Lead Is Back!

20 03 2008

Hannah Montana (Miley Cyrus) fan’s are in for a little bit of disappointment. Ok let me rephrase that, the younger fans are in for a little disappointment and a reason for worry to the elder fans. Why? Hannah Montana themed products like backpacks, vinyl purses, wallets, lunch boxes etc are found to contain high levels of lead according to the Centre for Environmental Health.

CEH is recommending that parents avoid vinyl products for children and teens. Vinyl is a “poison plastic” that is often made with lead, a neurotoxin that can cause learning disorders, brain and nerve damage, hearing problems, stunted growth, and digestive problems. Scientists are increasingly concerned that even small exposures to lead (ingestion or inhaling lead dust) can cause problems in children, pre-teens, teenagers and even adults.

For the detailed report released by CEH click here.





Legit Work At Home Jobs

17 03 2008

I stumbled upon this neat article on the ABC News website and decided to pull in and create a database of all the websites mentioned that offer Genuine Work at Home jobs. Most of the sites are meant only for US residents but if you are patient enough you could find some that applies internationally too. Remember these all were posted on abcnews.com!

Virtual Customer Service Agent: Alpine Access, LiveOps, West, Arise, Working Solutions, Accolade Support, Customer Loyalty Concepts, Sci@Home, Reps for Rent, Overflow, ACD Direct.

Online Shops: Zazzle, Cafepress.

Online Jury: eJury, OnlineVerdict, and TrialPractice.

For Americans with disabilities: National Telecommuting Institute, Inc.

Transcribing audio to text: ProductionTranscripts, ModernDayScribe, TigerFish and AliceDarling.

Technical Support: ComputerAssistant, GeeksOnTime, PlumChoice, SupportFreaks.

Mystery Shopping: Mystery Shop.

Connect With Clients as a Concierge: VIP Desk.

Online Culinary Consultant: Chefsline.

Blogging: Eefoof, adsense through blogger.

Medical Coding & Transcription: Medquist, Healthiva, Precrysesolutions.

Sell Products: TiensNA, TheTravelingVineyard, CarlisleCollection, DiscoveryToysInc.

Virtual PR: Perkett PR, Bisbee and Company, PartnerCentric, Orca Communications and Wasabi Publicity.

Telemarketing: Telereach.com, Intrep.com, and West.com.

Guide Search Users: chacha.com, About.com, JustAnswer.com.

Online Tutor: www.tutor.com

Write/Edit Online: Associatedcontent.com, Helium.com, Myessays.com, Writerfind.com, Cyberedit.com, Editfast.com.

Online Translator: Welocalize, Language Translation, Inc. , Accurapid.com, Telelanguage.com, Sdl.com.

Virtual Assistant: virtualassistantjobs.com, teamdoubleclick.com and International Virtual Assistants Association

There! Finding one legitimate virtual job was so tough and now all thanks to ABC we have lots of options to look into. Thanq abc :)





Image Search : The Other Way Around

13 03 2008

Ever wish we had a search engine where we could input images and get text as a result? I imagine that almost all the time. Unlike where google and other search engines output images for the text you input, this one would rather have you upload the pics and identify what it is.

Today I was just wishing for the same when I was on my field visit. I came across a beautiful pink organism by the shore, which looked more like made of rubber and had few tentacles. Out of curiosity I began examining it and noticed it had eyes too! Excited, I showed it to my colleague imagining I’d click a snap of it in the next few seconds and entering its minute details, check out on web what it actually was. Maybe an anemone, a sponge or whatever. But the fact that my colleague snatched that beautiful organism from my hand that very moment and threw it into the sea is another story! :( . What did he think? That it’d bite me? Or maybe that it may still be alive and needs the water to survive?

Anyways back to the topic. See something or someone or anything for that matter, click a pic of it and upload it to your search engine and it searches the world wide web and tells you what the pic exactly is or could be with a series of results. Sounds impossible? Maybe not. Vodafone has already come up with a similar concept with their Otello Search Engine but it should also be noted that Vodafone failed to identify Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany.

Though this new technology which seems too good to be true and may have a lot of demerits, it is still running trials and meant only for vodafone users. But soon there maybe a day when all of us at the comforts of our PC’s and Lappies click pics, upload to the web and obtain results ;)





Of Laptops & Cosmetics

9 03 2008

No theres no connection between the two. Atleast I assume there arent any. I just wanna show some of the impacts these have on us.Years back we were made aware of Sodium Laureth Sulphate through articles, chain letters etc. Since then I’ve been religiously reading labels of products I use and avoiding anything that has Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulphate or anything that sounds like it. Sodium Laureth sulphate is a very cheap foaming agent hence used in a variety of soaps, toothpastes, shampoos, shaving creams etc but at the same time its said to be carcinogenic too.

Now I’m introduced to a new term (my ignorance perhaps) – Parabens. Parabens are chemical compounds that help prevent bacteria from growing and running rampant; therefore, they are used in many products like facial cleansers, sunscreen, shampoo, etc. Well isn’t that just what we want? No! There’s a problem.

Parabens have been shown to be endocrine disruptors, mimicking estrogen. Estrogen has been noted as a key player in the growth of breast tumors; and sure enough, parabens have been found in the tumors of women with breast cancer. Though it isn’t proven that parabens are carcinogenic, it looks obvious and is better to avoid items containing them.

So as I sit typing out this post on my laptop (which is forcefully pushed inches away from me) I recall another health concern that I read somewhere. And women may not wanna miss out on this piece of info. Thought laptops could make only men infertile? Wrong! Laptops could make women infertile too.

Laptops and other electrical appliances emit electromagnetic fields (EMFs) over a distance; as the distance increases, the amount of radiation decreases. EMF and the added heat has been shown to kill sperm and leave men infertile. Women should watch out, too; while the science isn’t crystal clear yet, EMF radiation has been linked to cancer (in particular leukemia), birth defects, damage to reproductive organs, tumors, stress, miscarriages, and heart problems.

So what’s the solution? Keep the lappy away from you (like a desk or something), or use something that could absorb the radiations, like a laptop shield. They resemble the lappy bags and absorbs around 90% of the radiations and also help to work from your lap without the fear of going infertile.

As someone has rightly said, Prevention is better than cure.





Whats In Your Bag?

3 03 2008

Red Carpet question time! Its always nice to know what the celebrities have in their pockets/purses/bags.. Do you know whats in yours? Your bag is the mysterious part of you. I remember the days I wouldnt let anyone check my bag and now I myself have no idea whats going on within it. Or umm ok.. I’m sure theres no leftover burger or a cat and its newly born kittens within it! :)

Today I’ve decided to see whats been lying there in my office bag for the past few months and note down the items in the bagfill [derived from landfill ;) ]

Found:

  1. 2 watches
  2. 2 wallets [ 1 empty ;) ]
  3. Orbit chewing gums
  4. Business card holder [with a 5 dinar note that had somehow sneaked its way into it and I had never realised.. woohoo!]
  5. Business cards yet to be placed in the holder
  6. 2 labellos [ velvet rose n cherry if ur thinking abt the flavours :lol: ]
  7. Shades
  8. Lens case [oh my transparent lens case, I adore it!]
  9. Mobile fone [ which is alws lost within the bag & takes ages to find even when its ringing]
  10. Hair brush
  11. Lotsa post it notes with li’l reminders on them :(
  12. 2 key chains [1 broken]
  13. Camera cables & fone headset
  14. Few sheets of paper with my thoughts, kept to type when I’m in front of my PC
  15. ketchup satchet??
  16. few receipts of my purchases :(
  17. Oh! a bday card i’d received ! :)
  18. Tissues.. all crumpled but unused
  19. Flash memory
  20. 6 pens!
  21. 3 safflower seeds :oops:

Dats Lotsa Clutter! Now that I have decluttered my bag and arranged everything neatly into compartments (including my mobile which is finally resting in its mobile compartment & hopefully maybe easier to fumble for from now on) and discarded several items, I realised I should have taken a pic of that clutter on my desk. But that would be too much of info dont you think? Its sometimes nice to keep certain things still a mystery and as it is, I’ve revealed enough! ;)





Sweet Poison For Cockroaches

3 03 2008

Cockroaches! Ugh! I need not say more. You see one on a day, feel pity on it and let it go and few days later there are hundreds. Out comes the insecticide spray to the rescue! Or call the pest control to gas up the place and end up cleaning ceiling to floor! Not to forget the pesticide posioning that some of us may get affected with.

After a long period of having a cockroach free home, it worried us when a few li’l roaches began crawling around. And it was at this right moment a relative gave us this rescue recipe which was harmless to us humans and a sure killer for this pesky pests. We gave it a shot and are glad to say it worked! :)

Many are aware of this recipe, yet for the ones who don’t know I hope this will provide useful.

Sweet Poison For Cockroaches:

Ingredients

  1. 100 g of Boric Acid Powder/Carrom Powder (Boric acid powder is the same thing we use on wounds but is poisonous to the little insects)
  2. 100 g of wheat flour
  3. Milk ( to make a dough)
  4. 50 g sugar ( to attract the roaches to the sweet taste)

Method

Mix in all the ingredients and make a smooth dough of it. Make tiny balls/pellets of the dough and place around tables, floors, sinks and wherever needed. The milk in the dough may cause the pellets to get spoilt and not attract the roaches after a day or two, serve the survivor roaches with a fresh batch of sweet poison ;)

Advantages:

  • Non Messy
  • Harmless
  • Odourless
  • No pulling out drawers, clothes and tiresome cleaning.
  • Environmentally Friendly ;)