Written and Photographed by: Edward Hubbard of Londolozi……..
HELP DESK ~ INDIAN INGENUITY
An NGO created as a Community Service Centre for marginalized families in urban slum and rural areas, Aarambh, wanted to help students who are not as privileged, with basic facilities, in order for them to be more comfortable at school. Most schools in Indian rural areas have two basic problems:
1) The schools didn’t have proper desks, which led to poor eyesight and a hunched back leading to bad posture and bad writing.
2) The students didn’t have bags.
They came up with a solution which tackled both these problems at one go.
To make the portable desks we used discarded cartons which are economical and easily available. They then used a pre-set stencil design, which when cut and folded, created a slick desk which also served as a school bag.
HOW TO CLEAN A MATTRESS
HOW TO CLEAN A MATTRESS
Cleaning your mattress will eliminate dead skin cells and mites, of course, but it might also improve the quality of your sleep.
If you’re like me, you have never contemplated the need to clean your mattress. But as it turns out, once you know the facts, the cleanliness (or lack thereof) of your mattress can be hard to ignore.
According to Ohio State University, a used mattress can have anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million dust mites inside. That’s because mites feed off of dead skin cells, which our mattresses are full of since we spend so much time in bed. And what’s really irritating to our skin and lungs is not the mites themselves, but the fecal matter. Yuck.
So what can you do about this not-so-little problem? Change your sheets often (once a week if you can, once every other week for sure) and clean your mattress regularly. “I don’t think people give a lot of thought and energy into proper mattress care,” Dr. Sharon Horesh Bergquist, assistant professor in the department of medicine at Emory University, told CNN in 2010. “It really can improve not only the quality of people’s sleep but also reduce their chances of having mites and infestations of bedbugs.”
Sounds easier said than done, right? I mean, you can’t exactly just stick your mattress in the washing machine. Never fear! MNN to the rescue. Here are four easy steps to follow to clean your mattress:
- First, take off your sheets and wash them in the hottest water possible. This will help to kill any mites living on your sheets.
- Next, while the load is running, generously sprinkle baking soda all over your mattress (I use a sieve for this purpose but you can just shake it on straight from the box). If you’d like, you can even add a few drops of lavender essential oil to the mix to help with any funky smell that may be emanating from your mattress.
- Then, let it sit there for at least an hour; a few hours if you have the time.
- Vacuum up the baking soda with the hose attachment from your household vacuum cleaner. Do this part slowly, since lingering over each part of your mattress with the hose will allow it to suction up as much dust from inside the mattress as possible.
For a deeper clean, you can also steam clean your mattress. Steam cleaning works great to help get out old stains and will also help deodorize your mattress. Just be sure to let your mattress dry fully (three or four hours should do the trick) before putting your sheets and blankets back on the bed.
Do you have a mattress pad on your bed? This will also go a long way towards keeping your mattress clean. Don’t forget to wash it once a month as well.
By the way, your pillows can harbor dust mites also, particularly if you sweat a lot at night. Be sure to wash your pillows regularly and change them out for new ones every two years.
Remember, you spend one-third of your life in your bed, so its important to keep it as clean as you would any other surface in your home if not more so. Be sure to clean your mattress regularly and then you can rest easy (literally)!
Almond, Mango & Apricot Smoothie
Grilled Lemon-Pepper Chicken
Love this recipe – so simple, quick and healthy……. thanks to Brian
7 PEOPLE WITH ASTOUNDING BRAIN-POWER
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THE TRANSPARENT AIRBUS
Airbus Unveils Transparent Airplane
by the year 2050 you can see this beauty . . .
Airbus has unveiled a futuristic concept for a transparent plane that may be everyday air transport in 2050. With its see-through aircraft cabin, passengers of the future will get a window on the world as they fly through the sky. They will be able to see everything to the sides and in front of them.
The concept cabin unveiled at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, would be a bionic structure that ‘mimics’ the efficiency of the bird bone, claimed the company.
It would provide strength where needed, and also allows for an intelligent’ cabin wall membrane, which controls air temperature and can become transparent to give passengers open, panoramic views.
The company believes that mid-century passengers might be able to enjoy a game of virtual golf or take part in interactive conferences, while the cabin ‘identifies and respond s’ to travelers’ needs.
In the ‘interactive zone’ there are virtual pop-up projections taking passengers to whichever social scene they want to be in, from holographic gaming to virtual changing rooms for active shoppers.
The ‘smart tech zone’ is tailored towards the more functional-orientated passenger with what Airbus describes as ‘a chameleon-style offering.’
It aims to meet individual needs ranging from a simple to a complete luxury service, but all allowing ‘you to continue life as if on the ground’.
“Our research shows that passengers of 2050 will expect a seamless travel experience while also caring for the environment,” the Daily Mail quoted Airbus engineering executive vice-president Charles Champion as saying.
“The concept cabin is designed with that in mind, and shows that the journey can be as much a voyage of discovery as the destination,” he added.
BABY ELEPHANT IN A WELL
Published on Oct 12, 2012 by ATE Team
We rescued this young eight months old calf early this week. Luckily the report came in early in the morning and we were able to get there quick before the mother was forced to leave by herders arriving to water their cattle. It was a happy ending as we were able to reunite the calf with her mother, Zombe.
J4U2C
Many of us have grown up imagining what the future will be like. Will there be flying cars? Will there be robots? Will we be able to do amazing and extraordinary things?
Well, some of these things are yet to come, but some are already right here. The amazing things technology can do today never cease to amaze me. Here are 17 pieces of evidence that prove we area already, at least partly, living in a futuristic world.
The Ratheon XOS 2 is a second generation exoskeleton design for US army use. It allows the wearer to enhance his strength to carry heavy equipment much easier and for much longer.
The world’s first virtual shopping center opened in Korea. All the products are just LCD screens that allow you to order the items by touching the screen. When you get to the counter, your items are already bagged and ready to go.
A cellphone you can bend as much as you like and it will still do everything a smart phone does.
Your personal computer ring can play music, check your email, give you alerts and even allows you to browse or chat with others.
This man is demonstrating the ability of his prosthetic eye, which has a camera installed in it.
No longer using the camping stove just for cooking, a new line of camping stoves use the heat energy to power up lights and charge your phones or anything else you can charge by USB cable.
This trash can follows you around and calculates where to stand to catch your thrown garbage!
This motion tracking table morphs its surface to mimic your movements, allowing you to control objects from the other side of the planet if you so choose.
This windowed door turns opaque whenever you lock it.
This incredible app translates signs from video and in real time!
The new ‘Google Fiber’ has started deploying, and will offer users an Internet connection that is about 100 times faster than what they are currently using.
When did car panels start looking like this advanced?
A stop sign using water to project the image.
An example of the new E-Ink in action. An ink that stay flat on the page and can be printed but still moves on the printer page.
All of the functions these items that we used 20 years ago… Are now done by a single smartphone.
New casts can be printed with a 3D printer, are lighter, more comfortable and just as strong.
Bionic hands are now so advanced they can perform even delicate and complex movements.
GOO’BYE GRAN’DAD
For Non-Australians……
Dunny = Toilet, Lavatory
Redback = poisonous spider
Straight-througher = deep hole
Poor old Gran’Dad’s passed away, cut off in his prime,
He never had a day off crook – gone before his time,
We found him in the dunny, collapsed there on the seat,
A startled look upon his face, his trousers around his feet.
The doctor said his heart was good – fit as any trout,
The Constable had ta have his say, ‘foul play’ was not ruled out.
There were theories at the inquest of snakebite with no trace,
Of redbacks quietly creeping and death from outer space!
No-one had a clue at all, the Judge was in some doubt,
When Dad was called to have his say as to how it came about,
‘I reckon I can clear it up,’ said Dad with trembling breath,
‘You see it’s quite a story – but it could explain his death!’
‘This ‘ere ‘exploration mob’ had been lookin’ at our soil,
And they reckoned that our farm was just the place for oil,
So they came and put a bore down and said they’d make some trials,
They drilled a hole as deep as hell, they said about three miles!
Well, they never found a trace of oil and off they went, post haste,
And I couldn’t see a straight-throughér like that go to flamin’ waste,
So I moved the dunny over it – real smart move I thought,
I’d never have to dig again – and never be ‘caught short’.
The day I moved the dunny, it looked a proper sight,
But I didn’t dream poor Gran’Dad would pass away that night!
Now I reckon what has happened – poor Gran’Dad didn’t know
The dunny was re-located, when that night he had to go.
And you’ll probably be wondering how poor Gran’Dad did his dash?
Well, he always used to hold his breath……..
Until he heard the splash!!