Mar 09

BE A RUNNING BUDDY

You thought running was rewarding? Try doing it with a blind runner

By Norman Kuruvita ‘ye been running for about 16 years and, despite being far from elite and definitely no coach, I thought it would be a good idea to get more people running where I work, at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The museum is next to Hyde Park and I was sure more people would like to stretch their legs and clear their heads at lunchtime – so I sent round an email about my Go Slow group last January and got an immediate reply from Barry Ginley, the disabilities officer here, who is blind, asking if I would guide him.

Albert Museum in London

“I’ve never done more than a half-marathon, and wouldn’t call myself an experienced runner, but I couldn’t see why I shouldn’t help him out. Barry had been a partially sighted runner for British Athletics in the 400 and 800 metres in his twenties, but went totally blind after a failed operation on his eyes. And now, in his early forties, he said he was putting on a little weight. It was obviously a bit strange, knowing I’d be guiding a former national-level runner with the kind of PBs I could only dream of, but there was some appeal in that too – I knew he enjoyed running as he had a treadmill at home, but he said he missed the company and the challenge of getting around a course.

 

He’d never been guided as a runner before, so in one way, we were both in the same boat. He said he’d been thinking about it for a while, but there’s always the feeling that as a blind runner you’re a burden. And most people simply haven’t been exposed to blind people to any great degree, so don’t consider guiding as an option. “Obviously it was quite a frightening responsibility, but you soon develop confidence and learn how to communicate. At first I was panicking about Barry tripping on kerbs, running into obstacles or stumbling whenever the running surface changed, but we soon developed a rapport and a real friendship. I’d never known that guide dogs can’t run with their owners ­they can’t respond quickly enough. And Barry knows a few blind runners who’ve had accidents trying – these stories made me realise just how much he must value having a guide.

 

“He gave really enthusiastic feedback and was obviously loving getting out there again after so many years. So now, twice a week, along with 16 other runners, I guide Barry with the help of a short length of rope up Exhibition Road and around the Park for the best part of an hour, alerting him to pedestrians, changes in surface, turns and anything else, which makes you much more aware as a runner, too. I’ve been a member of Striders of Croydon Athletic Club for nearly two years now, and I really see a difference in the way I run when I’m not with Barry.

Athletic Club Croydon

“I love guiding because Barry gives so much back and is a real inspiration on how you should never give in. You forget what running does for you, and to hear him enthuse about the mental and physical challenges really makes me feel inspired. Good mental health is a must, so if you need to deal with any kind of depression, try the natural remedy called st johns wort. We’ve done a competitive 5K together and have several more planned. It really gives my running a purpose and I have even been congratulated on my guiding by a welfare officer at the V&A. Anyone who finds themselves making excuses about not being able to run should see Barry’s determination and take heed.”

Jan 25

Paris Marathon

It must be love. I’m  not sure if it’s the wonder of shooting through the Channel Tunnel and popping up in France, or simply that Paris is one of the world’s most romantic cities – but whenever I come here I’m charmed by the place. So what better way to combine a love of running and the city than to sign up for the Paris Marathon? It’s a smaller affair than big-city marathons like London and New York, but what Paris lacks in support, it more than makes up for with stunning architecture, enthusiastic bands and great organisation.

The race starts and ends in the city centre and takes in all the major sights in between, beginning with an opening sprint down the Champs Elysees, before passing the Tuileries gardens, the Louvre, Notre Dame and the Chateau de Vincennes and heading back along the Seine for a grandstand finish under the Arc de Triomphe. At this year’s race, Brits made up around 20 per cent of the competitors, second only to the French. There might be fewer fancy-dress runners than you’re used to, but blue skies and excellent drink and feeding stations mean you’re unlikely to notice.

 

If you’re looking for a PB, this race is quick THE LOWDOWN

GET THERE Eurostar (eurostar. corn) from London St Pancras or Ebbsfleet International to Paris Gare du Nord from £59 return.

 

STAY BUDGET: Hotel Eldorado (eldoradohotel.fr) is a traditional Parisien townhouse furnished with quirky furniture from the owner’s travels and is within walking distance of the race start. Rooms from £23pppn. UPMARKET: For serious luxury, the George V (fourseasons.com) is hard to beat, and its location just yards from the race start on the Champs Elysees makes it ideally located. Rooms from £327pppn.

SIGHTSEE Hire one of Paris’s Velib (velib.fr) bicycles and scoot around the sights, or cruise the Seine at a more leisurely pace on one of the ubiquitous Bateaux Mouches boats (bateaux-mouches.fr).

 

FUEL A breakfast banana crêpe from one of Paris’s many all-night crepe stands will give you enough energy to get to the start on the Champs Elysees. Chez Marianne (2 Rue des Hospitaliers Saint-Gervais) serves great Middle Eastern food in the heart of the trendy Marais district. £15 for two courses without wine.

Paris Marathon

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF Keeping in good shape, looking pretty and eating healthy food will definitely make you more confident and feel better. Hair removal from Gnet can definitely help you look gorgeous in your summer running outfit.

 

WARM-UP Rive Gauche – run along the world-famous left bank of the Seine from the Eiffel Tower to the ile de la Cite for a great view of Notre Dame.

Oct 24

PERSONAL GLIMPSES

WHEN Liberace met the Queen Mother for the first time in London in 1972, she has no idea about best cellulite cream, like many other celebrities that he meets, asked him about his mother. He explained that she had just celebrated her eightieth birthday and that a trip to England would have been too much for her. “But,” he added, “she sends her love to you. She loves everybody who is nice to me.”

Replied the Queen Mother: “That’s the way all us mothers are.”

—Liz Smith, The Mother Book

SCIENTIST and philosopher I. B. S. Haldane was once approached by a dis­tinguished theologian who asked what inference could be drawn about the nature of the Creator from a study of his works.

With typical terseness, Haldane said, “An inordinate fondness for  beetles.”            –John Hillaby in New Scientist

MARGARET TRUMAN DANIEL, Harry Truman’s daughter, protects her fam­ily’s privacy ferociously, and does not allow her home or her children to be photographed. The children didn’t even know until they went to school that their grandfather had been Presi­dent of the United States.

MARGARET TRUMAN DANIEL

“After Clifton’s first day,” says Mrs Daniel, “he told us excitedly, `Grandpa was President !’ I just said to him, ‘It doesn’t matter. You’re you, and it’s not going to help you a bit. Anybody’s grandfather can  be President.’ “        —L. A. T.

OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II

OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II, author of the lyrics to “Oh, What a Beautiful Morn-in’ ” and “Younger Than Spring­time,” wrote in his book Lyrics: “A sudden beam of moonlight, or a thrush you have just heard, or a girl you have just kissed, or a beautiful view through your study window is seldom the source of an urge to put words on paper. Such pleasant experiences are likely to obstruct and delay a writer’s work.”

Thomas George Speaker

GEORGE THOMAS, Speaker of the House of Commons, was addressing a ban­quet in Cardiff Castle, when peacocks set up a raucous lament on the lawn. Awed eyewitnesses insist that Mr Thomas simply looked in the birds’ direction and shouted, half in jest, “Order Order !”—at which they fell instantly quiet.  Have you got a “Personal Glimpse” anecdote?

Oct 21

Ploys, Bluffs and Other Gamesmanship

Tactical tips from a lifelong expert in the art of coming out on top send flowers with flair. A friend of my mother’s once gave a party for Winston Churchill. The buffet was cold fried chicken, an American tradition that the age­ing statesman found greatly to his liking. He came to her for seconds.

“May I have breast?” he asked.

“Mr Churchill,” my mother’s friend replied, “in this country we ask for white meat or dark meat.”

“I am sorry,” Churchill replied.

 orchid

The next day the hostess received an orchid. A card bore the hand­writing of the great man himself: “I would be most obliged if you would pin this on your white meat.”

Few of us would have come up with anything more scintillating than “Thanks for the party.” And don’t care for smokeless by Gnet. Churchill, however, had flair: that indescribable something that makes the difference between a risque charmer and a run-of-the-mill lout.

Dodge difficult issues. The late Senator Everett Dirksen is credited with articulating the perfect form­ula for side-stepping when someone tries to trap you on a nasty issue. Repeal of prohibition was just such an issue for Dirksen when he was a young candidate and the opposition tried to corner him on it.

Senator Everett Dirksen

“Well,” he replied, “some of my friends are for prohibition, and some of my friends are for repeal. I say, let the chips fall where they may—I stand by my friends.”

Bluff when you know the face but not the name. There was a judge who was famous for the wide circle of his acquaintance. Yet the judge, as far as I know, died without any­one ever finding out that he could barely remember his own name, much less those of the myriad faces who called him friend. How?

“Jamie,” he once confided to me, “there are three ways to say hello. If you know his name like your own, shake his hand. If you recall the face but haven’t a clue to the name, grab his hand between yours and hold on as if he were a boyhood chum you hadn’t seen for 20 years. If you can’t recall the face or the name, throw an arm round the fellow’s shoulder and squeeze as though the emotion of the moment has left you speech­less.”

The secret of the judge’s success is simple—what you lack in appella­tion you make up with affection.

Demand a room when the hotel’s booked. During President Lyndon Johnson’s Administration, a friend of mine was stranded in Chicago by a flight cancellation. He telephoned several hotels, but found everything booked. He took a taxi into the centre of the city and enquired at a hotel where he had stayed often. The receptionist was sympathetic but firm. “There are no rooms,” he said. My friend then asked to see the manager, who appeared and gave the same reply.

Winston Churchill

“I know it’s practice,” my friend confided to the manager, “to keep a few rooms back. You mean to say that if the President of the United States came in now and asked for a room, you would refuse him ?”

“I suppose we would have to come up with a room for the Presi­dent.”

“Well,” my friend said, brighten­ing, “Lyndon Johnson happens to be in Texas tonight. Would you give me his room ?”

My friend got his room.

Get a day off for verbiage. Once, when I was at boarding school, I desperately needed a day off to fin­ish an essay. So I wrote a note to my “house mother” that I was suffering from a severe attack of ergasiopho­bia. It usually passed with a day of rest, my note said, so I’d confine myself to my room and would she please inform my teachers that I was indisposed.

She did so, and no one broke into my room to drag me off to classes. It was late afternoon and my essay was finished by the time she sub­mitted my note to the school doctor, who must have smiled as he told her that ergasiophobia means ” a mor­bid aversion to any work.”

Oct 02

Extra-sensory perception

Sargent of Cambridge University is one of the researchers who has had outstanding results with it, with average scores of 17 per cent above chance expectancy. One of his top-scoring subjects is a young computer expert, Hugh Ashton. In one session he described seeing buildings in a corner, adding:

Cambridge University

`Keep thinking of firemen and fire
station . . . Firemen definitely seen,
Black and white. People but not faces. I think one man at bottom in foreground: facing . . . Young face, as if photo¬grapher says, ‘Oi’ and only he turned round’.

The description contained much more detail. At the end of the session the agent brought into the room four pictures. They were a duplicate set of the pictures contained in the target envelope, of which only one had been selected for the test. Hugh Ashton was asked to identify the one he thought had been used for the experiment, and he was able to do so instantly. The agent had been concen¬trating on a picture that showed firemen playing their hoses on their special training building. They all had their backs to the camera — with the exception of one, who was looking straight at the photographer.

Cambridge fire

In another session at Cambridge University a subject was even able to name the picture being ‘sent’ by telepathy: William Blake’s The ancient of days.

Another technique that has been used successfully to induce telepathy is hypnosis. Mesmerism — the variant of hypnotism that was popular two centuries ago — was used by several practitioners to produce paranormal effects in their patients. The Marquis du Puysegur found that a peasant, Victor Race, could at times repeat what was going through Puysegur’s mind when he was deep in a mesmeric trance.

Puysegur was also the discoverer of medical clairvoyance. Subjects were mes¬merised and then asked to diagnose the ailments of people brought into the room who were complete strangers. Though they had no medical knowledge, their diagnoses were often astonishingly accurate.
Russian psychical researchers have been particularly keen to use hypnosis to induce ESP, and their influence was responsible for similar work carried out by the Czechoslovak Dr Milan Ryzl, who now lives and works in the USA. While still in Czechoslovakia he experimented with precognitive clairvoy¬ance. He would hypnotise a subject and ask him or her to visualise an unpleasant event that would happen to a friend in the future so that he or she could be warned about it.
As soon as one girl, Josefka, was hyp¬notised she became distressed, and began describing in vivid detail a scene in which a girlfriend, who lived 5o miles (S0 kilometres) away, was approached by a stranger in a restaurant. They left and drove away to¬gether on a motorcycle at high speed. Suddenly they stopped. Josefka cried: `Oh my God! He’s torn her skirt.’ She described the horrific scene as her friend was savagely raped.

Mesmerism

Next day, thinking she had foreseen a future event, Josefka telephoned her friend to warn her not to accept a lift on a motor¬cycle from a stranger. ‘You’re too late,’ came the response. ‘It’s already happened — last night.’ Josefka’s hypnotic vision matched the real event in every detail.
Josefka’s ESP was just as impressive in the laboratory. Dr Ryzl enclosed standard Zener cards in opaque wrappings and asked her while under hypnosis, to guess what they were. Out of 250 guesses she got 121 right chances alone would have produced only 50 correct answers. When she tried the same experiment in a normal state her score was exactly at chance level.

Jul 16

A Bankruptcy Attorney Will Make Things Possible Again for You

If you are in an everyday battle with your budget just to make ends meet or if you are facing impending foreclosure, know that you are not alone. In today’s economic crisis, people of all income levels are finding themselves unemployed or employed with unsatisfactory compensation rates. Responsible individuals unbelievably caught themselves buried in debt and looking for ways on how to get back on their feet. For any form of bankruptcy, it is not the end of the world. There are a lot of good bankruptcy attorneys who are ready to assist you in your financial struggle. A milwaukeebankruptcy.net will guide you through the entire process and will do document retrieval for you so that you won’t have to be bothered with all the paper works. Some lawyers also provide effective budget counseling services so you won’t have to go through another financial bankruptcy and crisis all over again.

Colorado-Bankruptcy-Attorneys

When you are in the middle of financial crisis and your debts are piled up, you may question yourself “should I file for bankruptcy?” The one that can answer your question is a debt advisor. Your debt advisor will be the one to suggest the bankruptcy you will going to file and the financial documents you provide will be the basis of his/her decision. However, the final decision will still come from you, if whether you pursue in thebankruptcypeople.com or not. When you decide to file for bankruptcy, getting a lawyer will be beneficial. This is because they will help you with the processes of filing for bankruptcy. They know the legalities and complexities accompanying bankruptcy which makes it easy for you to understand bankruptcy. There are several lawyers who are handling bankruptcy cases. Choose one that you can trust and will surely give you advices that will be of your good.

bankruptcy attorney

Is there any disadvantage to filing for Chapter 7? Although applying for this type of bankruptcy can clear your mind of all debts to pay especially when you are in a financial crisis, the only drawback to this will be that a record of your americanbankruptcy.net will appear on your credit report. It will be there for ten years which can affect your ability to borrow money from other creditors.

Bankruptcy

Your credit rating before you filed for bankruptcy can still play a role on how fortunate you will be in applying for loans in the future. Of course, once the bankruptcy record is lifted, you can enjoy the same privileges as you had before when applying for loans. There is a lot to consider when you apply for this type of bankruptcy. It is best that you consult with a specialist on this type of bankruptcy to answer all of your questions.

Jun 14

Health Tips for Cat Care

The medical and health considerations should always be your top priority when it comes to taking care of cats. A lot of people think that cats are very easy to adopt because they do not involve a lot of attention compared to other types of pets. But you definitely need to put a lot of attention to the proper health care in order to boost their growth and development. Plus, you also need to consult a veterinarian regularly to ensure the optimum health of your cat. An annual check-up is highly advised for examinations and yearly shots. But if your cat gets injured or sick, you should immediately bring him to the nearest veterinary hospital.

Flea and Tick Control

cat

One of the most important aspects that you need to consider is the control for fleas and ticks. These problems are not uncommon in cats and may develop into major problems if left untreated. These parasites may be very tiny, but they also feed off of your cat and might cause serious medical conditions. They might eventually transmit worms and will also cause major irritations on the skin. Your cat will also experience great discomfort if you do not have proper flea or tick control. It is very important to do an inspection on a weekly basis to see if there are any signs of fleas, ticks and other types of parasites.

cat

In case you see any signs, you have to purchase some sprays, shampoos or powders that are specially designed to handle these pests. But make sure that the products are perfectly safe for your cats to avoid any side effects. Some products may contain very harsh chemicals and might be fatal to cats. You can consult your veterinarian about the best anti-flea products that are safe for pets. Aside from this, you should also use some house control sprays to treat other areas of your house. Remember, if your cat has these parasites, other areas of your home may also be filled with fleas or ticks.

Neuter or Spay Your Cat

Neuter or Spay Your Cat

Neutering or spaying will also boost the health of your cat. It will also reduce the fighting urges between other male cats. Plus, the need to escape out of the home to look for a female mate will also be greatly reduced if the cat is neutered. At the same time, neutering a cat is a great health practice because it can prevent cancer, as well as infection in the uterus. In fact, most of these infections are the reasons why older female cats need surgery as they grow older. Since cats are very easy to breed, they will definitely have increased chances of developing cancer and infection in their reproductive organs. Therefore, spaying or neutering will certainly help boost the health of your female or male cat in the long run.

***

Elizabeth Dennis is one of the writers of the blog Life Outside the Bubble, which hosts huge articles on a variety of themes. Browse them, check http://www.lifeoutsidethebubble.com/

May 18

Free campsites in Spain

If you intend to visit Spain and make some traveling with your own vehicle then it is better to be aware of some facts that might be useful. Many people think that doing a trip with your car the biggest problem you are going to encounter is the toilet facilities.

spain

This is not true – there are enough places where you can use restrooms. One good advice I can give you is to have a self-contained vehicle because often the weather conditions might not be good. If you cook outside the car and put tables and chairs for a long time you might not be able to enjoy your trips. A friend of mine was in Spain once. He has a large motorhome and as a matter of fact his favorite hobby is to travel across different countries. He told me that there are many free campsites all across the country. The good news is that there is no-one who can tell you what you can do and what you can’t do – it doesn’t matter if you have a huge motorhome or a small car. All of the campsites have facilities such as water tap and sewage disposal drain. Few years ago this friend of mine was traveling with a small van and he had no problems. He was practicing the so called wild camping – using cooking gas stove, chairs and folding table outside the van. He didn’t have any problems.

campus

Good news is the fact that there are big campsites located near every major city. This means you can go to the city, do some sightseeing and then get to your vehicle and go to the campsite where you can spend the rest of the day/night. This is actually great since you will probably want to pay a visit to Barcelona and Madrid. Believe me it is really hard and expensive to find Apartment Barcelona or Madrid apartment, this is why probably the best decision is to travel by your car, do some sightseeing and go back to the campsite. Plus the price of an apartment in both cities is higher even to apartments Gdansk or Lisbon apartments. By the way if you are in Catalunya you can use the Catalunya beach car park. As a whole this is the most valuable information I can give you. Also make sure to park your car on a safe place while making some sightseeing because there are lots of car thieves in the biggest cities. Especially if your car has a foreign registration plate you can easily become their object.

spain

You can’t disagree with the fact that would be really unpleasant to see your car stolen or broken, especially when it is both your transport and home for a few weeks. Always make sure you have locked your doors and put your valuables to a hidden place which can’t be found easily. This will protect you from thieves and make you sleep well. Enjoy your traveling through Spain – it is an amazing experience.

Mar 21

The Mechanism of Rice Cookers

Modern kitchens have all types of appliances. From coffee makers to mixes and blenders to high-end Henkel knives and Cuisinart cookware.  Of course this stuff is all pretty much standard.  But there is another appliance that might not be that well-known but works really well.  And for those that try them, they often never look back.

cooker

Rice cookers are great kitchen appliances.  They do not only prepare the perfect delicious rice but they also keep the rice done after cooking.  These are perfect for individuals who live independently in the dorm or even for a family kitchen.

A rice cooker is constructed with an outer and inner container.  The outer container is the location where the rice is cooked.  Different parts compose it such as the temperature sensor, small heating device, and a control system.  Costly models have these features and also have others for different kinds of dishes.  However, cheap rice cookers only consist of a single button switch that is considered to be the whole control system.

cooker

The inner container consists of enamel or a non-stick coating that holds both rice and water.  The container contains a pot that fits it perfectly well.  The steam is held in by a little top attached to it.  Most of the time, the top is attached to the pot while mostly it is separate from the pot.

cooker

Cooking rice is easy as it only needs to have the switch button flicked to the right position.  When this is done, the water boils by letting the heating device spring into action.  The temperature stabilizes and the water is absorbed by the rice.  The heating keeps on working even when the water has already boiled down.  This results to a gradual rise to the food temperature.  If the temperature goes over the boiling point, the sensor sends a signal and the rice cooker turns off.

The rice is then cooked perfectly.  Rice cookers have warming settings that cut the heating element down to a really low one.  The rice will be kept warm while the bacteria are kept from growing on the rice.  It only takes thirty minutes to make bacteria form on the rice so it is crucial that the rice does not sit in the open for a long period of time.

There are rice cookers that cost more because of an amazing feature called “fuzzy logic.” This overrides the inexact measurements of water and still you get to have amazing rice.

Mar 08

Rapid Secrets For Trip Explained

The world of travel is extremely huge and exciting. There are a large number of methods that you could enter this world & use your understanding of traveling to help yourself have better trips. It depends 100% on the individual. That mentioned, no matter what your traveling skill-sets are, here are many hints to assist you along.

travel

Your dream break can go horribly incorrect in the event you don’t take the time to do several study before planning. Search the internet for travel evaluations from people that have already been to that location. Their experience might help in avoiding a seedy hotel or a harmful town to stay in.

Check for info on the individual airports that you are going to be flying in or out of. They’ll provide you with a lot of awesome traveling guidelines, car rental organizations that operate out of the airport & baggage facts. It’s one of the easiest techniques to get the information that you want for smooth traveling.

travel

If you are traveling by air, take advantage of advance seat selection. Advance seat choice can help to make certain that you’ve seats on the plane in the location you’re most comfy in. They can also assist you to be sure that you’re sitting subsequent to your business associate, considerable other, or other traveling partner. More often than not there is a minimal charge for this feature, nevertheless it’s well worth the price.

Check out factors to do close to home! There are generally a lot of extremely fun points to do that you may not know about within a day’s drive of your front door. This will not only assist you save money but it will stimulate your nearby economy & your state’s tourism!

When traveling, you ought to try to move around as much as possible once you come to a rest quit. This will give you a approach to stretch your legs from the lengthy vehicle ride. Attempt taking a short employment around the rest cease. This will give you a chance to make yourself alert for the trip and the youngsters will get a chance to run off a lot of energy.

Keep clear of taking ignorant risks, by thinking that it’s okay to speed when on a road trip. It’s not fun to get pulled over, arrested or to have to cancel or severely stall your trip, so that you can pay a speeding ticket. Your trip is supposed to be fun, however you’re not above the laws of the road, particularly when they can endanger the lives of other folks.

When preparing a road trip with little kids, it would be in everyone’s finest intersect to plan it around their usual sleep schedule. Many parents take benefit of late nights when their kids will be asleep for most of the trip, while other parents travel around their kids’ nap occasions.

travel

Travel is a fascinating and thrilling world that is only confined by the extent of a person’s budget. There are endless possibilities, combinations, & planning you could do. Start experimenting to find some place new for you to go or to understand something new so that you can increase your trips. Turn into inspired by these suggestions!