Fountains of Refreshment
When hot, sticky days hit, try to use all your senses to keep cool. Sight and sound have amazing psychological effects, even when the thermometer soars.One of the most cooling and relaxing sounds I know is that of a trickling spring. It relaxes my mind and helps my body unwind. In the city, it can drown out the sounds of the daily hustle and bustle of life, calming and refreshing the spirit. I also love the glinting, reflective surface of water.
You can have the soothing coolness of water without a huge space so why not recreate this in your outdoor living area?Some small water features have still water and aquatic plants but with the fight to remove stagnant water where mosquitoes can breed, many people now prefer items with moving water. The most popular "moving water" items are tabletop fountains, statuary fountains and spitting creatures. All rely on a pump to circulate water through the feature. The water is pumped up through plastic tubing and released into the fountain, returning to the bottom where it is pumped up the tubing again. Most pumps run on an electrical connection but some smaller tabletop fountains have batteries.
There are also solar units available that require no electrical hook-up.Simple or elaborate, all fountain features have the following elements:
- a "bottom" where the pump where will be located and the water returns. This can be a large pot, an urn, a trough and so on.
- a "top" from which the water will emerge. This can be a small pot, a fanciful creature such as a frog, a conch shell, etc.
- a "middle" ? the water course which will receive the water from the top and return it to the bottom. This can be pots, pebbles, shells, marbles, or even empty space, creating a freefall.
- a pump. Give crucial attention to two features of the pump: maximum gallons per hour (gph) and maximum lift.
Remember, though, that water left sitting will stagnate.If you are making your own fountain, the pump is the most important part. Pump kits are available that include pump and tubing but tubing is quite inexpensive (about 60? per foot) and can be purchased at most garden centers. You can make a fountain from something as simple as terracotta pots and pebbles. For instructions, visit www.paradiseporch.com/fountain.phpSo soothe your senses with the calming sounds of moving water and keep cool in your outdoor space!.
Debbie Rodgers owns and operates Paradise Porch, and is dedicated to helping people create outdoor living spaces that nurture and enrich them. Visit her on the web at www.paradiseporch.com and get a free report on ?Eight easy ways to create privacy in your outdoor space?. Mail to debbie@paradiseporch.comTips For Optimal Laptop Power & Functionality
Are you sick and tired of your notebooks battery cutting out on you when you need it most? Are you always buying new batteries because your old ones aren't lasting as long as they should be? If either of these questions apply to you, then read on.In this article I will discuss some of the things you can do to conserve your batteries power so that your laptop runs longer. I will also discuss some easy things you can do to ensure that your battery gets the long life it deserves.First, let's cover some of the things you can do immediately to cut the amount of power your laptop is sucking from the battery.- Remove all cards from your notebooks slots when you are not using them. Believe it or not, some of these cards will suck power even when not being used!- If your laptop has a power management function, use it. Things like lowering the brightness of your screen and turning off the screen saver can also help tremendously.- Turn off your wireless port when not in use. This may seem pointless,...
Tips For Optimal Laptop Power & Functionality
Batteries > Tips For Optimal Laptop Power & Functionality
Busy, Busy, Busy...
?busy, busy, busy, busy, busy?busy, busy, bus? OK, slap me with a wet diaper! Enough of that silliness. Most you know what I'm talking about though, right? That's us! Busy. Doing what? Stuff. What kinds of stuff? All kinds of stuff. Like what? You name it.
Give me an example. Can't. Why not? Too busy?OK ? that's it! Blow the danged whistle! We need a Time Out!Holy Smokes, Folks! We're going outta control. No, not all of us of course. But there are enough of us pushing our physical, mental and emotional limits that it's worthwhile talking about it.
Let me ask you this. When was the last time you just kicked back and looked at the clouds to see what cartoonish kinds of figures or shapes you could see in them? Or the last time you touched a plant leaf and really thought about how it felt and how amazing it was that it was an actual living thing? Or the last time you strolled leisurely down the road or path and thought about nothing in particular? Or the last time you watched...
Busy, Busy, Busy...
Batteries > Busy, Busy, Busy...
Fighting Burn-out: Natural Help For Stress, Fatigue and Adrenal Insufficiency
The adrenal or "stress glands" are small, triangular shaped glands located on the top of the kidneys. Their function is to prepare the body's resources to run or fight through the releasing of specific hormones. When this primitive, instinctive response is activated, blood is diverted from digestive system while our blood pressure, pulse, blood sugar levels increase. At the same time, our pupils dilate and the speed of reflexes increases. All of this happens as a way to ensure our survival.
In modern times, we don't' have to worry about becoming dinner for a hungry tiger or being trampled by a herd of buffalo. Our bodies, however, automatically respond the same way when we are under physical, emotional or mental stress. Many of us live in a state of constant stress that strains our bodies to the point of exhaustion. Over time, and through repetition, this can impact the way the adrenal glands function, causing us to experience adrenal insufficiency or "burn-out".If you think about...
Fighting Burn-out: Natural Help For Stress, Fatigue and Adrenal Insufficiency
Batteries > Fighting Burn-out: Natural Help For Stress, Fatigue and Adrenal Insufficiency
Clutter and Confusion
I am always throwing and giving things away. Clutter has always annoyed me. However, as much as I detest clutter, I am surrounded by it and even contribute to it. I can now clearly see I'm kind of a clutter snob. I have looked down on people that are pack rats and just can't seem to get it together.
Their desks look like a toxic waste dump site and it takes them forever to find one thing buried in the mess. On closer inspection, however, I create and live in clutter as well. My desk is not threatening to break under the weight of un-dealt with paper, but I have almost 100 E-mails that I need to process. I have a tiny digital recorder so I can record ideas and information at the time I think of them. My plan is to listen to them daily and do whatever needs to be done with the information.
Instead, I've used up almost all of the recording time and haven't done much with what I've recorded. Oh my God, I'm suffering from digital clutter! I've updated an age old problem and...
Clutter and Confusion
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Digital Camera on Cruise Ship Vacation
A great time that you have on cruise ship for sure deserves to be preserved for future memory. We all know by now that the best tool for that is a digital
camera. However, proper use of digital camera is not something that everyone is familiar with.
What camera is perfect for me? How to get best of it? What needs to be considered when taking camera on cruise?
Today’s market is overwhelmed with tons of different models and new ones are being launched almost weekly. Top brands cover all aspects of digital
photography as well as all types of users.
First choose the right camera and decide how many mega pixels (MP) resolution you want.
Basic rule of thumb says that 2MP will give you film-quality photos
up to 6x9 inches, 3MP up to 8x10, 4MP up to 11X14 inches and 5MP up to 14x17 inches. Of course, more mega pixels means more expensive camera so this
choice depends on funds you have for this purchase.
Amount of mega...
Batteries > Digital Camera on Cruise Ship Vacation
Laptop Care: How to Protect Your Laptop When Traveling
Most business people who travel these days have a laptop in tow. Since the workflow doesn't stop when the need to travel arises, these are necessities that connect them to the rest of the world and allow them to take care of whatever business comes up during the time that they're away. That being the case, there are certain guidelines that should be followed in order to ensure the safety and protection of your laptop when you get called away from the office.One of the first considerations that should be made is in regard to the laptop's security. Since thieves will target these as often as they will cash, jewelry or other valuables, it's critical to put as many security measures into place as possible when traveling through airports, bus terminals, train stations and any other form of public travel. Of course, it's never wise to leave your laptop unattended.
It's a sad testament to the way of the world, but you can be fairly certain that when you return, your equipment will be...
Laptop Care: How to Protect Your Laptop When Traveling
Batteries > Laptop Care: How to Protect Your Laptop When Traveling
Determining the Best Wheelchair Power for you
Do you need a wheelchair, but you are not sure what type is ideal for your body? Or you might be having doubts on buying manually operated wheelchairs. This page can help you decide.Like the automobile, the wheelchair was developed to meet the different needs of different users. Modern wheelchairs have different styles and models. Each has different purpose and permits a lot of adjustments. Wheelchairs were changed according to foot support positioning, arm support adjustment, joystick positioning and upholstery placement.
These are called powered wheelchairs or power wheelchairs.Wheelchairs are divided into two main categories: scooters and powered wheelchairs. The two differ on the way they are steered. A conventional powered wheelchair has an electronic control, such as a joystick, that causes different amounts of power to go to each of the rear wheels to control both speed and direction. A scooter only has handlebars at the end of a tiller that is attached to the front wheel...
Determining the Best Wheelchair Power for you
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Surviving an Ice Storm-Induced Power Outage
Chicago, IL (ContentDesk) December 2, 2004 -- Hurricane season may be officially behind us, but the threat of wide-spread power outages still loom in the horizon."Ice storms can snap power lines just as easily as any hurricane," said Jon Hoch, founder of Electric Generators Direct.com (http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com), an online emergency generator superstore.Surviving an ice storm-induced power outage is a lot different...
power generator Surviving an Ice Storm-Induced Power Outage Fountains of Refreshment Batteries
Batteries > Surviving an Ice Storm-Induced Power Outage
Survey Shows Rising Healthcare Premiums Forcing Employers to Cut Benefits and Pass More Costs to Employees - Trend That Began Several Years Ago Becoming More Prevalent
KANSAS CITY (February 19, 2004) - Rapidly rising healthcare costs are forcing employers across the country to pay double-digit premium increases, and in turn, employers are scaling back benefits and passing a larger share of the rising costs to employees. This is according to Compdata Surveys' latest annual survey of employers' compensation practices, the largest of its kind in the nation with data from nearly 5,000 organizations with more than 4.7 million incumbent workers.As employers struggle...
data recovery Fountains of Refreshment
Batteries > Survey Shows Rising Healthcare Premiums Forcing Employers to Cut Benefits and Pass More Costs to Employees - Trend That Began Several Years Ago Becoming More Prevalent
Do you make these air travel mistakes ?
Word count: 370Character width: 60Resource Box: 3 lines inc. url==========================================================="Do you make these air travel mistakes ?"- by B.Sc, MBA- Marketing Manager, DigiLectual Inc.==> http://www.cheap--airline--tickets.com? DigiLectual Inc. 2003===========================================================You're sitting at home thinking about tomorrow's planejourney. Remember last time ? Remember how you felt whenyou arrived ? Aggravated, stressed, hot, tired,...
Do you make these air travel mistakes ?
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Totally Chocolate Plans New Factory to Meet Growing Customer Demand
BLAINE, WA (ContentDesk via ContentDesk Direct) November 17, 2005 -- Totally Chocolate, a producer of custom chocolate products, will break ground in December for a state-of-the-art 60,000 square-foot factory. The new plant will more than double the companys existing manufacturing space and will begin operation in early summer 2006. Totally Chocolate Plans New Factory to Meet Growing Customer Demand
Batteries > Totally Chocolate Plans New Factory to Meet Growing Customer Demand