posted by admin on May 7

Just a really quick post here to let you know that the world has gone mad!

I was in a local book store today, and happened to be standing next to a Gift Card display rack – and noticed that 1 of the cards was for Farmville.

I looked again – and yes, it was a £10 Gift Card for a make believe game on the Internet! A whole actual real £10 to be used buying pretend farm machinery and silver ponies.

Now I know that we spend far too much money on unnecessary clothes, electronics, music and apps – but to spend money on virtual ‘farm’ shopping seems a step to far!

A book gift card can educate, a clothing gift card can make the perfect night – but a Farmville gift card can only buy imaginary equipment to farm your imaginary crops to feed to your imaginary animals……

That is all I have to say on the matter!

posted by admin on Apr 29

When was the last time that you took a First Aid Course?

If it was more than a year ago – you could well be out of date! There have been changes to the way of thinking when dealing with an emergency situation, and you should keep up.

By changes, I don’t mean that everything is totally different and that the ‘old’ way won’t save a life anymore – what I mean is that through experience and advances – the way to do things has been improved; both for the casualty or for the First Aider.

For The Casualty:
Firstly – we are only trying to save your life – we aren’t fixing things or making things better: we are just keeping you alive.

Whether that means dragging you out of a car or pulling you off the road – as long as it means that we can get you breathing normally, we dont mind.

What if your legs are broken? Well firstly – they are already broken anyway; and secondly – if you aren’t breathing then what does it matter what we do with your legs? It’s a choice: broken legs or not breathing?

I know which I would choose!

For The First Aider:
It is so simple now that you can’t go wrong. Rather than having to remember how many fingers up the breast bone for CPR, what to do for a young person instead of an adult, etc – it’s all the same.

People used to get so so worried that they were doing CPR in the wrong place, or using too many fingers – that people weren’t being given immediate First Aid. People were delaying emergency actions due to the worry of minor details; and lives were lost, so it’s all the same now.

Only children under 1 get anything different these days – and it makes for very fast first aid!

You only get a few minutes to really save a life – so make sure they count. Don’t waste time planning what you are going to do or waiting to ask someone else – just do it, and do it fast!

If you are worried about what to do – then book yourself onto a refresher course to make sure you are up to date – and don’t wait for work to put you on a course! Don’t you want to know first aid to save your family and friends rather than a customer in your store or office?

I’ll be taking a course every 6 months to make sure that I make a difference!

posted by admin on Mar 30

Ever heard of a cockerpoo, a puggle, a jackabee or a maltipom?

No, neither should you ever – the world has gone mad for doggie fashion!

Breeds of dog were origingally created because there was a need in the community for that particulat set of skills, for example; a dog that is waterproof, a dog that can fit down rabbit holes, a dog that can chase prey or a dog that will fit on your lap.

Nowadays though, it seems as though the trend in ‘getting what you want’ had enetered the world of dogs.

Not only are they made to fit a purses or prams, but now they are made to not be the original dogs anymore! People want new breeds – and they want them now!

The only problem is that dog breeds aren’t created overnight, there has to be a series of inbreeding involved and years of purifying afterwards – however not so with these designer breeds.

photo credit: Jorge Quinteros

These new ‘breeds’ are not anywhere near to being real breeds – and unfortunately never will be (well not for another 50 years or so with correct breeding).

Designer Breeds?
You see, these dogs are simply cross breeds; the definition of which is a dog from 2 known parents. So a pug father and a beagle mother will give you a puggle (50% pug and 50% beagle or thereabouts). They are unique.

The problem of course is that if you breed these dogs again with their original breeds (either a pug or a beagle) – they won’t be puggles anymore. They would be pugs with a hint of beagle, or beagles with a hint of pug!

photo credit: findingtheobvious

You could of course try breeding them with other puggles – but this is where the haphazard breeding will begin.

Just as when you breed any 2 dogs of any breed, they will inherit more than 50% of 1 parent and less of the other – but when they are known breeds the differences aren’t really noticable. I mean if you breed 2 german shepherds the young will all look just like german shepherds.

However if you mate a puggle which was 75% pug with another puggle which was also 75% pug – then your puggle puppies will be a bit more pug than puggle. Now imagine every other puggle owner doing the same and you can imagine a whole world filled with mongrels – defined as a dog of mixed parentage.

They will either be more beagle or more pug – and no doubt someone down the line will have added in a hint of poodle (which seems to be the common designer breed) and a snip of bichon (another designer favorite) and you won’t know what on earth the puppies are supposed to be.

The End Result:
So, should we be able to just mix everything up like this? Or is it making a mockery of the hundreds of years of professional breeding to find the perfect dog for problem A.

Some might say that we dont need dogs for ‘hunting’ or ‘chasing’ anymore so those breeds don’t serve a purpose!

But then others would say that without all those different breeds for hunting and chasing – there wouldn’t be the parent breeds of these designer dogs to choose from. I mean if breeds are obsolete in todays climate then you won’t be able to find yourself a cute breed to cross with another breed in the first place!

Some would say that pedigree dogs are so imbred that they have diseases that are man-made and can’t be cured – and others would reply that only bad breeders pass on those traits.

I think that we like certain dog ‘breeds’ because they show certain qualities or a have a certain appearance -but if all the dolly-dimwits who think that dogs are for carrying around and dressing up in ‘outfits’ started breeding these dogs – then I dread to think what domesticated dogs will look like in 30 years time!

Good breeders and vets already have enough trouble making sure that dogs are born healthy and happy these days – let alone clearing up after a few thousand amateurs have a go!

photo credit: akarmy

posted by admin on Mar 9

Here are some more great eco inventions that make things easy!

I have said in previous articles that eco inventions should be the same – if not better at doing something than existing (and not so green) alternatives.

We shouldn’t expect people to go out of their way to achieve something green – it should be given naturally – and without losing quality or offering less.

So, in that vein, here are a handful of eco ideas that I think can make your life not only greener – but easier too!

The Hundred Dollar Laptop:
This invention caused a stir when it was launched back in 2005 – the XO – but it had since been improved and improved again – now the XOXO.

It can now be charged by many means including solar; it uses only a fraction of the energy of a normal laptop; has black and white mode for use in bright sunshine; instant connection to the network and touch-screen keyboards!

Folding Bikes:
Rather than the rather bulky folding bikes that have been around in the past – the Strida 3 folds up into a wheeled walking stick! This way, you can easily cycle when the conditions are right/safe/dry, but fold up your wheels when things get too busy/congested/wet!

Easy to carry on and off of public transport too – and you can leave it in your hallway when you get home without hitting you shins on the pedals!

Whole House Switch:
There is a lot of talk about making sure that nothing electrical is left on stand-by and switching this and that off all the time – but it’s not easy keeping on top of everything the family use in the morning before heading off to work yourself. So in comes the One Switch.

One single switch that will switch off all your non-essential electricals by your front door. No need to run around your bedrooms and offices looking for red lights to eliminate – just one click and your electricity use is virtually set to zero!

E-Wash:
Washing with nuts instead of detergent! This slim-fit washing machine is designed specifically to work with soap nuts rather than detergents and conditioners etc – making it a great eco-friendly alternative to most large washers and driers.

It holds the same load but fits into a smaller space – leaving more room in the home for other things – plus you can get by with as little as 1kg of soap nuts washing your clothes for a whole year! Double bargain!

Can you think of any more?