Yesterday was Earth Day

Yesterday, was our only planet’s day and I was stuck in the office. Not the Earth day I have imagined at least for myself. However despite that I didn’t get to join lobby groups or planted tress with my fellow youths (which what I would have wanted to do) I would still like to give a small contribution, although late, in raising environment awareness.

As I continuously watch the news and surf the web, the facts on our Earth’s degradation and abuse caused by us, the supposed to be stewards of this only planet, are overwhelming. Figures on carbon emission is rising every year and the forecast of the coming decades are frightening.

Let us make Earth Day not as a symbolic celebration filled with empty rhetoric, but a day-to-day occurrence in our choices, habits and actions for a more sustainable environment for our children and our children’s children.

Below are 8 simple things that you can do to contribute in our cause for the Earth.

1. Understand what’s going on with our environment. Research on pollution and its causes. Recognize the bad to know what not to do.
2. Join environment groups in your local community. If you don’t go out much, you can join online environment communities. Being with like minded individuals allows you to understand and delve into the issue more.
3. Recycle. Know the word and then do it. Segregate your garbage. Don’t throw out those old newspapers, ketchup bottles, plastic coke bottles and such. You can store them for the mean time, and later on sell them or give them to “we buy scrap” entrepreneurs. See, you can still make money out of garbage.
4. Conserve water. Don’t waste it, it’s a precious gift that will run out eventually if we don’t use it properly.
5. If you are going to a nearby place, opt to walk or use a bicycle rather than use a vehicle that emit carbon monoxide.
6. Use fresh food as much as possible. Avoid eating too much processed food or fast food. These type of food usually contribute to a gain in weight and to the amount of trash.
7. Don’t buy things that you don’t need. Things that you usually buy out of plain envy or want will usually just go to the trash or be left unused after a few months.
8. Conserve Energy. Turn off the lights, the fan, the aircon, TV, radio, etc. whenever you’re not in the room, you’re not using it or if the need is not immediate.

Let’s be proactive in solving Earth’s issue. After all, we only have one planet and her name is Earth.

Idiots are bad for the health. Really, they are.

“Idiots in your office are as hazardous to your health as cigarettes, caffeine or greasy food…” Please click on the image to read the news clip.

Beating the heat

I was inspired by Raj’s list of how to beat the heat. Every year, I have noticed that when summer comes the temperature is higher compared to the other year. Indeed global warming is getting worse so start participating in the Earth Hour people!

Since we still have to face the wrath of Mother nature, Inspired by Raj’s tips, I came up with my own set of tips of how to deal with the heat.

1. If you can, try to avoid exposing your skin to the sun from 9 am to 4 pm. The UV rays from the sun is cancerous during this time. However if you just can’t, follow Raj’s heed, avoid the Sun’s intense glare starting from 11 am - 3 pm.
2. Make sure that you wear a SPF sort of lotion or sunblock. This will protect your skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays.
3. Wear cotton shirts and city shorts for a more comfortable and cool feel. Us girls can opt to wear a sundress, the material is light and comfortable.
4. Wear a cap or hat when the sun is really shining with all its glory.
5. Wear a good pair of sun glasses. This will lessen the sun’s glare in your eyes.
6. Inside your house, make sure to open up all windows to make sure that air can circulate. This will also prevent humid air indoor since good ventilation is provided through the open windows.
7. Put your electric fan to high gear or turn it up to level 3. Summer is the best time to turn your air con to really cold to appease the heat.
8. Drink a lot of fluids to keep hydrated. To make your drink more enjoyable, make sure you stock your freezer with a lot of ice cubes to go along with you juice drinks or water. Summer is also the perfect time to make fruit shakes and smoothies.
9. Nothing beats one creamy ice cream.
10. If you own a car, park it in the shade as Raj suggested. You can also get yourself your own sunshade at any car accessory store. “Sunshades reflect sunrays by blocking the sunlight coming through the windshield. They were designed primarily to help prevent heat build-up and protect your vehicle. Since they act as a radiant barrier, they can help reduce the heat in your car in addition to blocking 99 percent of damaging UV rays in the protected area.”
11. Go to the beach. It can be totally refreshing.
    
12. You can also opt to hang out in the mall. Imagine the free very cool air conditioning it offers.
    
13. Last but not the lease, a simple rain dance won’t hurt. However as Raj said, rain is usually near after extreme heat so rain shower is probable during the dry season.
    

Guilt Free Blogging

How many of you, my fellow bloggers, worry too much whenever you miss a post or when your visitor hits for the day is lower compared to yesterday? How many of you constantly think of interesting topics even when you’re doing your business in the loo? How many of you are addicted to blogging?

Blogs are dominating the search engines and that’s no surprise since millions of people worldwide have become blogging addicts. In 1994, it seems Justin Hall is the only person who got hooked with it, however after a few years, millions of faceless writers are populating the internet providing countless information and thereby making the internet a more liberal place.

Blogs today are more than a personal online diary but rather it is used to promote businesses, a political force, source of income, and as a tool for outreach and opinion forming.  Indeed, blogging has gone a long way from where it first began.

From your very fist post, how far have you seriously become a blogging addict? Below are a few symtoms.

1. You check your blog more than 10 times a day or 10 times an hour
2. You wake up in the morning and check you blog comments instead of brushing your teeth
3. You go watch the latest movies, eat out at different restaurants, travel to different places to blog about it
4. You dream at night that your latest post received a lot of comments from interested readers
5. You are interested in your blog stats graph than the rising inflation graph
6. You are interested in increasing your blog hits more than an increase in your salary
7. You debate in your head, everyday, what’s the most “sellable” topic to write on
8. You go on surf other blogs instead of doing your work and comment on them for you to generate links. NetworkWhoring.
9. You feel proud that your hit counter is increasing despite that it was you who repeatedly loaded your page. (You were constantly checking for new comments)
   
10. You write a post on Blogging addiction
    

**Write more Blog addiction symptoms on the comment area. **

I wouldn’t say that I’m a hardcore blogging addict. However, I am in a mild sense. I am currently developing this blogging fixation. Although my blog is online since 2006, I never really got to focus and admire the wonders of blogs until now since i am very much into the bigger picture of SEO. I am guilty for 7 symptoms out of 10. Go figure.

If you’re seriously addicted to blogging  here are 12 tips to manage your addiction.

1. Admit you have an addiction
2. Decide that you’re not a quitter and will manage your addiction by becoming a functional blogger
3. Select a high quality blog dealer
4. Schedule an hour to research, write, and publish your post.
5. Promote your post time effectively.
6. Spend an hour each week to plan your blog articles.
7. Network for blog vacation days
8. Podcast
9. Hold a contest
10. Break a long blog post into small multi-part series
11. Review Something
12. Make Amends

Read more about managing blog addiction here.

The evolution on the uses of blogs has also made blogging a bigger responsibility for most bloggers.  Blogging is now more than a way to express oneself but it is a responsibility that you must diligently carry on. You join the rat race and you get stuck in this jading routine. So blog for yourself, post when you want to and don’t feel guilty whenever you can’t comment on other sites.