Mar 14, 2014
Foiling Garden Pests
Early spring planting tip - cut up
small strips of used aluminum foil and mix in with garden soil to
keep away aphids and other garden pests.
Salt and Grilling
Spring means time to clean the
barbecue and get ready to grill. Salting meat after it is cooked
helps the flavor, but salt draws moisture out of the surface of
the meat. If salt is left on the surface of meat for a significant
period of time, it will dehydrate the meat. Usually, this is not a
good idea before cooking meat.
However, if the meat is going to be cooked quickly (like a grilled steak) and if the salt is added just before cooking, then the salt will neither help nor hurt the meat. This is because it is too short a period of time for the salt to dehydrate the surface of the meat.
However, if the meat is going to be cooked quickly (like a grilled steak) and if the salt is added just before cooking, then the salt will neither help nor hurt the meat. This is because it is too short a period of time for the salt to dehydrate the surface of the meat.
Ultra Thin Circuits
Ultra thin film-like organic
transistor integrated circuits are being developed by a research
group led by Professor Takao Someya and Associate Professor
Tsuyoshi Sekitani of the University of Tokyo, who run an
Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology program sponsored by
the Japan Science and Technology Agency, in collaboration with
Siegfried Bauer's group at the Johannes Kepler University Linz,
Austria.
The circuits are extremely lightweight, flexible, durable and thin, and conform to any surface. They are just 2 microns thick, just 1/5 that of kitchen wrap, and weighing only 3g/m^2, are 30 times lighter than office paper. They also feature a bend radius of 5 microns, meaning they can be scrunched up into a ball, without breaking. Due to these properties the researchers have dubbed them "imperceptible electronics", which can be placed on any surface and even worn without restricting the users movement.
The integrated circuits are manufactured on rolls of one micron thick plastic film, making them easily scalable and cheap to produce. And if the circuit is placed on a rubber surface it becomes stretchable, able to withstand up to 233% tensile strain, while retaining full functionality.
"This is a very convenient way of making electronics stretchable because you can fabricate high performance devices in a flat state and then just transfer them over to a stretchable substrate and create something that is very compliant and stretchable just by a simple pick and place process."
In the future, the group would like to expand the capabilities of these circuits and open a wide range of new applications, from health monitoring systems, wearable medical instruments, and even robotic skins.
The circuits are extremely lightweight, flexible, durable and thin, and conform to any surface. They are just 2 microns thick, just 1/5 that of kitchen wrap, and weighing only 3g/m^2, are 30 times lighter than office paper. They also feature a bend radius of 5 microns, meaning they can be scrunched up into a ball, without breaking. Due to these properties the researchers have dubbed them "imperceptible electronics", which can be placed on any surface and even worn without restricting the users movement.
The integrated circuits are manufactured on rolls of one micron thick plastic film, making them easily scalable and cheap to produce. And if the circuit is placed on a rubber surface it becomes stretchable, able to withstand up to 233% tensile strain, while retaining full functionality.
"This is a very convenient way of making electronics stretchable because you can fabricate high performance devices in a flat state and then just transfer them over to a stretchable substrate and create something that is very compliant and stretchable just by a simple pick and place process."
In the future, the group would like to expand the capabilities of these circuits and open a wide range of new applications, from health monitoring systems, wearable medical instruments, and even robotic skins.
Two Interesting Microwave Facts
Microwaves convert
Vitamin B12 to an inactive form, which means about 30-40% of the
Vitamin B12 in microwaved foods is not usable by mammals. On the
other hand, spinach loses about 77% of its folate when cooked in a
normal stove, but retains nearly all of it when cooked in a
microwave. In the same way, steamed vegetables, as a rule, tend to
retain more of their nutrients in a microwave than when cooked in
a traditional oven.
Eleven More Uses for Butter
Butter has many more uses
than just for sandwiches and sauteing.
- If you have anything sticky on your hands, like glue, tar, or paint, rub with butter, then wash with soap and water.
- Gum in hair comes off easier if rubbed with butter.
- Tree sap on a car comes off easier if rubbed with butter before washing.
- Cutting things like marshmallows, pies, toffee, dates is easier if you slice the knife through butter first so it does not stick.
- Butter works like oil to shine shoes, baseball gloves, etc. Just put some on a cotton swab and rub in.
- Large pills can go down a bit easier if rubbed with a bit of butter before swallowing.
- Butter works like expensive skin oils to soften cuticles and nails and to soften dry skin. it can also be used in a pinch to replace shaving lotion.
- Rubbing butter on hard cheese helps keep down mold if you rub it on the cut edge before wrapping.
- Dingy dusty holiday candles can be brought back to life by rubbing with butter. It cleans and brings back the shine.
- Difficult to remove rings slide off easy if you apply butter first.
- After handling and cleaning fish, rub some butter on your hands before washing with soap and water to remove the smell. (Butter is not good to rub on burns, use an ice cube instead.)
Differences Between Hay and Straw
Hay is a crop that
is grown specifically for the purpose of creating a nutrient-rich
food for livestock. Straw is a byproduct of different crops. Straw
is more often used for bedding, a compost pile, fuel for burning,
etc.
When farmers plant a hay field, the field is harvested before the grains go to seed. This keeps valuable nutrients in the stalks and makes for a much more well-rounded diet for horses and other forms of livestock. Straw, on the other hand, is a byproduct of other types of grain crops. When crops like wheat, barley, and oats are harvested for their seed, the stalks are left behind. These stalks, which have been drained of most of their nutrients during the process of seed production, are harvested and baled to create straw.
There are different types of hay, and have different nutritional values and usages. Alfalfa, red clover, timothy, bermudagrass and tall fescue are all types of hay grown as feed crops for animals from horses to rabbits. The nutrient value of the hay is also dependent on when it’s harvested. Early maturity harvests will contain more of their nutrients than hay that is harvested closer to seed production. For horses, the type of horse and dietary needs will mean a difference in the type, quantity, and quality of hay that is used.
Straw can be made from a variety of grain crops, and regardless of where it comes from, its purposes are generally the same. Some farmers will leave the stalks behind after harvesting seeds, tilling them back into the soil and returning what nutrients are left. Straw is often used as bedding for large animals, but it also has non-farming uses. Straw is a highly valuable renewable energy source, and burning straw can be used to generate power. Many power plants in the UK fuel thousands of homes by burning straw. A single power plant in East Anglia burns about 210,000 tons of straw a year, and that provides enough energy to run about 80,000 homes.
A bale of straw can also be used for composting into gardens or in place of dirt. Recent attempts at bringing a bit of home-grown vegetables and country living to the city have yielded some surprising results. A bale of straw can be used as a planting medium for garden vegetables. A wet bale of straw will decay from the inside out, providing a fertile bed for crops from potatoes to herbs.
When farmers plant a hay field, the field is harvested before the grains go to seed. This keeps valuable nutrients in the stalks and makes for a much more well-rounded diet for horses and other forms of livestock. Straw, on the other hand, is a byproduct of other types of grain crops. When crops like wheat, barley, and oats are harvested for their seed, the stalks are left behind. These stalks, which have been drained of most of their nutrients during the process of seed production, are harvested and baled to create straw.
There are different types of hay, and have different nutritional values and usages. Alfalfa, red clover, timothy, bermudagrass and tall fescue are all types of hay grown as feed crops for animals from horses to rabbits. The nutrient value of the hay is also dependent on when it’s harvested. Early maturity harvests will contain more of their nutrients than hay that is harvested closer to seed production. For horses, the type of horse and dietary needs will mean a difference in the type, quantity, and quality of hay that is used.
Straw can be made from a variety of grain crops, and regardless of where it comes from, its purposes are generally the same. Some farmers will leave the stalks behind after harvesting seeds, tilling them back into the soil and returning what nutrients are left. Straw is often used as bedding for large animals, but it also has non-farming uses. Straw is a highly valuable renewable energy source, and burning straw can be used to generate power. Many power plants in the UK fuel thousands of homes by burning straw. A single power plant in East Anglia burns about 210,000 tons of straw a year, and that provides enough energy to run about 80,000 homes.
A bale of straw can also be used for composting into gardens or in place of dirt. Recent attempts at bringing a bit of home-grown vegetables and country living to the city have yielded some surprising results. A bale of straw can be used as a planting medium for garden vegetables. A wet bale of straw will decay from the inside out, providing a fertile bed for crops from potatoes to herbs.
Special Olympics and Paralympics
This week, the
Paralympics are being held in Sochi, Russia. following the
tradition of following the respective Olympic Games. The Summer
Games of 1988 held in Seoul was the first time the term
"Paralympic" came into official use. Many confuse Paralympics with
Special Olympics.
Special Olympics and Paralympics are two separate organizations recognized by the International Olympic Committee. Both focus on sport for athletes with disabilities and both are run by international non-profit organizations. Special Olympics and Paralympics differ in three main areas: disability categories of the athletes, criteria and philosophy of athletes participation, and organizational structure.
Special Olympics welcomes all athletes, 8 and older, with intellectual disabilities of all ability levels, to train and compete in 30 Olympic-type sports. To be eligible, athletes must have an intellectual disability; a cognitive delay, or a development disability. They may also have a physical disability. Paralympics welcomes athletes from six main disability categories: amputee, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, visually impaired, spinal injuries, and Les Autres (includes conditions that do not fall into the other categories).
Special Olympics believes deeply in the power of sports to help all who participate to fulfill their potential and does not exclude any athlete based upon qualifying scores, but divisions the athletes based on scores for fair competition against others of like ability. Special Olympics believes athletes’ excellence is personal achievement and reaching one's maximum potential. To participate in the Paralympic Games, athletes must fulfill certain criteria and meet certain qualifying standards in order to be eligible. These criteria and standards are sports-specific.
Paralympics focuses on highest qualified based on performance. Special Olympics focuses on all ability levels and is committed to inclusion, acceptance, and dignity for all.
Special Olympics and Paralympics are two separate organizations recognized by the International Olympic Committee. Both focus on sport for athletes with disabilities and both are run by international non-profit organizations. Special Olympics and Paralympics differ in three main areas: disability categories of the athletes, criteria and philosophy of athletes participation, and organizational structure.
Special Olympics welcomes all athletes, 8 and older, with intellectual disabilities of all ability levels, to train and compete in 30 Olympic-type sports. To be eligible, athletes must have an intellectual disability; a cognitive delay, or a development disability. They may also have a physical disability. Paralympics welcomes athletes from six main disability categories: amputee, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, visually impaired, spinal injuries, and Les Autres (includes conditions that do not fall into the other categories).
Special Olympics believes deeply in the power of sports to help all who participate to fulfill their potential and does not exclude any athlete based upon qualifying scores, but divisions the athletes based on scores for fair competition against others of like ability. Special Olympics believes athletes’ excellence is personal achievement and reaching one's maximum potential. To participate in the Paralympic Games, athletes must fulfill certain criteria and meet certain qualifying standards in order to be eligible. These criteria and standards are sports-specific.
Paralympics focuses on highest qualified based on performance. Special Olympics focuses on all ability levels and is committed to inclusion, acceptance, and dignity for all.
Mar 7, 2014
Happy Friday
There are two kinds of people in the world. Those that go to bed and
their brains stop working and those who get up in the morning and
their brains stop working.
I go to bed to sleep and wake up to begin celebrating a Happy Friday!
I go to bed to sleep and wake up to begin celebrating a Happy Friday!
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