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African Safari Preparation

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If you are planning on going on an African safari, the last thing you would want to do is spoil the trip right out of the chute by forgetting some essential things. Make yourself a list of things to do and check everything off as you go along. There are some important things to consider before you head to Africa.

You will want to wear comfortable, but protective clothing on your safari. Long sleeved shirts help protect your arms from the sun, and long pants will help protect you from mosquitoes. Wearing neutral colored clothing will help you blend in with the surroundings while you are admiring the wildlife, and will help to reflect the sun, keeping you cooler.

Remember, your transportation may not allow you to carry a lot of luggage, so be conservative. You may have to travel by a small plane or boat and not be able to carry more than a few pounds worth (maybe 20 or 25). Be sure your gear and clothing is packed in something waterproofed like a duffel bag. Most safari guide services recommend only 2 or 3 days worth of clothing be taken as there will be facilities to do laundry in most camps and lodges. If you are planning on being in any of the larger African cities with restaurants, they may require more ‘dressy’ attire, so take something appropriate.

Here are a few items you might want to take along on your African safari:

Clothing – sweater and jacket, raincoat, jeans, dress pants or skirts (if you plan on going into the city; you might even want to take a tie and some dress shoes), t-shirts, underwear, sports bra, sun protecting hats, socks, hiking shoes

Miscellaneous – large handkerchief or headband, oral hygiene supplies, hair care supplies, shaving gear, sun glasses, wash rag, plastic storage bags, sunscreen and insect repellent, medications for allergies, colds and headaches, flashlight, pocket knife, camera and film (this is important – don’t count on getting it there), batteries, small first aid kit, eye drops, lip balm

You should plan on visiting your doctor several weeks before your trip to make sure you have the vaccinations and medications you may need. There are some things you may be susceptible to in Africa that you want to guard against.

A Yellow Fever Vaccination Card is required for entry into Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Malaria prophylactics are advisable before entering into a malaria area (particularly Kruger). Malaria is spread by mosquitoes, so take other precautions, too. Avoid Bilharzia (caused by tiny parasites) by not swimming in stagnant rivers or streams.

If you are a non-resident of Africa, you will need a passport that does not expire for at least six months after your return home. Visas which are acquired before you travel are required in Egypt, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Visas can be obtained upon arrival in Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Also, plan on getting at least the minimum amount of travel insurance.

Many places outside of the African cities accept American currency as well as local currency. Also, take travellers cheques in small denominations for incidental expenses. Many establishments in the cities also accept international credit cards. Some banks have ATM machines where you can use an international credit card to obtain local currency. You will need to ensure you have some American cash for visas, airport departures, taxes, tipping, etc. Carry small denominations like $10 – $20 USD and plenty of $1 USD for tipping.

So, getting ready for your African Safari is a job in itself, but if you arrive prepared you will certainly have a much more enjoyable and hassle free trip.

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Source by Michael Russell

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Keeping Your Camping Food Hot – Top 5 Tips To Keep It Nice And Warm

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There is nothing quite like being out in the open air by your tent having some lovely hot food after being outside all day. Camping is all about getting back to our roots and being in tune with nature, whether you are camping in the hills, the woods or at plush campsite with all the bells and whistles like shower block and social club with a television.

One of the great things is cooking out in the open whether that is by means of a barbecue or a camping stove. But one of the issues us campers come across is how do we keep the food warm? It is not like at home where you can turn the oven down or reheat your stew in the microwave. At camp you either have to eat it one sitting or eat it cold. Or do you? Here are my top five tips on keeping your camping food hot;

  1. Insulate With Cloth And Newspaper. To keep your pans of food hot by placing the pan or saucepan with newspaper or throwing a tea-towel over it will keep it hot for a good extra twenty minutes.
  2. Add Sauce. When you serve your food, boiled vegetables can go cold in a flash; try serving them in a hot sauce. This will add flavour but also keep them hot for a lot longer.
  3. Make a ‘Hot’ box. You don’t have to use your cool box just to keep items cold. You can use it as a hot box. Fill your cool box with some hot air from a kettle then put your pan or saucepan inside, then seal the box. This can keep your food hot even for hours.
  4. Flasks. You don’t have to use a flask just to keep your tea and coffee warm. If you need a sauce hot while you cook your other food and ingredients, pour your sauce into a flask, then seal.
  5. Round up the campers.By getting everyone seated just before dinner is served, this will avoid anyone getting a cold meal. In my experience with a family someone generally ends up with a cold meal of you do not adopt this approach.

It can always be a challenge to keep your food hot when camping especially if you go camping out of season. If you are barbecuing food and if you know that it won’t all get used, it is good to wrap those items of food in foil and store them in your larder. This will help keep the food that much warmer for longer.

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Source by Max Webster-Dowsing

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Washing Hair in the Evening Does Harm to Your Health

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As we know, the rhythm of modern life is so intense. People are busy with their work, activities and entertainment during the day. Therefore they like washing hair in the evening when they are free.

Of course, it is OK if you have enough time for the hair drying out when you wash hair in the evening. But sometimes you are too busy to wash hair before 10 pm, and you feel so tired after washing that you always go straight to bed and sleep before the hair is totally dry. To do so, the elders will say that will cause headache later. In fact, their words are somewhat reasonable through modern scientific research.

We must know that the human body always produce heat continuously in the metabolism process to maintain the body temperature. And the heat would be transferred to surface layer of organism through blood circulation and emanated to the outside with ways of radiation, conduction, convection as well as evaporation.

For those with strong body resistance and normal regulating function, the two processes of heating and cooling are in balance, that is to say heat will increase when the body temperature declines, which make the body temperature remain at around 37 C. But for people who have weak body resistance and poor regulating function of body temperature, they are easy to get cold by whole or local exposure to cold.

After we wash hair with warm water, the capillaries of the scalp will dilate due to warm effect and the heat of the body radiating around will increase. Meanwhile, the wet hair will cause a lot of water to evaporate, which take away much heat. Generally speaking, 500 calories will be taken away when one gram of water evaporates.

As the heat loss increases and the body gets cold, the capillaries of the upper respiratory tract shrink reflectively, partial blood flow volume reduces and the resistance of the upper respiratory tract decreases, which lead to that existed virus or bacteria get a chance to step in, grow and reproduce. It will result in the respiratory tract infections, which make people have flu symptoms such as runny nose, stuffy nose, headache or fever.

So generally speaking, you should avoid washing hair before going to bed. Even if you had to do that, you should towel your hair dry. In this way you will not catch cold.

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Source by OJ Meiao

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Storage Container Hire – What You Must Know Before Paying

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Storage containers can be used for any number of applications and purposes. There are many online suppliers who will offer your storage container hire services. These online suppliers source the containers from the manufacturers or factories and then supply them either in new or used condition to people who need them for various purposes.

You can hire such containers in various sizes. The online suppliers mention all the sizes available on their websites and by seeing the dimensions and viewing the images provided, you can pick the suitable containers for your requirement. Though these containers are supplied from 8 feet length onwards, the 10 ft and 20 ft ones are very popular and you can also hire the multi-compartmental conversion type of containers. These are usually made of steel which is very strong and also corrosion resistant.

You can avail the storage container hire service in a wide range of colors for greater visibility and these can be easily stacked too, in order to occupy minimum of space. You can hire the containers for shipping purposes, as the online suppliers also offer them made to shipping specifications. Additional ventilation is provided for reducing condensation and the flooring too is equipped to be rot and vermin proof as well as damp-resistant. Marine grade paint is provided on the containers, for imparting the maximum safety to your goods.

If you wish, you can also avail special storage container hire for storing and transporting hazardous materials and chemicals. These are also very robust and meet the stringent requirements of government guidelines. By going through several relevant websites, you can also have customer specific containers, to suit your specific requirement. Optional extras are also provided in the form of racking, cooling, ventilation and heating accessories. These containers are also available for hire in the form of portable steel offices, foldable stores for canteen and kitchens, and also for portable toilets.

You can even hire temperature controlled or refrigerated containers in order to keep your products, such as frozen food, drinks, chemicals, or lab samples either warm or cold. Your items will thus continue to stay in the ideal product temperature. The containers are revolutionary in design and are also environmentally friendly, as they offer you power savings. Many of them are also provided with tamper free lock controls.

Whatever be your storage or accommodation needs, there is an online storage solution offered for your needs. These manufacturers are specialists and supply storage container hire facilities for retail, industrial, commercial and for any other events. The online suppliers also deliver these storage containers directly to your site as part of their service.

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Source by Ernesto L

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Types of Tote Bag Coolers

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Getting fresh food and cool drinks, on the move was never so easy! Tote Bag Coolers have simplified the way we carry food and beverages when we travel, by adding a new dimension of convenience to it. Gone are the days of lugging around bulky hard case ice chests. Innovation has given way to exciting new products like the Rolling Backpack Coolers, Backpack Coolers, Insulated Tote bags and more.

A Tote Bag Cooler includes a multi-chambered, close-able container enclosed by overlapping flaps creating a self-sealing, sleeve-style aperture. It usually has handle straps that may be attached to the sides of the container. A handle grip may be attached to the mid-section of one of the handle straps and wrapped around the opposing handle strap when grasping the handle straps. A shoulder strap may or may not be included. It’s outer surface would essentially include a beverage holder, a seat belt strap, mesh pockets, and/or a fabric pocket.

Tote bag coolers are available in a numerous styles and designs with varying features. There are coolers for beach outings, picnics and even commercial purposes. There are separate coolers for carrying food and wines or any other favorite beverage. The ideal beach totes are the bags with a vinyl type material on the outside, that make it extra easy to clean the sand off and prevent it from getting stained easily.

Large freezer tote bags are ideal for the food industry, transporting cold/frozen foods from one location to the other and also a favorite with the boating crowd. While sailing or boating, the vinyl outside material prevents water leaking into the bag. The insulated soft Cooler Bags, on the other hand, will keep your food and drinks cool for hours, while being stylish at the same time! These bags are a must-have accessory for a picnic, or a trip to the the farmers market or for grocery shopping.

Casual insulated Cooler bags are medium sized totes and are excellent for a short trip. You can fill your cooler bag with your cold groceries and this insulated tote will keep your food/drinks cold. A boat tote is perfect for a beach outing or for shopping while on vacation or at home. Rolling Coolers are also very popular among frequent travelers. The wheels on these coolers make them easy to roll. They even collapse into a small package for easy storage.

The Backpack Cooler [http://www.coolerstores.com/tote-bag-coolers-42-ctg.htm], too, is one of the most versatile and convenient coolers. These coolers commonly have multiple sections, a cooler section at the bottom and a bag part on top. They are a favorite among people who love packing them for long trips or for travel. They are suitable to carry cold beverages and keep healthy snacks handy when you or your children need a quick bite. Excellent as a camping cooler or even a hiking cooler as you can fill up on beverages, and add dry snacks or changes of clothes in the top section. The comfy backpack straps make this an easy pack to carry. Tote bag coolers and Backpack coolers can be taken along to amusements parks and other public places as well. You can now have hygienic home-cooked food anytime, anywhere.

There are also Cooler Bags to carry your favorite bottle of wine or champagne for a quiet, romantic picnic with your loved ones. These are insulated duffel bags equipped with a shoulder strap and waiter-style corkscrew. These wine and cheese totes may be equipped with two compartments for wine, made of high quality polyester canvas. They come with two compartments for wine bottles and a storage section to carry the amenities included: hardwood cutting board and a cheese knife. The adjustable shoulder strap makes it easy to carry. These coolers are even great as gifts for your loved.

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Source by Megha Monga

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A Beginner’s Guide to Caring for Goats

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Your goats need the majority of their diet to be natural roughage from shrubs, woody plants, hay, tree bark, and more. The roughage they eat will most likely not provide them with all of the nutrients they need to maintain perfect health. It is probably going to be necessary for you to supplement their diet with a coarse grain like goat feed, corn, or another good grain product.

If you give your goats a diet that is almost all grain they will develop kidney problems that can be fatal. They may also develop a bloated stomach or become too fat. A goat must have a balanced diet that contains between 75% and 80% of their dietary intake from natural roughage providing plants.

You may have heard that a goat can eat anything, or that a goat will eat anything. This is not true. Many natural plants can either make your animal very sick, or in some cases can cause premature death for the animal. Plants that will make your goats sick.

• Hemlock

• Wild cherry

• Azalea

• Black walnut

• Rhododendron

• Sheep laurel and Mountain Laurel

• Juniper

• Ponderosa Pine

• Yew

• Mesquite Pods

Keep plenty of fresh water available to your animals at all times. The amount of water they will need will vary depending on the moisture content in the food they are eating. In the winter months if you live in an area that sees temperatures fall below freezing for long periods of time you will want to get a submersible heater to put in the water container so the animal water does not freeze solid.

Shelter is a necessity for your animals. They need a dry place where they can get in out of the rain, and where they can sleep without the dew falling on them. Their shelter needs to provide them a way t get out of the cold winds that blow in the winter, and provides them with security from natural predators.

Most goat owners put a thick layer of straw or hay down inside their shelters so their animals will have adequate protection from the cold and dampness of the ground. You can put a wooden floor in your shelter if you choose.

A large dog house is also a good shelter alternative for a goat. The animal will go inside the structure and they will also climb on the structure. Many owners buy the small igloo dog houses and put them inside their enclosure so their small animals can go inside them.

You will need to learn to trim the hooves of your goats. You can put rocks or concrete blocks in the pen with the animal to help them naturally maintain their hooves, but from time to time you need to insect their hooves and trim off excess.

Good Fencing

You need to install fences that the animal cannot squeeze through and cannot lift up to go under. Goats are notorious for sticking their heads through the fence and often getting their horns hung up in the fence.

You need strong fences with secure gates to contain these animals. They will often push against the fence like they are scratching their sides on the fence so having your fencing material properly secured to the fence-posts is very important.

Signs that Your Goat is Sick

No matter how good you care for your animals there will be times that they get sick. The best way to determine if you have a sick animal is to pay attention to their normal behaviors. Then when one of the animals begins to act differently from what they normally do you will be quick to notice the difference.

Some signs of illness in goats are:

• When they do not chew their cud

• When they refuse to get up

• When they are not eating like they normally do

• When their poop is solid or liquid instead of in pellets like it should be

• Walk and cry more than normal

• They stop drinking

• They begin to grind their teeth

• They have a limp

• They are staggering

• Their udders are hot to the touch

• They are coughing

• Their eyelids or gums are ale in color

• They have a runny nose

These animals have great personalities and will entertain you for hours. They will help to keep property clear of shrubs and weeds, and the young ones will bring a fair price when you sell them. Taking care of the animals is not really hard to do, and the rewards outweigh any trouble that the care presents.

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Source by Lisa Kate Bohler

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The "Not So Cool" Story of Refrigeration

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Imagine a modern home without a refrigerator? Well, it’s hard to even think what we would do without refrigeration. Modern cities in developed countries depend heavily on refrigeration to keep perishable food items fresh and safe for daily consumption. The technique of refrigeration has impacted agriculture, industry and lifestyles across centuries evolving from ice harvesting to temperature controlled rail cars.

Refrigeration is the name given to the process that ‘removes heat from one location to another’ creating a cool or cold environment that has many applications like household refrigerators, air conditioning systems, cryogenic facilities and industrial freezer units.

The idea of cooling beverages has its origin in the ancient Chinese and Roman empires. Seasonal harvesting of snow and ice is a practice dated prior to 1000 B.C. according to a collection of Chinese lyrics from the period known as the Shih dynasty. The next mention of ice harvesting is in the time of the Jews and is mentioned in the book of Proverbs in the Bible. Other civilizations such as the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans made use of large snow pits lined with tree branches and chaff to cool beverages and keep fruit cool. But it was not until the Persian culture when the usage of an ice pit called Yakhchal is mentioned; this may be the precursor to cold storage of food for preservation.

In the early 1800s, ice became a mass-market commodity with a large majority of people using ice boxes to store dairy products, fish, fruits, meat and vegetables, thus paving the way for the acceptance of refrigeration technology.

Refrigeration – the timeline

William Cullen, a Scottish professor was the first to examine the idea of artificial refrigeration by creating a partial vacuum over a container of diethyl ether that absorbed heat from the surrounding air. This was in 1755 but the experiment had no practical application at that time.

In 1758, professors Benjamin Franklin and John Hadley investigated the principle of evaporation as a means of rapidly cooling an object by conducting an experiment at Cambridge University.

In the year 1820, renowned British Scientist Michael Faraday used high pressures and low temperatures to liquefy ammonia and other gases.

American scientist Jacob Perkins working in Great Britain in 1834, assembled the first ever closed-cycle vapor compression refrigeration system. Although the prototype, not patented, was the first known system to function successfully, it did not have any commercial success.

American physician John Gorrie made a similar attempt in 1842 but again it was a commercial failure.

The first patented, practical vapor compression refrigeration system using alcohol, ether or ammonia came in 1856 built by James Harrison.

In 1860, Ferdinand Carre of France patented his gas absorption refrigeration system design referred to as “aqua ammonia”, the process of using gaseous ammonia dissolved in water.

Meanwhile, an engineering professor at the Technological University Munich in Germany had been working on an improved method of liquefying gases. In 1876 he patented this new process which was made possible by using gases such as ammonia, sulphur dioxide and methyl chloride as ‘refrigerants’, a practice that began to be widely used until the late 1920s.

A refrigerant is a substance or chemical used in a heat cycle, as in the case of refrigeration, to convert liquid into gas.

By the turn of the 19th century, refrigeration came to play a vital role in the food distribution industry first through natural ice and then on manufactured ice. Many food and meat packing houses in America adopted ammonia-cycle refrigeration units for their storage facilities.

With the idea of artificial refrigeration a huge success, came the thought of refrigeration for household purposes. The limitations were largely on account of size as they were designed for installation on lorries, truck and storage houses and the safety factor in case of fire accidents where toxic gases leaked or exploded.

Refrigeration for the home

In 1911, General Electric (GE) became the first company to overcome the challenges of meeting refrigeration needs for the home. GE released a household unit powered by gas that eliminated the need for a motor and considerably decreased the size of the unit. However, the idea of a gas-powered unit did not go down well with electric customers of GE so an electric model framework was set into operation.

In 1927, Monitor Top, the world’s first ever refrigerator to run on electricity was released. The idea created waves with many other companies hitching their bandwagon in the run-up to improve upon this new invention.

One of GE’s main competitors, Frigidaire entered the fray in 1930, synthesizing Freon as a refrigerant. This was a breakthrough invention that enabled the development of cheaper, lighter and smaller refrigerators for home use. At that time the use of Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) was considered to be less harmful than the more commonly used refrigerants like ammonia, methyl chloride and sulphur dioxide. The intent was to provide safer home equipment at affordable prices.

Nowadays, home refrigerators have become stylized home appliances with a variety of designs, colors and sizes with varying temperature control functions to cater to the needs of small, medium and large families.

Environment concerns

In the 1970s when the world became aware of environmental concerns and global warming, these CFC compounds were found to be reacting with the protective atmospheric ozone layer bringing down the use of CFCs as a refrigerant as laid down in the 1987 Montreal Protocol. Today, manufacturers have embraced the idea of using eco-friendly refrigerants like hydrocarbons as a means to combat global warming and reduce the impact of greenhouse gases.

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Source by Urvi Tandon

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What Can Emerging Technologies Offer Our World?

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RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) has been described as the oldest new technology! It has been around for about fifty years, its value in identifying Aircraft in flight during the Second World War was quickly realised by the British Air force. The following forty years the technology was mainly used in security applications, building access, road tolls and key fobs.

RFID is an infrastructure technology, which will have a impact on almost every business process. However RFID is still a new technology, and thus we are waiting to see where it will lead in many applications. The case for RFID is well documented within specific business scenarios, but the benefit to the consumer are still little known apart from Londoners with their Oyster cards and Parisians with their Navigo cards. However, most people have used RFID without realisation it in their key-fobs, and one or two have found this facility so convenient that their home doors are locked the same way.

What is sure however is that RF is here to stay, with major pilots and positive proofs of concept across many industries: food and drink, aerospace, libraries, government, transport, retail, pharmaceutical, healthcare, logistics, auto industry, security etc. The IT and Building Industry have an enormous opportunity here.

Because of the need to identify vital equipment quickly, the Military were naturally interested in technology that could help take the guesswork out of inventory and logistics. Wars fought in foreign lands create massive logistic problems; soldiers need bullets, food, etc when necessary, regardless of price or location. Battle readiness is key to military success.

RFID use by the US Military was identified quickly by major retailers like Wal Mart, Metro Group, Target and Tesco who felt that the ability to “see” stock in their supply chains would help eliminate delivery error, stock-outs, shrinkage, human error etc and also help in building consumer driven demand chains. Inventory cost money, and uncertainty causes stock build up by all stakeholders in the supply chain. High stock levels, or empty retail shelves simply reflect a lack of knowledge. Awareness of goods flying off the retail shelf by manufacturer is extremely useful when creating production runs. However for now retailers are focusing on the benefits of pallet and case-level tagging. Manufacturers and retailers are working very closely together to remove inefficiencies from their supply chains. This helps consumers by keeping the right stock on the shelf at competitive prices, and in America where item level prescriptions are being rolled out by a major pharmacy group (CVS Pharmacy), it will enable better management and control of drug stocks. Hence if a drug in one pharmacy is within three months of its shelf life it can be dispatched to another pharmacy where demand for that specific drug is greater. Also it will flag up any unusual drug sales or errors.

But to speak only about RFID in terms of supply chain is to miss the point.

Emerging technologies: sensors, (mots or smart dust), Nanotechnology and community-wide wireless broadband, GPS, are changing the landscape for business applications and life style generally. Some argue that this is the biggest technological transformation of the 21st Century. It will transform our Cities, our work processes and our lives.

A number of RFID applications together with innovations such as EPCGlobal and standardisations around wireless spectrums are actually enabling cyberspace to interface with the real world. Concepts such as the expression “Internet of Things” will mean that every object in our physical environment can be identified and its status confirmed in real time. Soon everything that you own including your household assets will be aware that you own it! Theft is going to be difficult!

We are witnessing the rise of “Real World Awareness”, which will have massive implications for us all. This is not just about identifying a packet of frozen peas in a walk-in freezer, but enabling the freezer to tell the operator its status in real time.

Does the freezer need maintenance? Are the doors shut, lights off, stock accounted for. Are there fresh raspberries in that freezer? The ability to flag potential problems, remove errors, cut costs and drive efficiency.

RFID sensors are playing a big part in airline safety. Airbus and Boeing have endorsed RFID wholeheartedly and mandated their supply chains to incorporate this technology into their product offering. If you ever glanced at the first aircraft cockpit you will see a couple of dials on the dashboard. Early pilots required the help of flight engineers, navigators and radio operator to fly. Pilots flew “by the seat of their pants”, using their skill and experience. Look now at the latest Airbus 300 series! Around 600 sensors all automatically working in harmony to insure engines and aircraft are all in good working order. Risk are constantly being reduced. Pilots alone would not be able to deal with all the complexity currently handled by wireless sensors and onboard computers.

To be able to identify a foreign object like a bird caught in an aircraft engine following a successful flight can also save massive amounts of fuel.

Again, to identify a minor fracture on a rotor blade prior to a major crack can prevent a nasty accident. After every flight a full log of the aircraft engine activity is downloaded to a preventive maintenance crews who search for irregularities.

This data is key to safety and efficiency in the airline industry.

These sensor innovations are also happening in Formula 1 racing. McLaren Mercedes have around 50 sensors throughout their car engine and chassis to help them improve performance. Cars racing along at 200 mph plus are giving their mechanics back at the racetrack vital data about their engines performance . Mechanics are even aware that drivers are about to change gear! This new sensor technology works well despite a very difficult environment with massive security challenges.

The British Nuclear Group is deploying Ubisense sensor solution to map and identify radiation levels and the location of each worker to increase employee safety and efficiency.

Metro Group’s Future Store Initiative in Germany is providing a glance of retailing tomorrow. Shoppers do not notice anything unusual except that each shopping trolley has a PDA which can help shoppers find products. Item level tagging is still a bit away, but the ability of the smart shelves at Metro to identify when an item is removed from the shelf is very useful for back-office staff, and the ability to identify goods about to go out of date and reduce their price helps maximise profits. Additionally there is a whole new industry of marketing and promotional ideas coming together as shoppers walk past products for sale.

Replacing inventory with information is key to improved retail efficiency and enhanced client shopping experience.

Around 7000 American gas stations are enabling clients to fast fuel their vehicles by the simple wave of their RFID fob. Simply fill up and go! The fuel fobs have been so successful that their use is now been considered in fast food outlets where convenience and service are key to happy and loyal clients.

With new sensors based in houses, smart kitchens, hospitals, factories, public parks, highways and parking spaces what will this all mean to Society, to our privacy and to sorting out some of our major social and economic problems?

Are we able to pull these emerging technologies together strategically for The London Olympics to show the world that Business UK is fit and ready?

China is currently building fifty smart cities with sensors embedded everywhere. Sensors to help improve traffic flow, bridge structure, water management, and improved transport networks. At micro and macro level where are the benefits for both industry and citizens. If everything is tagged (people and assets) then a building site can become a safer place to work. Project planners can insure at a glance that materials and tools are in place prior to bringing in the builders. Chemicals can flag attention if positioned with dangerous materials or incorrectly positioned. We can control Air, Water and Waste by tiny sensors, or at least remotely monitor public safety in real time. We can perhaps drive better greener strategies and energy improved housing.

Dentalab are making dental molds with radio frequency tags so that dentists can be alerted if an incorrect dental crown is offer to a client. Implicit here are enormous benefits for efficiency and safety. TrentStar, the beer keg asset management company, deploying RFID, made a fivefold decrease in beer kegs maintenance costs. Imagine if every public utility meter was self read? Would that reduce rates? What if parking meters could chat with cars to update parking charges? Singaporeans use their car tags to pay for parking and road use. Big Brother Technology can be convenient if

managed without abuse. Laws are required that protect the public. Would we like to carry a tag with us everywhere which for example enabled our mobiles to be an oyster card or credit card and booted up our PC when we entered the ground entrance of our 15th floor office? Would that increase productivity for employers? What if employers paid our transport fees in recognition?

The American FDA have endorsed the use of RFID for item level prescription use.

Now “Unit of Use” medicine can be automatically matched to patient at POC( point of care).

The ability to insure the correct drug is dispensed to the correct patient is key.

US hospitals record 7000 deaths per year on average because of medication error.

In addition, 750,000 adverse medical events happen each year causing massive suffering and anxiety to citizens and caregivers. Counterfeit drugs are a major concern for everyone. How can technology remove this menace?

There are countless example of positive proof of concepts showing where Broadband, RF and smart dust-sensors can improve the way our healthcare is managed.

According to most press statements, our Hospitals are in serious financial crisis.

But do you know healthcare supply chains are run like businesses in the 60’s!

We have eCommerce and barcode standards, which will soon give way to automatic data-capture for all inventory movement within our complex hospitals, but we are still a long way away from making emerging technology save us money in healthcare.

We have great technology, but sometimes lack wisdom. Globally Healthcare has incredible economies of scale, but with numerous Local Trusts managing from their individual perspectives we will continue to have massive complexity and inefficiency in the foreseeable future. What is required, in my opinion, is a “monopolistic committee” which can mandate some good economic principles to insure long-term patient safety and the adoption of best RFID business practice. RFID healthcare standards will enable a truly efficient medical supply chain, enabling assets, maintenance, resources and people to be better-managed and scarce resources deployed where necessary. The patient will experience a much improved,cost effective and safer service.

Technology however is not separate to Society. No technology exists

outside the influence of people, culture, policy, and economics. Everyone “sees” according to their personal environment, their education, their family values etc. Increased awareness of our cultural mindset is important. We could look at this as a “prison mindset”. A self-locking mindset makes us think a certain way and thus creates our thoughts and confirms our reality. It is a cosy place to be and change is not always invited in!

A friend of a friend once phoned in a panic to request assistance because her car-key fob was flat and she was locked-out of her car. It was explained that the key could be inserted manually in the keyhole of the driver door! She could not believe this and was amazed to find a hole in the door that she had never seen in four years!

The point is our reality is driven by what we do and experience every day; we all have blind spots just like the Ice Merchants of yesteryear who never thought that fringes and freezers would arrive to destroy their business overnight. Anyone hear of innovations where tomorrow’s fridges will be running on sound waves? Goggle thermoacoustic refrigeration!

Smart Granite worktops will soon be in vogue. The granite will carry a number of transponders and a extra large embedded antenna to insure that all food items placed on the worktop will sync with all the other smart utensils, enabling everything in the kitchen to automatically communicate: washing machine, fridge, cooker, extractor, toaster, microwave, radio, lights, central heating, wall tiles, floor, all door locks etc etc. See Do Stone Smart Granite worktops at http://www.dostone.co.uk. Nasty bacteria on the cutting board will self clean as will the sink and recycle basket. No child in this kitchen will ever pull a boiling pot of rice upon herself. In-build safety / security will be a standard module in every smart kitchen. Energy efficiency also should save household fuel costs by 20% .

Who in your organisation / company or home are responsible for looking into the horizon to anticipate the changes and innovations coming fast forward? To be able to exploit technology we must be open to the idea of new technologies, new business processes, changing the way we work, think, and live.

People always come first and our perspective will determine how future technology will be adopted. Thus a big RFID / emerging technology debate needs to happen to insure we don’t waste this opportunity before us. I am working with Two Four Productions to bring this debate to our TV screens, so if anyone wants to get involved please do contact me.

We need to discuss the privacy issues much more, the benefits to humanity the trade off between lack of privacy and benefit. No one for sure wants to see George Orwell’s vision become reality, but ubiquitous sensor and emerging technologies have the ability if deployed correctly to make a positive contribution to our lives. And we need to appreciate that other parts of the world, hungry for success are less concerned with privacy issues and are fast exploiting these technologies.

Healthcare absorbs a lot of taxpayer’s money. Globally around 14% GDP!

There is little doubt that healthcare services are moving back to the community where it used to reside. Hospitals will be places for focused operations and all other healthcare issues will be dealt with from the home perspective.

Most elderly people prefer independence and deserve dignity. But it is not always possible for relatives and friends to pop in daily to insure all is well. Imagine if your elderly Grandparents lived hundreds of miles away?

With sensors creating real world awareness, it is possible to have a traffic light system on your PC which will flag up the occasion when Mr X did not get up or make a cup of tea at 7am or any major break to the natural flow of activity in their daily lives. Any change in social interaction, for example, may indicate a change in well being, or impending illness reflected early by failure to eat.

Lights automatically coming on when a elderly person visits the loo at night, for example, can help eradicate the thousand of hip operations required per year in the UK!

Smart packaging can indicate if the correct drug is taken at the correct hour and help people to better manage their medication.

No one will believe in ten years time that mobile phones were used for voice only.

In Sweden, Norway and Denmark RFID mobile phone are becoming an essential tool for the automatic capture of critical medical data in the community. Thus an internal sensor implant could forward key data via your mobile to your doctor.

However, improved national security safeguards are essential.

Sensors in doctor’s surgical gloves can help prevent accidents or assist a surgical procedure. Most operations are carried out in a standard way and the use of sensor networks can reflect the current state of an operation, assist with options, issue reminders, alert other professionals etc. Risk and error can be reduced. Work on this is currently being done at the Danish Centre of Pervasive Healthcare and Intel Research Seattle. This may lead the way to fast track medical training and open up better on-line training to less wealthy nations.

Again in Healthcare the ability of all hospital staff to be aware of impending operations, surgical and post-operational equipment and identify people and assets

quickly is a massive daily task. Time searching for people and assets within hospitals is enormous. Decontamination needs to insure that the correct equipment is at the correct theatre and in fit condition for smooth operational delivery. The reality is that Admissions do not talk with Theatre who do not speak with Decontamination, and cancellation of an operation at around £20K a go is not an infrequent occurrence. No wonder, some Healthcare Organisations has been described as a family of hostile relatives! Against this background stock is hard to identify and some hospitals phone their suppliers to ascertain how much business was initiated the previous month! eCommerce has been around for ages with platforms like UK HealthLogistics ready to deliver value. Surely a modern supermarket approach here to supply chains efficiency is required.

Who in EU Healthcare are authorised to mandate this wisdom? Once this simple decision is mandated who is ready to deliver the first connected hospital?

It will not happen overnight, but problems like hospital cash flow, supply chain efficiency, MRSA, adverse medical events (with their massive liability payouts) may be greatly reduced by sensors and emerging technologies.

Soon we will have free community-wide broadband.

Sweden last month gave free broadband access to all their citizens, with speeds 100 times faster than that available to us in the UK. Recently Milton Keynes followed suit, and The City of London promised free business broadband to everyone within the Square Mile. This emerging infrastructure is important as we start to realise that Broadband is not just a tool for Internet access and free VOIP, but an essential infrastructure for real world awareness.

From an IT perspective one of the most salient facts of these emerging technologies will be the massive amount of additional digital data to collect and the need for new hardware, software and robust standard networks to collectively make it all work.

A whole new infrastructure will be necessary to capture, control, provide consistency, and context to massive amounts of new data flowing faster. Global standards and interoptability of systems and data will be necessary. Again EPCGlobal, Gen2 Tags, improved Readers etc., are making great headway here.

However, we may need to rethink the way we teach our engineering, medical, in fact all students. Ten years ago it was sufficient to teach a civil engineering student about programming in addition to their core subjects. But now with massive technological change and real world awareness how do we insure our professionals are up to speed in the multiplicity of knowledge required to make strategic policy decisions.

We are at the dawn of integrating convergent technologies, and if we get it right we can offer future global cities some great solutions. Emerging environmental problems may be solved by emerging technologies. Let’s just do it!

Dermott Reilly

Strategic RFID Consultant

Do Stone Ltd

London

www.dostone.co.uk

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Source by Dermott Reilly

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A Planet X 2012 Survival Guide – Tips For Storing Food and Water

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Essentially, food and water are the most important factors to be considered in times of crisis. The best Planet X 2012 Survival Guide should be able to give you a general idea of how to make storing these necessities possible, as well as help you understand the situations that you might get into to be able to survive any calamity. Regardless whether the predictions about the occurrence of catastrophes in the year 2012 are true or not, natural calamities are bound to occur like typhoons, earthquakes, and the like. No matter what crisis you are in, these survival tips might be able to help you when you need them:

• Water is the most basic need that you would have to prepare in case any calamity should happen. This is because your body needs it to accomplish all the biological processes that will keep you alive. Storing clean drinking water for you and your family that may be available when the need for it arrives should be your top priority.

• In relation to this, you can start learning how to make your own water purifier made out of simple materials like sand, stone, and cloths. This way, in case you are not sure if a water source nearby produces potable water, then you can make use of the purifier to ensure your safety. Boiling the water before drinking it may also be an option; however, this might not be possible during calamities, especially if you do not know how to create fire without the use of matches or lighters.

• On another note, dried foods should also be a priority in preparing for future calamities. The Planet X 2012 Survival Guide lists the many options you have about which foods to store and how you can keep them in their most edible state. Frozen foods are not much of an option as they tend to rot faster because of their moisture content.

• Foods that do not require to be cooked before consumption should also be kept in handy. Nuts are a good example of this, especially those that are kept in tightly-sealed containers. The packaging of the foods is also important to prevent it from being soiled or rotting fast. Dried fruits can also be a viable option for storage.

• Take note of the expiry dates indicated on the pre-packed foods that you are about to store. If you fail to check when the foods would expire, then the whole point of storing these foods is basically defeated, since these foods would be of no use to you in the future. Make sure that you get foods that have the longest possible shelf-life so they can still be consumed years from now.

A person should be well equipped with the information in the Planet X 2012 Survival Guide, because these tips are not just applicable to the arrival of the Planet X (if ever it is true), but it can also be applied to any other type of calamity that you may encounter.

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Source by Shelby N. Bungert

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The Joy of Raw Food Diet Weight Loss

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The raw food diet is rapidly gaining popularity and awareness among knowledgeable health conscious consumers. As we enter the 21st century people are becoming more diet conscious due to an increase in understanding about how the body works. When people pursue raw food diet weight loss and abandon modern processed foods they quickly see a change in the way they feel and an increase in their energy levels. The benefits of turning from soda pop and processed food to more healthy things like uncooked vegetables, seeds, nuts, grains, beans, dried fruit, and even seaweed are bringing millions of people benefits like increased energy, better skin tone and even reduced illnesses.

Raw food diet weight loss revolves around cutting out foods that are not readily processed by the body. By replacing these processed foods with natural foods that are not cooked at excessive temperature many enzymes and nutrients are left intact. Studies have shown that heating food above 115 degrees F can destroy enzymes in food that can assist in the digestion and absorption of food. At least 75% of the diet must be uncooked or raw food in order for the diet to be a true raw food diet. If you are thinking about pursuing raw food diet weight loss you need to make sure that your body’s PH is not moving towards being more acidic than alkaline. An acidic body is a fat body as the metabolism will be slowed down and more inefficient. When an unhealthy diet of processed foods is consumed this will create an acidic condition in the body. To test the body’s acidity you can use PH test strips, these are inexpensive and they can be used to help determine not only your PH but the right diet schedule needed to meet your weight loss goals. By eating an alkaline diet you will find weight loss is more effective. This is the major tip in achieving long term weight loss. Fruits, vegetables and herbs will help assist you in your efforts to maintain a more alkaline body.

Eat Fresh and Organic

Eating organic foods can help as they contain higher nutrient levels. Organic foods have more alkalizing minerals than conventionally grown foods and eating organic will speed up your weight loss efforts. Make sure to buy the highest quality and most delicious food. It may cost more but the great taste and higher quality will ensure that your raw food diet weight loss plans are successful. The lowest calorie count per ounce will be found with raw greens and vegetables. Fruits are next in line. In general, fruits have a slightly higher calorie count because of their naturally occurring sugars which will help with weight loss due to the fact that this will raise the body’s blood sugar and reduce hunger levels. People will often eat a piece of fruit before their meal to reduce over eating. If you eat a piece of sweet fruit like some pineapple or an apple 30 minutes before your main meal this can significantly reduce your hunger cravings so that when you do finally eat you will want to eat less. Raw food diet weight loss is usually successful when a complete lifestyle change is made. This change is typically rewarded with a higher energy level and possibly a reduction in illness.

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Source by Todd L Butcher