Tag: <span>shock-freezing</span>

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It may feel like a dragon in your drawers; it’s painful urination. Fancy name dysuria, painful urination can be the result of many things from everyday allergies to more serious issues that necessitate a trip to the ER. If you’re feeling a little fiery down low when you go, you definitely want to keep reading to see what’s causing it, how to fix it, and then how to prevent it in the future.

Painful Urination Trigger #1: Allergic Reaction

Allergic reactions are responsible for a lot of issues men face, and this is no different. When some foreign agent comes into contact with the genital region – laundry detergent, soap, or even a partner’s body lotion – and your body doesn’t like it, it can result in an allergic reaction. This could cause a man to experience a fiery, unpleasant urinary experience. Medication can also cause an allergic reaction.

Fix-It: Wash the offending area well with water and air dry. Try to keep it aired out to put less pressure on the allergic reaction. Take an antihistamine if itching, rash, or swelling occurs.

Painful Urination Trigger #2: Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)

UTIs are a common reason a man may have pain during urination. They happen when bacteria get into the urinary tract, which could be the bladder, urethra, or kidneys. Look for cloudy or blood-tinged urine, pain in the side and back, and low-grade fever.

Fix-It: Most times, UTIs can be remedied in a few days with antibiotics. Drink plenty of water to help the bacteria move out of the system as soon as possible.

Painful Urination Trigger #3: Kidney Stones

A buildup of uric acid and/or calcium, kidney stones are just that – stones in your kidneys. These stones can get lodged where urine and the bladder meet, which can cause pain during urination. Kidney stones can be intensely painful, both having them and trying to pass them.

Fix-It: Well, there’s no easy way to do it, a man has to pee them out. Full disclosure: the pain can be excruciating. If the stones are too big, a doctor may have to use shock wave lithotripsy to break them into smaller pieces that still have to be urinated out.

Painful Urination Trigger #4: Bladder Pain Syndrome (BPS)

When the bladder feels both pain and pressure concurrently, it could be Bladder Pain Syndrome (BPS). It almost always shows up with lower urinary tract issues too, which can last up to six weeks or more without a known cause. Men with medical issues like fibromyalgia, IBS, or other chronic pain issues are most susceptible.

Fix-It: A chronic issue, BPS has no cure. See your doctor for diagnosis and a treatment plan.

Painful Urination Trigger #5: Prostatitis

Prostatitis is a bacterial infection that can lead to pain during urination. Symptoms include an evening urge to urinate, genital aches, and difficulty ejaculating.

Fix-It: You’ll need to head to the doctor for antibiotics to clear things up. It’s important to note that it can take up to three months to be truly rid of prostatitis.

How to Prevent Painful Urination in Men

Preventing pain during urination comes down to a few basic steps. First, be sure to drink plenty of water each day to help flush your kidneys specifically, but your whole system in general. Also, when you gotta go, don’t wait. Third, practice safe sex practices to keep any foreign bacteria out of your system. Be sure to call a doctor if you ever notice things are not “business as usual” in the area – don’t wait!

Finally, keep your penis as clean as possible. Wash it daily with warm water and a mild cleanser like baby wash. Rinse well and air or pat dry, never rub. Get extra protection by applying a specially formulated penis health creme (health professionals recommend Man 1 Man Oil , which has been clinically proven safe and mild for skin). This special lotion, made expressly for delicate penile skin is irritant-free, anti-bacterial, and calming for your most gentle kind of skin.

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Source by John Dugan

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Over the past few years, there have been so many researches on what actually gets a woman’s attention. You will be surprised to know that voice quality proved to be one of the best things that attracts women! Voice quality (deep, strong and sexy) comes well ahead of physical looks and attractiveness.

To be candid with you, I have always known that deep voices attract women, but I have never known the degree to which this happens, so the results of such researches usually come as a shock to me. So as you might already have know, there are many advantages of having a deep voice: you get more female attention.

It is true that not everyone can have a good sounding voice. It is also true that not everyone can look good physically, hoverer what if you could actually change your voice tone and make it a little bit deeper and sexier? Would this deeper voice quality be of any help to you? With the result of the research on deep voice I mention above, the answer to this question is obvious, especially if you are a guy that wants more self-confidence and want to pick up girls easily.

There are many more advantages for having a good deep voice tone, besides the fact that they can get more girls – which to me may not motivate many to try improving their voice quality; there are also psychological advantages to getting a deeper voice tone. It has also been proven that people with such a voice tone turn to have more self confidence and do better professionally. These might not necessary be the case in all circumstances, however, guess what I am trying to say here is that having a good voice quality might just open more doors in your life and enable you leave a more fruitful life.

Yes, a deep voice is great to have, but not everyone was gifted with such a natural good voice quality, and not everyone will be able to change their voice tone. However there are few things you can do to change (improve and enhance) your voice tone and make it sound better. There are many voice training guides on the net which you can get to learn how to develop the tone of that would be appealing. But before you get any of these guides and start using it, I will have to say this: If your voice is not actually giving you any trouble, then there might be no need to try deepening. You should only do it if you think your voice is affecting your full enjoyment of life.

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Source by Sean Harrod

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Water is the most common and important compound found on the Earth without which, the thought of survival of life is futile. H2O, commonly known as water, consist of two parts of hydrogen and one part of oxygen. Almost 70% of the human body is made up of water. If we study the physiology and anatomy of the human body, we’ll find that water is responsible for almost all the vital processes occurring in the human body whether it’s the digestive system, circulatory system or some other.

For years our ancestors have admonished us with the importance of water. Perhaps even more importantly, nutritionists and health experts confirm that the health benefits of water are numerous. The most common health malady that occurs in our body due to lack of proper amount of water in our systems is dehydration. This dilemma may provoke many other diseases. Heartburn, headache, back pain, pain in the legs, daytime fatigue, and rheumatoid pain are some of the adverse effects of dehydration. Dehydration generally occurs when the body starts squeezing water from its tissues, brain and skin. All these problems could be eliminated easily by adding proper amount of water in our daily diet. Additionally we can have shinny and healthy skin rather than ragged and dry skin due to dehydration. It’s chronic cellular dehydration that kills the cell, but it has a simple solution and that is to drink half of your body weight of water everyday.

Water works as a lubricant for our joints and it flows as a river through our veins, arteries and capillaries. In short it fills nearly every space of our body and acts as a protective shock absorber for our body. It also helps to form the structure of protein and glycogen. Meaning that water is the source that carries nutrients to our cells in each part of our body and also help to transport the waste out of the body. It has been proved advantageous for the functioning of the kidneys, and drinking more of the precious yet abundant fluid could lower the risk of developing kidney stones and gallstones.

Water serves to regulate the internal temperature of the body and maintains a constant fluid balance. Thus it acts as a thermo regulator that is why we can adapt ourselves in any of the Earth’s habitats. The electrical stimulation of nerves and contraction of muscles are the result of the exchange of electrolyte minerals dissolved in water. It reduces the risk of cancer as well as being a means of preventing diseases in general by not leaving the body’s cells weakened gasping for the water they so desperately need.

Water is a universal solvent and thus plays an important role as a media to carry and distribute the metabolites, hormones and other material around the body and within the cell. Many solutes are also dissolved within it, so it’s also essential for health, growth, stamina, building muscle and development. Energy reactions also take place in this medium.

It is good to substitute a cup of coffee in the morning with a glass of water as at this time the blood is most viscous and strokes particularly prevalent. During and after exercise it is also better to drink water to maintain the body’s level of hydration. This will also reduce the chance of heart attack at this time of day. Water is the best source to regain the hydration loss due to certain beverages as coffee and tea.

Considering the importance of H2O, it is better to sip it at regular intervals throughout the day regardless and not waiting for thirst to encourage you to take a drink. That will keep you well hydrated. Although it is advisable to drink eight to twelve glasses of water a day, it depends upon various factors as gender, age, physical activity, temperature, physiological condition, etc. There is little to no doubt in the fact that a correct regimen regarding water will help the body to keep the cells, digestive track, joints, and skin hydrated and healthy.

Keeping all this in mind, not only does it make since to drink water and plenty of it, but to give your body the purest water free of pathogenic bacteria, cysts, parasites, trihalomethanes (abbreviated THM’s), radiologicals, and heavy metals such as lead and mercury. You can find out more about the health benefits of drinking water [http://www.h2osopure.com/] and the home water purification systems offered by visiting us at [http://www.h2osopure.com/]

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Source by James Grover

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There are many ways of getting rid of ugly annoying moles – some you can do at home and others where one or more doctor’s visits may be necessary.

Let’s consider the surgical options in general, and laser surgery in particular.

The first benefit of arranging with your doctor to have your moles removed is that it will involve an examination of your moles, to make sure that they are indeed common benign moles and not some precancerous mole, or worse, a potentially fatal melanoma. The treatment options will vary depending on the sorts of moles you have.

All being well, it’s now time to discuss how your moles are going to be removed with your doctor. The main things to keep in mind are;

• How successful the treatment is likely to be – will the moles grow back?
• How many visits will be necessary
• How much pain, both during and after the treatment, will you have to put up with, and what sort of anesthetic will be available.
• And will you be left with a scar, and if so, how long will it hang around before it disappears

The last two points are probably the ones people think about most. No-one enjoys the thought of pain, blood and minor scarring, and three of the most common surgical mole removal procedures come with a fairly high OUCH! factor (although it has to be said that we’re talking about a small operation and the pain is neither major or long lasting – just real).

These techniques are surgery by excision or cutting out, by electrocautery (burning), and by freezing. Let’s put them aside for another time, and consider the technique which sounds a lot more friendly, hardly hurts at all, and leaves virtually no long term skin damage.

And that of course is laser surgery.

Let’s look at the benefits a little more closely.

The first thing to keep in mind is that laser surgery works best on flat moles, preferably ones with a bit of color and contrast to the surrounding skin, rather than raised moles. So maybe all your moles won’t be good candidates for this method.

During laser surgery, cells with a bit of color to them are targeted by the laser. They absorb more light and heat, basically causing them to boil and burst. The body’s normal repair processes will clean up the area over time.

You will feel this as a small shock – something like getting snapped by a rubber band – but not at all serious and over in a second. This is perhaps the greatest attraction of laser surgery for moles and other skin blemishes.

The other is the absence of a wound, and therefore of scarring.

Because laser surgery only affects the upper layers of the skin. So there is no bleeding, although because there is some damage involved a small amount of liquid is released by the skin to help with healing. You can expect some redness and maybe a small scab. But nothing like the noticeable scabs that develop after other forms of mole removal surgery.

And because there is little pain or damage, it is possible to treat quite a lot of moles in one session. This means you get rid of your moles quicker, and need fewer visits to the surgery.

That all sound pretty good – quick, clean and with no real pain or chance of scarring.

But there are downsides, some quite important.

The first and main one is that you are likely to need more than one visit. It’s not easy for the surgeon to find and treat every part of a mole at the first attempt, and unless the mole is totally destroyed, there is a good chance it will grow back.

So you will probably have to go back for follow up surgery once the first treatment has healed. This is particularly likely if the mole has penetrated well into the skin. This will mean extra expense, with each visit likely to cost well over $100.00.

Another worry is that it is fairly common for moles to return some weeks or months after laser removal – this seems to happen more often with laser surgery than with other forms of treatment.

This may be because the mole wasn’t completely destroyed – although it is a simple procedure the surgeon will be trying not to go deeper than necessary while trying to zap all of the mole. It isn’t always easy for the surgeon to do both successfully.

Laser treatment can revitalize skin cells – this is the idea behind laser skin resurfacing, where it appears the laser stimulates the skin to grow back looking fresher and younger than before.

Moles are made of skin cells too, and there is quite a bit of evidence that moles can also be rejuvenated during laser treatment, and grow back. I’m sure that’s not what you have in mind.

So it looks like laser mole removal may not be your best option. While the low pain and very low chance of scarring are big pluses, it won’t help if several visits are needed, and I doubt if you’d be happy if the moles returned, bigger and brighter than before.

So you might care to give more thought to the other surgical procedures which are available, some of which are more effective when done well. You will be able to find information on these in other articles.

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Source by Graham McClung

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Depending on where you are, floods are a threat to you and your property. Along with the changing of the seasons and climate change, floods are even more of a threat now. Even flood zones are changing. While your home wasn’t in a flood zone last year, your home may be in a flood zone this year.

While you can’t stop the water from rising, you can help minimize the damage of the water by being prepared. The following are fifteen secrets for protecting your home a flood:

1. Understand the risk – By reviewing your home or property, you will not be surprised when the flood does hit. Check to see if your home is in the flood zone. Ask the following question: Where can water get in our home? This applies to both what can be seen and unseen. Many times, it is the unseen damage, like what is in your crawl space, that we don’t think about.
2. Be prepared – Take the time to prepare as much as possible ahead of the rising waters. Is your flood insurance up to date? Do you have flood vents and have you checked them to see if they are working correctly? Many times, you can save a substantial amount of money on your flood insurance if you have flood vents in your foundation.
3. Understand the power of water – If the water is imminent and could be fast-moving, leave your home now and get to high ground! When it comes to fast-moving water versus humans, water will win every time. Get to high ground as fast as possible.
4. Think about Your pets – Pets are like your family. And just like your family, you need to protect them also. Make sure to bring your pet’s food, bedding, and medicine to the new location. Put them in a pet hotel that you know will not be affected by the flood. Possibly leave them with relatives or friends that will be far away from the flood area. If you need to, take them with you to high ground and away from the flood. Remember, do not allow your pets to walk through or drink the water. There are many contaminants in the water that can make your pet sick or possibly kill your pet.
5. Build your sandbags before you need them – If you have the resources to do so, sandbags are a great tool for holding back the waters.
6. Backup your data – Backup your computer data as soon as possible. You can use a variety of resources to back up your data to a free or low-fee backup service far away from water damage. Services like Dropbox, Box, Microsoft Drive, Google Drive, and many other services allow for you to never lose your data due to flooding.
7. Turn off your electricity and gas – Turn off all utilities to stop possible explosions or electrical shock or damage.
8. Move your valuables upstairs or raise them off the floor – By simply raising your valuables (this includes computer systems) off the floor can save you thousands of dollars in damage and heartache. If you can take them to the second floor, that is even better.
9. Charge your phone ahead of time – You don’t know how long the flood will last and when power will return. Make sure you charge your cell phone so that you can still have an open line of communication.
10. Keep a radio and flashlight close – Your radio may be your only source of communication for what is happening during this challenging situation. Since power may be off, a solar-powered radio would be great. Also, have enough batteries for your flashlight(s).
11. Move out of the way of fast-moving water – As much as you are tempted, do not wade into the fast-moving water. Many a person has lost their life going through fast-moving water.
12. Avoid contact with the water – Do not go through the high water during and after the flood with protective clothing. The water is contaminated with sewage, chemicals, and other waste that can make you sick. Also, under the flood water may be sharp objects that can harm you.
13. Get professional help to dry out any flooded areas – Don’t do it alone. Get the professionals to dry out any areas and access the damages.
14. Immediately contact your insurance company – Call your insurance company and give them the details of your situation ASAP so that you can get on their list to give you the help you needed. Make sure you get your flood insurance discount for installing your flood vents.
15. Take photos of the damage – Make sure to take pictures of the damaged items to help the insurance company quickly process your claim. As an extra tip, take pictures of items of your items before the water damage. Why? So that you can prove to the insurance company the condition of the items before the flood.

While you can stop a flood from happening, you can minimize the damage done to your home and save you thousands of dollars in damage. Implement these fifteen techniques and you will better protect your home from the water damage of a flood.

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Source by William Sykes

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The extended aeration process offers certain benefits that can be combined with conventional processes to obtain a high quality effluent. In this article I provide the major advantages and disadvantages of this process.

The extended aeration process transforms the popularly used complete mix activated sludge process. This is brought about through an increased hydraulic retention period as well as an increased solid holding period. Sludge digestion units that use an aerobic process are often used when implementing this process. The extended aeration activated sludge process is made use of in places where the influent reception rate in the wastewater treatment plant is below 50,000 gpd or 2 L/s.

Some of the advantages of the extended aeration process are:

This process requires little time for preparing the site as the plants are manufactured as pre-engineered and packaged units. This process proves reliable under sufficient supervision. Initial investment and costs are less. Land area required for setting up the plant is minimal. This process produces the least quantity of sludge among the various processes that utilize activated sludge. The temperature in the wastewater is around 15 degrees C and this enables Nitrification. Hydraulic loading shock at a moderate level can be easily absorbed with a minimal of problems experienced. The end result effluent is of a higher quality than many other processes.

However there are certain disadvantages too. These are:

The packaged plants and its pre-engineered modules may need certain changes to cater to the different regional standards for discharge. At higher temperatures there is de-nitrification which can potentially pave the way for sludge rising. A large variation in the inflow can reduce the efficiency of segregation of suspended solids in wastewater and its BOD. Compared with other wastewater natural treatment systems and land based systems this process consumes more power and has a higher cost of energy requirements. In colder regions the process is susceptible to freezing. Certain nuisance factors associated with this process are the odor produced when treating sludge and the noise from the blower. This process requires a higher quality of skill for operational and maintenance roles.

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Source by Rod Nash

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There are thousands of species of Palm Trees. They are considered to be tropical in nature, but most people are not aware that cold hardy palms may be planted outside without any visible damage from temperatures as cold as -20°F. You can see this as far north as Canada and Switzerland

Palm trees, like banana trees, give your home and garden that tropical look, usually found around pools and family recreational areas. Once established, Palm Trees are relatively maintenance free and are not significantly bothered by insects and disease.

There are two basic types of Palm trees and we will tell you about the Northern and Southern Palms.

Cold Palms (Northern Palms)

Afghanistan palm – Pakistan Palm and Mazari Palm – This palm may be the coldest hardy in the world, according to authoritative doctors on the subject of Palms. Their fruit is also edible and very popular to eat in that impoverished nation. The tree grows very slowly and thrives in desert conditions.

Dwarf Palmetto or Sabal minor – Blue Palmetto is widely distributed throughout the Southeastern United States and grows about 6ft. tall in shaded locations. This Palm is very difficult to transplant from the wild.

Needle Palm – Rhapidophyllum hystrix is a needle palm, which are the most frost hardy palms on earth surviving -20°F weather with little damage.

Saw Palmetto or Serenoa Repens – Sassafras Palm has been found growing wild as far north as Virginia, Washington D.C., and New Jersey, and is cold hardy to -10° F.

Windmill Palm or Trachycarpus fortunel has been known to be cold hardy for many years and have been growing in Switzerland for 100 years along Lake Lucerne.

Adapted palms (Southern palms)

Cabbage Palm or Sabal Palmetto – Sabal Palm and Palmetto Palm is the state tree of South Carolina and Florida. It is popular as a landscape tree in southern states with excellent cold-hardiness and transplanting success. Sabal palms are salt water tolerant.

Canary Island Date Palm – Phoenix canariensis or Majestic Palm. Is the most desirable palm to give a tropical look to the landscape. The trees grow about 50ft tall with leaves up to 20ft long.

Chinese Fan Palm is a slow growing palm; forms very large leaves, which will give a full-grown, tree a look of weeping. This palm can withstand below freezing weather, and can grow inside patios. You can find this palm tree along highways. This type of palm tree can grow up to 25ft tall.

Date Palm is the true date palm of North Africa. It has been planted widely in Arizona and California for production of dates. Date palms work well in mall landscaping.

Gum Palm is cold hardy to light freezes, but will freeze in weather below 20°F. The long leaves look like fern fronds, but the leaflets are bright shiny green in colour and stiff and sharply toothed.

European Fan Palm or European Palm. Has a large crown of blue-green fanlike leaves. This palm is considered to be one of the coldest hardy and grows outside. The plant can be relocated and will survive easy with little transplant shock when moved, even in during the summer months.

Pygmy Date Palm is a good container plant when potted indoors. Fine-leafed, small scale, single-trunked palm; grows slowly up to about 5ft.

Washingtonian Palm or Mexican Fan Palm has a tall slender trunk, has a crown of large fan-shaped evergreen fronds, and can provide a very tropical appearance to the landscape.

Sago Palm is a feather leaf palm that is found along the Atlantic coast beach and is 300 years old and 12 feet tall with dignified umbrella crowns.

Phoenix Sylvester Palm or Toddy Palm is very similar to the Canary Island Palm and the edible date palm.

Zamia pumila or Coontie Palm is known as the prehistoric plant, which dominated the earth 200 million years ago and grows 3ft tall on separate male and female plants.

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Source by David Chandler

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The squeals and shouts of our rambunctious, healthy kids enjoying their outdoor fun in the yard are reassuring and comforting for parents to hear – as long as those shouts don’t become screams of pain or an accident. The backyard is supposed to be a fun place for outdoor play and exercise, not a danger zone. Young children need the physical benefits of exercise, motor skills development, and fresh air, not to mention a place to work off their boundless energy.

Unfortunately, each year families of about 200,000 children confront injuries associated with unsafe playground areas and equipment, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. An estimated 51,000 involve home playground equipment, the rest occur at public playgrounds. Most of the injuries are the result of falls. Tragically, about 15 children die each year, most because of strangulation.

You Can Keep Your Kids Safe

Fortunately, these tragedies are preventable. Combined with careful adult supervision, proper playground construction and maintenance can greatly minimize the risk of injury to young children.

Practice Playground Safety at Home, at School, and at the Park

This quick-course has been written to help alert you to the danger signs in play areas. You can take control at home by taking precautions with your own play area. And you can take a new look at other playgrounds for the same hazards. These include lack of proper surfacing to cushion falls, lack of guardrails to prevent falls, head entrapment hazards, and other injury-causing hazards.

Cushion Falls With Protective Surfacing

Since almost 60% of all injuries are caused by falls to the ground, protective surfacing under and around all playground equipment is critical to reduce the risk of serious head injury. And because head impact injuries from a fall can be life threatening, the more shock absorbing a surface can be made, the less likely any injury will be severe.

Of course, all injuries due to falls cannot be prevented no matter what playground surfacing material is used.

What to Avoid

Do NOT Use Concrete or Asphalt. Falls on asphalt and concrete can result in serious head injury and death. Do not place playground equipment over these surfaces.

Avoid Grass and Dirt. Grass and turf also lose their ability to absorb shock through wear and environmental conditions. Avoid earth surfaces such as soils and hard packed dirt. Always use protective surfacing.

What Should You Use?

Loose-fill surfacing materials. These include double shredded bark mulch, shredded tires, wood chips, fine sand or fine gravel. The greater the depth, the greater the shock-absorption. Loose-fill materials should not be installed over hard surfaces such as asphalt or concrete.

Manufactured synthetic surfaces. These include rubber or rubber over foam mats or tiles, poured-in-place urethane and rubber compositions. The initial cost is higher but less maintenance is required. Be sure to ask the manufacturer for test data on shock absorption. Some materials require installation over a hard surface while others do not.

How Much Should You Use?

If using loose-fill material at home, maintain a constant depth of at least 6 inches of material. 9 or 12 inches is recommended. The cushioning benefits of fine sand and gravel increase at 12 inches, according to the CPSC.

What’s the Buffer Zone?

Create a buffer zone, covered with a protective surfacing material, under and around all equipment where a child might fall. The protective surfacing material should extend a minimum of 6 feet in all directions from the perimeter of the equipment. To prevent further injury from a fall, this area must be free of other equipment and obstacles that might strike a child.

Dig a Pit

Loose-Fill (sand, fine gravel, mulch, wood chips, etc.) material requires a method of containment such as a retaining barrier or excavated pit. It also requires good drainage underneath the material, periodic renewal or replacement, and continuous maintenance (e.g., leveling, grading, sifting, raking) to maintain its depth and to remove foreign matter.

Replace Loose-Fill Periodically

Wet weather, freezing temperatures, normal use over time, and contamination will decompose, pulverize, and compact material. Be sure to renew or replace it before it turns hard.

The Nitty Gritty on Sand and Gravel

Although cheap, sand is the least desirable option. Sand can scatter easily outside of your containment area. It also hardens quickly when wet, is abrasive to floor surfaces when tracked indoors, and attracts animals as a litter box. Gravel is more difficult to walk on and can present a tripping hazard if scattered.

Swing Safety Zones

Swing sets should be securely anchored. Swings also should have a buffer zone with protective surfacing extending a minimum of 6 feet from the outer edge of the support structure on each side. The use zone in front and back of the swing should be even larger, and extend out a minimum distance of twice the height of the swing as measured from the ground to the swing hangers on support structure.

Rules on Swing Spacing

To prevent injuries from impact with moving swings, swings should not be too close together or too close to support structures. Swing spacing should be at least 8 inches between suspended swings and 8 inches from the support frame. The minimum clearance between the ground and underside of swing seat should be 8 inches.

That’s how to create the best buffer zone between your child and potential injury. Now, read on for more equipment safety guidelines.

Consider a contractor if you are not handy. Poorly installed playgrounds can be an added hazard.

Playgrounds should be inspected on a regular basis. Inspect protective surfacing, especially loose-fill, and maintain the proper depth. The following conditions should be removed, corrected or repaired immediately to prevent injuries:

Exposed equipment footings.

Scattered debris, litter, rocks, or tree roots.

Rust and chipped paint on metal components.

Splinters, large cracks, and decayed wood components.

Deterioration and corrosion on structural components that connect to the ground.

Missing or damaged equipment components, such as handholds, guardrails, swing seats. 1. Install Guard Rails – Platforms more than 30″ above the ground should have guardrails to prevent falls.

2. Avoid Unsafe Openings – In general, openings that are closed on all sides, should be less than 3 1/2″ or greater than 9″. Openings that are between 3′ 1/2″ and 9″ present a head entrapment and strangling hazard.

3. Remove Pinch or Crush Points – There should be no exposed moving parts that may present a pinching or crushing hazard.

4. Never Wear Bicycle Helmets on the Playground – Bike helmets can get stuck in openings on playground equipment, resulting in strangulation or hanging.

5. Avoid Dressing Children in Loose or Stringed Clothing on the Playground. Clothing strings, loose clothing, and stringed items placed around the neck can catch on playground equipment and strangle children.

Remember to supervise, and teach your child safe play. Teach your child not to walk or play close to a moving swing, and never to tie ropes to playground equipment.

It’s not hard to make your playground safe, when you work from the ground up.

Install protective surfacing on the ground, use safe equipment, and maintain your play area.

With this game plan, the call is “safe at home!”

American Homeowners Association (AHA)® [https://www.ahahome.com/cgi-bin/oec.cgi?p=CN_kiosk/CN_kiosk&c=CN_kiosk/CN_kiosk2_129&acct_code=AH261]

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Source by Richard J. Roll

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Choosing the site: The site should be ideally in part sun. This means sun preferably in the morning and shaded in the afternoon. This will keep the pond from getting too warm in the summer months. This will also help keep the algae from getting out of control.

Hard or soft liner? In my experience a soft liner works best. The hard liners are pre-formed and not easy to get level. When you are installing a pre-formed liner many of them have built in plant shelves and different levels. Dig the hole larger than the entire surface size of the pond and the total depth. This makes for a lot of digging. Once its dug and the bottom is level, install the liner and start back filling. Try to have more than one person back fill with you, so the liner does not shift. Try to pack it down as you go. Putting some water in the liner will help anchor it in place while you are back filling it. If you live in an area of the country that has freezing temps in the winter, BEWARE: Hard liners can pop out of the ground during the winter months.

A soft liner gives you more flexibility. With design, with layout and the edges are easier to hide.

When digging for a soft liner install, spray paint the shape of the pond onto the ground, then start digging. This too should be as level as possible, however the soft liner is very forgiving and will bend to any slight bumps or divets. To install shelves in the pond, you can dig the shape into the wall of the pond or use materials such as cinderblock to create shelves. A pond fabric underlayment is extremely important. This will protect the liner from roots and rough edges. If you are using cinderblock or other rough materials to create ledges or shelves pad the edges well so they will not rub against the liner itself. As you install the soft liner get the bottom set and smooth (you will have to get in the pond) and work your way up. Again adding water to the liner will add pressure and help smooth out wrinkles. If you are building a waterfall, run a soft liner under the rocks and into the pond. Make sure it overlaps into the pond a good bit. This will reduce the amount of water loss.

With a hard or soft liner you will want to cover up the edges with some type of rock border. This is for decorative purposes if you are using a hard liner, however, if you are using a soft liner a rock border is a must. This will anchor the liner in place and keep the edges from moving or sliding. You can use natural stone such as Slate or Bluestone for a natural look or for a more contemporary look, cut prefabricated concrete wall capping for a clean custom look.

Filter Systems: There are two types of biological filter systems. In the water and above ground. The in the water systems are good for smaller ponds. The pump and filter system sit in the bottom of the pond. These systems are relatively inexpensive, the down side is that when the filter needs to be cleaned (on a regular basis, at least bi-weekly) you are getting wet.

The above ground systems are more expensive, however, once installed they are easier to maintain and are good for larger ponds and ponds with waterfalls. These pumps are generally stronger than the submersible type and can push more water. The filters are easier to change and clean.

When cleaning your filter system, whether above ground or in the pond, Never clean the entire filter system at one time. There are usually more than one filter pad or chamber of filter medium. Clean half at a time. You want to keep a supply of beneficial bacteria in the filter system. The beneficial bacteria helps to filter our things like chlorine and waste. It will also keep the algae at bay.

Having Fish: If you want to have fish in your pond, it should be 24′ – 30″ deep at the center so the fish can be wintered over. It also provides a cool spot for fish in the summer. A biological filter is also a must. Start with small, inexpensive fish. The fish will grow to fit the size of the pond, and you are bound to lose a few from time to time. Unless you are an experienced water gardener, I would not recommend spending $80.00 on a special Koi. Koi are beautiful, but they are also dirty fish. They excrete more waste than a regular goldfish.

Caring for your fish: Before you put any fish in your pond, neutralize the chlorine from the water. Fish hate chlorine! I recommend letting the pond settle for a few weeks and let the filter system grow a little beneficial bacteria before adding fish. When you do add fish, let the fish acclimate to the water temperature for at least one hour before cutting open the bags and pouring them into the pond. This way the fish can change temperature slowly and reduce the chance of shock. A dose of stress coat in the water will help reduce stress. This will coat the fish and reduce stress. The other deadly problem for fish is high Nitrates. Doing some reading about water chemistry in ponds will go a long way.

Pond plants are also great for the pond. They provide a source of shade and food for the fish. There are floating plants, such as Water Lettuce, Water Hyacinth, Anacharis and Water lillies. There are also bog plants. These grow in special pots and sit in the ledges of the pond, such as Iris, Cannas and Cat Tails. There are dozens of different types of pond plants.This will add aesthetic beauty to the pond. It will also create a habitat for frogs and turtles.

I know this sounds like a lot of work, but really its just a lot of info. Once you get your pond installed and balanced, it will be a joy. Put a bench near the pond so you can sit, relax and enjoy the serenity of a pond in your own backyard.

There are many ready to install pond kits available that will make building a pond quick and easier then you can imagine. You can find a series of sizes to meet your specific needs at most Garden Centers.

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Source by Vera Pappas

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Making use of an Aion Sorcerer leveling guide was very important for me since this class is a caster and they are a bit different in Aion. One thing I’ve noticed is that there aren’t any global cool downs, you have to watch when an animation finishes to be able to use another spell. Sounds complicated, I know, that is why I thought of writing down a few things I’ve learned from my Aion Sorcerer leveling guide.

Aion Sorcerer Leveling Guide – Stats To Focus On

Since the Sorcerer is the main caster damage dealing class, you need to focus on the appropriate stats. These are the stats you need to amass, Magic Boost, Magic/Magical Accuracy, Casting Time Bonus, Attack Speed and lastly HP. Now, the first one is very important as it increases damage by percentage, so 10 Magic Boost means 0.8% magic damage, 500 Magic Boost means 40% more damage. The second one affects resist ratings. This is important when leveling because you wont kill lower level mobs so you need all your spells to land. Casting Time Bonus does exactly what it says, increases casting speed. Now, Attack Speed is important because it will make the animations of your spells finish quicker, so you can immediately start using another spell. It wont make you cast faster like the Casting Time Bonus.

Aion Sorcerer Leveling Guide – Weapon To Use

Now this is a delicate manner, you can chose between Tomes and Orbs. In the Aion Sorcerer guide I use, I saw that I’ll be fighting mostly higher level mobs, for this you’ll need the Tome because it gives more Magic Accuracy. If you plan on killing lower or equal level mobs then go for the Orb, which gives magic damage.

Aion Sorcerer Leveling Guide – Spell Rotation

I use this spell rotation at level 24 and I’ve seen many people still using it at level 35 and above, so it must be good since it was in the Aion Sorcerer leveling guide I use too.

Start with Lumiel’s Wisdom if you have it, 50% less mana cost.

1. Delayed Blast, wont aggro if the mob doesn’t resist the effect.

2. Ice Chain, to snare the target so you can kite.

3. Frozen Shock, chains off the Ice Chain spell freezing the target in place.

4. Flame Cage, a normal damage over time spell.

5. Flame Bolt

6. Blaze, chains off of Flame Bolt and does more damage than using Flame Harpoon instead of Flame Bolt.

7. Erosion, a second damage over time spell.

8. Flame Harpoon.

At this point your target should be dead, if it’s not just use Flame Cage, Flame Bolt again. Using this information has made all the difference in the world for me, and I found it all in one place, an Aion Sorcerer leveling guide.

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Source by Nathan Black