Are you trying to lose weight as part of your New Year’s Resolution?
How many calories did you burn today?
Here is a handy little interactive calculator for common daily activities:
Remember, one lost pound = 3,500 burned calories
Author: pc
Healthy Weight Calculator
Are you thinking of losing weight as part of your New Year’s Resolution?
Here is a handy online tool to help you calculate your Body Mass index, (BMI) so you can determine your optimal healthy weight and start working towards your goals.
New Titles now available at HerStory Books
Just to remind you that the latest great romance novels are available at HerStory Books
Is it your time to quit smoking?
Here is a handy article if you are thinking of quitting smoking as a New Year’s Resolution.
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/4400/4434.asp?&Source=FathomSEO&email+marketing&campaigned=Health_Extra&index=14132&src=news&ref=4400/4432.asp
Here are some other excellent articles on why there is no such thing as a safe cigarette, and the INSTANT benefits you will gain if you quit smoking.
http://www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com/alerts_index/lung_disorders/1085-1.html
Small Fashion Changes, Big Bang For Your Buck
Everyone wants to look fashionable and wear stylish clothes, but that can be a challenging task, especially when you’re on a budget.
For the cost-conscious, major overhauls to your wardrobe are out of the question, but there are simple changes you canmake that can subtly change the effect of your clothes and outfits, and give your wardrobe a fresh new look.
Add a few unique accessories that emphasize color and shape, and you may be surprised at the change that slowly becomes apparent. Great accessories don’t have to be expensive and sometimes can be found in the most surprising locations. The best place to start is within your own closet and drawers ““ there may be the perfect accessory waiting to be discovered! A fast way to change the feel of an outfit is to turn your collar up. This accentuates your face and creates a nice line down the throat and the center of the body. To give it a slightly retro flair, turn the collar up and force the tips down a bit.
A tremendously useful accessory that doesn’t cost much is the humble scarf. Buy several in different colors and patterns as well as sizes, and you can use them as belts, headbands, accessories for bags, or just to wind around your neck. Scarves with mixes of unusual colors look especially stylish against black outfits. Use a long one to wrap around your neck and leave the ends free with one in the front and the other in the back. Shorter scarves can be used to tie around ponytails for a stylish yet cute touch or tied around the handle of your bag for a flash of color.Longer ones can be tied around your waist.
Earrings are another fabulous way to change up your look without spending a lot of money, and are one of the single best ways to create a mood for yourself. Choose a sparkly, dangly pair for a night out, and smaller, but color-coordinated ones for work.
Gold or silver accessories add a touch of elegance toany outfits.
Handbags and shoes are another way to dress an outfit up or down, and add a bit of stylish flair.
Kindle: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device
In the world of books, first came hardcover, soft cover, books on tape, and
ebooks. Well, get ready because Amazon has just released its new Kindle, a
wireless reading device. This revolutionary device allows you to read any book,
newspaper, magazine or blog effortlessly and without the need for a PC or sync.
According to Amazon, “We designed Kindle to provide an exceptional reading
experience. Thanks to electronic paper, a revolutionary new display technology,
reading Kindle’s screen is as sharp and natural as reading ink on paper—and
nothing like the strain and glare of a computer screen.”
“Kindle is also easy on the fingertips. It never becomes hot and is designed
for ambidextrous use so both “lefties” and “righties” can
read comfortably at any angle for long periods of time. We deliver your content
using our own wireless delivery system, Amazon Whispernet. Unlike WiFi, you’ll
never need to locate a hotspot. There are no confusing service plans, yearly
contracts, or monthly wireless bills—we take care of the hassles so you can
just read.”
The Kindle’s features include:
* Revolutionary electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution
screen that looks and reads like real paper.
* Simple to use: no computer, no cables, no syncing.
* Wireless connectivity enables you to shop the Kindle Store directly from your
Kindle—whether you’re in the back of a taxi, at the airport, or in bed.
* Buy a book and it is auto-delivered wirelessly in less than one minute.
* More than 115,000 books available, including more than 100 of 112 current New
York Times® Best Sellers.
* New York Times® Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked
otherwise.
* Free book samples. Download and read first chapters for free before you
decide to buy.
* Top U.S. newspapers including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and
Washington Post; top magazines including TIME, Atlantic Monthly, and
Forbes—all auto-delivered wirelessly.
* Top international newspapers from France, Germany, and Ireland; Le Monde,
Frankfurter Allgemeine, and The Irish Times—all auto-delivered wirelessly.
* More than 300 top blogs from the worlds of business, technology, sports,
entertainment, and politics, including BoingBoing, Slashdot, TechCrunch,
ESPN’s Bill Simmons, The Onion, Michelle Malkin, and The Huffington
Post—all updated wirelessly throughout the day.
* Lighter and thinner than a typical paperback; weighs only 10.3 ounces.
* Holds over 200 titles.
* Long battery life. Leave wireless on and recharge approximately every other
day. Turn wireless off and read for a week or more before recharging. Fully
recharges in 2 hours.
* Unlike WiFi, Kindle utilizes the same high-speed data network (EVDO) as
advanced cell phones—so you never have to locate a hotspot.
* No monthly wireless bills, service plans, or commitments—we take care of
the wireless delivery so you can simply click, buy, and read.
* Includes free wireless access to the planet’s most exhaustive and
up-to-date encyclopedia—Wikipedia.org.
* Email your Word documents and pictures (.JPG, .GIF, .BMP, .PNG) to Kindle for
easy on-the-go viewing.
* Included in the box: Kindle wireless reader, Book cover, Power adapter, USB
2.0 cable
If you are an avid reader, you will love the Kindle with its Whispernet
technology. You will be able to take this pocket-sized device wherever you go;
whether it’s on a train, bus or plane or while you are sitting in an office
waiting to see a doctor or dentist.
In addition, not only will you be able to access any book by entering the name
on the Kindle keyboard, but this device also provides a built-in dictionary,
access to Wikipedia, and can amplify the font size to make your reading
experience more enjoyable.
A Real Life Example of Asset Management
During the dark ages of computers and asset management, the 1970’s and early 1980’s, there was a company that operated large ocean going integrated tug/barge systems.
The tug engines were twin 5560 HP V-12 diesels.
There were 5 parts of these engines that were tracked. There was an index card for each item and notations were made whan any piece was changed.
The vessels had no computer systems but the First Assistant Engineer brought a personal IBM type computer aboard while the Captain had purchased a Commodore 64 and was writing programs for it in Basic.
Each engine had a counter attached that gave cumulative operating hours and each piece tracked had the engine hours at installation noted.
The pieces and guidelines for changeout were:
Heads 10,000 hours, later changed to 12,000 hours
Right hand intake valve 3,000 hours
Left hand intake valve 3,000 hours
Right hand exhaust valve 3,000 hours
Left hand exhaust valve 3,000 hours
The above items were for each cylinder for both engines, giving 120 items to be accounted for.
The First Assistant Engineer wanted to create a program to track the data and find out the status of each part. He bogged down on his program and mentioned the problem to the Captain.
The Captain wrote a fast and dirty basic program that compared the engine hours at installation to the present engine hours for each item and gave a printout of the status of each item.
It took about 2 days to enter the data and write the program which ran through it all in about 30 seconds.
Conditions were, “OK”, if under the replacement hours, “Will need replacement in XXX hours” or “Overdue for replacement by xxx hours”
The entire Port Engine was overdue by no less than 1000 hours and sometimes quite a bit more.
This sent a shockwave through all Engine related personnel.
Although information had been entered on the index cards, no one had ever made any practical use of it.
The economics:
These vessels cost about $2,000 per hour to operate.
The failure of an exhaust valve meant stopping the engine and changing it out and took about one hour.
(In a true disaster, the Engineers had bypassed the air/oil interlock that prevented the engine from starting when it had no oil pressure. The interlock had failed and there was no replacement immediately available. They shut down for a failed exhaust valve and when they restarted, no one turned the lube oil pump back on. The engine was destroyed and replacement cost $1 million.
In addition, about 1/4 of the revenue of the vessel for a whole year was lost while waiting for a replacement engine to be built and delivered.)
The failure of an intake valve would be another disaster. In general, the valve head would drop into the cylinder where it would get mashed into pieces about the size of a marble. In the process, it would destroy the other intake valve, the head, the piston and liner. This would generally cause an emergency port call and take a full day or two to repair.
In about 14 years of operation we never experienced a head failure.
So preventive maintenance was essential but before the advent of computers there was no good way to keep track of it.
The end of this story is that the Company went into high gear and replaced every part that was overdue. Right after they finished, the engines were started one morning and the lube oil pump failed to provied full pressure to the Port engine. It was severely damaged but not destroyed as was the Starboard one on the previous occasion. But the money was not there to repair it and the Company went bankrupt.