The iMate kJam (also known as the iMate K-Jam and HTC Wizard) is a decent enough phone, but more of a PDA. I’ve had mine for the last month and a bit, and in my mind, here are the pros and cons:
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Pool Paving Experience
A friend recently had the paving around their pool done. I thought it might be helpful to put up their experience and their advice…
Phone around for a few quotes. Be sure to have the exact square meterage that you will require. A lot of places won’t do work for less than 40 m2.
Find someone reputable with at least a five year guarantee (10 is better).
Most people will insist on coming out to measure the area themselves because they have to take any decks or steps that you might have around the pool into account. They might give you a quote, but will probably still come out and measure the area anyway.
Be sure that you have about an hour and a half available when they do come to give the quote, because they go through all the options and all the different types of bricks even though you might know exactly what you want.
Once you have accepted the quote and payed the deposit (usually 50%) then they will tell you their available time slot that they will be able to come allow 3 to 4 weeks for this (before they start work on the area).
They will probably drop the bricks off on your pavement about a week before they start working (warning: If this causes obstruction for visibility from the road, you might be fined.)
They will probably phone you and tell you that they are going to start working on your area around the same time that they drop the bricks off (allow 1 or 2 days just because they can)
When they do start working, they will probably take longer to finish off than originally quoted (allow 1 or 2 days).
If you are not there to supervise them, you can be guaranteed that a lot of cement, bricks and rubble will land in your pool, causing you endless problems trying to clean up the mess in your filter etc. etc… This happened to me, so I speak from experience.
Once they are complete, perform a full check on the work that they have done, from all angles. Once you are satisfied, then give them the final payment.
You can be sure to notice some faults a day or two after you have made the final payment, such as the paved area not being level, some bricks placed higher than others in certain areas and so forth. Also, I have the fortunate experience to have to call them and complain about grass starting to grow between the bricks due to them not filling the edges properly. Needless to say, two more phone calls had to be made before they came out to fix the problem, and then they didn’t use the exact same colour of cement as they did originally.
Win some, lose some I say
So, let me know if you have any tips or ideas, or even your hellish experience of when you got your pool area paved.
Gall Bladder Care – Milk Thistle
Even though adding the Milk Thistle (similar in appearance to this photo) to your herb garden will add some color, it’s not this plant or herb (or possibly even weed) that will improve your gall bladder‘s health. It’s the extract from this plant (mostly liquid) that helps protect and detoxify your liver and your gall bladder. A lot of herbalists recommend using this extract to help fight fatty liver which is associated with heavy drinking.
Your gall bladder plays an important role in the breaking down of fats in the food you ingest due to the bile that the gall bladder stores. But, reading up on herbs, I noticed that a lot of people are selling Milk Thistle extracts which have been shown to help improve the functioning of your gall bladder.
I just thought I would share this piece of info with you, even if the only thing it does is let you know about it… And, to show you another hardy and possibly pretty plant that you could have in your garden… Of course, I’m hoping to at least get some more info on herbs that you can actually use from your herb garden.
Herbs That Detoxify
by Amy A.May
Once the kidneys are detoxified, a healthy flow of nutrients are free to make their way to the scalp where they promote healthy hair growth.
Here are list of the top 10 most effective herbs for detoxification.
1. Camomile – a great relaxant and good for the stomach, which helps if you’re tense. It reduces inflammation and it’s a tissue healer – inhale the azulenes given off in the steam to soothe the inflamed mucous membranes of the nose, throat and chest.
2. Skullcap – skutellaria – improves functioning of nervous system; calming effect- it’s good if you’re frazzled .
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Prevent flies biting dogs ears
If you own a German Shepherd dog and live in an area where you get flies (is this most of the world???) then you might have an issue with flies biting the ears of you German Shepherd. This can get quite serious, even to the point where you will have to amputate the tips of your dog’s ears due to an infection caused by the fly bites.
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Get rid of flies and other flying insects – Cedar Wood
Cedar Wood (available on Amazon.com for around $4 here: Amazon Cedar Wood) is a natural, fresh smelling bug repellant. Sounds strange, doesn’t it. Like an Old Wives’ Tale? How about an Old Mother’s tale… My mother brought home little cedar blocks of wood and said that having them around the house would help get rid of flies. My whole family thought it was time to start looking for a home for her.
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Varnishing Wood – Steel Wool
If you read my post about “Varnishing or Sealing your Wood” you’ll see how I mentioned that you need to use steel wool to give you varnish a smoother finish. Well, here’s more info regarding that, after doing this a couple of times…
The reason you need to use the steel wool in the first place before varnishing (preferrably using a sealer), is to make the surface a bit rough so that the sealer sticks to the wood or previous coat of varnish/wood sealer. Of course, if it’s the first coat your’re applying, you use the steel wool just to make the wood slightly smoother than it’s natural self.
If you’re varnishing wood that is not that “delicate”, such as your garage doors or garden gates, don’t worry about getting steel wool that is TOO fine.
After you’ve put on the first coat of wood sealer, and it’s dried, you will just need to take the “gloss” or “shine” off of the coat, making the next coat easier to stick. This way, you have a thicker coat of varnish on your wood, which means more protection. And believe me, fine steel wool does not make this an easy job.
If you’re varnishing delicate wood, like your wooden patio table, then use a finer steel wool, especially before the last coat. This will give the wood a very smooth look…
If you read my post about “Varnishing or Sealing your Wood” you’ll see how I mentioned that you need to use steel wool to give you varnish a smoother finish. Well, here’s more info regarding that, after doing this a couple of times…
The reason you need to use the steel wool in the first place before varnishing (preferrably using a sealer), is to make the surface a bit rough so that the sealer sticks to the wood or previous coat of varnish/wood sealer. Of course, if it’s the first coat your’re applying, you use the steel wool just to make the wood slightly smoother than it’s natural self.
If you’re varnishing wood that is not that “delicate”, such as your garage doors or garden gates, don’t worry about getting steel wool that is TOO fine. After you’ve put on the first coat of wood sealer, and it’s dried, you will just need to take the “gloss” or “shine” off of the coat, making the next coat easier to stick. This way, you have a thicker coat of varnish on your wood, which means more protection. And believe me, fine steel wool does not make this an easy job.
If you’re varnishing delicate wood, like your wooden patio table, then use a finer steel wool, especially before the last coat. This will give the wood a very smooth look…
If you have any tips or suggestions, please let me know. We could all use your experience to learn from.
Bathroom Hand Towels – An Idea
Ok, this idea is definitely NOT for everybody. I saw it in the toilets of a Coffee Shop in an Art Gallery. Of course, artists tend to be arty, and this was arty to the max. Am I judging artist’s by their art, like books by there cover? I apologise for stereotyping. Not all art is art. (Ok, enough of the word “art”).
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Decorating a study – Color
Here’s a quick little idea when decorating a study.
If your study is anything like mine, the colors can be a little drab. Dark wood seems to be quite the rage at the moment, and, with our cream painted walls and dark wood study desk and display cabinet/book shelves, our study is pretty much a black and white room. My tip is: Add some color with an abstract painting.
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Glass Jars – Pretty Storage
Another great looking idea for storing items is Glass Jars. We’re using glass jars from a place called “Consol Glass”, but there are many other Glass Jar suppliers out there.
In my personal opinion, they are a great way of safely storing your rice, sugar, flour etc… AND, if you have open or glass cupboards in your kitchen, you can make these glass storage jars as part of the display. Here’s a list of benefits for using glass jars similar (though probably bigger) to the one in the picture above:
- Can be sealed to prevent moisture
- Thanks to the seal, can prevent bugs getting in
- No more mess trying to close the sugar packet and stuff it back in the cupboard after a refill
- Can make your kitchen storage solution attractive
And, a tip that my wife has used to enhance the appeal of using glass jars to store our sugar: Add some colorful sugar to your plain white sugar, possibly in layers, to take away the blandness of your white sugar. You’ve now made art out of sugar for your kitchen shelves… Any other ideas?