Sunday, November 23, 2014

Hack for shopping for clothes online

Afraid of buying a product online thinking that its looks and feel might not suite you.Well here is a simple hack which I can give you if you don't know it already ....
Go to the nearest mall and try on a garment or a footwear which suites you best.Then search for the product with its barcode ,which you will find in the price tag,in any online shopping site with your phone.Apply some coupon codes and you will get the same product at a cheaper price

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

How to save your fingers when they are near frostbite

I do not know if this has been posted here or not but quoting from my personal experience, this was the most important life saving hack that happened to me at the spur of the moment. I helped my fingers cheat death!

What do you do in near-frost bite conditions, when your hands start numbing and you cannot even wiggle your fingers? Ans.: Pee on them! Yes, it may appear bull-shit but it is what struck me when I was (almost) about to lose my fingers due to a frost bite attack. And this happened very recently on my solo motorcycle trip to Ladakh. 

Situation: 
I had started pretty early from Karu towards Manali to cover as much bad ground I could in daylight. I was riding alone and by the time I crossed Upshi, it started drizzling. I was covered from head to toe in multiple clothing layers and was wearing a rain coat over my riding jacket but did not adequately cover my hands. All I had were my textile riding gloves. As if the icy rain was not enough, at Talang La it started snowing (moderate). My riding gloves were completely drenched and the searing pain in my fingers increased to such a point that I actually couldn't feel anything on my fingers. Near Talang La, I wished to stop but that is when a horrifying fact hit me - I found that I couldn't move or even wiggle my fingers off the handles. No word/expression can describe the excruciating pain in my hands; when I realized that I may be on the verge of losing finger(s) due to frost bite. It was 6:30 a.m. near the Talang La top and there wan't a soul around. no motorcyclists, cars, nothing. Obviously, other people had the good sense not to start in the icy rain in those dizzying altitudes.

Fightback:
I tried warming my hands on the bike's exhaust but other than burnt skin, I could achieve nothing. Pushed back and without any help, suddenly a flashback of a scene from god-knows-what survival series came to my mind. Somehow, I managed to zip down my jeans and peed on my hands. And voila! It worked like magic. My fingers felt a surge of blood rushing through the veins and I could at least move my fingers albeit very little. Realizing that it was my only chance to save my fingers, I gradually warmed my hands over the motorcycle's exhaust and engine (which were also losing heat very fast!) and after around half an hour of this mind-numbing ordeal, I could finally move my fingers. I couldn't afford to wear wet gloves in that chilled early morning air and therefore I wrapped up my fingers with some duct tape, creating 'wrap-around' gloves for the moment. 

Moment of Truth: 
I believe it was just a matter of seconds between when the idea to pee on my hands struck me and when frost bite could actually set in. After starting to 'feel' motion in my hands, it was like a machine which automatically hums back to life just after an abrupt power outage. I could actually feel the blood slowly flowing in my fingers! It was nothing like I had ever felt before.

I guess I was somewhere around the Superficial Frostbite condition.

Science behind the phenomenon:
As much as I can recall from my basic science classes at school, it must be specific/latent heat/conduction playing its part. You will know that liquids expand more than solids on heating. Moreover, expanding liquids will conduct heat on a wider surface area as compared to a rigid solid due to its fluidity. From what I could understand that instant 'warmth' was all my fingers needed and not high heat focussed at a particular part (me touching the exahust and had burnt my finger). It is for the same reason, putting your hand in hot water scalds a larger area even if the contact is for fraction of a second as compared to touching a hot solid body. It follows that you will be scalded almost immediately by steam than water/solid at the same temperature. 

The specific heat capacity of a material measures how much energy is required to change the temperature of that material. The specific heat capacity of water is 4180 joules per kilogram per kelvin, meaning that it requires 4180 joules of energy to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one kelvin.If a one gram drop of boiling water (at 100°C) falls on skin at a temperature of 35°C then the temperature of the water quickly falls by 65°C. To drop the temperature of one gram of water by 65°C requires a change in energy of 272 joules. Because heat always flows from a hotter body to a colder one* this heat flows into the skin, damaging skin cells as it does.

A Surprising Cure For Insomnia

A Surprising Cure For Insomnia


By Kate Sztabnik
On any given night, I might fall asleep to soft-spoken prattle from a grown man pretending to be a magic purple fairy. Or perhaps I'll drift off as a ponytailed blonde role-plays an outer-space travel agent selling me intergalactic vacation packages. Either way, as my iPhone rests beside me on my pillow, I'll feel a relaxing, slow-moving tingling sensation in my scalp—say, when the pink-eyeshadowed travel agent leans in, purses her lips, and asks me, in a gentle, enunciated whisper, "Are you looking to go exo- or stay inner solar?" Before I have time to contemplate the weirdness of her request, I'll be drooling.
Before you peg me as some sort of Internet fetish enthusiast, let me explain. Last winter, during a particularly exhausting stretch at work, I'd flop into bed just as the death metal singer at the bar downstairs from my apartment commenced his guttural screaming. I tried all the sleep-inducing tricks I could think of: dim lights, calming hot tea, a noise machine that sounded like an army of jabbering crickets. But no amount of Celestial Seasonings could lull me into slumber. Then one night I decided to search online for relaxation videos. This produced sterile waterfalls, classical music—and Ilse. Pretty, with no makeup and charmingly crooked teeth, Ilse breathed her channel's name in a soft Dutch accent—"The Waaaterwhissspers Ilse"—and a tickly feeling spread through my scalp, a burst of prickly warmth followed by a sense of deep relaxation. She leaned into the camera, pretending to examine my pores and give me a facial. Whoa, sister, I thought. But then something even stranger happened. My arm went slack; I was snoring within minutes.
I soon learned that Ilse is part of a vast online "whisper community." Her videos are labeled ASMR, short for autonomous sensory meridian response. This is the term that self-professed "tingleheads" use to describe what I felt when Ilse "cleansed" my forehead with a cotton pad, making a soft scratching sound into her microphone. And the sensation I felt when, the next night, I stumbled upon Ashlie, who softly narrated her actions as she brushed a friend's hair. Ashlie's video was 22 minutes long, but I was conscious for only the first two.
It seems that not everyone can experience ASMRs. But for those of us who feel them (the videos have racked up millions of views on YouTube), it matters little that science has yet to find a biological explanation or even affirm that they exist. For me, discovering ASMR put a name to a sensation I'd experienced occasionally throughout my life without ever knowing why. Everyone has different triggers. I've learned that mine include whispers, accents, crinkling candy wrappers, gentle handling of valuable objects, and spa role-play. While I sometimes feel sheepish clicking on these low-budget, banal, slightly perverse sleep aids, the feeling -- fuzzy-tipped, hypnotic, like a soft rainforest shower straight to the skull -- soon erases every thought in my mind.

20 Handy Tips for Using Lemons!

20 Handy Tips for Using Lemons!
 
The lemon is a citrus with a great aroma, that blends wonderfully with food and drink, but also has many other uses, thanks to its antibacterial effect. The lemon is rich in vitamin C. It is considered a strong anti-oxidant and contains 5% acid, which makes him a very useful tool.
 
So we know it's useful, but do we know how to utilize this potential? For that reason, we have collected 20 of the best things to do with a lemon, besides cooking with it!
 
1. Ant Repellant - Pour some lemon juice around any infested areas to keep them at bay!
 
2. Air freshener - An equal amount of water and lemon juice, placed in a air freshener, will supply your house with a nice fresh scent.
 
3. A clean tub - An equal amount of water and lemon juice can also be a very effective cleaning supply against mildew and fungus accumulating on the sides of your tub and/or shower.
 
4. Disinfectant - A small amount of lemon juice can be a great companion to vinegar as a cleaning supply, and can help neutralize the strong smell of the vinegar. It will also greats fortify the disinfection.
 
5. Microwave - Heat up a bowl of water and lemon wedges in the microwave for 30-60 seconds. Next, clean the microwave. Those previously hard to remove stains will now be easily removed and the 'food smell' will be neutralized.
 
6. Refrigerator - Storing half a lemon in the fridge will help prevent unpleasant odors.
 
7. Cleaning Chrome / Brass / Copper - Mix lemon juice with drinking soda and dip a clean towlet in it. Wipe down the surfaces thoroughly and then rinse well and wipe down with dry paper to get them to look like new!
 
8. Bathroom - Mix 1/2 a cup of borax powder with a glass of lemon to clean the toilet perfectly and leave it smelling clean and fresh.
 
9. Faucets and sinks - Use half a lemon to remove limescale build up on your sinks and faucets. Rinse well and redo as required.
 
10. To make your laundry whiter, add a 1/2 cup of lemon juice for the washing duration of the machine and hang up the clothes to dry. A teaspoon of lemon juice in the machine during wash will give your fabric a fresher smell.
 
11. Dishes - To remove fat substances on tools, add a teaspoon of lemon juice to the dish soap.
 
12. Drainage - A mixture of hot lemon juice and drinking soda can improve your drainage and help unclog it.
 
13. Trash can - If you throw a few lemon peels in the trash, it will help to neutralize the bad odors coming from the rest of the food stuffs.
 
14. Cutting Board - Rub half a lemon on a wooden cutting board, leave it like that for the night and wash it the next day. The lemon juice will help kill bacteria accumulating on the board, and will of course neutralize any bad odors.
 
15. Glass and Mirrors - 4 table spoons of lemon juice mixed with 2 litres of water will make for an effective mixture to clean windows, mirrors and glass surfaces.
 
16. Furniture - 2 parts of olive or cooking oil, add one part of lemon juice to make a wonderful solution for polishing furniture.
 
17. Hair brightening - To brighten your hair, pour some lemon juice on it and sit for an hour in the sun.
 
18. Hair sofetning - Lemon juice mixed with a glass of warm water can be used as a great hair mask. Soak your hair in the liquid for a few minutes and then rinse thoroughly. If you have a sensitive scalp, however, this may not be the solution for you.
 
19. Cuts, stings and skin irritation - dribble a small amount of lemon juice on small cuts, and although it will probably sting a bit, it should help stop the bleeding and disinfect the wound. In addition, applying lemon juice to stings should alleviate the feeling of discomfort and itchiness.
 
20. Removing bad smell from hands - If you were handling something odorous like fish or onions, washing your hands in lemon juice is a great way to get rid of those odors without drying or damaging your skin.

Saturday, November 30, 2013

15 Great and Easy Home Tips!


An apple to make tomatoes ripen
If you're tired of waiting and would like to make your tomatoes ripe in half the time, put them in a bowl with an apple or two, and cover them with plastic wrap.
 
Beans for wax
fill up the candle house with a layer of raw beans. It's not only a nice decoration, but the beans will also keep the candle steady and capture the wax drops.
 
Toothpick on scotch tape
Mark the end of the scotch tape by rolling it up with a toothpick at the end.
 
Orange Peel to conserve moisture
Keep the moisture and softness of brown sugar and prevent it from become rough lumps by adding a long and narrow orange peeling into the sugar vessel. .
 
Coffee filter to clean dust
Clean dust from the computer and television screen using a coffee filter. You won't even have to get it wet to use it!
 

Paper cloth to clean the shower doors
Remove insistent soap accumulation from the shower's glass doors by spraying a little water on a paper cloth, the kind used for the dryer and cleaning doors.
 
Eggshells to clean narrow places
Use a hard boiled eggshell to clean the hard to reach areas of bottles, jars and vases. Throw a few pieces of shell in the object, add hot water and a little bit of dish soap, and stir it well. The shells will scrape off thathard-to-reach dirt.

Pillow cover to clean the ceiling fan.
Slip an old pillow cover on the blades of the ceiling fan and then pull it backwards quickly to draw all the dust and dirt into it, without dropping them all over the floor.
 
Ginger to deal with pain
Calm down blisters and burns by swatting some fresh ginger juice on the aching spot.
 
Lemon to clean a grater
After you've grated soft cheese or other sticky foods, use half a lemon to get rid of the leftovers. Just use the soft side of the lemon on both sides of the grater and you'll see how easily it becomes clean again.
 
Nail polish to fix a loose button
Smear a thin layer of transparent nail polish on the center of the loose button, it will harden and keep it from falling.
 
Onion to get rid of the scent of mildew
Air out the smell of mildew from the basement or the tool shed with onions. Cut an onion in half, put half of it on a plate and leave it in the room for the night. The morning after, the air in the room will be cleaner and you won't even smell the onion!
 
Vinegar and salt against the smell of onion
However, you might be concerned of having that pesky scent of onions on your hands. A combination of vinegar and salt neutralizes the smell of onions. Mix the two materials and pour this on your hands to rub together until the scent is gone. Then wash with soap.
 
Pumice to clean a sweater
Take a rough pumice and gently rub it on any thick sweaters to get rid of little fibers and other junk.
 
Empty  bottle to stabalise boots
Use empty wine bottles to keep tall leather boots stable, so they don't lose their shape in storage.

Friday, November 22, 2013

17 Tricks to Teach Your Body

17 Tricks to Teach Your Body
 
 
 
1. If your throat tickles, scratch your ear.
When you were 9, playing your armpit was a cool trick. Now, as an adult, you can still appreciate a good body-based feat, but you're more discriminating. Take that tickle in your throat; it's not worth gagging over. Here's a better way to scratch your itch: "When the nerves in the ear are stimulated, it creates a reflex in the throat that can cause a muscle spasm," says Scott Schaffer, M.D., president of an ear, nose and throat specialty center in Gibbsboro, New Jersey. "This spasm relieves the tickle."
 
2. Experience supersonic hearing!
If you're stuck chatting up a mumbler at a cocktail party, lean in with your right ear. It's better than your left at following the rapid rhythms of speech, according to researchers at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. If, on the other hand, you're trying to identify that song playing softly in the elevator, turn your left ear toward the sound. The left ear is better at picking up music tones.
3. Feel no pain!
German researchers have discovered that coughing during an injection can lessen the pain of the needle stick. According to Taras Usichenko, author of a study on the phenomenon, the trick causes a sudden, temporary rise in pressure in the chest and spinal canal, inhibiting the pain-conducting structures of the spinal cord.
4. Clear your stuffed nose!
Forget Sudafed. An easier, quicker, and cheaper way to relieve sinus pressure is by alternately thrusting your tongue against the roof of your mouth, then pressing between your eyebrows with one finger. This causes the vomer bone, which runs through the nasal passages to the mouth, to rock back and forth, says Lisa DeStefano, D.O., an assistant professor at the Michigan State University college of osteopathic medicine. The motion loosens congestion; after 20 seconds, you'll feel your sinuses start to drain.
5. Fight fire without water!
Worried those wings will repeat on you tonight? "Sleep on your left side," says Anthony A. Star-poli, M.D., a New York City gastroenterologist and assistant professor of medicine at New York Medical College. Studies have shown that patients who sleep on their left sides are less likely to suffer from acid reflux. The esophagus and stomach connect at an angle. When you sleep on your right, the stomach is higher than the esophagus, allowing food and stomach acid to slide up your throat. When you're on your left, the stomach is lower than the esophagus, so gravity's in your favor.
6. Cure your toothache without opening your mouth!
Just rub ice on the back of your hand, on the V-shaped webbed area between your thumb and index finger. A Canadian study found that this technique reduces toothache pain by as much as 50 percent compared with using no ice. The nerve pathways at the base of that V stimulate an area of the brain that blocks pain signals from the face and hands.
7. Make burns disappear!
When you accidentally singe your finger on the stove, clean the skin and apply light pressure with the finger pads of your unmarred hand. Ice will relieve your pain more quickly, Dr. DeStefano says, but since the natural method brings the burned skin back to a normal temperature, the skin is less likely to blister.
8. Stop the world from spinning!
One too many drinks left you dizzy? Put your hand on something stable. The part of your ear responsible for balance—the cupula—floats in a fluid of the same density as blood. "As alcohol dilutes blood in the cupula, the cupula becomes less dense and rises," says Dr. Schaffer. This confuses your brain. The tactile input from a stable object gives the brain a second opinion, and you feel more in balance. Because the nerves in the hand are so sensitive, this works better than the conventional foot-on-the-floor wisdom.
9. Unstitch your side!
If you're like most people, when you run, you exhale as your right foot hits the ground. This puts downward pressure on your liver (which lives on your right side), which then tugs at the diaphragm and creates a side stitch, according to The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Men. The fix: Exhale as your left foot strikes the ground.
10. Stanch blood with a single finger!
Pinching your nose and leaning back is a great way to stop a nosebleed—if you don't mind choking on your own O positive. A more civil approach: Put some cotton on your upper gums—just behind that small dent below your nose—and press against it, hard. "Most bleeds come from the front of the septum, the cartilage wall that divides the nose," says Peter Desmarais, M.D., an ear, nose, and throat specialist at Entabeni Hospital, in Durban, South Africa. "Pressing here helps stop them."
11. Make your heart stand still!
Trying to quell first-date jitters? Blow on your thumb. The vagus nerve, which governs heart rate, can be controlled through breathing, says Ben Abo, an emergency medical-services specialist at the University of Pittsburgh. It'll get your heart rate back to normal.
12. Thaw your brain!
Too much Chipwich too fast will freeze the brains of lesser men. As for you, press your tongue flat against the roof of your mouth, covering as much as you can. "Since the nerves in the roof of your mouth get extremely cold, your body thinks your brain is freezing, too," says Abo. "In compensating, it overheats, causing an ice-cream headache." The more pressure you apply to the roof of your mouth, the faster your headache will subside.
13. Prevent near-sightedness!
Poor distance vision is rarely caused by genetics, says Anne Barber, O.D., an optometrist in Tacoma, Washington. "It's usually caused by near-point stress." In other words, staring at your computer screen for too long. So flex your way to 20/20 vision. Every few hours during the day, close your eyes, tense your body, take a deep breath, and, after a few seconds, release your breath and muscles at the same time. Tightening and releasing muscles such as the biceps and glutes can trick involuntary muscles—like the eyes—into relaxing as well.
14. Wake the dead!
If your hand falls asleep while you're driving or sitting in an odd position, rock your head from side to side. It'll painlessly banish your pins and needles in less than a minute, says Dr. DeStefano. A tingly hand or arm is often the result of compression in the bundle of nerves in your neck; loosening your neck muscles releases the pressure. Compressed nerves lower in the body govern the feet, so don't let your sleeping dogs lie. Stand up and walk around.
15. Impress your friends!
Next time you're at a party, try this trick: Have a person hold one arm straight out to the side, palm down, and instruct him to maintain this position. Then place two fingers on his wrist and push down. He'll resist. Now have him put one foot on a surface that's a half inch higher (a few magazines) and repeat. This time his arm will fold like a house of cards. By misaligning his hips, you've offset his spine, says Rachel Cosgrove, C.S.C.S., co-owner of Results Fitness, in Santa Clarita, California. Your brain senses that the spine is vulnerable, so it shuts down the body's ability to resist.
16. Breathe underwater!
If you're dying to retrieve that quarter from the bottom of the pool, take several short breaths first—essentially, hyperventilate. When you're underwater, it's not a lack of oxygen that makes you desperate for a breath; it's the buildup of carbon dioxide, which makes your blood acidic, which signals your brain that somethin' ain't right. "When you hyperventilate, the influx of oxygen lowers blood acidity," says Jonathan Armbruster, Ph.D., an associate professor of biology at Auburn University. "This tricks your brain into thinking it has more oxygen." It'll buy you up to 10 seconds.
17. Read minds!
Your own! "If you're giving a speech the next day, review it before falling asleep," says Candi Heimgartner, an instructor of biological sciences at the University of Idaho. Since most memory consolidation happens during sleep, anything you read right before bed is more likely to be encoded as long-term memory.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

I Wouldn't Have Thought if That

You can divide and store ground meat in a Ziplock
bag. Just break off how much you need and keep the
rest in the freezer for later! 

If you place a wooden spoon over a pot of
boiling water, it won't boil over! 

Marshmallows can cure a sore throat. Perfect for
kids who don't like medicine. Really?

You can run a paper bag through your printer!

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the shop.
If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster...

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil.
It will stay fresh much longer and not mould!
(But you can scrape off any mould and still eat the
cheese without changes in flavor!)

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and
better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom
are stronger flavored.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying minced beef. It will
help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

Use a (clean) dustpan to fill a container that doesn't
fit in the sink.

Place a rubber band around an open paint can to wipe
your brush on, and keep paint off the side of the can

Use a staple remover to save your fingernails when
trying to add things to your key ring!

How to keep the straw from rising out of your fizzy
drink can

Use a micro-fibre cloth to prevent frost from forming on the windshield.

Use a comb to keep a nail steady for hammering

Use a post-it note to catch drilling debris.