teaching, then you'll have to go above and beyond the curriculum. Keep the students updated with recent developments regarding their subject. If you are a science teacher for example, you could 1) Bring an article from Scientific American for the students to read in class or 2) Give the students a summary of the article, show them pictures of the article, ask them questions about the concepts in the article and what certain sentences mean and tell them that you have copies of the article if anyone wants to pick them up after class. The second option is the better one. You need to understand that it is your job to get the students interested, not the job of the material you present to them. Give assignments that let students think outside the box. Do an extensive class project that is unconventional and fun. For example, your class could put on a science-related (or whichever subject related) play that you could perform at a local museum for younger children. The whole class could write a book that you could publish using a self-publishing service and donate it to a local library. The thing about this is that the idea has to be different; you have to do it during class time or during some time in school (to avoid transportation and excess time issues) and you have to work with everyone every step of the way. Have a good sense of humor. Having a good sense of humor can help you engage students, make the material more lively, and make it easier for them to relate to you. The fact of the matter is, if you're serious 100% of the time, it'll be much harder for them to care and to really connect with you. Though you don't have to be a goofball, joking around every chance you get, if you create a more fun environment for your students, they will likely be more motivated and eager to learn. Know your student culture. Know what they think is funny, and the pop culture that they enjoy outside of school. On the other side of that - know your school's culture and how your students are interacting with it. Not all of this is fodder for humor, but understanding what your students are bringing to the table will help you engage with them on many levels. Show that you're competent. You are trying to convince students that you are worth listening to, especially if you are trying to motivate them towards your field of study. You need to exhibit your talents. You are not just a teacher; you are really and truly good at what you do. It is almost like how you would present yourself during a job interview. Be humble about it, but don't hide it. Make sure your pride comes through when you are talking to the students about your experiences or contributions. If you have impressive contacts, invite them over. Try not to ask them to make a speech though; an interview type of interaction would be best. If your students think that you don't really know your stuff, then they'll be more likely to get lazy when it comes to assignments, or to think that you won't notice if they haven't read the material carefully. Be on the lookout for students who need extra reassurance. If a student looks depressed or unwell, call him or her out after class and just ask if he or she is all right. Try to keep yourself semi-occupied when you do this. Look at them when you ask, but don't keep staring until you get an answer. If they say they are fine, don't press them unless you think there's a serious problem at hand. Just say, "Just thought you looked a bit down back there" and drop it and continue working. Just the fact that you're concerned is enough for them. If a student who is having trouble sees that you care enough to notice him or her, then this will motivate the student to work harder. If the student thinks that you don't care whether he works hard or not or don't care how he is feeling, then he'll be much less likely to make an effort. Consider bending a few rules if a student is really having a hard time. This requires a bit of care, but tends to really establish trust. If a student has been consistently not turning in work and they show up and tell you they haven't completed the assignment again , you need to recognize that something is wrong (even if it is just the student's attitude) and help. Discretely give them a bit more time to do it and make the topic a little bit easier. Yes, it's bending the rules, but what you're doing is eliminating reasons for this to repeat itself. Make sure it is clear that you will not grant extensions like this again. Ask the students to share their opinions. Your students are less likely to be motivated if they feel that you are simply lecturing at them and not caring what they think. If you ask them what they think about a certain political issue, a literary passage, or the validity of a scientific experiment, they are more likely to perk up and to speak out. If they feel that you care about what they have to say, they will come out of their shells and will be excited to share their views with you. Remember that there's a difference between encouraging a healthy debate and having students share their unsubstantiated opinions. Make sure that the students always have evidence to back up their ideas. Of course, if you're teaching math or a foreign language and there is less room for students to share their opinions, try bringing some additional relevant information about the subject into the classroom. Sure, your 8th grade students may not have an opinion on Spanish verb conjugation in the present tense, but they may have an opinion on the effectiveness of immersion learning if you bring in a relevant article about the process. Encourage lively class discussion. If you lecture all the time, students are likely to zone out. If you want to keep students motivated to learn and keep them on their toes, then you have to facilitate meaningful class discussions throughout your class. Ask questions, not of the class, but of each student directly, calling each one out by name. The fact of the matter is, no student wants to be called on without knowing the answer to the question, and if the students know this is a possibility, they will be prepared with an answer throughout the class. Not only will this make students more likely to read up on the material and be prepared for class, but it will also make them more excited to come to class, because they will feel that their opinions matter. Get to know the students before you praise them. If you have a new class and you stand up before them and tell them how you know they are all wonderful people and in this class they will learn how to change the world, the students won't believe you and they will lose respect for you. What they're thinking is how can you know what kind of people they are without making an effort to find out? How do you expect them to change the world when you aren't telling them what the world is? How can you have the exact same expectation of everybody? And they're right. To most teachers, all students are the same and so they feel comfortable expressing themselves in that sort of speech, but to a good teacher, each student is different. Even avoid the "Some of You" speech ("Some of you will become lawyers, some of you doctors, etc"). Save the speech for one of the last classes you have with them (not the last class) and make it personal. For example: "Ryan will find a cure for cancer, Kevin will give Bill Gates a run for his money, Wendy will decorate the world, Carol will probably give Kevin a run for his money...". Add a bit of humor and make sure it's obvious to the students that you have gotten to know something about every one of them. These are your expectations for these kids, just as you have proven yourself to them, they have proven themselves to you. Show the students how your subject matter impacts the world. Expose them to the stimulus that they were blocking off before. Issues concerning people, the community, the country, the world. Anything that is important to you. Anything you want to motivate them with. Now that you've gained their trust and they've decided you're worth listening to... they will. They will try to understand where you're coming from and why you feel a certain way. Even if they don't agree, they will be willing to make the effort. You may have trouble motivating your students because they look at your subject, whether it's British literature or American history, and don't see how it applies to their everyday lives. Bring in a book review or a newspaper article, and show them that what they're learning does have an impact on the outside world. If they see practical, real-life applications to the subject matter, they will be much more inclined to care about it. Make the students "experts" on a topic. You'll be amazed by how motivated students get if you ask them to present on a topic either in groups or individually. They will feel the excitement and responsibility of being an expert on a particular topic, whether it's The Catcher in the Rye or electron configuration. Preparing for projects or presentations outside of class will make students more eager to learn, and is a great way to mix up the curriculum and to keep things interesting. Also, having students present on a given topic will get their peers more motivated to learn. Sometimes, students can get sick of seeing you standing up in front of the class the entire time, and seeing their peers presenting on a subject can be a breath of fresh air. Encourage group work. Group work can help students get to know each other, make them see the material in a new light, and can help them feel motivated to succeed. If a student is working on his own, he may not feel the same pressure to succeed as he would when working with a group of other people, where he has a designated role. Group work is also a great way to mix up the curriculum, so students do something different during class. You can also encourage some healthy competition between groups. Whether you have a grammar challenge on the board, group Jeopardy about a given topic, or another activity or game that each group tries to win, you'll find that students get more motivated to participate and get the correct answer when they have some competition (as long as it is healthy, and not discouraging). Give extra credit assignments. Extra credit assignments can help students take the material to a new level and work to improve their grades. For example, if you're a chemistry teacher and know that some students are struggling, assign an optional book report on a fun-but-science-themed book like The Universe in a Nutshell. Students will have fun appreciating science on a new level and will gain insight into the material while improving their grades. You can give assignments that show a larger application of your material. If you're an English teacher, for example, give extra credit to students who attend a poetry reading in your community and report on it. Have them share their report with the class; this will help motivate students and will encourage them to go above and beyond, too. Provide choices. Students get more motivated when they are given some choices during their coursework. Choices help them feel like they have some control over their learning and motivation. Give them a choice of lab partner, or provide them with a number of options when you give their next essay or short assignment. You can still provide plenty of structure while allowing students to have some choices as well. Give helpful feedback. If you want to motivate students, then your feedback has to be thorough, clear, and meaningful. If they see what their strengths are and where they can improve, they will be much more motivated to learn than they would if all they got on their assignments was a written grade and a sentence of inscrutable feedback. Take the time to let them see that you really care about their success and that you would love to help them improve. If you have the time, you can schedule conferences with students to chart their progress throughout the course. This individual attention will show them that you really care and that you're keeping an eye on their work. Make your expectations clear. Give students rubrics, clear instructions, and even examples of successful assignments to show them what you're looking for. If they have no idea what you really want or how to succeed in your class, they will be much less motivated to do well. Having clear directions and a teacher who is willing to answer any questions they may have about the assignment can help motivate them to do well. Take the time to answer questions after you explain an assignment. Students may act like they know everything, but if you press them, you'll find that there is always room for clarification. Mix things up in the classroom. Though lecturing may be appropriate to your subject matter, the more you can mix things up in the classroom, the more motivated students will be. For example, you can give a 10-15 minute "mini lecture," followed by a group assignment that demonstrates knowledge of the concepts you just covered. Then, you can create an activity on the board, have a student present on an extra credit assignment, or show a quick video about your material. Keeping a dynamic class schedule will keep students motivated and on their toes. Having an agenda for each class, either on paper or written on the board, can also help motivate students, who like to know what to expect.
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Understand why motivating students is such a challenge. Make a positive impression. Go the extra mile. Offer extra information about your subject. Give assignments that let students think outside the box. Have a good sense of humor. Show that you're competent. Be on the lookout for students who need extra reassurance. Ask the students to share their opinions. Encourage lively class discussion. Get to know the students before you praise them. Show the students how your subject matter impacts the world. Make the students "experts" on a topic. Encourage group work. Give extra credit assignments. Provide choices. Give helpful feedback. Make your expectations clear. Mix things up in the classroom.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Make-an-Easy-StP-(Stand-to-Pee)-Device
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How to Make an Easy StP (Stand to Pee) Device
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If you want to be able to urinate standing up, make your own Stand to Pee device. One way to make an STP is to get the plastic lid off of a coffee can or yogurt container. Trim the sides and any lips around the edges of the lid so you're left with a smooth, flat disc. Then, bend it into a funnel shape and pee into the wide opening so your stream comes out the narrow end. Another way to make an STP is to buy a medical spoon, which is a cheap plastic device with a broad open spoon-shaped end that's connected to a tube. Make a hole in the tube end of the spoon. Then, pee into the spoon end and direct the stream out of the end of the tube.
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Get a plastic lid. You can make an STP device very easily at home, but you will need to practice using before you try it when you are out. To make a “coffee can lid” device you need to get hold of the plastic lid from a coffee can, or something similar, such as a lid from a yoghurt pot. These plastic lids are good choices because they are flexible enough to bend, and the plastic makes them easy to clean. Trim off the sides and lips of the lid. Once you have the lid, you will need to carefully cut off the edges and any lips around the edge of the lid. You want to trim the lid so that you are left with a smooth and flat disc. Make sure the disc you are left with is still large enough for you to use effectively. Bend it into a funnel shape. When you have your flat disc all you need to do is to roll it into a funnel shape. You will just need to pee into the funnel and the stream will come out of the narrow end. Purchase a medical spoon. A medical spoon is a cheap plastic device that you can buy at your local pharmacy. It has a broad open spoon-shaped end that is connected to a tube. You can use this as an STP device by peeing into the spoon end and directing the stream out of the end of the tube. You can convert a medical spoon into an STP device very easily. Make a hole in the end of the handle. The tube end of the spoon is closed up, so to use it as an STP device you need make a hole in the end for the pee to come out of. There are a few ways you can do this. If you have a drill, you can drill a hole in the end of the tube. This will give you good control and allow you to direct the stream with some accuracy. Alternatively you can slice off the end of the tube. If you do this, you can use a lighter to warm the plastic and make it easier to cut. After slicing off the end of the tube, you can use the lighter to ensure that there are no sharp edges. Practice at home. After you have made your STP device, you should be sure that you spend some time at home practicing with it. It can be a strange experience at first, and leaks and mess can happen if you are uncertain. Practice using it in the bath, shower, or toilet at home before you try using it in a men's room. Buy a packer. If you prefer to have something that you keep in your pants and looks more like a penis, you can use a packer. Packers are silicon penis shaped objects that you can put in your pants. Using a packer can be a more subtle way to STP, than using a more basic device, such as the medicine spoon. You can buy packers from numerous stores online. Search for "packers" and choose the size and colour you want. You can get a packer for around $10-$15. Ensure you buy a soft packer. Get a medicine spoon and some plastic tubing. You can make a packer into an STP device cheaply and quite easily at home. To do this you will also need to get a medicine spoon, and some relatively narrow plastic tubing. The tubing must be narrow enough to get through the penis, but wide enough so that you can attach it to the medicine spoon without any leaks. 3/8s of an inch is good size tubing to use. You can get this from your local hardware store. Trim down the medicine spoon, and firmly attach the tubing to the end of it. The medicine tube and tubing will be the channel your pee travels down, through the packer to the urinal. Make a hole in the packer. You need to get this tube through the packer, and to do this you need to make a hole in the packer. You can use any long sharp object, such as a screwdriver, or a tent peg. Make sure the object you are using to make the hole is longer than the packer. Carefully but firmly push the screwdriver through the packer, taking care to ensure that it comes out around where the urethra is. Once you have skewered the packer, leave the screwdriver in there. If you are struggling to pierce the packer, you can try heating the piercing device first. Push the tubing through. Now place the tubing and spoon over the end of the screwdriver and work it back through the hole you have just made in the packer. This will take some careful manoeuvring and some brute force, but it will go through eventually. Soft packers are very malleable so they will stand being squeezed and pushed around while you get the tubing through. Once you have gotten the tubing through, the medicine spoon end, which you will pee into, should be protruding sufficiently to use. The end of tube should be the right at the front end of the penis, where the urethra is. You may need to roll the end of the packer back a little when you use it to ensure that the tubing is sticking out of the packer enough to avoid any accidents. Rinse it after each use. It's important to keep your STP device clean, and rinse it off after every use. If you don't, you will be carrying around an unpleasant smell that can transfer to your clothes. The plastic homemade STP devices are simple to quickly rinse off. The plastic means that the any urine will bead up on the surface and be washed off easily. You can rinse it with a little soap when you are washing your hands. Store it in a zip-lock bag. When you are carrying the STP device around with you, it's best to try and keep it in a small zip-lock bag. This way any unpleasant aromas or drips will be contained in the bag. If you get a small zip-lock bag, such as a freezer or sandwich bag, you will still be able to keep the STP device in your back pocket. You can also use alcohol wipes or hand sanitizer to disinfect the device after each use. Soak it in a disinfectant solution. You need to take extra steps to ensure that your STP device is kept clean and you limit the risk of infection. Every night you should soak it in a solution that will thoroughly clean it, ready for the next day. Get a bowl and mix up half a cup of 2% or 3% hydrogen peroxide, and a teaspoon of antibacterial soap, in three cups of hot water. Place your device into the solution and leave it to soak for a few hours. Take it out and rinse it thoroughly. Put it on the side and let it air dry.
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Get a plastic lid. Trim off the sides and lips of the lid. Bend it into a funnel shape. Purchase a medical spoon. Make a hole in the end of the handle. Practice at home. Buy a packer. Get a medicine spoon and some plastic tubing. Make a hole in the packer. Push the tubing through. Rinse it after each use. Store it in a zip-lock bag. Soak it in a disinfectant solution.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Ride-a-Bike-Without-Training-Wheels
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How to Ride a Bike Without Training Wheels
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If it's time to teach your kid how to ride a bike without training wheels, first make sure they have a helmet on and adjust their seat so their feet can still reach the ground when they're on the bike. Find an open, grassy area with a gentle hill, and let them coast down while you hold their shoulders or the back of their seat to help keep them upright. Once they're feeling confident, show them how to use their feet to stop themselves and let them go down the hill on their own.
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Wear a helmet and safety gear. You should ''always'' wear a helmet when you're on your bike, but you might also want to wear other pieces of safety gear too! These make it less scary when you try to ride without training wheels. Since safety gear keeps you from getting hurt, you won't be as nervous of falling off your bike or crashing. Here are some things you might want to wear the first time you try to ride without training wheels: Elbow pads Knee pads Wrist guards Make sure your feet can touch the ground. Bikes are less scary to ride when you know that you can stop yourself. Before you take your training wheels off, get on your bike and try to touch the ground with your feet. If you can't reach, get a grown-up to help you lower the seat. It's OK if you can't touch the ground with both feet at once when you're sitting on the seat — you only need one to stop yourself when you're sitting down. You should be able to touch the ground with both feet when you're standing in front of the seat, though. Find a flat spot to ride in. Bring your bike to a place that's wide, open, and flat, like a park or a parking lot. Someplace with soft grass is best — it doesn't hurt to fall on grass, so it's not scary to practice riding on it. You can practice by yourself, but it's easier if you have a friend or grown-up to help you! If your bike still has its training wheels on, get a grown-up to take them off before you go to the place where you'll ride. Practice pedalling and braking. Sit on your bike and hold yourself up by putting your feet on the ground. Put one foot on the pedal and push down! Push yourself forward with your other foot at the same time. Put both of your feet on the pedals and keep pedalling! If you need to stop, pedal backwards (unless your bike has a hand brake — then just squeeze it with your fingers). Don't be afraid to put down your feet if you need to! The first few times you practice pedaling, it can feel like you're going to fall, so don't worry about stopping and putting your feet on the ground when you have to. Practice turning while you pedal. When you have the hang of starting and stopping, try going left and right. While you're pedalling forward, turn the handlebars just a tiny bit to the right. You should go to the right. Next, turn the just a little to the left. You should go to the left. Try turning a little more to each side — see how far you can turn without feeling uncomfortable. Don't be afraid to stop yourself if you have a hard time turning! It's actually harder to turn when you're going really slow than when you're going really fast. When you're barely moving at all, balancing is tricky, so if you're having a hard time turning, try going a little faster. Practice going up and down hills. Next, find a small hill or slope. Try pedalling up it — you'll need to push a little harder than normal to get to the top! When you're at the top, try going down slowly. Use your brakes to keep slow. When you're at the bottom, go up again, and this time, go a little faster. Do this again and again until you can go down the hill without using your brakes. Be patient! It can take a while until you're able to go down a hill without stopping, so don't worry if you can't do it the first time you try. Start out with small hills. Don't try to ride down big hills until you're good at riding without training wheels. Get a friend or parent to push you if you need help. It's a lot easier to learn how to ride without training wheels if you have someone with you to help out. Try asking a parent, a friend who can ride without training wheels, or your brother or sister to give you a hand if you can. These people can make it easier to learn in a lot of ways, but one of the best ways they can help is by running next to you and holding you up until you can pedal on your own. Don't give up! Learning how to ride without training wheels can be scary, but once you can do it, riding a bike is a lot more fun. If you can't ride without training wheels after the first day of practice, don't worry — you'll get it eventually! Try again with the help of a friend or grown-up when you have the chance. Never give up — riding without training wheels is something almost everyone has to learn how to do. Each time you practice, riding should get easier and easier until it's the only way you can ride! Take your child to an open area with a gentle hill. Though every child learns differently, for many children, slowly coasting down a long, gentle slope is one of the easiest ways to learn. Rolling forward at a slow, controlled speed allows children to get comfortable with the idea that staying upright on a bike without training wheels is almost as easy as staying upright on one with training wheels. Grassy spots can be great for this. Grass keeps kids from going too fast on their bikes and cushions any falls they may have, making the experience much less stressful for them. The last thing you want is for your child to take a bad spill and get so afraid of riding without training wheels that they won't try again. Make sure your child is well-protected and their bike is a good height. Don't let your child get on their bike without a helmet. Not only is it dangerous, but also a very bad habit to let your child get into. You might also want to consider letting your child wear extra protective gear like knee and elbow pads — for children who are nervous about the idea of riding, this extra protection can make them feel more confident. Finally, make sure that your child can reach the ground with their feet when sitting on the bike, adjusting the seat as necessary. Note that some places have laws making it mandatory for all bike riders below a certain age to wear a helmet. In some circumstances breaking these sorts of laws can count as a misdemeanor offense for the parent. Let your child coast downhill while you hold them. When the child's ready to ride, let them gently roll down the hill or slope you're practicing at. Hold on to their shoulders or the back of their seat to keep them upright. Repeat this a few times until your child is confident and comfortable moving forward on their bike with your help. As you walk or jog next to the bike, be careful not to put either of your feet in front of (or between) the wheels. Let your child coast using their feet to stop themselves. Next, let your child coast the same slow, easy route down the hill as before, but this time, don't hold them unless they need it. Instruct the child to use their feet to control themselves or stop themselves as needed. This teaches the child the all-important balance skills needed to stay upright on a bike in a safe, controlled setting. If your child starts to lose control, grab them to keep them upright. Though a few spills may be unavoidable, you'll probably want to avoid them if you can, as they can make your child scared to continue. Let your child coast using their brakes. Next, do the exact same thing as before, except, this time, tell the child to use their bike's brakes to control their speed. When they get to the bottom, tell them to stop with their brakes. Repeat as needed until the child is confident slowing themselves and stopping without your help. Teaching the child that they can always stop the bike if they heed to is a very important part of building the child's confidence on the bike. Most children's bikes have foot brakes — in other words, the child has to pedal backwards to brake. Many bike training resources recommend foot brakes for children learning to ride without training wheels because learning how to use the hands in addition to all of the other skills that riding without training wheels requires can be overwhelming for young children. However, if your child's bike has a hand brake, it's still perfectly possible for them to learn on it — it may just take a little more practice. Teach turning in a flat area. Next, mover to a flatter area. Have the child start pedaling forward, then brake to stop. Repeat this several times until they are comfortable. Then, direct your child to try turning the handlebars just slightly while they ride forward. Walk next to the child as they turn, supporting them as needed. It can take some time for the child to get confident turning, so be patient. Ideally, the child should learn to lean into the turns ever so slightly. However, this can be difficult to communicate to young children, so you may want to have it be something the child discovers on their own. Teach your child how to pedal up a paved incline. Next, have your child pedal up a gentle slope. Here, a hard surface can be better than grass because grass can make it hard for the child to gain enough speed to make it up the hill. Tell the child to push hard on the pedals and, as always, support them as needed to prevent them from falling. Gradually reduce your support. As your child practices their skills, slowly start holding onto them less and less until they're comfortable with you simply walking beside them. Then, slowly stay further and further away from the child as they ride until they're comfortable riding without you next to them at all. Slow, steady progress is the key here — you basically want the child to start riding on their own without even knowing they're doing it. Be prepared to "go backwards" for a short while if your child takes a nasty spill. It's better to offer your support after a fall than to make your child go it alone — this can turn them off from of biking on their own, making it harder to teach them essential riding skills in the long term. Use positive reinforcement. Stay upbeat and positive as you teach your child to ride without training wheels. Praise them for the progress they make. Tell them that they make you proud when they finally get to the point of being able to ride on their own. Don't berate them for making mistakes or push them to do things they're not comfortable doing. You want your child to eventually like riding their bike — if they do, they'll eventually be able to continue teaching themselves without any help from you. Positive reinforcement, the practice of giving a child rewards for good behavior, is recommended by many serious parenting resources. Positive reinforcement teaches a child what good behavior is while giving them love and attention, which are important for any child. Try a bike with hand brakes. Eventually, most kids stop using bikes with foot brakes and start using ones with hand brakes. Hand brakes give the rider a little more control by allowing them to choose which wheel to brake with. To use a hand brake, simply squeeze the metal bar in front of either hand grip. The back wheel brake usually slows the bike down more gradually, while the front brake slows the bike down more quickly — be careful not to use the front brake too hard or you might go over the handle bars! Though every child learns at their own pace, in general, most kids are capable of learning to use hand brakes after about six years of age. Try using a bike with gears. Just like most kids eventually start using hand brakes, sooner or later, most kids eventually learn how to ride a bike with gears. Gears make it easy to go very fast, climb steep hills, and maintain a "cruising" speed without pedaling hard. To use gears, simply push the lever or switch near the hand grips in either direction. You should notice it suddenly get easier or harder to pedal — the harder it is to pedal, the faster your pedaling will make you go. Again, every child learns at their own pace. Most kids from ages 9-12 are capable of using bikes with gears after a little basic training. Try standing while you pedal. Standing up while you pedal instead of using the seat lets you push on the pedals extra-hard, which makes this a great way to get up hills or gain speed very quickly. In addition, you have to be able to stand up on your bike to do lots of bike tricks (like the bunny hop below). You may find that it's tricky to balance at first or that your legs get tired quickly when you first try to stand up while pedaling. However, with a little practice, it's not hard to build up the strength and balance you need to master this skill. Try biking off-road. When you're comfortable biking on clear, even surfaces like streets, sidewalks, and fields, try biking on an off-road trail. You'll find that this is a little different than biking on a road — it's usually slower, bumpier, and requires you to watch the path in front of you more. However, off-road biking can be a great way to exercise and see parts of the wilderness you haven't seen before, so give it a shot! Try doing a bunny hop. When you feel confident riding your bike at any speed and in any location, try learning a few easy tricks! For example, you can try doing a bunny hop by working up to a slow speed, standing up, and pulling up on the handle bars as you push off of the ground and throw your weight upwards. In the air, lean forward to level out so that you hit the ground on both wheels. When you get good at this, you should be able to pull off a small "hop" which is great for getting you up curbs without stopping. Don't be discouraged if you fall or "wipe out" a few times when you're trying to learn the bunny hop and other tricks. Minor nicks and bruises are part of the process of learning — you can't learn without making a few mistakes!
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Wear a helmet and safety gear. Make sure your feet can touch the ground. Find a flat spot to ride in. Practice pedalling and braking. Practice turning while you pedal. Practice going up and down hills. Get a friend or parent to push you if you need help. Don't give up! Take your child to an open area with a gentle hill. Make sure your child is well-protected and their bike is a good height. Let your child coast downhill while you hold them. Let your child coast using their feet to stop themselves. Let your child coast using their brakes. Teach turning in a flat area. Teach your child how to pedal up a paved incline. Gradually reduce your support. Use positive reinforcement. Try a bike with hand brakes. Try using a bike with gears. Try standing while you pedal. Try biking off-road. Try doing a bunny hop.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Throw-a-Softball
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How to Throw a Softball
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To throw a softball overhand, start by gripping the ball in your dominant hand with 4 fingers on the seam. Then, point the toes on your back foot so the inside of the foot is facing your target. Next, step towards the target with your front foot and swing your arm swiftly up and over your shoulder. When your arm passes your head, release the ball and follow through by bringing your arm to your chest.
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Know the mechanics of a good throw. Fast and accurate throwing is essential for every softball player, but the exact motions of a good throw may seem foreign to someone just starting to learn the game. Good throwers throw with a lot of backspin, which helps the ball fly farther, use their whole body instead of just their arm to get power, and align their legs and shoulders with the target for accuracy. Make sure you throw with your dominant hand. This is whatever hand feels the most comfortable. Always practice with a glove in your opposite hand -- this is how you will have to throw in a game. Grip the ball with four fingers on the laces. Turn the ball so that the laces form a "C," then place your four fingers along the top lace. Your thumb should comfortably rest on another lace along the side of the softball. The laces provide a surface to grip onto, and you will "pull" on the laces as you throw to give the ball backspin (the top of the ball spins back towards the bottom), which helps the throw's speed and stability. Place the inside of your back foot towards the target. Your back foot is the foot on the same side as your throwing arm. You want the instep, or inside, of your foot to face your target so that your toes point diagonally to the right (right-handed throwers) or left (left-handed throwers) of your target. To be precise, point your toes roughly 45 degrees away from the spot you throw towards. Step straight towards your target with your front foot. You should be able to draw a straight line from your back instep through your front foot and to your target. In other words, you will be perpendicular to your target. You should point your front toes however you feel comfortable. Usually this is sideways. Point your glove towards your target. This insures accuracy, but it also opens up your shoulders to allow a more natural throwing motion. As you get more experienced, you may begin pointing your glove elbow, not the glove, towards your target. This makes your throwing motion more compact and efficient. Bring the ball back behind your head with your elbow at shoulder height. Your arm should form an "L" shape with the ball held high. Dropping the elbow is the most common mistake many young softball players make when throwing, so pay close attention to your arm position. Point your palm behind you. With your arm high in the air behind you, point your palm and the ball up and behind you. This will allow you to snap your wrist with more power later in the throw. Bring the ball rapidly up and over the shoulder. This is your throwing motion, and you will feel your arm extending as you "whip" past your head. Remember to keep your elbow near shoulder-height as you begin your throw. The ball will be at the highest point of your arm. Try to keep your elbow loose and relaxed -- don't try to keep the "L" shape as you throw. Release the ball by snapping your fingers and wrist downward. As the ball passes you head, throw the ball by simultaneously letting go of the ball and "pulling" the laces of the ball down to create backspin. You can test your backspin by placing black electrical tape perpendicular to the laces of the ball. If you release the ball properly, you should see a solid black "line" of the tape as the ball spins. Pull your glove back towards your body. Though not necessary when you are first learning, practice pulling your glove back towards your chest as you begin your throw -- it gives you more room for a powerful follow-through. Bend your arm towards your chest at the elbow, then pull your elbow back towards your ribs. Continue your throwing motion across your chest. Once the ball is released, let your arm keep swinging down and across your body, ending with your hand near your opposite thigh. Your fingers and wrist should be down from spinning the ball. Carry your momentum forward. As you throw, you will feel your body weight shifting to your front foot. Don't resist it, and feel free to pick you your back foot to keep your balance as you lean forward after the throw. Practice each part separately to learn good mechanics. If you decide to try everything at once, every time, you are bound to pick up bad habits. Instead, break the throw down into smaller parts and practice these before bringing it all together: Grip: Toss the ball up and catch it in your glove. As soon as you catch it, grab the ball and turn it in your hands to quickly place all four fingers on the laces. Repeat. Feet: Pick 3-4 different targets in the distance. Toss the ball up to yourself. As soon as you catch it, grab the ball, turn, and set you feet up towards one of the targets, cocking your arm back like you are about to throw. Stop here and note your foot position -- are you in a straight line towards your chosen target? Wrist Flick: Hold your arm in front of your body with the ball high and your elbow at shoulder height. Practice throwing the ball with just your upper arm, snapping down from the elbow and pulling back the laces with your fingers and wrist. Your goal is to practice good, consistent backspin. Bring it all together. You should work on throwing with a good, fluid arc. Your final throwing motion should be consistent, smooth, and comfortable. Grip the ball along the laces. As you bring the ball out of your glove, align your feet with the target. Cock you arm backwards at a 90 degree angle while pointing your glove at the target. Rapidly swing the ball past your head and release. Snap your fingers and wrist down and towards your target. Follow through by bringing your weight and arm forward and down. Start with your feet shoulder length apart and facing the catcher. Hold the ball in your glove near your chest. Grip the ball with four fingers along the laces. Turn the ball so that the laces form a "C," then place your four fingers along the top lace. Your thumb should comfortably rest along the side of the softball. In order to properly grip the laces, use the tips of your fingers to hold the ball so that there is a little bit of space between the ball and your fingers. Step with your opposite foot towards the catcher. This is the foot opposite your throwing arm, and you want it placed directly towards your catcher. Most often, where you place your feet will indicate where you throw the ball, so work on making a "power line" that extends from your back foot, through your front foot, and straight to the catcher. Your feet should be pointing anywhere between 90 and 45 degrees to the side, away from the batter. Extend both arms in front of your body. The ball and the glove arms will be separate, but both should be extended and pointing at the catcher. Bring your throwing arm high above your head. Keeping your arm straight, bring your throwing arm up so that the ball is towards the sky. Swing your throwing arm down behind your body and around to your waist. Your arm should be relaxed and slightly bent at the elbow the entire time. Think of your arm as the hand of a clock and your shoulder is the center of it. This is called the "arm whip," because your arm should be loose and relaxed, letting momentum carry your arm quickly through it's arc and towards your waist. Simultaneously, drop your glove hand down. As you arm swings backwards, start dripping your glove back to your side. When you time both arms correctly you open up your shoulders so they face towards your target, allowing better accuracy. Release the ball just past your waist. Practice to find the exact location that works for you -- release too early and the ball will hit the dirt, too late and it will go too high. As you release, flick your fingers back towards your palm. Your palm is facing upward and your fingers will rapidly snap back into your hand as you let go of the ball. Think of the motion you make when trying to hide something in your palm. Your fingers come back as if someone was trying to take a quarter out of your hand. Follow through by bringing your arm to chest height. After you release the ball, you want to end with your arm up and pointing directly at your target. Troubleshoot your pitches. There are a lot of things that can "go wrong" while pitching, but the most common ones involve balance and improper posture. Some things to look out for include: Keeping the ball over your toes. You want your arm's entire arc to stay perpendicular to your body, so avoid letting your hand stray out and away from your torso. If the ball is over your toes the entire time you will keep the ball straight and throw more strikes. Forgetting your fingers. The snap at the end of the throw is crucial to keeping the ball stable at high speeds, so if your pitches are wild or wobble in the air, focus on following through properly. Landing your front foot. As you start throwing, don't forget that proper foot placement is key to accuracy. Make sure that every time you step forward you are landing towards the target. Practice the full motion after you have the parts down. Do not try to start throwing pitches right out of the gate. Practice every part slowly and separately to get good habits. For example, make your step forward and bring your arm up, then stop and check your position -- are you in line with the catcher? Next, bring your arm around and snap your fingers -- did you get good backspin? You are not looking for good pitches yet, just good consistent motions. You can test your backspin by placing black electrical tape perpendicular to the laces of the ball. You should see a solid black "line" of the tape as the ball spins. Practice finding a smooth delivery. The best pitchers put all of these parts together quickly and smoothly, without pauses or jerky, awkward motions. Push off of your back foot. Plant your front foot towards the catcher. Begin rotating your extended arm clockwise over your head. Drop your glove arm as you arm passes your head Release the ball by your waist. Snap your fingers back into your palm as the ball exits your hand. Follow through to your chest. Throw a change-up by following through without snapping your fingers. The change-up is a slower pitch that throws batters off-guard when expecting another fast-ball. Hold the ball completely in your palm, letting your each finger rest on the laces, and skip the finger snap when following through, instead leaving your hand open. This is often the first special pitch you should learn after the fastball. Throw a drop pitch by gripping the ball along the laces. The aim of the pitch is to make the ball sink on the batter. Grip the ball with your fingers aligned with the laces, instead of across them like you would on a fastball. Keeping your elbow a little more rigid than normal, flick your wrist and follow through like as if you were throwing a basic pitch. Throw a curveball by rotating your wrist as you release. You need the same grip as a drop pitch -- fingers aligned with the laces, not across. Curveballs move down and sideways, making them tricky for a batter to track and hit. Your throwing motion is nearly the exact same as a fastball, but you twist your wrist (counter-clockwise for righties, clockwise for lefties) as you release the ball. This causes the ball to spin sideways as it travels. Throw a "rise ball" with a special grip and release. The hardest pitch to throw, this ball will come up towards the batter, making it incredibly hard to hit. The goal is a pitch that has top-spin so that the bottom of the ball rotates towards the top. To throw it: Put your middle and ring finger in between the laces, at the point where they start to come towards each other. Dig the tip of your index finger into the side of the ball. Begin your normal fastball motion, but keep your palm facing down as you come around behind your back. As you release, quickly turn your hand so that your palm faces up, as if you were turning a doorknob. Release the ball early so that it has time to rise. Remember that this is the hardest pitch to throw, and may take upwards of a year to perfect.
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Know the mechanics of a good throw. Grip the ball with four fingers on the laces. Place the inside of your back foot towards the target. Step straight towards your target with your front foot. Point your glove towards your target. Bring the ball back behind your head with your elbow at shoulder height. Point your palm behind you. Bring the ball rapidly up and over the shoulder. Release the ball by snapping your fingers and wrist downward. Pull your glove back towards your body. Continue your throwing motion across your chest. Carry your momentum forward. Practice each part separately to learn good mechanics. Bring it all together. Start with your feet shoulder length apart and facing the catcher. Grip the ball with four fingers along the laces. Step with your opposite foot towards the catcher. Extend both arms in front of your body. Bring your throwing arm high above your head. Swing your throwing arm down behind your body and around to your waist. Simultaneously, drop your glove hand down. Release the ball just past your waist. As you release, flick your fingers back towards your palm. Follow through by bringing your arm to chest height. Troubleshoot your pitches. Practice the full motion after you have the parts down. Practice finding a smooth delivery. Throw a change-up by following through without snapping your fingers. Throw a drop pitch by gripping the ball along the laces. Throw a curveball by rotating your wrist as you release. Throw a "rise ball" with a special grip and release.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Deal-with-Coronavirus-Anxiety
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How to Stay Calm During a Coronavirus Outbreak
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Feeling anxious or scared about the coronavirus pandemic is totally normal, and you're not alone. Try to remember that 80% of COVID-19 cases are mild, and most people who get sick will get better. Limit how often you're checking for news updates to once or twice a day since constantly reading or watching things about the virus can start to take a toll on you. Instead of focusing on the virus, try doing some stress-relieving activities, like going for a walk, doing yoga, reading a good book, or working on a creative project. If you do feel like you're getting overwhelmed, don't be afraid to talk to a close friend or family member about it. Sometimes just talking about your anxieties can make them seem less scary. For more advice from our Psychology co-author on how you can cope with your feelings, keep reading.
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Get your information from trustworthy sources, such as the CDC. You're probably seeing a lot of stories about the coronavirus, and some of them may contain inaccurate or outdated information. Additionally, you might encounter some myths on social media. To ensure that you're getting accurate and reasonable information, stick to sources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. Visit the World Health Organization website for up-to-date information about the current COVID-19 outbreak. You can also find information from the CDC website. Limit how often you check for news updates to once or twice a day. While it's good to stay informed, constantly reading or watching news updates can quickly become overwhelming. Instead, designate a specific time to check for updates so you're not thinking about the virus all day. Don't visit news sites or turn on the news outside of these times, and avoid social media if you're seeing too many updates there. For example, you might watch a news program in the morning and check for a second update in the evening. Focus on the fact that most cases are mild and most people recover. Reports about the coronavirus likely sound very scary, so it's understandable that you'd be afraid. However, 80% of cases are mild, and some people don't even realize they're sick. Additionally, most people who get very sick will get better, so try not to worry. Finally, some areas don't have any confirmed cases, so you may not be at risk at all. COVID-19 causes respiratory symptoms like fever, cough, and shortness of breath, similar to the common cold or the flu. Coronavirus infections are rare in children, so you don't need to be especially worried about your kids getting sick. With preventative actions, such as hand washing, kids are at low-risk. Share helpful information with friends and family. You can help yourself and others feel calmer about the coronavirus outbreak by sharing any helpful information you find. If you see a useful update on the coronavirus from a reputable news source or government website, post a link on social media or email it to any friends or family members who are worried about the virus. If you stay calm and stick to sharing factual information, you can set a good example for others and help prevent panic and anxiety from spreading. If you know anyone who is spreading inaccurate information, correct them in a calm, non-judgmental way. Say something like, “I know a lot of people are saying it's not safe to handle packages from China, but the WHO says the virus dies quickly on objects like mail pieces.” Provide links to back up any information you share. Share your feelings with sympathetic loved ones. If you still feel worried about the coronavirus despite taking precautions, you may find it helpful to talk through your worries. Reach out to a friend or family member and talk to them about how you're feeling. You might find that you both feel better after having a conversation about it! Avoid talking to anyone who is panicking about the virus or spreading inaccurate, sensationalized information. Talk to someone calm who can help you work through your concerns in a realistic, level-headed way. Say something like, “Dad, I just can't stop worrying about this coronavirus thing. Do you have time to chat about it?” Do stress-relieving activities to help yourself relax. Stress-reducing exercises and activities can help you feel calmer and more in control of your feelings when you're worried about something. They can also help take your mind off your fears. When you start to feel anxious about the coronavirus, try doing something that helps you feel calm and peaceful, such as: Meditating Doing yoga Meet new people through dating or friend-finding apps and enjoy the time together Going for a walk or jog Spending time with friends and family Reading a book or watching a fun TV show Working on a hobby or creative project Helping others, such as friends, neighbors, homeless people , or essential workers Write your feelings down to help them feel more manageable. Putting your worries into words can help you understand them better and make them feel less overwhelming. Jot down your thoughts about the coronavirus in a journal, notebook, or computer document. Don't judge your thoughts and feelings—just write them down. For example, you might write down something like, “I keep thinking about that news story I read about the coronavirus this morning, and I feel scared. I'm afraid it might spread to my town.” Imagine the worst-case scenario to help define your fears. It may seem counterintuitive, but anxiety experts say that imagining your worst fears can help them feel more manageable. Write down the worst coronavirus-related scenario you can think of, or say it out loud and record it on your phone. Read it or play it back to yourself. You'll soon start to realize that this scenario is less likely than you may have thought (and therefore less scary). For example, you might say something like, “I'm scared that someone with coronavirus will come to my school and infect everyone, and we'll all end up severely ill.” Talk to a counselor if your anxiety is disrupting your daily life. If you just can't let go of your anxiety about the coronavirus, a counselor or therapist can help. They can teach you coping strategies to deal with your fears in a healthy way or even prescribe medications to reduce your overall anxiety. Reach out to a counselor or ask your doctor to recommend someone. You may need additional help if: Your worries are starting to interfere with your ability to work, sleep, or interact with others You have intrusive or obsessive thoughts about the coronavirus You have fears about symptoms you're experiencing that don't get better even if a doctor reassures you that you don't have coronavirus Practice social distancing to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Social distancing (or physical distancing) means limiting your contact with other people. Stay at home as much as possible, and only go out for things like grocery shopping or going to work. Additionally, ask if it's possible to work or do your school work at home. If you decide to hang out with friends or family, limit the guest list to 10 or fewer people. Focus on having fun while at home. Play board games, watch movies, cook a big meal, go for a walk outside, or make something creative. Social distancing doesn't mean you have to avoid all socializing! Keep in contact with friends and family over the phone, video chat, social media or messaging apps. Wash your hands frequently with warm, soapy water. One of the best ways to protect yourself from any contagious disease is to wash your hands. Wash your hands any time you go to the bathroom, handle objects in public places, or are getting ready to eat or prepare food. Use warm water and a gentle hand soap and wash your hands for at least 20 seconds. Make sure to wash your palms, the backs of your hands, and between your fingers. When you're done washing, dry your hands on a clean, dry towel or paper towel. Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer if you can't get to soap and water. Carry some with you in your bag or pocket. Keep your hands away from your eyes, nose, and mouth. Many viruses, including the COVID-19 virus, enter your body through the mucus membranes in your eyes, nose, and mouth. Avoid touching your face except when you're washing it or applying skincare products, and always wash your hands with soap and water first. If you need to touch your face and don't have access to soap and water, rub your hands with some alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Stay away from people who are obviously sick. If someone around you is coughing, sneezing, or seems severely congested, keep your distance. Try to stay at least 6 feet (1.8 m) away from them at all times. This will reduce your chances of inhaling droplets contaminated with a virus if they cough or sneeze near you. Don't assume that anyone has coronavirus, especially if there are no confirmed cases in your area. Chances are, the people you encounter who are coughing and sneezing will have allergies, cold, or flu. However, it's always a good idea to keep your distance from sick people. Always wash your hands thoroughly after interacting with a sick person. Get plenty of sleep and eat well to keep your immune system strong. Taking care of your overall health can reduce your chances of getting sick. Support your immune system by eating balanced, nutritious meals with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy sources of fat (such as fish, vegetable oils, and nuts and seeds). Make sure to get 7-9 hours of sleep if you're an adult, or 8-10 if you're a teen. Staying physically active can also boost your immune system. Try to spend at least 30 minutes a day getting moderate physical activity, such as walking or doing yard work. Avoid unnecessary travel or travel to affected areas. As of March 2020, it's best to avoid unnecessary travel to help limit the spread of the virus. Additionally, the CDC recommends avoiding areas where COVID-19 is most active, like Europe, Italy, China, South Korea, and Iran. However, keep in mind that CDC travel guidelines update daily, so this could change. You can keep track of current coronavirus-related travel advisories here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html. If you must travel in an affected area, avoid contact with sick people and wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water. If soap and water aren't available, use a hand sanitizer that's 60%-95% alcohol. Call your doctor if you develop fever, cough, or shortness of breath. These are the common symptoms of COVID-19, though you may also experience other respiratory symptoms. Contact your doctor immediately and tell them your symptoms, your travel history, and whether or not you may have come into contact with a potentially infected person. Your doctor will tell you if you need to come for testing. In the meantime, stay home so you don't risk infecting others. If you experience these symptoms, don't panic. Unless you live in an area where the coronavirus is widespread, you probably don't have a coronavirus infection. Your healthcare provider will have up-to-date information on the coronavirus and can give you the best possible advice. If you feel sick, protect others by staying home as much as possible, washing your hands frequently, and covering your nose and mouth with a tissue or the crook of your arm when you cough or sneeze.
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Get your information from trustworthy sources, such as the CDC. Limit how often you check for news updates to once or twice a day. Focus on the fact that most cases are mild and most people recover. Share helpful information with friends and family. Share your feelings with sympathetic loved ones. Do stress-relieving activities to help yourself relax. Write your feelings down to help them feel more manageable. Imagine the worst-case scenario to help define your fears. Talk to a counselor if your anxiety is disrupting your daily life. Practice social distancing to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Wash your hands frequently with warm, soapy water. Keep your hands away from your eyes, nose, and mouth. Stay away from people who are obviously sick. Get plenty of sleep and eat well to keep your immune system strong. Avoid unnecessary travel or travel to affected areas. Call your doctor if you develop fever, cough, or shortness of breath.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Stop-Hating-Someone
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How to Stop Hating Someone
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It can be hard to stop hating someone, but try taking slow, deep breaths and visualizing a relaxing place whenever you feel angry or upset. If you feel like you have to express your feelings but don't want to have a confrontation, write a letter to release your emotions and organize your thoughts, then destroy it so no one can stumble upon it. You can also talk to someone you trust, like a friend or family member, to get some fresh perspective on your situation. For situations in which you have to interact with the person you hate, keep things professional. For example, if you're paired together on a project and they start criticizing you, simply say "We really should focus on our work since this deadline isn't far off."
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Distract yourself. If you start dwelling on the person you hate, keep busy. Do an activity to distract yourself, if you can't get the person or your negative feelings out of your head. Get some work done, listen to music, exercise, doodle or draw, write or journal, or read a book, newspaper, or magazine. Breathe slowly and deeply when you feel angry. Try relaxing and clearing your thoughts when you notice yourself getting angry or dwelling on the person. Inhale slowly as you count to 4, hold for a 4 count, then count to 4 as you exhale. Keep taking slow, deep breaths for at least 90 seconds, or until your mind has switched gears. Focus on relaxing imagery as you breathe, like a beach or comfortable place from your childhood. Visualize your negative emotions passing away with each breath. When someone hurts you, it's tough to get them out of your head. Taking a break to clear your mind can help you keep your cool and break a negative thought pattern. Write a letter to express your feelings, but don’t send it. Writing can help you release your emotions and order your thoughts. Describe what the person did or what bothers you. Tearing up or burning the letter could help you symbolically let go of your hate. Sending the letter could escalate the situation, so keep it private. Destroying the letter will help make sure that someone else doesn't stumble upon it by accident. Vent to people you trust. Talking to a close friend or family member will help you blow off steam. Getting a fresh perspective can also give you a better understanding of the situation. Talk to someone you trust in private, and make sure they'll keep your conversation to themselves. Don't vent about someone you hate at the place where you interact with them, like school or work. It might get back to the person, or you might end up getting labelled as a gossip or unprofessional. Ask an authority figure for help. If this person makes a habit of antagonizing you, it is best to seek qualified advice. You deserve a safe environment without someone harassing you. If they are repeatedly, intentionally upsetting you, then it's probably good to get someone to help. Talk to an authority figure. Explain the facts of how this person treated you, what you've tried to do to fix things, and how this is affecting you. Be tactful, clear, and as factual as possible. Then ask for help dealing with it. Bad example: "Mark is an elitist pig, and I won't put up with it anymore! It's like he's trying to humiliate me on purpose! He's always criticizing me in front of everyone! I need you to do something about him!" Good example: "I'm trying to get along with Mark, and it's just not working. Often, when I show him my work, he loudly lists off criticisms, often in public. It leaves me feeling humiliated, and I dread going to work because of it. I've never seen him do this to anyone else. I've asked him to give me critique in private, but he refuses. I don't know how to handle this. I could really use some advice." Consider talking to a therapist. If you have been seriously mistreated by someone, consider seeking some help. If someone deeply wronged or abused you, work with a therapist to sort through your emotions. Seeing a professional is also best if you're constantly angry or if your feelings of hate interfere with your daily life. Ask your primary doctor or trusted friends and family for a referral to a mental health professional. You can also look for one online or check your insurer's listing. Limit your interactions with the person. Usually, spending as little time as possible with the person is the best option. Limiting contact is especially wise if you've had a recent confrontation with them. You might find the person is easier to tolerate in small doses. Don't completely ignore them if you have to work with them on a project. If you have to work with them, keep your conversation professional. Manage your reactions. If you have to interact with the person you hate, show them respect and keep your emotions in check. You can't control them or the things they do that upset you, but you can control your own behavior. For instance, if you hate them because they constantly criticize everyone around them, do your best to ignore it. Try brushing off their comments by saying, “Well, to each their own. Anyway, let's get to work and finish up this project.” Show them respect if you have to interact. When you have to talk to them, focus on your work, be cordial, and stay professional. Don't make sarcastic remarks, insult them, or bring up your conflict. If they say something negative or annoying, ignore them and change the subject back to your work. For example, if you're paired with them on a project and they say something offensive, don't respond. Say, "Our deadline is coming up fast, so we should stay focused on finishing this." It might be tempting to engage them or correct an ignorant opinion, but it's not worth your time. Set boundaries clearly and explicitly. If the person is creepy or clingy, they may try to touch you or arrange to spend lots of time with you, even if you don't want to. Clearly, politely, and firmly state your boundaries. "Please don't touch me." "No, thanks. I have plans." "I'm not interested. Try asking someone else." "I asked you not to touch me. I need you to knock it off." Spend time with them, if you want to understand them better. It might seem counter-intuitive, but gradually spending more time with the person you hate could help you understand why they behave the way they do. Try getting to know them better by working on a project or doing an activity together. Spending time with someone you hate could be helpful if there's something about them that irks you. You might find they do the thing you hate because they're compensating for an insecurity or just don't know any better. However, if they hurt you or if you morally object to their behavior, just try to avoid them. Spending time with them may be especially helpful if their behavior is similar to yours, or if the issue is really about you and not about them. Learn to roll your eyes and let it go. There's a lot of power in thinking "there they go again" and just moving on. Emotionally disengaging can help you deal with a rude or irritating person without getting invested in their mess. Mentally acknowledge that their behavior is inappropriate, and that they have a tendency to do this. Then move on. Try responding to transgressions with ambivalence. When they act rudely, say "okay," "thanks for sharing," or "that's interesting" and change the subject. Take steps to find a resolution. This can mean different things for different people and situations. Sometimes, it might mean getting along. Other times, it might mean making peace with the way they are. And sometimes it just means moving on. Get to the root of why you hate this person. If someone hurt you in a specific way, figuring out why you hate them might not be too complicated. However, if it's not so obvious, think about what the person does that bothers you so much. You may want to talk with a trusted friend or family member to help you sort through your feelings. Figuring this out can help resolve the conflict, and your stress. They remind you of someone who hurt you in the past. They have a trait that you don't like in yourself (e.g. being too sensitive, clingy, or irresponsible). They do something that you think is morally wrong (such as being cruel or hypocritical). They have something you want: success, freedom, talent, self acceptance, et cetera. You're afraid that they'll replace you or outshine you. Try to develop empathy for them. Think of reasons why the person behaves the way they do or why they did something to hurt you. Think about how they might be acting out of fear, insecurity, or pain. Seeing them as a human being with a story can help you empathize with them and take steps toward forgiveness. For example, they might have been harshly criticized when they were young, so now they criticize others and boast about their accomplishments, to help them more secure. While someone's past doesn't excuse their behavior, seeing the bigger picture can help you put their actions in context. You still might not like them or their actions, but understanding them better can help you get along with them. Focus on getting along, instead of forcing yourself to like them. Don't expect to stop hating someone overnight, and don't bottle up your emotions. Even if you agree to disagree with them, you still might not like them. It's okay not to like someone, but you should be able to get along with them at work or school (or at another setting) despite your differences. Discuss specific issues with them, if you can do so calmly. Be calm, clear, and reasonable if you can't avoid someone and want to resolve your conflict with them. Use "I" phrasing to describe what's bothering you and how you feel about it, without making accusations or judgments. Allow them to respond without interrupting them, and mention ways you could both improve the situation. For instance, tell them, “I feel insecure and disrespected when you dismiss and poke fun at my opinions. We don't have to be best friends, but I'd like to find a way to be cordial and respectful with each other.” Disengage if it goes bad. Say "I don't want to argue, so I'm going to leave" and walk away. Ask someone to mediate. Having your boss, teacher, or another neutral authority figure mediate could keep the discussion from turning into an argument. Apologize if you have acted inappropriately. While some conflicts are completely one-sided, many times, both parties have acted in non-ideal ways. An apology can help reduce conflict, and encourage a smoother relationship. Here are some example apologies: "I'm sorry that I called you out in front of everyone. Yes, your behavior bothered me, and I had reason to be upset. But it wasn't appropriate for me to embarrass you like that. I should have taken you aside instead of saying it in front of the entire room." "I'm sorry that I called you a heartless jerk. I was upset with you, but that's no excuse for name calling. I shouldn't have done that, and I'm sorry." "I'm sorry that I've been so judgmental about your quirks. I realize that this is a flaw of mine, and I'm working on it. Please don't take any of my past behavior to heart. It's not about you. It's about me." Don't try to be best friends with them. Just do your best to get along, and don't put any big expectations on yourself or on them. Tell them, "Look, I know we've had our issues, and we both know we'll never be best friends. We have to work together, so let's agree to disagree and just be cordial with one another."
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Distract yourself. Breathe slowly and deeply when you feel angry. Write a letter to express your feelings, but don’t send it. Vent to people you trust. Ask an authority figure for help. Consider talking to a therapist. Limit your interactions with the person. Manage your reactions. Show them respect if you have to interact. Set boundaries clearly and explicitly. Spend time with them, if you want to understand them better. Learn to roll your eyes and let it go. Take steps to find a resolution. Get to the root of why you hate this person. Try to develop empathy for them. Focus on getting along, instead of forcing yourself to like them. Discuss specific issues with them, if you can do so calmly. Ask someone to mediate. Apologize if you have acted inappropriately. Don't try to be best friends with them.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Clean-the-Outside-of-a-House
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How to Clean the Outside of a House
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Cleaning the outside of your house might seem like a huge task, but all you'll need is some soapy water and a garden hose to get started. If you find any stains on your walls or doors, scrub soapy water onto them to remove them. Then, spray your walls with the hose starting at the top. Starting from the top will prevent dirt from falling onto parts of the walls you've already cleaned. If water isn't enough to clean your walls, buy a cleaning product designed for outdoor use from a home improvement store. Many of these products come in a nozzle that you can attach to your hose so it can be sprayed on. After you've applied the cleaning product, remember to rinse it off with water only.
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Choose a warm day to clean. If possible, wait to clean the outside of your home on a warm, dry day. A windy day will cause overspray, which will come back on you as you clean. If it isn't possible to clean on a warm day, at least wait for a dry to clean the outside of your house. Protect the area on and around your home. Begin by making sure all doors and windows are closed. Secure them with tape if necessary. Put duct tape and plastic sheeting over outside light fixtures, vents, and electrical outlets. Move lawn furniture away from the home. Cover plants and shrubbery with plastic sheeting. Make sure kids and dogs are inside while you clean if you're using a pressure washer. Use soap and water to remove stains. Inspect your home before you begin cleaning. Look for stains that can be cleaned without the use of a garden hose or pressure washing. For most stains, you can use a scrub brush, water, and regular dishwashing soap. Scrub the stain until it begins to lift. Avoid using heavier cleaners if possible since they could damage the vegetation around your home. Create a solution with oxygen bleach powder to remove mildew. For tougher stains, like mildew, use a solution made out of oxygen bleach, water, and dishwashing liquid. Put a gallon (3.8 L) of water, one-quarter pound (1 L) of oxygen bleach, and a one-eighth cup (29.6 mL) of dishwashing liquid in a bucket. Dip a scrub brush in the bucket and scrub the mildew until it lifts. Be very careful when handling bleach. Make sure to wear eye protection, rubber gloves, and handle it in a well-ventilated area. Use a cleaning kit or brush to clean the outside of your house. You can buy a siding cleaning kit with a nozzle attachment from your local home improvement store. Or, you can buy an automobile brush that will attach to your hose. You can use only water to clean if your house isn't heavily soiled. If it is, you will need to use a cleanser. A siding kit should come with a compartment to pour the cleanser into the attachment. You can find cleanser specifically made for washing the outside of houses at most home improvement stores. Work from the bottom to the top. Spray your hose at a downward angle. Work from the bottom to the top of the house. Work in small, separate sections at a time. Rinse with water if a cleaner was used. If you used more than water, you will need to rinse off the cleanser. Again, work from top to bottom as you rinse off the house with only water. You do not need to do anything to dry off the house. Choose a nozzle to pressure wash with. Nozzles are typically measured in degrees. The spray is stronger the lower you go in degrees. Choose a low setting if you aren't familiar with pressure washing. A 40-degree angle is good to start with. You can gradually work down to a 25-degree angle if the 40-degree nozzle isn't getting the job done. Test the pressure washer on a small section of your house. Pressure washing can do damage to a house, especially if the material the house is made of is weak or has weakened. Spray the pressure washer on a small, hidden part of the house. Switch to a garden hose or call in a professional if you see any damage done by the pressure washer. Spray downward. Begin pressure washing by spraying at a downward angle. Spraying at an upward angle can cause water to get trapped in the cracks or seams, which can cause damage to your house later on. Move the pressure washer from side-to-side. Hold the pressure washer steadily as you pressure wash. Move the pressure washer from side-to-side in a sweeping motion. You should still be holding the pressure washer at a downward angle. Continue until you have cleaned all of the outside of the house. Do not stop at one spot when using the pressure washer—always continue moving. Stopping in one place can cause damage. Move from top to bottom if using a cleanser. Water alone should typically be enough to pressure wash the house, but you will need to wash in a different motion if you're using a cleaner. Spray from top to bottom if you're using a cleaner. Rinse off the cleanser with water when you are finished pressure washing.
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Choose a warm day to clean. Protect the area on and around your home. Use soap and water to remove stains. Create a solution with oxygen bleach powder to remove mildew. Use a cleaning kit or brush to clean the outside of your house. Work from the bottom to the top. Rinse with water if a cleaner was used. Choose a nozzle to pressure wash with. Test the pressure washer on a small section of your house. Spray downward. Move the pressure washer from side-to-side. Move from top to bottom if using a cleanser.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Treat-Sweaty-Hands
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How to Treat Sweaty Hands
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To treat sweaty hands in the moment, use a fan to dry your hands, or wash them under cold water. If you're sweating because you're nervous or stressed, have a seat, close your eyes, and take a deep breath. Sprinkle powder on your hands while working out or operating heavy machinery to temporarily absorb sweat. If you regularly suffer from sweaty hands, try using an unscented “clinical strength” antiperspirant on your hands.
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Wash your hands. Sweaty hands don't dry up on their own, so you'll have to wash them more often than most people do to keep them dry. Wash them when the amount of sweat starts to bother you, then thoroughly dry them off with a towel or washcloth. When you aren't washing up for dinner or after using the bathroom, it's fine to use plain water, rather than soapy water, to wash your hands. This way you'll avoid drying out the skin on the back side of your hands from using too much soap. Use hand sanitizer when you cannot wash your hands. Carry alcohol-based hand sanitizer (not antibacterial) for the times when you can't get to a sink to wash your hands. A squirt of alcohol works to temporarily dry up the sweat. Dry your hands with a cloth or paper towel. Carry a small cloth towel or a package of paper towels so you can wipe off your hands when you need to. Use them before situations when you'll be shaking hands with someone. Cool off your hands. Many people get sweaty hands when their bodies are slightly overheated, so cooling them off can be a quick and effective remedy. Hold your hands in front of a fan or air conditioner to dry the moisture and slow down the production of sweat. To cool your hands down quickly when you aren't at home, find a bathroom and run them under cold water, then dry them thoroughly with a paper towel. Avoid getting too hot in the first place, if possible. Don't use a heater unless it's absolutely necessary, and turn down the thermostat in your room. Sprinkle some powder on your hands. If you're at home and don't mind your hands looking a little white, sprinkle them with a powder to temporarily absorb the sweat. This can come in handy if your sweaty hands inhibit daily activities like lifting weights, jumping rope or complete chores that require a tight grip. Try the following types of powder: Baby powder, either scented or unscented Baking soda or cornstarch Don't wear items that increase sweating. Keeping your hands free of articles of clothing that inhibit air flow will cause your hands to stay moist, rather than naturally getting the chance to dry. Gloves, mittens and other items that cover your hands. Wear them when it's freezing outside, of course, but avoid wearing gloves indoors or in situations where they aren't necessary. Gloves are effective if you want to hide the sweatiness of your hands, but they'll keep your hands so warm that they'll sweat more than usual. Avoid petroleum-based lotions and other skin products. Petroleum jelly is used by people with dry skin to seal in moisture, and it has the same effect on sweaty skin. Petroleum jelly can prevent your sweat from drying and cause your hands to become greasy. The same goes for coconut oil and other cosmetic oils used to hold moisture against skin. Start using an antiperspirant. You may not think to use an antiperspirant on your hands, since they are usually used in the underarm area, but the same chemicals that prevent your armpits from sweating excessively can help your hands, too. Choose an unscented "clinical strength" antiperspirant containing aluminum zirconium, which many find to be effective. Prescription-strength antiperspirants containing aluminum chloride hexahydrate, a stronger antiperspirant chemical, are also available; talk to your doctor. Stay relaxed. Excessive perspiration is often triggered by anxiety and stress. Practice meditation, yoga or another activity that will help reduce your stress and prevent your sweat glands from going into overdrive. If you get sweaty while thinking of a certain problem that's bothering you, think through a solution and tackle it head-on. If you need help, consider talking to a counselor. For a quick solution to anxiety-related sweating, have a seat, close your eyes, and take a few deep breaths. Try to calm your mind before going about your day. Look into iontophoresis. This procedure involves using water to send an electrical current under the skin, which temporarily prevents sweating. During iontophoresis, the hands are submerged in water while an electrical current is sent through the water. You might feel a tingling sensation, but the procedure is painless. Iontophoresis kits are available for home use. Talk to your doctor about purchasing one so you can use it any time. Take an oral medication. Oral medicines known as anticholinergics stop sweating as a side effect, so doctors sometimes prescribe them to treat excessive sweating in the hands. This might be a good choice if you aren't an athlete, but if you're an active person, it can be dangerous to interfere with your body's production of sweat, which functions to cool the body when it becomes heated from exercise. Anticholinergics can also cause dry mouth and other side effects. Research botulinum toxin injections. Botox injections, which are often used to smooth wrinkles in the face or plump up the lips, can also be used to block the nerves that produce sweat. However, injections can be painful, and they only stop excessive sweating temporarily. Consider getting a sympathectomy. This procedure involves surgically removing a nerve from inside the chest, permanently disrupting the nerve signal that controls the body's sweating. This surgery should be considered only as a last resort, since in half of the cases the body compensates by overproducing sweat in a different area. The sweating in your hands might go away, but you may experience increased sweating on your back or in another area. If you wish to undergo this procedure, find a doctor who has done it before. Don't risk getting such a risky procedure done by someone unfamiliar with the process.
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Wash your hands. Use hand sanitizer when you cannot wash your hands. Dry your hands with a cloth or paper towel. Cool off your hands. Sprinkle some powder on your hands. Don't wear items that increase sweating. Avoid petroleum-based lotions and other skin products. Start using an antiperspirant. Stay relaxed. Look into iontophoresis. Take an oral medication. Research botulinum toxin injections. Consider getting a sympathectomy.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Strawberry-Smoothie
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How to Make a Strawberry Smoothie
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To make a strawberry smoothie, begin by pouring 1/2 cup of orange juice into a blender before adding 12 strawberries. Next, add 1/2 cup of yogurt and 1 cup of ice, and blend until smooth. To finish, add 1/2 cup of milk and blend the smoothie until it's ready. If you want a different flavor, add 10 blackberries with the strawberries, reduce the orange juice to 1/3 cup and leave out the milk for a strawberry and blackberry smoothie.
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Pour orange juice into the blender. If you prefer, you can use pulp-free orange juice, or orange juice with pulp for additional thickness. Orange juice will add a little bit of tartness to your smoothie, contrasting well with the sweetness of the strawberries. Add the strawberries. You can use either fresh or frozen strawberries. If using frozen strawberries, you may not need as much ice. If using fresh strawberries, make sure to wash your strawberries and remove the crown (the green leafy stem at the top) before adding your strawberries. Add the yogurt. Plain yogurt will give creaminess to your smoothie and highlight the flavor of your strawberries without overpowering it. You can also add ice cream and/or strawberry juice if desired. Add ice. Adding the hard ice after the strawberries will allow the blender blades to grind more effectively. If using frozen strawberries, you may prefer to reduce the amount of ice to 1/2 cup. Because the strawberries are frozen, they will already help make your smoothie cold and icy. Blend for about 5 seconds, pause, then blend again. Repeat until mixed. You may need to stir your smoothie with a spoon between mixes to ensure that no strawberries or ice cubes get stuck. Listen to the sound of the blender. If the blender is making a lot of noise, keep blending until the sound is smooth. Stir one last time with a spoon to ensure that your smoothie is completely blended. If your smoothie is still very slushy when you have finished blending, add additional cubes of ice until your smoothie reaches your desired consistency. Add milk to the blended mixture. Adding milk at the end keeps it from mixing directly with the orange juice, which may curdle it. You can use fat-free milk, 2% milk, or give your smoothie an extra creaminess by adding whole milk. Blend until smooth. Serve in a chilled glass if you desire or pour into cups to share. Top your smoothie off with a straw and enjoy. Pour orange juice into the blender. If you prefer, you can use pulp-free orange juice, or orange juice with pulp for additional thickness. Orange juice will add a little bit of tartness to your smoothie, contrasting well with the sweetness of the strawberries and blackberries. Add the strawberries and blackberries. You can use fresh or frozen strawberries and blackberries. If you are using fresh fruit, be sure to wash it and remove the crown (the green leafy stem at the top) of the strawberries before adding to your mixture. Add ice. Adding the hard ice after the fruit will allow the blender blades to grind more effectively. If using frozen fruit, you may prefer to reduce the amount of ice to 1/2 cup. If the strawberries and blackberries are frozen, they will help make your smoothie cold and icy. Add yogurt if you desire (optional). Plain yogurt will impart a tarter flavor and add an additional creaminess to your smoothie. Blend for about 5 seconds, pause, then blend again. Repeat until mixed. You may need to stir your smoothie with a spoon between mixes to ensure that no strawberries, blackberries, or ice cubes get stuck. Listen to the sound of the blender. If the blender is making a lot of noise, keep blending until the sound is smooth. Stir one last time with a spoon to ensure that your smoothie is completely blended. If your smoothie is still very slushy when you have finished blending, add additional cubes of ice until your smoothie reaches your desired consistency. Enjoy your smoothie. Pour your smoothie into a chilled glass or cups to share. Top your smoothie off with a straw. Pour 1 cup of plain yogurt (2 if you're feeling thirsty) into the blender. Yogurt will add additional creaminess and act as a base for the flavor of your strawberries. You can use non-fat, low-fat, or regular yogurt. Add the strawberries. You can use either fresh or frozen strawberries. If using frozen strawberries, you may not need as much ice. If using fresh strawberries, make sure to wash your strawberries and remove the crown (the green leafy stem at the top) before adding your strawberries. Blend until smooth. Blend for about 5 seconds, pause, then blend again. Repeat until mixed. You may need to stir your smoothie with a spoon between mixes to ensure that no strawberries or ice cubes get stuck. Listen to the sound of the blender. If the blender is making a lot of noise, keep blending until the sound is smooth. Stir one last time with a spoon to ensure that your smoothie is completely blended. Add a sliced banana (optional). You can use a fresh banana, or frozen pieces. Blend until smooth. Add honey to taste. Use about a tablespoon to start, then blend. Take a sip of your smoothie and add more honey if you desire additional sweetness. Avoid adding large amounts of honey to start. Your smoothie can get sweet very quickly and too much honey may ruin your smoothie. Enjoy your smoothie. Serve in a tall chilled glass or cups to share. Top your smoothie off with a straw, and enjoy! Serve your smoothie over ice, or blend a few ice cubes into the mixture to chill your smoothie if desired. Add the strawberries. You can use either fresh or frozen strawberries. If using frozen strawberries, you may not need as much ice. If using fresh strawberries, make sure to wash your strawberries and remove the crown (the green leafy stem at the top) before adding your strawberries. Pour in the milk. You can use fat-free milk, 2% milk, or give your smoothie an extra creaminess by adding whole milk. Add strawberry or vanilla yogurt. Strawberry yogurt will give your smoothie a stronger strawberry taste. If you prefer to have more of a vanilla tasting smoothie, use vanilla flavored yogurt. Blend until smooth. Blend for about 5 seconds, pause, then blend again. Repeat until mixed. You may need to stir your smoothie with a spoon between mixes to ensure that no strawberries, blackberries, or ice cubes get stuck. Add the vanilla or strawberry ice-cream and vanilla extract (1-2 drops). You can play around a little bit with the flavor of your smoothie. If you prefer more of a strawberry taste, use strawberry ice-cream. Blend until smooth. You can also use an equal amount of both strawberries and vanilla ice-cream. Pour orange juice into your mixture. If you prefer, you can use pulp-free orange juice, or orange juice with pulp for additional thickness. Orange juice will add a little bit of tartness to your smoothie, contrasting well with the sweetness of the strawberries. Add ice. Adding the hard ice after the strawberries will allow the blender blades to grind more effectively. If using frozen strawberries, you may prefer to reduce the amount of ice to 1/2 cup. Because the strawberries are frozen, they will already help make your smoothie cold and icy. Blend until smooth. Start by blending for about 5 seconds, pause, then blend again. Repeat until mixed. You may need to stir your smoothie with a spoon between mixes to ensure that no strawberries or ice cubes get stuck. Listen to the sound of the blender. If the blender is making a lot of noise, keep blending until the sound is smooth. Stir one last time with a spoon to ensure that your smoothie is completely blended. If your smoothie is still very slushy when you have finished blending, add additional cubes of ice until your smoothie reaches your desired consistency. Enjoy your smoothie. Pour your smoothie into a chilled glass or cups to share. Top your smoothie off with a straw. Pour apple juice into the blender. Apple juice will give a little bit of sweetness so you don't need to add additional sugar to your smoothie. Apple juice also works as a base for the flavor of your strawberries. Add the strawberries and banana slices. You can use fresh or frozen strawberries and banana slices. If you are using fresh strawberries, be sure to wash them and remove the crown (the green leafy stem at the top) of the strawberries before adding to your mixture. Add frozen yogurt. Scoop your vanilla frozen yogurt into the mixture. You can try regular frozen yogurt, non-fat frozen yogurt, or vanilla soy frozen yogurt. Add ice. Adding the hard ice after the strawberries will allow the blender blades to grind more effectively. If using frozen strawberries, you may prefer to reduce the amount of ice to 1/2 cup. Because the strawberries are frozen, they will already help make your smoothie cold and icy. Blend until smooth. Start by blending for about 5 seconds, pause, then blend again. Repeat until mixed. You may need to stir your smoothie with a spoon between mixes to ensure that no strawberries, banana slices, or ice cubes get stuck. Listen to the sound of the blender. If the blender is making a lot of noise, keep blending until the sound is smooth. Stir one last time with a spoon to ensure that your smoothie is completely blended. If your smoothie is still very slushy when you have finished blending, add additional cubes of ice until your smoothie reaches your desired consistency. Enjoy. Pour your smoothie into a chilled glass or cups to share. Top your smoothie off with a straw.
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Pour orange juice into the blender. Add the strawberries. Add the yogurt. Add ice. Blend for about 5 seconds, pause, then blend again. Add milk to the blended mixture. Blend until smooth. Pour orange juice into the blender. Add the strawberries and blackberries. Add ice. Add yogurt if you desire (optional). Blend for about 5 seconds, pause, then blend again. Enjoy your smoothie. Pour 1 cup of plain yogurt (2 if you're feeling thirsty) into the blender. Add the strawberries. Blend until smooth. Add a sliced banana (optional). Add honey to taste. Enjoy your smoothie. Add the strawberries. Pour in the milk. Add strawberry or vanilla yogurt. Blend until smooth. Add the vanilla or strawberry ice-cream and vanilla extract (1-2 drops). Pour orange juice into your mixture. Add ice. Blend until smooth. Enjoy your smoothie. Pour apple juice into the blender. Add the strawberries and banana slices. Add frozen yogurt. Add ice. Blend until smooth. Enjoy.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Break-Up-with-Someone-You-Love
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How to Break Up with Someone You Love
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If you need to break up with someone even though you love them, remind yourself that your feelings are valid and you're not a bad person for needing or wanting to break up. Though you will probably feel sad during the breakup, you don't need to feel guilty about your decision. Remember that you're making the best choice for yourself, even if it's hard. To help yourself get through the breakup, turn to your friends and family for emotional support. While it isn't always easy, try to take the time after your breakup to get to know yourself better and rediscover what it's like to be on your own.
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Be sure that you really want to permanently end the relationship. Never break up with somebody unless you are okay with the possibility that you may never get back together. Even if you do change your mind after the breakup and agree to get back together, you will have created lasting damage to the relationship that may be irreparable. Prepare for the possibility that this person might be too hurt to stay friends, at least initially. Breaking up can be very emotional for everyone involved. Do not expect to be fast friends immediately after the breakup. Avoid breaking up for the wrong reasons. You must decide whether your relationship is worth ending. You have to think about the future for not only yourself, but also your partner. Never avoid breaking up with somebody because you are afraid of being single. The only way you can find the right person for you is to get out there and be on your own. Never avoid breaking up with somebody because you are afraid of hurting their feelings. Breaking up may seem cruel, but continuing to be with somebody you are not in love with anymore is even worse. Don't suggest a "break." Breaks are usually just a segue into a full-on breakup; if you feel that you need a break from the person you're with, then chances are that you actually want to break up but are too afraid of being alone. Rather than asking for a break, wait until you're ready to fully end the relationship and then do it. Make the necessary arrangements. If you live together, then decide on who will move out and who will stay (of course, you may want to leave this open to discussion). If you expect your partner to move out, you will need to allow ample time for them to find other living arrangements, and should find somewhere else to stay during that time. Ask your parents or close friends whether you can stay with them for a few days, or rent a room at a hotel for a couple of nights. If you don't live together but see each other daily at either work or school, then you will need to consider whether it's worth re-adjusting your schedule/circumstances. If you think that seeing each other on a regular basis is going to make moving on difficult, then consider changing jobs or rearranging your class schedule to avoid having to constantly interact with this person. Choose the right time. There's never going to be a perfect time to break up with the person you love, but there are definitely certain situations that you should avoid. Among them are the following: When your partner is dealing with a personal crisis like a death in the family, diagnosis of an illness, or loss of a job. If they are in the middle of a crisis, allow some time to pass before you break up to avoid adding on extra pain. In the middle of a fight. Never end a relationship in the heat of the moment; you may end up saying things that you don't really mean, and come to regret your decision once the argument is over. In front of other people. If you choose to break up with them in public, be sure to at least find a quiet table or corner to have the conversation. Remember that one or both of you may become very emotional and need some privacy. Over text, e-mail, or the telephone. If you really love this person, then you owe it to them to have the discussion face-to-face. The only exception to this rule is if you are in a long-distance relationship and seeing each other in person is impractical. Even then, try to do it over Skype or the telephone rather than the more impersonal venues of text or email. Prepare your partner for the conversation. In other words, don't surprise this person with the news by blurting it out in the middle of a conversation or while they are busy doing something else. Pull your partner aside and say "I want to talk to you about something," or "I think that we should talk." You may want to send an e-mail or text message to your partner asking to talk prior to getting together. This will give them ample time to emotionally prepare for a serious conversation. You do not want to break up with the person through text, but let them know a serious conversation will happen in the near future. Use “I” statements. These statements more effectively deflect feelings of judgement, and concisely get your point across. For example, you may say something like: "I really feel like kids are not part of my plan." This might be a better way of saying: "You want kids and I don't." "I think I need to spend more time on my own right now." This might be a better way of saying: "You want to spend too much time together." "I need to think about my future." This might be a better way of saying "We are not going anywhere." Be honest, but not unnecessarily harsh. Everybody deserves to be told the truth, but at the same time, there are certain things that will only hurt your partner's feelings without serving any constructive purpose. If there is something explicitly wrong with the relationship, like having incompatible interests, then you should tell your partner that. Being honest and eliminating some of the mystery may help the person move on more quickly rather than constantly wondering why you ended the relationship and what they could have done differently. This might be something like: "I know you are really into going out all the time, but I just don't enjoy it. I don't think we'll continue to be happy with this incompatibility." Find a nice way to phrase your criticisms. If you love the person, then you should make an effort to protect their self-esteem. For example, instead of saying "I don't find you attractive anymore," say something like "I no longer feel that there's any chemistry between us." Try to stay away from any insults or comments that go "below the belt" and would unnecessarily hurt your partner's feelings. Reassure your partner that you still love and genuinely care for them. This will help ease some of the feelings associated with being rejected. You might say something like: “I think you're a really great person. You're very smart and have a lot of ambitions. I just think my ambitions are different.” Suggest staying friends. If you genuinely want to stay friends with this person, then you should express the sentiment at the end of the breakup. Again, be prepared for the possibility that they will be too hurt to stay friends with you, at least initially. Respect your partner's needs and give them space if needed. Don't continue to call or text your ex on a regular basis once the breakup is over. This will send mixed signals and make moving on impossible. Even if you have decided to stay friends, you should take some time apart just after the breakup during which you don't see or speak to each other. After some time has passed after the breakup and the feelings are not quite as raw, consider opening up to your ex. This might be a group outing (it might be best to avoid a one-on-one outing to avoid sending mixed signals.) You might want to try and say something like: “Hey, some friends and I are going to watch that new movie. Do you want to come?” Avoid talking to your ex, at least initially. Though it may seem impossible to totally cut off contact with somebody you love, staying in contact constantly will actually make things a great deal more painful. If you feel tempted, block your partner's number from your phone. Block their username from social media sites. This will help with the temptation. Do not feel guilty for feeling bad. Even if you were the one to initiate the breakup, you may still feel hurt or loss. These are normal feelings and should be acknowledged to help heal. Take some time for yourself. Love can be complicated. After a breakup with someone that you loved, you may feel a loss. This might be an indication that you should take some time to get to know yourself and to readjust to being single before jumping into a new relationship. Rely on friends and family. Do not be afraid to seek out emotional support from those in your life. This might include your close friends and family. Chances are, they will empathize with what you are going through and will offer support or advice.
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Be sure that you really want to permanently end the relationship. Prepare for the possibility that this person might be too hurt to stay friends, at least initially. Avoid breaking up for the wrong reasons. Make the necessary arrangements. Choose the right time. Prepare your partner for the conversation. Use “I” statements. Be honest, but not unnecessarily harsh. Suggest staying friends. Avoid talking to your ex, at least initially. Do not feel guilty for feeling bad. Take some time for yourself. Rely on friends and family.
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https://www.wikihow.pet/Teach-Your-Cat-to-Make-Eye-Contact
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How to Teach Your Cat to Make Eye Contact
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To teach your shy cat to make eye contact, start by sitting as close to it as possible, and avoid facing the cat directly because this might scare it away. Instead, sit with your body turned away and watch the cat with your peripheral vision. While you sit together, reward your cat with a treat any time it looks in your direction. As the cat becomes more comfortable, gradually begin turning toward it, and begin rewarding only actual eye contact. When your cat makes eye contact with you, blink slowly a few times to make it feel safe and loved.
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Sit as close as possible. With an especially shy cat, you will need to start slowly. Begin by sitting as close to the cat as you can without scaring them off. Gradually, move closer and closer until you are close enough to lock eyes. Use your peripheral vision. Avoid facing toward the cat, as this is likely to scare them away. Instead, sit as close as you can, turning your body slightly away. Watch the cat using your peripheral vision. Reward glances. Remain still and keep your peripheral vision focused on the cat. Any time your cat looks in your direction, reward them with a treat. As the cat becomes more comfortable, gradually begin turning toward them. Reward only eye contact. Once the cat is comfortable with you turning toward them, you can begin to demand a bit more from them before offering a treat. Begin rewarding only actual eye contact, as opposed to every glance. Blink at your cat when it makes eye contact with you. Cats see blinking as a sign of affection. Whenever you make eye contact with your cat, blink slowly a few times to make it feel safe and loved. Over time, blinking may help your cat feel more comfortable making eye contact with you. Add a verbal cue. Whenever the cat makes eye contact with you, begin using a verbal cue that they can associate with the action. Try saying "watch," each time the cat locks eyes with you. Then say, "very good," and offer a treat. Wait for your cat to look at you. If your cat is naturally more social and already locks eyes with you from time to time, you can take a more direct approach. Begin noticing the times when your cat makes eye contact with you, such as when they want some food. Keep some cat treats with you and wait for the eye contact to occur. Provide a verbal cue. Whenever the cat makes eye contact with you, reinforce this behavior with a simple verbal cue. Try saying "watch" every time your cat makes eye contact with you. You can also use a clicker to make a noise whenever your cat looks at you. Over time, your cat will associate the noise with making eye contact. Reward any eye contact. After you've provided the verbal cue, give your cat a reward for eye contact. You can praise them verbally by saying "good job," as well as offering a treat. Anticipate looks. After a while, you will hopefully be able to anticipate times when your cat is going to make eye contact with you. Try to speak the verbal cue just before the cat looks at you. Continue to offer rewards for eye contact. Eventually, you should be able to compel eye contact from your cat simply by speaking the verbal cue. Choose a "lure. " If you do not feel like waiting around for your cat to look at you, you can "lure" them to look at you instead. Begin by selecting an object--such as a toy or treat--that is likely to attract your cat's attention. Get your cat's attention. Present the lure object and try to get the cat's attention. You may need to move the object around a bit. This will work best when the cat is calm. Move the lure toward your face. Once your cat is locked in on the lure object, gradually move it closer to your face until they make eye contact with you. If you lose their attention, or if they do not look at your face, lower the lure and start the process again. Reward any eye contact. When you successfully make eye contact with the cat, verbally praise them by saying "good job," and offer a treat. You can also begin adding a verbal cue, such as "watch," each time they look at you. "Fade the lure. " Over time, begin hiding the lure object inside of your hand so that the cat cannot actually see it. Eventually, you should be able to attract the cat's attention by simply holding your hand in the same position, without using an actual treat or toy. This process is called "fading the lure." Continue to reward eye contact and use your verbal cue. Eventually, you should be able to compel eye contact from the cat simply by saying the word "watch."
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Sit as close as possible. Use your peripheral vision. Reward glances. Reward only eye contact. Blink at your cat when it makes eye contact with you. Add a verbal cue. Wait for your cat to look at you. Provide a verbal cue. Reward any eye contact. Anticipate looks. Choose a "lure. Get your cat's attention. Move the lure toward your face. Reward any eye contact. "Fade the lure.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Treat-Gangrene
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How to Treat Gangrene
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If you think you might have gangrene, call your doctor immediately or go to an emergency room. To recognize dry gangrene, look for dry and shriveled skin that is bluish or black, cold to the touch, and numb. You may also feel some pain. Always seek emergency care for wet gangrene, which comes with swelling and pain in the infected area, blackened skin, sores with bad-smelling discharge, and a fever. You might also notice a crackling sound if you press on the area. You should also go to the emergency room if you have severe symptoms such as a rapid heartbeat, difficulty breathing, light-headedness, a sudden fever or chills, or a rash.
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Seek medical attention if you think you have dry gangrene. Gangrene can result from skin problems or changes, or in some cases from of limb ischemia (blockage of the arteries to lower legs and feet). All types of gangrene require professional medical treatment. If you suspect that you have dry gangrene, even if it is a mild case, then you should call your doctor as soon as possible. Symptoms of dry gangrene include: Dry and shriveled skin that sloughs off easily Bluish or blackish colored skin Cold, numb skin Pain (sometimes, but not always present) Go to an emergency room if you have wet gangrene. While all types of gangrene require swift medical treatment, wet gangrene is more likely to be accompanied by an infection, which can be difficult to treat if it gets into your blood. Injuries may also cause wet gangrene, so you may require immediate treatment for that reason as well. Seek emergency medical treatment if you notice any of the following symptoms of wet gangrene: Swelling and pain in the infected area Skin that has changed from red to brown to black Blisters or sores accompanied by a bad-smelling discharge (pus) Fever Feeling sick in general Crackling sound when you press on the affected area Watch for severe symptoms. If you determine that you have gangrene, there are some symptoms may indicate that the gangrene has infected your blood, which requires immediate medical attention. If you notice any of the following symptoms, call 911 or go to an emergency room right away. Low blood pressure Rapid heartbeat Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath A sudden change in body temperature Pain in your body A rash Confusion and/or light-headedness Cold, clammy, pale skin Take antibiotics and other medications as instructed. Your doctor may give you an intravenous antibiotic or instruct you to take antibiotics orally as part of your treatment. You may also be administered medications to regulate your blood sugar since blood sugar regulation and short term glycemic control improve long term outcomes when it comes to healing and preventing infection. Follow your doctor's instructions for taking antibiotics and any other medications that your doctor prescribes to help treat your gangrene. If you have side effects or feel like you do not need the medication anymore, call your doctor before discontinuing them. Do not stop taking antibiotics until you have taken the entire prescription. Otherwise, they may not be effective and the infection may be harder to treat in the future. Undergo wound debridement and irrigation. Wounds with devitalized tissue, contamination, or residual suture need debridement before any other work is completed. Irrigation is important in removing the bacterial load and removing loose material. In surgical debridement, a scalpel or scissors is used to remove devitalized tissue or unwanted debris. Enzymatic debridement involves applying various enzymatic agents to the wound. Undergo oxygen therapy. Sometimes oxygen therapy may be used to help promote healing of damaged tissues. For this treatment, you will be placed in a special chamber that is filled with oxygen. The concentration of oxygen will be much higher in this chamber than in the normal environment, which is thought to help you heal faster and more effectively. Oxygen therapy may assist in wound healing and help to reduce the amount of tissue that needs to be amputated. Oxygen therapy has also been found to be extremely useful in surgical wound infections involving the Clostridium species that cause “gas gangrene,” which is a form of gangrene that develops inside the body. Consider other therapies. Biologic therapy such as maggot therapy has been used to treat ulcers, chronic venous ulcers, diabetic ulcers, and other acute and chronic wounds. Recombinant human growth factors are now being examined as potential treatments for wound management. These factors include platelet-derived growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Your doctor may recommend trying one of these treatments to promote healing. Try to keep an open mind about maggot therapy. Sterile, lab-raised maggots are often used to treat gangrene. Because maggots will only eat dead tissue, they can be applied to the affected tissues and allowed to eat away the dead skin. This process can also help your body to heal itself and help to prevent infection. Discuss amputation with your doctor. Surgery may also be required to remove the affected tissues from your body. If not removed, the gangrene is likely to spread and cause further harm to the rest of your body and possibly even death. Therefore, it may be necessary for your doctor to remove a finger, toe, foot, or limb in order to treat the gangrene. Keep in mind that even when interventions are successful to open up an artery and reestablish blood flow to the affected area, surgical removal of dead tissues is still used for gangrene in almost every case. Treat the condition that is causing gangrene to develop. Causes of gangrene include diabetes, atherosclerosis of the limbs, peripheral artery disease , smoking, trauma, obesity, and Raynaud's Disease. It may be necessary to treat the underlying condition with medication or surgery in order to restore normal blood flow to the affected tissues and improve your future health. Discuss treatment options with your doctor.
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Seek medical attention if you think you have dry gangrene. Go to an emergency room if you have wet gangrene. Watch for severe symptoms. Take antibiotics and other medications as instructed. Undergo wound debridement and irrigation. Undergo oxygen therapy. Consider other therapies. Discuss amputation with your doctor. Treat the condition that is causing gangrene to develop.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Treat-Whitlow
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How to Treat Whitlow
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To treat whitlow, visit your doctor as soon as you notice symptoms, like numbness, tingling, or unusual pain. Then, take the medication prescribed by your doctor, such as topical acyclovir 5% or oral acyclovir. Additionally, soak the affected area in warm water for quick pain relief. If you have blisters, avoid popping them, since this can lead to an infection. You should also wrap the affected fingers in a bandage to prevent the whitlow from spreading.
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Recall if you've had contact with someone who has herpes. Herpes simplex virus is very common and highly contagious. HSV -1 commonly affects the face, and often causes cold sores (painful blisters on the lips). HSV-2 tends to cause painful genital blisters. HSV-1 can spread through kissing or oral sex, while HSV-2 can spread through skin to skin contact with infected genitals. Be aware that HSV can have a long-dormant period. You may have contracted herpes long ago, but the virus may have stayed dormant in the nerve cells where it resides. Stress and lack of immunity (getting sick) are common triggers for activation of the virus from the dormant phase. Even if you can't remember ever being in contact with someone with HSV-1, consider if you've ever had a cold sore or fever blister. Look for early symptoms. In the "prodrome" or early phase of any disease, symptoms indicate the onset of a condition. For whitlow, these symptoms usually appear 2 to 20 days after initial exposure, and include: Fever Fatigue Unusual pain Numbness Tingling in the area Observe more typical whitlow symptoms in the disease phase. Once the initial prodrome phase has passed, you will see far more specific symptoms that point clearly to whitlow: Swelling, redness, and rash, with fluid filled vesicles around the area. The vesicles may rupture, and a white, clear, or bloody fluid will come out. These vesicles may merge and take on a black/brown color. Ulceration, or a break in the skin, may develop later. Symptoms can resolve from anywhere from 10 days to 3 weeks. Get a formal medical diagnosis. Since whitlow is a more of a clinical diagnosis, the medical staff might not order any additional tests. Instead, the doctor will take your symptoms and medical history — including an HSV diagnosis — into consideration to diagnose whitlow. The doctor may also take a tube of your blood to order a complete blood count (CBC) with a differential (a count of your white blood cells). This will let them see if you have enough immune cells to fight infections, or if you have an underlying immune dysfunction that causes reoccurring infections. The doctor may want to test for herpes if you haven't been diagnosed with it. They may analyze your blood for herpes antibodies, order a PCR test (for the detection of herpes DNA), and/or order a viral culture (to see if actual herpes virus is growing from your blood). Take antiviral medication. If whitlow is diagnosed within 48 hours after the symptoms start, the doctor can prescribe antiviral medication to you. The medicine might be topical (a cream) or oral (pills), and it will lessen the severity of the infection and promote quicker healing. Thus, it's crucial that you seek immediate medical advice. Commonly prescribed medications include topical acyclovir 5%, oral acyclovir, oral Famciclovir or valacyclovir. Take the medications as advised by your doctor or pharmacist. Dosages will be adjusted for children, but the treatments will remain the same. Take precautions to prevent spreading the infection. Since the virus can spread through contact, your healthcare provider may advise you not to touch others, or even to avoid touching yourself with the infected finger. In particular, avoid touching body parts that contain fluids or bodily secretions. These include the eyes, mouth, tongue, genitals, ears, and breast. If you wear contacts, don't wear them until the infection has resolved. Touching the contacts, then inserting them into your eyes, could infect the eye. Wrap the infected area. Your healthcare provider may wrap the infected area with a bandage, cloth, or any form of dry wrap with medical tape. You can do this easily at home, too, by buying the bandages or wraps from your local pharmacy. To keep the wrap fresh, change it daily. To be extra safe, your doctor may advise you to both wrap the infected area and wear a glove over it. Monitor children closely. It can be difficult enough to be conscious of your hands as an adult, but children often find it quite difficult. You don't want them sucking on infected fingers, touching their eyes, or any other areas of the body that contain or carry bodily fluids. Even after wrapping the infected area, watch them closely to make sure everything is as it should be. Get pain medication if necessary. The doctor may provide or advise you to use over-the-counter pain medication like Advil, Tylenol, ibuprofen or aspirin. They should ease pain while the infection heals by reducing inflammation to the area. If you saw a doctor within 48 hours of noticing the symptoms, the doctor might not recommend anything beyond pain medication. Children and teenagers with viral infections are advised not to take aspirin. There's a risk of developing a multi-organ fatal condition known as Reye's syndrome. Seek expert medical advice before taking over-the-counter pain meds for viral infections. Take all medications as described either by your healthcare provider or on the label. Be careful not to exceed the maximum daily dose. Ask the doctor to test for bacterial infection. If you try to burst or drain the vesicles on your finger on your own, you give debris and bacteria opportunity to invade. Whitlow is a viral infection, but you can compound the issue with a bacterial infection (this can appear dark, have an odor, and may have a whitish pus discharge). The doctors will order a complete blood count with differential (to detect immune cells or white blood cells) if they suspect bacterial infection. The white blood cells will be high if you have a bacterial infection. They may reorder this test after you've completed your antibiotic course to check for normal levels of white blood cells. This isn't always necessary if symptoms have calmed and they have no further suspicion. Take antibiotics as prescribed. A doctor will likely want to confirm a bacterial infection before prescribing antibiotic treatment. This is because overuse of antibiotics can cause bacteria to adapt and become resistant to treatment. However, once bacterial infection is confirmed, antibiotic treatment is very simple. Always follow your doctor or the label's directions precisely. Make sure to complete the full course of treatment, even if symptoms seem to resolve. Do not pick at vesicles. You may be tempted to pick at or try to burst the vesicles, just as people can't resist the urge to pop pimples. However, this makes the wound open to bacterial infection. Furthermore, the released fluid carries the virus, and can spread the viral infection further. Soak the infected area. Warm water can provide pain relief from whitlow. This is best used when painful lesions start appearing on the infected area. You can add salt or epsom salt to the water to help with relief. The concentrated salt will diminish swelling in the effected area. Fill a container deep enough for the infected area with warm water. Soak the infected area for 15 minutes. Repeat as the pain reoccurs. When finished, wrap the area with a dry bandage wrap to prevent disease transmission. Add soap to the water for open blisters. If you've tried to burst or drain a vesicle, you can add regular or antibacterial soap to the warm water when you soak the area. While you may opt for antibacterial soap, studies suggest that regular soap works just as well at protecting against bacteria and infection. Keeping soap in the water can help prevent the spread of the condition as fluid from the infection mixes in with the water. Apply magnesium sulphate paste. Magnesium sulphate paste can help with the pain and swelling associated with whitlow. Though this is widely documented, the exact reason behind this effect is still unclear. In a study published 2008, a group of patients with HSV 1 or 2 were treated with a mixture that included magnesium. The results showed that over 95% had resolution of symptoms within 7 days. To properly use magnesium paste, first clean the infected area using a suitable antiseptic. Examples include isopropyl alcohol, alcohol prep pad or soap. Apply a generous amount of magnesium sulphate paste. You can buy this product at any pharmacy. Cover the pasted area with lint or cotton wool, then bandage it. Change the bandage daily, and applying fresh paste each time. Use an ice pack. The extreme cold will numb the nerves in the surrounding area, relieving the pain. It will also slow blood flow to the area, reducing any inflammation or swelling that would contribute to the pain. You can either buy an ice pack from the pharmacy, or just wrap some ice cubes in a towel. Gently apply the pack to the infected area. Reduce your stress levels. This can be challenging, but making an effort can help prevent future outbreaks. HSV can lie dormant in nerve cells for quite some time, but stress can activate it. Thus, avoiding stress can be the key to avoiding whitlow. Some options to deal with stress and boost the immune system include eating healthier, getting a good night sleep, and exercising regularly.
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Recall if you've had contact with someone who has herpes. Look for early symptoms. Observe more typical whitlow symptoms in the disease phase. Get a formal medical diagnosis. Take antiviral medication. Take precautions to prevent spreading the infection. Wrap the infected area. Monitor children closely. Get pain medication if necessary. Ask the doctor to test for bacterial infection. Take antibiotics as prescribed. Do not pick at vesicles. Soak the infected area. Add soap to the water for open blisters. Apply magnesium sulphate paste. Use an ice pack. Reduce your stress levels.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Reduce-a-Fever-Without-Medication
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How to Reduce a Fever Without Medication
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To safely reduce a fever without medication, soak in a lukewarm bath to help lower your body temperature. Lower your temperature even further by applying towels soaked in cold water to your head. In addition to lowering your body temperature, snack on fresh fruit to keep yourself hydrated, and eat a light, tasty soup like chicken noodle to give yourself some protein and carbohydrates. Avoid fatty or oily foods and don't eat too much so your body can focus on fighting the sickness rather than digesting a meal. Be sure to drink lots of water to stay hydrated and try herbal tea to reduce fever. Watch for signs of dehydration like dizziness, decreased or dark urine, and dry skin. Call your doctor if your fever persists or gets worse.
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Take a warm or lukewarm bath. Start off by drawing a warm bath. Have the person suffering from the fever get in and relax while the warm temperature of the water slowly drops. Because the temperature of the water drops slowly, the person cools down slowly as well. You don't want the water too cool because you don't want to drop the body temperature too fast. Do a wet sock treatment. This method works best overnight. Take a pair of pure cotton socks long enough to cover the ankles and thoroughly wet the socks in cold running water. Wring out all excess water and put the socks on. Cover these cotton socks with pure wool socks to supply insulation. The person wearing the socks should rest in bed for the rest of the night. They should be covered with a blanket as well. Most kids will be pretty cooperative because they should begin to feel cooler within a few minutes. This treatment is a traditional naturopathic approach. The theory is that the cold feet stimulate an increase in circulation and an increased response from the immune system. The result is that the body expends heat and ends up drying the socks and cooling the body. This treatment can relieve chest congestion as well. Use a wet towel treatment. Take one or two hand towels and fold lengthwise. Soak the towels in either very cold or ice water. Wring out the excess water and wrap the towel around the head, around the neck, around the ankles or around the wrists. Don't use the towels over more than two areas-- that is, use the towel around the head and the ankles or around the neck and wrists. Otherwise, you may cool down TOO much. The cool or cold towels draw heat out of the body and can lower the body temperature. Repeat when the towel is dry or not cool enough anymore to give relief. This can be repeated as often as needed. Cut back on eating. The old adage, "feed a cold, starve a fever" actually has some truth to it, according to recent scientific studies. You don't want to waste the body's energy for digestion when that energy should be used to control the infection that's causing the fever. Snack on healthy fruits. Choose fruits such as berries, watermelon, oranges and cantaloupe. These are rich in Vitamin C, which can help fight infections and lower fever. They'll also help keep you hydrated. Avoid heavy, fatty or oily foods like barbecued or fried foods. Avoid spicy foods like chicken wings, pepperoni, or sausages too. Eat some soup. While you can have chicken broth on its own, you could also eat chicken soup with rice and some vegetables. Studies have shown that chicken soup may actually have medicinal properties. It will also help keep you hydrated. Make sure you include a good and easily digested source of protein such as scrambled eggs or chicken (add a few pieces of meat to your chicken broth). Drink plenty of water. Fever can lead to dehydration which can make the sufferer feel worse. Avoid dehydration by drinking plenty of water or an oral rehydration solution like CeraLyte, Pedialyte. Call your physician before you do and ask your doctor's advice. Be prepared with a list of symptoms and about how much you or your child has been eating, drinking and how high the fever has been. Also keep track of how often you have to change diapers or, for an older children, how often they have to urinate. If you are breast feeding your baby, keep that going as much as possible. You're adding food, water, and comfort. Kids (and you) might enjoy frozen popsicles as a way to stay hydrated. Just try to avoid too much sugar. Look for all-natural fruit popsicles, frozen Italian ices, frozen yogurt, or sherbet. Just don't forget to keep drinking water too! Drink an herbal tea fever reducer. You can either buy these teas or make them yourself. Simply add a teaspoon of dried herb for every cup of water. Steep the herb in boiled water for 5 minutes and flavor as desired with lemon and honey. Avoid adding milk, since dairy products tend to increase congestion. For small children, reduce the herbs to ½ a teaspoon and make sure the tea has cooled down! Don't use teas with infants, except with the advice of a physician. Try an herbal tea made from the following herbs: Holy Basil (Sweet basil will work-- just not quite so well) White willow bark Peppermint or spearmint Calendula Hyssop Raspberry leaf Ginger Oregano Thyme Know when to call your doctor. Body temperature can vary throughout the day, but a normal temperature is considered 98.6 F or 37 C. The recommendation in infants less than 4 months old is that if they have a rectal temperature of 100.4 F (38 C) or more, immediately call your physician for advice. For children of any age, if their rectal temperature is 104 F(40 C) or more, immediately call your physician for advice. Any child 6 months or older with a fever of 103 F(39.4 C) should also be seen. If your child has any fever along with any of the following symptoms, call your doctor (or emergency services) as soon as possible: looks sick or has no appetite fussiness drowsiness obvious signs of infection (pus, discharge, streaky rashes) seizure sore throat, a rash, a headache, a stiff neck, an earache other rarer signs to watch and immediately seek medical attention for: high-pitched cries or sounds like a seal barking difficulty breathing or has a bluish tinge around the mouth, fingers or toes swelling on the top of the baby's head (the soft spot called the fontanelle) Limpness or lack of movement Watch for signs of mild dehydration. Call your physician for advice even if you are just seeing the signs of mild dehydration, especially in babies. These can become serious dehydration pretty quickly. Symptoms of mild dehydration include: Dry, sticky mouth or crustiness around the lips/eyes in a baby More sleepiness, fussiness or tiredness than usual Thirst (Look for a “lip smacking” behavior or pursing of the lips to tell if infants are thirsty.) Decreased urine output Dry diapers (They should need to be changed because of wet diapers at least every three hours. If the diaper is dry after 3 hours, that may mean some dehydration. Keep pushing fluids and check after another hour. If the diaper is still dry, call your physician.) Dark urine Few or no tears when crying Dry skin (Gently pinch the back of the baby's hand, just pinching the loose skin. Well-hydrated babies have skin that bounces right back.) Constipation Feeling dizzy or lightheaded Recognize severe dehydration. If you see any of these, call emergency services and your physician right away. Severe dehydration symptoms include: Extreme thirst, fussiness, or sleepiness in infants and children (In adults, this is seen as irritability and confusion) Very dry mouth, skin, and mucous membranes or crustiness around the mouth and eyes No tears when crying Dry skin that doesn't "bounce back" when gently pinched into a fold Decreased urination with darker than normal urine Sunken eyes (This may appear as darker circles under the eyes.) In infants, gently check for a sunken fontanel, the soft spot on the top of a baby's head. Rapid heartbeat and/or rapid breathing Fever Look for febrile seizures in infants. A febrile seizure is a convulsion that can happen in babies with a fever. They are scary, but usually over very quickly and do not cause any brain damage or major harm. Febrile seizures usually happen in children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years. They may re-occur, but are rare after the age of 5. If your child has a febrile seizure: Make sure there are no sharp edges, steps or anything nearby that could hurt the child. Do not hold or try to restrain the baby. Place the child or baby on their side or stomach. If the seizure lasts longer than 10 minutes, call emergency services and have the child examined (especially if they have a stiff neck, are vomiting or seem listless or lethargic).
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Take a warm or lukewarm bath. Do a wet sock treatment. Use a wet towel treatment. Cut back on eating. Snack on healthy fruits. Eat some soup. Drink plenty of water. Drink an herbal tea fever reducer. Know when to call your doctor. Watch for signs of mild dehydration. Recognize severe dehydration. Look for febrile seizures in infants.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Work-on-Fine-Motor-Skills
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How to Work on Fine Motor Skills
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To work on your fine motor skills, play video games, which are great for improving your finger dexterity and hand-eye coordination. If you enjoy being artistic, try making a scrapbook or finger painting, since both activities test your fine motor skills. You can also try squeezing play-dough or clay into different shapes, which will strengthen your finger muscles. Alternatively, have a go at origami, since making a fan or animal by folding paper will challenge your coordination and accuracy. For a simpler option, stretch 2 or 3 rubber bands between your thumb and pointer finger to build your hand muscles.
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Squeeze play-dough or clay. Working with play-dough or clay provides an opportunity to strengthen finger muscles by squeezing and stretching the material into different shapes. Roll out the dough or clay and then pound it down. Use other tools to shape the clay, such as popsicle sticks. Don't have any play-dough at home? No problem. You can easily make your own by mixing together 1 cup (240 mL) of water, 1 cup (128 g) of flour, ½ cup (136 g) of salt, 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of vegetable oil, and 1 tablespoon of cream of tartar over medium heat until it comes together. Color it with food coloring if you like! You could also make a bread dough that needs kneading and have something yummy to eat after your exercise! Pick things up with a clothespin. Working with a clothespin will improve hand dexterity by strengthening your grasp. Pick up pompoms and move them with a clothespin from one pile to another. Use clothespins to hang things up on a clothesline. If clothespins are too difficult to squeeze, try using tweezers first. They'll require more concentration but are easier to squeeze. You could also use kitchen tongs to pick up larger pompom balls for more of a challenge. Work with rubber bands. You can stretch 2-3 rubber bands between your thumb and pointer finger to strengthen finger muscles. Wrap an object, such as an apple, with many rubber bands and then take them off. Find a large rubber band with which to play hand games, such as the Cat's Cradle. Ball up a piece of paper with one hand. Using only one hand the entire time, crumple up a piece of paper into a ball and then smooth it back out again. This works on developing hand strength. Use scissors to cut. Working with scissors to cut paper is a great exercise for building hand-eye coordination. Start with cutting paper without any patterns and then draw lines for you to follow. Start with straight lines before progressing to waves and zigzags. If this is too difficult, you can begin by cutting straws, which are more easily cut. Have a small child cut out shapes or have an adult cut out coupons. Thread objects onto a string. Get some string and begin threading objects onto it. You can thread a range of items, such as straws, beads, macaroni, or Cheerios. Use a shoelace to make threading easier since it has a hard end that won't fray. Make it a fun activity by stringing beads to decorate your tree at Christmas or to wear for Mardi Gras. Draw. Practicing drawing shapes, such as a circle, is a good way to improve both hand muscles and hand-eye coordination. Use broken crayons or mini-golf pencils to work on improving your muscles for gripping. Open and close jars. Practice hand-eye coordination by unscrewing jar tops. Then screw them back into place. You can use whatever you have laying around in your pantry or bathroom. Sort coins into piles. Sort out a pile of coins by placing them into piles stacked on top of each other. Balancing the coins on top of each other requires careful hand-eye coordination. See how high you can stack them! Make origami. Making paper origami animals requires folding paper intricately, which works on both wrist strength and hand-eye coordination. Start off with an easy paper folding activity, such as making a fan, and then work up to something a little bit harder, such as a frog or penguin. Fold cloth napkins to prepare for a fancy dinner party. Play video games. Video games are a great way to improve fine motor skills since they involve movement coordination and finger dexterity. Any video game controllers that utilize joysticks to control the game are good for developing fine motor skills. Shooter games, such as Call of Duty, that require the player to coordinate their position and direction in space while aiming are helpful in developing fine motor skills. Don't forget about mobile games! Dot Collector and Tremble Drop are 2 games that will help improve your dexterity. Make a scrapbook. This is a good way to practice cutting and pasting, which requires hand-eye coordination. Plus, you can have fun and make memories while improving your fine motor skills. Paint with your fingers. Finger painting increases hand dexterity and encourages hand-eye coordination. Pull out the finger paints and practice drawing fun shapes or pictures onto the paper. Put together a puzzle. Working with small pieces of a puzzle and placing them together will help with both strengthening hand muscles and hand-eye coordination. Start with a puzzle with larger pieces and work up to puzzles with smaller pieces. Play the piano. By playing the piano you can strengthen your fingers and work on increasing their dexterity. You'll improve your fine motor skills while filling your house with the sound of music. Construct with building blocks. Build up a castle or tower with Lego (or similar) blocks to practice fine motor skills. You can begin with larger Lego blocks, such as Duplo, and graduate to smaller ones when you need the challenge.
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Squeeze play-dough or clay. Pick things up with a clothespin. Work with rubber bands. Ball up a piece of paper with one hand. Use scissors to cut. Thread objects onto a string. Draw. Open and close jars. Sort coins into piles. Make origami. Play video games. Make a scrapbook. Paint with your fingers. Put together a puzzle. Play the piano. Construct with building blocks.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Toilet-Seat-Cover
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How to Use a Toilet Seat Cover
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If you need to use a toilet seat cover, look for the plastic container inside the bathroom stall that holds the paper covers. Grip one of the covers and pull it up gently to separate it from the rest. Before you set the cover down, rip off the 3 joints connecting the flap to the outer ring of the cover. If you simply pinch the paper, the joints should rip off without ruining the rest of the flap. Once the flap is loose, place the seat cover on the toilet so the flap falls inside the front of the bowl. When you're done using the toilet, keep the cover on and flush, since the water will carry it away.
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Pull the toilet seat cover straight out of the container. Enter the stall, and look for the plastic container housing the toilet seat covers. Grip the outside of one, and pull it up gently to separate it from the rest. The cover should come out easily with little effort. Pinch the 3 inside joints to release the middle flap section. Along the “bowl” of the cover are 3 small attachments of paper securing the flap to the outer ring. Before you set the cover down, gently rip off these joints with your fingers so the flap can fall inside the bowl. There is 1 joint on the left side, 1 in the middle, and 1 on the right side. You can simply pinch the paper and the joints should easily rip off. As you do this, avoid ripping off the entire flap. Place the seat cover onto the toilet so the flap goes inside the bowl. The flap of the toilet seat cover is the middle, circular section. Align the flap so it falls inside the bowl and the outer ring covers the seat of the toilet completely. The part of the cover where the flap is still connected should meet the front edge of the toilet, opposite the flushing mechanism. If you put the toilet seat on backward, that's okay! It really doesn't matter, as long as the toilet seat is covered. Flush the toilet when finished to automatically dispose of the seat cover. When you finish using the bathroom, you don't have to take off the cover and dispose of it. The covers are made from a material that breaks down in the water. Simply flush it when you finish. Inspect the toilet to determine its overall condition. When you enter the public bathroom, select a stall with a clean seat and bowl, if you can. If the toilet is spot-free and white, you can use it without adding the cover. Toilet seats are not a threat for germs or disease unless they are very dirty or in rough condition. When you are in a bathroom with multiple stalls, feel free to look at a few and go with the cleanest one. You can base your decision on overall cleanliness and personal opinion. Cover the toilet seat if there is visible urine or debris. If the toilet seat is dirty, it's a good idea to use a cover. Do this if you see any drops of liquid, dirt, or debris on the seat or around the toilet bowl. Opt for the toilet seat cover if you have any cuts or open wounds. If you have a scratch or blemish on your bottom, it's a good idea to use a toilet seat cover, as germs are more likely to spread through open wounds. In these cases, toilet seat covers work well as another layer of defense against bacteria. Understand that other household items often have more germs. Items like sponges, cutting boards, and kitchen counters often have more germs than a toilet seat. In general, toilet seats are rather clean comparatively. Keep this in mind when deciding whether or not to use a toilet seat cover. Disposable toilet seat covers can be wasteful and harmful for the environment, so try to limit how often you use them.
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Pull the toilet seat cover straight out of the container. Pinch the 3 inside joints to release the middle flap section. Place the seat cover onto the toilet so the flap goes inside the bowl. Flush the toilet when finished to automatically dispose of the seat cover. Inspect the toilet to determine its overall condition. Cover the toilet seat if there is visible urine or debris. Opt for the toilet seat cover if you have any cuts or open wounds. Understand that other household items often have more germs.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Care-for-a-Recently-Rehomed-Dog
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How to Care for a Recently Rehomed Dog
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f you're caring for a recently rehomed dog, give it plenty of time to get acquainted with your household so it doesn't get overwhelmed. Everyone will want to play with the new dog, but too much family time can be overwhelming as it tries to get used to its new environment. For that reason, limit visitors to just two at a time for the first couple of days. If your dog's behavioral problems are too much of a challenge, ask a rescue shelter or vet for help identifying items or actions that trigger your dog.
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Create an area just for your new dog. When you bring a dog into your home, it can be overwhelming. Try to make a space that's just for the dog. It's a good idea to pick an area where the dog can't do much damage if it forgets its house training, as dogs tend to do in new environments. An area with easy-to-clean floors is a good idea. Keep in mind that your dog may become accustomed to sleeping in that area, so pick a place you don't mind your dog living in permanently. Dog-proof the area. Once you've decided on an area, it's a good idea to make it dog proof. That means you need to remove any chemicals or plants that could be toxic to your dog. In addition, tape down cords so that your new dog can't chew or pull up the cords. Finally, remove any items that the dog could break and injure itself on, as well as any items you don't want destroyed. Include a safe space. When a dog is in a new environment, it will want a safe place to retreat to when it feels overwhelmed. A dog bed is a good example, but a crate can be even better, as your dog will view that as its "home" within your home. However, it is important to use the crate for training purposes only. Do not just get a crate and leave your dog in it. Your dog should only be in the crate for short lengths of time. Get a large enough crate. A crate gives your dog a safe space to call its own. However, it needs to be large enough to accommodate your dog. Your dog should be able to stand up, sit comfortably, and lay down. Otherwise, the dog may find the crate uncomfortable. Never use a crate for punishment. If you put your dog into the crate as a punishment, then this defeats the purpose and your dog will no longer feel safe going into the crate. Do not leave your dog in the crate for more than a few hours. You should never leave your dog in the crate overnight or for extended periods of time because this can cause them to feel anxious and depressed due to a lack of exercise and interaction. Have the supplies you'll need ready. You'll need the obvious items, like food and water bowls, food, a leash, and a collar. You'll also need things like an ID tag for the dog (with your information on it), brushes and shampoos (to groom the dog), and an enzymatic cleaner (to clean up after the dog). If possible, talk to the previous owner or shelter about what food the dog was on. It's best to keep the dog on it, at least for a little while. Take the dog to the vet. It's usually a good idea to get the dog checked out by a vet before bringing it home, particularly if you have other animals and especially if the dog is coming directly from another home. That way, you can make sure your new dog is happy and healthy and doesn't need to be treated for any problems that could make integrating into your home more difficult. You might consider asking your veterinarian to microchip the dog. This will help to increase the chances of finding the dog again if they get out and get lost. Plan on being home. When you first bring your dog home, it's a good idea to be home with the dog for the first few days. It helps your dog get acclimated to you and the environment at the same time before you need to return to your normal life. Try bringing your dog home on a weekend, for instance. Take the dog home from the shelter or home. When you go to pick the dog up, you'll need to have several things on hand just in case, including the leash, tag, collar, and carrier. A dog travels best in a carrier at least at first. Also, the tag and collar are important in case the dog somehow escapes while in transit. For safety reasons, it is important to keep your dog on a leash when you are outside (unless you are in a dog secure fenced-in area). Do this until you are certain the dog will not run away from you. Let the dog explore. The first thing that needs to happen when you get to your house is the dog needs to use the bathroom. Once that's done, take the dog inside, and let it move around the house, exploring. It's going to take some time for the dog to adjust to the new environment, so try not to get in its face right away. If the dog is not house-trained , then you will need to do this as well. Either way, be sure to show your dog where to go potty, such as by taking them to the same spot outside every time they have to go. Let them out to go potty several times per day, such as after their meals, first thing in the morning, midday, and before you go to bed at night. Give your dog a chance to approach family members. It's important to go slowly when introducing your dog to the family. Try introducing the family one person at a time. Always let the dog approach the person, rather than the other way around, as the other way can seem threatening. Let the new dog explore without other pets around. The new dog wants to see its new territory, and exploring gives it a chance to see what its new place is all about. Have the other pets outside or locked in crates/other rooms while the new dog explores. After that, do the opposite. Let the old pet explore the house while the new dog is locked up because it gives the old pet a chance to get used to the dog's new smell. Next, let them sniff each other through a door. They can get accustomed to each other's scent. You can also try crate-to-crate. Finally, let them meet face-to-face. If they get aggressive, you may need to keep them apart for longer. Provide chew toys. When your dog first gets to your house, it may want to chew on household items that you don't want destroyed. Providing solid chew toys gives the dog something to chew on, providing a safe, healthy distraction from your household items. Crate train your dog. Have the crate ready with a blanket in it when your dog gets home. Show the dog the crate, talking in an encouraging voice. To help the dog get used to the idea, place some treats inside the crate. Keep using treats to get the dog to go inside. You can use a toy if that's more motivating for the dog. Next, try feeding the dog in the crate. Wait a week or so before you start this process. Place the food bowl as far in as the dog will go. If the dog goes all the way in, try closing the door just while it's eating. Each time you feed the dog, close the door a bit longer. Teach them a command for the crate. You can use whatever command you want, such as "kennel," "bed," or "crate," as long as you are consistent. Use a treat to call the dog over, saying the command word. Get them to enter the crate with the treat, then give them the treat. Close the door, and sit with the dog for about 10 minutes. After a few minutes, leave the room for a bit. Once your dog can do this step for about half an hour without you in the room (without getting anxious), you can start leaving the dog alone in the house for short periods in the crate. After that, you can try crating at night. It may help to start the dog in the same room as you. Let your dog get used to you leaving. Most dogs will have a little separation anxiety, especially if they've been in a shelter before coming to your house. To help with the anxiety, put a toy in the dog's crate, and leave the dog for short periods of time at first, showing that you'll always come back to the dog. Be patient. A re-homed dog is getting used to new rules. What was fine in their old house may not be fine in yours, such as sleeping on the bed. The dog may take a while to adjust, and you need to be patient. An old dog can learn new tricks, as long as you give them the time to do so. Give your dog a chance to settle in. Don't overwhelm the dog with too much family time in the first couple of days or so. Let the dog get used to the environment without bombarding him with four people at once. You can visit with the dog one or two at a time, but try to limit too many people at once. Socialize the dog. While you shouldn't overwhelm the dog with too many people in the first couple of days, you should try to socialize the dog with friends and family in the first couple of weeks. Have them come over and visit, so that your dog can learn to distinguish between strangers and friends. Don't force people on the dog. Let the dog approach them. Understand what may be triggers. When you get a new dog from another home, you don't know what went on in that home. Therefore, you may find that certain things are triggering for your new dog. In an abusive home, newspapers, collars, and leashes may all have been used to abuse the dog and could be triggers, for instance. If something is a trigger, you're going to need to be patient with the dog. You'll need to give the dog time to adjust to using it or wearing it. In the case of a leash, you can let the dog drag it around the house for short periods, just to get the dog used to it. Be sure to supervise the dog, as it can get tangled up in the leash. Also, offer positive reinforcement such as treats and praise. If it's something the dog doesn't need to use, such as newspapers, try keeping it out of the dog's sight as much as possible. Wait to see your dog's personality. It can take a little time before you see your dog's true colors. In the first few weeks, it's still going to be nervous and maybe a bit shy or skittish. After a few weeks, you'll get to see the dog's truer self, so don't give up. For some dogs, it may even take several months for it to really feel comfortable in your home. Reinforce good behaviors. In your dog's old home, it may have learned some bad behaviors. To help it acclimate, try reinforcing good behaviors. For instance, your dog may forget it's house training for a bit. If it does ask to go outside, reward it with a treat when it comes back in. If you find the dog to be noisy, reward it with a treat when it's being quieter. Never punish (yell at or hit) the new dog for bad behavior. This may cause him or her to fear you. Instead, focus on rewarding the dog for positive behavior. Skip the pity. If your dog has been in a bad situation, pity is a natural reaction. But pitying your dog just means that you may end up not giving it the training it needs. You shouldn't be mean to it. However, being consistent in the way you enforce rules is important, so your dog knows how to act. Don't be afraid to call in reinforcements. Getting a re-homed dog can be a challenge, especially if you've never had one before. However, before you take your dog to the shelter, ask for some help. Talk to the rescue, to see if they have suggestions, or call your vet to see if they have recommendations. They may be able to help you deal with behavioral problems. You could also work with a trainer, particularly one that has experience with re-homed dogs.
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Create an area just for your new dog. Dog-proof the area. Include a safe space. Have the supplies you'll need ready. Take the dog to the vet. Plan on being home. Take the dog home from the shelter or home. Let the dog explore. Give your dog a chance to approach family members. Provide chew toys. Crate train your dog. Let your dog get used to you leaving. Be patient. Give your dog a chance to settle in. Socialize the dog. Understand what may be triggers. Wait to see your dog's personality. Reinforce good behaviors. Skip the pity. Don't be afraid to call in reinforcements.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Battery-Charger
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How to Use a Battery Charger
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To use a car battery charger, start by making sure the charger is off. Then, connect the positive charger cable to the positive terminal on your car battery and the negative cable to the negative terminal. Next, turn on the battery charger, and let your car charge for 10-15 minutes. Finally, turn off the charger, disconnect the cables, and start your car.
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Learn the differences in battery chemistry to prolong battery life. Both NiMh and NiCd batteries can be recharged over time, but you might want to think about investing in NiMh batteries over NiCd. NiMh batteries use newer technology to store more charge and can also be fast, slow, or trickle charged. Check the product in which you plan on using your batteries before purchasing your batteries. Certain equipment may require either NiMh or NiCd to operate best. Evaluate time controlled chargers. These are one of the least expensive varieties of battery chargers available on the consumer market. A pre-set shutoff timer will charge all batteries in the charger for a period of time and shut off once that time has elapsed. These chargers are less precise than smart chargers, which can lead to under- and over-charging. Take this into account when buying a timer charger; over-charged batteries can be ruined and cost you more money. Optimize with smart chargers. Smart chargers can be more expensive initially, but these are equipped with sensors that detect missing voltage in your batteries. This way, your charger will continue to charge your battery until it has reached full charge, saving you the cost of batteries ruined from over-charging. Purchase an appropriate charger. The rechargeable batteries you bought earlier will also help you to decide which charger you invest in. Some chargers are intended for only NiMh or NiCd batteries, though some universal chargers are available. Most AA and AAA battery chargers can be used for both NiMh and NiCd batteries, though you should always consult your manual to be certain. Follow safe usage guidelines. You should never attempt to charge a battery that isn't intended to be rechargeable. This can cause a dangerous explosion from hydrogen gas buildup and may ruin your battery or charger as well. Check the manual that came with your charger to know the recommended safety procedure for your charger, but generally you should: Keep your charger and batteries away from fire or intense heat. Do not charge your batteries around or on top of flammable materials, including flammable gases, like gasoline vapor. Insert your batteries into your charger firmly before plugging in your charger. Prevent your charger from being exposed to rain, snow, water, and oil. Wait until the battery is completely drained for NiCds. These kind of batteries experience what is called the "memory effect." This means that if you charge your battery before it is completely dead, your battery will remember the smaller capacity as its full potential, which will hurt your battery life. Check for noted charge rates. Some batteries may have a specific amperage for best results. This may include charge times for "fast" or "standard" charge speeds. Always follow manufacturer recommendations for best results and safest use. As an example, you may see that your battery might have "Std. CHARGE: 60mA 14 - 16 hrs" written on it. This battery would charge best at 60 milliamps for a minimum of 14 hours. Set your charger, if necessary. Some chargers come with an interface or a timer that you might need to set. You may be able to set the rate of charge (fast, quick, normal, slow, trickle) as a function of capacity. This is represented by a fraction of the capacity, represented by the format "C/#". You should also set your timer with respect to your charge rate (C-rate). For example, charging your battery at C/10 will charge 10% of your batteries full capacity per hour, charging your battery fully in a little over 10 hours, depending on efficiency of your charger. Many manufacturers recommend slower rates of charging. Faster charging will result in less efficient charging. Insert your batteries. This should be done before you plug your charger into an electrical outlet, unless otherwise indicated by your charger manual. Once you feel the batteries click into place, you can plug in your charger and begin charging. Remove all charged cells. Once your timer is up or the display on your charger indicates that all batteries are fully charged, as is usually the case with smart chargers, unplug your charger and remove the batteries. If you find that your batteries are difficult to remove, use a gentle tapping motion until one is jarred free. Know the consequences of high and low amperage. Most basic car battery chargers will charge at a rate of about 2 amps per hour with most batteries being rated at 48 amp hours. This means that your charger will take 24 hours to fully charge the 48 total amp hours if your battery is completely flat. Fast charging, while tempting, should be considered carefully. The heat created from fast charging can cause battery plates to buckle, or can cause other damage to your battery. Purchase a car battery charger. These are relatively inexpensive when compared with the cost of replacing flat batteries over time and can be purchased at most automotive or hardware stores. Be sure you read all information provided with your charger so you have a thorough understanding of safe operating procedure. Check the remaining capacity of your battery. If your battery is flat dead, this step may be unnecessary. However, if you are unsure or want to take extra measures to protect your battery from overcharging, you should check the remaining charge with a hydrometer. A hydrometer is a turkey-baster shaped tool that measures electrical capacity as a function of specific gravity by: Carefully removing the battery cell cover as directed by your battery instructions. Squeezing the hydrometer bulb to force out air and maintaining this position. Inserting the nozzle of your hydrometer into the battery cell. Taking the reading of the electrolyte fluid drawing from the cell into your hydrometer. Comparing your reading to the normal reading for fully charged batteries, usually between 1.270 and 1.290. The reading for depleted batteries ranges from 1.130 to lower values. Connect your charger. Be sure your charger is off before connecting it to your battery. Remove any cap covers from the positive and negative terminals of your battery. Your car battery charger should have clamps at the end of positive (+) and negative (-) leads. Clamp these to the corresponding terminal on your battery. The leads, clamps, and covers are almost always color coded to ensure the correct connection. For most vehicles, red will indicate positive and black negative. Turn on your charger. Now that the leads are connected, you can turn on your charger and begin charging your battery. Most car battery chargers come with an ammeter which reads the amperage used to charge the battery. Verify the reading on this to ensure you are not charging at too high of an amperage. Prevent overcharging by minimizing your charging time. The starter for most car engines will have enough energy to operate after about 10 - 15 minutes of charging. Once your starter can run, you can start your engine and allow the car to idle. This will allow your alternator to restore charge to your car without the sustained use of your charger. Turn off and disconnect your charger. Once you have charged your battery sufficiently for your purposes, you can turn off the charger. With the charger off, you should have no difficulty removing the clamps from the positive and negative terminals of your battery. Remember to reattach the caps that cover the terminal ends of your battery. Corrosion to the terminal can ruin a good battery. Clean the connections. Over time, dirt, grime, or corrosion may have degraded the connections of your charger's charging plates or clamps. If you notice a white film, rust, or other signs of dirtiness, you may want to clean the connections with a manual recommended cleaning product. Consumer battery charger connections can sometimes be cleaned with alcohol, but you should consult your manual to prevent accidental damage to your charger. Car battery chargers can be cleaned with a solution of baking soda and water. Verify good connections between charger and battery. Sometimes a battery will sit in its charging slot slightly askew, which can prevent your battery from charging. Make sure the positive and negative ends of your battery are completely connected to your charger connectors. Investigate fuses. Some chargers, especially the high amperage charger you may use on your car, can draw too much current and blow an electrical fuse. This can even happen in outlets equipped with a wall fuse. Check your fuse box or wall fuse to make sure your charger is receiving power, and reset any blown fuses. Prioritize slow charging. Charging a battery isn't a perfectly efficient process. Some electricity will be lost during the exchange of energy between your charger and battery. Due to this fact, you will have to put 120% - 140% of the full capacity of your battery back into it. A slower charge will result in greater efficiency, less potential for damage caused by over-charging, and better performance.
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Learn the differences in battery chemistry to prolong battery life. Evaluate time controlled chargers. Optimize with smart chargers. Purchase an appropriate charger. Follow safe usage guidelines. Wait until the battery is completely drained for NiCds. Check for noted charge rates. Set your charger, if necessary. Insert your batteries. Remove all charged cells. Know the consequences of high and low amperage. Purchase a car battery charger. Check the remaining capacity of your battery. Connect your charger. Turn on your charger. Prevent overcharging by minimizing your charging time. Turn off and disconnect your charger. Clean the connections. Verify good connections between charger and battery. Investigate fuses. Prioritize slow charging.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Treat-Obesity-in-Labrador-Retrievers
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How to Treat Obesity in Labrador Retrievers
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To treat your Labrador retriever's obesity, visit your vet for advice on its diet and exercise routine. In general, you should try to take your dog for more frequent 5-minute walks, but follow your vet's directions. In addition to exercise, your vet will probably recommend a prescription weight loss diet for your Labrador retriever, which is formulated to help your dog lose weight while not missing out on any nutrients it needs. You should also switch your dog's usual treats with healthier ones like apple slices, unbuttered popcorn, and bits of banana, which will help to reduce its calories throughout the day.
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Tell your vet about your Lab’s current diet. Eating too much is the main reason why dogs gain weight. Reducing your Lab's caloric intake will help treat its obesity. Before changing anything about your Lab's diet, though, talk with your vet. Knowing your Lab's current diet (quantity eaten, treats, human food, supplements) will give your vet a starting point for making necessary dietary changes. Feed your Lab a weight loss food. It may be tempting to simply reduce the quantity of what you already feed your Lab. However, doing this will reduce your Lab's nutrient intake, possibly leading to nutrient deficiencies. Instead, feed your Lab a specially-formulated weight loss food. Below is some additional information about weight loss foods: The labels on over-the-counter (OTC) weight loss foods (“less active,” “weight control”) are not associated with specific nutritional standards and can be misleading. Therefore, you should purchase a prescription weight loss food through your vet. Prescription weight loss foods tend to contain more protein, vitamins, and minerals than OTC foods, decreasing the risk of nutrient deficiencies. Some weight loss foods are not very calorie-dense, meaning you can continue feeding about the same volume of food to your Lab without increasing its caloric intake. Serve your Lab its meals by itself. No matter how much you feed a Lab, it will always want more. If you have other pets, feed your Lab by itself so it's not tempted to eat another pet's food. If you have children, do not feed them when your Lab is around. It may beg for your children's food, and succeed in getting it. Also, supervise your children if they feed your Lab; they may feed it too much and not realize it. Measure your Lab's food with a measuring cup to ensure you're feeding your Lab the right amount of food. Allow your Lab to have some treats. Although your Lab now needs to eat fewer calories, you do not have to cut treats completely out of its diet. Instead, you can feed the occasional healthy treat, such as apple slices, unbuttered popcorn, and bits of bananas. Ask your vet about healthy and appropriate treats before feeding them to your Lab. Be aware that table scraps should not be a treat. They are usually high in sugar and fat. Maintain a consistent feeding regimen. It won't be enough to simply feed the new weight loss food. Keep a consistent meal time and feed the same amount at each meal time. The more consistent you are with feeding the new food, the more likely your obese Lab will lose weight. Address dietary challenges. Your Lab probably won't be as excited as you are about the dietary changes. Below are some common problems and solutions regarding these changes: Begging or looking hungry more often: put the food in a food puzzle toy or distract your Lab with a fun activity (playing, petting) Raiding the trash for more food: give your Lab more toys to play with Refusing the new food: switch to the new food over at least one week (gradually increase the mix of new vs old food); use healthy treats to make the new food look more enticing Monitor your Lab’s overall condition. Sometimes, a dietary change can affect a dog's appearance and activity level. For example, the diet can change the quality of a dog's coat. If your Lab's coat starts looking less healthy (not as shiny), or if your Lab seems more tired, tell your vet about these changes. Your vet may recommend trying a new weight loss food. Talk with your vet about your Lab’s exercise abilities. Exercise is the other component to treating your Lab's obesity. It will help your Lab burn extra calories. Before ramping up your Lab's exercise routine, talk with your vet about how much exercise your Lab can handle. To help you come up with an exercise plan, your vet will consider factors like physical limitations (arthritis, injury), other illnesses, and your ability to exercise with your Lab. If exercising with your Lab will be a challenge for you, consider hiring a dog walker or pet sitter that can spend time with your Lab. Start the new exercise regimen slowly. You may be excited about increasing your Lab's exercise, but it's important to start gradually. Obesity can make exercise very difficult for dogs, since the extra weight makes moving around a challenge. Instead, start with short, low- to moderate-intensity exercises, like a leisurely walk. To begin the exercise regimen, take your Lab for 5-minute walks a few times a day. When your Lab can handle these walks, gradually increase the time so you can spend 30 to 45 minutes walking with your Lab each day. High-impact exercises, like playing fetch or going for a run, are great for dogs. However, it will probably be better for you to focus on less intense exercises until your Lab reaches its ideal weight. Watch your Lab’s breathing during exercise. Overweight dogs usually breathe heavily during exercise, since they're not in very good shape. When you walk with your Lab (or do other exercises), pay attention to how it's breathing. If it starts breathing heavily, cut the exercise session short. Allow your Lab to rest and regain its breath. Weigh your Lab regularly. When your vet first determined that your Lab was obese, they likely recommended an ideal weight for it. To assess your Lab's weight loss progress, weigh your Lab every two to three weeks. If weighing your Lab at home is not convenient, take it to your vet's office for regular weigh ins. A healthy weight loss rate for dogs is one to two percent of body weight per week. If your Lab is not losing weight at that rate, or not losing weight at all, talk with your vet about adjusting your Lab's diet or exercise regimen. Maintain the weight loss. When your Lab is no longer obese, pat yourself on the back! Don't celebrate for too long, though—it will still take work to make sure your Lab doesn't put the weight back on. With your Lab at its ideal weight, maintaining the weight loss will be important. Some dogs can continue eating as they did while on the weight loss program. Other dogs, though, may have to eat less after reaching their ideal weight. This is because their metabolism (rate of burning calories) may have slowed down while losing weight. Continue to exercise with your Lab. Be patient. Successfully treating your Lab's obesity will not happen overnight. It may be a number of months before your Lab achieves its ideal weight. Do not lose patience with the process or your Lab, though. The effort to treat your Lab's obesity will pay off when your Lab becomes healthy and active again.
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Tell your vet about your Lab’s current diet. Feed your Lab a weight loss food. Serve your Lab its meals by itself. Allow your Lab to have some treats. Maintain a consistent feeding regimen. Address dietary challenges. Monitor your Lab’s overall condition. Talk with your vet about your Lab’s exercise abilities. Start the new exercise regimen slowly. Watch your Lab’s breathing during exercise. Weigh your Lab regularly. Maintain the weight loss. Be patient.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Connect-With-an-Animal
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How to Connect With an Animal
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To connect with an animal, try to spend as much time as possible with it, even if you're only sitting in the same room, so that you get used to each other's company. You can also teach it new tricks or play with it to build a more intimate and physical relationship. It will also help to learn as much as you can about the animal and its breed, such as their usual energy levels, diet, and which activities they like, which will help you develop a better understanding of the animal. Connecting with any animal takes time, so be patient if it keeps its distance from you at first and let it open up to you at its own pace.
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Learn animal body language. If you want to connect to an animal, you need to know how that animal communicates. As animals cannot use language to converse, they relay heavily on movement and expression to show how they feel. The ASPCA website and the Humane Society website have extensive overviews of animal body language. If you have a domestic pet, like a dog or a cat, you can read up on how your pet communicates here. Dogs and cats often show anger, fear, contentment, and happiness through motions of the tail, back, eyes, and ears. Familiarize yourself with the various ways you can expect you pet to communicate. If you're working with livestock, like a horse or pig, websites for organizations like 4-H and PETA may explain some of how these animals convey emotion with their bodies. You can also talk to a farmer or breeder directly if you're wondering how to interpret barnyard animal's body language. Reptiles, like snakes and chameleons, are popular pets for many. Communication in reptiles in captivity is somewhat poorly understood as such animals are not fully domesticated. Talking to other reptile owners, however, as well as reading up on how reptiles communicate in nature may help you understand to a degree. Introduce new animals slowly. If you're bringing in a new pet, introductions should be slow if you have animals already. It can be hard to connect with an animal if it feels isolated or scared. For dogs and cats, you should usually introduce them on a neutral ground. Take dogs to the park rather than directly bringing an animal into another animal's territory. For cats, separate them for the first week, allowing interactions between doors. When you do introduce cats, supervise the pair for the first few hours to make sure there will be minimal fighting. If a fight does occur, separate the animals and allow them an hour to cool down before reintroducing them. With less domestic animals, introductions may have different rules. If you buy from a reputable pet store, you should get some advice on how to introduce, say, two guinea pigs or two rats. You can also find information online. Petco's website has many articles on how to introduce non-traditional pets like rodents, birds, and reptiles. When it comes to livestock, talk to a professional in the field. Livestock are less domesticated and larger than pets so it's best to have professional advice to avoid accident or injury. Learn everything you can about the animal. You need to understand an animal's history in order to connect with it. Learn as much as you can about an animal while trying to make introductions. Learn broad facts about the type of animal and breed. How high energy is this type of dog? What sort of play activities to cats enjoy? What kind of treats do horses crave? All these things will allow you to learn what an animal enjoys so you can better enjoy your time together. Learn specific facts as well. Where did this animal come from? What were its previous owners like? Does it come from a background of abuse or neglect? Is there anything that might scare this animal or make it uncomfortable? Have patience. It can take awhile to connect to animal. If an animal was abused by a former owner or is simply a type of animal that is not super people-friendly it may be a few weeks before you begin to connect. Be patient and understanding during this process. If an animal does not seem to like you right away, this does not mean it will not eventually come around. Spend as much time as possible with your animal. Animals may take awhile to get used to a new person. Spending as much time as you can with an animal while it warms up to you can help you connect. Spend time in the same room as an animal. You do not have to engage with the animal, but simply sit in the room and do something else. Read. Go on your computer. Watch television. Allow the animal to get used to your presence. If the animal is comfortable going out, take the animal on walks or with you on errands. Some animals, like cats, are not huge fans of outings. Dogs, however, will be happy to go for the occasional walk. They will become attached and eventually affectionate to the person who walks them. Train the animal. Training can be a fun way for you to bond with an animal. Animals do not just get close to people who are affectionate towards them. Animals crave stimulation and enjoy being around people who push them to work. If you have a horse, try to practice new riding techniques. Take the horse a professional instructor and work on jumping, dressage, barrel racing, and other fun activities. Dogs and cats can be trained to do a variety of tricks. You can take a dog to obedience classes or simply practice training in your living room. Many online tutorials, which can be found on sites like YouTube, provide advice on how to work with dogs. Birds are somewhat trainable. You can learn how to train a bird by reading tutorials online or talking to an exotic animal specialist. Play with the animal. Spend time playing with your animal. Animals can easily bond with people through play. Stock up on pet toys at a local pet store or order toys online from a pet store. Depending on your animal's age, it may play more or less. Animals less than a year old tend to play less than older animals. Dogs enjoy being taken for walks. Try to walk your canine for 15 or 30 minutes each day. Sometimes, animals accidentally become aggressive during play. Make sure you're prepared to discipline an animal in this event. Young animals or animals from abusive homes are more likely to get aggressive during playtime. Discipline with care. A relationship with an animal should not all be about play and fun. Animals thrive on boundaries and discipline. Make sure you're prepared to discipline an animal for acting out or behaving in a dangerous manner. Make sure you review the proper means to discipline a given species. Some animals, like cats, do not respond well to scolding or punishment and must be trained by other means. Make sure you avoid losing your temper and yelling at an animal. Most animals do not respond well to harsh discipline. Never yell and never strike an animal. This can damage your relationship with an animal. Let things happen at their own pace. You cannot force interactions with pets prematurely. You have to let things happen at their own pace. Wait for an animal to come to you. Never pet or pick an animal up if they seem uninterested in interacting with you.
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Learn animal body language. Introduce new animals slowly. Learn everything you can about the animal. Have patience. Spend as much time as possible with your animal. Train the animal. Play with the animal. Discipline with care. Let things happen at their own pace.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Get-Into-the-Harry-Potter-Series
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How to Get Into the Harry Potter Series
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If you want to get into the Harry Potter series, read all 7 of the original books in order. This will give you a more comprehensive understanding of the Harry Potter universe. Once you've read the books, watch all 8 of the movies. The movies are in the same order as the books, but the last book was broken into 2 movies. You can also read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which picks up where the last book leaves off.
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Read all 7 original books in order. Start by reading the first book of the series, and progress through all 7 original books. The Harry Potter series is extremely popular, so you should be able to find all 7 books at your local library. If your library doesn't have them, check with a local bookstore. Book #1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (also known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ) Book #2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Book #3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Book #4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Book #5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Book #6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Book #7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Watch the original 8 movies in order from first to last. There are 8 films in the Harry Potter series, because Warner Brothers split the final movie into two parts. The movies were filmed in the same order that the books were released, so start from the first movie and watch them in order for the best experience. While the movies do a good job portraying the most important parts of the books, there are a lot of details that aren't included. Read the books before you watch the movies to get a more comprehensive understanding of the series. Invest time in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. J.K. Rowling released this book in the summer of 2016, well after releasing the 7th novel of the original series. It's written in the form of a play script, rather than a novel, and picks up where the last book left off. While it's not considered part of the original series, it's a good investment to help you understand the entire plot of the series a little bit better. Check out Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The first Fantastic Beasts movie was released in 2016, and is set in the middle of 1920s New York. It revolves around young versions of characters that are in the original Harry Potter series and is directed by J.K. Rowling herself. This series is the newest installment of the Harry Potter plot and should be taken seriously by any fan. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is the title of a book that Harry Potter reads during his first year at Hogwarts. The first reference of this book is in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. J.K. Rowling wrote a book with the same title in 2001, penning it under the author's name from the series, Newt Scamander. It's an encyclopedia-like book that gives detailed information about different magical creatures in the Harry Potter universe. There is also The Crimes Of Grindelwald , a sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. Look into other informational, offshoot books that revolve around the series. J.K. Rowling has written a number of books with the same titles as books that appear throughout the original series. Each book is styled after a particular book in the series, and is written under a ghosted author's name. These books are primarily informative, and can expand your knowledge on a wide variety of trivial details in the Harry Potter universe. Aside from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, the other main offshoot books are Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp and The Tales of Beedle the Bard by Albus Dumbledore. Sign up for an account on Pottermore.com. Pottermore is a digital publishing, entertainment, and news company maintained by J.K. Rowling herself. It features news articles and tons of information about various Harry Potter characters, creatures, magical spells, and the wizarding world in general. It's an excellent resource for anyone wanting to learn more about the Harry Potter universe. In 2014, J.K. Rowling created a Quidditch World Cup page where fans can follow news articles and reports detailing the fictional sporting event. She even included audio reports and detailed history of the Quidditch world cup for anyone wanting to truly immerse themselves in the event. Have the Sorting Hat sort you into a Hogwarts house. One of the most exciting parts of the Harry Potter series is the Sorting Ceremony, where First Year students are placed into one of four Hogwarts houses. They will be identified by this house throughout the rest of their stay at Hogwarts. Once you sign up for an account on Pottermore, you can take a quiz to figure out which Hogwarts house you belong in. The four Hogwarts houses are: Gryffindor, which is associated with courage, bravery, and determination. Its crest is a lion. Hufflepuff, which is associated with patience, loyalty, and hard work. Its crest is a badger. Ravenclaw, which is associated with wit, intelligence, and wisdom. Its crest is a raven. Slytherin, which is associated with pride, ambition, and cunning. Its crest is a serpent. J.K. Rowling recently announced the name of the North American school of wizardry, Ilvermorny, and its four associated houses: Thunderbird (for warriors), Horned Serpent (for scholars), Pukwudgie (for healers), and Wampus (also for warriors). Pottermore now has a quiz to sort you into your Ilvermorny house as well. Take a quiz to discover the form of your Patronus. Pottermore offers a quiz that you can take to determine the shape of your Patronus. It's possible for a person's Patronus to change over time, so if you don't like your result, take it again! You can take it as many times as you'd like. In the Harry Potter world, a Patronus is a sort of guide which can protect you against evil creatures called Dementors. Each Patronus takes the form of a creature, and the form it takes varies between individuals. In this way, it can be considered a sort of spirit animal. There are various other quizzes on Pottermore that you can take to tell you more about your relationship to the Harry Potter universe, such as what your wand type is and what magical creature you should have as a pet. Explore Harry Potter fan sites to delve deeper into the series. Many of these sites post fan art, fan fiction, and recent news surrounding the cast or series itself. These sites are run by and tailored specifically for fans of the series. One of the most popular Harry Potter fan sites is Mugglenet, located at http://www.mugglenet.com/. This site has a strong focus on fan fiction and fan art, but it also puts out a weekly podcast, editorials, and countless resources for fans wanting to enhance their Harry Potter knowledge. Check out YouTube videos that are based on the series. Do a quick search on YouTube for "Harry Potter in 99 Seconds", which is a popular, fan-made video that gives a brief, humorous description of the series. Another fan favorite is "Potter Puppet Pals", which is a musical parody centering around several of the main characters in the series. It can be found on YouTube as well. Join a forum to interact with Potter fans across the world. Forums are an excellent way to interact with other people with similar interests, and there are a variety of Potter-themed boards all over the internet. Whether you want to connect with like-minded individuals, discuss your favorite book, or debate about the best character in the series, you can find plenty of message boards with fans on them who will welcome you with open arms. One popular forum for Harry Potter fans is https://www.snitchseeker.com/. On this site, fans can write fan fiction, draw fan art, share reviews on books and movies, and interact with other Harry Potter fans across the world. You can also get sorted into a house and earn points for it throughout the year. Plan a trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Grab a butterbeer in Hogsmeade, have lunch at The Leaky Cauldron, or take a ride on the Hogwarts Express. At this park, you can visit areas modeled after locations in the book, such as Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts castle. If you consider yourself a true fan of the Harry Potter series, there's possibly no better way to immerse yourself in the wizarding world than visiting this park. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which opened in 2010, is located in Orlando, Florida, is a part of the Universal Orlando Resort. Tickets can be purchased on the Universal Orlando Resort website. Attend a real-life Quidditch match. A lot of colleges and universities participate in the sport of Quidditch, so hit up a school in your area and see if they have a team. You can also check the official Quidditch website to see if there are any teams in your area. Take time to attend one of these events, and consider jumping in with them. You can search for local Quidditch teams at https://www.usquidditch.org/teams There are nearly 200 Quidditch teams and over 4,000 registered athletes in North America alone. US Quidditch, the national governing body for the sport of Quidditch in North America, was founded in 2010. Attend a Harry Potter convention to network with other fans. Potter-themed conventions are incredibly popular and take place in many different locations throughout the year. Cast members are often special guests at conventions, and there are also a variety of forums and discussion panels on Potter-themed topics. Harry Potter cosplay is also popular at conventions. If dressing up like your favorite character or wearing your favorite Hogwarts house's emblem sounds magical to you, get into character and try it out! Get involved in local Potter-themed events. Check with your local bookstores, libraries, and community organizations to see if there are any upcoming Harry Potter themed events. Harry Potter is an incredibly popular series, and it shouldn't be too difficult to find opportunities to show off your knowledge of and love for the series.
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Read all 7 original books in order. Watch the original 8 movies in order from first to last. Invest time in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Check out Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Look into other informational, offshoot books that revolve around the series. Sign up for an account on Pottermore.com. Have the Sorting Hat sort you into a Hogwarts house. Take a quiz to discover the form of your Patronus. Explore Harry Potter fan sites to delve deeper into the series. Check out YouTube videos that are based on the series. Join a forum to interact with Potter fans across the world. Plan a trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Attend a real-life Quidditch match. Attend a Harry Potter convention to network with other fans. Get involved in local Potter-themed events.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Kindle-Fire
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How to Use a Kindle Fire
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To use a Kindle Fire, start by turning on your device, and connecting it to a Wi-Fi network. Next, go to Quick Settings and tap on My Account to register your Kindle Fire to your Amazon account. Once your setup is complete, tap the Store link in the top right corner to browse books, songs, videos, or newspapers. Additionally, you can use your Kindle to do internet searches, shop on Amazon, access your email and web-based documents, or play games.
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Start here if you haven't already opened your Kindle Fire. If you already have your Kindle Fire in your hands, feel free to jump to the next section. Open the box. Take your Kindle Fire out, then take off the plastic wrap. You may want to charge your Kindle Fire while setting it up. Power up. To turn your Kindle Fire on, press the small circular button at the bottom. Press and hold the button again to turn it off. Sign in. To fully use all the features of the Kindle Fire, you must register it to your Amazon account. Before you register, you can connect to a Wi-Fi network by tapping the Quick Settings icon (the little gear icon) at the top of the screen, then selecting Wi-Fi. Choose your network, then tap the Quick Settings icon again, tap More, and choose the My Account option to register. Access content. Amazon offers a wide selection of books, newspapers, magazines, applications, music, movies, and TV shows for your Kindle Fire. To go to the store, tap the Store link in the top right corner of any Content library. To leave the store and return to your Content library, tap Library. Browse and search for titles. Within each store you can search for a title, browse by category, check out best sellers, or view recommendations. You can even try before you buy with free book samples, song previews, and movie trailers. All newspaper and magazine subscriptions start with a risk-free trial. Take delivery. Titles are delivered directly to your Kindle Fire via your Wi-Fi connection. Newspapers and magazines are sent to your device as soon as they are published—often before they're available in print. If your Kindle Fire is not connected to a Wi-Fi network when a new issue of a subscription becomes available, that issue will be delivered automatically the next time you connect. Titles galore! Here's a quick rundown of the Content Libraries available from the Amazon Store for the Kindle Fire: Read the kindle version of many newspapers and magazines from the Newsstand tab. Regular magazines and newspapers purchased from the Newsstand store are stored in the Newsstand Library. There are also interactive periodicals that are available, and those are stored in the Apps library. Magazines. Most magazines include two different views: Page view, and Text view. Page view are visually similar to the printed version of the periodical, while the Text view removes the custom formatting of the printed version. Newspapers. Access Newspapers by tapping Newsstand on the Home screen. To open a newspaper, tap on its cover. When you first open a newspaper, it displays a list of all the articles in it. You can swipe up and down to move through the article list, then tap on the article you want to read. read the Kindle ebook version from the Books library tab. You can view your books by tapping Books on the Home screen. Tap a book on the shelf to read it. To go to the next page in a book, tap the right side of the screen. To go to the previous page, tap the left side of the screen. Enjoy these types of books: Children's Books. Children's books on Kindle Fire now feature Kindle Text Pop-Up for reading text over full-color images. Just double-tap any text region and it will expand for easy reading. Graphic Novels use Kindle's Panel View. Double tap on any region to see it magnified. You can also swipe forward or backward to be guided through the panels in the author's own sequence for an immersive reading experience. Listen to the Amazon MP3 collection/Amazon Instant Music collection from the Music tab. Tap the name of the song to play it. You can also create a playlist from the Playlists tab. To play a group of songs—such as an album, all songs by an artist, or a playlist—tap any song in the group. The entire group will begin playing from the song name you selected. Adjust the volume by using the music player controls or by tapping the Quick Settings icon in the Status bar. You can add music to the Music library in 3 ways: Purchase it from the Music store. Upload music from iTunes to the Amazon Cloud Drive via Amazon's Cloud Player website ( www.amazon.com/cloudplayer ). Transfer music directly from your computer to the Kindle Fire over USB. Note: only MP3(.mp3) and AAC (.m4a) files are supported. Watch a Video that you've rented or purchased from the Video tab. The Video store on your Kindle Fire provides access to more than 100,000 movies and TV shows. Amazon Prime members get streaming access to over 10,000 movies and TV shows at no additional cost. During video playback, tap the screen to access movie controls such as volume and pause. Read some of your personal documents you've added to your device from the Docs library tab. You and your approved contacts can send documents to your Kindle Fire by using your Send-to-Kindle e-mail address, which can be found in your Docs library under the sort options. To access personal documents that you transfer to your Kindle Fire, tap Docs on the Home screen. You can send Microsoft Word (DOC, DOCX), PDF, HTML, TXT, RTF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, PRC, and MOBI files to your Kindle and read them in Kindle format. You can also read documents in PDF format natively. Check out some of your Kindle's interesting apps with the Apps Library tab. Apps can be purchased directly from your Kindle Fire by tapping Store > in the top right corner of the Apps library screen to go to the Amazon Appstore. You can get a great paid app for free every day, browse the top paid and free apps, search for apps, or explore content categories such as New, Games, Entertainment, and Lifestyle. Once you've chosen an app, tap the orange price button and confirm your purchase by pressing the green Get/Buy App button. The app will be downloaded, installed, and placed in your Apps library. To uninstall an app, press and hold its icon, select Remove from Device , and follow the directions on the screen. If you want to install it again at a later time, you can find it in your Apps library under Cloud. Check out some of the innovative Audible audiobook titles that are available on your Kindle. Whether the title is an Immersion reading Professional narration edition of a book or it's a full edition of the book in Audible, there's no telling what your device can give you, when it comes to reading books on this device. Check your email from the Email app. The Kindle Fire contains an email app that allows you to view multiple email accounts from one unified Inbox or view one account at a time. To launch the app, tap the Email icon in the Apps library. Kindle Fire email supports Google Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, and AOL along with most industry-standard IMAP and POP email systems. Tap the Email icon in the Apps library to launch the setup wizard and configure your account. Note: The integrated email app does not support corporate e-mail from Microsoft Exchange Server. Search the entire World Wide Web with the Silk app. Kindle Fire features Amazon Silk. Silk resides on both your Kindle Fire and on the Amazon Cloud. To access Silk, tap Web on the Home screen. Silk supports bookmarks, history, and searches. When you open a new tab, a list of your most visited pages will display as thumbnails. Simply tap a thumbnail to return to that page. To visit a new page, type the URL in the field at the top of the page and tap the Go button. You can clear your visited pages at any time by opening the Settings menu and choosing the “clear history” option. To search, type in your search criteria and tap Go To open another browser tab, tap the “+” symbol in the upper right of the browser. The Options bar at the bottom of the screen contains the Home button, forward and back arrows, a menu icon, and a bookmark icon. To view or add bookmarks, tap the Bookmark icon in the Options bar. You can display your bookmarks in a list or grid view by clicking the sort icons at the top of the screen. Shop on Amazon with the Shop tab on your device. This app gives you a convenient mobile-ready place to shop the entire Amazon catalog. Download from the Cloud. When you purchase content from Amazon, it is stored in the cloud where it can be accessed anywhere. If you are planning on being offline—for example, a long flight—download any content you wish to view offline. Click the Cloud button at the top of the screen, and download your cloud-based content. Import your content. You can transfer a variety of content types to your Kindle Fire via its micro-USB connector, including music, videos, photos, and documents. To transfer content from your computer to your Kindle Fire, do the following: Connect your Kindle Fire to your computer with a micro-USB cable. Slide the on-screen arrow from right to left to unlock your Kindle. Open the Kindle Fire drive on your computer. Your Kindle Fire will appear as an external storage drive or volume on the computer's desktop. Note that Kindle Fire is not usable as a device while connected to your computer as a storage drive or volume. Drag and drop your content into the applicable content folder, such as Music or Pictures. When you are done transferring files, press the Disconnect button at the bottom of the Kindle Fire screen and eject it from your computer, then unplug the USB cable. Note that USB transfers to the Kindle Fire can be slow, so patience is recommended. Remove content. To delete a title from your Kindle Fire, press and hold the icon to display a contextual menu, and select Remove from Device. Personal content will be completely deleted. Content purchased from Amazon will remain in the Amazon Cloud, should you later wish to retrieve it.
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Start here if you haven't already opened your Kindle Fire. Open the box. Power up. Sign in. Access content. Browse and search for titles. Take delivery. Titles galore! Read the kindle version of many newspapers and magazines from the Newsstand tab. read the Kindle ebook version from the Books library tab. Listen to the Amazon MP3 collection/Amazon Instant Music collection from the Music tab. Watch a Video that you've rented or purchased from the Video tab. Read some of your personal documents you've added to your device from the Docs library tab. Check out some of your Kindle's interesting apps with the Apps Library tab. Check out some of the innovative Audible audiobook titles that are available on your Kindle. Check your email from the Email app. Search the entire World Wide Web with the Silk app. Shop on Amazon with the Shop tab on your device. Download from the Cloud. Import your content. Remove content.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Carbonara
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How to Make Carbonara
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To make carbonara, first bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Then, add 12 ounces (340 grams) of spaghetti, and cook for about 10 minutes or until the pasta is al-dente, which means it's cooked but firm in the center when you bite into it. Drain the pasta and set it aside. Next, whisk 3 eggs and 1 cup (100 grams) of Parmesan cheese in a medium bowl. Set the bowl aside and add 8 slices of bacon to a large skillet. Cook the bacon over medium heat for 8 minutes or until it's crispy, then transfer it to a plate. Reserve the fat in the skillet. Now, mince 2 garlic cloves and cook the garlic in the skillet until it's fragrant, which should take about 1 minute. Add the cooked spaghetti to the skillet and toss it in the bacon fat. Then, remove the skillet from the heat and add the egg and Parmesan mixture. Stir the pasta until it's creamy, but don't scramble the eggs. Finally, chop the bacon into bite-size pieces and mix it into the pasta. Serve and enjoy!
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Set a large, well-salted pot of water to boil on the stove. You want the water to almost taste like an ocean. Roughly 2 tablespoons of salt for 6 quarts of water should cover it nicely. Chop up the pancetta, guanciale, or bacon into quarter-inch squares. If you want the most authentically Italian dish, use the guanciale, found at specialty shops, butchers, or online. You can even make your own! If guanciale is unavailable, however, pancetta and bacon make excellent substitutes. Use a sharp knife to cut it into little squares that cook quickly and are easy to eat. Whip together the eggs, cheese, salt, and pepper in a small mixing bowl. Crack the eggs in and add you grated cheese. A blend of Pecorino and Parmesan is the classic mixture, but asiago, romano, or any combination of them will work as well. Add a pinch of salt and a generous helping of ground black pepper, then whisk it all together into a smooth, consistent liquid. Set aside. Don't worry if you do this early -- the eggs will mix in better if they're allowed to warm to room temperature. The best pancetta is a quick-moving cooking process. Preparing the eggs and meat, instead of trying to do it all on the fly, will lead to a better dish. Boil the spaghetti (or other pasta of your choice) until almost cooked. Spaghetti is the classic choice, but you can use whatever you have in the house if you'd like. You want the pasta to cook until it is just about al dente -- it should be just a touch firmer than you'd normally cook it. Make sure to stir it every 2-3 minutes. Note that you need to keep working as the pasta cooks -- this dish is all about timing and using your heat wisely. This should take 8-10 minutes. Fill a large mixing bowl with hot water and set aside. One of the biggest tricks of carbonara is heating the eggs enough to cook, but not enough that they scramble or turn solid. By "cooking" the eggs later in this hot bowl, instead of over direct heat, you can accomplish this with relative ease. The bowl doesn't need to be boiling hot -- the hottest water out of your tap is likely fine. Heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat while the pasta cooks. Once the pasta is in, you need to get started on the "sauce." Once the oil has just started to let off a little smoke, you're ready to move on. Add the chopped meat to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. It should just be starting to darken and crisp up, but shouldn't quite be finished cooking yet. Remove and drain the pasta, saving 1/2 cup of the hot, starchy water. Before you drain the pasta, be sure to scoop up a little extra for later. Hot, starchy water from cooking helps your sauce bind to the pasta instead of forming a puddle in your bowl, and it is the best way to keep the dish hot without overcooking the eggs. Toss the pasta in with the almost-finished meat and cook for an additional minute. This allows the pork fat to coat the pasta strands richly, helping create your egg sauce later on. It only needs a minute or two over the heat. If you're cooking for company and you aren't quite ready to serve yet, you can cut the heat to both and then reheat in the pan later, adding a splash of the starchy water to keep everything moist. Empty the bowl full of hot water and toss in the pasta and meat mixture. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of the hot water from cooking the pasta into your egg mixture and immediately stir it in. This "tempers" the eggs, warming them slowly so that the next step isn't a heat shock. Move quickly from here on out -- you should be serving the dish in the next 4-5 minutes so that it all stays hot. Slowly, stirring the whole time, pour the egg/cheese mixture into the pasta. Keep it moving as you do to ensure that the egg mixture coats the entire dish. If it gets a little sticky or difficult to stir, add a splash of the starchy water to thin it out and keep it mixing. Serve with a light garnish immediately. Once you've mixed the egg into the pasta, it's time to eat -- the egg only needs a few seconds to cook if you've kept everything hot. You can garnish it with: Grated cheese Black Pepper Italian parsley Sliced green onions Chop half of a yellow onion finely and add to the meat as it cooks. The cooked onion will bring a light sweetness to the dish, and almost as many chefs who add it to their carbonara as those who don't. Chop the onion into small squares and cook in the fat of the pork, adding them at the same time and cooking until translucent. If possible, use a slightly bigger pan so that everything has more room to cook. Want a little less "onion-like" taste? Substitute a shallot for the onion, adding it to the meat for the last minute or so of cooking. Add 2-3 cloves of minced garlic for the last minute the meat cooks. Just like the onion, there are a lot of differing opinions on whether or not garlic has a place in carbonara. So just do what sounds tasty to you! Chop the cloves up nice and small and add them right before the pasta, allowing them to cook in the pork fat for about a minute. When in doubt, add the garlic a little later. Such small pieces will burn easily if you're not careful. Deglaze the meat pan with a sharp kick of white wine, especially if you added onion and/or garlic. Once the meat is almost finished cooking and the garlic and onions are soft, a half cup of white wine will help deglaze the pan and add a burst of fresh acidity to the dish. Once the wine hits the pan, use a wooden spoon to scrape up anything that sticks to the bottom of the pan, then add the pasta in once most of the liquid has evaporated. Add 1 cup of cooked peas for a splash of sweetness and greenery. Of all the variations mentioned, peas are the most controversial -- some claim they are absolutely necessary for a sweet, green bite, others claim they are a sacrilegious addition to a blissfully simple peasant dish. If you fall in the former category, add them right when you toss the pasta and meat together in the pan to make sure they are nice and warmed up for serving. Toss in a splash of fresh cream or whole milk as the meat and pasta cook. After you've tossed the pasta in the pan with the pancetta/guanciale/bacon, add a 1/2 cup of heavy cream and stir around the pan. Make sure to scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan, and heat until the cream is bubbling and the pasta is finished cooking. Proceed like normal from here, stirring in the egg/cheese mixture in your mixing bowl. Order or procure raw pig cheeks from a local butcher. Head into your local butcher and ask around if they have pig cheek, though they will likely know what you mean by guanciale as well. You can order it online, as well, if you're serious about curing your own meat frequently. This recipe is for 1 lb of pork cheeks/jowls. Cut away any visible fat or glands, leaving a clean, flat slab of meat. It will be about an inch and half thick when you are finished. If you are buying directly from the butcher, you can usually ask that they clean and prepare it for you. Create your curing mixture using No.1 or No. 2 curing salt and a seasoning mixture. The curing salt can be bought at big grocery stores but is also available online. The seasoning mixture can be tweaked to your preferences and style, but a good base recipe includes: 2 tablespoons Kosher Salt + 1 Teaspoon No. 1 or No. 2 curing salt 1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped 1 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander. Rinse and dry the pig cheeks, the rub completely with spice mixture. Make sure the entire jowl is covered by your spices. Note, again, that the mixture above is for 1 lb or jowls -- you'll need to add more if you want a bigger batch. Zip the cheeks in a plastic bag and refrigerate for three days, flipping occasionally. This allows the salt to get to work curing and saving your meat, removing moisture quickly to speed up the process. Every morning when you wake up, flip the bag so that a different side is soaking on the bottom. After three days, rinse the cheeks off and pat them dry. They're now ready to hang, but make sure you get off as much moisture as possible. This, after all, is the point of curing it! Hang the cheeks in a dry place for two weeks. This is often the tricky part for a home chef, but it doesn't have to be. You can make a simple hook with a cleaned metal coat hanger, hanging them in the basement, garage, or attack -- somewhere without a lot of traffic or light. If possible, hang it in front of a wood stove or fireplace -- this can speed up the process considerably if it is usually on. Remember that this meat still needs to be cooked before it is eaten. Alternatively, roast the cheeks for 3 hours at 275F to speed up the process. This will lead to a slightly different flavor and texture, but not so different that you can't use it to shortcut the curing process. The raised heat will speed up the drying out of the cheeks, giving you delicious guanciale in an afternoon instead of two weeks.
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Set a large, well-salted pot of water to boil on the stove. Chop up the pancetta, guanciale, or bacon into quarter-inch squares. Whip together the eggs, cheese, salt, and pepper in a small mixing bowl. Boil the spaghetti (or other pasta of your choice) until almost cooked. Fill a large mixing bowl with hot water and set aside. Heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat while the pasta cooks. Add the chopped meat to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove and drain the pasta, saving 1/2 cup of the hot, starchy water. Toss the pasta in with the almost-finished meat and cook for an additional minute. Empty the bowl full of hot water and toss in the pasta and meat mixture. Slowly, stirring the whole time, pour the egg/cheese mixture into the pasta. Serve with a light garnish immediately. Chop half of a yellow onion finely and add to the meat as it cooks. Add 2-3 cloves of minced garlic for the last minute the meat cooks. Deglaze the meat pan with a sharp kick of white wine, especially if you added onion and/or garlic. Add 1 cup of cooked peas for a splash of sweetness and greenery. Toss in a splash of fresh cream or whole milk as the meat and pasta cook. Order or procure raw pig cheeks from a local butcher. Cut away any visible fat or glands, leaving a clean, flat slab of meat. Create your curing mixture using No.1 or No. Rinse and dry the pig cheeks, the rub completely with spice mixture. Zip the cheeks in a plastic bag and refrigerate for three days, flipping occasionally. After three days, rinse the cheeks off and pat them dry. Hang the cheeks in a dry place for two weeks. Alternatively, roast the cheeks for 3 hours at 275F to speed up the process.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Apply-for-an-International-Driving-Licence-in-the-United-States
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How to Apply for an International Driving Licence in the United States
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If you want to drive outside of the U.S., you'll need an international driving license. To get one, you'll need to be 18 years old and have a U.S. driver's license that's valid for at least the next 6 months. You should obtain your international license either from the American Automobile Association or the American Automobile Touring Alliance. You can download an application form online and take it to a local office or mail it to the right organization. If you need your license in a hurry, go in person so you don't have to wait on the mail. Once you receive your international driver's license, you can use it to drive outside the U.S. but you'll always need to carry your domestic license with it.
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Understand what an international driving permit is. The international driving permit (IDP) is not truly a license. Instead it is just a translation of your existing driver's license into 11 languages. You must continue to carry your regular driver's license with you at all times. The permit is recognized in 150 countries (a list of those countries can be found at thenac.com/international_driving_permit_countries.pdf). In 40 countries, you are required to possess an IDP in order to obtain a rental car. An IDP will not be issued more than 6 months before you need it. It is only valid for one year from the date of its issuance. Determine if you are eligible for an IDP. You can only receive an IDP if you currently hold a valid driver's license. An IDP will not be issued if your license is suspended or revoked. In addition, there are a few requirements. Your domestic license must be valid for at least six months after your IDP is issued. If your license will expire during the six month period, renew your license at your local DMV office. You must be 18 to get an international driving permit. Watch out for scams. The U.S. State Department website notes that only the AAA and the American Automobile Touring Alliance offer international driver's permits in the United States. Do not pay any other organization for an international driver's permit. Such offers are often scams. Even if you do receive something that appears to be a permit, it may not be a legal document. The United Nations does not issue international driving licenses. If you obtained a document purported to be an international driving permit issued by the U.N., you do not have a valid international driving permit. A real, valid IDP is a multi-page booklet 4 by 6 inches (10.16 by 15.24 cm) in size. It has a gray cover. It includes a page displaying the holder's name, date and place of birth and home address. This information is repeated in 9 other languages on separate pages. If you have any questions regarding the validity of an IDP, take it to your nearest AAA office. Apply for an international driving permit. As noted above, there are only two agencies that provide the IDP in the United States--the American Automobile Touring Alliance and the American Automobile Association. You can either obtain an IDP in person or through the mail. If you would prefer to get your IDP from AAA, you have two options. You can download the application from the American Automobile Association and bring the completed form to an AAA office near you. Alternatively, you can mail the form to the closest AAA office. You can find the AAA office in your area on their website. Included with your application forms, you must supply two “passport type” photos. You can get these pictures taken for a small fee at an AAA office. The cost of the permit is $15 (from either association). Submit your IDP application well in advance of any travel plans. Even though an IDP will not be issued more than six months before you plan to travel internationally, make sure that you get your IDP well before the trip. If you have waited until the last minute, go get your IDP in person to avoid mail delays. There is no waiting period, so if you decide to go in person everything can be handled in a single visit. Applications sent through the mail will normally be processed in 10 to 15 business days. Use your IDP in the country you are visiting. Remember that the IDP is really just a certified translation of your driver's license. You must keep your actual driver's license with you at all times.
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Understand what an international driving permit is. Determine if you are eligible for an IDP. Watch out for scams. Apply for an international driving permit. Submit your IDP application well in advance of any travel plans. Use your IDP in the country you are visiting.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Cook-Dandelion-Greens
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How to Cook Dandelion Greens
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To cook dandelion greens, start by boiling them in salted water for 3 to 4 minutes to get rid of bitterness. Then, blanche the greens in cold water to stop the cooking process. Next, fry onions and red pepper flakes in olive oil for 5 minutes before adding garlic. After 30 seconds, add the greens and fry them for 3 to 4 minutes, making sure to stir them as they cook.
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Boil a large pot of water. One way to help remove some of the bitterness from dandelion greens is to boil them first in water. Fill a large pot with water, add a teaspoon (5 g) of salt, and bring it to a boil. Soak the dandelions. As you wait for the water to boil, fill a large bowl with water and a teaspoon (5 g) of salt. Soak the greens for about 10 minutes, then drain them. Boil the greens. When the water is boiling and the greens have soaked, boil them for three to four minutes, until they are tender. Drain the water and shock the greens by rinsing them with cold water until they are chilled. Set them aside in a colander or strainer. Blanching will quickly lower the temperature of the dandelion greens to stop the cooking process and keep them from becoming soggy. Instead of discarding the water the dandelions boiled in, consider saving it for watering the garden. Sauté the remaining ingredients. Pour the olive oil into a large frying pan and heat it on medium. When it's hot, add the onion and red pepper flakes. Sauté for about five minutes, until the onion is tender. When the onion is ready, add in the garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds. For an added zesty kick, consider adding a teaspoon (5 g) of fresh, minced ginger. To change the flavor of the dressing, try using walnut, sesame, coconut, or peanut oil instead of olive. Sauté the dandelion greens. Increase the heat of the frying pan to medium-high. When the pan is ready, add the greens and cook them for three to four minutes, until the water has evaporated. As they cook, use tongs or a fork to move them around in the pan. Remove from the heat and serve. Season the greens with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve with a wedge of fresh lemon. Roast the garlic. This warm dandelion salad is dressed with a roasted garlic dressing and served with toasted nuts. Preheat the oven to 400 F (204 C). To roast the garlic: Peel off the outer layer of skin from a head of garlic, leaving all the cloves intact. With a good knife, cut the tips off the head of the cloves to expose the garlic underneath. Place the garlic on a piece of aluminum foil and drizzle the whole head with a tablespoon (15 ml) of oil. Wrap the garlic in the foil, place it on a baking sheet or oven-safe dish and bake for 35 to 55 minutes. When the garlic is done, the cloves inside will be golden and caramelized. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before popping the cloves out of the skins. Toast the nuts. Preheat your oven to 350 F (177 C). Spread the nuts out in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for five to 10 minutes (five minutes for pine nuts, 10 minutes for almonds), flipping or stirring halfway through. Prepare the dressing. Place all the cloves from the head of roasted garlic into a food processor or blender. Blend it until smooth, along with the oil, vinegar, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Warm the greens. Heat a saucepan over medium heat. Add the dressing and warm it for about two minutes. Add the shallot and cook for another three to five minutes, until it's soft. Serve the salad. Arrange the dandelion greens in a large bowl and pour the dressing over them. Toss the salad until the greens are coated. Toss in the toasted nuts, season with pepper, and serve. You can also make this salad with a variety of greens, such as spinach, arugula, endive, cabbage, frisée, kale and radicchio. When you add the nuts at the end, you can also sprinkle in a small handful of currants for an additional texture and flavor. If you picked your own dandelion greens from the garden for this salad, pick the flowers as well and use them to garnish the salad, as they are also edible. Add them to lasagna and pastas. Many pasta dishes, especially vegetable ones, come with greens and other vegetables, but more often than not the only green used is spinach. To change things up a little, consider replacing the spinach with dandelion greens next time you make: Stuffed shells Vegetable lasagna Penne arrabbiata, which is a spicy sauce made with garlic, tomatoes, and red chilies Stir fry them. Stir fries are an easy and tasty way to pack a whole lot of vegetables and nutrients into a single meal. Stir fries are often made with vegetables like broccoli, onions, mushrooms, peppers, and greens. Try adding dandelion greens to your next stir fry, but be sure to add them in the final minutes of cooking. Make them into pesto. Pesto is a sauce typically made from garlic, salt, pine nuts, basil, and cheese. All the ingredients get blended together to make a sauce or spread. Next time you're making pesto, consider substituting roasted pumpkin seeds for the pine nuts and dandelion greens for some or all of the basil. Eat dandelion greens on a sandwich. When you order a BLT at a restaurant, you've probably come to expect a soggy, tasteless lettuce wedged between juicy tomato and crispy bacon. But next time you're making your own lunch or snack, take a little more time with the lettuce portion and consider using dandelion greens instead of romaine or traditional iceberg lettuce. Dandelion greens can be used to spice up: Sandwiches Wraps Tacos Paninis
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Boil a large pot of water. Soak the dandelions. Boil the greens. Sauté the remaining ingredients. Sauté the dandelion greens. Remove from the heat and serve. Roast the garlic. Toast the nuts. Prepare the dressing. Warm the greens. Serve the salad. Add them to lasagna and pastas. Stir fry them. Make them into pesto. Eat dandelion greens on a sandwich.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Control-Pests
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How to Control Pests
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To control pests in your home, keep your kitchen clean, pack leftover food tightly in containers, and remove standing water caused by leaky pipes and clogged drains. Next, use silicone caulk to seal any cracks and crevices in baseboards, moldings, cupboards, pipes, ducts, sinks, toilets, and electrical outlets to prevent pests from getting into the house. Then, get rid of existing pests by applying pesticides to the infested areas.
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Identify the pest. While the preventative steps are similar for all types of pests, you will want to focus on removing certain types of food (i.e. ripe melon for fruit flies) or cleaning certain areas (vacuuming the carpet for fleas), depending on the pest. If you decide to use a pesticide, you will need to make sure it is suitable for the pest you are trying to kill. Remove standing water. Insects and rodents need water to survive. Keep your bathroom and kitchen areas as dry as possible. Fix leaking pipes. Don't let water collect in trays under plants. Don't leave your pet's water out overnight. Keep your kitchen clean and all food in containers. Food attracts pests. Ripe fruit will draw fruit flies. Unsealed grains will attract mealy moths. Flies and cockroaches will eat any crumbs they can find. A clean kitchen is a key step in ridding your home of pest. Wipe up any spills with soap and water. A paper towel or dish towel alone may not be enough. Regularly unplug your toaster and remove crumbs. Store your food in sealed glass or plastic containers. Lids that clamp shut work better than screw-on lids. Keep ripe fruit, as well as rice and other long-term storage items, in the refrigerator. Store pet food in a clean, sealed garbage can so that rodents cannot get to it. Wash dishes daily, or submerge them in soapy water until you can get to them. Take out the trash daily. Used sealed trash cans and be sure to keep them clean. Keep your house clean and clutter free. This will remove hiding places for insects, as well as removing their eggs. Vacuum regularly. In particular, vacuum the affected areas using a crevice tool. Dispose of the vacuum cleaner bag in a sealed plastic bag, so no pests can escape. Comb and wash your pet frequently. If it has fleas, talk to your vet about flea medication. Get rid of clutter where pests hide, such as stacks of newspaper, magazines, or cardboard. Clean appliances by unplugging them and sweeping them out, vacuuming, then wiping down with a damp rag. Make sure to let the appliance dry completely before reconnecting the appliance to the power source. Store clothing and linens in sealed plastic boxes or bags to protect them from moths and to remove homes for mice and rats. Deny access to your home. Pests frequently enter through poorly sealed windows or doors, or through cracks in walls and floorboards. Removing points of entry is key if you wish to keep your home pest free. Use silicone caulk to seal any cracks and crevices in baseboards, moldings, cupboards, pipes, ducts, sinks, toilets or electrical outlets. Place screens in front of heating and cooling vents. Repair holes in existing screens. Install screens and weather-stripping on doors and windows. Keep vegetation, mulch, stacked firewood, and other debris at least 18 inches (45.7 cm) form your home. Ensure all cracks, crevices and gaps around pipes and other penetrations on the walls of your home are properly sealed. Try the less toxic pesticides first if other preventative measure fail. Less toxic pesticides are safer for both you and the environment. Dust boric acid on cracks and crevices. It is poisonous to crawling insects like ants, lizards , cockroaches, and silverfish, but is far less toxic to humans. Try tamper-resistant bait boxes, which are safer than sprays, powders or pellets, all of which spread pesticide residues. Bait boxes are particularly recommended in areas where food, plates, or cookery are stored. Look for bait boxes that use a nonvolatile chemical like boron, and be sure to keep them out of reach of children. Try insecticidal or fatty-acid soaps. They kill soft-bodied insects like fleas and mites on contact, cut are practically harmless to humans and mammals, unless ingested. Use more volatile pesticides if necessary. Avoid frequent application; use them only to target specific threats. Read the label to be sure you have the right pesticide and are using it correctly. Pesticides labeled “broad spectrum” kill many pests, while those labeled “selective” work only against a few. Read the directions for use to be sure the pesticide will work for you. Start with less toxic pesticides. Check the label for the “signal” word that indicates how dangerous the product is to humans. “Danger” means poisonous or corrosive. “Warning” means moderately hazardous. “Caution” means least hazardous. Never use outdoor pesticides indoors. They last longer and are more volatile. Provide adequate ventilation. Open windows and run fans. If the pesticide requires an unventilated room, leave the house. Apply sprays to limited areas, such as cracks. Always remove pots, pans, dishes and food before spraying. Let the spray dry before replacing. Never dump leftover pesticides in the garbage or down the drain. Check with your public works department about how to dispose of them. Consider getting professional help. If preventative measures and over-the-counter pesticides do not work, you may be better off paying for pest control services. Identify the pest. While the preventative steps are similar for all types of pests, you will want to focus on certain types of decoy, beneficial predator, or pesticide depending on the pest. Keep your yard free of pests by removing hiding places and breeding sites. Piles of wood under or around your home attract ants. Tree clippings, fallen leaves or dropped fruit may harbor insects. Pet droppings attract flies. Standing water breeds mosquitoes. Prepare your garden to limit pests. A carefully tended garden with good drainage will attract fewer unwanted plants and insects. Consider a raised bed, particularly for clay soil with poor drainage. Before planting, try tilling to break up the dirt, and add sand for better drainage. Clean up debris to remove homes for pests. Mulch to prevent weeds, but be sure to pull back the mulch from the plants you are growing, as mulch can provide a home for insect pests. Plant the right mix of plants to combat pests. Monocultures are a delight for pests, and exotic plants are often vulnerable to local pests. By varying what you plant year-to-year and row to row, you can cut down on pests. Select healthy seedlings that are appropriate for your area. Native plants, in particular, are frequently more resistant to local pests. Alternate rows with different types of plants, and mix ornamentals in amongst your edibles. Pests are less likely to spread if another edible plant is not nearby. Don't plant the same plants in the same space year after year. That way, you can save your plants from being ravaged by pests that survived the winter. To get rid of nematodes (worms that eat roots), plant a thick cover of marigolds one season, then turn them under the soil. Next year, you can plant whatever you like with no fear of nematodes. Plant decoys to lure insects away. Growing a single decoy weed amongst your cultivated crops can keep them pest free, with a little work. Redroot pigweed will attract blister beetles away from tomatoes. Be sure to check the weed each morning and shake the beetles off into soapy water to get rid of them. Arugula will attract flea beetles, which also eat eggplant, brassicas, and potatoes. Check the arugula every day and use a handheld vacuum to suck up the beetles. Planting nasturtiums at the base of tomato plants will attract aphids. Remove the flower and throw it away once it has attracted a good number of aphids. Attract beneficial predators to fight pests. Birds and predatory insects can fight unwanted insects without the need for pesticides. Install a purple martin house. These bird eat many of the larger insects that pray on garden plants. Plant flowers that will attract beneficial insects, such as wasps that eat caterpillars. Try members of the umbel family: dill, Queen-Anne's-lace, parsley, and carrots. Sweet alyssum, all kinds of mint, and chamomile are also effective. Your local County Cooperative Extension Service, nursery, or garden association will have more information on how to attract beneficial predators. Purchase predatory insects or microscopic pathogens such as fungi and bacteria. You can often buy them at your local garden store. Get your hands dirty. Use spading, hoeing, and hand picking to remove weeds that provide food and shelter for pests. Set traps for insects and mice. Use row covers to protect seeded beds, transplants, or young plants. They are an excellent barrier against a wide range of pests. When covering seeded beds or transplants, leave plenty of slack in the material to allow for growth, and be sure to bury the edges in the soil so that pests don't sneak in. You can leave row covers over crops like onions and carrots all season. Other crops, such as beans or cabbage should be uncovered once they are well grown. Plants like squash that require pollination by insects must be uncovered when they start to flower, or can be hand pollinated. In hot weather, be sure to remove covers to prevent excessive heat. Try biochemical pesticides. Pesticides like pheromones and juvenile insect hormones can protect your plants, and are harmless to humans. Use pesticides if necessary to combat pest. Particularly on edible plants, you will want to use the least toxic pesticide possible to get the job done. Read the label to be sure you have the right pesticide and are using it correctly. Pesticides labeled “broad spectrum” kill many pests, while those labeled “selective” work only against a few. Read the directions for use to be sure the pesticide will work for you. Check the label for the “signal” word that indicates how dangerous the product is to humans. “Danger” means poisonous or corrosive. “Warning” means moderately hazardous. “Caution” means least hazardous. Never dump leftover pesticides on the lawn, in the garbage or down the drain. Check with your public works department about how to dispose of them.
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Identify the pest. Remove standing water. Keep your kitchen clean and all food in containers. Keep your house clean and clutter free. Deny access to your home. Try the less toxic pesticides first if other preventative measure fail. Use more volatile pesticides if necessary. Consider getting professional help. Identify the pest. Keep your yard free of pests by removing hiding places and breeding sites. Prepare your garden to limit pests. Plant the right mix of plants to combat pests. Plant decoys to lure insects away. Attract beneficial predators to fight pests. Get your hands dirty. Use row covers to protect seeded beds, transplants, or young plants. Try biochemical pesticides. Use pesticides if necessary to combat pest.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Compensation-Proposal
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How to Write a Compensation Proposal
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To write an effective letter of compensation, start the body of the letter by reassuring your boss that you like your job and want to stay, so they don't feel threatened. Then, mention what you have accomplished for the company, and compare your income to others in the industry so your boss knows what you and the job are worth. After that, include the exact amount you want to be paid, but ask about 1% more than you'll accept so you have room for negotiation.
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Know your exact financial status at your job. This seems obvious, but the first step is knowing exactly how much money you make. Also make note of the last time you received a pay increase. You can then compare this information to the other data you'll find as you further investigate your field. If you're unaware of what your exact compensation is, collect your past pay stubs. If you don't have these, ask at the company payroll department for your financial history at the job. Gather any positive feedback to bolster your argument. The key to getting a salary increase is proving that you're an asset to your company. Good performance reviews, customer feedback, or any other information that attests to your value will help your case. Keep these records close at hand so you can cite them when you write your proposal. Not all companies do regular performance reviews. In this case, there are a few things you could do to gather information to help your case. For example, if you have team or planning meetings for your area or department, then these could be good opportunities to check in with your boss and assess your performance on a regular basis. You could periodically schedule a meeting with your boss and ask how you're doing at your job. Make note of the feedback you receive. If your boss says you're doing a great job, use this as your positive feedback. If your boss tells you a few things you could improve upon, take that feedback seriously and work on those areas. Then when you write your letter, you can say how you've taken your boss's advice and improved. If you have a direct supervisor who's not your boss, see if he or she will give you some feedback. If you get good feedback, you can ask your supervisor to write a letter to your boss about your good performance. You may also consider looking for a mentor at work. If your company has a mentorship program, then indicate your interest to your supervisor. Or, if there is not mentorship program, then try talking with a more experienced, successful employee and see if they would be willing to be your mentor. Take all feedback you receive without getting defensive. If you get some negative feedback, don't argue. Instead, take the advice and use it when you write your letter. You can demonstrate that you've taken feedback to heart and improved your performance. Keep in mind that businesses are results-driven, so it is important to put your emotions aside during this process. Investigate the pay range for your job and level of experience within the industry. When asking for increased compensation, you have to be familiar with typical pay rates within the industry. This will show you whether it would be reasonable to ask for a raise or not. Use sites like PayScale or Glassdoor to research salaries within your industry. For example, you might find that the average worker in your field earns between $45,000 and $50,000. If you're earning $44,000, you're below the average, and it would certainly be reasonable to ask for more money. You can use this as leverage when you write your proposal. If, however, you're making $52,000, you might have trouble getting an increase. You boss could counter your request by saying that you make an above-average salary. If you're earning above the industry average, you could still ask for a raise, but you'll need a lot of evidence that you're a true asset to the company. Financial figures would help most, because it would show your boss that he or she is making money with you around. Take timing into account. Many times getting a pay increase is a matter of getting your boss at the right moment. If it's a particularly busy time of year, your boss might be overwhelmed and won't have the time to consider your request. Also consider the company's budget. If things have been tough for a while, your boss may not be able to give you a raise even if he wanted to. If earnings have been high, however, you can take advantage of both the availability of money and your boss' good mood by asking then. Format the letter appropriately. Remember, this is a formal business letter, and should be formatted accordingly. Place your name, title, and address on the top left of the paper. Place the date below this. Put your boss' name, title, and address below this. Address your boss appropriately. Start with "Dear Mr." or "Dear Mrs." Have 1-inch margins around the paper and use single spacing. Don't indent, just use a double space in between paragraphs. End with "Sincerely," then leave 4 lines so you can manually sign your name. Below this, type your name and title. Start with a cordial statement about your job satisfaction. Don't jump right into "I need more money." Ease your boss into your request by stating that you're glad to be working for this company. For example: Dear Mr. Smith, Please allow me to once again express my pride in working for this company. I appreciate all the opportunities this job has granted me. Highlight your past accomplishments. After the introduction, then establish your value to the company. Your boss may be legitimately unaware of your specific contributions to the company. Seeing them all laid out will help him or her see that you are indeed an asset to the company. Highlight all of the good work you've done to demonstrate that you deserve more money for your work. You will need to provide concrete evidence of your performance in the letter. Be sure to include specific details, percentages, and figures about your contributions to the company. Avoid general statements such as, “I work hard” and “I do a great job.” Mention how sales have increased in your department, or how customer satisfaction has gone up. If you have any good performance reviews, cite them here. Also be sure to include copies of them with the letter. State your rate of compensation in relation to the industry standard. After establishing that you've worked hard for the company, then state your concern that you're earning less than the industry average. Again, your boss might actually be unaware of industry standards, so seeing all of the research presented may help make your point more convincing. Include exact figures here. State exactly what you're making, and then state what the industry average is. Point out what the discrepancy is. If you're making above average, point out exactly why you're such an asset to the company that you deserve more. Ask for a specific amount. Don't simply ask for more money, tell your boss what your expectation is. This will allow your boss to look at the numbers and see if the company can afford your request. Write, "In line with my performance for this company, I request a compensation increase of 3% annually, which will bring my yearly salary to $50,000." It is often good to ask for slightly more than you actually want so if your boss negotiates with you, you'll end up closer to what you actually want. Don't go overboard, however, or you'll seem unreasonable. For example, if you want a 2% raise, ask for 2.5 or 3%, not 10%. Conclude cordially. Always end on a positive note. Don't use any kind of ultimatum, like threatening to leave if you don't get your request. Stress your desire to continue working for the company and that you look forward to the future. Write that you're willing to discuss this matter with your boss any time.
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Know your exact financial status at your job. Gather any positive feedback to bolster your argument. Investigate the pay range for your job and level of experience within the industry. Take timing into account. Format the letter appropriately. Start with a cordial statement about your job satisfaction. Highlight your past accomplishments. State your rate of compensation in relation to the industry standard. Ask for a specific amount. Conclude cordially.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Become-an-Economist
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How to Become an Economist
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If you want to become an economist, you will have more opportunities if you get more education. However, if you don't want to get a Ph.D., a bachelor's degree in something like economics or business management is enough. Once you've graduated, you will probably have to get a job as an accountant or an assistant to an economist as you gain experience. Many economist teach part-time to make up for the lesser positions, but many others end up working for the government.
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Take math, statistics, and economics classes in high school. To make college that much easier, start setting yourself up for success now. Take introductory courses in high school that'll give you a grip on what you'll be immersing yourself into in college. Get familiar with the topics at hand, stay up-to-date on current political and economic events, and start making it plan A for your future. If you don't know much about this area, start reading and watching TV. Freakonomics, The Armchair Economist, and The Naked Economist are all great books that make their material exciting. You should also look at The Economist and the Wall Street Journal for more current information. When it comes to TV, watch a variety of channels to get different economic and political perspectives. Get your bachelor's degree. It's a good idea to major in economics, business management, or a math-related field, like statistics. Dive right into classes like microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics and economic thought and theory. You'll also need classes in marketing, finance, and accounting. Don't forget classes in politics and industry, too. These sectors are closely linked with local and global economies and can help specialize your knowledge and land you jobs in the future. Consider getting a master's degree. Most successful economists have education beyond that of a bachelor's. The job outlook is better the more education you have, too. Though it is possible to get a job in a related field with just an undergraduate degree, consider getting your master's to up your career potential. If you do stop at the bachelor level, you may find work as a research assistant, financial analyst, market research analyst, or similar other positions in business, finance, and consulting. Many choose to get a part-time job in a related field to get work experience and then pursue higher education simultaneously to climb the career ladder as efficiently as possible. Get an internship. Master's (and PhD) candidates often get internships during their time at college, working with a professor or private company assisting with research. This looks great on a resume and can be your foothold into the academic or professional world of economics. Scope out your opportunities during your studies to supplement your education. To get a balance of experience prior to your degree, try to do work in the private sector, with the government, and do research. This will give you a taste of the possible routes in front of you and help you make a decision later. Look into getting your PhD. Again, with more education comes more job opportunities (and higher pay). If you get your PhD, you could teach or work just about anywhere. This takes several years, and includes completing detailed research in a specialty field. It is a research-based degree that focuses on upper level understanding of quantitative analysis. What can you specialize in? Industrial organization, game theory, international economics, income distribution and econometrics are just a few topics grad students choose to pursue individually. Join a professional organization. If you have an advanced degree in a particular area, there is likely a professional organization you can join to meet and network with other fellow economists; two examples are the Association for Social Economics and the National Association for Business Economists. This can lead to great connections and job opportunities in the future. Find a job at a consulting firm or a scientific and technical company. At the beginning, any job will do. Most economists don't start out as full-fledged economists. It'll be easier to land a gig as a financial researcher, an accountant, or as an assistant to an economist. You can then work your way up in the company. If you have the right combination of education and experience, you could also look into working for business, research, or international organizations. Consider teaching part-time. Plenty of economists with higher degrees also teach part-time to supplement their income and keep up-to-date on and participate in research. During the time it takes to work your up the ladder, teaching can be a very convenient gig to keep your passions alive. With a master's degree you can teach in community colleges and in high schools. It'll take a PhD to teach at the university level. Work for the government. Many economists and hopeful economists wind up working for the government. With the plethora of positions they need filled, this isn't exactly surprising. If private sector work doesn't seem for you, consider this as a valid alternative. Most government positions accept those with only bachelor's degrees, but more education will ensure you a higher paid, higher-on-the-totem pole position. Be patient in your climb up the career ladder. The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics says the job outlook for economists through 2020 is going to be slower than average. Government or the private sector may be your best chance for employment. If you have to start out as an accountant or research assistant, consider it paying your dues. You'll rise to the top eventually. Consider a job in any related business a step in the right direction. Many companies hire from within and with the right qualifications, you could easily become next in line. In this career, it's important to roll with the punches to stay on top of your game. Hone your analytical skills. Economists are constantly collecting and scrutinizing even the tiniest bits of information. You will be a researcher, an analyst, and a forecaster. You will look for trends and patterns and essentially be a problem-solver. It's easy to see that analytical skills are a must-have even to just do your job at a basic level. If you love puzzles, your analytical skills likely come natural to you. If you rock a good Sudoku game and enjoy websites like Lumosity , keep it up. To be a spark in the economics industry, your mind has to be firing on all pistons. Stay current. Economists are constantly looking at past and current trends to predict the future. They are on the frontier of the political climate and are always a step ahead of the curve. To make sure you're on the cusp (and to stay employed), you'll need to stay current with political and international events and trends. Make sure to read local, regional, and international news. Familiarize yourself with future projections made by other economic analysts and follow political trends. You should be constantly reading (whether it's a book or on the Internet) to be able to analyze situations from multiple angles. Work on your social skills, too. Economists are constantly having to convince others of their findings. They're making presentations and giving speeches, forecasting the future, dispelling myths, and finding patterns to help their employer succeed and account for tomorrow. You need to be able to pinpoint relevant information in addition to relaying it to different types of people. Many economists find themselves in slightly different fields, like writing a column about their knowledge, doing TV specials, or giving seminars. Because of the wide array of options that can spider out from this career, it's best to as well-balanced as possible. Dive into your critical-thinking abilities. Every day you're going to be confronted with complex problems and need to use higher level reasoning and logic. You'll need to take the data in front of you and think about it outside of the box, how it applies to different situations, and what it means for the future. Every detail matters and can change your thinking. You'll need to be nit-picky and focused to be accurate. It will require diligence and a meticulousness not seen in many other careers. It's hard work, but it can be very rewarding.
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Take math, statistics, and economics classes in high school. Get your bachelor's degree. Consider getting a master's degree. Get an internship. Look into getting your PhD. Find a job at a consulting firm or a scientific and technical company. Consider teaching part-time. Work for the government. Be patient in your climb up the career ladder. Hone your analytical skills. Stay current. Work on your social skills, too. Dive into your critical-thinking abilities.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Heal-Scratches
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How to Heal Scratches
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To heal a scratch, you'll need to clean it and treat it with anti-bacterial products. Run your scratch under cold water to get rid of any dirt that could cause infection. Once your wound is clean, apply ointment, like petroleum jelly or bacitracin, which can help reduce the risk of scars and keep bacteria away. If your scratch is serious or moderate, apply a bandage or bandaid to protect it from infection. It's important for you to remove any bandages and clean your scratch once a day with cool soapy water to prevent any bacterial buildup. You can also apply a thin layer of honey to your scratch each day, since it has healing properties. Chamomile also contains antibiotic and antibacterial properties, so try placing a wet chamomile teabag on your wound. Remember to get medical attention if your scratch won't stop bleeding or if it's infected.
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Apply pressure to stop the bleeding. Some scratches may stop bleeding on their own. Others may bleed more heavily. To stop it from bleeding, place a clean tissue, cotton ball, cloth, or piece of gauze on it. Press down to apply pressure to stop the bleeding. Wash your hands before touching the scratch. Though many scratches are not very deep, you should never touch them with dirty hands. Any open wound, even a thin scratch, can get infected if you transfer contaminants from your hand. Always wash your hands with soap and warm water before touching the scratch. Clean the scratch. Place the scratch under running water. This helps clean any dirt, bacteria, or debris from the scratch. You can also clean around the scratch with mild soap. Avoid using hydrogen peroxide or iodine on a scratch. It can irritate the wound. Determine if you need to see a doctor. Most scratches and scrapes can be treated at home without a doctor's care. However, you may find that the scratch needs medical attention. If the bleeding doesn't stop or it continues to soak through your bandage, you may need to see a doctor. If the scratch gets infected, you should see a doctor. Signs to look for include increased pain, swelling, and redness around the scratch and warmth around the area. Look for pus oozing from the scratch. Infections may also make you have a fever. If the wound is deep, punctured, or dirty, you may need a tetanus shot. If you have not had a tetanus booster in the last five years, visit your doctor to get one. Apply ointment. After you have cleaned the wound and it has stopped bleeding, apply antibiotic ointment, such as Bacitracin or Neosporin, or petroleum jelly, such as Vaseline, on it. This helps keep the wound moist so it can heal more quickly. Apply a thin layer of ointment with clean fingers or with a cotton swab. Petroleum jelly can also reduce the chance of a scar. If the scratch itches, petroleum jelly can help soothe it. Place a bandage on the wound. If the scratch is deep or moderate, you may want to put a bandage on it. This can help keep the scratch clean and protect it from bacteria. For minor scratches, leave the bandage off. You can use a Bandaid or gauze to cover the wound. Clean the scratch every day. Once a day, remove the bandage to wash the scratch with soap and cool, running water. Put on a fresh bandage afterwards. You should also change it if it gets dirty or wet. Once the scratch heals enough that you don't have to worry about bacteria, you can leave it uncovered. When the scratch has developed a new layer of skin over it or a scab, you can leave it uncovered because it isn't at risk for bacteria. Decide if you need a tetanus shot. If you have been scratched by something rusty, like a nail, you may be at risk of developing tetanus. If you think you are at risk, go to the doctor. If you have had a tetanus shot, have the scratch assessed to make sure it is okay. If you haven't had a tetanus shot in the last five years, talk to your doctor about getting one. Use honey. Honey has antibacterial and antiseptic properties. It can help heal a scratch and keep it from getting infected. Use a clean finger, flat wooden spreader, or cotton swab to apply a thin layer of honey on the scratch. Honey also helps keep the scratch moist so it can heal the injured skin. Try a chamomile compress. Chamomile has healing properties. It is antibiotic and antiseptic. Make a compress by soaking a clean cloth in tea and placing it on the scratch. You can also place chamomile tea bags directly onto the scratch. Use aloe vera. Aloe vera is used to treat burns, cuts, and scrapes because of its healing properties. You can try an ointment that contains aloe vera, but if you want to completely natural remedy, cut a piece of aloe off an aloe plant. Slide the inside of the aloe vera plant over your scratch. Try an essential oil. You can try different essential oils to help heal your scratches. Just mix a few drops of the essential oil of your choice with a carrier oil, like olive or almond oil. Lavender has antibacterial and antiseptic properties and can help disinfect the wound. Eucalyptus oil has antimicrobial effects. Clove and rosemary oils also have antibacterial properties. You can also use chamomile essential oil. Make a tea tree oil compress. Tea tree oil is an essential oil that is antimicrobial and has antibacterial properties. To use it for your scratch, place two drops of oil in a cup of warm water. Soak a cotton ball on the solution and wipe it over the scratch. Because it is so strong, it needs to be diluted with water when used on a scratch.
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Apply pressure to stop the bleeding. Wash your hands before touching the scratch. Clean the scratch. Determine if you need to see a doctor. Apply ointment. Place a bandage on the wound. Clean the scratch every day. Decide if you need a tetanus shot. Use honey. Try a chamomile compress. Use aloe vera. Try an essential oil. Make a tea tree oil compress.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Windmill
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How to Make a Windmill
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To make a miniature Dutch-style windmill, start by creating your template. Next, transfer the template shapes to plywood that's ½ to 1 inch thick and cut the shapes out. Paint or stain the wood however you'd like, then construct the windmill body using painter's tape to hold the pieces together. Then, set the windmill upright and use wood glue to permanently connect the pieces together. Once the glue dries, attach the blades to the body. Lastly, paint on any fine details you'd like using a small paintbrush and let it dry completely!
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Create your side templates. Draw a polygon shape on a large sheet of cardboard or paper. If you use paper, use a heavyweight paper such as butcher paper or posterboard. The shape should be 9 inches on top, 12 inches on bottom, and 20 inches tall. Cut out the template. This will be used to create the sides of your windmill. Create the template for the top. Draw a hexagon with 9.5” sides on a sheet of cardboard or heavy paper. Cut out the hexagon template. This will be used to create the platform at the top of your windmill. Create the template for the blades. Draw an “X” shape on a large sheet of cardboard or heavy paper. Each arm of the “X” should be 16” long and 2” wide. Measure 2” from the exact center of the “X” shape on four sides to create a square shape around the center of the “X”. Cut out the template as one piece, making sure not to cut into the square shape. Transfer your template shapes to the plywood. Place the templates on your sheets of plywood. Use 1” plywood for the sides, top, and a 2”-diameter circle. Use ½” plywood for the “X”. Use a carpenter pencil to trace the shape of each template onto the wood. You will need six side pieces, one hexagonal top, one 2”-diameter circle, and one “X.” Use a drafting compass to easily draw a 2”-diameter circle onto the plywood. If you have a jar or can whose diameter is 2”, you could also use it to trace the circle. It is best to trace all the pieces you need onto the plywood before you start cutting. This way you make sure that you have laid out the pieces efficiently and have enough wood to complete your project. Do not use “chipboard” or MDF as it is likely to fall apart when it becomes wet. Cut out your shapes from the plywood. Place the plywood onto two sawhorses for stability. Use a jigsaw to cut out all the pieces: six side pieces, one hexagonal top, one “X” (for the blades), and one 2” circle. Circular saws are faster than jigsaws for long, straight cuts, but they cannot produce small shapes. If you have both, use a circular saw to cut out the sides and a jigsaw for the other pieces. Cut a 1-foot length from a 1/2” wooden dowel. Solid wood dowels such as oak or poplar will be the sturdiest. You can often find short dowels at craft supply stores, but you can also use dowels from hardware stores. Drill ½” holes into the center of the “X” shape and the circle. If you do not have a 1/2”-diameter drill bit, use a drafting compass to draw a ½” circle on the wood first so that you can judge when the hole is large enough. The wooden dowel should be able to fit snugly inside these holes. Sand the pieces. Using a handheld sander or sandpaper, sand all the pieces except for the dowel. This step will give your wood a smooth, even finish. It will also prepare the wood for painting or staining. Paint or stain the pieces. You can choose a vivid color for your Dutch windmills, or you can use a natural wood stain to show the beauty of your wood. Once you have painted or stained your pieces, let them dry completely. This may take 24-48 hours, depending on the humidity in your area. If you use paint, choose an outdoor latex paint. If you use stain, follow it with at least one coat of clear polyurethane in order to provide weatherproofing. Construct the windmill body. Place one of your six sides on a flat surface such as a worktable or level floor. The short end should be at the top, and the long end at the bottom. Place another side piece next to this one, also with the short end at the top and the long end at the bottom. Place a pencil between these pieces and push the wood together to form a gap the width of the pencil. Repeat this process with the remaining side pieces until you have laid all six side by side. Use painter’s tape to connect the body pieces. Place strips of painter's tape near the top, middle, and bottom of every joint created in the previous step. This will keep your side pieces together while you form the body shape. Set the windmill body upright. You may want to have a friend help you with this step. With the taped side facing outward, bring the edges of the body together to form a closed tower shape. Secure the final joint with painter's tape. Test on a flat surface to make sure that the body is sitting level. If the body is not level, mark which piece(s) are too long and sand them down to stabilize the body. Sand gradually and check your work often. Apply wood glue to the top rim of the body. Place the hexagonal top onto the body. Press firmly, taking care not to push so hard that you collapse the body pieces. Set this aside and allow glue to dry completely. Flip the windmill body upside down. Apply wood glue to all seams inside the body. Don't worry if you have some excess glue on the joints; you can scrape it off once it's dry. Set aside and allow the glue to dry completely. Once the glue is dry, use a small chisel to scrape away the excess glue. Apply wood glue inside the center hole in the “X”. Slide the 12” dowel about 2” into the hole. Apply wood glue around the seam. Allow to dry completely and then scrape off excess glue. Draw a 6” straight line on the hexagon. Center the line in the middle of the hexagonal top. Pre-drill a hole at each end of this line. Screw in two screw eye hooks, adjusting so that the eyes are parallel. Attach the blades to the body. Slide the wooden dowel through both eyelets. The blades should have enough clearance from the body to spin freely. Apply wood glue to the inside of the center hole in the small wood circle and place it on the other end of the dowel. Paint on final details. Dutch windmills sometimes have doors or windows, so if you'd like, you can use a small paintbrush to add these touches. You could also paint on flowers, animals, or other things you find appealing. Cut eight sails from ½” plywood. These sails should be rectangles about 2” wide by 12” long. Using medium-grain sandpaper, sand the edges until smooth. Do not use MDF or chipboard as it will not hold up in outside weather. Use a drafting compass to draw a 6” circle on plywood. The circle should be 1” thick, so use 1” plywood or glue two ½” plywood circles together. Use a jigsaw to cut out the circle. Divide the circle into 8 equal sections. Use a pencil and a ruler or straightedge to draw a line that divides the circle into two halves. Draw another line that divides it into quarters. Then draw two more lines to divide those quarters in half. When you're finished, the lines on the circle should resemble a sliced pizza. Drill a ⅛” hole in the center of the circle. This should be the spot where all the lines you just drew intersect. Draw 45-degree angle marks on the rim of the circle. Begin at each of the lines you drew in Step 3 and use a pencil to draw 45-degree angled lines across the edge. You may find it easiest to use a protractor or a “speed square” (a type of protractor used in construction). Flip the circle over. Repeat Step 3 on this side of the circle, placing your ruler at the other end of the 45-degree angled lines you just drew. When you're finished, you should have two sets of lines that are offset from each other by about a half-inch. Use a jigsaw to cut along the slanted lines. Each cut should be about 1” deep. Use a chisel or file to make sure these cuts are wide enough to fit the sails. To give the circle stability as you cut, you will probably want to clamp it to a worktable or large piece of wood set on two sawhorses. Move the clamp as needed. Apply wood glue to the inside of each groove. Center each sail in a groove and fit in place. Set aside and allow the glue to dry completely. This may take between 24-48 hours, depending on the humidity in your area. Once the glue has completely dried, you can use a chisel to remove any excess glue. Cut a tail from plywood. The tail will be shaped like an elongated baseball “home plate.” Draw a 6” square on a piece of ½” plywood. Place a ruler or straightedge at the top of the square 2” from the outer edge of the square. Tilt it to a 45-degree angle. Use a pencil to draw a straight line from the top of the square to the outer edge of the square. This should create a triangle shape. Repeat on the other side. Cut out the tail with a jigsaw. Follow the lines you just drew so that the top of your tail angles inward and the bottom of the tail is square. Attach the tail to one end of a 1” wooden dowel. The dowel should be at least 16” long as it will form the “boom” for your windmill. Use small finishing nails and a hammer to attach the tail. Paint or stain the windmill. Use outdoor latex paint or a waterproof stain and clear polyurethane to paint the boom and the windmill (the circle with the sails attached). Allow to dry completely. You can wait to paint or stain the whole thing until it's fully assembled, but that may be more difficult. Thread a 1” metal washer onto a long wood screw. The screw should be at least 2” long and 3mm in diameter (approximately a #10 screw). Screw through the hole in the center of the windmill. Thread another 1” washer onto the screw. Pre-drill a ⅛” hole in the other end of the dowel boom. Attach the windmill to the boom by screwing it into the hole you just drilled. Don't attach the windmill too tightly. It should be secure, but still loose enough to allow complete rotation of the circle. Find the center of your windmill. Balance the windmill by holding the boom on one finger. Adjust its position until you are able to balance the windmill on your finger. Mark that point in pencil. Drill a ⅛” hole through the boom at the place you marked. Attach windmill to a post by screwing through this hole into the post. Many hardware stores sell pre-cut fence posts. You can also use the rest of your wooden dowel as the post. Most dowels sold at hardware stores come in 48” lengths, so you should have about 32” remaining after you cut off the boom.
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Create your side templates. Create the template for the top. Create the template for the blades. Transfer your template shapes to the plywood. Cut out your shapes from the plywood. Cut a 1-foot length from a 1/2” wooden dowel. Drill ½” holes into the center of the “X” shape and the circle. Sand the pieces. Paint or stain the pieces. Construct the windmill body. Use painter’s tape to connect the body pieces. Set the windmill body upright. Apply wood glue to the top rim of the body. Flip the windmill body upside down. Apply wood glue inside the center hole in the “X”. Draw a 6” straight line on the hexagon. Attach the blades to the body. Paint on final details. Cut eight sails from ½” plywood. Use a drafting compass to draw a 6” circle on plywood. Divide the circle into 8 equal sections. Draw 45-degree angle marks on the rim of the circle. Flip the circle over. Use a jigsaw to cut along the slanted lines. Apply wood glue to the inside of each groove. Cut a tail from plywood. Cut out the tail with a jigsaw. Attach the tail to one end of a 1” wooden dowel. Paint or stain the windmill. Thread a 1” metal washer onto a long wood screw. Pre-drill a ⅛” hole in the other end of the dowel boom. Find the center of your windmill. Drill a ⅛” hole through the boom at the place you marked.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-a-Rash-from-Nair
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How to Get Rid of a Rash from Nair
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To get rid of a Nair rash, wipe off the cream as soon as you feel a itchiness or a burning sensation. Once you've removed the cream, run cold water over the area for 10 minutes or take a cold shower to remove any remaining Nair. To soothe your skin, apply a gentle, moisturizing lotion or aloe vera. If your skin is itchy, try applying a hydrocortisone cream to the area. Make sure to see a doctor if your rash doesn't improve or if you have severe symptoms.
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Wipe off the cream as soon as you notice a reaction. A little tingling is normal, but if your skin starts to burn, get the cream off your skin immediately. Some companies include a spatula to help scrape off the product; use the spatula or a soft cloth to wipe the cream off your skin. Don't scrub your skin or use anything rough or abrasive (like a loofah or exfoliating glove) to remove the cream. You don't want to scratch yourself or irritate your skin further. Run cold water over the area for 10 minutes. You probably want to hop in the shower to do this so you can have a steady stream of water flowing over the rash. Make sure you are rinsing off any cream that may still be on your body, including the residue. Do not use soap, body wash or any other product to cleanse the area as you rinse your body. Gently pat your skin dry after rinsing. Seek emergency treatment if you feel dizzy, experience severe burning or numbness, or have open or weeping spots around your hair follicle. You may have a chemical burn and need professional treatment. If the rash is on your face, around your eyes, or genitals, contact your physician for assistance. Use moisturizing cream on the rash. A moisturizing lotion may be made up mostly of water and, with repeated use, can actually strip the natural oils from the skin, causing further irritation. Look for a cream or ointment that is not labeled as a solution or lotion and contains natural oils. Aloe vera will also soothe and hydrate the skin affected by the rash. You can use an aloe vera gel or use it straight from the plant itself. Make sure the product is unscented, as the additional ingredients can irritate your rash. Apply a hydrocortisone cream to reduce swelling, reduce redness, and itching. Hydrocortisone is a mild corticosteroid and can make you much more comfortable as your rash heals. It should only be used in the short-term unless longer use is prescribed by a doctor. Stop using the cream if you experience further irritation or redness or develop acne where you applied the hydrocortisone. Laying a damp cotton cloth over the applied hydrocortisone can help your skin absorb it faster. Take an antihistamine to control itchiness. You can get a over-the-counter antihistamines in drowsy or non-drowsy formulas. Your body will have released histamines to protect you from infection, but these may also cause you to itch (they're the same things that cause your nose to run when you have an allergic reaction). The antihistamine will suppress the side-effects of the histamine, leaving you itch-free. If the itching is keeping you awake at night, try an antihistamine that makes you sleepy (it probably won't be labeled as such, but it won't have "non-drowsy" on the box). Because antihistamines can make you tired (sometimes even the non-drowsy antihistamines can have this side-effect), don't take any before driving or doing anything else that requires you to be very alert. See a doctor if the rash doesn't disappear after a few days or respond to treatment. If you begin developing other side effects, like hives or a fever, or your current symptoms get worse, contact your doctor immediately. Don't touch or scratch the affected area. This can damage and further irritate the skin and can lead to an infection. You may even have some depilatory cream still under your nails. Wear loose clothes that won't rub or chafe the rash and possibly cause a friction burn. When using a cloth to wash the Nair off, don't rub too hard or scrub and try not to wipe the same area too many times. Use soap with care when you shower. Depending on the type of soap and severity of the rash, you could make the rash worse by using soap when you shower. Pick a mild, fragrance-free cleaner or a gentle non-abrasive soap such as Cetaphil and use as little soap as possible. Do not use deodorant soaps. You might also try an oatmeal bath , which can give some relief. You can add ground oatmeal directly to warm bath water or make a sachet. Don't shave or reapply cream for 72 hours after using a depilatory cream. You should wait 24 hours before applying deodorant, perfumes, makeup, or tanning lotions to the area where you've used the cream. These products can cause you to develop a rash or possibly a chemical burn. Wait 24 hours before going swimming or sunbathing. Use baby wipes instead of toilet paper. Choose unscented baby wipes that contain aloe in place of toilet paper if the rash is on your bikini area.
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Wipe off the cream as soon as you notice a reaction. Run cold water over the area for 10 minutes. Seek emergency treatment if you feel dizzy, experience severe burning or numbness, or have open or weeping spots around your hair follicle. Use moisturizing cream on the rash. Apply a hydrocortisone cream to reduce swelling, reduce redness, and itching. Take an antihistamine to control itchiness. See a doctor if the rash doesn't disappear after a few days or respond to treatment. Don't touch or scratch the affected area. Use soap with care when you shower. Don't shave or reapply cream for 72 hours after using a depilatory cream. Use baby wipes instead of toilet paper.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Care-for-Your-Cat-After-Neutering-or-Spaying
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How to Care for Your Cat After Neutering or Spaying
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To care for your cat after neutering or spaying, keep it in a quiet, comfortable place indoors for the first 18-24 hours so it can rest without being interrupted. Also, make sure your cat has access to food, water, and a litter box, following any feeding instructions your vet gave you. If you notice your cat excessively digging or licking at its wound, you may need to put an Elizabethan collar on it so it can't access the wound. You should also avoid lifting or playing with your cat immediately after its surgery, and don't bathe it for 10-14 days so the wound can heal.
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Provide a quiet, comfortable space for your cat. Your cat will probably feel nauseous and out of sorts for the first 18-24 hours after anesthesia. It may also be more likely to snap at people and other animals, so providing a quiet, isolated space where your cat can rest is very important. Make sure that you can still see your cat from its resting place. Block off any dangerous hiding spots or spots that you can't easily access. Keep children and other pets away from the cat. Your cat needs to rest and recover, and this is harder to do if it's constantly interrupted or bothered by others. Keep your cat comfortable. Make sure your cat has a comfortable place to sleep. If your cat doesn't have a regular bed, try lining a box with a soft pillow or blanket. If you can, put your cat's bed in an area with tile or wood floors. Cats enjoy cooling off their abdomens by stretching out on cool, solid floors, and this may help soothe the surgical site. If possible try to keep the bed low, and prevent them from having to jump a whole lot. Keep the lights low. Cats who have had anesthesia are usually sensitive to light. Dim the lights in your cat's resting area, or turn them off. If this isn't an option, provide something like a domed bed that offers some escape from the light. Provide a clean litter box and easily accessible food and water. In order to heal after surgery, cats should not jump, climb stairs, or exert themselves to reach necessities. Don't use regular cat litter for at least a week following surgery. It can get into the surgical incisions and cause an infection, especially in male cats. Use shredded paper or newspaper, “Yesterday's News” litter (made with shredded paper), or uncooked long-grain rice in the litter box instead. Keep the cat indoors. Do not allow your cat outdoors for at least two weeks after surgery. This will help the surgical site stay clean, dry, and free of infection. Inspect your cat’s incision area. Looking at your cat's incision can help you get an idea of what it looks like and will help you monitor its progress. If possible, ask your veterinarian to show you the incision before you take your cat home. You may want to take a photograph of the site on the first day for a reference point. Female cats and male cats with undescended testicles will have incisions on their bellies. Most male cats will have two small incisions on the scrotum area (under the tail). Use an “Elizabethan” collar. Your veterinarian may provide this collar, or you can purchase one at your local pet store. This type of collar extends up past your cat's face so that it can't bother the incision area. These collars may also be called “protective” collars, “E-collars,” or “cone” collars. Your cat may or may not need this depending on the behavior. Try going with/without it but make sure to watch your cat. If they start to excessively dig at the wound put it on. Offer the cat food and water. You can offer your cat a little bit of water in a shallow dish (or an ice cube) as soon as you get home from the vet. Your vet will probably give you feeding instructions, and you should follow those. If you did not receive instructions, consider the following: If your cat seems alert and responsive, you can offer your cat about a quarter of its normal portion of food about 2-4 hours after you get home from surgery. Don't force the cat to eat or drink, though. If your cat is able to eat, give it another small meal in 3-6 hours. Repeat this until the cat has eaten a full portion of food, and then resume the cat's normal feeding schedule. If your cat is younger than 16 weeks old, feed your cat a small meal (about half the normal amount) as soon as you get it home and settled after surgery. If your kitten will not eat after returning home, you can try putting a small amount of maple or corn syrup on a cotton ball or q-tip and rubbing it on your cat's gums. Don't give your cat any “special” foods, treats, or junk food after surgery. Your cat's stomach may feel upset, so keep your cat's diet as regular as possible. Don't give your cat milk; cats can't digest it. Let your cat rest. Don't try to pet or play with your cat immediately after surgery. While this may feel reassuring to you, it may just keep your cat from feeling safe and rested. Avoid lifting your cat unless it’s absolutely necessary. You can easily tear your cat's surgical incision if you lift or move your cat too much. For male cats, avoid putting pressure on the scrotum (under the tail). For female cats (and male cats that had surgery for undescended testicles), avoid putting pressure on the abdomen. If you have to lift your cat, try this approach: Cup your cat's hind end with one hand and use the other hand to support your cat's chest just under the front legs. Lift the cat's body gently. Restrict your cat’s movement. For the next week after surgery, make sure your cat doesn't jump around, play, or move too much. This can irritate or cause infection at the surgical site. Remove cat trees, perches, and other furniture that your cat may enjoy jumping on. Keep your cat in a small room, such as the laundry room or bathroom, or in a kennel or crate when you are not able to supervise it. Consider carrying your cat up and down any stairs. The cat is unlikely to harm the incision or operation site by going up and downstairs, but this is a sensible precaution. Understand that cats who are in distress -- such as those who've just had surgery -- may try to escape. Be very vigilant in supervising your cat, especially for the first 24-48 hours after surgery. Avoid bathing the cat. Don't bathe your cat for 10-14 days after surgery. This can cause irritation or infection at the surgical site. If necessary, clean around the surgical incision with a slightly damp cloth (no soap), but don't get the actual incision area wet. Do not scrub the surgical area. Give pain medications only as directed by your veterinarian. Your vet may send you home with prescription medications for your cat. If so, make sure to give this medication as directed, even if you don't observe that your cat is in pain. Cats are very good at hiding pain and may be suffering even if they don't show it. Never give your cat any medication that has not been specifically prescribed by its veterinarian. Human medication, and even medications meant for other animals such as dogs, can kill cats! Do not give your cat any medicines, even over-the-counter medicines, that your vet has not verified as being appropriate for your cat. Even medications such as Tylenol can be fatal to cats. Don't apply any products to the surgical site, including antibiotics or disinfecting creams, unless your veterinarian has approved them for your cat. Watch for vomiting. If your cat vomits after eating the night you bring it home from surgery, remove the food. Try feeding a small amount of food again the next morning. If your cat vomits again, or if it has diarrhea, call your vet. Check the incision site each morning and night. For 7-10 days after surgery, check your cat's incision site every morning and night. Compare its appearance to the incision site on the first day after surgery to judge how your cat is healing. Call your veterinarian if you observe any of the following: Redness. The incision may initially be pink or light red around the edges. This redness should fade with time. If it intensifies or the incision appears dark red at any time, this could be a sign of a developing infection. Bruising. Some slight bruising that goes from red to purple as it heals is normal. If the bruising spreads, gets, worse or is severe, or if new bruising occurs, however, you should seek follow-up care right away. Swelling. Some swelling around the incision site is a normal part of healing, but if the swelling persists or worsens, you should call your veterinarian. Discharge. You may see a very small amount of light red discharge around the incision when you bring your cat home. This can be normal, but if the discharge persists for more than a day, the amount of discharge increases, the discharge is bloody or the discharge is green, yellow, white or foul smelling, your cat needs veterinary attention. Separation of the wound edges. In a male cat, the scrotal incisions will be open, but they should be small, and they should close rapidly. A female cat or a male that had abdominal surgery may or may not have visible stitches. If the cat has visible stitches, these should remain intact. If the cat does not have visible stitches, the wound edges should remain closed. If they start to separate or you notice anything, including suture material, protruding from the wound, take the cat to your veterinarian right away. Check your cat’s gums. Your cat's gums should be pale pink to red in color. When you press lightly on the gum and then let go, the color should return quickly to the area. If your cat's gums are pale or don't return to their normal color when pressed, call your vet. Look for signs of pain. Cats don't always display pain the way humans (or even dogs) do. Be on the lookout for signs of discomfort in your cat. If you see any signs of pain, your cat needs help and you should call your vet. Common signs of postoperative pain in cats include: Persistent hiding or attempts to escape Depression or lethargy Loss of appetite Hunched posture Tense abdominal muscles Growling Hissing Anxiety or skittishness Watch for other warning signs. Make sure that your cat is recovering by keeping an eye on its behavior. Anything that doesn't seem “normal” should go away within 24 hours of surgery. If you notice unusual behavior or symptoms in your cat, call your vet immediately. The following are signs to watch for: Lethargy for more than 24 hours after surgery Diarrhea Vomiting after the first night Fever or chills Decreased appetite for more than 24-48 hours after surgery Failure to eat anything after 24 hours (for adult cats) or 12 hours (for kittens) Difficult or painful urination Not defecating for more than 24-48 hours after surgery Contact an emergency vet. In most cases, contacting your normal veterinarian when you're concerned will be enough to help your cat recover. However, in certain cases, you should seek emergency care for your cat. Call an emergency vet or animal hospital if you observe any of the following in your cat: Unconsciousness Unresponsiveness Difficulty breathing Signs of extreme pain Altered mental state (the cat does not seem to recognize you or its surroundings, or is behaving very unusually) Distended abdomen Bleeding Keep any follow-up appointments. Your cat may not have skin sutures (visible stitches). However, if your cat does have sutures, your vet will need to remove them in 10-14 days after surgery. Even if your cat doesn't have sutures, keep any follow-up appointments that your veterinarian recommended.
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Provide a quiet, comfortable space for your cat. Keep your cat comfortable. Keep the lights low. Provide a clean litter box and easily accessible food and water. Keep the cat indoors. Inspect your cat’s incision area. Use an “Elizabethan” collar. Offer the cat food and water. Let your cat rest. Avoid lifting your cat unless it’s absolutely necessary. Restrict your cat’s movement. Avoid bathing the cat. Give pain medications only as directed by your veterinarian. Watch for vomiting. Check the incision site each morning and night. Check your cat’s gums. Look for signs of pain. Watch for other warning signs. Contact an emergency vet. Keep any follow-up appointments.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Know-when-You-Have-Too-Many-Pets
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How to Know when You Have Too Many Pets
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To know when you have too many pets, consider whether you have enough time to take care of all of your pets every day. If you don't, you likely have more pets than you have time for. Also, take into consideration the size of your living space. If you live in a small home and it feels cramped with all of your pets, you probably have too many. You should also take a look at your finances and make sure you're able to afford the necessary care for all of your animals.
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Consider time spent caring for your pets. Cleaning, feeding, grooming, exercising, and ensuring a supply of fresh water is available for your animals takes time. See how long it takes you each day to properly care for all the animals you own. Compare this with the amount of free time you have available after other obligations are met, such as work, school, family time, etc. Make sure you won't be neglecting another area of your life to care for all your animals. Always remember to take care of your pets. If you don't have time to take care of them all or don't remember which ones you have taken care of that day, you may have to get rid of some of them. Some animal types will require different maintenance. A long-haired dog, for example, probably needs to be brushed daily, while a cat can groom himself. Bird and hamster cages need to be cleaned out and disinfected often, with soiled bedding removed regularly. Be sure to consider the total amount of time you spend on all caretaking tasks for each animal you own each day, week, and month. The amount of free time you have available and are willing to spend caring for pets will determine how much time you spend with them. However, if it takes over two to three hours to take care of all your animals every day, then you may already have too many pets. Calculate space requirements for your pets. Consider what your living arrangements are —how large is the living area and yard space you have for your animals? If you live in a small upstairs apartment without a yard, then take that into account when thinking about how many animals you can house. If you live out in the country on several acres, then you can probably keep more animals. Remember that each animal needs to have enough room to walk around and not be in a cramped space. While space definitely needs to be considered so that everyone can live together comfortably, time is the more important factor here. If you have the time to walk your dogs, then providing a large area to run in is not as important as making sure you can take them for walks every day to meet their exercise needs. Make sure you have the ability to care for your pets. Your health status is an important factor to consider when getting more pets. Be aware of what you can and cannot handle without assistance. If you have difficulty getting around on your own, another pet may not be the best idea. Also, consider your mental health status. Depression can make it very difficult to care for yourself as well as pets. Your animals rely on you, so not taking on more than you can handle is very important for everyone's wellbeing. Animals can cause stress and contribute to mental health problems, such as anxiety. You are responsible for your pets. The more animals you have, the more their needs, health issues and behavior can weigh on you. Count the number of pets you already have. Though the number of pets you have can give you an idea of whether you already have a lot, the resources that you have available are more important than the actual number of animals you own. You need to be able to care for and provide an enriching environment for all your animals so that they can be happy and bring you joy as companions instead of more life stress. Consider what species of animals you have as well as individual temperaments and group sexual dynamics before getting another pet. Overcrowding may have a negative effect on the pets you already have. For example, it's recognized that in household with five cats or more there is a high likelihood of inappropriate spraying in order to mark territory. This is because the cats view the presence of other cats as a threat. The more cats, the bigger the perceived threat. So consider whether or not it's fair to take on another pet if it adds to the stress of your existing pets. If you can't count all your pets, or lose count, you have too many pets and shouldn't get any more. While some people may look down on a person with 10 cats, as long as the owner can provide a sanitary place to live, afford medical care and emergency services for each cat as well as meet their own needs and pay bills, then there isn't a problem. The pack mentality can increase as you get more dogs, and this can cause more behavioral problems because the social dynamics become more complex and your ability to give attention to each animal is lessened. Mixing male and female animals can increase competition. Hormones, territorial tendencies, and breeding behavior all contribute to problems you will have to deal with. Keep this in mind before adding new pets to the ones you already have. Create a budget. Write down your expected expenses and income for the month. Use bank statements, receipts, and bills to help determine what you're spending every month. Include your house or rent payment, car payments, insurance, groceries, gas, utilities, and other spending. Be sure to include all the expenses related to your pets, such as food, grooming, toys, bedding, supplies, medications, and healthcare costs. Doing this will allow you to see how much you are spending on your pets every month. Consider how adding another pet will change these numbers. Is it something you still want to do? Consider what you could spend your money on without pets. Looking at the numbers, what could you afford if you didn't have so many pets? Look at yearling savings as well as monthly. This can really show you whether another pet is worth it or not. If you didn't have pets, could you increase your entertainment costs or pay for a car? Could you take that trip you've been wanting to take? Now, think about the monthly and yearly costs associated with getting another pet. What will you have to cut out of your budget and lose? Make sure all your needs are being met. Don't skip meals to pay for your cats' litter. Make sure you get the nutrition you need and can pay your bills on time. If you're regularly making late rent payments or not going to the doctor so you can buy your dogs' food, then you probably don't need another pet. Pay for medical care. Medical care for animals can be expensive — sometimes thousands of dollars a visit. You'll want to be able to save up money regularly in case you need to pay for emergency care or buy prescription medications for your animals. You need to be financially prepared for each animal that you own. Keep up to date with shots. Many young animals need a series of vaccinations the first year and regular rabies vaccinations after that. If you have multiple animals, pet insurance may be a good option. Be sure you can make your payments every month and pay any remaining balances for each pet. Find out what the rules are. Your apartment or neighborhood may have rules that dictate the size, breed, and number of animals you can have. Check your lease, talk to your landlord or your neighborhood association to find out if there is a limit to how many animals you can keep on your property. Check city, county, and state laws. Your local animal control and zoning laws probably dictate how many animals you can keep on your property. Governing bodies do this in order to prevent unsanitary, unhealthy conditions for residents. You will want to call animal control or talk to your city or county administrative office to find out what the local laws are so you can remain in compliance. Pet hoarding, or having too many pets than you can take care of, is likely in violation of your state, city, county, or other local health and zoning laws. You could lose your pets and even your house. Make sure all pets are licensed. Many cities and counties require animals to be registered and licensed. In order to license pets, the pet often has to be spayed or neutered (or a breeder license purchased) and all shots be up to date. You can be fined or jailed if you do not have all your pets legally licensed. Consider any children in the house. Because you are responsible for your pets and your children, having too many pets can compromise your ability to care for your children. If you can't keep your property and home clean or neglect your animals, you can be charged with child neglect or endangerment as well. Make sure your children are taken care of before you consider getting anymore pets. Be courteous of others. The more animals you have, the more odors and noise they create. Don't get so many pets that your neighbors start complaining. The size of your residence will play a factor in this as well — an apartment is going to be right next to another apartment, whereas you probably have some space between houses. Many apartments and cities have noise ordinances. Check with yours to make sure that adding another barking dog won't be a problem. Be aware of pet hoarding. Some people have a mental illness that causes them to have more than the typical number of pets. They are unable to meet minimal care requirements and cannot recognize that they have a problem — even when animals become ill or die. You will need to contact your local police or health department or humane society if you or someone you know suffers from this condition. The unsanitary conditions of pet hoarding also negatively affect the community by increasing the risk of fire, creating poor air quality, attracting pests, and encouraging the transmission of infectious diseases. It is in your best interest to report suspected pet hoarding cases. When animals do not have access to enough food, live in unhygienic conditions or don't get medical care, it's considered to be animal cruelty. If you suspect you may be a pet hoarder, seek professional help right away. Find a new home for excess pets. If you find that you can't support the pets you have or take care of them, then you need to give up some of them. You and your animals all deserve to have a good quality of life. If you can no longer give them the attention, time, space, or provide the food or medical care that they need, you must allow them a chance to get the care they deserve with someone else. Friends, family members, and co-workers might be able to take one off your hands. If not, there are many rescue groups, shelters, and animal sanctuaries that can help. Put an add up in your local paper, at a local pet shop, feed store, or on an online site like craigslist.com for the animals you need to give up. Volunteer or give money to support animal rescue groups or shelters. If you can no longer take care of extra animals, you can still help out in other ways. Support documented 501(c)(3) corporations with a reputation for providing high-quality animal care however you can. Your local shelter can always use your help as well.
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Consider time spent caring for your pets. Calculate space requirements for your pets. Make sure you have the ability to care for your pets. Count the number of pets you already have. Create a budget. Consider what you could spend your money on without pets. Make sure all your needs are being met. Pay for medical care. Find out what the rules are. Check city, county, and state laws. Make sure all pets are licensed. Consider any children in the house. Be courteous of others. Be aware of pet hoarding. Find a new home for excess pets. Volunteer or give money to support animal rescue groups or shelters.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Give-Someone-a-Guilt-Trip
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How to Give Someone a Guilt Trip
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To give someone a guilt trip so they will apologize to you, start by asking them leading questions to get the person to admit what they did. You can also bring up similar past situations to make it seem like this is a pattern of behavior that you've come to expect from them. Then, tell the person that what they did makes you question the way you feel about them. If the person still isn't feeling guilty enough to apologize to you, kick the drama up a notch by crying, yelling, or making a scene. Don't forget to play on their emotions by using loaded words like "disappointed," "selfish," and “ashamed” to fuel their internal guilt!
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Ask questions to get the person to admit what they did. If the person won't even admit that they did something wrong, they're probably not going to apologize. Accusing them outright will often cause them to become defensive, but you may be able to get them to confess by asking them leading questions. At the very least, you might catch them in a lie that you can prove is untrue. For instance, if you found out that your boyfriend was out with another woman, you might start by asking him something like, "Why didn't you answer the phone when I called you earlier?" If he says he was at work, you could say, “No you weren't, because I called there too.” If you know your teenager took cash out of your wallet, you could say, “Where did you get the money to go to the movies last night?” Be careful of accusing someone of something they may not have done. If they get blamed when they haven't done anything, they might start to feel like they might as well do whatever they're accused of. Bring up other things they've done wrong. Playing the victim is an integral part of a guilt trip. Make it seem like this is a pattern of behavior you've come to expect, and certainly not one that you deserve. It's most effective if you bring up things that are similar to whatever you're trying to get the person to apologize for, but it can be anything that upset you. For example, if you're trying to get your spouse to apologize for being irritable, you might say, “It's not the first time you've snapped at me. Remember the other day when you said...?" Only do this when you absolutely must, since it opens the door for the other person to bring up things they feel you've done to hurt them as well. Play on their feelings for you. Tell the person that what they did makes you question the way they feel about you. In some cases, this might very well be true, especially if what you're upset about is something very serious. Either way, make sure the person you're guilt-tripping feels like they need to prove that they still care about you. Say something like, "How can you say you love me and then lie to me?" You could also say "It really hurt my feelings that you forgot my birthday. Don't I matter to you?" Remind them of some good things you've done for them. Put their actions into stark contrast by bringing up some of the good things you've done for them. The more recent or grand the gesture, the better, but anything will work. It doesn't even have to have anything to do with the subject at hand; just so long as it shows what a good person you are. If someone takes something from you without permission, you could say, "After everything I've given you, how could you steal from me?” You might also say something like, "I guess it didn't mean anything to you that I brought you flowers the other day, since you want to pick a fight with me today." You could also say something like, “I've cooked dinner for you every night for 5 years, but you can't remember to pick up a carton of milk on the way home?” Overdoing this can actually make the person less grateful over time, since whenever you do something nice for them, they'll be wondering how long it will be before you throw it back in their face. Deflect any of their attempts to make the situation your fault. When you're giving someone a guilt trip, they'll often try to do the same thing to you in return. Even if you've done something wrong, don't acknowledge it. Instead, turn everything back on what the other person did. For instance, if you want your boyfriend to apologize for texting another girl, he might try to make you feel guilty for going through his phone. In this case, you could say something like, "Well, it turns out I had a reason to be suspicious, didn't I?" Even if you lose your temper, you can say something along the lines of, "I wouldn't yell if you didn't make me feel like this!" Refusing to admit when you're wrong might be an effective technique for a guilt trip, but it's not a good approach to having a healthy relationship. Amp up the emotions. If the person is resisting your attempts to guilt them into apologizing, it's time to turn on the drama. Cry, yell, stomp around, whatever you feel like doing—eventually they'll probably be so desperate to calm you down that they'll say whatever you want to hear. Play on the other person's emotions, as well. Use words like "disappointed," "selfish," and “ashamed” to fuel their internal guilt. Highlight any of your recent achievements or good deeds. When you're getting ready to ask for something, start out by painting yourself in a positive light. The better you look, the more effective your guilt trip will be. For instance, if you want a new phone, you might start off by saying, “Hey Dad, check out my report card! I only got one B this whole year!” If you're trying to get someone to donate to your charitable organization, you could list some of the good things the charity has done to help the community. Appeal to the other person's negative emotions as you ask for what you want. Sadness, pity, anger, injustice, and shame are all powerful motivators. When you're trying to get someone to give you something, making them feel a negative emotion can encourage them to give in, just so that feeling is replaced by something more positive. For instance, if you want your parents to take you out to eat, you might say, "I was really hoping we could go somewhere and spend time as a family, but I guess that's not important." If you want a new outfit, you might say, “I feel embarrassed because my clothes aren't as nice as the other kids at school.” Use exaggerated language like “always” and “never” to further your point. For instance, you might say, “You always work, and you never spend any time with me.” Equate the thing you want with happiness or love. Once you've appealed to the other person's negative emotions, give them a reason to believe that giving in to you will make them—and you—feel better. Use words like “love,” “happiness,” and “the best” to get your point across. This technique is especially effective with parents, who are usually motivated by showing you their love. For instance, you might say "Don't you want me to be happy?" or “By helping me, you'd be making yourself feel good, too!” You could also "Don't you love me?" or "If you really loved me, you'd..." Keep in mind that your parents actually do love you, and exploiting that for something small is a mean manipulative trick. It might be effective, but it also might make them mad. Keep asking in different ways even if they say no the first time. Even the best guilt trip won't necessarily work the first time. If the person doesn't give you what you want, take a break and try again later. Be persistent, and they might eventually give in just to get you off of their backs. If they say no the first time, say something like, "I know you said no, but think about it like this..." You could also wait a few days, then say, "I wish you would reconsider letting me drive your car this weekend.”
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Ask questions to get the person to admit what they did. Bring up other things they've done wrong. Play on their feelings for you. Remind them of some good things you've done for them. Deflect any of their attempts to make the situation your fault. Amp up the emotions. Highlight any of your recent achievements or good deeds. Appeal to the other person's negative emotions as you ask for what you want. Equate the thing you want with happiness or love. Keep asking in different ways even if they say no the first time.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Cook-a-Pumpkin
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How to Cook a Pumpkin
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Before you cook your pumpkin, wash the skin and scrub it with a cloth. Next, place the pumpkin on a cutting board and insert a sharp knife at a 45-degree angle 1 inch away from the stem. Cut around the stem at this angle, remove it, and cut the pumpkin in half. Turn the two halves cut side up and scoop out the seeds and stringy parts with a spoon. To cook, place the pumpkin skin side up in a baking tray, add 1/4 inch of water, and bake at 300 °F for an hour.
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Wash the skin. Rinse the pumpkin under running water and scrub the skin and around the stem area with a vegetable brush or cloth. This will remove any dirt or residue from the growing or shipping process. Pat the pumpkin dry with a clean towel. It's not necessary to use soap, detergent, or other cleaners to wash produce. Cut out the stem. Transfer the pumpkin to a cutting board. Hold the pumpkin in place with one hand and place the tip of a sharp knife 1 inch (2.5 cm) away from the stem. Insert the knife at a 45-degree downward and inward angle to cut around and under the stem. Cut all the way around the stem at this angle, and then pull out the stem. Always be very careful when using sharp knives, and never cut toward your body. Cut the pumpkin in half. Hold the pumpkin steady with one hand, and use a large chef's knife to cut the pumpkin in half down the middle. This is another reason why it's beneficial to use smaller pumpkins, because they're easier to manage and their skin and flesh is easier to cut. Scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp. Lay the two pumpkin halves on a cutting board, cut sides up. Use a large spoon to scrape out the seeds and stringy pulp from the center of the pumpkin. Discard the stringy bits of flesh. Toast the seeds (optional). Instead of throwing out the seeds, you can keep them to roast if you like. Separate the seeds from the stringy flesh, rinse the seeds, and transfer them to a colander to drain. Spread the seeds out on a baking sheet, drizzle them with oil, and season with salt. Bake the seeds at 325 °F (163 °C) for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow the seeds to cool, and enjoy as a snack, on salads, or in baked goods. Roast the pumpkin in the oven for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 300 °F (149 °C). Transfer the 2 pumpkin halves to a baking dish or roasting pan, and arrange them in the dish with the skin sides up. Add ⁄ 4 inch (0.64 cm) of water to the bottom of the dish to keep the pumpkin moist. Place the pumpkin in the oven and bake it for about an hour, or until the flesh is tender enough to pierce with a fork. Baking pumpkin in the oven is among the most popular cooking methods, because roasting imparts the flesh with a rich flavor. Slow cook it on high for 4 hours. Transfer the pumpkin halves to the slow cooker with the skins facing up. Add ⁄ 4 inch (1.9 cm) of water to keep the bottom of the pumpkin from drying out. Put on the lid and set the slow cooker to high. Cook the pumpkin for about 4 hours, until the flesh is tender. Slow cooker pumpkin takes the longest to cook, but the benefit is that you can leave and do other things while the pumpkin is cooking. Microwave it for 15 to 20 minutes. Place the pumpkin halves into a large microwave-safe bowl. Add 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water and cover the dish with a microwave-safe lid. Leave a corner of the lid unsealed to allow steam to escape. Cook the pumpkin on high for 15 minutes. Test the pumpkin for doneness, and continue cooking in 5-minute increments until the flesh is soft, tender, and easily pierced with a fork. Cooking pumpkin in the microwave is the quickest method. Steam it for 8 to 12 minutes. Insert a metal steamer basket into a large saucepan. Place the pumpkin halves into the steamer basket. Fill the saucepan with 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5.1 cm) of water, making sure it's not actually touching the pumpkin. Put on a lid and bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. When the water is boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook the pumpkin for 8 to 12 minutes, until soft. You can also use a dedicated steamer. Fill the bottom reservoir to the minimum fill line and cook the pumpkin for 8 to 12 minutes. The benefit of steaming is that it infuses the skin with lots of water, making it very easy to peel. Allow the pumpkin to cool for up to an hour. When the pumpkin is soft and tender, remove it from the oven, slow cooker, microwave, or steamer. Protect your hands with oven mitts and transfer the halves to a wire cooling rack. Set the pumpkin aside to cool for 30 to 60 minutes, until it's comfortable enough to handle safely. Peel off the skin. When the pumpkin is cool enough to touch, use your fingers to peel the skin away from the tender flesh. The skin will come off in strips, but be careful to leave as much flesh behind as possible. Use a sharp knife to slice away any stubborn areas where the skin doesn't want to come off. Cut the flesh into cubes. Transfer the peeled pumpkin to a cutting board with the cut sides down. Chop the flesh into 1 inch (2.5 cm) cubes. You can use the cubes for salads, soups, roasts, and other dishes, or you can blend the cubes to make a puree for baked goods and other recipes. Pulse the pumpkin in a blender. To make a puree, transfer the pumpkin cubes to a blender. Pulse the pumpkin for about 3 minutes, until it's smooth and free of chunks. Each 6-inch (15-cm) pumpkin will yield between 2 and 3 cups (450 and 675 g) of puree. Instead of a blender, you can also use a food processor, immersion blender, potato masher, or food mill. Drain the puree in a colander overnight. Line a colander with large disposable coffee filters or clean cheesecloth. Pour the puree into the colander and cover it with plastic wrap. Place the colander over a large bowl and transfer it all to the refrigerator. Leave the puree to drain overnight. If you don't drain the puree, there will be too much water in the pumpkin, and it will affect the flavor and recipe ratios. Add it to soups or stews. Pumpkin is a type of squash, and pumpkin soup is similar in texture and flavor to butternut squash soup. You can start with the puree to make a pumpkin soup , or you can add chunks of cooked pumpkin to other soups and stews. Use it for pie filling. Pumpkin pie is a holiday favorite for Thanksgiving and Christmas desserts, and there's no better way to customize a pie than by using your own homemade pumpkin puree. The best part about homemade puree is that you can spice it however you like, and some popular choices include: Cinnamon Allspice Cloves Ginger Nutmeg Stir it into oatmeal. Pumpkin puree is a delicious addition to oatmeal, and it gives this breakfast dish a rich and tangy kick. Stir ¼ cup (56 g) of puree into prepared oatmeal and season the dish with your favorite accompaniments, such as brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, or milk. Make pumpkin baked goods. Pumpkin-flavored baked goods are extremely popular in the fall and around the holiday season. There are many different pumpkin baked goods you can make using homemade puree, including: Pumpkin bread or loaf Cookies Pancakes Pumpkin cake Store excess in the refrigerator for up to a week. Transfer the puree or cubes to an airtight container and place the pumpkin in the refrigerator. As long as it stays chilled and out of the air, the pumpkin will last up to 7 days. Freeze it for up to 3 months. Transfer the pumpkin puree or cubes to an airtight and freezer-safe container or plastic bag. For easy use, divide the pumpkin into 1-cup (225-g) portions and freeze the portions in individual containers.
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Wash the skin. Cut out the stem. Cut the pumpkin in half. Scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp. Toast the seeds (optional). Roast the pumpkin in the oven for 1 hour. Slow cook it on high for 4 hours. Microwave it for 15 to 20 minutes. Steam it for 8 to 12 minutes. Allow the pumpkin to cool for up to an hour. Peel off the skin. Cut the flesh into cubes. Pulse the pumpkin in a blender. Drain the puree in a colander overnight. Add it to soups or stews. Use it for pie filling. Stir it into oatmeal. Make pumpkin baked goods. Store excess in the refrigerator for up to a week. Freeze it for up to 3 months.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Play-Othello
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How to Play Othello
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Othello, also known as Reversi, is a fun 2-player board game where players try to trap and collect more pieces than their opponent. To set up the game, place 4 pieces in the center squares on the board so 2 of the pieces are white-side up and 2 of the pieces are black-side up, with the matching colors diagonal from each other. Flip a coin to see who gets to be black, since black goes first. Then, split the remaining tokens up equally between you and your opponent. On your turn, place one of your tokens on the board with your color facing up. In order to place a token on the board, you must place it somewhere that outflanks your opponent, which means it sandwiches one of the horizontal, vertical, or diagonal rows of their tokens between two of your tokens, one on each end. When you outflank an opponent, you flip all of their tokens in between your 2 tokens on the end upside down so they're your color now. After your done with your turn, your opponent goes and places one of their tokens on the board to outflank one of your rows. If you're unable to outflank your opponent on your turn, you skip your turn. Play continues like this until every square on the board is filled or neither your nor your opponent can make a legal move. Then, you both count the number of tokens you have on the board. Whoever has the most tokens at the end of the game wins!
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Get the game board and 64 black and white discs. Get out an 8 by 8 in (20 by 20 cm) checkered board and discs. Othello includes 64 discs, which are black on one side and white on the other. You can use a chess or checkers board if you do not have an Othello board. Place 2 black and 2 white discs at the center of the board. One player plays discs black side up and the other plays white side up. The less experienced player should play the black pieces because black goes first and this provides an advantage. However, if you are both at the same level, then flip a coin to see who will play black. Place 4 discs in the center of the board so that 2 are black side up and 2 are white side up. Arrange the discs with the matching colors diagonal to each other. Distribute the remaining discs evenly between you and your opponent. Each player should have 30 of the remaining discs. Set up the board to give the inexperienced player the advantage. If you and your opponent are at the same level, then you do not need to place any additional pieces on the board. However, to level the playing field between an experienced and inexperienced player, start with more discs turned in the inexperienced player's favor that cannot be flipped over, such as in the corners of the board. In other words, set up the board as usual, but place 1 of the inexperienced player's discs into each corner of the board to give them a 4 point lead. These discs cannot be flipped over, so it will make for a fairer game. Do not place any additional pieces on the board beyond the ones you add to give the inexperienced player an advantage. Allow the less experienced player to go first. Black always goes first in Othello, and the less experienced player should take this color. If the players are equal in skill level, then you may flip a coin to see who gets to be black, or allow the player who lost the last game to be black. Place the first disc in a spot that surrounds an opponent’s disc. This is also known as “outflanking” in Othello. A “row” consists of one or more discs that form a line horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. For example, if the opponent has a disc next to 1 of your discs in a vertical row, then place a disc on the open side of their disc in the same row to outflank your opponent's disc. Flip the outflanked disc to its opposite side. Once a disc is outflanked, flip it over to the opposite color. This disc now belongs to you as long as it remains flipped on that side. However, the same disc may be turned over again if it is part of a row that is outflanked. For example, if the disc was white before it was outflanked, then turn it to the black side after it is outflanked. Pass the turn to your opponent to continue playing. Your opponent's goal is also to place a disc in a spot that outflanks at least 1 of the first player's discs. If the second player plays the white discs, they would place 1 of their discs at the end of a row. Your opponent should place their white disc so that a black disc is framed by 2 white discs on each side (or vice versa if you are playing white). Then, make sure your opponent flips the outflanked black disks to white. Remember that the row can be horizontal, diagonal or vertical. Continue taking turns placing discs until a legal move isn’t possible. Always place discs in a position where they can outflank a row of the opponent's discs. If this isn't possible, you must forfeit your turn until you can perform a legal move. If neither player can perform a legal move, then the game is over. If a legal move is available, you may not forfeit your turn, even if it would be advantageous to do so. Try to establish stable disc positions. While it might seem like flipping as many discs as possible is the key to victory, this actually makes you more vulnerable. Most positions on the board can be outflanked. The edges of the board and the corners are the most stable positions. Discs in the corners cannot be outflanked and discs along the edges are harder to outflank, so work towards getting discs in the edges and corners of the board. Avoid playing discs in the spaces immediately next to the extreme corners or next to the edge rows whenever possible, as this gives your opponent the chance to outflank you and gain the corner position. Give your opponent a disc to play if they run out. If you have skipped a few turns and your opponent has continued to play discs, then they may run out of discs before you do. If this happens, gameplay continues until neither of you can make another move. Give your opponent 1 of your remaining discs so they can make their move. For example, if your opponent has played all 30 of their discs and you have 4 left, then give them 1 if they can make a legal move. Wait to make moves that your opponent cannot take. If you have the opportunity to make a move that is unavailable to your opponent, look for a different option to play that turn and save the other move for later. This gives you an advantage by limiting your opponent's available moves while also ensuring that there will be a move available to you later in the game. For example, if you can place a disc in a corner, but your opponent is unable to do so, then hang onto this move and do something else with your turn instead. Limit the number of discs you flip over early in the game. Flipping lots of discs early on actually gives your opponent an advantage. Instead, make moves that only flip over 1 or 2 discs until you have played about half or more of your discs. By waiting to make big moves, your opponent will be more limited in what they can do. For example, if there is a move available to you that would allow you to flip 4 discs and a move that would allow you to flip 2 discs, take the 2 disc move. Avoid boxing yourself in or limiting your mobility. It may seem like a great strategy to only play along the edges of the board, but this may end up limiting your available moves. Ensure that you are placing discs in a variety of locations around the board. Otherwise, your opponent may see an opportunity to block your other moves and you will lose the game. For example, instead of only placing discs along an open edge, place discs on the edge, on the inside of the board, and in corners when possible. Count the number of discs of each color to determine a winner. Once there are no more legal moves, add up all of the discs of each color. The player with more discs of his color wins the game. For example, if black has 23 discs on the board and white has 20 discs on the board, then black is the winner. Set a time limit for a more intense game. You may set a specific time limit for each player's total moves if you want to play a fast, intense game of Othello. This means the game may end before you and your opponent run out of legal moves. Keep the clock running while each player takes their turn and pause the clock when they pass the turn to their opponent. Each player will need their own timer to stop and start for this option. You may choose a time limit that appeals to you and your opponent. For example, World championship rules typically give each player a total of 30 minutes to make all of their moves. This time is reduced after each turn until a player runs out of time or the game is over. However, you can set a time limit as low as 5 minutes per player if you prefer faster games.
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Get the game board and 64 black and white discs. Place 2 black and 2 white discs at the center of the board. Set up the board to give the inexperienced player the advantage. Allow the less experienced player to go first. Place the first disc in a spot that surrounds an opponent’s disc. Flip the outflanked disc to its opposite side. Pass the turn to your opponent to continue playing. Continue taking turns placing discs until a legal move isn’t possible. Try to establish stable disc positions. Give your opponent a disc to play if they run out. Wait to make moves that your opponent cannot take. Limit the number of discs you flip over early in the game. Avoid boxing yourself in or limiting your mobility. Count the number of discs of each color to determine a winner. Set a time limit for a more intense game.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Snickerdoodles
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How to Make Snickerdoodles
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To make snickerdoodles, stir the butter, shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Next, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Then, gradually add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients, stirring between each addition. Finally, shape the dough into balls and roll each ball in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar before baking the cookies for 6-10 minutes at 400°F.
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Mix the butter and shortening together with a wooden spoon. Stir until they are well combined. Add the sugar. Mix again until the ingredients are light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Stir until the ingredients are well combined. Whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients. Stir until they are just combined. Continue adding the dry ingredients gradually, stirring between each addition. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl using a fork or a whisk. Scoop the dough out by the tablespoon. Shape it into balls using clean hands. Roll each ball in the cinnamon and sugar mixture using your hands. Place each ball of dough onto the baking sheet, leaving about 2”/5 centimeter (2.0 in) of space around each ball. This will allow the dough to spread as it cooks. Bake the cookies for 6 to 10 minutes. A shorter cooking time produces a softer cookie, while a slightly longer cooking time produces a crunchier cookie. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the stovetop for 2 minutes. Loosen the cookies from the baking sheet using a spatula. Place them on wire racks to cool completely. Carefully arrange them on a serving plate. Treat your guests to some sweets.
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Mix the butter and shortening together with a wooden spoon. Add the sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla. Whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients. Continue adding the dry ingredients gradually, stirring between each addition. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl using a fork or a whisk. Scoop the dough out by the tablespoon. Roll each ball in the cinnamon and sugar mixture using your hands. Place each ball of dough onto the baking sheet, leaving about 2”/5 centimeter (2.0 in) of space around each ball. Bake the cookies for 6 to 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the stovetop for 2 minutes. Loosen the cookies from the baking sheet using a spatula. Carefully arrange them on a serving plate.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Research-a-Topic
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How to Research a Topic
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To research a topic, you should use scholarly articles, books, and authoritative webpages, since they'll offer the most reliable information. You can find good sources by searching for keywords related to your topic online or using an academic database. For example, if your topic is about saving wild tigers, you could include keywords like "conservation," "tigers," and "wildlife," in your searches. Once you find a source you want to use, double check that it's up to date and written by someone trustworthy before you use it. Additionally, make sure you keep track of all your sources, since you'll need to make a reference list that includes each source you used.
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Read through your assignment instructions carefully. How much leeway you have to develop your research question depends on how tightly your assignment is structured. Make sure you understand what your instructor wants so you can find a topic you're interested in learning about that best suits the assignment. If you don't understand any aspect of the assignment, don't be afraid to ask your instructor directly. It's better to get an explanation about something than to assume you know what it means and later find out your assumption was incorrect. Brainstorm some topics that interest you and fall within the assignment's parameters. Typically, an instructor will provide a broad topic area, then expect you to find a more narrow topic to research that falls within that broad area. For example, suppose your instructor assigned a research paper about a "public health concern." You might make a list that included such public health concerns as teenage vaping, anti-vaxxers, and drunk driving. From your list, choose one area in particular that you want to look at. This is where you'll start your research. For the purposes of this example, assume you chose to research vaping among teenagers. Look up general information about the topic. Once you've got an idea for a more narrow topic you want to focus on, do an online search to see generally what information is out there about it. At this point, pay attention to the amount of information available and the issues raised by some of that information. If you're doing a general internet search on your topic and not getting back a lot of strong results, there may not be enough information out there for you to research that topic. This is typically rare, though, unless you've started off with a topic that's too narrow. For example, if you want to study vaping in your high school, you might not find enough sources. However, if you expanded your search to include all high schools in your state, you might have more luck. If you don't know a whole lot about your topic, look for a resource that will provide a general overview so you can become more familiar with possible questions you could answer in your research paper. Decide on the question you want to answer through your research. After you've done a little preliminary research, you'll likely have some idea of the kinds of issues that are pressing in your chosen area. Form a question based on one of those issues that you can answer through research. For example, if you wanted to look at teenagers and vaping, you might decide to ask the question "Are teenagers who vape more likely to smoke than teenagers who don't?" How you frame your question also depends on the type of paper you're writing. For example, if you were writing a persuasive research essay, you would need to make a statement, and then back that statement up with research. For example, instead of asking if teenagers who vape are more likely to smoke than teenagers who don't, you might say "Teenagers who vape are more likely to start smoking." Look for information about your specific question. At this point, you're ready to do some preliminary research based on the question you've chosen. It can help to type your exact question into the search engine, then go through the results you get. Look at the number of results you get, as well as the quality of the sources. You might also try an academic search engine, such as Google Scholar, to see how much academic material is out there on your chosen question. Refine your question based on the information you find. You may find that your question is too broad or too narrow based on the number of potential sources you find. To adjust the scope of your question, look at "who," "when," and "where." For example, if you've chosen teenagers who vape, the "who" would be teenagers. If a search of that topic yields too much information, you might scale it back by looking at a specific 5-year period (the "when") or only at teenagers in a specific state (the "where"). If you needed to broaden your question on the same topic, you may decide to look at teenagers and young adults under the age of 25, not just teenagers. Identify the types of sources you'll likely need. The types of sources you'll use for your research depend on your grade level or education level. Generally, you can use short journal articles or webpages for a shorter paper. For a longer paper, you'll likely need to look at books and longer scholarly articles. While the requirements differ based on your assignment and the topic you're researching, you may find these guidelines helpful: 1- to 2-page paper: 2 to 3 webpages or short journal articles 3- to 5-page paper: 4 to 8 journal or scholarly articles, webpages, or books 5- to 10-page paper: 6 to 15 journal or scholarly articles, webpages, or books 10- to 15-page paper: 12 to 20 journal or scholarly articles, webpages, or books Use topical keywords to find your initial sources. The success of your research depends on searching the right keywords, especially in its initial stages. Brainstorm a list of keywords, including synonyms. For example, if you're researching the prevalence of vaping among teenagers, you might also include "adolescents" and "youth" as synonyms for teenagers, along with "tobacco use" or "e-cigarettes" as synonyms for vaping. Take advantage of academic databases available online through your school in addition to the internet. Evaluate potential sources using the CRAAP method. The letters stand for Currency, Reliability, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose/Point of view. This method provides you an easy way to quickly and uniformly evaluate the quality of potential sources you find by asking specific questions about the source: Currency : How recent is the information? When was the source last updated? Reliability : Are there references for facts and data? Is the content mostly opinion? Authority : Who is the creator of the content? Who is the publisher? Are they biased in any way? Does the creator have academic credentials in the field? Accuracy : Has the content been peer-reviewed or edited by a third party? Is information supported by evidence? Can you easily verify facts in another source? Purpose/Point of view : Is the content intended to teach you something or to sell you something? Is the information presented biased? Mine reference lists to find additional sources you can use. When you find a good source for your topic, chances are that source cites other valuable sources that you can look up. The biggest benefit of this is that you don't have to do as much work evaluating the quality of these sources – the author of the source that cited them has already done that for you. If an author mentions a particular source more than once, you definitely want to read that material. The reference list typically contains enough information for you to find the source on your own. If you find that you can't access the source, for example, because it's behind a paywall, talk to your school or a public librarian about it. They may be able to get you access. Take notes about each resource you find. Using a set of index cards enables you to place each note on a separate card, which will make it easier for you to organize your notes later. There are also computer apps, such as Evernote, Microsoft OneNote, or Scrivener, that will allow you to do this digitally. Some of these apps are free, while others require you to purchase a subscription. List the citation information for the source at the top of the card, then take notes in your own words. Include the page numbers (if applicable) that you would use in your citation. If you copy something directly from the source, put quote marks around those words and write the page number (if applicable) where that quote appears. You may also want to distinguish quotes even further, for example, by having quotes in a different color text than your own words. This will help protect you against accidental plagiarism. Create a spreadsheet with bibliographic information for all of your sources. A spreadsheet allows you to quickly organize and find the citation information for your sources as you work on your paper. Having this information ready allows for the least disruption of your writing process. Include columns for the full citation and in-text citation for each of your sources. Provide a column for your notes and add them to your spreadsheet. If you have direct quotes, you might include a separate column for those quotes. Many word processing apps have citation features that will allow you to input a new source from a list, so you only have to type the citation once. With a spreadsheet, you can simply cut and paste. Categorize your notes into groups of similar information. As you were taking notes, you likely grouped those notes by the source where you found them. Now, look at the information covered by each source and come up with categories of information. Then you can start stacking or grouping note cards together that fall into the same category. For example, if you were writing a paper on teenagers and vaping, you may have notes related to the age teenagers started vaping, the reasons they started vaping, and their exposure to tobacco or nicotine before they started vaping. If you used a digital note-taking app, you typically would categorize your notes by adding tags to them. Some notes may have more than one tag, depending on the information it covered. Order your categories in a way that answers your research question. Look at your categories and try to formulate a logical order that answers your questions or tells the persuasive story that you want to tell through your research. You may have to rearrange them more than once to find the best fit. For example, suppose your research indicated that teenagers who vaped were more likely to switch to regular cigarettes if someone in their household smoked. The category covering teenage vapers' exposure to tobacco or nicotine before they started vaping would most likely be the first thing you talked about in your paper, assuming you wanted to put the strongest evidence first. Draft a basic outline for your paper based on your order of categories. Now that you've put your categories in order, you're ready to create a rough outline of your paper. Keep in mind this may change when you start writing, but for now, it will give you a roadmap and help you identify any problems or weak spots in your research. Unless your instructor has specific requirements for your outline, you can make it as detailed or as simple as you want. Some people prefer full sentences in their outlines, while others have sections with just a word or two. Working through the outline methodically can help you identify information that you don't have yet that you need to support your thesis or answer your research question. Review your notes and adjust your research question as necessary. As you researched, you may have found that you weren't asking the right question. You may also have found that there was more information available than you previously thought and you need to narrow your focus. Even at this late stage, don't be afraid to change your question to more accurately frame your research. Because of your research, you know a lot more about the topic than you did when you first wrote your question, so it's natural that you would see ways to improve it. Search for additional sources to fill holes in your research. When looking at your notes and outline, you may realize that some points are more well-supported than others. You may also find small issues that you hadn't noticed before that need to be addressed. For example, when outlining your paper about teenagers and vaping, you may realize that you don't have any information on how teenagers access e-cigarettes and whether that access is legal or illegal. If you're writing a paper about teenagers vaping as a public health concern, this is information you would need to know. It's also likely that as you formulated your outline, you discovered that you didn't need some sources you previously thought would be valuable. In that situation, you may need to look for more sources, especially if throwing out a source took you below the minimum number of sources required for your assignment.
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Read through your assignment instructions carefully. Brainstorm some topics that interest you and fall within the assignment's parameters. Look up general information about the topic. Decide on the question you want to answer through your research. Look for information about your specific question. Refine your question based on the information you find. Identify the types of sources you'll likely need. Use topical keywords to find your initial sources. Evaluate potential sources using the CRAAP method. Mine reference lists to find additional sources you can use. Take notes about each resource you find. Create a spreadsheet with bibliographic information for all of your sources. Categorize your notes into groups of similar information. Order your categories in a way that answers your research question. Draft a basic outline for your paper based on your order of categories. Review your notes and adjust your research question as necessary. Search for additional sources to fill holes in your research.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Describe-Your-Personality
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How to Describe Your Personality
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To describe your personality, be sure to tailor your language to the context. If you're trying to describe yourself on a resumé, avoid using adjectives and instead focus on facts, interests, and experiences to make a good impression. If you're describing your personality to family and friends, feel free to use adjectives, but you may want to steer clear of words like "likeable," "humble," and "generous," since they can seem conceited!
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Build your vocabulary. Doing personality tests and reading up on personality types will help you form a vocabulary of words that describe who you are. If you're at a loss for words, you can also look up lists of personality adjectives. An Internet search of “personality adjectives” will return a variety of websites from which you can draw ideas. Know what words to avoid. Some words may sound great when others use them to describe you, but when you use them to describe yourself, you might end up sounding conceited or otherwise off-putting. Words to avoid: Charismatic — Calling yourself this will only make you seem full of yourself. Generous — Leave this for others to decide based upon your behaviour. Humble — Calling yourself humble is something a humble person probably would not do. Witty — People who think they're funny rarely are. Even the funniest people are full of self doubt. Empathetic — Empathy is another descriptor that is best shown through action. Describing yourself as empathetic is like bragging about being humble. Fearless — We all have fears. Saying you're fearless will likely make you seem overly confident and may even make you difficult to relate to. Intelligent — People can tell if you're smart. You don't need to tell them. Likable — To whom are you likable? Everyone? Saying you're likable might even make people unconsciously search for reasons not to like you. Show, don’t tell. A safe way to describe yourself is to use stories to show who you are instead of simply stating adjectives. A common mantra amongst writers is to “show not tell”. The same goes for describing your personality, particularly in job interviews. As an example, instead of saying that you're kind and patient, you could tell a story in which you helped a customer or de-escalated a difficult situation in a previous job. Instead of telling friends that you're adventurous, tell them that you like to go on adventures, and then describe one of your favourite ones — for example, that time you went for a challenging 7-day hike, or that month you spent backpacking in Asia. Focus on the facts. If you're trying to find words to describe yourself on a resumé, it's better to focus on the facts instead of describing yourself with adjectives. Adjectives only tell the employer how you see yourself, whereas facts about your past work and achievements will speak for themselves. As an example, if you're applying for a job as a customer service representative, give examples of situations in which you were patient and pro-active while dealing with people. Tailor your language to the context. Describing yourself to friends or family will be different from describing yourself in a job interview. In both cases you still want to be honest about yourself, but in a job interview you should describe the best version of yourself. Taking it a step further, tailor your words to the situation at hand. It's important to be honest about your strengths and weaknesses, but which of these you reveal will depend on the context in which you're sharing them. As an example, imagine you're applying for a job in which you'll be working with people. Even if you're good with people, if you say you're an introvert who likes to spend time alone, your employer may not feel confident hiring you. Talk about your interests and experiences. Instead of using adjectives to describe yourself, talk about your interests and experiences. Imagine if you only stood in front of someone and described yourself with adjectives. It would be pretty funny (and awkward): “Hello, my name is Doe, and I am tidy, anxious, detail-oriented, empathetic, and happy to meet you.” Maybe if you were writing a profile for a dating site, you could get away with that, but even then it'd be a bit strange. Try instead: “My name is Doe. I'm a barista, which is great because I love coffee, jazz, making designs with milk, and wearing aprons. I also enjoy movies (especially sci-fi and documentaries) and hiking. …” Don’t only talk about yourself. If you're looking to describe yourself to a friend or romantic interest, remember to ask them questions about themselves too. Being a good listener is one of the most important things you can do to get people to like you. Never lie about your personality. As you get to know yourself, you'll realize that there are certain things you can and cannot do, and that's okay. Be honest about your strengths and weaknesses, with yourself and with others. Being dishonest about your strengths and weaknesses can land you in a job that you're terrible at or with friends who you don't click with. Keep a journal. If you're finding it difficult to articulate who you are, you might find it useful to start journalling. Regularly recording your thoughts and feelings in a journal will help make you more self aware. You can even use your journal specifically to explore what makes you you. Studies have shown that people who journal are both physically and mentally healthier. Aim for 15 to 20 minutes a day. Even journalling only a couple of days a month can be helpful. Start a “me” book. If you're seeking to figure out who you are, you might benefit from designating a book or binder for all of the materials you use in your quest to discover who you are. This could include journal entries, personality tests, creative writing, drawings — whatever you want to put in it. Make lists. Making lists of things that are important to you will help you get more in touch with who you are. Here are some examples of the types of lists you could make: Likes and dislikes — Fold a piece of paper in half. At the top of one half, write “Likes” and on the top of the other half, write “Dislikes”. This could be a potentially enormous project, so limit your likes and dislikes to one category per list: films, books, foods, games, people. What I would do if I had unlimited money — You might even make this one into a brainstorm or a drawing. Just list the things you would buy or goals you would pursue if money weren't an issue. The things I'm most afraid of — What are your deepest fears? Spiders? Death? Loneliness? Write these down. What makes me happy? — Make a list of things that make you happy. You can even describe specific scenarios in which you've felt happy or in which you think you'd be happy. Ask yourself why. Making lists is only the first step. The next step is to think critically about why you like and dislike certain things, or why certain things scare you while others make you happy. By forcing yourself to answer the question “why”, you'll get to know yourself better. Research personality traits online or in a book. Career books and psychology books will often contain descriptions of personality traits as well as self tests that you can take to determine what your personality is. Take personality tests. You can find these in career and psychology books, or online. There are myriad websites that offer free personality tests. Just make sure that you choose a reputable one. Avoiding taking tests on pop culture websites as these are more likely to be created by non-professionals who are not actually trained in psychological evaluation. Sites like Buzzfeed are popular for these sorts of tests, which are fun but not scientifically accurate. If you end up on a website that asks you to enter personal information beyond your email address, age and sex, you may want to double-check to make sure that the site is safe. A free site has no reason to ask you for credit card details, your exact date of birth, your full name, or your address. Match your interests to personality traits. Once you have a sense of the different types of personality traits, go over your lists and journal entries to see if you recognize any signs of specific traits. If you do dangerous things or often talk about wanting to go on adventures, you might describe yourself as an adventurous risk-taker, or a daredevil. If you think you're often trying to help people, you might be generous or loyal, or, on a negative side, a doormat (people pleaser). If you are often making people laugh, you could say that you're funny. This might also be a sign that you mask your anxiety or nervousness with humour, but you'll know this is the case if you often make jokes when you feel nervous. Ask your friends and family. If you're curious to see how others view you, ask your friends and family how they would describe you as a person. Remember that ultimately no one knows you better than you know yourself. It's important to consider what your friends and family say, but they are looking at you through their own life experiences, which are all different. Your mom might say that you're a messy, hyper kid while your friends say that you seem well put together and relaxed. Take into consideration everything that your friends and family say, and then draw your own conclusions. If everyone says that you can be a bit mean sometimes, that might be something you want to explore (and remedy). Know that your personality is not set in stone. People change with time and experience. Who you are now is likely very different from who you will be ten years from now. In determining who you are, be flexible and leave room for yourself to change. Be comfortable with yourself. You will have strengths and weaknesses, and positive and negative elements of your personality. Accept all parts of yourself. Celebrate the parts you like, and work on changing the parts you don't like, but never beat yourself up for being who you are. Sure, you have weaknesses, but you also have strengths — and you can work on your weaknesses. Heck, the weaknesses might even be strengths in disguise. Know what the “Big Five” personality traits are. Cross-cultural studies suggest that most personality variations can be reduced to scores across five trait types. These are referred to the Big Five: Extraversion, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Openness. Take an online personality test. To find out how you score in the Big Five traits, do an online search of “Big Five Personality Test” and choose a few that appeal to you. There will be variations amongst the tests, so try a few to see if you get the same results with each. Some tests to check out may include The Big Five Project Personality Test provided by Out of Service, or the Big Five Personality Test provided by Psychology Today. Discover how you score in extraversion. High scorers (aka extroverts) are fun-seeking, cheerful, ambitious, and hard-working. They love being the center or attention. Low scorers (aka introverts) are likely to be more detached and less driven by success, pleasure and praise. You may be an extrovert if you are chatty and sociable, and you feel energetic in crowds. You may be an introvert if you prefer to be alone and find that social situations suck your energy. The line between the two is not necessarily a sharp one: introverts still enjoy social situations, but they refuel by spending time alone, whereas extroverts will generally refuel by socializing. Find out your score in neuroticism. People who score highly in neuroticism tend to worry a lot and suffer from chronic anxiety, whereas low scorers tend to be more emotionally stable and satisfied in life. If you are often anxious, even when things are going well, chances are you're a high scorer in neuroticism. The upside is that you may also have great attention to detail and the ability to think deeply about things. If you aren't very detail-oriented and find that you don't worry much about anything, chances are you're a low scorer in neuroticism. The upside is that you're carefree, but the downside is that you may not think deeply enough about things. Know how you score in conscientiousness. Scoring highly in conscientiousness means that you are disciplined, efficient, and systematic. If you're a low-scorer, you may find it easier to be spontaneous but more difficult to complete self-made goals. If you do well in school and are driven to achieve your goals, but you find it difficult to adapt to change, you are likely a high-scorer. People who suffer from obsessive-compulsive personality disorder score highly in conscientiousness. If you have a lot of unfinished projects and see yourself as more of a spontaneous, intuitive person, chances are you're a low scorer in conscientiousness. Find out where you score in agreeableness. Agreeableness measures how warm and kind you are. Highly agreeable people are trusting, helpful and compassionate, whereas disagreeable people are cold, suspicious of others, and less likely to cooperate. If you find that you're often empathizing with other people and are slow to anger, you're likely a highly agreeable person. The downside is that you may remain in abusive or unhealthy relationships even if you're unhappy. If you are disagreeable, you likely have a short tempter and a general distrust of people. Successful artists and business executives tend to score low in agreeableness, as their professions require a level of hard-headedness. Discover how you score in openness. Openness measures imagination. People who score highly in openness are generally interested in the arts and esoteric ideas. Low scorers may be more interested in practical and soluble matters. If you find that you are often seeking adventure and new experiences, particularly related to artistic and spiritual endeavors, you are likely highly open. The downside is that you may not be very good at solving practical problems. If you're a low scorer, you might be unimaginative, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It doesn't mean you're not intelligent, and you may very well be more capable of getting through day-to-day necessities than those who score high in openness. Do not make value judgements based on your scores. Experts are quick to note that there are positive and negative personality variations associated with all of the Big Five traits. For that reason, people should refrain from making value judgements based on how high or low someone scores on a particular trait. If you think you may suffer from scoring too high or low in one of the Big Five traits, you can work to strengthen yourself where you believe that you are weak. Knowing your weaknesses can make you stronger.
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Build your vocabulary. Know what words to avoid. Show, don’t tell. Focus on the facts. Tailor your language to the context. Talk about your interests and experiences. Don’t only talk about yourself. Never lie about your personality. Keep a journal. Start a “me” book. Make lists. Ask yourself why. Research personality traits online or in a book. Take personality tests. Match your interests to personality traits. Ask your friends and family. Know that your personality is not set in stone. Be comfortable with yourself. Know what the “Big Five” personality traits are. Take an online personality test. Discover how you score in extraversion. Find out your score in neuroticism. Know how you score in conscientiousness. Find out where you score in agreeableness. Discover how you score in openness. Do not make value judgements based on your scores.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Dress-if-You%27ve-Got-a-Pear-Shaped-Figure
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How to Dress if You've Got a Pear Shaped Figure
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If you have a pear-shaped figure, wear shirts with bright colors and prints to draw attention to your upper body. Also, look for strapless shirts or shirts with wide necklines to make your shoulders appear wider and more proportional. To slim your hips, wear straight-leg pants or pants that are flared at the bottom. Finish off your outfits with a bold statement necklace or a scarf to emphasize your upper body.
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Choose tops in bright colors and prints. The main goal of dressing a pear figure is to draw attention to the torso and away from the hips and thighs. Outfit your upper body in bold colors and big prints. These catch the eye at the top, making your shoulders and chest seem a bit broader than they actually are. Look for the right neckline. Certain necklines are better for a pear-shaped figure, as they broaden the shoulders and emphasize the bust. Wide necklines like boat-necks and scoop-necks visually widen your shoulders. Bust-enhancing necklines like sweetheart necks draw attention to the bust, making it look fuller. Strapless tops and dresses can also make your shoulders and bust look wider, but may not be a comfortable choice for every pear-shaped girl. Pay attention to the fit. Deciding between tight and loose can be difficult, as there are pros and cons to each. Look for tops that are tight around the waist and highlight an hourglass figure. Loose tops should be worn a bit long so as to cover the hips and provide substance for the shoulders. In general, the fit of your shirts should aim to highlight your waist and shoulders, something that can be accomplished with the right combination of tight and loose. Layer your tops. Bulking up with layers adds bulk to your torso, which evens out your body's proportions. Use layers of tank tops, blouses, and cardigans to create visual interest and give the illusion of added size. If you're using multiple layers which take away the smallness of your waist, use a thin belt to cinch them in and give yourself that hourglass figure again. Look for embellished tops. Shirts that have adornment near the neck elongate the shoulder and neckline. Select a load of shirts which have beading, bows, or collars near your neck. These can be large or small, as they both accomplish the same task of drawing the eye upwards and away from your bottom half. You can also choose to wear a scarf to the same effect. Look for tops with wide sleeves. Although it's not always easy to find wide-sleeved shirts, keep an eye out for styles like bell and kimono sleeves. Wide sleeves add volume to your arms, and as a result, your naturally voluminous hips and rear look more balanced and proportioned. If nothing else, try to wear shirts that have rolled or scrunched sleeves; these also add volume to your arms, but without making such a bold fashion statement. Choose shirts that are the right length. Look for tops that skim over your hips; tops that extend just below your hipbone extend your torso and mask the widest part of your hips. Avoid hemlines that reach down to your thighs, however, since these will only make the widest part of your legs look wider. On the flip side, crop tops should be widely avoided for drawing attention to your midsection, which is too close to your hips to be flattering. Wear the right undergarments. Your entire upper body can undergo a major transformation when you wear the right undergarments. Consider a padded bra or push-up bra. This will add volume to a small bust, and accentuate an hourglass waist. Look for a natural style that can be worn under both casual and dress clothes. Stick to dark colors. Visually, dark colors give a slimming effect and aren't distracting; the eye tends to skim over dark colors. Denim is appropriate too, but wear dark washes and stay away from medium and light wash jeans. Choose a variety of pants and skirts in shades of black, gray, navy, brown, and olive green. As a bonus to being slimming, these will match nearly any shirt in your closet easily. Get the right shape of pants. Similar to your tops, you want to create proportional sizing in your legs and the rest of your body. Choose pants that are straight leg or flared at the bottom to create a bottom half with full volume all the way down. Pants that are very skinny will showcase the size of your hips/rear, while pants and jeans that are equal width or slightly wider in the calf and ankle area will draw attention away from your midsection. Avoid cigarette-style pants, as these are the least flattering style for a pear-shaped body. Choose a few flattering skirts. Skirts that hit the knee or ankle are perfect for pear-shaped ladies. These draw the eye to the end point, rather than short skirts which forces the eye to linger on the widest part of your body. Look for skirts that start just above your hips near your waist, and are no shorter than just above the knee. Avoid tight-fitting skirts, and look for those with ruffles or beading along the bottom hem draw attention to your curvy bottom half without adding bulk to your hips. Placing these details at the knee or lower may even help balance out your hips. If you want to wear a tight fitting or short skirt, wear one with vertical stripes and/or one that is a dark color. This will help slim down your lower body. Avoid details at the hip or rear. Although jeans with cute beaded and embroidered pockets may seem like a good idea, these can draw the eye to your least flattering location. Avoid glitzy pants and belts, and stay away from bottoms embellished with buttons, gemstones, sequins, or bold embroidery near your hips and rear. Try a few dresses on for size. Dresses are a great way to accomplish both your tasks at once: draw the eyes upward to your torso, while creating a tight waistline and covering up your midsection. Look for dresses that are A-line or that have a tulip-skirt, and avoid those that are tight and stick to your hips. Dresses get bonus points if they are banded around the waist and cover up your shoulders to give the illusion of bulk. Choose a few statement necklaces. A bold, bright necklace that hangs low draws the eye to your upper half. The extra detail on your bust makes it look fuller, which keeps your entire body looking better proportioned. You can choose to wear a collar-style necklace which adds width to your neck and shoulders as well, a bonus for highlighting your upper body. Try wearing a pair of bold earrings. Keeping in mind that you should wear only one statement piece of jewelry at once, putting on some glitzy earrings is a great way to draw the eye further up the body and away from your hips. Choose chandelier style or dangly earrings for the best effect. Throw on a scarf. Scarves add volume and dimension to your upper half, as the extra detail at the neck often prevents onlookers from focusing in on your fuller lower half. Try a variety of scarves tied in different ways to see what looks best for you. Circle scarves are successful when worn for a pear-shape, as their lack of tail ends prevents the eye from travelling downwards as quickly. Wear the right shoes. Believe it or not, your shoes can change the appearance of the rest of your body. Look for shoes that have a pointed toe, as these elongate your legs and make your hips look more proportional. High heels are often a good choice for adding height and sculpting the muscles in your legs, making them look more flattering. If you're up for the challenge, wearing bold and colorful shoes can do the same thing as a big necklace; it draws the eyes away from the unflattering regions of your body and adds interest to a smaller area.
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Choose tops in bright colors and prints. Look for the right neckline. Pay attention to the fit. Layer your tops. Look for embellished tops. Look for tops with wide sleeves. Choose shirts that are the right length. Wear the right undergarments. Stick to dark colors. Get the right shape of pants. Choose a few flattering skirts. Avoid details at the hip or rear. Try a few dresses on for size. Choose a few statement necklaces. Try wearing a pair of bold earrings. Throw on a scarf. Wear the right shoes.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Beaded-Keychain
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How to Make a Beaded Keychain
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To make a single-strand beaded keychain, cut your keychain material into a 12 to 24 inch piece. If you're using beads with large holes, try suede or leather for your cord. For beads with smaller holes, opt for wire. Once you've prepared the cord, position your key ring in the center of the cord and tie a knot to hold it in place. Then, design your bead pattern, such as letter beads to spell out a name or colored beads to make a rainbow. When you've decided which design you'd like, thread the beads onto both ends of your cord, making sure that there's as little space between them as possible. You should also leave about 2 inches of cord at the end so you can tie it in a knot when you're done. Finally, attach your keys to the keyring, or give the keychain as a gift.
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Cut your keychain cord into a 12 to 24 in (30 to 61 cm) piece. Use suede or leather cord for beads with bigger holes, and use wire for beads with smaller holes. You can find all these options at your local craft store. If you want a 5 to 6 in (13 to 15 cm) keychain, cut off 12 in (30 cm) of cord. The cord will be folded in half, so the actual length of the keychain will be half of whatever length you initially cut. You could also use twine or yarn, though they will wear through much quicker than wire, leather, or suede will. Position the keychain ring in the center of the piece of cord. Make the ends of the cord equal to one another. If it helps, do this on a flat surface so you can gauge the lengths more easily. You can buy packs of keychain rings from your local craft store very inexpensively. A 10 pack will cost you $4 to $5. Secure a knot or a crimp bead at the top of the cord. If you're using leather or suede, create a simple knot by crossing one end of cord over the other end, and then pass the end of one side through the hole created by the 2 strands. If you're using wire, thread both ends of the wire through a crimp bead and push the bead to the top, so it's next to the keychain ring. Use the needle-nosed pliers to secure the crimp bead in place. The knot/crimp bead helps to hold the cord in place on the keychain ring. Prep any beads that need to be painted. Use acrylic paints and a paintbrush to design your beads. Let the beads dry completely before you use them on the keychain. You can buy lots of different sizes of plain, wooden beads at the craft store and paint them to go along with any color scheme you like. You could even use spray paint to cover the wooden beads. Plan out your bead arrangement before putting anything on the cord. Use various shapes and sizes of glass beads, amazonite beads, pony beads, bugle beads, crystal beads, gemstone beads, pearls, or any other varieties you find at the craft store. Lay out the beads you want to use, and decide beforehand how you'd like them to look on the keychain. Try out a few different combinations to find the one you like best. For example, you could make a rainbow-themed keychain with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet or a color gradient by using deep purple, bright purple, light purple, and clear beads (or use any other color you like). Use letter beads to spell out a name or a word. There is no wrong or right way to design your keychain. Be creative and have fun! Thread both ends of the cord through the beads. Insert both ends of whatever cord you're using through each bead. Push each bead to the top of the keychain ring and leave no to little space between each bead. If you decide you want to go in a different direction with the order of your beads, simply pull them off the cord and begin again. Leave 2 in (5.1 cm) of empty cord at the end of your keychain. Make your keychain as long or as short as you'd like. Just make sure to leave space at the end so you can make the final knot. You may be able to secure the end with just 1 in (2.5 cm) of space, so use your best judgement. If you find you don't have enough space for all the beads you want to use, you'll need to either eliminate some of the beads or cut a new, longer piece of cord and start over. Tie a knot or secure a crimp bead at the end of the keychain. If you're using leather or suede, loop the ends of the cord through themselves to make another knot. Tighten it as much as you can to keep the beads securely in place. If you're using wire, attach a second crimp bead beneath the decorative beads, and use your needle-nosed pliers to pinch it into place. If you're using leather or suede, you could also apply a dot of hot glue to the knot for some extra security. Trim off any excess cord that you don’t want hanging down. If you used wire, cut off all of the extra wire hanging below the crimp bead. If you used suede or leather, leave the excess cord hanging if you like the look of it, or trim it to whatever length you prefer. For leather and suede, it's good to leave at least ⁄ 2 in (1.3 cm) of cord hanging down so that your knot is less likely to come undone. Attach your keys to the keyring, or give the keyring away as a gift! Once you're done with the knotting and trimming, your keychain is ready to use. Wrap it up to give it to a friend, or add your keys and start using it yourself. Save your beads and other materials so you can make other crafts with them in the future. Measure out and cut off 4 ft (1.2 m) of cord or ribbon. Almost any kind of lanyard or cord will work for this craft, but choose a strong material that won't break easily, like thin sewing thread. Feel free to pick a fun color of cord, like orange or yellow or green! The ribbon or cord needs to be able to fit through each bead twice, as that is how the lizard will be shaped. Choose 3 different colors of pony beads to use to create your lizard. Pick 27 beads of one color (the “regular” beads), and 21 beads of another color (the “colored” beads). Finally, pick 2 beads of another color to be the lizard's eyes (black, silver, or gold are nice choices for the eyes). Green beads would be more realistic for a lizard, but don't be afraid to choose other colors, like yellow and red or pink and blue. You can buy pony beads in bulk from the craft store really inexpensively. Create the head of the lizard to start your keychain. Place 3 beads in the middle of the cord so that the length of cord on each side of them is equal. Then take the cord on the left side and thread it through the 2 rightmost beads (leaving the leftmost bead alone). Next, thread an eye bead, a regular bead, and another eye bead onto the right-side cord, and pull the left-side cord through those beads to create the eyes. Then add 2 regular beads to the right cord and thread the left cord through them the same way to create the neck of the lizard. Tightly pull the cord after each row to keep the beads in place. The head will be made up of the regular beads, plus the 2 eye beads, but none of the colored beads. Make the lizard’s legs by threading beads on each side of the cord. Each leg is made up of 5 beads—2 regular beads, and 3 colored beads. Thread the 2 beads followed by the 3 colored beads onto one side of the cord, then thread the end of that same cord back through the first 2 beads. Pull the cord tight to create the leg. Repeat this on the other side of the lizard. The leg-making process does not require the left-side and right-side cords to intersect. The 3 colored beads are what make the actual foot of the lizard, while the 2 regular beads are the leg of the lizard. Form the body of the lizard with 8 regular and 6 colored beads. Create 4 rows for the body using the same method you used to create the head. Make the first row out of 2 regular beads and 1 colored bead, the second and third rows from 2 regular beads and 2 colored beads each, and the fourth row from 2 regular beads and 1 colored bead. After threading each row of beads onto the cord on the right side, pull the end of the cord on the left side back through the beads, pulling it tight to form the rows of the body. If you have more beads, you can make the lizard as big as you'd like. Simply add more rows of beads, or make each row wider to increase the size of the lizard. Repeat the leg-forming process to create the bottom 2 lizard legs. Use 2 regular beads and 3 colored beads on each side. Thread the regular beads on first, followed by the colored beads, and then bring the end of the that same cord back through the regular beads. Pull the cord tight to form the feet. You could always make the bottom feet a different color from the top feet if you have enough beads. Use your creativity to make a unique lizard! Shape the long tail with the remainder of your beads. After the bottom legs are made, create a 2-bead row followed by 6 to 8 single-bead rows. Use an alternating color pattern for a neat visual effect, threading each bead onto the right-side cord. Remember to thread the end of the left-side cord through each bead to secure it in place, and pull the cord tight. Make the tail of the lizard as long or as short as you like. Attach the keyring to the end of the cord and make a knot. Place the keyring between the 2 ends of cord and position it right below the end of the lizard's tail. Tie a knot around the keyring to hold it securely in place. Trim away any excess cord. Use a glue gun to add a dot of hot glue to your knot for extra security if you'd like.
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Cut your keychain cord into a 12 to 24 in (30 to 61 cm) piece. Position the keychain ring in the center of the piece of cord. Secure a knot or a crimp bead at the top of the cord. Prep any beads that need to be painted. Plan out your bead arrangement before putting anything on the cord. Thread both ends of the cord through the beads. Leave 2 in (5.1 cm) of empty cord at the end of your keychain. Tie a knot or secure a crimp bead at the end of the keychain. Trim off any excess cord that you don’t want hanging down. Attach your keys to the keyring, or give the keyring away as a gift! Measure out and cut off 4 ft (1.2 m) of cord or ribbon. Choose 3 different colors of pony beads to use to create your lizard. Create the head of the lizard to start your keychain. Make the lizard’s legs by threading beads on each side of the cord. Form the body of the lizard with 8 regular and 6 colored beads. Repeat the leg-forming process to create the bottom 2 lizard legs. Shape the long tail with the remainder of your beads. Attach the keyring to the end of the cord and make a knot.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Obtain-a-Cypriot-Citizenship
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How to Obtain a Cypriot Citizenship
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If you want to become a citizen of Cyprus, you'll need to visit the embassy page to determine if you can apply. For example, you can apply if you have a spouse or parents with Cyprus citizenship or if you have been living there for 7 years or are a business person with investments in the area. Once you determine your eligibility, fill out an application, which will ask for information like your nationality, your parents' names, and your address. You'll also need to gather supporting documents, like your birth certificate, passport, and 2 passport-sized photos. To finish your application, pay the fee, which ranges from 20 to 300 euros, and submit it to the embassy or Ministry of the Interior. You should expect a response from the goverment within 3 months of your application date.
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Examine the different types of citizenship you can obtain. Cyprus has a number of different ways you can gain citizenship. Review the embassy page to determine how you can apply. For instance, you can apply for citizenship based on relationships, such as having parents or a spouse with Cyprus citizenship. You can also apply to live in Cyprus if you have been living there for 7 years or if you invest in Cyprus as a businessperson. Apply for citizenship based on a relationship. If you were born after August 16, 1960 and your father was Cypriot, you can apply for citizenship. If you were born after June 11, 1999 and your mother was Cypriot, you can also apply for citizenship. This application is known as Application for a Consular Birth Certificate. You can also apply through UK citizenship. If you were born before August 16, 1960, are a UK citizen, and your father is Cypriot, you can apply for citizenship this way. Another option is to apply as a spouse of a Cypriot citizen. Apply for citizenship if you've lived in Cyprus for 7 years. You must have lived in Cyprus for 7 years, though if your parents or children live in Cyprus, 5 years will suffice. You must have lived continuously in Cyprus for the 12 months prior to applying for citizenship. Choose citizenship by investment if you can invest. You can also pick citizenship by Naturalization of Investors in Cyprus by exception. This option is for people who have invested 2,000,000 euros or more in Cyprus. Pick and obtain the correct form. Each of these different types of applications has a different form. For instance, the Application for a Consular Birth Certificate is form M121. Check on the embassy page to figure out which form you need or call the embassy directly. You can obtain all of the forms from your local embassy, though you can also find most of them online at the website for the Ministry of the Interior. In the United States, obtain the forms from the Consulate Office of the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Washington, DC. Fill in the application. Depending on the application, you will need to fill in information like your address, your parents' names, and your nationality. You will need to print the form out first. You will also need to provide information about your parents if you're applying for citizenship based on their citizenship. Gather the required documentation. Each form requires a little bit different documentation. However, you will always need a birth certificate, as well as a copy of your passport for the embassy. For some forms, such as the M121, you'll need a copy of your parents' marriage certificate and copies of their passports. You may also need a copy of the certificate of registration for the parent, if they have one. You'll also need 2 passport-size photos. You can get these taken at most drug stores and some big-box stores. Include a stamp worth 8.54 euros with the application. Add additional documents if you're applying as a spouse. You'll need a statement of harmonious cohabitation from Officer of the District Administration Office or the diplomatic authority. You'll also need a statement of cohabitation from a local authority. If your spouse is living abroad, you can still apply, but you'll need to attach a letter stating why you are requesting this citizenship. You must have been married for at least 3 years. If you've been married for 5 years and have a child, you don't need to add the letter. Invest in the country if you're applying for naturalization by exception. One of the main ways to apply for citizenship in Cyprus is to invest in the country. To apply for this citizenship, you must invest 2,000,000 euros in the country. This investment can be made in construction, in a building, in a company, or in investment funds. These investments must be made in the 3 years leading up to when you apply. You'll also need a clean criminal record, as well as a residence in Cyprus and a residence permit. You will need paperwork proving this information, such as contracts of sale, proofs of payment, and investment plans. Pay the application fee. As of 2018, the fee to apply for citizenship ranges from 20 to 300 euros, depending on the application. You can pay the fee to the embassy, but you need to submit a copy of the receipt with your application. Have the document certified. If your country signed the Hague Convention of 1961, you'll have the document certified by apostille. If not, you'll have it double certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the embassy or consulate. Check if your country is part of the Hague Convention at https://www.hcch.net/. Use your local government to certify the document by apostille. For instance, in Oklahoma, you can submit the document through the mail or walk it in. If you submit by mail, you'll need to include a cover letter stating that you need the document for Cyprus. Include a telephone number, email address, and return address. You'll need to pay a fee to get the document authorized this way. Submit it to the embassy or Ministry of the Interior. You can submit the application to the embassy in your country. If you're living in Cyprus, submit to the Ministry of Interior, Nicoisa. You can do this by mail or in person. Wait for the advertisements to run if you're applying for naturalization. If you're becoming a citizen after living in Cyprus for 7 years, the government will run 2 advertisements in the district you live. The advertisements will ask if anyone has reason to object to your citizenship. You will need copies of these advertisements to finish your application. Submit them to the Ministry of the Interior. Contact the embassy if you wait longer than 3 months. Once you have completed all the paperwork, wait for the response from the government. It could take up to 3 months so be patient. If the application is taking too long, contact your local embassy or the Ministry of the Interior.
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Examine the different types of citizenship you can obtain. Apply for citizenship based on a relationship. Apply for citizenship if you've lived in Cyprus for 7 years. Choose citizenship by investment if you can invest. Pick and obtain the correct form. Fill in the application. Gather the required documentation. Add additional documents if you're applying as a spouse. Invest in the country if you're applying for naturalization by exception. Pay the application fee. Have the document certified. Submit it to the embassy or Ministry of the Interior. Wait for the advertisements to run if you're applying for naturalization. Contact the embassy if you wait longer than 3 months.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Prepare-for-Coronavirus
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How to Prepare Yourself and Your Home for Coronavirus
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The best way to prepare for coronavirus is to take daily preventative measures to stop it from spreading. Wash your hands regularly using soap and running water to kill any germs on your hands. If you do not have access to soap and water, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer instead. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands so you don't infect yourself with the virus. Try to avoid shaking hands with people, and if someone is coughing or sneezing, leave at least 3 feet (1 meter) of distance between the two of you to reduce your chances of getting sick. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends cleaning frequently touched surfaces, like tables, countertops, doorknobs, and light switches, with a household disinfectant and water every day. In addition to preventing the spread of the virus, it's a good idea to stock up on at least a 30-day supply of household essentials, like food, detergent, toilet paper, and cleaning supplies. You should also purchase over-the-counter medicines to treat your symptoms in case you get sick, like cough medicine and pain relievers. If you take prescription medication, make sure you get at least a 30-day supply now in case you're unable to get it later. Don't forget to talk to your family and come up with a plan for how you'll take care of anyone who gets sick, especially if you have elderly relatives or family members with special health needs. Finally if your work allows, you may also want to talk to your employer about working from home to limit your potential exposure to the virus. Hearing about coronavirus on the news can be scary and stressful, but don't panic. The majority of coronavirus cases aren't serious, and taking simple preventative measures can help keep you and your family safe.
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Wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water. It's so simple, but washing your hands is the best way to protect yourself from getting sick. Wet your hands under warm running water, then apply a mild soap to your palm. Rub your hands together for 20 seconds, then rinse the soap away under warm running water. Alcohol-based sanitizers may help prevent the virus, as well. Use them in addition to handwashing but not as a replacement. Sanitizers that have 60% to 95% alcohol are good to use. Practice physical distancing by staying home as much as possible. The virus spreads more easily in groups, especially crowds. Fortunately, you can help protect yourself and others by just staying home. Only go out when it's necessary, like when you need to go grocery shopping. Otherwise, enjoy your time at home. If you are at high risk and have an essential worker family member, you have to be more careful and try to limit contact with the person to keep yourself safe. If you do decide to socialize, the recommendation in the US is to keep gatherings to 10 people or less. Remember even young or healthy people can contract the virus and spread it to others. In other regions check with local government or health authorities for what types of gatherings are allowed. There are tons of ways to have fun at home! You might play games, make something, read a book, play outside, or watch a movie. Stay at least 6 ft (1.8 m) away from other people when in public. You may need to go out in public for things like grocery shopping. Try to maintain space between yourself and other community members just in case any of you are sick. It's possible to spread COVID-19 before symptoms start, so play it safe by staying away. Keep your hands away from your eyes, nose, and mouth. Typically, the coronavirus infects you when you either inhale droplets from an infected person's sneeze or cough or touch your face with droplets on your hands. Don't touch your face unless you've just washed your hands. Otherwise, you may accidentally introduce germs into your body. Use tissues to wipe your nose or cover a cough if possible, as your hands could be dirty. Avoid shaking hands with other people, whether they appear sick or not. Unfortunately, people who are infected with coronavirus can spread the illness even if they aren't showing symptoms. To be safe, don't shake hands with anyone until the coronavirus threat is over. Instead, politely decline a handshake and explain that you're trying to prevent coronavirus. You might say, “It's nice to meet you, too. Normally I'd shake your hand, but the CDC recommends avoiding handshakes until the coronavirus threat is over.” Distance yourself from people who are coughing and sneezing. While they probably don't have coronavirus, it's best to play it safe if you notice someone showing symptoms of a respiratory infection. Quietly and respectfully move away from anyone who appears to be coughing and sneezing. If you're talking to the person, be kind as you excuse yourself. You might say, “I just realized that you're coughing. I hope you feel better soon, but I'm going to move further away so I don't accidentally inhale your germs.” Disinfect surfaces before you touch them, both in public and at home. The CDC recommends keeping your home, workspace, and public areas as clean as possible. Spray a disinfectant over hard surfaces or wipe them down with a sanitary wipe. Whenever possible, spray soft surfaces with an appropriate disinfectant spray. For instance, spray Lysol over counters, railings, and doorknobs. Alternatively, use Clorox bleach wipes to clean these hard surfaces. Lysol also works on soft surfaces. Do not use vinegar or other "natural" cleaners, there is no good evidence that vinegar is effective against coronavirus. "Natural" cleaning products can have a variety of different ingredients and are not designed to be effective against viruses. Wear a cloth face-covering in public. They filter out the particles you breathe out and reduce the chances of spreading the virus to others. Covering your nose and mouth is especially important when physical distancing of 6 ft (1.8 m) is difficult or impossible to maintain. Be sure to wash cloth face-coverings before using them again. On the other hand, reserve respirator masks (like N95s) for medical professionals due to limited supply. Fill your pantry and freezer with 2-4 weeks worth of food. You'll need to stay home if you get sick or your community has a coronavirus outbreak. Get prepared now by buying extra non-perishable foods and storing them in your pantry. Additionally, stock your freezer with perishables that you can thaw out as needed. Buy extra canned food, like tuna, and packaged goods that have a long shelf life. Collect frozen foods, but also freeze meat, bread, and other perishables that can be thawed out. If you drink milk, get powdered milk to keep in the pantry since you may not be able to go to the store for a while. You don't have to give up on making healthy food during the outbreak! Fresh produce can be frozen and added to cooked meals later, or you can choose canned or frozen vegetables with minimal additives. It's also helpful to stock your pantry with healthy grains and make other smart food choices. Purchase extras of essentials like toilet paper, soap, and detergent. It's possible that you'll need to stay home for several weeks if someone in your household is sick or your community has an outbreak. In case this happens, buy household items that you use on a regular basis so you won't run out. Buy a month's worth of supplies if possible so you're prepared. Here are some items you might purchase: Tissues—enough to cover your coughs and sneezes and handle blowing your nose Dish soap Hand soap Paper towels Toilet paper Laundry detergent Cleaning supplies Sanitary pads or tampons Toiletries Diapers Pet supplies Get over-the-counter treatments used for a respiratory infection. While there's no treatment for the virus itself, you can treat the typical symptoms of a respiratory infection. Buy a package each of decongestants, acetaminophen (Tylenol), and nonsteroidal inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve) for in case you get sick. You might also buy cough drops or cough medicine to help control coughing. If you have a large household, you may want to buy extra packages of medication in case more than one person gets sick. Ask your doctor how many packages they recommend you buy. Make sure you have at least a 30-day supply of medications you take. If you take medication daily, talk to your doctor and pharmacy about keeping extra medication in your home until the coronavirus threat passes. You may not be able to get a refill if your community has an outbreak or if you get sick. To be on the safe side, try to keep a 30-day supply on hand. You may need to stop at the pharmacy every week or two to get a partial refill of your prescription. This way you'll have a 30-day supply at all times. Discuss your options with your doctor and pharmacy to find out what they recommend for your needs. Plan for childcare in the event that schools and daycares must close. Many schools and daycares are already closed. Additionally, it's likely more schools and daycares will close or start early dismissals to help limit the spread of the virus. This can be really stressful if you're a working parent, as you'll need to find childcare. Find out about your childcare options, and try to make arrangements in advance so you're prepared. For instance, you might ask a relative if they can care for your children if the schools and daycares close. Alternatively, you might talk to your boss about working from home or taking leave if this happens. Your children may watch more TV and use the computer more than usual. You can set up a new routine and help them find appropriate shows and movies to watch. Talk to your boss about possible work-from-home options. While you don't need to worry, you may not be able to go to work if there's a coronavirus outbreak in your community. Businesses and other organizations will likely shut down so the virus stops spreading. To help you prepare for this, ask your boss if you could work remotely in the event of an outbreak. Discuss tasks you might perform, how you'll be accountable, and hours you can work. You might say, “I saw that the CDC might recommend workers stay home if there's a coronavirus outbreak here. If that happens, I'm hoping I can work remotely. Can we discuss this?” Working from home won't be an option for everyone. However, it's good to be prepared for this alternative if you can do some or all of your job tasks at home. Research the aid organizations in your area if you may lose income. You might be really worried about how you'll support your family if you can't work from home. Fortunately, there are organizations that can help. Local food banks may be able to help you stock your kitchen, while nonprofits like the Red Cross or Salvation Army might help with other financial needs. Make a list of places you can get help in your community. Local faith organizations may also offer aid to people in need. Try not to worry. Everyone is going through this experience together, and the community will likely come together to help those in need. Check for coronavirus updates just once or twice a day. The CDC and WHO are releasing updates every day, and it's important to stay informed so you can protect yourself and avoid scams. However, don't let fears about coronavirus occupy your mind. Read the news just once or twice a day instead of constantly looking for updates. You can check the WHO's live updates here: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/685d0ace521648f8a5beeeee1b9125cd Remember, you probably don't need to worry about the virus, so try your best to stay calm. Create a family plan for a coronavirus outbreak so you feel calm. You might be worrying that your family will get sick. Plus, you might have kids who have questions about the virus. To help you all feel prepared and in control, have a family meeting to discuss your plans in case the virus spreads. Here are some things you might discuss: Assure each family member that there will be enough food and supplies. Tell your kids that they'll be well-cared-for. Discuss your ideas for spending time at home during an outbreak. Share an emergency contact list with each family member. Designate a sick room in your home in case someone is ill. Make healthy lifestyle choices to help boost your immune system. Coronavirus isn't treated with medication, so a strong immune system is your best defense. Fortunately, you can strengthen your immune system by living a healthy lifestyle. Talk to your doctor to find out what they recommend for your unique needs. You might try the following: Eat fresh vegetables or fruit at each meal. Exercise for 30 minutes 5 days a week. Take a multivitamin if your doctor says it's okay. Sleep 7-9 hours each night. Relieve stress. Don't smoke. Get your flu shot if you haven't already. Call your doctor if you’re worried you have symptoms. Although you probably won't get coronavirus, it's important to take your symptoms seriously. If you have symptoms like fever, cough, and breathing issues, contact your doctor to find out if you may have coronavirus. In the meantime, stay home to limit the spread of your germs. Your doctor might test you for coronavirus to confirm a possible diagnosis. Don't go to the clinic without first notifying the staff that you think you may have coronavirus. They will likely keep you isolated from other patients in a room by yourself. Alternatively, they may recommend you stay home or stay in your vehicle. If you have coronavirus, you may be able to treat yourself at home. If your doctor thinks you're at risk for complications, they may want to oversee your care. Check travel warnings before you take a trip and avoid nonessential travel. As of March 2020, experts are asking people to avoid unnecessary travel to help limit the spread of the virus. Additionally, the CDC recommends avoiding all non-essential travel to China, Iran, Italy, South Korea and most of Europe. However, these are not the only countries with sustained transmission of the virus, so if you do travel, check the travel warnings from the CDC or NHS for the specific countries you are traveling to and assess the risk. It's especially important for people in high-risk groups to avoid traveling. The elderly, those with existing health conditions or immunodeficiency should avoid all non-essential travel to reduce the risk of infection. If you're worried, you may be able to cancel your trip and get some or all of your money back. Check with the company where you booked your travel plans to see if you have options.
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Wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water. Practice physical distancing by staying home as much as possible. Stay at least 6 ft (1.8 m) away from other people when in public. Keep your hands away from your eyes, nose, and mouth. Avoid shaking hands with other people, whether they appear sick or not. Distance yourself from people who are coughing and sneezing. Disinfect surfaces before you touch them, both in public and at home. Wear a cloth face-covering in public. Fill your pantry and freezer with 2-4 weeks worth of food. Purchase extras of essentials like toilet paper, soap, and detergent. Get over-the-counter treatments used for a respiratory infection. Make sure you have at least a 30-day supply of medications you take. Plan for childcare in the event that schools and daycares must close. Talk to your boss about possible work-from-home options. Research the aid organizations in your area if you may lose income. Check for coronavirus updates just once or twice a day. Create a family plan for a coronavirus outbreak so you feel calm. Make healthy lifestyle choices to help boost your immune system. Call your doctor if you’re worried you have symptoms. Check travel warnings before you take a trip and avoid nonessential travel.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Be-Authentic
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How to Be Authentic
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To be authentic, try to express your genuine thoughts and feelings when you're around other people, even if you're worried they'll disagree. Also, avoid acting differently around different people to try to please or impress them. Instead, work on acting like yourself regardless of who's around, which will make you more authentic. If you have a hard time being yourself because you're insecure, remember that everyone has flaws and you should accept who you are as a person.
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Accept yourself for who you are. Accepting yourself often requires a mental attitude adjustment. Try to be slower to criticize yourself or see yourself as inferior to others. Focus on accepting and appreciating who you are as a unique individual. This will lead to authentic behaviors in line with your personality. This includes accepting your flaws. Being comfortable with yourself requires you to accept that you are not perfect, and means that you should embrace your quirks and the distinct parts of your personality. For example, it's fine if you have hobbies or interests that differ from those of your friends. Explore the things that interest you, and over time, you'll meet other people who share the same passions. Support your self-esteem. Every person has valid thoughts and ideas, and is gifted and intelligent in unique ways. It is hard to act in a way that is genuine to your personality if you doubt yourself or lack confidence in yourself. People who lack self-esteem often try to act like people they perceive to be confident, or preen and act as if they're overly confident. This is a key sign of inauthenticity. To be truly authentic, follow your own path. When you're people-pleasing, you're not being yourself, you're being what you think you "should be." Instead, look inward, and work on becoming who you really want to be. For example, people with poor self-esteem may dress in the same way that more popular people do, or listen to the same type of music as people that they think are popular. Instead of this, follow your own interests, whether or not other people share them. If you have some emotional baggage, give yourself the time to think about it and move on if possible. Talk to a therapist or a counselor if necessary. Act on your personal beliefs and values. Authentic people are in touch with their moral compass and their personal set of beliefs. This includes religious beliefs, moral beliefs, and beliefs of any other kind. These beliefs should be evident in your daily behaviors. Many people unthinkingly adopt a partner's, parent's or friend's beliefs without figuring out if they are right for you. For example, if you say that all people should be treated equally and yet show obvious disdain for certain types of people, you will not be perceived as authentic. Or, if friends are drinking alcohol or eating types of food which you believe are unethical to eat, ask them to stop or excuse yourself from the situation. Find your values by identifying what makes you happy and when you were the proudest. Figure out when you feel satisfied. You can also think about how you want to give back in the world, then use that as a guideline for how you want to spend your time and energy. Put time into personal growth. There is a great deal of authenticity to be found in growing yourself and pursuing interests that fulfill you as a person. This can be done through classes, volunteering or hobbies. In contrast, inauthentic people often neglect the things that interest them in favor of pursuing whatever they believe to be popular or socially required of them. When you're taking care of yourself, and you're being mindful of how you spend your time and energy, you'll often find that you'll feel better physically and mentally, and you'll likely be more productive and motivated. Be fully present in whatever circumstances you find yourself. Being present will lead to greater authenticity because you'll be able to fully focus on the experiences, conversations, and interactions you're having in the present moment. The people you're engaging with will be able to tell you're engaged and present, and will perceive this as a sign of personal authenticity. On the other hand, inauthentic people are inclined to let their minds wander during interpersonal interactions. In interpersonal settings, this behavior can be perceived as insincere or rude. Trust your intuition when it comes to behavior and relationships. Intuition is the inner voice or gut reaction which helps you make decisions and informs your behavior. In terms of ethical decisions, your personal intuition can also form a “moral compass” to help guide you in making personal decisions. Following your intuition will help you make consistent decisions and act in a stable way, rather than making decisions based on what you perceive to be popular opinion or social expectation. Express your thoughts and feelings. Talk about your opinion when it matters to you. Authentic people are comfortable speaking their mind and communicating when they have a problem or are appreciative of something. If you feel inhibited to speak your mind, or realize that you frequently only say what you think those around you expect to hear, you're likely behaving in-authentically. For example, express gratitude to those around you. Try saying something like, “Mom and Dad, I wanted to say thank you for helping me with my car payments last month. I know money is tight, but the extra cash made a big difference for me.” Ask people for help when you need it. Genuine people accept that they aren't perfect and ask for help when needed. Authenticity is not the same thing as perfection. Asking those around you for help is a sign of humility and authenticity, and shows that you respect the skills and talents of the people in your life. For example, if you've been struggling with your mental health and a friend is a professional counselor, ask them if they can recommend an associate who you can contact for counseling or therapy. Or, if you have persistent car trouble, reach out to your co-worker who moonlights as an auto mechanic. Be vulnerable. Share personal information about yourself and be open about your flaws as you start to trust others. Don't reveal everything if you don't need to. If you keep your true self hidden, you'll find it hard to build an authentic relationship. Don't put on a different face or personality for social functions. In order to be authentic, simply be yourself in all social and interpersonal contexts. It can be tempting to act the way you think others want you to act, or to posture and act like you have an inflated ego in order to impress new acquaintances. However, these behaviors are not authentic, and other people will see through them quickly. Of course, it's only natural to slightly modify your behavior and vocabulary around certain people. You talk to your boss differently than you talk to your partner or spouse. Don't tell lies unless they're absolutely necessary. Honesty is a key component of authenticity. If lying is a routine part of your behavior, eventually your friends and other people in your life will catch on. Most likely, they'll find your lies very inauthentic. You can remain authentic despite a lie or two, depending on the circumstance. For example, if you attend a dinner party but find the food distasteful, it's okay to say, “I'm not very hungry; I'll only have a salad.” Maintain long-term relationships. Build trust and respect with other people. A key sign of authenticity is the ability to form and maintain lasting friendships, as well as romantic and professional relationships. Long-term relationships are not built overnight but are rewarding and self-affirming. Inauthentic people are often unable to maintain long-term relationships. Inauthentic behaviors, like putting on airs, telling lies, or not having consistent personal values, can prevent lasting relationships from forming. Learn to be okay with being rejected. If you don't have a fear of rejection, it will be easier to maintain a relationship.
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Accept yourself for who you are. Support your self-esteem. Act on your personal beliefs and values. Put time into personal growth. Be fully present in whatever circumstances you find yourself. Trust your intuition when it comes to behavior and relationships. Express your thoughts and feelings. Ask people for help when you need it. Be vulnerable. Don't put on a different face or personality for social functions. Don't tell lies unless they're absolutely necessary. Maintain long-term relationships.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Cook-Frozen-Fish
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How to Cook Frozen Fish
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If you want to cook frozen fish without thawing it first, rinse the fish in cold water to remove any ice crystals from the surface and pat the fish dry with paper towels. If you're grilling, broiling, or baking the fish, wrap it in a pouch made from foil or parchment paper. If you prefer to pan-sear the fish, cover the pan. Either method will allow the steam from the ice to help cook the fish faster. Cook the fish for twice as long as you would for thawed fish.
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Rinse the fish in cold water. Rinse the frozen fish in cold water to remove ice crystals from the surface. Avoid warm water, since this can promote bacterial growth and waterlog your fish. Always wash your hands in warm, soapy water before handling raw fish. If the fish has not been gutted, use the thawing method below instead, then remove the inedible portions. Dry the fish. Pat the fish dry with a paper towel. This will remove additional ice crystals, as well as the moisture clinging to the fish scales. Use special techniques for thick fish or high-heat cooking. Thick slabs of frozen fish will take a long time to cook, but you can reduce this by wrapping them in foil or parchment pouches. The ice crystals in the fish will turn to steam, remain trapped in the packet, and help cook the fish more quickly. Increasing the cooking speed is especially important for high-heat cooking methods, as described below: Grill fish in tightly closed foil packets, to prevent the outside charring while the inside cooks. If pan-searing the fish, do not wrap the fish. Instead, cover the pan once the fish begins releasing juices, to trap steam that helps cook the fish evenly. Season the fish partway through cooking. Cooking the fish for a couple minutes will melt some of the ice on the exterior. This makes it easier to rub oil, butter, or marinade into the fish, and to get spices to stick. If you are breading the fish, you can place them fully frozen in a pan and cover with a thick layer of bread crumbs and spices. Cook for twice as long as you would fresh fish. You can cook frozen fish however you would normally cook fish, or look in the recipes section for ideas. Frozen fish can take twice as long to cook as fresh fish, but you're still saving time by skipping the thawing stage. This is only a general time estimate, and the actual amount of time required varies base on the thickness of the fish. Check on the fish every couple minutes, using the following tips to tell when its done: Cut a slit with a sharp knife. When done, the fish will be completely opaque near the surface, and just starting to become opaque in the center. If you have a food thermometer, cook the fish to an internal temperature of 145ºF (62.8ºC). Thaw for eight hours in the refrigerator. The colder the thawing temperature, the less likely that harmful bacteria populations will grow on your fish. Thawing overnight is the recommended method whenever you have the time. Keep your fridge below 46ºF (8ºC) to keep your fish safe, and cook with 48 hours. Frozen foods will produce water as the ice melts, so keep your fish in a container that can catch water. To avoid waterlogging your fish, you could punch holes in the base of that container, and place it above a second container that will catch the draining water. While most fish will thaw within 8 hours, massive amounts of fish could take up to 24 hours. Thaw under cold water. If you don't want to wait for hours to thaw your fish, seal it inside a zip locked bag and submerge it in cold water. This method usually takes 1–2 hours per pound (0.45 kg) of fish, and is the fastest method that still retains quality. Never use water at room temperature or warmer, as this encourages the growth of bacteria.. Defrost in a microwave. This method is not recommended for most circumstances, since the uneven cooking will usually make part of the fish rubbery before the rest of it is defrosted. It is typically much faster than the other methods, however, taking about 3–6 minutes per pound (0.45 kg) with most microwaves. Check on the fish halfway through, and flip each piece over. Cook as usual. Once the fish is pliable, meaning it is no longer stiff, it is fully thawed. Cook it as you would a fresh fish, or take a look at the recipes section for ideas. Note that the fish will still be cold once thawed. Learn basic fish-cooking techniques. If you're not used to cooking fish at home, or you want to try out a new method, review the basic instructions so you know what temperature and cooking times are necessary. Fish is often grilled , baked , poached , or sautéed. Get ideas for your specific type of fish. Different types of fish have different flavors and textures, so recipes often specify an exact type. Learn about cooking halibut , snapper, grouper , flounder , tilapia , or salmon. Remember that cooking frozen fish without thawing will typically take twice as long as the recipe calls for. Try new marinades and seasoning. Unlike red meat, most fish picks up on flavoring after only 5–15 minutes of marination. This makes it easy to season and flavor even if cooking it from frozen. Make sweet and sour fillets, fish in cheese sauce, Cajun style blackened fish , or Mexican style fish for tacos. Learn unique recipes. Some recipes call for less typical methods of preparing fish. These don't have to be difficult with the right instructions, and usually just involve cooking the fish along with other ingredients. Try cooking chowder, fish quiche, battered fish & chips , or kedgeree.
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Rinse the fish in cold water. Dry the fish. Use special techniques for thick fish or high-heat cooking. Season the fish partway through cooking. Cook for twice as long as you would fresh fish. Thaw for eight hours in the refrigerator. Thaw under cold water. Defrost in a microwave. Cook as usual. Learn basic fish-cooking techniques. Get ideas for your specific type of fish. Try new marinades and seasoning. Learn unique recipes.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rabbits-Spayed-or-Neutered
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How to Get Rabbits Spayed or Neutered
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If you're not sure if you should get your rabbit spayed or neutered, keep in mind that rabbits that undergo the procedure often live longer and have lower risks of certain cancers. You should also consider that rabbits that are spayed or neutered are usually more relaxed and loving than ones who are not, which makes them easier to train. Once you decide to spay or neuter your rabbit, call some vets in your area and ask if they have experience with rabbits, since some vets only work with cats and dogs. Once you find a vet, make sure to ask them questions about the procedure so you know what to expect. For example, you might ask how much they charge for the operation or what you'll need to do to help your rabbit recover after surgery. To learn how to identify your rabbit's sex, read more from our Veterinary co-author!
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Contact a vet. If you have a vet already, contact them and let them know you'd like your rabbit spayed or neutered. If you don't have a vet yet, contact local vets in your area. Look for one with experience dealing with rabbits. If you have a friend with rabbits or other pets, you could ask them for a recommendation. A list of doctors associated with the House Rabbit Society is available on their website at rabbit.org/vet-listings. Ask lots of questions. Do not hesitate to ask your vet questions if you're looking for answers to specific questions relating to your rabbit. You should definitely ask about the cost of the surgery, as well as pre and post-surgical care. Find out, for instance, what your rabbit can eat after the operation. Other questions you might want to ask include: Will my bunny be in pain? How can I help my rabbit recover after the surgery? Do you anticipate any problems based on my rabbit's age and health? What is your success rate for spays/neuters of rabbits? How much does is costs to spay or neuter my bunny? Find out how to provide pre-surgical care. Before spaying or neutering, most vets recommend that you keep your pet's diet stable. You might administer acidophilus to your rabbit. Acidophilus a probiotic, a bacterial supplement that can aid digestion and minimize risk of infections. Check your local pet store to find rabbit-friendly acidophilus supplements if you're interested. Follow manufacturer directions . Some people are surprised that they do no need to withhold food before their rabbit get anesthetized. But because rabbits cannot vomit, there is no need to disrupt their eating schedule. Obtain a rabbit carrier. Your vet will not come to you. Therefore, it is important to find a carrier in which you can safely and securely transport your bunny to and from the vet. A good carrier will have a gated opening on both the front and side. The carrier should offer some room for your bunny to move around, but should not be too big. When turned sideways in the carrier, your bunny's front and back legs should be able to touch the sides. Place a warm blanket or towel in the bottom of the carrier so your bunny can stay warm after the surgery. Drive slowly and carefully when your rabbit is in the car. Handling your rabbit gently is especially important when bringing it home from the operation, since moving too roughly with it could cause pain and loosen its stitches. Do not use cardboard boxes or containers of nylon or cloth to transport your bunny. Your bunny might chew through these materials. Don’t worry about your rabbit. Spaying and neutering are some of the most common surgeries for pets. Vets who perform these surgeries have likely done them hundreds of times with a high rate of success. Other people worry that spaying or neutering will change their rabbit's personality. But if you spay or neuter at a young age (younger than two years old), your rabbit's personality should remain intact. Rabbits spayed after the age of two will also basically remain the same, but could be slightly less affectionate. Although the surgery itself only takes around 30 minutes, your rabbit needs to be prepared for surgery and then monitored after they recover. Expect to leave the rabbit with the vet and collect them later in the day. Understand why spaying and neutering is important. There are many reasons why you might choose to spay or neuter your rabbit. Rabbits who are spayed or neutered live longer than those who are not, and have a lower risk for certain cancers. They also have better temperaments, and are more relaxed and loving than rabbits that don't get spayed or neutered. This makes them easier to train and more affectionate than other rabbits. Plus, you don't have to worry about your rabbit breeding if it shares space with another rabbit of the opposite sex. Identify your rabbit’s sex. If your pet is female, it will need to be spayed. If it is male, it will need to be neutered. In order to identify your rabbit's sex, cradle your bunny gently in your arms. It should be sitting in a position where its belly is facing up, and its back is nestled in the crook of your arm. Hold the bunny steady and look at the region toward the bottom of its belly between its back legs. Female rabbits will have a small prepuce, a protuberance that covers the vulva. Pressing down gently on the side of the prepuce facing you will reveal the vulva. Male rabbits are most easily identified by the presence of testicles -- two hairless, round sacs, usually pink or gray in color, and crisscrossed by a network of blood vessels. Don’t spay or neuter too early. You can neuter or spay your rabbit once it reaches the age of about five months old. Some female rabbits need to wait a bit longer and can only be spayed after they reach six months of age. Your vet will tell you if your pet is an acceptable candidate for spaying or neutering. Rabbits younger than five months (their age of sexual maturity) cannot be safely operated on. Don’t wait too long. When a rabbit hits a certain age, it becomes riskier to perform surgery on them. For any rabbit over the age of 2, your vet will probably recommend a full health checkup and bloodwork before going forward with the operation. And after about the age of six, rabbits do not respond as well to anesthetics and take longer to recover. Some vets might spay or neuter after that age, but you might have a harder time finding someone who agrees to perform the operation. Prevent against hypothermia. Hypothermia is a rapid decline in body temperature, and is usually associated with exposure to cold temperatures over a prolonged period. But hypothermia is not uncommon in rabbits when they get surgery because their small bodies do not retain as much heat as a larger animal. Most vets provide a heating pad beneath the rabbit during surgery, and in an incubator when it stays overnight at the clinic for recovery. Once you bring the rabbit home, provide warm blankets (putting them through a tumble in the dryer first is a good idea) and check your rabbit's body temperature. If you touch your bunny's belly and it feels cool, turn up the ambient temperature. Consider putting a heating pad in or near one portion of the cage so your bunny can get warmer. Provide post-surgical care. After your rabbit has been spayed or neutered, they will need to recover. Keep your rabbit in a peaceful, warm, quiet, and relaxing environment where they will be feel safe and free of stress. Your doctor will probably provide or prescribe a painkiller for your rabbit. Listen to your doctor's directions and administer the medication in the recommended dosages. Some vets keep the rabbit at their clinic overnight. If you bring your rabbit home, consider using a heating pad or heated blanket to keep it warm. If the spay or neuter was done to solve another health condition, your bunny might need antibiotics. Feed your rabbit appropriately. Female rabbits will probably not want to eat immediately following the surgery. However, it is important to get your rabbit to eat something within 24 hours in order to keep them healthy and move the recovery process along. Male rabbits will usually emerge from the surgery hungry and looking to eat. Be sure they have food and water waiting for them if you're able to take them home. Provide your rabbit with some of its favorite foods in order to inspire its appetite. Not eating can lead to serious complications with the gut shutting down. Contact your vet immediately if you're concerned about your rabbit's appetite. Monitor the incision. Look for signs of infection. It is normal for the scrotum to remain swollen for one or two weeks in male rabbits. Any redness, swelling, or yellowish crust or pus at the site of the incision beyond two weeks, however, should be cause for alarm. Additionally, handle your bunny gently during this time to avoid disturbing the sutures at the incision site. Many vets use special sutures that cannot easily be removed by the rabbit, but if you see your rabbit has removed its sutures, contact your vet so they can bandage it back up. If your rabbit's incision becomes infected, let your vet know immediately. You will then need an antibiotic prescription for your pet. Separate male and female rabbits. Male rabbits actually remain fertile up to four weeks after being neutered. If you have a male and female rabbit, keep them separated for at least four weeks after their surgery. If your female rabbit was spayed, keep it in a separate – but nearby – cage for two weeks to allow her to recover.
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Contact a vet. Ask lots of questions. Find out how to provide pre-surgical care. Obtain a rabbit carrier. Don’t worry about your rabbit. Understand why spaying and neutering is important. Identify your rabbit’s sex. Don’t spay or neuter too early. Don’t wait too long. Prevent against hypothermia. Provide post-surgical care. Feed your rabbit appropriately. Monitor the incision. Separate male and female rabbits.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Edge-a-Lawn
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How to Edge a Lawn
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If you want to edge your lawn, start by turning on your power edger and walking with the edger held completely level. If you can, walk on the footpath while you edge and keep your arm steady to make the grass cut much straighter. For best results, work slowly with your edger rather than trying to rush around your lawn. When you need to edge parts of your lawn that don't have straight edges, try using a manual edging tool rather than a power edger as this will make your job easier.
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Use your power edger or weed wacker primarily around sidewalks and footpaths. When you edge your lawn, you have two options for which tool to use: You can use an electric or gas-powered edging tool, or you can use a manual edging tool. (We'll explain about the manual edging tool later.) Because you don't have the space to dig out extra mulch or dirt around sidewalks and footpaths, it's best to use a power edger in these situations. Power edgers will make short work of these borders. Opt for a power edger that is cheap, light, and straight. You can get power edgers relatively inexpensively, and you should — because who wants to spend a bunch of money on an edger? Opt for a light edger because you could spend longer amounts of time holding it up. And finally, unless you feel you need the "ergonomic" option, go for an edger with a straight body; it'll be easier to define a straight edge with one of these tools. When you purchase the edger, buy one or two replacement blades for it as well. The blades can really take a beating, even with the most practiced person running the edger. Be sure you also understand how to change out the blades when needed. There are some models of weed whackers that feature a multi-head design, meaning you can convert it into three or four other tools. This will cost considerably more than a straight weed wacker, but it may be worth it. Be sure you also have all the necessary safety equipment, including safety goggles/eyewear, long pants and boots, and earplugs. Use your power edger along straight lines and right angles. A power edger is much more efficient than a manual edger, but that doesn't mean that it always gets the job done better. A power edger is great around straight lines, or lines where a raised footpath can guide you. A power edger is not so great around lines where the boundaries aren't so well defined; in these areas, where you want the edge to flow, it's best to use a manual edging tool if you can afford to. Walk holding the edging tool completely level and rigid. You want your body to move, not your arms. So turn the edging tool on, give it a little bit of power, and start slowly walking with the tool, holding your arms steady. Moving your body instead of your arms will ultimately make the cut on the grass much straighter. If you can, walk on the sidewalk or footpath as you edge. Instead of walking on the grass itself when you edge, walk on the sidewalk or footpath. Here's why: when you hold the edger out with your arms, your body naturally wants to bring your arms back closer to your body. If this happens when you're standing on the lawn itself, you start cutting into the lawn instead of merely lopping off the farthest edge. Over time, you'll find yourself redefining the edge each time (farther into your lawn) instead of using the same edge as a guide. If you're standing on the sidewalk while edging, however, your body's impulse to bring in your arms as you move along the border means much less damage, because you'll be edging air when your body autocorrects. This is an easy problem to fix, because it's not a problem at all. In addition, the sidewalk or pathway is most likely a more even, flatter surface than the lawn. Walking on the sidewalk can help you keep a steady pace. Edge slowly but surely, taking time so that you don't have to rehash the same territory too many times. Power edgers are, well, powerful, so it's tempting to blaze through your lawn in record time. Too often, however, lazy execution produces lazy results. Take your time when you edge using a power tool. You'll find that you won't have to re-edge the same spot over and over again to achieve a clean look. Re-edging the same spot over and over again is likely to lead to a sloppy look. Remember to locate and mark any sprinkler heads to avoid damaging them. Get familiar with your half-moon manual edging tool. Your half-moon edger has a large blade in the shape of a half moon with an overhanging lip in the middle of the circle. This lip hits against soil at a uniform level every time you drive the half-moon into the ground, producing an even depth with each edge. Simply drive the edging tool into the ground as you would a shovel, down until the lip hits soil, rocking the edger from side to side, and then pull the handle back gently to dig soil and define your edge. Once you've defined your edges, take a shovel and shovel up any loose soil or mulch into a wheelbarrow. When using a manual edging tool, drive the half-moon into the ground completely straight (vertically), not at an angle. Not only will this help define your edge more clearly, but it will also inhibit the growth of rhizomes from growing into the edges of your lawn. Maintain your edging tool. Clean off any dirt or debris after each use. File away the edges of the half moon periodically to keep them sharp. There's nothing better than a sharp tool, and nothing worse than a dull one. Use your manual edging tool to create fluid or flowing edges. Against the slight curve of a planting bed, the edging tool works fantastically. Simply spray paint your curved edge or lay down a garden hose onto the edge you want to create, and edge away. Of course, if you decide to use a garden hose as your guide, be extremely careful not to accidentally cut into it with your edging tool. Be careful of electrical wires, plumbing pipes, and other subterranean hazards as you edge. Although they may be covered with PVC pipe that's difficult to cut into with an edger, it's better to be safe than sorry. Talk to your utilities company before edging out any large stretch of lawn and remember to edge gingerly. Before doing any digging, call the 811 Nationwide Locate call center and request that they locate any buried utilities. There is no charge of this service. Edge around flower beds and planters with a manual edge. Flower beds and planters are perfect for using a manual edge because you can afford to take away a little soil or mulch when you edge. The process is the same. Just remember not to take away too much lawn when you edge; try to achieve the balance of taking away just enough to clearly define the edge but not so much that you've significantly reduced your lawn space. Decide how you want to tackle trees and shrubs. The lawn around trees and shrubs can be edged either with a power edger or a half-moon. When using a half-moon, however, be especially careful of root growth. If the tree or shrub is older or has an extensive root system, consider edging with a power edger instead of actually digging into the soil and potentially cutting up roots.
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Use your power edger or weed wacker primarily around sidewalks and footpaths. Use your power edger along straight lines and right angles. Walk holding the edging tool completely level and rigid. If you can, walk on the sidewalk or footpath as you edge. Edge slowly but surely, taking time so that you don't have to rehash the same territory too many times. Get familiar with your half-moon manual edging tool. Use your manual edging tool to create fluid or flowing edges. Be careful of electrical wires, plumbing pipes, and other subterranean hazards as you edge. Edge around flower beds and planters with a manual edge. Decide how you want to tackle trees and shrubs.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Replace-a-Ceiling-Light-Socket
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How to Replace a Ceiling Light Socket
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If you have a little electrical experience and a basic toolkit, you can replace your old ceiling light socket yourself. Always disconnect the power by flipping the room's circuit breaker before working with electricity. Then, unscrew the current light fixture and separate its wires from the ones in the ceiling. Leave the junction box in the ceiling, since you'll need to connect your new socket to it. If the ends of the ceiling wires aren't already stripped, strip them ½ inch with wire strippers. Twist the wires for your new socket together with these and cover them with wire nuts. You don't want any exposed wires, since these can be a hazard. Finally, screw your new fixture into the ceiling and test it.
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Assemble the necessary tools and parts. To replace a light socket in the ceiling, you'll need some basic electrician's tools to complete the job safely. It's good to have: A razor, to cut around fixture if there's paint Lineman's pliers Screwdriver Non-contact voltage tester Wire strippers Extra wire nuts Disconnect the power by flipping the breaker. Any time you're working with electricity, you need to locate the breaker that corresponds to that particular fixture and shut it off. You can test the power by flipping the light switch and making sure that it doesn't turn on. It's also a good idea to use a non-contact voltage tester to make sure the fixture isn't getting power. Remove any glass covers or shades. Decorative fixtures like globes will need to be removed first, gently unscrewing or unfastening the connections and putting the piece aside. You might need to use a screwdriver, but most fixtures will probably just use thumbscrews that you can remove by hand. Remove the lightbulb or bulbs, as well to expose the socket itself for examination. Lower the fixture and let it hang to examine the connections. You need to figure out how the fixture is attached to the ceiling, before you go unscrewing it. Most fixtures are attached in one of two ways. The first method involves simple screws that go through the fixture into the junction box in the ceiling. The second involves a threaded post that extends through the fixture from behind and attaches with a decorative cap nut, usually a small knob in the center of the fixture. Remove the screws or post connecting the socket. There are typically two or three screws holding the fixture itself to the bracket. Lower the fixture down, exposing the wire connections. Once the fixture is down, use your hands or pliers to undo the wire nuts. Wire nuts are the plastic cone-looking pieces covering the ends of where the wires come together, connecting the black and white wires coming from the fixture to the wires coming from the ceiling. There might also be a ground wire from the fixture attached to the metal of the junction box in the ceiling by a screw. Separate the wires coming out of the ceiling and leave the junction box alone. The junction box is a round, square or octagonal box, usually made of plastic, in the ceiling under where the fixture used to be. Normally there will be white and black wires. Write down which wires are connected to which and label them. Not all fixtures are a simple set of wires coming into the box, especially in large houses. Some fixtures are wired in parallel with others, making the tangle somewhat confusing. The wires from the fixture will the connected to wires of the same color coming from the ceiling. In some countries, different color codes apply to wires, especially in older installations. Make sure the ends of the wires from the fixture are stripped about 1/2". If they are not, carefully remove the rubber covering from the 1/2" of the ends of the wires using wire strippers. Some of the wires may be loose, or you may need to use pliers to untwist them. If ends of wires are damaged or bent, you may need to clip them and strip them again. Prep the new fixture by removing glass cover and bulbs. The wiring from the fixture should be exposed and ready to be attached. It's sometimes helpful to set the new fixture on something to allow you to work on it without it hanging down, if possible, like the top of a ladder. The length of the exposed wire should match the manufacturer's recommendation for the wire nuts, usually around 3/8ths to ½ in of exposed wire. Connect the wires to the new fixture. The wires should be reattached in the same places as the old fixture, usually white to white, black to black, and ground (bare copper) to the metal junction box. Neutral wire–usually white–should be attached to neutral wire. Twist the wires two or three times together clockwise, or the same direction you turn the wire nuts. You can use either the old wire nuts or the new ones provided with the fixture. To use the wire nut, place the stripped ends of each wire next to each other, with their points facing the same direction. Then place the wire nut over the ends and twist clockwise until the wires are secured inside the wire nut. Make sure no exposed wire is sticking out beneath the wire nuts. If there is, either remove the nut, trim the exposed end, and replace the nut, or cover with electrician's tape. Give a quick tug on each wire to make sure they're not going to come loose. Fold all the wires back gently into the junction box. Once all connections are made, gently tuck them back into the box as you're lifting the fixture up. You don't want to overstuff. Once the majority of your wires are in the box, you can loosely screw in the fixture to the bracket. Once it's installed but not fully tightened, make sure you won't pinch any wires and tighten the fixture. Test your work. Once your fixture is installed to the bracket, you'll install the bulb following manufacturer's recommendations about the wattage. Then you can flip on the circuit and check your work. If it doesn't turn on, most likely culprit is a loose connection. Check to make sure that the wires didn't come loose while you were tucking them into the box. Also, check that bulb is the proper type or that another switch isn't interfering with anything.
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Assemble the necessary tools and parts. Disconnect the power by flipping the breaker. Remove any glass covers or shades. Lower the fixture and let it hang to examine the connections. Remove the screws or post connecting the socket. Separate the wires coming out of the ceiling and leave the junction box alone. Write down which wires are connected to which and label them. Make sure the ends of the wires from the fixture are stripped about 1/2". Prep the new fixture by removing glass cover and bulbs. Connect the wires to the new fixture. Make sure no exposed wire is sticking out beneath the wire nuts. Fold all the wires back gently into the junction box. Test your work.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Blood-Stains-from-Carpet
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How to Remove Blood Stains from Carpet
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To remove blood stains from carpet, apply hydrogen peroxide to the stains and let it dry completely, which will lighten the carpet fibers and hide the stains. You can also try cleaning the stains with shampoo and ammonia. First, mix shampoo and water and apply the mixture to the stains. Then, let the mixture sit for 5 minutes before applying some diluted ammonia. Finally, let the ammonia sit for an additional 5 minutes and then rinse the area with clean water.
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Blot with a clean, white cloth or towel. Press down and lift to pick up as much wet blood as possible. If you are working on a large stain, start on the edges and work your way towards the center. This prevents the blood from spreading. Do not rub the stain. This smears it onto more carpet fibers. Spray with cold water. Spray the stain with cold water, and let it sit a few minutes. If you don't have a spray bottle, instead pour on just enough water to wet the carpet. Do not use warm or hot water, which can set the blood stain permanently into the carpet. Too much water can spread the stain or damage delicate carpets. Keep it damp, not soaked. Keep wetting and blotting. Use a dry towel to absorb the moisture, again blotting in an up and down motion. Continue to wet, then blot dry, until the stain is gone. This may take several repetitions. You can also absorb the moisture using a wet vac or a handheld carpet extractor. Change to a new spot on the towel whenever the old one gets discolored. Use white towels to see this more clearly. Treat with salt paste. If the stain is still there, try a salt paste instead of plain water. Mix salt in a small bowl of cold water, until you make a thin paste. Pour a little over the stain and let sit for a few minutes. Blot this again with a clean cloth or towel. If you see residue on the towel but the stain is still there, repeat this step. Salt can damage carpet fibers over time. Vacuum promptly once the area is dry. Wet with dilute liquid detergent. Stir 1–2 teaspoons (5–10 mL) liquid dishwashing detergent into 1 cup (240 mL) cold water. Soak a clean, white cloth with the solution and apply it to the stained area. Rinse by spraying on plain water, then blotting dry. Do not use detergent that contains bleach or lanolin. Turn on a fan to speed up drying. Blow a fan over the wet spot to speed up drying. If the carpet takes too long to dry, blood left on the backing of the carpet can "wick" up to the surface fibers, causing a new stain. If you don't have a fan, stack a few paper towels over the wet area. Weigh down with a heavy object and let dry. Vacuum or brush the dry carpet. This will restore the original shape of the carpet fibers. If the stain is still visible, try using the methods below for dried stain removal. Test each treatment on a hidden area first. The treatments below are potentially strong enough to damage or discolor your carpet. Always test them on a small, hidden spot of your carpet first. Let them sit for at least 15 minutes, or until dry, then check for damage. Silk and wool carpets are notoriously easy to damage, and you may not even want to risk a corner. Consider hiring a professional instead. Brush with a dull knife (optional). Scrape a butter knife across the carpet fibers to remove flecks of dried blood. This gives you a head start on heavy spills, but won't do the trick by itself. This is not recommended for valuable carpets. Apply unflavored meat tenderizer. This chemical breaks down proteins in the blood stain, making it easier to remove. Mix this with an equal amount of cold water, then dab onto the stain. Let sit 15–30 minutes, then blot with a clean towel. Rinse off with a drop of liquid detergent mixed into cold water. Avoid flavored meat tenderizer, which can create new stains. This may break down fibers in wool or silk carpets, since these also contain animal protein. Wet the tufts with hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide lightens the color of your carpet fibers, hiding the stain. Wet the stain with 3% hydrogen peroxide. Let dry in a well-lit room, and it will break down with no further need for rinsing. This is a risky method for carpets with dark or vivid colors, but much safer than using bleach. Most drugstores sell 3% hydrogen peroxide. If your bottle is more concentrated, dilute some to 3% strength. (For instance, mix one part 9% hydrogen peroxide with two parts cold water.) Soak in shampoo, then ammonia. Ammonia is highly effective, but may discolor the carpet and damage wool or silk. While you can use the ammonia treatment by itself, it is most effective following ordinary detergent: Mix 2 teaspoons (10 mL) shampoo or liquid dishwashing detergent in 1 cup (240 mL) water. Spray on carpet and let sit for five minutes. Mix 1 tablespoon (15 mL) household ammonia in 1 cup (240 mL) room temperature water. Take care not to inhale ammonia fumes. Blot shampoo dry, then spray on ammonia. Let sit five minutes, then blot dry again. Spray on water and blot dry, to rinse. Use an enzyme cleaner. Commercial enzyme cleaners break down the complex chemicals found in blood and other organic stains. Apply according to label instructions, typically by spraying over the stain, letting it sit, then blotting dry. These are often sold as pet urine removers. Some environmentally friendly laundry detergents contain enzyme cleaners, but use these only if you can't find a product designed for carpets. These products may not work as well at cold or very hot temperatures. Do not apply to wool or silk carpets, since the cleaner may break them down along with the blood. Dry the carpet in an area with good air flow. Once the stain is removed, set up an electric fan blowing over the wet area, or open the windows and doors to create a breeze. This speeds up drying, which reduces the chance of hidden blood in the backing rising to the surface. Vacuum or brush the carpet. Your carpet fiber may feel stiff or crusty once it dries. A quick use of a vacuum or carpet brush should restore it to its original feel.
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Blot with a clean, white cloth or towel. Spray with cold water. Keep wetting and blotting. Treat with salt paste. Wet with dilute liquid detergent. Turn on a fan to speed up drying. Vacuum or brush the dry carpet. Test each treatment on a hidden area first. Brush with a dull knife (optional). Apply unflavored meat tenderizer. Wet the tufts with hydrogen peroxide. Soak in shampoo, then ammonia. Use an enzyme cleaner. Dry the carpet in an area with good air flow. Vacuum or brush the carpet.
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https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Bread-from-Scratch
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How to Make Bread from Scratch
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To make bread from scratch, dissolve a package of yeast in warm water, then mix in sugar, salt, canola oil, and 3 cups of flour. Stir until the mixture is smooth, with a batter-like consistency, then add the remaining flour a little at a time. Once you've mixed in all of the flour, knead the dough on a floured surface for 8-10 minutes. When the dough feels smooth and elastic, place it in a greased bowl and let it rise until it doubles in size, then divide the dough into 2 loaves and place them in greased bread pans. Let the loaves rise for another 30-45 minutes, then bake them at 375°F for 30-35 minutes.
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Dissolve 1 package of yeast in a bowl with 2.25 cups (530 mL) of warm water. Fill a large bowl with warm water, preferably filtered or boiled to remove any traces of chlorine. Then, pour in the dry yeast and wait for it to dissolve, stirring occasionally to help the yeast combine with the water. Be sure to use dry active yeast, rather than quick yeast. The yeast may begin to bubble when you add it into the water and as it dissolves. Stir in sugar, salt, canola oil, and 3 cups (384 g) of flour. Add the 3 tbsp (37.5 g) of sugar, 1 tbsp (17.06 g) of salt, and 2 tbsp (36.88 g) of canola oil, stirring the mixture. Pour in the flour and beat the mixture until it is a smooth, batter-like consistency. Remember, you aren't pouring in all of the flour just yet, as this can cause the dough to become too stiff. Add the remaining 3.5 cups (446 g) of flour ½ cup (62 g) at a time. Begin adding the remainder of the flour into the bowl, stirring and beating the dough after each addition. Continue stirring and working the mixture until it has a smooth, near-solidified consistency, like a very soft dough. It's important to work gradually, as adding the flour all at once can make the dough crumbly and dry. Dust a flat surface with flour and pour the dough out of the bowl. Sprinkle a light layer of flour over a small area, and then carefully dump the contents of the bowl onto the counter. Cup your hands around the dough to make sure that it stays in a contained area and doesn't spread across the counter before you begin kneading. If the dough seems to have a liquid consistency, continue stirring the mixture until it becomes more solid and dough-like. Knead the dough with your hands for 8-10 minutes. Roll, squeeze, press, and pull on the dough to add some elasticity to the bread. This will incorporate air pockets into the dough, activating the yeast so it will expand and grow. Once the dough has an elastic consistency, stop kneading. If you knead the dough for too long, the bread will likely be tough and too chewy. Grease a bowl and place the kneaded dough in it. Spray the inside of a bowl with oil or fat, and carefully pick up the dough and transfer it into the bowl. In the bowl, spin the dough around and flip it over in the bowl to ensure that all sides are coated with the preferred fat. This helps to give the bread a crusty outer shell and keeps the dough moist while it rises. Cover the bowl and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in size. Drape a towel over the top of the bowl so that it's covered completely. Then, put the bowl in a sunny window or on the counter under the light so that it is slightly warm as it rises. Check the bowl after 1 hour, and if it hasn't grown to twice its size, let it sit for an additional 15-30 minutes. Some doughs require colder temperatures to rise, but warm temperatures will help this simple dough rise quickly. Divide and shape each half into a loaf, placing them in greased pans. Pull the dough out of the bowl and use a knife to slice it into approximately equal halves. Then, use your hands to shape them into loaf-shaped tubes, and place each in a pan that has been sprayed or coated with fat. The halves don't have to be perfectly equal, so you don't need to worry about weighing or measuring the dough. The fat will ensure a crispy, solid crust on the outside of the bread. Let the loaves rise for 30-45 minutes covered with a towel. Cover each pan with a towel and set them on the counter. This is the final rise, and will give the loaves time to “rest” and grow a bit more before going into the oven. After 30 minutes, check each loaf to make sure it has risen slightly in the pan. Depending on the temperature and humidity, some loaves won't rise very much in the pans. As long as the dough grew during the first rise, your loaves will likely turn out fine! Bake at 375 °F (191 °C) for 30-35 minutes. Remove the towel from the pans and place them on the center rack of the oven. After 30 minutes, check the bread by pulling it out of the oven and carefully tapping on the crust. If it sounds hollow, the loaves are ready! Let them cool completely before slicing. If they don't sound hollow, bake them for an additional 5 minutes to ensure the middle of the bread is completely cooked. Preheat your oven to 350 °F (177 °C) and grease a loaf pan. Turn on the oven before you begin working so it heats to the right temperature. Then, spray or coat a pan with a layer of butter or any type of cooking oil so the batter doesn't stick to the inside of the pan as it bakes in the oven. For this recipe, you'll only be making one loaf, so you only need to grease one pan. Combine the dry ingredients, including the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, combine 2.25 cups (288 g) of flour, 1 tbsp (4 g) of baking powder, and 1.5 tsp (9 g) of kosher salt. If you're adding any spices, such as rosemary, thyme, or oregano, add small pinches to the mixture to ensure they aren't overpowering. Don't be afraid to get creative with a variety of different savory and sweet spices, like cinnamon, cloves, or even pumpkin spice! Whisk the wet ingredients, including eggs, milk, and oil, in a separate bowl. In a different bowl, use a spoon or a whisk to combine 3 large eggs, 1.5 cups (350 mL) of milk or buttermilk, and 6 tbsp (110.64 g) of canola oil. The mixture should be smooth and liquid. It's important to keep these ingredients separate from the dry ingredients, because you want them to be completely combined before they're absorbed by the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients slowly, mixing with a spatula. Stir the ingredients together until the batter is smooth, with no lumps or dry ingredients remaining. It may take 1-2 minutes for the ingredients to fully combine. Make sure you stop stirring as soon as the dry ingredients have dissolved. If you like a tougher bread, you can stir the batter for 1-1.5 minutes after all of the dry ingredients are dissolved. This will incorporate air into the batter, which will cause it to rise more quickly and form a denser loaf. Transfer all of the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 40-45 minutes. Pour the batter into the greased pan and then place the pan on the center rack of the oven. After 40 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf. If the toothpick comes out clean with no residue, the loaf is ready. If the toothpick has a sticky residue on the outside, bake the loaf for an additional 5 minutes to ensure that the center is completely cooked.
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Dissolve 1 package of yeast in a bowl with 2.25 cups (530 mL) of warm water. Stir in sugar, salt, canola oil, and 3 cups (384 g) of flour. Add the remaining 3.5 cups (446 g) of flour ½ cup (62 g) at a time. Dust a flat surface with flour and pour the dough out of the bowl. Knead the dough with your hands for 8-10 minutes. Grease a bowl and place the kneaded dough in it. Cover the bowl and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in size. Divide and shape each half into a loaf, placing them in greased pans. Let the loaves rise for 30-45 minutes covered with a towel. Bake at 375 °F (191 °C) for 30-35 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350 °F (177 °C) and grease a loaf pan. Combine the dry ingredients, including the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk the wet ingredients, including eggs, milk, and oil, in a separate bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients slowly, mixing with a spatula. Transfer all of the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 40-45 minutes.
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