Health Benefits of Adjustable Beds

Adjustable beds are becoming more and more popular these days. It is no wonder why. The benefits you get from a good night of sleep and proper posture are numerous. Everyone needs to get a solid period of restful sleep each night. Believe it or now, humans spend around thirty percent of their lives in bed. That is a lot of time for the average life span! It makes sense then, that you should invest in a quality mattress and bed that will let you sleep comfortably. Old beds just do not cut it anymore. The future is now, and there are all kinds of great new sleeping products to help you get a better night of rest.

Amazingly, lots of people sleep on these old style beds and put up with discomfort on a daily basis. They wake up with aches and pain every day, but they never get around to doing anything about it. You do not have to keep suffering with your old mattress. There are tons of adjustable beds to choose from, and you can get one that is specifically customized to your needs. Why damage your health and keep hurting your posture? Making the switch to a comfortable adjustable bed is a wise move if you want to feel your best each day.

The results are in, and people everywhere have reported improved posture, reduced back and neck pain, better circulation, and a more restful sleep. An adjustable bed really does make a big difference. When you sleep on a flat old bed, your body is not properly supported. There is a lot of tension, and the curves in our body do not align correctly with the mattress. That is why you experience so much discomfort at times. Sleeping this way for years on end will lead to chronic health problems. Circulation and posture are important for a healthy lifestyle, so it makes sense to switch to a new bed before things get any worse.

An adjustable bed allows you to elevate various parts of your body to get the correct alignment. With special memory foam mattresses, you can increase circulation and reduce pressure on the rest of your body. That means less swelling in the legs and feet, less back pain, and more restful periods of sleep each night. You'll feel better than ever with an adjustable bed, so try one out soon. It's just one more way to live healthier.

On your quest for better sleep with a better bed, you should consider a GoldenRest premium adjustable bed. You will be pleasantly surprised at the craftsmanship and durability of adjustable electric beds when you choose GoldenRest.

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Tips On Recycling Office Paper

There are several good reasons why office paper must be recycled. First, papers used in offices are usually high-grade, and it's a shame to see these quality paper reduced to waste. A staggering 77% of these papers are recyclable. Second, an average business office employee can produce a pound and a half of paper waste in working for a business office daily. Finance offices generate waste paper from two to three pounds per employee daily. Third, production costs can be lowered simply by reducing office paper costs and using used paper whenever possible. Removing office paper from the garbage can reduce waste collection fees by 50%. Fourth, a ton of paper recycled is 6.7 cu yds saved landfill space. Removing this much paper from our waste would prolong the service of present landfill sites. Whether your paper supplies are plain white paper, copier paper, office paper, inkjet paper, or letter paper, these are all easily recycled. There are easy steps to recycling office paper. Recycling can start as soon as your employees are informed and consulted regarding the adoption of recycling schemes. Make sure that all employees know about the recycling program of your company. Recycling systems as simple as monitoring paper use and separating white paper from colored paper are widely-practiced in most offices. Placing labeled trash cans has proved to be an effective recycling method. Be sure, however, that the cans are placed where waste paper amounts to a significant number like in the computer rooms and records sections. Put the recycling can together in an accessible area so people will actually use them. Consulting the employees who work in that particular area where to position the recycling cans is a good idea. It's always a good idea to separate white papers like bond paper, copier paper, paper supplies, office paper, inkjet paper, and letter paper, together rather than mixing them with other paper like cardboard and newspapers. This way, even if you don't reuse the paper but sell them to recycling shops they will a higher value, since white paper costs more. It's also important to inform the maintenance crew. After all, you wouldn't want to waste your employees' recycling efforts undone by having an uninformed janitor haul your papers and dump them with food garbage. It's advised to train them how the recycling system works. Lastly, these reams of bond paper, copier paper, paper supplies, office paper, inkjet paper, and letter paper materials can bring you good money. So it's recommended to have a log book or record book handy to record the amount or weight of office paper that came from your company. This way, you can keep track of your paper wastes and evaluate if your recycling paper program is actually working to reduce paper use and waste in your office. Also, by keeping a record and receipt, you can be sure to be properly paid for them by the recycling companies. Article Source: EzineArticles.com

Bedsheets Decorative Tips Article Source

Are you a person who strive to get artistic touch to everything? Do you find yourself bored with your present home furnishings? Are you trying to get rid of that old bed sheet but can't do it as it is not so old? Have you bought bedsheets that don't interest you enough to use on your bed now? Do you want something beautiful and inexpensive too? If even one of these questions generate a 'yes' as an answer then this is where you'll find creative ways to use your bedsheets.

Pillows and Cushions: Use bedsheets to make covers for pillows and cushions of shapes that interest you- rectangle, square, heart shape or round. What all you want is pillow forms, scissors, threads, and needle or you can simply get stitching kits including all the required items and make that exquisite pillow cover. You can even use ribbons, laces, beads, sequins etc. to embellish these covers to your entire satisfaction.

Curtains: Use your bedsheets to make curtains of various styles- swags, valence, paneled curtains or cafe curtains. If you are comfortable with sewing, make it yourself and if not, then get some professional help or you can manage to learn it from net about how to make curtains.

Quilts: They are simply adorable- the colorful quilts. You can use a number of sheets for making interesting patterns. Use embroidery, appliques or beads to embellish the quilts and you'll amazed to know how you don't recognize your bedsheets now!

Round Table Covers: Do you have a round table, and not getting the right sized table cover? Use your bed sheet to cut a circle from it, wide enough to cover the table down to the floor, sew the hemline and here is your round table cover ready for your use!

Mats: Have you bought mats made of rubber or coir but now you don't like their feel. Just cover them up with bedsheets and colorful, soft mats are ready for use. You can permanently sew them up with the mats or temporary arrangements, like attaching with the help of Velcros, can also be made.

These were only few of ideas that can be applied for using new bedsheets to decorate as well as reusing them for required purposes. Let your imagination do rounds to find out more interesting ways to use those bedsheets!

Looking for more home furnishings equipment like cushions, mats, quilts, curtains.

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Selecting and Buy Wood Flooring

Are you in love with the warm rich look of wood floors? You aren't alone, wood floors have steadily increased in popularity over the last five years. They can be found in new construction as well as in homes undergoing renovations. So what's driving this trend toward wood floors? Actually it isn't just one factor, there are two very important factors. One is wood flooring technology and the other one is affordability. Both are remarkably connected. Advances in wood flooring technology have made it possible for just about anybody to afford the look of wood without the hefty price tag. Not so long ago one would expect to pay a small fortune to have wood floors installed. The materials alone were three to five times as expensive as other flooring options such as carpet or tile. Keep in mind that solid hardwood floors are still quite expensive but homeowners now have options in the forms of engineered woods and laminates.

In order to make a sound decision regarding your future floors you will need to know a few things. First you will need to understand the differences between solid wood, engineered wood and laminates. Then you will need to determine if you are qualified to install the flooring yourself or if you will need to outsource the labor. Finally you will need to outline what your flooring budget is and which wood flooring option best suits your current financial requirements.

Types of Wood Flooring

Solid wood is without a doubt the most luxurious and most expensive. Typically you can buy this wood in a variety of thicknesses like 3/4 and 3/8 inch in strips or multi-strip planks which are nailed to a wood or plywood sub-floor. As with engineered and laminate woods the multi-strip planks are precision cut to make installation easier and faster. A benefit that is seen in lower labor costs. Solid woods have a characteristic called hardness which is the degree to which the wood can withstand dents. Stability of a natural wood floor is it's ability to withstand changes in states due to contraction and expansion. Natural solid woods are graded from select to rustic. The more select the wood the less the notable flaws such as knots or color variations. A top-notch premium select wood is expected to have a clear grain and uniform coloring.

Engineered or laminate wood is a man-made strip or plank made from laminations of wood cuttings from one or more species. With advances in technology these woods can be as hardy and stable as solid woods. Some can even be sanded down and refinished in the same fashion as solid wood. This is a viable and fashionable option for those who want the look of wood without the price tag. Engineered woods have evolved quite a bit in the last decade and now it is virtually impossible to tell the difference between solid wood and engineered wood by just looking. Engineered woods also come in every style of wood available in its natural counter-part .


Characteristics of Wood Flooring with Regards to Decorating

Wood Species We are all familiar with the common woods; maple, oak, cherry, pine and walnut but exotics are rapidly replacing these tried and true wood species. Expect to see more woods with names like Brazilian Cherry, rosewood, purple heart, Bolivian Teak, mahogany, bamboo and cork gracing the floors of homes throughout the United States. ColorThe color temperature of wood can range from the cool end to the warmest end of the spectrum . Color choices range from the blondest woods to the deepest black walnut. Graining The tighter the grain of the wood the more smooth the texture of the wood. Conversely the more dispersed the grain the rougher the texture of the wood. LayoutThe direction the wood is laid in can create an optical illusion. If you want to create the appearance of a larger room then setting the wood flooring diagonally will achieve that goal. To direct the eye to look first in and then out or across the room lay the flooring in narrow strips running in one direction. PatternWood flooring is now available in the patterns from the simplest to the most complex. All visual treats that add a unique and custom feel to your home. FinishMost wood finishes are either matte or glossy. There are varying degrees of matte and glossy to suit every decorating taste and style.


INSTALLATION

In general if you have a large area to cover and you are faced with complex room layouts then you should seek out a professional floor installer. For solid wood floor installations the expertise of a professional is highly recommended. Most engineered woods or laminate woods are created with the do-it-yourself in mind. They typically are very easy to install however having said that if you are faced with a floor that is not perfectly square or even (is there one?) then you may find yourself in a tough situation which will require cutting the wood to fit. If you don't feel comfortable measuring and cutting the wood and possibly making mistakes then you should seek a professional installer to lay your engineered wood. It may be a bit expensive in the short term but in the long term you will save money by avoiding the additional purchase of another bundle or two of wood to replace the ones you butchered.

BUDGET

Decide what you can afford for both materials and labor and then add 15% to that total to give you your most likely budget costs. Shop around and compare. Keep doing that until you find the flooring that fits your style and budget.

Carmen Natschke is an award winning designer and co-founder of roominakit.com an online home decor shop and decorating resource. Carmen is passionate about decorating and has shared that passion with hundreds of women through her Decorating Divas workshops and seminars. She is currently working on her book "Decorate Like A Pro" which is based on the innovative approach to decorating taught in her workshops and seminars. Read other decorating articles [http://roominakit.com/home-decor-shop/articles.php] by Carmen or visit her decorating blog [http://roominakit.com/home-decor-shop/wordpress] for daily decorating advice and articles.

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Using Buttons and Badges in the Health Care Industry

Buttons for hospitals can be a great way to spread motivation, identify people, and help with the healing process. There are a great many uses and fun projects that hospitals can do utilizing buttons. From Public Relations to patient care, buttons can serve you well in a hospital environment.

Any hospital with a children's ward should have a button maker machine. Children in the hospital are often frightened, disoriented and of course ill. For patients who are able to sit up and draw, button making can help fill those hours between visitors, occupy their mind and make them feel useful. A positive outlook plays a critical role in a patient's recovery and for children, it is important to inspire creativity to take their minds off their environment. Button making for the children can be both beneficial to their mental health and fun.

Provide a template to a child and some crayons or markers. Family members can bring photos or other flat items to add to the button. The children can be left to their own creativity or a daily or weekly theme can be used. For children who are long term patients, giving them a button to make everyday can ease anticipation and give them something positive to look forward to the next day. This will also help in establishing some form of routine, which in smaller children will help them feel safe in their environment. Completed buttons can be worn by the children, their families, the staff, or displayed on bulletin boards outside the door of their room. Displaying the buttons will make walking the halls interesting and fun for both children and family.

Buttons can be another great gift item in the hospital gift store. These are an inexpensive and easy item to make for sale in the shop. "Congratulations!" in pink or blue on a button for births would be a great idea for the new older brother or sister to purchase for mom. This same button can be added to a stuffed bear or bunny. "It's a Girl!", "It's a Boy!", and "Get Well" would all be great sayings for buttons to be added to stuffed animals or cards that are sold in the gift shop. For example, you can post a sign that reads "Buy a Stuffed animal and get a button for only a dollar more." Buttons make great keepsakes and are so inexpensive to produce that even at the price of one dollar you can make a handsome profit for the gift shop.

Buttons for patients and staff are another use for the button making machines. An interesting proposition for the new parents is to have a "New Dad" and "New Mom" button made up for them with the name, birth date, weight and length of their new child. These are great keepsakes for parents to put in baby albums. Proud parents can wear these buttons in the hospital and you can sell additional buttons for their family members such as grandparent's aunts and uncles. Imagine the pride on a new older brother's face as he wears a button that reads "Ask me about my new baby sister". These buttons show that you go the extra mile for your patients and their family.

Greg Allison is the marketing director for Button Biz. Button Biz is an online distributor of button maker systems and button supplies. Each button system includes a button maker, button parts, and circle cutter. Choose a round or rectangle machine in several different sizes.

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How To Choose a Computer Mouse

Every computer user can hopefully identify their mouse and the importance it plays in the daily operation of their computer. Mice are nothing new and for the most part are nothing overly complex, but the average user may not be familiar with all of the options and technologies that may go into these little devices. This Tech Tip will take a look at some of the features of mice that people may take for granted, or may otherwise be unaware of.

Tracking Technologies

Mechanical mice - Mechanical mice were the first ones used on computers, and can still be found for sale, despite the advances of tracking technologies. These mice feature a hard ball on the underside that rolls as the mouse is moved, and rollers inside the mouse allow the physical motion to be translated to the pointer on the screen. Some "ball mice" are a bit more advanced and replace the internal rollers with optical sensors, but the same principle applies.

Mechanical mice require occasional maintenance to keep the ball and rollers free of lint and other debris, and with numerous moving parts there is always a potential for problems. The use of a mouse pad is recommended for these mice as they not only provide a clean surface to work on, but also provide the needed resistance for the ball to roll smoothly.

The precision of mechanical mice is not particularly good, and although they may be fine for typical desktop work, they were never quite up to the task of detailed graphics work or serious game playing.

Optical mice - Optical mice replace the whole ball/roller assembly of mechanical mice with a beam of a light and an optical sensor. The beam of light shines down on the surface below the mouse and the sensor uses the light to track the movement. The images included with the listing for this optical mouse (http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=HTM-39GWT&cat=MOU) provide a glimpse at the bottom of the mouse, where the light and sensor can be seen.

Optical mice have several advantages over mechanical mice. There are no moving parts to break or otherwise cause problems. The need for maintenance is greatly reduced as the bottoms have no openings or rollers to collect lint. Although mice generally aren't heavy, the elimination of the ball and roller mechanism allows an optical mouse to be much lighter than a comparable mechanical mouse. The precision of optical mice is also much greater than mechanical mice, and the resolution can go from the low hundreds to the high hundreds (as measured in dpi, dots per inch).

Another advantage is that the need for a mouse pad may be eliminated with an optical mouse, as they do best while tracking on any smooth, flat surface. A clean desktop is generally good enough, but those looking to take the precision of optical mice to the highest level may opt for a performance "mousing surface". There are several precision mousing surface manufacturers, such as XRay Pads (http://www.xraypad.com/) and FUNC Industries (http://www.func.net/), that design pads to appeal to game players and others who demand the best performance.

Laser mice - Laser technology is the latest and greatest in computer mice tracking, and takes the advantages of optical to a new level. Most of the attributes of a laser mouse have been described in the optical mouse section, except for one. Instead of a fairly wide beam of light, it uses an extremely narrow beam of laser light.

The Logitech MX1000 laser mouse may be the mouse for you if you are looking for extreme precision. According to Logitech, the laser technology used in the MX1000 provides up to "20x more sensitivity to surface detail--or tracking power--than optical."

Hard Wired Connection Technologies

Serial - Serial mice are fairly difficult to come by these days, as are the ports they need in order to operate. This technology is quite old and slow, and the popularity and convenience of USB has all but eliminated the need for this interface on your typical PC. But, there were mice that sported the 9-pin connection needed to connect to a serial port, and many PS2 mice used to include an adaptor for Serial ports.

PS2 - PS2 mice were the standard for a long time, as all motherboards provided two PS2 ports for connecting a keyboard and a mouse. USB technology has become so widely used that the slower and less convenient PS2 ports are on the verge of extinction with the Serial port. That said, not many mice are still sold that only support a PS2 connection, but there are still some available.

USB - Most mice can now connect via USB, and include an adaptor to be used on a PS2 port, as well. It seems that just about any mouse now uses USB to connect, whether it is a wired mouse, or any variety of wireless mice that we are about to look at.

Wireless Connection Technologies

Radio Frequency - The most common type of wireless mouse uses radio frequencies to communicate motion to a receiver that is connected to the PC. This generic wireless mouse (http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=RF-M308-RC-USB&cat=MOU) operates on the 27MHz frequency and the mouse itself is powered by AAA batteries which are not included. As you move up the price scale of RF (Radio Frequency) wireless mice, the packages will generally include an integrated rechargeable battery, as does the Logitech MX1000 discussed previously. Other features of higher end RF wireless mice include extended range, greater precision, and a receiver that doubles as a battery charger.

Bluetooth - The Tech Tip on Bluetooth discussed the basics of this wireless technology, and how it was a good fit for 'lower speed' devices, like a mouse. Logitech and IOGear are two manufacturers offering products for Bluetooth users, in addition to more traditional mice. The Bluetooth mice are also battery powered, and use the 2.4GHz radio frequency to communicate with an included receiver/charger or other Bluetooth adaptor.

RFID - A truly unique approach to wireless mice has been developed by a company called A4Tech. The A4Tech ND-30 RFID wireless mouse must be used with the included mouse pad in order to function, but there are no batteries in the mouse, and no cords on the mouse to get in the way. It works by using electro magnetic induction between the pad (which is plugged into a USB port) and the wireless, non-powered mouse. You never have to worry about replacing / charging batteries, and the weight of the mouse is greatly reduced since the power features are no longer necessary.

Features

Buttons - Most mice (except for a Macintoch's) include at least two buttons. The use of these is fairly well understood, but other buttons may be featured on a mouse to further simplify common tasks. The Logitech MX 510 mouse features a total of 8 buttons which can be programmed to execute functions of the user's choosing.

Scroll wheels - Many mice now include a scroll wheel between the two main buttons which serves to allow up/down scrolling of documents and web pages. The scroll wheel may also serves as a third button on some mice, and clicking the scroll wheel will activate commands in many applications. More advanced scroll wheels are found on some mice that allow for left to right scrolling, which may be useful on a wide spreadsheet or large image.

Extra features - Many mice provide more than the basic functionality we have come to expect. Some provide a reduced foot print in order to make them more portable for use with a notebook computer. Some are designed for multi-tasking and provide an integrated flash memory card reader. Then, there are others that just look cool with a bit of a light show, or that actually keep you cool by including a small fan in the palm rest area.

Final Words

On the surface, computer mice are fairly simple devices that may not receive the attention they deserve by end users. Selecting a high quality, ergonomically designed mouse can do wonders for productivity and comfort, and the options available should allow anyone to find the right mouse for their personal preferences.

Article Source:EzineArticles.com

Silver - Collecting Spoons

Spoons are a great item to collect. They vary in size from quite tiny to quite large but generally they do not take up too much space.

You can find spoons from the 16th century right through to now. Some can be very expensive and others quite low cost. Some special things to look out for are the older and rarer items and you may be lucky or diligent enough to have one or two in your collection.

Apostle spoons, these have ends on the stem that depict the 12 apostles and a full set will also have the Master spoon making 13 in all. The Master spoon is larger and depicts Jesus. You will be very unlikely to get a set of these but may find an isolated spoon, again not very likely but worth looking for. These spoons originate in the 15th century and then stop being produced around 1660-70. These spoons were popular as baptismal gifts for the wealthy in the 16th century. The Maidenhead and Lion Sejant spoon is also from around this period and has the figure of a female, or Lion instead of an apostle.

Early spoons often have hexagonal handles and a finial. The sliphead spoon is another early spoon that has no finial and the handle is cut away on an angle.

The most prolific cast terminal/finial is the sealtop and hence the sealtop spoon. This ends in a circular disc at the top of the handle and often had the initials of the owner and could therefor be used as a seal. Earlier spoons had a small seal and this tended to get larger in later productions.

Following this period the spoon stem transitioned from being narrow to the widening Puritan type handle of the 18th century and resembles the spoon handle of today. These changes occurred very gradually and the bowl also became deeper and more functional.

Rat-Tail spoon. This relates to how the handle was attached to the bowl and describes a long narrowing join from the handle onto the back of the bowl. As the stem widened the Trefid became popular on the end of the handle, this describing an end having three lobes. Early examples have th date letter struck high on the handle. The rat-tail disappeared around 1725 but some later examples were produced.

Spoons with die struck motifs also tend to be early spoons and the handle type gives a better indication of the period in which it was produced, narrow hexagonal stems being earlier than puritan stems.

Teaspoons have been produced from around 1670 and early ones are seldom fully marked, only having the makers mark and the lion passant. You may be very fortunate and find one with a twisted handle but these are quite rare. Picture back teaspoons became popular in the 18th century, the picture being stamped on the outer of the bowl.

The Mote-spoon, this is a puzzling spoon, also known as the stirrer-spoon, mullberry-spoon and olive-spoon. It has a long tapering stem ending in a barbed spike and often has a rat-tail attachment to the bowl. The bowl is usually pierced and the spoon is not likely to be fully marked. There should be a makers mark and lions head erased on early ones, lion passant on later ones. It is assumed that this spoon is a fore-runner of the tea strainer. The tea strainer came into service around the 1790's.

Suckett- spoon, appears in the 1660's and has the rat-tail to bowl attachment and a fork on the opposite end of the stem. They are usually quite small, 5 to 5.5 inches and made from very thin gauge silver.

Basting-spoon, these date from the 1670's often having long trefid handles and deep pierced bowls that later gave way to an unpierced bowl.

Marrow-spoon. This is an adaptation of the trefid / rat-tail spoon with a hollowed out stem. It was created and used to extract the bone marrow from cooked bones, this being regarded as a delicacy.

Medicine spoons are usually from the 18th and 19th century. Often double ended with a different dose measure on each end. There is also the caster-oil spoon that formed a closed recepticle with a hollow handle. This allowed the giver of the dose to restrict the flow of caster-oil until the recipient has the bowl in the mouth.

Spoons continued to be developed through to the present day and come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes.

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