Technophobiac

Cannabis news is always cropping up in the papers and online. Whether it’s the latest MP venting their opinion on the dangers of the drug, before admitting they used to take it or a celebrity busted by police over possession, it’s pretty hard to avoid. Then there are the oddities – the marijuana stories which are funny, strange or just plain weird. Here are the best from the last few years:

California introduces Pot Vending Machines

Before you all pack your bags and head over the Atlantic, I should point out that it’s strictly for people with a medical prescription to use marijuana as part of their healthcare – and there are safeguards in place to prevent non-prescribed folks from using it. Patients will be required to provide their prescription, give a fingerprint and then have their photo taken.

This cannabis news remains controversial because although medical marijuana is legal in some states, the federal government does not recognise its medicinal properties.

Utah Teenager Reports Pot Theft to Police

This is one of those marijuana stories that make you appreciate just how some stupid some people can be. Not only did an 18 year old burglar report his stolen cannabis to police, but he accepted an invitation to come in and identify the stash when the robber was caught. No sooner had he confirmed the marijuana was his, then he was arrested and charged on possession with intent to supply.

Sniffer Dog Fails to Find Planted Pot

After planting some marijuana in a customer’s luggage to train a new sniffer dog, customs officials were left embarrassed when this cannabis news story hit the headlines: the mutt failed to find the goods! The mistake, combined with the custom officer’s failure to recall which bag he’d put it in, meant that one passenger left with a free cannabis gift in their luggage. A spokesman for the airport’s customs’ office made a plea for its return: “If by some chance passengers find it in their suitcase, we’re asking them to return it.”

Burglars and Police Raid House at the Same Time

One of the most unlikely marijuana stories in this list: Two Australian burglars broke into a house being used to grow hydroponic cannabis only to discover it was full of police officers raiding the place to search for drugs! The burglars fled, but were caught a few days later by police.

Pot Smoker Reports Dealer to Police over “Bad Weed”

A 52 year old Darmstadt cannabis smoker was arrested for the possession of illegal substances after reporting his dealer to the police for selling him some “completely un-enjoyable” marijuana. The cannabis news article explains that the man had previously taken it up with the dealer directly, who refused to issue him a refund of the £270 he had paid for the drugs. Upon taking his “fraud” allegations with police, he was charged for his crime, despite the “absolutely mediocre quality” of the drugs involved.

Cannabis Plants Cause Police Station Closure

Billericay police station in Essex needed to be evacuated after the stench of confiscated cannabis plants became overpowering. 150 seedlings and mature plants grown from cannabis seeds had been seized from the home of a pro-cannabis campaigner and were kept in the station’s cell, where their strong odour swept through the whole building. One source said “The smell even filtered into the public reception area and people might have got the wrong idea.”

Rock Star Charged with Wanting to Smoke Marijuana…in 1994

An Argentine rock star was charged with informing spectators that he felt like smoking a joint – a decade after the cannabis news story broke. In November 1994, Andres Calamaro told 100,000 fans in La Plata: “I feel so good that I could smoke a joint”. Attempts were made by morally offended parents to bring charges against the rock star, but these were dismissed by the judge in 1995. A decade later a less liberal judge was found, and the case was reopened for the musician, then 43.

Cannabis Smoker Celebrates 120th Birthday

A 120 year old Indian woman living with her 92 year old daughter and 72 year old grandson is baffled by her longevity: “I don’t know how I’ve survived so long. Many relatives much younger than me have died”. One theory suggests it’s her habitual drug use. According to the Sun, the 120 year old Fulla Nayak smokes cannabis cigars and drinks strong palm wine, and this could be the secret of her success.

Author Bio: Paul Delorde is the managing director of Sensible Seeds. Based in the UK, the company sells souvenir cannabis seeds and informational books on cannabis to customers all over the world.

Category: Humor
Keywords: cannabis, marijuana, cannabis seeds

Silk in History

For thousands of years silk has been a highly esteemed fabric. It was invented some 5,000 years ago in China, and for about the first 2,000 of those years the secret of producing silk was guarded and remained in China. Finally silkworm eggs and the knowledge of how to produce this textile were smuggled out of China and spread to many places around the globe. Silkworms are actually domesticated insects, and their scientific name is Bombyx mori, sometimes shortened to B. mori. They no longer live naturally in the wild at all, and they only exist to produce silk. If people did not keep them alive for silk production, they would simply disappear. They eat nothing but the leaves of mulberry trees (or substances made from mulberry leaves). When the worms are in their caterpillar stage they are mulberry leaf eating machines. After an enormous growth spurt they extrude a chemical to make a cocoon, and this hardens quickly when exposed to air and turns into silk fiber. The silk worms work for 2-3 days and produce one long strand of silk fiber normally about 400-600 meters in length which makes a cocoon that protects the pupa while it is in the process of metamorphosis into a moth. Silk production unravels this strand and combines it with many others to form the fabric we know as silk. It is interesting to note that most of the pupa are killed in the production process, and only enough moths are born to lay eggs for the next generation of caterpillars.

Silk Properties

Silk has many remarkable properties. It is light in weight and when used in clothing can keep one cool in summer and surprisingly warm in winter. Silk is sometimes used as a liner in winter garments. Silk is very flexible and will return to its original shape without a lot of wrinkling. It can be stretched by as much as 20-25% and return to its original condition. In particular silk takes well to both natural and synthetic dyes, and that is why it is used in colorful parts of the wardrobe such as silk scarves for women and neck ties for men. Taking silk scarves along when traveling is a good way for women to stretch their wardrobes and carry less clothing. That is, a different colored silk scarf can make the same outfit look different.

Wild Silk

There is a certain amount of production of silk made from caterpillars other than B. mori, and India is the leader in this area. This production is small and uneven, however, because the caterpillars cannot be domesticated like B. mori, and the cocoons need to be found in the wild. Also, with B. mori numerous generations can be produced in a year using heating, lighting and other techniques, whereas with the wild silkworms there can only be one generation each year. The silk made from wild silkworms is said to be a bit more rough than the silk made from B. mori.

Conclusion

Silk has a fascinating history, and in the heyday of silk production hundreds of thousands of people around the world earned at least part of their incomes from some facet of the silk industry. Since synthetic fibers like nylon and especially rayon were invented, the demand for silk has dropped a good deal, but there will always be some demand for the real thing.

Author Bio: Walt Ballenberger is webmaster for Silk Scarf a blog with tons of information about silk in general and silk scarves in particular. Visit that site and our companion site, Hand Painted Silk Scarf.

Category: Womens Interest
Keywords: silk, silkworm, silkworms

When you get a long term care insurance quote you need to think about the waiver of premium benefit. This is a benefit and if you choose not to opt for it, it could affect you in the long run. Here are six things to consider with the waiver of premium.

1. The waiver of premium on a long term care insurance policy allows an insured person to not pay the premiums if you become in a position where you cannot pay them due to illness or a disability.

2. You must have been paying on the long term care insurance cost for a specified amount of time before you are eligible to use the waiver of premium. This will usually be specified in the insurance policy papers the amount of time you must be paying on the policy for it to be effective. Some policies allow this premium to begin immediately. This should be included in the long term care insurance quote if it does.

3. A waiver of premium only applies to the residential care benefits only. If you use your policy for home health are then you are not allowed to use the waiver of premium for this.

4. The long term care insurance cost will differ depending on the waiver of premium. The better the premium the higher the quote will be. You must be making your monthly payments on time and in good standing. There might be stipulations to the waiver of premium you should be aware of should you need to use it.

5. A waiver of premium can include a survivorship waiver also. This is for couples who have a joint long term care insurance policy. When a couple has this clause and a spouse dies the other person no longer is required to pay the premiums for the rest of their life.

6. The waiver of premium is designed for people who become ill and are no longer able to pay their premiums because their income is cut dramatically due to the loss of the ability to continue employment. There are often stipulations on what constitutes for a waiver of premium to take effect.

Never stop making your payments without contacting the policy first. Always be sure that your long term care insurance quote includes the specifics of this benefit. This could cost you your entire policy if the policy is stated that way. It is important to keep in touch with your policy at all times. Don’t get a long term health care policy without a waiver of premium benefit included.

If your pets are anything like mine, they may come off as omnivores. My Akita mix is likely to eat anything that does not eat him first. One of my cats has acquired a taste for tomato bisque and all of my dogs enjoy green pepper, zucchini and lettuce. As for my horse, she would drink all of my beer if she had the chance.

There is not much harm in feeding our pets human foods. However, there are some foods that our animal friends should definitely avoid. In addition to foods, certain plants can be downright deadly for our pets.

Chocolate and Pets Do Not Mix

Chocolate has long been considered a human food that dogs should avoid, and with good reason. Chocolate contains a chemical known as theobromine. Theobromine is similar in chemical composition to caffeine and is tolerated by humans in small amounts and is used as a therapeutic drug for certain medical conditions. Like many types of stimulate chemicals, theobromine can be harmful to humans to large doses. When it comes to animals, theobromine poses a significant health risk.

Though the danger to dogs is widely known, theobromine also poses a risk to cats and horses and other domestic pets. The metabolic process for cats, dogs and horses is significantly slower than it is for humans. An animals inability to quickly metabolize theobromine allows toxic levels of the chemical to buildup. Symptoms can range from diarrhea to muscle spasms and vomiting.

No antidote exists for treating theobromine poisoning and it is important to seek immediate veterinary help for any pet who has ingested chocolate. The vet can administer a variety of treatment options that can help reverse the toxic effects of theobromine. The key is to not wait until your pet starts to exhibit symptoms. Seek professional veterinary services immediately.

Since caffeine is similar to theobromine, avoid exposing your pet to sources of caffeine like coffee, tea, coffee beans and tea leaves.

Vegetables and Fruits to Avoid

In addition to chocolate, there are variety of fruit and vegetables that are potentially harmful to domestic pets. Just a few of the fruits and vegetables that your pet should avoid include onions, avocados, mushrooms, grapes and raisons. There are a number of fruit seeds that can cause toxicity problems for your pet including, but not limited to apple seeds, peach and apricot pits, cherry and avocados pits, and mustard seeds.

Fruit seeds and pits contain various levels of cyanide compounds. Though the amount of cyanide may not be fatal to your pet, the effects can be serious enough to require veterinary care. The best advice is to play it safe and avoid exposing your pets to these foods. Onions and similar foods such as leeks and scallions are not poisonous but can cause digestive problems and anemia in some animals so it is best to avoid them.

Candy is Sweet but Not for Your Pet

Sugar and candy may seem like a harmless treat for your pet. Problems can arise when the candy contains any type of artificial sweetener such as Xylitol. Some candy may contain cacao-based ingredients which can expose your pet to toxic levels of theobromine. If you choose to indulge your pet with the occasional sweet, make certain of the ingredients and do so only in moderation.

Other Foods to Avoid

Dogs love peanut butter and giving them peanuts in moderation can make for a tasty treat. While peanuts do not pose a risk for most dogs, other varieties of nuts should be avoided. Among the nut varieties that you should not give to your pet include macadamias and walnuts. If you have walnut trees on your property or walk your dog where walnut trees grow, make sure your dog does not ingest the nut meat or the shells. Either can cause moderate to severe digestive problems that may not show for a day or two.

The best rule of thumb when it comes to your pets and food is when in doubt, throw it out. Take a look around the kitchen and make sure that you pet-proof cabinets and pantries. It is much easier to prevent exposure to harmful foods than it is to see your pet suffer.

If you are ever in doubt about your pets health, seek professional veterinary help immediately.

Author Bio: Michael O’Brien is staff writer for the quality online store FineWebStores.com. Shop for unique items for your home or office including Lane Lumber Support Recliners, Adjustable Beds and quality Bed Linens at Fine Web Stores.com. Visit FineWebStores.com today for all of your home decor and furnishing needs.

Category: Pets
Keywords: dog,cat,food

How often have you thrown away an old area rug because it was so filthy that you though it was impossible to clean? Living in a home with dirty rugs is not fun at all. After all, you have to walk on these rugs day in and day out. And in many cases, you will also be sleeping, sitting, and playing on the surface. For this reason, rug cleaning should be very important to you. If you do not take the time to keep your rugs clean, you are not going to like the way that they get sooner rather than later. There is a very good chance that you have been in a house that has dirty rugs. Instead of letting this happen to you, take the time to keep them clean. This is not to say that you have to spend hours each week washing and scrubbing, but you should at least be careful while also doing some maintenance from time to time.

Here are three rug cleaning tips that you may want to keep in mind. If you already have clean rugs, you may be surprised to find out that these can help you even more. And of course, if you are in a home with dirty rugs, you will be able to use these tips in order to make a huge transformation.

1. In most cases, you should be able to handle the rug cleaning process on your own. But before you think that using a bit of water is going to get the job done, think again. In most cases, rugs are dirty because they have foreign substances ground deep into the fibers. If you are going to get the deep down dirt, you need to make sure that you take the time to use a carpet cleaning solution. There are many products available at hardware and grocery stores, so you should be able to find something that gets the job done.

2. If you are not going to be able to salvage your rugs on your own, it is time to bring in a professional. There are many rug cleaning franchises that you can call on as well as individuals who own businesses that focus on this area. Do yourself a favor and have your rugs professionally cleaned if they need it. You may have to pay for this service, but you will definitely notice the difference when the job is done.

3. Many people prefer to do their own work, but do not have the equipment to get the job done right. If this sounds like you, why not look into renting a rug scrubber? You can rent one of these for a fraction of the cost of hiring a professional. In turn, you can get the same results with nothing more than a bit of sweat and hard work on your part.

These three tips should help you to keep your rugs in much better shape. No matter how bad your rugs are, it is safe to say that a good cleaning will go a long way in making them look better.

Author Bio: John James writes about area rugs and how they can help accent your home’s décor. He also writes about home decorating, interior design and other home related topics of interest.

Category: Home Management
Keywords: rug cleaning, area rug cleaning, rugs, area rugs

Memory storage devices in your computer are great, but invariably, most of them have to face the problem of failure at least once. One day or the other, it is bound to happen, and when it does, it can leave you terribly stranded. You can prevent this by having server backup.

Creating a server backup is possible by various means. Simplest of these is manually copying all the necessary and important data on to some other storage media like CDs or DVDs. Most computers today support these functions. Having done that, you can stay relaxed and comfortable, knowing your data is safe.

Using an external hard drive is the second option available for backing up your server. As the name explains, an external hard drive is used outside of the complete computer system and is plugged in whenever necessary. Usually used as an extra memory storage unit, this is connected to your computer via USB or Firewire capabilities. With this option, you know your data is safe and securely stored in a physically separate location and can be retrieved at any necessary time.

For businesses another good option is RAID, or redundant array of independent disks. RAID works by storing backups of all your data on multiple disks, giving you added multiple levels of safety. Even if one or more disks crash, there are others to safeguard your data.

Businesses have another choice, where an external services company stores all your data online for your convenience. Just like Google documents and Yahoo bookmarks are stored on the web; these companies host your data online via web servers. This is a relatively inexpensive service and an ideal backup server solution for mid-range and corporate businesses.

How often have you woken up in the middle of the night and gone to your bathroom and thought “Boy, I really need to have a rug in here.” since your bare feet get cold by the bare floor and therefore you get awake? Do you have a rug in your bathroom? If you are like most homeowners, you have at least one of these in each bathroom in your home. But a better question may have to do with how long you have had these bathroom rugs. When it comes down to it, some people keep these for entirely too long. On the other side of things, there are others who get rid of them too often and end up wasting money in the long run. Which group do you fit into?

When it comes down to it, it can often times be difficult to determine how long to keep a bathroom rug. Although you would think that this would be pretty self explanatory, it rarely works out that way. There are many different details that you will want to keep in mind when deciding whether or not it is time to make a change. As you can imagine, the right decision is not imperative to the overall look and feel of your home, but it is something that you should want to do right.

Generally speaking, if your bathroom rug looks bad it is time to get rid of it. If you are in this situation, it is safe to say that you are one of those people who waited a bit too long. As you probably know, your bathroom rug goes through a lot of stress day in and day out. Not only does it get walked on time and time again, but it must also deal with high amounts of water. And on top of this, since your bathroom probably gets steamy when the shower is on, your rug must also deal with these conditions.

At the same time, your bathroom rug may look good on the surface. But before you keep it around any longer, you will want to check the bottom side. In most cases, this is where you will begin to see just how bad your bathroom rug is getting. There is a good chance that you will turn your bathroom rug over just to find mold and mildew. If this is the case, it is about time that you make a change. Not only is this bad for your floor, but it can be bad for you at the same time.

On the other side of things, there are those people who are always making a change to the way that their bathroom looks. These homeowners get rid of bathroom rugs on a monthly basis because they are always changing their color scheme. While bathroom rugs do not cost hundreds of dollars in most cases, you should probably try to find a color scheme and then stick with it.

All in all, you can keep your bathroom rug as long as you want to; there is no rule for this. But at the same time, you need to make sure that it is in good enough condition to do its job for you everyday.

Author Bio: John James writes about contemporary area rugs at BoldRugs and he also blogs about home decorating, interior design and other home related topics of interest.

Category: Home Management
Keywords: bath rug, bathroom rugs, area rugs, rugs

There are a lot of interior designers and celebrities that are offering their designs to designer rugs. There are several well known companies that are branching out and expanding their home design collections into the area rug collections. There are many reasons that you may want to consider adding a designer rug to your living room. Of course, you may not need one of these, but this is not the same for everybody. Although designer rugs can be used anywhere in your home, you should really consider what it offers if added to your living room. For many years homeowners have been doing this, and you should look into this option.

Here are three reasons that adding a designer rug to your living room may be the way to go. You should also consider any other reasons that come to mind. After all, it is your home that you are going to be decorating.

1. If the floors in your living room do not look good, why not add a designer rug? For instance, you may have old carpeting or hardwood floors that are worn out. Instead of having to deal with this everyday of your life, you could add a nice sized designer rug in order to cure this problem. In most cases, adding a designer rug is going to be much more cost effective than getting your existing flooring replaced or refinished.

2. Even if your living room floors are in immaculate condition, you may still want to consider adding a designer rug. As you can imagine, a designer rug is anything but bland and boring. If you add one of these you may be able to bring much needed color and life to your room. Many homeowners have found out that adding a rug is the last piece that they needed in order to tie their living room together.

3. Although designer rugs will look good, you should never forget about the functionality that they also offer. In other words, you should know that a designer rug is also going to keep your flooring clean. As mentioned above, you may have nice looking carpeting at this time. And of course, you want to keep it that way, right? If so, adding a designer rug will allow you to keep your floor clean, while also giving you a classy look. Does it get any better than that?

These are just three reasons that you will want to consider adding a designer rug to your living room. Before you make a purchase, take the time to make sure that this is what you want to do. A designer rug may or may not be right for your living room. There are a lot of factors to consider, and many things that are specific to your home. But even if you do not end up buying a designer rug, you will be glad that you considered this option in the end. After all, you never know when you will decide to buy one of these for your home.

Author Bio: John James writes about how a area rugs can help accent your home’s décor. He also writes about home decorating, interior design and other home related topics of interest.

Category: Home Management
Keywords: designer rug, area rugs, rugs

Have you ever come across an animal print rug? If so, there is a good chance that you saw it either in a store or at a friend’s house. The question is, do you like what animal print rugs have to offer? In other words, do you like the way that they look? There are some people who love anything that has an animal print on it. But of course, there are many others who are against this for one reason or the next. As you can imagine, buying an animal print rug is not something that is right for every homeowner. In addition, you may not want to add one of these rugs to every room in your home. But with all of that in mind, there are many reasons to buy an animal print rug, as well as many places that these look good.

First off, take a closer look at why you should consider buying an animal print rug. The number one reason for people buying these rugs is that they are animal lovers. Remember, just because you are buying an animal print rug does not mean that it is an actual animal skin; this is nothing more than a myth. If you love animals, there is a very good chance that you will also love what an animal print rug has to offer.

Another reason to buy one of these is because they are downright fun! When compared to other rugs on the market today, these are far from being dull and boring. Buying an animal print rug means that you are going to bring a lot of excitement to the room that you decide to keep it in.

Of course, animal print rugs are also a great way to liven any room in your home. Sure, you could opt for a plain, solid color rug; there is nothing wrong with this. But if you really want to spice things up, an animal print rug is the way to go. Since these are so unique looking, they are sure to bring a lot of eyes to the floor.

Now that you have a better idea of why to buy an animal print rug, the next thing to figure out is where you are going to put one of these. There is no right or wrong place for an animal print rug to lie; you can choose any room in your home that needs a floor covering. The most popular areas are basements and bedrooms, but once again, you need to make up your own mind on this.

If you really want to get the most out of your animal print rug, you should consider decorating the rest of your room around the same theme. For instance, you could buy a bedspread that matches the rug print that you decided on.

There are many reasons to add an animal print rug to your home as well as quite a few rooms where one of these will look good.

Author Bio: John James writes about animal area rugs and how they can help accent your home’s interior.

Category: Home Management
Keywords: animal rugs, animal print, area rugs, rug

What is the definition of debt?

Debt is something that is owed. An individual or business owing a debt is called a debtor. The entity to whom a debt is owed is called a creditor. Debt is used to borrow purchasing power with a promise to repay at some point in the future. Many businesses use debt as a part of their overall corporate finance strategy.

Some types of debt

There are numerous types of debt obligations. They include loans, bonds, mortgages and promissory notes. It is common to borrow large sums for major purchases, such as a mortgage, and pay it back with an agreed premium interest rate over time, or all at once at a later date (balloon payment). The amount of money outstanding is usually called a debt. The debt will increase through time if it is not repaid faster than it grows. In some systems of economics this effect is termed usury, in others, the term “usury” refers only to an excessive rate of interest, in excess of a reasonable profit for the risk accepted.

Larger companies can issue debt in the form of securities, known as bonds. Each bond entitles the holder to specific interest and principal payments. Bonds are traded in the bond markets, and depending on the rating are relatively safe investments in comparison to stocks.

For more info Google “debt