California spiders can be Beneficial Creatures in Nature
Spiders are beneficial in the sense that they feed on insects that can be harmful to plants and animals as well. Spiders are identified by the fact that they have eight legs, rather than the six that characterize insects. Spiders fall into the classification of “arachnids”.
Are Spiders Dangerous to Humans?
In the US we have over 3000 types of spiders with only a small proportion of them being dangerous to humans and of concern. If you are bitten, it can be the result of a number of creatures other than a spider. Mites, bedbugs, ticks mosquitoes, and fleas can also inflict bites on people. Only a few types of spiders have the ability to generate a bite that will break a persons skin.
Spiders Let You Know When they Are at Work in Your Home
California spiders will work for you and rid your home, porch, or outdoor area or garden of unwanted insects. They announce their presence in the form of a web, where the live and hunt their prey. Some people feel that spider webs in their homes are unsightly and unwanted. If so, and you don’t want to let the spiders be, then you can remove the webs. If you want to put the spider to work outside your home instead, capture them gently with a paper cup, or towel and release them outside.
Tips to Find Spiders in Your Home and Outside
Outdoors you can find California spiders in a wide variety of places, usually somewhere close to the ground. They can be found in and around flower pots, hanging baskets, planters or wood and rock piles. Also look for them under tarps, in power and water meter boxes, watering control boxes, and in protected dry crevices around and in buildings. In your home you can sometimes locate them in dry storage areas, kitchen cupboards, hall closets and other dry and dark storage areas.
California Spiders You Should Watch Out For
Some spiders can give you poisonous bites. Southern California is home to the brown widow (Latrodectus Geometricus), a sort of mottled brownish yellow. In all of the state we can find the Black Widow (Latrodectus hesperus) You can distinguish the black widow by a red hourglass shaped figure on the underside of the female abdomen. (see photos on this page). The brown recluse spider is not typically a California spider. However, other recluse spiders do exist. They are known to have six eyes arranged in pairs, and are often difficult to identify. Fatalities from bites of these spiders tend to be vary rare; ofttimes not requiring any medical care. Sometimes these spider bites can be of significance to old or very young persons or those already medically compromised and should be checked out by a medical professional.
Protect Yourself from These Varieties of California spiders
Teach you kids not to taunt or unnecessarily disturb spiders while in their webs, or disturb them in their nesting areas of cracks and crevices. At night before you go to bed check the bed and your sleeping area for any spiders. Before putting on clothing or your shoes, give them a good shake to get any hidden spiders out. When cleaning outdoors or in garages, and mostly unused storage areas wear gloves to prevent a California spider surprise!
Let’s take a look at pricing toilet paper in today’s market. We will look at a typical way to price the cost of toilet paper and see if this leads us to the cheapest toilet paper prices. Most toilet paper is sold and packaged as a 4-Pack or 12-Pack of Rolls. In order to get a rough idea of the price we will calculate the price per roll. We might expect that, as with most things, the 4-pack is generally more expensive than the 12-pack, etc.
Pricing Toilet Paper: Finding Best Toilet Paper Prices
Dollar Store a 4-Pack of the Home Store Brand TP: 275 Sheets per Roll;2-Ply Unscented.Priced at, of course, One Dollar! So cost of each roll is 25 cents. Easy Math!
Food Max 12-Pack of Fiora Brand TP: 382. sq.ft(35.5 sq. meters);290-2-Ply Sheets(4.1 in x 3.9in sq;Lavender Scent on the Core.
Priced at $5.99, therefore each roll is $0.4991 or about 50 cents per roll.
Trader Joe 8-Pack of Trader Joe Brand TP:
Priced at $4.99 for 12 rolls. giving $0.4158 or about 42 cents roll.
Dollar Store Single Roll of the Home Store Brand TP:1250 Sheets per Roll;1-Ply Unscented. Priced at $1.00 for one roll.
Dollar Store: 4-Pack of Scott “Comfort Plus” Brand TP:116 Sheets per Roll;1-Ply Unscented. Priced at $1.00 per 4 rolls, giving $0.25 for each roll.
Please Note: local and state sales taxes left out of the above calculations.
Hold On! What is the Proper Way to Price Toilet Paper?
Let’s think about this pricing structure for a minute. When you go to the grocery store to price peanut butter, you price it by the jar, and it is a fair comparison if the product in each of the jars is the same, say 32 oz. of peanut butter. This is a measure of the $cost/weight of the product. But sometimes when we think of TP paper value , we think of the cost per roll. Is this the proper way to evaluate what we are getting?
Cost to Manufacture Toilet Paper Affects Purchase Cost
One of the major costs of supplying TP product is the material inputs for manufacturing the paper! Material inputs to paper making include wood pulp, maybe some recycled paper and chemicals to complete the processing. To make paper, the manufacturer must produce paper in very large quantities and factor in the cost of equipment and labor. One of the big costs to make TP, is the material paper cost inputs per ton, pound, or kilogram. We know that the manufacturers will shape TP into sheets of a certain size and thickness. But in the end, we will pay for paper only by one measurement which is not related to each, or sheets, or the number of plys. So let’s take a further look at pricing toilet paper, and a proper pricing method.
Pricing Toilet Paper by Area – (sq.ft or sq.meters)
Toilet paper manufacturers want to sell products and so do their retailers. Pricing of all products and in particular, the Pricing Toilet Paper is determined by the market competition, and profit margins companies seek. Often, toilet paper is sold by the “roll”, but a roll of one brand is not exactly the same as a roll from another. As an example, lets take the info from a typical 12-pack of TP from one manufacturer:
Multiple rolls of toilet paper
Brand: Fiora (12-double rolls)
BATH TISSUE 382.0 TOTAL SQUARE FEET (35.5 Sq. Meters) 280 2-PLY SHEETS PER ROLL
EACH SHEET (4.1 IN X 3.9 IN), (10.9 CM X 9.9 CM)
The label gives us more information, letting us know how many square feet (or square meters) of product comes in each package. We use this info to get a better measure of the cost of our purchase. So let’s do some more calculations. In this example, we purchased 380.0 square feet of TP rolls. We divide the cost by the total area (square feet) of the paper. Our cost for all rolls is 49.91666 cents x 12 rolls – $5.99 for all of them. Cost per square foot is $5.99/382 sq ft = 1.5763 cents per square foot or (16.8 cents/square meter). To simplify, lets work with cents/square meter so we can deal with larger numbers, making the calculations easier, (at least for me). Looking at pricing toilet paper by the roll, or pricing by the cost per sq. meter are other approaches. After that we’ll take a look at the true cost of the TP; To find this we divide $cost by the true weight of the paper in each roll!
Pricing Toilet Paper by its True Cost – by Weight!
So looking at Fiora Brand again, we get out our electronic postal scale and take a very precise look at pricing toilet paper by the true cost of each roll. The exact weight of one Fiora roll is 4.1 ounces or 117 grams. Taking it apart and weighing only the roll that the paper is wound around (called the core) gives it a weight of 7 grams. So we see that the total weight of the actual paper on the roll is 11o grams. (117g – 7g) and this is what we are really paying for. Reviewing our pricing, we see that this roll costs us 49.91666 cents for 110 grams. Converting to weight-kilograms we get $4.53/kilogram or $2.059 per pound. Yes, you buy tomatoes and peanut butter by the pound, and you may as well think of TP purchases in the same way!
Various Brands – Summary of Pricing Toilet Paper-
Examples: Brand [Source]
Fiora [Food Max] 12- Roll Pack Total Cost Cost Per Roll
Cost By Weight [$2.09/lb]
the Home Store [Dollar Store] 4-Roll Pack Total Cost $1.00 Cost/Roll $0.25, weight= 0.775 lbs.
Cost by Weight [ $1.29/lb] [Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner!]
the Home Store [Dollar Store] 1-Roll 1250 Sheets – Cost/Roll $1.00, Wt. 218 grams.
Cost by Weight [ $2.08/lb]
Trader Joe 12-Roll Pack Total Cost $4.99 Cost/Roll $0.4583
Cost by Weight [$2.21/lb]
Value Corner [Safeway Stores] 4- Roll Pack- Total Cost $1.50/Roll $0.375
Cost by Weight [$3.40 /lb]
Is Pricing Toilet Paper a Big Deal Over Time?
Making some estimates that each person in any given household uses up one roll of TP per week, throughout the year. For a family of four, this amounts to 208 rolls of paper and in 30 years totals 6,240 rolls of paper, averaging around 50 cents/roll. An approximate overall savings could be made of about 0.22 cents per roll or $1380 or about $45/year. To find your savings, try putting in your data and see what happens!
The Intangibles in Pricing Toilet Paper
We have looked at pricing toilet paper in several ways, conclude that it really is only unit price/weight which determines the actual cost. As with any consumer product, there will be the intangibles that may, or may not, be of significant value to the customer. Some of these are the brand, “feel of the paper”, number of plys, watermarking, perfume, smell, or look of the roll. Also the ability of the paper to remain whole and not flake off might also be important. Some persons may wish to select a toilet paper produced the “Green Ad Pages Online Way”, and designated as such with the “Sustainable Forest Initiative Logo” . We have not factored in any of these variables, including toilet paper packaging design. We considered only only one variable, the “value of the paper”, as determined only by the cost/weight. Using this strategy you should find that pricing toilet paper becomes a lot more accurate. As with all consumer goods, ultimately all customer’s purchases determine what parameters are valued.
Have You Ever Analyzed Toilet Paper Pricing Before?
I would like to know if pricing toilet paper, using these measurements, is something you do, or ever did in your household. How do you normally price the TP , by package, by roll, by sheet or some other method. My wife used to only look at the cost of each roll. Later on I suggested costing the sq. meters in the package. This is simple to do as all you have to do is divide the price by the square meters of the paper in the package. I have since shown her the weight method of calculating the true cost of buying toilet paper. Have you had similar discussions in your household? Please let me know in the comments below.
Pricing Toilet Paper: Some Surprises! Winner,Winner Chicken Dinner- It’s the Dollar Store 4-Pack!
In some ways, this method of pricing toilet paper is somewhat academic, and not of great interest to a majority of people. It appears that TP paper companies still might want us to think of our TP purchases in terms of cost per roll, or perhaps cost per sheet. Its similar concept to buying vegetables by the “each” , the tray, slice or the bunch, and not by their true cost, which is the cost of the paper per pound.
Surprisingly, we found that the Home Store brand’s, the 4-pack Home Store [(Dollar Store]) was a better value because its cost/lb.equals $1.29/lb., better than another manufacturer’s 12-pack offering!
Is real Parmesan cheese a necessary ingredient in your Recipe: Or could you substitute a “Grated Topping” product and fill the bill. Lets take a look at some of the facts about Italian Parmesan cheese and other options offered.
Where Does Real Parmesan Cheese Come From?
Wheels of Real Parmesan CheeseCarrying Real Parmesan Cheese in the Cheese Lovers Shop
Well as I am sure you might suspect, Real Parmesan Cheese is called Parmigio-Reggiano and it comes from this region of Italy. Reggiano Parmesan cheese is made from unpasteurized cow’s milk. As a matter of fact, the Italians are somewhat protective of its name, since it implies provenance and quality, analogous to the French honoring their bubbling wine type -Champagne.
Is Real Parmigiana Cheese Expensive and Worth It?
Is real parmigiana cheese expensive? This cheese is aged between 18 and 36 months which raises the cost.Since this cheese only comes from one geographical area, that makes the product more “dear” and has a consequence raises its price. If we need a lot of real Parmesan cheese, we can find it priced as a “Wheel “:an excellent choice a large restaurant chain or maybe a cruise ship. Or we might want to buy it in smaller lots, in chunks, wedges or slices, paying by the lb. or kilogram. A recent check of real Parmesan cheese prices indicate pricing between $9.00 to $19.00 per pound. A factory wheel (see photo insert), weighing about 80-100 kilos might cost as much a $2000 to $2500!
Real Parmesan Cheese is Commonly Served Grated
Grating Real Parmesan Cheese – Fresh in the Kitchen!
In order to offer smaller amounts, often Real Parmesan cheese is grated and offered in small plastic shake canisters with a common weight of 8 ounces or under. In this way it is not necessary to grate Parmesan cheese by keeping a larger piece in the kitchen when ready to sprinkle some on a pasta dish, vegetables or a pizza.
Do Some Manufacturers Trick You By Offering Ersatz “Real Parmesan Cheese”?
I recently quickly purchased what I thought might be a viable Parmesan cheese grated product at my local grocery store. It came in a green circular cylinder and looked like another hugely popular brand that I was familiar with. The Label said “GRATED TOPPING with Parmesan”. But when I got back home and was ready to add it to my spaghetti, I read the label and this gave me some interesting insights. By law the FDA mandates that all the ingredients in products need to be stated on the label. Usually they appear in order of diminishing weight, within the product; listing the most prevalent ingredient first.
List of Ingredients in My Near Real Parmesan Cheese “Grated Topping” Substitute
Brief definitions of ingredients found in this product are:
Whey: A milk ingredient, usually removed in Real Parmesan Cheese production.
Food Starch: From say a Potato or a Beet, Corn or something similar?
Casein: Protein that digests slowly. It is the ‘curds” in curds and whey.
Natural Flavors: This “barn door’ category invites almost ANY flavor to be added.
Water: Added to increase the weight, or maybe a natural occurrence in production.
Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil:Is a trans fatty acid(TFA);know as an unhealthy food ingredient.
Salt: Good old Sodium Chloride. Taste enhancer for all foods. Good at increasing blood pressure.
Sodium Aluminum Phosphate: Used very commonly as a stabilizer in food. Is suspected, in some research studies, to be linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
Lactic Acid: Sort of a milk sugar, usually found in small quantities in Real Parmesan Cheese. This feature often attracts Vegetarians.
Real Parmesan Cheese, (14th on the list of ingredients) – But this is the ingredient I sought in the product!
Cellulose Powder: A powdered plant fiber that is completely legal and is an FDA approved anti-clumping ingredient for pre-grated cheese.
Well this was quite a laundry list, considering I was only interested in Grated Parmesan cheese! Unwittingly, I got an extensive list of strange ingredients. If I add water to my canister and mix it up, I might find it useful for caulking the house, or maybe I can use it to fill cracks in the driveway!
How Little Real Parmesan Cheese Did I Get?
The ingredients, on the “nutrition facts” label on the shaker of my ersatz cheese, showed me that the grated Parmesan Cheese in it shows actually as a weight percent. Salt equaled about 80mg per serving or 3.6 grams per shaker. The “real Parmesan cheese” weight was less than that per serving. The total weight of all product in the shaker was 8 ounces; giving (28.3495231 grams/oz) x (8 oz), or a total of 226.8 grams of product. The percentage of Real Parmesan Cheese computes to (3.6 grams/226.8) grams. Meaning that Real Parmesan Cheese in this product was only 1.6 percent by weight! It appears to me that this minuscule amount of Real Parmesan Cheese was added to the product; perhaps in order to allow the manufacturer to place the names “Parmesan Cheese” and “Grated Topping” together front and center on the label!.
How Close to the Real Thing do we get with a Substantially Modified Food Product?
Upon reflection, I was surprised at the “laundry list” of ingredients included in what I thought was a mostly grated Parmesan cheese. The ingredient I really wanted ended up next to last, and only surpassed cellulose powder, made of wood pulp! Looks like it will always remain a good idea to scan the list of ingredients on the product even before making a quick purchase. I must say that I was not entirely satisfied with the taste of the laundry list cheese “grated topping” substitute product that I picked out. Next time, I will look more carefully and choose something that might equal at least 50% Real Parmesan Cheese; or I might pickup a wedge of real Parmesan cheese, and grate Parmesan cheese myself!
What are your thoughts on the label ingredients on this Parmesan Cheese? Have you ever experienced this same situation with a different product? Needless to say, we are being duped every day of our lives with sly marketing. We have to become sleuths ourselves to outsmart the marketers!
Getting ready for a picnic at the beach, I needed to select a non-alcoholic beverage for the outing. I elected not to get a soda, and thought I would look for something more healthy. While perusing the drinks in the store cooler, I ran across a one quart square carton of “strawberry banana nectar”. It seemed like a better choice for health reasons rather than my usual choice of colas or lemonade drinks. So I grabbed it and popped it into my beach cooler.
Enjoying a picnic at the beach!
Pouring the Strawberry Banana Nectar at the Beach
Later on in the day at the beach, as we were getting out the paper plates and all the goodies for lunch, I got out the strawberry banana nectar. I poured it into all of our plastic cups. It had a pleasant taste, and the strawberry banana flavor and was quite sweet and flavorful. I was pretty sure that I had found a good substitute for the sugary soda drinks we might have consumed.
Examining the Contents on the Beach-Discovering New Facts
After having gulped down a few cups of the nectar, I was curious to check out the ingredients and see if my initial choice had been a healthy one. I was hoping to justify my choice of what seemed to be a healthy food selection. But as I began to examine the ingredients on the label, I found they included the following ingredients: Water, strawberry puree from concentrate, banana puree, sugar, citric acid, asorbic acid, natural flavor, carmel color, sucralose. Per FDA protocols the ingredients listed on the product are ordered by the weight (mass) of each ingredient not the volume.
Diving Deeper- Ingredients in the Strawberry Banana Nectar
Bottled water being poured into a glass.
– Water: Good old H2O, Being the main ingredient, most of what we pay for is water.
– Strawberry Nectar: This is puree from concentrate.
– Banana Puree: As it says. Mashed up bananas into a puree. (A note on the carton said that both of these purees make up 12 percent of the juice.)
– Sugar: Regular cane or beet sugar added for sweetness.
– Citric Acid: Some Lemon Juice.
– Ascorbic Acid: (Vitamin C)
How Does Strawberry Banana Nectar Compare to a Regular Soft Drink?
Generic Cola: Serving Size: 8 oz (10 servings per plastic bottle)
Let’s take a look at a 2.5 Liter Bottle of generic cola. Typically, it too is a lot of water with some carbonation, a number of types of sugars, coloring,caffeine and flavoring.
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Carmel Color, Phosphoric Acid, Caffeine, Natural Flavor, Sucrlose. Taking a look at them one at a time:
– Carbonated Water: Main Ingredient is water- carbonated (infused with carbon dioxide).
– High Fructose Corn Syrup: In so many foods; probably GMO unless stated otherwise; just corn sugar.
Cola Drinks versus Strawberry Banana Nectar
– Carmel Color: Coloring of some kind.
– Phosphoric Acid: Found in dark colored soda drinks. Used to acidify beverages.
– Caffeine: Often found in colas and soda drinks; typical dose is 30mg/8oz of beverage.
– Natural Flavor: Not stated what flavors are involved.
– Sucralose: An artificial sweetener, more than 600 times the sweetness of sugar. It is non caloric; and therefore, not broken down by the body. Consequently, it has no calories and boosts sweetness in the juice.
Comparing Strawberry Banana Nectar with Other Beverages
Strawberry Banana Nectar: It is essentially a drink made of (12%) fruit juice concentrates, mixed into a water solution. Added are sugars, colors, and modifiers.
Negatives: A good way to consume unnecessary calories in the form of three sugars. Most benefit is the water & Vitamin C, but wouldn’t just a bottle of water be better?
Positives: Does not contain High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), at least in this brand. Has (100%) daily requirement of Vitamin C per serving (8oz). No Fats.
Generic Cola: Once again lots of water, some carbonation, three forms of sugar. Coloring & some acid to make it slightly bitter. No fats.
Negatives: Lots of sugar, bad for people with sugar concerns – such as diabetics. No Vitamin C.
Cost for Each Product: Sample Pricing from Local Market
Strawberry Banana Nectar: $1.75 for the 33.8 oz.
Cost per oz.= about 5 cents/oz. Cola Beverage: $1.55 / 2.64 Quart = 32 oz/qt x 2.6 = Cost per oz. = about 2 cents/oz.
How to Make Strawberry Banana Smoothie AKA: Strawberry Banana Nectar at Home
Fresh strawberries and bananas make healthy drink.
It’s Easy to make strawberry banana smoothie using this recipe:
Add one banana and 4oz. of fresh or frozen Strawberries to Blender:
Add 4 oz. of sugar, 12oz of water and one Vitamin C Pill.(optional)
I Blended it up and found it to be less sugary than soda or the Strawberry and Banana Nectar. This is mainly because I chose to reduce the amount of sugar. Interestingly, I got about as much puree in my 8 oz. glass as I would have received in an ENTIRE 33 oz. carton of Strawberry and Banana Nectar! In addition, the only other ingredient worthwhile was the Vitamin C. My cost was 1ea banana – 15 cents, 4oz of strawberries – 28 cents, sugar -2 cents and Vitamin C pill – 6 cents.
So that is my take on how to make a strawberry banana smoothie. My home brew banana strawberry nectar cost about 51 cents/8oz. or about 6.5 cents/oz. My cost was about the same as the “store bought” version, but gave me a slightly fresher taste, and contained a lot fewer calories, as I reduced the sugar.
Final Conclusions – Strawberry Banana Nectar Evaluation
In the final analysis, when choosing a beverage, I probably should have taken some bottled water to the beach. Next time, if I get motivated, and have the time and ingredients close at hand, I will toss them all in the blender. For sure, I will get more strawberry banana juice, less sugar, a more satisfactory taste, and save some money in the bargain. From a health perspective, I think that the store bought strawberry and banana nectar is a better choice than the soda, but not by much. But both get beat out by the home made simple strawberry banana smoothie recipe.
Have you ever faced this dilemma? Maybe you were going to the beach or the park for a picnic. Leave a comment in the box below and let me know what kind of drinks you have taken in your picnic basket. Would you take Strawberry Banana Nectar, Cola or Water? I am really interested to know what suggestions you might have. Thanks!
Normal Background Radiation – Are You Being Zapped?
Background Radiation on Earth
Normal Background Radiation comes from one of two sources. One type is produced naturally by decaying Atoms that are all around us in our environment. An example is Alpha particles produced by the element Radium. Radium is found commonly in the ground and in granite rocks. It naturally decomposes into Radon Gas, releasing an Alpha particle. These particles are part of normal background radiation. Another type of normal background radiation is caused by Beta particles (electrons). Also included are Gamma rays, which come into our environment from outer space, and can be measured by special instruments called Geiger Counters. Ionizing radiation is radiation that can cause other atoms to change state and can induce them to morph into other types of atoms. As a consequence, they can release Alpha or Beta radiation in the process.
Common Sources of Natural Background Ionizing Radiation?
One of the most common sources of natural ionizing normal background radiation effecting humans, is Radon Gas. This gas is formed by the decomposition of the element Radon. It is commonly found in our soil and various earth rocks like granite. Radon gas is the source of over 50% of the human exposure to ionizing radiation on our Earth. Other ionizing radiation sources found are: X-Rays, Gamma Rays, Cosmic Rays, Beta Rays, and Alpha particles.
Normal Background Radiation Exists Surrounds All of Us
Normal background radiation types on earth include Alpha, Beta, Gamma, X-Rays and Cosmic Rays. All human inhabitants of our planet are exposed to radiation throughout our lives. A great deal of this radiation occurs naturally, but some types are man-made:including X-Rays, used for medical purposes, and Atomic Radiation produced as the result of military weapons tests, and nuclear power plants. Airline pilots, flight attendants, and frequent flyers are exposed to elevated levels of Cosmic Radiation during airplane flights. Jumbo jets normally fly quite high above the earth, upwards of 40,000 feet (about 8 miles). Cosmic radiation at these altitudes is up to fifty (50) times greater than at sea level.
Film Badges Measure Normal Background Radiation
Exposure to normal background radiation can be measured over the long term by devices called film badges. When background radiation sources penetrate the film on the badges, it exposes the film, and the degree to which the film is exposed is a measure of the incident radiation over time. Radiation badges are typically worn by workers who are commonly exposed to ionizing radiation such as X-Ray technicians, or medical personnel working with radiation measurement instruments in laboratories. Other workers exposed might fall into the category of defense workers or workers in nuclear power plants.
Measuring Normal Background Radiation with a Meter
Film badges can be are often used to measure radiation exposures over long periods of time, such as a week or month. These badges, as the name implies contain a photographic film emulsion that changes form when it is exposed to radiation. They are used one-time only, and as a result are discarded daily. Badges must be read by special equipment after longer exposures such a a day, week or month, depending upon the situation. Film badges attach to a persons clothing (like an ID badge).
Other Radiation Detection Equipment
As another precaution, workers use Geiger Detectors, which measure human doses of radiation as it happens. These detectors instantly sound alarms when dangerous levels of ionizing radiation are close to them. Portable radiation meters determine incident radiation using a detector (Geiger Meuller tube), that often shaped as “wand” or hand held device. As this device is brought closer and closer to the radiation source, the meter numeric indicator on the instrument increases in value. Detected radiation also can create audio “clicks.” The more clicks per minute, means that higher radiation is being encountered.
Normal Background Radiation – One Year Maximum Limit?
The average person receives about 300 millirems of normal background radiation in one year. This radiation emanates from Radon Gas and Cosmic Rays. If you live in a city similar to the “mile high city”, Denver Colorado, you are exposed to about 400 millirems per year on average. Radiation exposure over time can be expressed in millirems or microSv (Micro Sieverts) per year.
Radiation Limits for Workers in Nuclear Power Plants ?
Nuclear Plant Workers Protection
Workers in nuclear and weapons manufacturing faculties are limited to annual exposure limit of 5000 millirems ( (5 Rems), which is greater than normal background radiation. This limit is set by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In contrast, this turns out to be about 10 times the rate for non-worker exposure recommended limits! If you are in the military services, this limit is imposed on you as well.
Everyday Foods Emit Natural Background Radiation
Certain foods emit various forms of normal background radiation. This occurs because vegetables, fruits and grains are grown in the soil. As a consequence the food absorbs it, and becomes radioactive. All bananas and kale are slightly radioactive. table salt, or Sodium Chloride (NaCl) is not very radioactive, but a common salt substitute Potassium Chloride (KCL) is; and commonly fixed amounts of it are used to test radiation measurement instruments.
Radioactive Sources Hide in Smoke Detectors
A small amount of Americium (Am 241 Dioxide) is found in most home and industrial smoke detectors. A metal disc (5 mm diameter.) of this material is used in the smoke detection process. This disc puts out a directed amount of radiation which is focused between two capacitor plates. This Am241 button of material ionizes the room air in between the plates allowing some electric current to flow in the measurement circuit. If normal current flow is interrupted then smoke particles are present: thus setting off the alarm. This limited amount of Americium Dioxide, approximately (0.3 micro-grams) emits mostly alpha particle radiation inside the smoke detector and can be sensed by a standard radiation meter.
Smoke Detectors Pose Little Radiation Risk at Home
Given the small amount of Am241, it’s not enough to present health hazards to a dwellings occupants. In any given day, a person will receive, on average, about 10 microSv per day of normal background radiation. This sums to 3650 microSv per year. As discussed above, all natural background radiation comes from space, our Sun, Radon in our home and soil, and other materials. Smoke detectors can radiate persons with an annual dosage of about 80 microSv, according to Nuclear Radiation Commission (NRC). In proportion, this amounts to about 80/3650 or only (2.2 %) of our total yearly normal background radiation exposure. Out of caution, home smoke detectors should be disposed of properly and not just put into the trash. Check with your local waste disposal authorities to see how they recommend this should be done safely.
Let’s take a look at various ways we can clean dirty cell phones and devices . Our phones exhibit grime and dirt picked up from some interesting and sometimes filthy places. Our hands are not always clean: food, creams, liquids and various microbes and other germs attach to the surfaces of our devices. Hold your cell phone screen at an angle up to the light. It will show you finger prints, dust, dirt, and other grime not noticeable in a straight-on view.
How to Safely and Gently Clean Dirty Cell Phones
How Do I Clean Dirty Cell Phones?
Abrasives can clean some things around the house , but they are bad news for cleaning dirty Cell Phones and Tablets and other electronic devices. Too much liquid is also a bad idea. Dunking the cell phone in a bowl of soapy water is to be avoided at all costs! Before you begin cleaning your cell, it’s a good idea to turn the device off.
To clean the surface, put the liquid you plan to use in a very clean small spray bottle. Spray the liquid onto the micro-cloth to leave a minimum of cleaning agent on the cloth. First off, try spaying the micro-cloth with clean distilled water. If your cell is quite dirty, you may want to wet several areas of the micro-fiber cloth and do it on different sections. Afterwards, dry the device with a clean and dry micro cloth or a soft, clean, tee-shirt, making sure the phone is fully dried.
Use a Mildly Acidic Solution to Clean Dirty Cell Phones
If you notice that more rigorous cleaning is needed, try mixing equal parts of whitewine vinegar and distilled water, then add it into the spray bottle. Spray this mixture on a dry clean cloth (not too wet) and see how it works. After cleaning, dry the surfaces with a clean non-abrasive towel, dry micro-cloth or clean T-Shirt. Be sure to let your phone dry out completely before turning it on again.
Danger Awaits if You Use Too Much Liquid!
Please remember that the micro-fiber must be damp, but not soaked. Leaking cleaning fluids into the speaker and microphone, or physical buttons on the phone could damage the device and might involve costly repairs. If you are concerned about liquid damage, you may wish to try temporarily placing some pieces of masking tape over the camera and speaker ports to prevent any liquid from getting in during the cleaning process.
Keeping Cell Phone Cleaning Simple and “Green”
Other so called “professional” and expensive cleaning agents can be found and purchased on the Web. Unfortunately, some of them use harmful chemicals, while others may contain unwanted cleaning agents. Keeping it “Green and Clean” and simple by using the above natural home products and techniques will work for most people, and for most dirty and grimy devices. Good luck using these tips and tricks to clean dirty your cell phones!
If you are currently watering your lawn by hand, or using the manual on-off watering technique , you might want to take a look at how a hose timer saves water. It is simple, programmable, and automated allowing you to conveniently schedule the on-off times any time of day. This simple automated water timer can be attached to your garden outlet or hose. This hose timer saves water and works with low pressure drip systems or soaker hoses.
What Simple Inexpensive Devices Exist to Meter Watering?
I ran across a simple water timer called the Melnor AquaTimer™ 3015 I am using it to inexpensively activate my home watering schedules. Practical and simple water timers will allow you to have a number of timed water settings, allowing you to control your watering over a full 24 hour cycle. See how you can easily achieve great results and save money at the same time.
How a Simple Hose Timer Saves Water
Hose Timer Saves Water
My Melnor water timer has Program Retention, and will retain watering settings, even if the internal battery fails, or if the unit has not been in use for some time. The water timer is powered by two standard alkaline AA batteries, which depending on use, may need to be changed every few months or so. (A battery condition indicator is located on the front panel to advise you that it is time to change the battery).
The Melnor AquaTimer™ I chose was the Model 3015. It is very simple to program, and works reliably, without leaking. I am using it to set both a morning (20 minutes) and evening (15 minutes ) watering times. It’s great to have my device turn the water on automatically and get the job done in the wee hours of the morning or evening. I estimate that I have experienced about one-third less water usage since I began using this timer. You may wish to check out how much a hose timer cuts your water usage as well!
As with most useful materials, is there a possibility of Recycling Polystyrene? Polystyrene foam is also known by the trade name, Styrofoam. It is used for food and goods packaging as well as construction. Being a rigid foam material, it has the advantage of strength;at the same time is lightweight. It can be shaped into solid blocks, or made into smaller pieces of foam, sometimes referred to as “popcorn”. In some countries, its use has been banned for a number of reasons. It relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and has become very popular for certain commercial uses.
Technical Facts about Polystyrene
Its official chemical name (ID) is (poly(1-phenylethene-1,2-diyl)), or PS for short. It has a reasonably high melting temperature of 464 degrees F (240 degrees C). It has very good insulating properties, low density (weight/volume). This makes it an excellent choice for hot beverage cups, general packaging of goods, and insulation in construction.
How is Polystyrene (PS) Manufactured?
Non Recycled Polystyrene Cups can Last an Eternity!
PS is a petroleum-based product, and is manufactured out of oil derivatives, such as plastics. It is easily formed into specific shapes, blocks, or pellets and many other shapes. It is often fabricated into coffee, beverage drinking cups, food containers, as well as packaging and construction materials. Even some surfboards are found to contain this versatile material!
Are We Making any Progress Recycling Polystyrene in any Meaningful Volume?
Polystyrene is a very durable product, and unfortunately very long lasting as well. This affects our ability to dispose of it properly after use. In some forms, polystyrene is expected to last for over 500 years before decomposition! It is much more difficult to recycle it compared to other plastic materials. For recycling purposes, plastics are usually numbered. The code number appears on the bottom of the item withing a small identifying triangle. Numbering ranges from one to seven. Polystyrene, or Styrofoam (trade name) products are marked with the numeral six (6). Unfortunately, a significant number of municipal and private recycling operations DO NOT accept plastics with the “6” code. This lack of interest may occur because it seems that PS plastic petroleum products are much more difficult and expensive to recycle and recover.
What are Potential Medical Problems associated with Producing Polystyrene Products?
The United States EPA, (Environmental Protection Agency), has named polystyrene (PS) as a potential carcinogen. Production workers are advised by the EPA , that prolonged exposure to PS products in a manufacturing setting, may possibly cause: problems with respiration, as well as have negative effects on the human central nervous system.
Statistics Concerning Disposal and Recycling Polystyrene
It is somewhat difficult to obtain exact statistics, but the subject of recycling Polystyrene has been reported in some surveys. One such survey, in 2015, reported that over 600 million pounds of post consumer plastic products were identified as recycled in North America ( USA and Canada). Unfortunately, only about eight (8) million pounds of PS plastics were recycled among this entire recycled waste stream. This is equal to only about (1.33 percent) of PS products in these particular waste streams. These these statistics seem to suggest the difficulty, cost, and complexity incurred when attempting to recycle polystyrene products.
Does Any Hope Exist for the Green Recycling of PS Products?
The use of polystyrene cups is very extensive in the USA, with a reported 500 Billion (500 thousand million) cups being disposed of in a single year! Estimating that the average population of the USA in 2017 is 325 million people, usage would amount to over 1540 f PS polystyrene cups being disposed of per person, per year. This estimate of cups seems a bit high, but assume if it were even 40% of that, i.e. ( 616 cups per individual per year), this volume would present a significant challenge for landfill disposal of (PS) products.
Maybe the Only Solution to PS Pollution is Abstinence
Realizing the current difficulty of providing for the adequate and effective means of Recycling Polystyrene, and the 500 year decomposition time of these PS materials, the only viable strategies available may be the following:Limit the Sale, Use, and Production, of all types of PS containers and materials!
We will examine the Safe Levels of Microwave Oven Radiation coming from both built-in and countertop Microwave ovens. Microwave ovens are sealed enclosures that heat food or liquids by means of exciting the water molecules in them to such an extent that they heat up. Microwave oven radiation generated inside the oven can often exceed several thousand watts. Fortunately very little of this microwave radiation escapes to the external surfaces and areas in close proximity to the oven, because these ovens are normally adequately shielded.
The amount of “power density” in air, is defined by the power produced, divided by the volume in which that power exists; for example, watts/cubic inch, or watts per cubic centimeter. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines the external safe limits in terms of milliwatts (thousandths of a watt ) per cubic centimeter. They also define the frequency of microwave radiation in these appliances, to be in a band of frequencies covering ( 890-6000) Megahertz. Typical microwave oven radiation exists centered approximately at 2400 Megahertz (Mhz). This frequency band is sometimes called the Industrial Scientific Medical (ISM band), and contains close by frequencies that are often used by cell phones , portable phones, Blue-Tooth devices, and computer Wi-Fi routers.
FDA Definition of Safe Levels of Microwave Oven Radiation
The FDA defines the safe level of microwave energy (at the time of customer purchase) to be less than one (1) milliwatt per square centimeter at a any point distant from the the external surface of the oven. This limit is increased to a maximum of five (5) milliwatts per square centimeter over the lifetime of the oven. All microwave ovens are required to be designed with safety interlocks that will shut off the microwave energy if the door is opened while the oven is in operation. If the oven ever operates with the oven door open, unplug it, discontinue its use, and then take it to a repair center as soon as possible.
How Do I Know if My Microwave Oven Radiation is Within the Safety Limits?
Since unsafe levels of microwaves can only be measured by means of power devices that are designed for this purpose. A microwave oven tester can be obtained to measure these values. When using the tester the oven should be filled with a glass of water. Fill the glass with about 300 milliliters of water. Turn the microwave oven up to its maximum heating setting (if this is possible), and run it while you make your measurements. The water acts as a load, and simulates food or other liquids that you typically would be heating. Microwave ovens should not be operated without some food or beverage in them. If they have nothing to heat, the emissions out of the oven will typically be quite a bit higher, and it will not be good for the longevity of the oven.
Test Instruments Can Check Microwave Oven Radiation
Moderately priced instruments for oven radiation testing are available for the consumer market. A Microwave Oven Radiation Tester will determine if your oven is leaking too much microwave energy. The maximum “safe level” as mentioned earlier is five ( 5mw) milliwatts/cubic centimeter. This is a Power per unit Volume measurement, (milliwatts per centimeter-squared) and these microwave oven radiation testers will accurately measure this power density value during a test. Recommended testing techniques sometimes include placing the tester in close proximity to the joints around the front door of the microwave oven, and around the sides of the unit. Some testers will sound an alarm, or perhaps flash a signal or LED, if the tested value is over the recommended limit. If the alarm should sound or the level exceed the recommended power limit, the unit should not be used further, and should be returned to the vendor, or taken to a service shop.
Microwave Ovens Were Once Called “Radar Ranges”
Microwave ovens were originally called Radar Ranges. The radar designation came from the WWII military term for microwave or UHF radio waves that were used to determine the distance of enemy aircraft and ships at sea. It’s acronym became RADAR, “radio detection and ranging.” In order to use this radar ranging technique, powerful UHF microwave transmitters were developed. In the process of developing RADAR, scientists found that microwave transmitters were able to heat water molecules and other substances that contained water.
Early WWII RADAR Dish
The idea of microwave heating was born when it was discovered that it could be used for rapidly heating food and beverages. In the early post war era, microwave transmitters were designed in sealed cabinets to contain the microwave oven radiation, and were called “radar ranges”. Later on the term “Radar” was dropped, presumably because of its connection to the War, and to steer public discussion away from the known cases of radar damage caused in humans by accidental exposure. A number of incidents occurred resulting in death or serious burns inflicted on humans, most accidents of this type occurred in the military services. Some accidents still tend to occur when users attempt to fix their own microwave ovens, without heading the warnings that High Voltage lurks within the cabinet!
