Safety Tips For Making Home Improvements On Your Own

All of your time and money does not have to be spent on home improvement. New window dressings, replacing flooring or making simple repairs can make a home feel fresh and inviting. You can pick up a lot of great tips for make your home more beautiful in the following article. If your floor is generally squeaky, you can make use of construction adhesive to quiet it. Even if you have to work out of the basement or crawl under the house, it will be worth the while. Apply some glue to each floor joist with the aid of a caulking gun to secure them to the floor planks. The key to home improvement projects is to have fun! Although it is important to be serious and careful with your work, you should still have a good time as you complete your project. In fact, viewing your project as a chore can make you more prone to mistakes. Under these circumstances, it is probably best to consider hiring an actual professional.

 It can be simple to make window screens if you can't find any you like. The kits made for screen replacement offer you the ease of cutting the correct size frame, using cording to attach the screen and getting it done in minutes. Certain windows require a certain type of screening, but an external screen is attachable to most any window easily with the right adaptation. If you are thinking about home improvement, consider which part of your house needs the work first. It is much easier to begin in one room and complete it before beginning the next project. Look for sales and deals when you are deciding what you will be renovating.

Planning ahead helps you to stay on time and keep within budget. It is inevitable that chair cushions will flatten with use. To give them a makeover, try taking them out in the sun. The sun will help remove some of the moisture in the cushions and give them new bounce. Ensure that you flip both sides of the cushions and avoid leaving them out too long, since the sun can fade fabric colors. A new coat of paint is a great way to instantly transform and freshen a room on a budget. Take a trip to your nearest hardware store and pick up some paint chips! Find the ones that are fun and exciting for you! If it ends up being an eyesore, it is easy to paint over it. Before wiping down the inside of your kitchen or bathroom cabinets, use a handheld vacuum cleaner. This way you can remove all loose dirt that may be sitting there. Then, scrub your shelves with water mixed with a small amount of mild soap. Start at the top of your shelves and work downward when cleaning them. Cleaning out your cabinets is an excellent excuse to fix damaged shelves and put in new cabinet liner, too.

 When renovating, use the time right after the holidays to do your planning. This is normally the time of the year when budgets are the tightest. This is due to the fact that you will feel less stressed about the project if you take the time to budget for it while your funds are low. There are many things that "home improvement" means and most anyone can afford to do. If you can't afford big projects, you can still raise the resell value of your house by doing more affordable, smaller projects like repainting and residing the house. New fixtures such as handles and knobs for your cabinets can brighten up any kitchen. An old kitchen can be brightened up by using cabinet knobs, which are easy to change. Before installing the new knobs, do a deep cleaning of your cabinets. It's much less of a hassle when you don't have to deal with the knobs banging around. You can install your new cabinet accessories quickly, and enjoy the decor upgrade you get from them for years to come!

 Make sure any contractor you are considering is properly insured. If they damage your home and have no insurance, your only recourse may be to take them to court in order to obtain the repair money. You simply need to discover whether the contractor is insured by asking to see insurance. The quotes you have gotten from contractors for home projects should be on a letterhead. A letterhead is equated to professionalism. This shouldn't be the only thing you look for as a sign of reliability from a business, but it is a start. Before installing new panels, you should paint vertical stripes on your walls. Regardless of the care you take when installing paneling, the old wall can sometimes be seen showing through the paneling. To reduce the visual impact, take some measurements to learn where the wall panels will join. Apply paint in a hue that matches the paneling. Wallpaper and varnish lets you make a quick and easy back-splash in your kitchen. Buy wallpaper in the design of your choice. Measure the wall space twice and cut the paper a little larger than you need. Put on the paste and wait until it gets tacky to the touch. Hang your wallpaper on the wall and slowly run over the area with a squeegee to remove bubbles. Trim any extra paper with an exacto knife for clean edges and a great fit. Brush on varnish. There you have it; a new back-splash!

 Increase the energy efficiency of your home by installing weather stripping all around your home's doors and windows. Weather stripping allows your cooling and heating unit to operate more efficiently by locking in cool and hot air. Also, this helps to reduce drafts for a better living environment and can cut down on mold growth. There are many changes you can make to your home and they don't have to cost the earth. Get creative and create a style that you can be proud of. Remember the guidelines listed in this guide when it comes to renovating your home.

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Laser Tattoo Removal

MIAMI BEACH, FL - SEPTEMBER 07: Tattoo artist William Coy dips the tattoo needle into black ink as he works on a tattoo at the Tattoos by Lou studio on September 7, 2011 in Miami Beach, Florida. The Food and Drug Administration continues to look into tattoo inks to find out the chemical composition of the inks and how they break down in the body, the short-term and long-term safety of pigments used in tattoo inks and how the body responds to the interaction of light with the inks. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Tattoos are becoming ever more popular, but unfortunately that means that some individuals are taking the plunge without really thinking about what they are doing. A Tattoo is a permanent body modification and you need to consider that before having your skin inked. However, if you have had a tattoo which you are now regretting you can always have them removed thanks to the technological advances in laser removal procedures.

Laser tattoo removal can get rid of your body modification with very few side effects. It works by using a high intensity beam of light to break down the pigment of the tattoo. The more intricate and colorful the design the more expensive and time consuming a laser removal will be. Black is the easiest pigment to remove. Laser removal is now the preferred method of removing unwanted body art. It is not considered to be painful and there is little risk of any scarring thanks to new advances in the technology. Alternative methods such as excision and dermabrasion can result in scarring and is reportedly very painful.

When you go for laser treatment to remove a tattoo, you will first be given glasses to shield your eyes. The skin will then be tested for unexpected reactions. If all goes well then the instrument will be placed over the area of your skin being treated and the laser beam activated. Most people describe the sensation of the pulsing laser as being snapped with an elastic band. It is usual for an ice pack to be applied afterwards and for a bandage to be applied to protect the area from sunlight and irritation.

However, despite the fact that it is easy to get laser treatment these days, I still say that prevention is better than the cure. Think carefully about any body modification before going ahead.

Why Auditing Standards Matter

Auditing standards represent a measure of the quality of audit work performed. They are broad conceptual guidelines that serve as a model for all auditors and should remain relatively stable over time. Auditing spreadsheets is usually part of a data governance project. Auditing Exchange usage is considered crucial nowadays, so if you are not already auditing the Exchange server(s) in your messaging environment now, you may not even realize your Exchange Servers could be experiencing problems! Even worse, you may discover that you have a problem but may not even be able to track it down.

Internal quality audits are independent checks and tests done from within an organization to measure the effectiveness of its quality management system. Internal audit is definitely a requirement of quality management systems and ISO standards. Internal auditors are expected to have a thoughtful audit plan, an excellent working relationship with management, support from the audit committee, and state-of-the-art audit tools. Internal auditing reviews the reliability and integrity of information, compliance with policies and regulations, the safeguarding of assets, the economical and efficient use of resources, and established operational goals and objectives. Internal Auditors are taught to learn and enforce the rules, for instance those governing internal controls, policies and procedures, laws and regulations.

Auditors are specifically trained in the auditing process. Auditors could conceivably ask the audit committee or board of directors to determine materiality since these groups represent investors and creditors. Auditors can thus follow up on the progress of work Interviews and written documents should be filed according to certain standard rules. Auditors need to be independent and competent for ensuring that auditing is conducted in compliance with the applicable auditing standards, and to determine the extent which the preparers of financial statements have complied with the applicable accounting and reporting standards. Auditors have an official relationship with the University, although they do not receive academic credit.

Auditing standards represent a measure of the quality of audit work performed.

Why Cell Phones Are Banned On Flights?

I was on a short business trip last week and something occurred to me... we can now do so much while in the air, like use wifi to surf the web, watch movies or even play video games – so how come we still can't use a cell phone while on a flight?

The thing is, while in theory a cell phone might interfere with avionics, in reality it's pretty unlikely that making a call would send your aircraft on a downward spiral ending in collision! Aircraft cockpits and communications systems are heavily protected against electromagnetic and other interference since the 1960s. So what is the deal with no cell phones on flights?

Apparently a lot of it does have to do with the call carriers, if cell phones search out signals at 35 thousand feet they will hit hundreds of towers simultaneously which can result in a need for complicated roaming agreements and most providers just don't want the hassle of ensuring they are properly compensated and so the ban has remained in place despite the fact that it poses no risk. Of course much of the carriers reluctance comes from the fact that there is not a huge demand for the service. Airline industry analyst, Henry Harteveldt recently said, “Americans don't want to be stuck next to some Chatty Cathy bragging about last night's conquest.” Recent surveys indicate that only 16 percent of frequent fliers have any interest in using a cell phone inflight while the rest are heavily opposed to it.

I think I agree, I actually like that during the time I am on a flight I am unreachable, I have the rare chance to just relax and read a book or listen to music. It's bad enough when you have drunken idiots or fussy children without adding 80 cellphones into the mix as well!

O Canada, Hang Your Head In Shame!

Sometimes in today's economy it can seem like every job is worth saving. I have to argue that point. Is it worth saving the jobs at Jeffrey Asbestos Mine in Quebec? I thought we had all pretty much learned that asbestos was not a great idea. Asbestos abatement is a multi million dollar industry after all! However, the Quebec provincial government seems to disagree! On Canada Day weekend, the government loaned $58 million to a private equity firm to reopen the mine. The firm, called Balcorp Ltd., have struggled to raise the funds to reopen the mine, and it's pretty clear to me why that is! What I don't understand is what the hell Quebec are thinking? The Canadian Prime Minister surely has the power to stop this move, after all a massive project is under way this summer to remove asbestos from both parliament and the Prime Minister's residence and asbestos is not used anywhere in Canada. However, it seems that although it is not fit for Canadians, they are perfectly happy to ship it out to developing countries such as India, Indonesia and Vietnam for cheap and fire resistant roofing and rot proof water lines!


Many are citing the fact that the Industry Minister Christian Paradis is from the small town of Asbestos (I'm not kidding!) where Jeffery Mine is located and the Prime Minister does not want to cause ill feeling within the political party. Never mind the fact that around 100,000 people die every single year from Asbestos exposure. Many Canadians feel the reopening is a disgrace and so they should. Sorry Quebec but even spinning it as creating 400 jobs is not going to make this seem like a good idea!


Around 55 countries world wide have banned asbestos entirely and even in Canada it is not used. Yv Bonnier Viger, head of Quebec's association of public health said, “Quebec Premier Jean Charest is relaunching the exploitation of an extremely dangerous material that will cause the suffering and death of thousands of people in poor countries, at only marginal benefit to a desperate community.”


Shame on you Canada.

What Is An Internal Audit?

An internal audit is an activity carried out by organizations to add value to the business and also improve the way it operates. It is said to be an independent sector that is able to access the competency of company. It is really helpful especially when it comes to attaining its objectives and effectiveness in governing, supervising, evaluating, accessing data, and many other things. It is an activity that is used by almost all the organizations be it large scale, small scale profit making, on profit etc. The process is also said to prove how worthy a company is financially. It is very important for companies to have an internal audit every year.

The person who is in charge of the audit is called a Chief Audit executive. His main aim and function is to provide a written statement showing the approach they have taken in the internal audit task. It is then taken to the audit committee to be authorized. Any time the audit is effective, the board members and the management are comfortable about the risk operations and internal controls of the company. Members in the company such as share holder, employees and other stakeholders of the company are assured of the method used to accomplish the company’s s activities.

Normally, the auditing process takes four steps:

1. Planning: The auditor here is responsible of telling his client about the audit. Meetings are held with the leaders to discuss the goals, information that has been collected, internal controls that are in place etc.
2. Field work: In this stage, it is determined whether the controls that were there before are working. All that is gathered in the field is put down in the audit report.
3. Audit report: Included In the report also is the measures to be taken to improve. Later after one year of submission the audit is reviewed.
4. Review or follow up.; Internal auditors carry out a follow up .Then the steps to be undertaken to achieve this is released to the clients.

When carrying out the process of internal auditing, a lot of cooperation is required from the team. If clients are involved in this process, then one can be sure that it is going to succeed. It is also important to know that internal auditors are not responsible of business operations. All they do is offer their guidance to the senior members of the management.

Audit Management Software Is Versatile

With the help of audit management software, you will be able to conduct your audit procedures much faster and with a greater level of accuracy. This will help you to boost productivity, increase employee efficiency and enhance the overall quality of performance across the board. Performing your internal audit procedures with the help of software allow you to save time, reduce paper use and avoid penalties incurred for non-compliance by streamlining the process. As a result you will also see a reduction on data entry errors and an improvement n communication.

This type of audit management is perfect for those who wish to become more efficient in their compliance or improve quality management within their company. It is possible to use such software packages in numerous different ways and they can often be easily incorporated into your existing audit procedures. Of course, the main use would be for compliance audits. You can go to various different locations and perform a run through of your compliance checklist. You will also be able to load up evidence in the form of documents and images to support the findings and of course track any issues until they are properly resolved. Audit management software can be used as a self-assessment tool, allowing you to carry out an audit on yourself in preparation for official audits.

The top auditing software packages have an easy to use interface making it possible for your employees to take advantage of the software too. If they are able to self regulate and improve on their own work then come the official audit you will be seeing some fantastic results. Using audit management software truly is the way to keep a clear picture of how your company is performing at all times. If you have never used internal auditing before then you are likely to be shocked by the gaps and weaknesses that are highlighted the first time you do so.

Why not take control of your business today and invest in audit management software to meet all of your needs. You will be amazed at the improvements in your staff and in your day to day operations. Those who use audit management software have reported massive improvements in productivity, efficiency, customer satisfaction, employee morale and overall performance within the company very quickly after implementation. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying it out for yourself, so what are you waiting for?

Types of Body Modification

It can also be referred to body alteration. It is called that way since the change is permanent. Take an example of circumcision or ear piercing. It is lifetime and you can not change it. Those are good examples of body modification methods. They are not done due to any bodily complications. They are done out of will. One can do it so as to fit in a particular class of people, as a religious passage of rite or to identify one’s self with a particular group of people. Plastic surgery is also an example of body modification.

The alteration is done by the learned, society, and also the primitive. This is because it involves some of the compulsory things like circumcision in some communities. If done be a skilled an experienced person, body alteration can make you look good and give you a desired look.

There are different methods of body modifications.

1) Body piercing

Various parts of the body can be pierced for several reasons. Parts of the body such as ear lobes can be pierced and stretched, to give one the desired look. Ear piercing is the most popular of all and is used by very many people.

b) Pearling. It is done on the genital parts for beauty or sexual pleasures.

c) Neck rings. The people who do this type of body modification are those that want to have a stretched neck.

d) Surface piercing is also carried out and is done on the flat part of the skin.

2) Surgical

This alteration is made by doctors or professionals to change or make changes to a particular part of someone’s body. Examples are:

a) Implants of the breast which are done to change the size and shape of ones breasts. Silicon gel is used to do this. It helps one get the desire they want.

b) Sub-dermal implants which are done to change a part that is under the skin.

c) Removal is where by a part of the body is completely eliminated. This includes hair cutting or removal, circumcision whereby the fore skin is partially or completely removed. We also female genital cutting for the women whereby the labia minor is eliminated. Nipple splitting and nipple removal are done, etc.

Others may include:

• Scarification

It is artistic and scars are used to get the desired look. They are formed by creating scars on the body and letting them heal. People say that the process is more painful than tattooing.

• Body suspension

Which is done using piercings on the human body then one is suspended. This is done using hooks that look like fish hooks.

• Branding

It is referred as the most painful of all types of body modification. An iron rod is heated and placed on, ones skin to create burns that destroy the nerves .The healing could take even years.

• Tongue splitting

It is one of the newest where by the tongue is cut in two equal parts.

• Tattooing which is the most common of all body alteration methods.

Look Out London!

Last week I learned that my employers are sending me to the Learning Technlogies conference this coming January 2013. I know it's still ages away but I am really excited about it! The conference has been one of the leading events in organisational learning and the associated technology for almost 15 years. It usually attracts around 450 delegates and features up to 50 keynote speakers. This will be the first year that my company is represented and I am really flattered that they have picked me out of everyone. It's a fabulous opportunity and I get to fly to Europe!! The conference will be held in London and offers a unique chance to experience one of the world's most important conference programme for learning and development. There will be some of the industries foremost visionaries speaking at the event and a lot of focus is placed on the development of learning technologies, which is where my interest lies. Registration is not open yet but come October I'll be signed up and raring to go. It's not often my company offers to fly any of us anywhere never mind London so this is a huge deal for me! Look out London – Scotty's coming!

Basement Flooding Is NOT Cool

Water is very helpful since it is used for many cleaning tasks in our houses. Such tasks include bathing, washing dishes, washing clothes and even cooking. However, it can equally be dangerous. Water can destroy property, documents, increase insurance rates or even decrease the resale value of ones house. You can protect yourself and family too from water related damages. If you ever find yourself faced with something like this, then a professional water extractor is what you need.

Immediately you notice that you basement has water, you can contact professionals in the field of water extraction and have them solve the problem. The right company can deliver its services round the clock and you can get the help you need any time of the day or night. This is to avoid the growth of mildew and mould from growing. They grow very fast in damp areas since they can take 24 to 48 hours to start growing. Mould can lead to respiratory diseases or even asthma. This is reason enough to make a home owner to react as soon as the need arises.

Before the basement dries up and humidity levels go above normal, it is important for you to remove the items in the room because high humidity is capable of damaging and contaminating them.

Waterextraction experts will help you clean and dry up your carpet, help you clean the air vents, clean your furniture, repair broken pipes and even restore your wood floor. This really helps in saving time and property. They would also repair any damaged areas that could have been destroyed by the water. It can really be expensive but also very worthwhile. A service like carpet cleaning is going to ensure that infection from mould and bacteria is a thing of the past. The company is ready to assist any body at any time in case there is water leakage. You need to remember that delaying repairs will make them expensive and dangerous. Delaying in taking action can also result in great loss to property. So when faced with a water problem, you need to act really fast.

How Do Planes Fly?

Even although I am a total technology geek, there are still some things which I really cannot get my head around. One of those things is air travel. Actually, no, that's not completely true. I can grasp some types of air travel – birds, light weight gliders, helicopters.. the type of air travel I really mean is passenger travel. Jumbo Jets! Big metal tubes weighing thousands of tonnes. How do they stay airborne?

I mean, don't get me wrong. I get the physics and the mechanics and the theory of how an aircraft flies, but if you really consider the reality of it you might just blow your mind! How does something so big and so heavy stay in the air. That's truly a miracle of modern technology if ever I saw one! Think about a brick. If you threw it into the air it would soon plummet back to Earth, yet an aircraft will stay up for hours at a time! Pretty amazing right?

The basic answer to the question 'how do airplanes fly?' is that four different forces are exerted on the craft : lift, weight, thrust and drag. Each of these does it's own part to keep the airplane in the sky. Lift pushes it up and is assisted by the carefully designed shape of the wings. Weight forces the plane back down to Earth and aircraft are designed so that the weight is spread evenly across the craft so it remains balanced. Thrust is the force moving the plane forward and is powered by the engine which helps keep air moving over the wings. Drag is the force that slows the plane down – like walking into a strong wind. When all four forces are exerted on the plane from four directions (up, down, forward, backward) the plane will remain in the air – with a little help from the pilot of course!