A Happy Family

Why Build a Sustainable Home?

>> Aug 24, 2011

If you have recently bought a piece of land and are planning to build a new home on it, you should think about how energy efficient it will be. With the proposed introduction of the carbon tax and residential building (mandatory disclosure) legislation imminent, it’s never been more important to consider household energy efficiency.

A lot of people think that energy efficiency is directly related to appliance choice. This is incorrect. The first step to a sustainable home is to design it so that it has a high thermal performance. And this is where home energy ratings come in.

Assessors use computer simulations to assess major aspects of the home, including its orientation and shading to determine what thermal performance it has. Thermal performance relates to how well a home can maintain a comfortable temperature year round. The idea being that if the house is designed to have a high thermal performance, it will require very little heating in winter and cooling in summer – leaving you to reap the ongoing savings.

To make sure your home is designed with thermal efficiency in mind, make sure you employ the services of an accredited home energy rating assessor in the design and planning phase of your new home. In analysing the current house plans, they will provide economic solutions to make the home more thermally efficient.

While various misinformed articles will have you believe that a sustainable home is extravagant and expensive, the reality is that thermal performance can be achieved with little or no additional cost. Plus, with the help of an assessor you can rest assured that your house plans will meet the minimum energy efficiency requirements as listed in the Building Code of Australia (BCA).

Designing your home to be energy efficient is only one step towards a more sustainable home. The next step is to fit it out with energy efficient appliances coupled with a more sustainable attitude in your household.

When purchasing appliances, you want to keep an eye out for those that rate highly on the energy consumption labeling. Having fitted-out your house with energy efficient appliances you need to review and update your contents insurance.

The next step is arguably the hardest and requires the household’s full cooperation. You need to change your lifestyle to adapt sustainable behaviours. Simple rules like, ‘turn lights off when you are not using them’ and ‘only wash with cold water’ are good first steps, others that have great returns on your back pocket are:

· Install a AAA showerhead – save up to $100 per annum.
· Get rid of that old second fridge – save up to $200
· Use energy efficient light bulbs (CFLs) – save up to $50.
· Switch off lights when you’re not in the room – save around $25.
· Don’t overheat or overcool rooms – save around $50.
· Close doors, cover windows, and seal draughts – save around $50.
· Wash clothes in cold water – save around $40.
· Use the clothesline instead of the dryer when the sun shines – save up to $40.
· Don’t leave appliances in standby mode – save up to $50.
· Don’t run your pool pump for too long – save up to $75.

Don’t leave energy efficiency until after you have sort a removalist and moved into your new home – incorporate it into your plans. If you decide to invest in renewable energies, it might be a good time to review and update your home insurance.
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How to Send Your Child with Allergies to Camp

If you’ve got a child with allergies, especially severe ones, you know how worrying it can be sending them out that front screen door. Calm down. Keep school and camp staff alert of your child’s allergies with custom bag tags and clothing labels that attribute allergy alert. They list your child’s name and what allergies they have. That way you don’t need to be anxious about your nut allergic son swapping the Turkey Surprise for PB&J.

There are a range of Allergy Alert labels to select from. You can get ones that hang from your child’s neck like some back stage pass to the world’s coolest concert, or custom bag tags you can put on their backpacks, luggage or lunch sacks. You can also obtain clothing labels that are fine for allergy alerts as well as name tagging so you know they come home. Why not save yourself a trip to the lost and found?

It’s the informational age, so make sure your child’s allergies are printed on their sleeve if need be with custom Clothing Labels. They feature unique, cool designs so your child will adore them. The designers feature kids’ fashion in mind and even feature custom bag tags with their favorite super heroes, sports, or hobbies. They’ll love using these allergy alert reminders, and you’ll love the peace of mind knowing your child’s allergy won’t be forgotten by the busy staff. Save the emergency room visits for another day with clothing labels for what they put on, custom bag tags for what they eat.

Heli-skiing History

Heliskiing is a completely astounding sport. It takes all the beauty of skiing or boarding and can severely strengthen it. Everything about it is better, the powder is always fresh and untouched, there no crowds of people to deal with, and you are in a beautiful secluded part of the world. The feeling can be attributed to that of owning your own mountain, which can be a pretty epic feeling.

What are the beginnings of Heliskiing? It is said that in the mid 1950’s the Europeans created the first helicopter ski trips by taking brave and world class skiers up to glaciers. Although it is known that Johann Wolfgang “Hans” Gmoser, a mountain guide from Linz, Austria is credited for some of the first trips up in the Canadian Rockies. Hans was a appreciated mountaineer and proficient climber. In about 1965 Gmoser’s friend and client, U.S. Olympian Brooks Dodge, had discussed the chance to begin a helicopter service that could take skiers to the snowfields in the upper Rockies.

Hans, one to never back down from a challenge soon partnered with Jim Davies, who was known as one of the premiere mountain helicopter pilots at the time. The two of them began chartering helicopter ski trips for one week to the Bugaboos.

The operation quickly became very successful and in the summer of 1967, a group of former clients invested with Gmoser and they soon built the Bugaboo Lodge, the first helicopter lodge in North America. Then Canadian Mountain Holidays INC was born, and the two were flying clients to the Monashees, the Cariboos, to Bobbie Burns and other spots. These were the early days of Heliskiing, and it was not long before Hans had some competition. Heliskiing rapidly grew in popularity and became an offshoot sport for the prosperous and adventurous. Now it is the extreme adventure sport it is today.

Best Ceiling Fan for Your Home

There are various options that require to be made when you are decorating the home. One of the options that you have available to you, however, is the ceiling fan. Actually this item is not simply something that is going to offer you with a method to flow air within the room, in many cases they are designed in such a way that they will fit in perfectly with almost any interior decoration. This is true of the familiar areas of your home, such as the living room or dining room but it is also true of ceiling fans that would go in the child’s room as well.

What would you search for when you were trying to find kids ceiling fan? One of the things that many parents appreciate about the fans that are available for children’s rooms is the fact that they come in many special themes. For example, you may have a child that adores sports and you can either get a general fan that is themed in that direction or you could even obtain one that was more geared towards their favorite team. Additionally, you can get something a little bit different such as an airplane ceiling fan or perhaps one that was themed toward their much loved cartoon character.

Be certain that you take a little bit of time to observe the options that you have available to you. At the same time, always make sure the ceiling fan is installed correctly and that it is steady enough so that no problems are going to occur during use.

Good Gifts for Your Pup

Lots of us take pleasure in getting items for our pets. When you have a dog, there are a range of different things that you have obtainable to you which you are definite to want to look into for yourself. These not only cover some of the obvious items, such as unique dog collars and leashes, it also covers some of the more extraordinary items such as dog costumes.

Here are some of the alternatives that you have available to you and how you may be able to select something that will be just correct for your pet.

As far as collars are concerned, you really have an almost infinite quantity of choices available to you. You can get collars that are specific to the type of dog that you have, such as those that will be taken into the field with a hunting dog.

In addition, you can get items that are quite unique, including the number one dog collar for 2010, the SuperCollar. This item is possibly one of the most suitable things that you can find, both for yourself and your animal. It is super sturdy and contains its own dog leash so that regardless of whether you’re hiking, jogging or if you just like to take your dog out on the beach, you’ll be ready for whatever happens to come your way.

As far as dog costumes are concerned, this is something that many people get pleasurable. After all, finding the right costume for your dog is going to let them to be even more lovable than what they are. Be sure to browse at all of the selections that are offered to you, you would be amazed with what is out there.

Between Two Cities

>> Aug 22, 2011

Almost every weekend, I face traffic jams on some main roads in my city, Bogor (West Java, Indonesia). Yesterday Sunday, we must postpone our plan as we couldn’t reach the place. My husband felt lazy to drive through the jam and prefer to turned back home.

I shouldn’t complain more as I don’t face traffic jam everyday here. People who work and live in Jakarta (the capital city of Indonesia) have to spend hours in traffic jams everyday.

For Blue Monday, I share here the differences between my city, Bogor, and the capital city. Here in my city, you still can see trees along the roads. Some of them are very old ones. If you choose a place to live, which kind of city that you prefer? Will you choose a smaller city that still offer you with green views or a big city with all amenities? Many Bogor people decide to keep staying in Bogor; though they must leave for work to Jakarta very early in the morning and arrived home late at night. I’ve ever been experienced as a train commuter for more than three years.

One on One

>> Aug 20, 2011

Cats have their motives for fighting. Cats state their discontent with other cats by picking fights. The reasons why cats fight can help you decide how to avoid your cats from fighting in the future (source: petsnanny.net).

Fighting for their territory Lots of cats fight because of their territory. They feel like an unwanted cat has attacked their territory, even if it is a cat that has stayed with them for a long time. Cats are much more territorial than dogs and the gender of the cat has very little to do with it.

In contrast to what a lot of people think, female cats are occasionally just as territorial as their male counterparts. If you have two cats in your home, you might observe that one cat hisses and swats at the other whenever he feels his territory has been invaded. This can also occur if you bring a new cat into the home. They are only protecting their territory.

Social ranking
Either male cats frequently intimidate and fight with each other for social ranking; even sterilized males may do this. If you have multiple cats, especially more than one male cat, one cat is usually considered the "alpha male" and will be at the top of the cat hierarchy.

Two cats might posture their bodies, then begin howling and screaming at one another. If one of the cats walks away or backs down, then the catfight is usually avoided. However, if neither one craves to throw in the towel and surrender, then one cat will assault the other by jumping forward and attempting to bite the neck.

The other cat will fall on his back and tries to bite or scratch the attacker with its hind legs. The two cats might go through this some times before walking away. There are generally no wounds sustained in these sorts of fights. You may even notice that kittens or young cats play with one another this way. Most of the time, you will not need to interfere.

Aggression Cats also fight as an effect of some kind of redirected aggression and this is relatively general, especially with indoor cats. Your cat might be looking outside the window at another cat or dog crossing the yard. Your cat starts to feel territorial and aggressive at this cat, but since this other cat cannot be achieved, he may instead attack the other family cat.

If you find your cats fighting irregularly, you should know that this is common and quite typical of cats. In general, you will be able to assume whether or not your cats are fighting for "blood" or just playing around.

The time to end a fight is when it gets horrible, otherwise; let your cats to work it out themselves. If you feel the need to stop a catfight, then you should do it watchfully. Even the most loving cat can bite or scratch you in aggressive passion. To stop a fight, you should make some kind of loud noise, such as a handclap. Since cats are surprised by loud noises, they will both stop to see what is making the noise. You can also spray water on them to interfere with the aggressive behavior.