Category Archives: Tid-Bits & Funnies

Your Health – And How Mobile Apps Can Help

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Time in front of computer screens or television is often listed as part of the reason why Americans aren’t as healthy as they have been in the past. But as the saying goes, “There’s an app for that.” Times have changed, and if you’re looking to stay fit and healthy, here are four mobile apps that give you and your family extra help:
Lose It!: Counting calories is perhaps the most effective way to keep track of your health goals. This app allows you to enter what you eat each day and calculates your calories. It also tracks how many calories you burn while exercising.

Size Me Up: An application that allows children to enter their current height and receive estimates for how tall they might be in the future. This can be used to keep your child motivated to eat right, so they can grow up to be tall and healthy.

The Carrot: As an interactive journal, this application allows you to track multiple items related to health.

FitReach: This training and diet application allows you to enter information on your meals, as well as workouts. It also encourages you to do regular weigh-ins so you can compare your weight loss with your goals.

Applications are available on iTunes and can also be downloaded through your iPhone or other compatible mobile device.

Here’s A Tip For You – Actually Several

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1-Get a wonderful shine for your hair by rinsing it with cool water and vinegar. Don’t worry about the smell; it goes away quickly, leaving your hair shiny and lustrous.

2-If you have mineral deposits in a narrow neck jar vase, try using a denture tablet. Add a small amount of water to the vase and drop in the tablet, breaking it up as needed. Let it sit overnight or as the package recommends and rinse well.

3-To freshen old plastic flowers, spray with hairspray.

4-To get rid of static cling on a skirt and slip, just pin a small safety pin to the inside of the hem.

5-If your small appliance has a long cord, try looping it and stuffing the excess through a cardboard paper towel or toilet paper roll.

6-Protect teeth on hand saws by covering them up in storage. Cut a length of garden hose to  fit the length of the saw, then split it down one side. Push the teeth of the saw into the split – an added benefit is you are also protected.

7-Want to keep your refrigerator operating efficiently? Try these two small tricks: First, clean the gaskets on the door, and replace them if they are loose. If you close a dollar bill in the door and can pull it out easily it is time to replace the gaskets. Then, stock empty space with jars or pitchers of water. Cold water is refreshing and helps keep air in your fridge cold.

Where To Find A Notary Public

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Now you know you need a notary, where should go? Notary publics are not free but what they can charge is limited by state law, usually a few dollars. That means the best option is the one that is easiest and most convenient, since price isn’t a differentiator (in Maryland, it’s $2 per notarial act).
Your Company

The cost of having someone certified to be a notary public is usually very small (in Maryland, you are certified for four years and it costs $20), so administrative assistants in many companies will be notaries. When I bought my house, I used a company notary to notarize the document. It’s, by far, the most convenient way to have a document notarized because you’re already at the office.

Your Bank

In the case of financial documents, banks often have notaries to notarize financial documents. If they are not financial documents, chances are your bank will refuse on the basis that their insurance doesn’t cover it (which makes sense). When I was looking for a notary, I tried calling my local Bank of America branch and they refused because it wasn’t a financial document.
UPS Store

This is probably the easiest way to get a document notarized because almost every UPS Store owner is a notary. To confirm, go to UPS Store’s store locator to find a store near you, and call to double check the listing is correct. The listing will show you the Products & Services they offer and Notary Services is usually listed under “Additional Products and Services” (the last section, in the third column), but double check to save yourself a trip. Also, find out when the notary will be there because they might have out sick or have stepped out.
Yourself

Actually, you can’t notarize documents on your behalf. I added this because with the low cost of certification, you might be tempted to become a notary public. At least in Maryland, it’s explicitly stated that “Notaries should refrain from performing any official acts for members of their immediate family or any acts where the notary is personally involved or may benefit from the outcome of the document.” It’s a simple conflict of interest issue.

So the next time you need a notary public, check to see if someone in your company is a notary. If not, head over to a UPS store. I wouldn’t bother searching the web or doing anything else to find a notary because it’ll only cause you headaches. My first reaction was to hit up Google and I emailed three or four local notary publics, none of them replied. I walked into the UPS store and was done in five minutes.

Yucky: Your Kitchen Sponge

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Sponges May Absorb More Than You Think

Kitchen sponges are used to getting down and dirty, but did you know they’re actually picking up lots of bacteria in the process? Recently, a University of Sao Paulo (Brazil) researcher tested 50 sponges, each used for three weeks in different households, and discovered that all of them showed high levels of bacteria. Likely culprits include contaminated tap water, vegetables and other raw foods grown in soil, household pets, and dirty hands. To chase germs away, wash your hands before touching sponges. After use. rinse them with soap and let them dry. or just toss them in the dishwasher. If you’re still concerned, give dry sponges a 30-second zap in the microwave to disinfect them (wet sponges need 60 minutes). Also, use paper towels instead of sponges to clean surfaces that raw meat and poultry have touched.

Free Yourself From TV

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Break the Boob Tube Habit

According to the A.C. Nielsen Company, the average American adult watches four hours of television each day. Some tips on cutting back:

Carve out TV-free times, recommends Frank Vespe, executive director of the TV Turnoff Network, an organization dedicated to improving quality of life through turning off the tube. Vespe advocates eliminating television during mealtimes, when first waking up, and right before bedtime.

Allot a TV-watching budget, says Louis V. Imhof of the Institute for Fitness and Health. Each Sunday, check the newspaper for the weekly listings, and highlight only six hours of program­ming to watch for that week.

Use a VCR to record shows, suggests White Dot, a Britain-based an ti-television organization. This lets you watch television on your own time and keeps you from getting sucked into watching that mediocre show wedged in between two better shows.

Remove the batteries from your remote control and watch television the old-fashioned way, advises Trevor Mowad, a sports-psychology consultant who motivates professional athletes. This eliminates the tendency to jump from channel to channel looking for something to watch.

Find an alternate outlet for television time. “Make a reading list, take a class, or learn a language,” Vespe offers. “We had one woman plant a vegetable garden, and each time she harvested a vegetable, she knew it was created from her not watching television.”