Monday, May 05, 2008
Paint
Beware: Two things: lead and toxins. If your house was built before 1978, your walls could be full of lead -- paint, that is. Chipping or peeling paint can be ingested by infants and children, which may lead to serious health problems. Also, paints and finishes release low-level toxic emissions into the air, even years after you applied it. These toxic emissions are called VOCs, or volatile organic compounds. They’re so toxic you can smell them. If you’ve ever painted a room, you know what they smell like.
Take Care: Lead in paint was banned in 1978 and is no longer sold. If you’re worried about lead, have your home tested and then seal any traces of lead paint with a fresh coat of nonlead paint. Until recently, VOCs were essential to the performance of the paint. Now, low- and no-VOC paints are available from mainstream and eco-friendly companies nationwide.
Carpet
Beware: Chemicals in your carpets. Carpets and carpet cushions can contain VOCs and emit formaldehyde, a colorless, pungent-smelling gas. According to the EPA, formaldehyde has been shown to cause cancer in animals and may cause cancer in humans. Health effects include eye, nose, and throat irritation; wheezing and coughing; fatigue; skin rash; and severe allergic reactions.
Take Care: Look for carpets made from natural fibers with little or no chemical treatment. Shaw Floors sells a variety of eco-friendly colors and styles for both wall-to-wall and area carpeting. Also, purchase carpets with natural-fiber backing that’s attached with less-toxic adhesives.
Wood Flooring
Beware: Who knew even wood was toxic? Well, it’s not the wood; it’s the stain and finish. VOCs (here we go again) from solvents, such as mineral spirits and petroleum distillates, can cause allergic reactions, headaches, and nausea.
Take Care: Why cover a beautiful wood floor with toxic chemicals? Look for a low-VOC finish, available at most home improvement stores. If you’re in the market for new flooring, consider bamboo. It costs less and is better for the environment compared to traditional wood flooring.
Mattresses
Beware: Bugs and toxic chemicals. A typical-used mattress may have anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million bed mites inside, feeding on your dead skin cells and causing allergic reactions in some people. Many mattresses also contain flame-retardant chemicals known as PBDEs, which have accumulated in high levels in American blood and breast milk.
Take Care: Dust mites hate hot water! By covering and protecting your mattress and washing all comforters, sheets, and pillows in hot water every week, you’ll get rid of those unwelcome visitors. Also, consider replacing your mattress with an organic cotton model or an affordable one from IKEA -- they contain alternative flame-retardants that haven't raised any significant consumer health or environmental concerns.
Detox Your Home
10 easy things you can do today for pennies or less
1. Clean your fabrics, drapes, and rugs to eliminate dust, molds, and pollens.
2. Open a window. Circulating air in the home ensures good ventilation.
3. Choose natural cleaning products to reduce toxins in the home.
4. Buy a vacuum with a HEPA filter to remove dust mites, dust, and dirt from your floors and carpets.
5. Keep your house clean and remove any piles of clutter that are collecting dust.
6. Go green with plants. They improve air quality by adding oxygen and removing carbon dioxide.
7. Replace or cover the plywood and MDF. Glues in cheaper woods can contain volatile toxins.
8. Make your house a smoke-free home. Who needs to breathe in toxic fumes?
9. Run computers in a well-ventilated area and shut them off when not in use. They release gaseous pollutants into the air the longer they run.
10. Think before you buy. Make a healthy home a priority every day.
Beware: Two things: lead and toxins. If your house was built before 1978, your walls could be full of lead -- paint, that is. Chipping or peeling paint can be ingested by infants and children, which may lead to serious health problems. Also, paints and finishes release low-level toxic emissions into the air, even years after you applied it. These toxic emissions are called VOCs, or volatile organic compounds. They’re so toxic you can smell them. If you’ve ever painted a room, you know what they smell like.
Take Care: Lead in paint was banned in 1978 and is no longer sold. If you’re worried about lead, have your home tested and then seal any traces of lead paint with a fresh coat of nonlead paint. Until recently, VOCs were essential to the performance of the paint. Now, low- and no-VOC paints are available from mainstream and eco-friendly companies nationwide.
Carpet
Beware: Chemicals in your carpets. Carpets and carpet cushions can contain VOCs and emit formaldehyde, a colorless, pungent-smelling gas. According to the EPA, formaldehyde has been shown to cause cancer in animals and may cause cancer in humans. Health effects include eye, nose, and throat irritation; wheezing and coughing; fatigue; skin rash; and severe allergic reactions.
Take Care: Look for carpets made from natural fibers with little or no chemical treatment. Shaw Floors sells a variety of eco-friendly colors and styles for both wall-to-wall and area carpeting. Also, purchase carpets with natural-fiber backing that’s attached with less-toxic adhesives.
Wood Flooring
Beware: Who knew even wood was toxic? Well, it’s not the wood; it’s the stain and finish. VOCs (here we go again) from solvents, such as mineral spirits and petroleum distillates, can cause allergic reactions, headaches, and nausea.
Take Care: Why cover a beautiful wood floor with toxic chemicals? Look for a low-VOC finish, available at most home improvement stores. If you’re in the market for new flooring, consider bamboo. It costs less and is better for the environment compared to traditional wood flooring.
Mattresses
Beware: Bugs and toxic chemicals. A typical-used mattress may have anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million bed mites inside, feeding on your dead skin cells and causing allergic reactions in some people. Many mattresses also contain flame-retardant chemicals known as PBDEs, which have accumulated in high levels in American blood and breast milk.
Take Care: Dust mites hate hot water! By covering and protecting your mattress and washing all comforters, sheets, and pillows in hot water every week, you’ll get rid of those unwelcome visitors. Also, consider replacing your mattress with an organic cotton model or an affordable one from IKEA -- they contain alternative flame-retardants that haven't raised any significant consumer health or environmental concerns.
Detox Your Home
10 easy things you can do today for pennies or less
1. Clean your fabrics, drapes, and rugs to eliminate dust, molds, and pollens.
2. Open a window. Circulating air in the home ensures good ventilation.
3. Choose natural cleaning products to reduce toxins in the home.
4. Buy a vacuum with a HEPA filter to remove dust mites, dust, and dirt from your floors and carpets.
5. Keep your house clean and remove any piles of clutter that are collecting dust.
6. Go green with plants. They improve air quality by adding oxygen and removing carbon dioxide.
7. Replace or cover the plywood and MDF. Glues in cheaper woods can contain volatile toxins.
8. Make your house a smoke-free home. Who needs to breathe in toxic fumes?
9. Run computers in a well-ventilated area and shut them off when not in use. They release gaseous pollutants into the air the longer they run.
10. Think before you buy. Make a healthy home a priority every day.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Forbidden Kingdom - My first time watching a kungfu movie in English! I wonder how long the actors and actresses practised their English before they can speak like that for the movie. As usual, the fighting is good, the humour is good too. My favourite Li Bing Bing's spoke really good English, and as usual, she's very cool. She can really play anything well, and I love her eye makeup.
If anybody has watched Hansel and Gretel, tell me how scary it is.
Proposal - nodame cantabile 13 (last friends) - Liszt Mephisto Waltz No. 1 - Densha Otoko - Nakama Yukie (Trick)
If anybody has watched Hansel and Gretel, tell me how scary it is.
Proposal - nodame cantabile 13 (last friends) - Liszt Mephisto Waltz No. 1 - Densha Otoko - Nakama Yukie (Trick)
Sunday, January 27, 2008
It's been 6 months since I joined the band, performed twice in VCH and twice at open-air locations, and have improved quite a bit I would say. Every performance we end on a high, and look forward to preparing for the next one. Yesterday's solo part was super stressed for me, but I made it. Much thanks to the very talented composer-cum-guest-conductor for his encouragement and patience with me. One day I'll be able to write pieces like that, full of imagery and emotions.
Really want the house to be renovated very soon, it's long overdue. And I'm going to be a very good cook. May every day be a great day! :)
Really want the house to be renovated very soon, it's long overdue. And I'm going to be a very good cook. May every day be a great day! :)
Friday, August 03, 2007
WHO TOLD YOU IT COULDN'T BE DONE, AND WHAT GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS HAS HE PERFORMED THAT QUALIFIED HIM TO SET UP LIMITATIONS FOR YOU?
You will find as you go through life that those who give advice most freely are precisely the individuals who are least qualified to do so.
Busy, successful people don't have an interest in telling you how to live your life. They are busy living their own.
Failures or mediocre people have all the time in the world. They also delight in seeing you fail, and are quick to say "I told you so" when you experience a temporary setback.
If someone tells you that what you are attempting to achieve is impossible or not worth the effort, take a close look at them and what they have accomplished with their lives. The chances are good that you will find they haven't done much.
Successful people are optimistic people. They have the habit of success because they learned long ago to listen to themselves and not to those who would like to see them fail.
Yep, so please don't come and tell me my dreams are impossible, because nothing is impossible, and I will achieve them. So, are you taking steps to achieve your dreams?
You will find as you go through life that those who give advice most freely are precisely the individuals who are least qualified to do so.
Busy, successful people don't have an interest in telling you how to live your life. They are busy living their own.
Failures or mediocre people have all the time in the world. They also delight in seeing you fail, and are quick to say "I told you so" when you experience a temporary setback.
If someone tells you that what you are attempting to achieve is impossible or not worth the effort, take a close look at them and what they have accomplished with their lives. The chances are good that you will find they haven't done much.
Successful people are optimistic people. They have the habit of success because they learned long ago to listen to themselves and not to those who would like to see them fail.
Yep, so please don't come and tell me my dreams are impossible, because nothing is impossible, and I will achieve them. So, are you taking steps to achieve your dreams?
Monday, July 16, 2007
To those who missed the concert, what a waste! It was a supremely good concert, and it has been great fun. We'll be performing in National Day concert too, looking forward to learn and practise new songs. I'm going to be so high again~ Nothing feels better than performing on stage.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Lovely movie, lovely Pinocchio & Merlin the magician, lovely soundtrack, lovely company, and a nice belated birthday celebration. 'Nice' as in a little surprising, a little funny, kind of peaceful, and very comfortable. Loved eating all the cheesecake round the table, yes even the strawberry one, at least it's somewhat edible. Wonder what's wrong with me these days, I ate some strawberry ice-cream (with vanilla and chocolate, couldn't separate the strawberry out) 3 days ago. That tasted weird.
Woke up to a great SMS from our dear classmate, really happy for you and God bless you. The world is beautiful, because of you people.
Woke up to a great SMS from our dear classmate, really happy for you and God bless you. The world is beautiful, because of you people.
Monday, May 28, 2007
I hate mergers. I hate mergers when I have to sign in to Blogger with Gmail. I hate mergers when I have to sign in to Flickr with my freaking Yahoo ID. Bleah. But I like mergers when it can earn me money, that is if I manage to spot it in the first place. Jiayou, p2~
