Fire Emergency Preparation for Schools...

A fire can occur at any place even if there are systems in place such as smoke alarms and water sprinklers. Should this happen in the school, where people are working in, it will be a good idea to review the emergency preparation plans.

The fire emergency preparation plan involves two things. These are namely information and delegation. The first thing the individual should do is read the manual and note where the nearest exits are. This is usually posted in each classroom with lighted signage’s showing the way.

This matter should also be discussed with fellow faculty and staff if certain improvements can be suggested. It is only after a well thought of plan is made that this should be explained to the students. 

The sad part is there will be some people who will not take the matter seriously. This should be firmly stressed because this could mean a matter of life or death to everyone when this happens. .

There may be fire drills conducted once a year but these are not done on a regular basis. This means that many will panic when the real thing happens so preparedness is something that should not be taken lightly. 

Delegation depends on who first noticed the fire until the evacuation has been done. If there is smoke coming out of one room, the individual should not open the door because oxygen will just make the fire stronger causing a back draft and a possible explosion.

The individual should immediately call 911 (USA) or 999 (Malaysia) and pull the fire switch so that the teachers and the students are alerted of the danger. Some classes may order everyone to form a line in the back then proceed out slowly to safety by moving to the nearest fire exit.

There are fire extinguishers usually situated along the hallways or in the classrooms. These can be used to handle small fires but should not be used to handle bigger ones because there is not enough to kill the blaze. The person should not try to be a hero but rather help get other people out.

There will usually be a lot of smoke making it difficult to see what is in front. To avoid suffocating, it will be a good idea to put something to cover the face and then use the sense of touch to get the feel of what is in front.

Elevators should never been used in the event of a fire. The power could short out keeping the person trapped inside and even cause death due to smoke inhalation. All personnel should use the stairs since this is the fastest way to get out.

Should someone be caught on fire, the individual should help by putting a heavy blanket to put out the flames. If this should happen to the person, the right thing to do would be to stop, drop and roll.

The last part of any fire preparation plan is the assembly point where everyone in the class should meet so everyone can be accounted for. Everyone should stay put until someone with higher authority issues the order that it is safe to go back inside. Everyone should be well aware of the fire emergency preparation plan since this is the only way to get out of a dangerous situation. 

You Are What You Eat...

 

You’ve certainly heard the expression many times, “You are what you eat.” Have you ever really thought about what it means? And do you think about it when you’re making food choices?

In some ways, we do become what we eat, literally. Have you ever seen an example of your blood plasma after eating a fast food hamburger? What was previously a clear liquid becomes cloudy with the fat and cholesterol that’s absorbed from eating a high-fat hamburger.

And when you think about it, we also become what we don’t eat. When we switch from eating meat to a vegetarian-based diet, we become less fat, less prone to many types of cancers. Our cholesterol can improve. When we’re leaner and eating fewer animal products, then many other health and fitness issues are reduced. The incidence of Type II diabetes is reduced. Blood pressure falls into normal ranges. When you’re healthier, you’re taking fewer medications. Even if you have a prescription drug benefit in your health plan, you’re still saving money with fewer co-payments on medications.

If you have a family history of high cholesterol or high blood pressure, then it’s particularly incumbent on you to revise your eating habits. Moving towards a more vegetarian diet has been shown statistically to reduce the incidence of so many of the diseases of industrialized countries. Vegetarians are statistically healthier than omnivorous persons; they’re leaner and live longer.

Isn’t it time to think about what you want to be and to eat accordingly? Do you want to be sluggish and fat? Do you want the risk that goes with eating animal products, with their high fat content? Or do you want to look like and be what vegetarians are? Leaner and fitter with a longer anticipated lifespan. It’s never too late to change what you’re doing and increase your chances for a longer, fitter life.

Happy as You Want to Be...

Almost everyone have heard the hit single 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' by Bobby McFerrin. The song has a very catchy way of conveying its message of being happy to everyone. Bobby McFerrin’s simple message surely made a lot of people by telling them not to worry.

Living a happy, resilient and optimistic life is wonderful, and is also good for your health. Being happy actually protects you from the stresses of life. Stress is linked to top causes of death such as heart disease, cancer and stroke.

One of the better things ever said is - 'The only thing in life that will always remain the same is change', and in our life we have the power to make the necessary changes if we want to. Even if we find ourselves in an unbearable situation we can always find solace in the knowledge that it too would change.

Social networks or relationships are essential to happiness. People are different, accept people for whom or what they are, avoid clashes, constant arguments, and let go of all kinds of resentments. If arguments seem unavoidable still try and make an effort to understand the situation and you might just get along with well with

Happiness is actually found in everyone, increasing it is a way to make a life more wonderful and also healthier.

To be happy is relatively easy; just decide to be a happy person. Abraham Lincoln observed that most people for most of the time can choose how happy or stressed, how relaxed or troubled, how bright or dull their outlook to be. The choice is simple really, choose to be happy.

There are several ways by which you can do this.

Being grateful is a great attitude.  We have so much to be thankful for. Thank the taxi driver for bringing you home safely, thank the cook for a wonderful dinner and thank the guy who cleans your windows. Also thank the mailman for bringing you your mails, thank the policeman for making your place safe and thank God for being alive.

News is stressful. Get less of it. Some people just can't start their day without their daily dose of news. Try and think about it, 99% of the news we hear or read is bad news. Starting the day with bad news does not seem to be a sensible thing to do.

A religious connection is also recommended. Being part of a religious group with its singing, sacraments, chanting, prayers and meditations foster inner peace.

Manage your time. Time is invaluable and too important to waste. Time management can be viewed as a list of rules that involves scheduling, setting goals, planning, creating lists of things to do and prioritizing. These are the core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine-tuned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire.

Laugh and laugh heartily every day.  Heard a good joke? Tell your friends or family about it. As they also say -'Laughter is the best medicine'.

Express your feelings, affections, friendship and passion to people around you. They will most likely reciprocate your actions. Try not to keep pent up anger of frustrations, this is bad for your health. Instead find ways of expressing them in a way that will not cause more injury or hurt to anyone.

Working hard brings tremendous personal satisfaction. It gives a feeling of being competent in finishing our tasks. Accomplishments are necessary for all of us, they give us a sense of value. Work on things that you feel worthy of your time.

Learning is a joyful exercise. Try and learn something new everyday.  Learning also makes us expand and broaden our horizons and also could give us more opportunities in the future.

Run, jog, walk and do other things that your body was made for. Feel alive.

Avoid exposure to negative elements like loud noises, toxins and hazardous places.

These are the few simple things you can do every day to be happy.

And always remember the quote from Abraham Lincoln; he says that, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."

Starting A New Semester...

The most effective way to ensure success in classes -- learning and getting good grades -- is to prepare early and often. Most students recognize the value of preparation in ensuring excellent class performance. Prepare for each class, each test, and each assignment. Preparation, however, begins before the first reading assignment and first class. Prepare for the semester and you'll be off to a great start. So, how do you start the semester right? Get into the proper mindset by following these three tips.

Plan to work. Colleges - and faculty - expect you to put in a significant amount of time over the course of the semester. At the undergraduate level, a 3 credit course generally meets for 42 hours during the semester. In most cases you are expected to put in 1 to 3 hours for every hour of class time. So, for a class that meets 2 hours a week, which means you should plan to spend 2 to 7.5 hours outside of class preparing for class and studying the material each week. You likely won't spend the maximum time on every class every week - it's a big time commitment! But recognize that some classes will require relatively little prep and others may require additional hours of work. In addition, the amount of time you spend on each class will vary over the semester.

Get a head start.

This one is simple: Begin early. Read ahead. Try to stay one reading assignment ahead of class. First, this permits you to see the big picture. Readings tend to build on each other and sometimes you may not realize that you don't understand a particular concept until you encounter a more advanced concept. Second, reading ahead gives you wiggle room. Life sometimes gets in the way and we fall behind in reading. Reading ahead permits you to miss a day and still be prepared for class. Likewise, start papers early. Papers nearly always take longer to write than we anticipate, whether it's because we can't find sources, have a hard time understanding them, or suffer from writer's block. Start early so that you won't feel pressed for time.

Mentally Prepare.

Get your head in the right place. The first day and week of classes can be overwhelming with new lists of reading assignments, papers, exams, and presentations. Take the time to map out your semester. Write down all classes, due dates, exam dates. Think about how you will organize your time to prepare and get it all done. Plan time off and time for fun. Think about how you will maintain motivation over the semester - how will you reward your successes? By mentally preparing for the semester ahead you put yourself in the position to excel.

Now, get prepare for the coming semester.

Chocolate!!!

The origins of chocolate can be traced back to the ancient Mayan and Aztec civilizations which in Central America. Also known as 'Theobroma cacao', that meant 'food of the gods', was prized for centuries by the Central American Mayan Indians, who first enjoyed a much-prized spicy drink called 'chocolatl', made from roasted cocoa beans.

The Aztecs introduced cocoa to the Spaniards. The Spaniards then took cocoa back to Europe in the 16th century. However, because it was so expensive, only the rich could afford buying it. Chocolate was exclusively for drinking until the early Victorian times when a technique for making eatable solid chocolate was invented.

Throughout the history, whether as a cocoa drinking chocolate or scrumptious confectionery treat, chocolate has always been much sought after. Modern chocolate manufacturing allowed more people to buy chocolate and some individuals redesign the shape of eatable chocolate to make it more presentable and attractive.

The flavor of chocolate differs depending on the ingredients used and how it is prepared. Real chocolate is made from cocoa and its ingredients include cocoa butter (an expensive part of the cocoa bean) and, in some cases, up to 5% vegetable fat. Compound chocolate will have less cocoa and/or more than 5% vegetable fat than real chocolate and therefore doesn't have the same fine qualities.

Cocoa powder and chocolate are made from the dried seeds that are found in pods on the cacao tree. Chocolate production is a complex process that begins with the harvesting of cocoa trees.

What Is Accounting Anyway???

Anyone who's worked in an office at some point or another has had to go to accounting. They're the people who pay and send out the bills that keep the business running. They do a lot more than that, though. Sometimes referred to as "bean counters" they also keep their eye on profits, costs and losses. Unless you're running your own business and acting as your own accountant, you'd have no way of knowing just how profitable - or not - your business is without some form of accounting.

No matter what business you're in, even if all you do is balance a checkbook, that's still accounting. It's part of even a kid's life. Saving an allowance, spending it all at once - these are accounting principles.

What are some other businesses where accounting is critical? Well, farmers need to follow careful accounting procedures. Many of them run their farms year to year by taking loans to plant the crops. If it's a good year, a profitable one, then they can pay off their loan; if not, they might have to carry the loan over, and accrue more interest charges.

Every business and every individual needs to have some kind of accounting system in their lives. Otherwise, the finances can get away from them; they don't know what they've spent, or whether they can expect a profit or a loss from their business. Staying on top of accounting, whether it's for a multi-billion dollar business or for a personal checking account is a necessary activity on a daily basis if you're smart. Not doing so can mean anything from a bounced check or posting a loss to a company's shareholders. Both scenarios can be equally devastating.

Accounting is basically information, and this information is published periodically in business as a profit and loss statement, or an income statement.

Starting Container Gardening

      Sometimes, the urge to garden might be stomped out by other circumstances, such as living arrangements or space constrictions. If you live in an apartment, you can’t really operate a full garden, just because you don’t really have a yard! I think that one of the best solutions for this problem is to grow plants in containers. You can hang these, or just arrange them on your patio, window sill or balcony. Just a few baskets or pots, and your whole living area will look much classier and nicer.

     A benefit of growing in small containers is the fact that you can move them around to suit your needs. If you rearrange your furniture and you think that it would look nicer if it was in the other area, it’s no trouble at all to scoot it over. As long as the lighting is about the same, your plant shouldn’t mind the transition at all. Another benefit of the containers’ versatility is the fact that you can adapt it to simulate any environment depending on the type of soil you fill it with and where you place it.

     If you are trying to make an aesthetically pleasing arrangement of containers and plants, you can adjust the containers to be at different heights by hanging them from the ceiling or placing them on supports. Hanging them will allow you to make the most of the space you have. This is called “vertical gardening”. If you pull it off right, you can make a very pleasing arrangement of plants while conserving your valuable space. If you live in an apartment, you know how important it is to conserve space! One method of vertical gardening is the use of a wooden step ladder. If painted correctly, you can arrange all the plants on it in a beautiful, stylish cascade of color.

     The maintenance of container plants takes slightly more time, since you have to water more often and go around to each individual container. However, the square footage for container plants is much less than that of an actual garden, so the time spent on maintenance and watering is more balanced. It is important that you don’t over-water your container plants, as this can be just as fatal to their health as under-watering.

     When choosing containers for your plants, you’ll want to buy them all at once along with some extras in case they break or you add more plants later. You don’t want them to be all the same shape and size, but definitely the same style so that the complement each other. Plastic containers are the best and require the least amount of watering, but if you want to stick with clay or earthen pots then you should line the inside with plastic. This helps it retain water more, as the clay will soak up water.

     Another thing to remember when buying pots is the fact that the size of the pot will ultimately constrict the size of the plant. Make a careful choice of pots according to what you wish to grow in each one. If you search for the plant you chose on the internet, you should be able to find specifications as to how much root space it should be given. This can even be an advantage for you if you choose a plant that can grow very large. If you only have a limited amount of space for it, you can constrict it by choosing a pot that isn’t large enough to support huge amounts of growth.

     If the benefits of container gardening sound appealing to you, then you should start planning out your container garden today. If you write a list of all the plants you desire to have, you can do the necessary research to find out what size and shape of pots you should get. After that, it’s just a matter of arranging them in a way that makes your home look the nicest.