HealthTap

HealthTap Express Puts a Doctor on Your Smartphone, Ready to Answer Questions
http://lifehacker.com/5844191/

Back in 2008, I put a note in my computer to come up with a Web site to provide a Q&A exchange with doctors on basic questions about health... looks like HealthTap beat me to it and they did a great job! I asked a question a half hour ago and it was already answered by two doctors! Here is my question with answers below:

How long can I use the same water bottle before washing or acumulating harmful bacteria?

Ryan Sep 27, 2011 Report

Dr. Robert Kwok answered:

Wash it twice a week

A healthy person using a water bottle to carry clean drinking water is unlikely to get an illness from "harmful" bacteria in the bottle. Neither the water nor the bottle are sterile, so there will be some bacteria, but probably won't cause disease. Rinsing the bottle with a little drinking water at each refill will help keep the bottle clean. Actual cleaning of the bottle can be done twice a week.

2 minutes ago

Dr. David Finke answered:

Less than a week1st answer

First, make sure the bottle is BPA free and avoid reusing commercial one-time use water bottles over and over. Keep the water bottle out of hot environments and rinse it frequently. I wash mine with soap and water every 2-3 days.

DampRid to the Rescue: Cell Phone + Water = Disaster

I must share this embarrasing moment with the world so that others might have the same luck as I have recently had after DROPPING MY CELL PHONE IN THE TOILET while it was flushing! (My phone is pretty outdated and slow and I was planning on getting a new one.)

Fortunately, 80% of the water had flushed, so it was only submersed for about 2 seconds. As soon as I grabbed the phone, I immediately POWERED IT OFF, just as I had recalled reading in the incredibly useful Apple Core Blog at ZDNet by Jason O'Grady in his article HERE: How to survive an iPhone liquid submersion (hint: it's not rice). The blog gives step by step instructions on how to increase your odds of success.

Unfortunately, I had to run to a meeting and did not have time to go to Lowes, so I did in fact put my phone in an airtight lock-n-lock container with about a cup if rice. Three hours later, I went to Home Depot, (in the pouring rain no less) and purchased 1 box of DampRid that comes in 2 "Sachet" bags. I followed The Apple Core steps, sandwhiched the phone and kept it sealed in a ziplock bag for about 30 hours.

I nervously turned on the phone, and noticed a faint charge symbol illuninated on the screen - almost as if the screen was broken at 10% brightness, so I plugged it in. Five minutes later, my phone came back from the dead with the sound of 40 texts and no voice message notifications*!

*One thing that really saved me was being able to forward my phone to Google Voice. I called ATT at 11 PM that evening and spoke to their after hours tech support crew. They were able to forward my phone to my designated Google Voice number. The great thing about Google Voice is that any messages are transcribed to text. Very helpful. I was going to forward all calls to a new Skype number, but that was $18/3 months, so I held off on that option.

NEXT DIY: Undermount Microwave

After about three years of use, the GE (piece of crap) Spacemaker XL1800 started falling apart. First the door handle ripped off, then the door itself started cracking apart. I called GE to find out the replacement part costs and decided to hold off and just replace the entire unit. Forward two years and three mighty putty applications later...


I decided to run over to the "new" Sears warehouse in East Norriton to see if they had any good deals, but their supply of black undermount microwaves were limited and upwards of $350. Plan B: I re-activated my Consumer Reports account online for a one month subscription of $5.95 and found the number one microwave in its class: SMH9187B. I searched around and I found it online for $279. One appliance store was charging $99 for shipping. Then I found one at Lowes on Columbus Blvd, but they only had one in stock and it was the floor model. I talked my wife into driving down with me to check it out. Turns out it was in great condition, and the agent who helped me took $70 off for the floor model!!

During the drive home I memorized the instructions manual. The total swap took about 45 minutes, but mostly because the old and new microwave were indentical in size so we were able to use the existing wall mount bracket. Huge time saver.

STEP 1:

Remove power from old microwave.

STEP 2:

Detach the duct tape from the vent.

STEP 3:

Place support underneath the microwave so that it wont fall when removing the securing bolts from the top. In this case, I stacked some coolers and a book.



STEP 6:

Remove the three bolts from the top.



STEP 7:

Tilt the face of the unit down, then lift off of the wall mount support lip.



STEP 8:

Replace the new microwave... Having two people definitely helps make it easier.



STEP 9:

Make sure the duct is retaped securely, then plug in, power up and test!

Dimmer Switch: Check

After years of thinking about doing some type of minor home electrical project and never having the nerve to try something for fear of burning the house down, I finally bit the bullet with a dimmer light switch and it worked on the first try!

STEP ONE:

Turn off the power at the electrical panel for the specific area.

STEP TWO:

Remove the face plate.


























STEP THREE:

Remove the screw securing the existing switches to the outlet box, the pull them out so that you can see the wires and screw caps with clarity.


























STEP FOUR:

For a novice like me, using an electric tester could be the difference between success and singeing the hair off of your arms.


























STEP FIVE:

Read the instructions on the dimmer packet carefully. I learned from the instructions that we have a single pole dimmer and not a 3 way. You can also find good instructions Here.

STEP SIX:

While removing the wires from the existing switch, I noticed that one of the black shielded wires had been exposed for a connection that was no longer needed so I wrapped the exposed area with electrical tape.


























STEP SEVEN:

Test by turning the switch at the panel ON.

STEP EIGHT:

Replace all of the parts, and if your not a rookie (like me), you will make sure that the dimmer slides down for off and up for high. I might fix that later if if bothers me, but for now, everything works and there is no strange burning smell so I'm psyched. That was pretty easy!

BMW i3 Electric City-Car Concept

http://www.caranddriver.com/news/car/11q3/bmw_i3_concept-official_photos_and_info

Replacing a kitchen faucet = medium difficulty

After viewing a few youtube videos on swappng out a faucet, I decided to take a shot on this plumbing project. Fortunately, this story has a haping ending, but not without a trip to Lowes, a metal shard almost stuck in my eye, and a few creative solutions.

STEP 1: turn off the water valves under the sink.

















STEP 2: remove the existing hardware. This part could have been easier, but I was unable to disconnect the final nut securing the faucet to the countertop. Here is a picture from underneath the sink looking up at the underside of the cabinet:

















While I was trying to loosen the nut, shards of metal were dropping down on my face. I decided to put on protective goggles, and went into the bathroom to flush my eye with water. Still unable to get this nut loose with my adjustable wrench, I decided to go to Lowes to purchase a plumbers wrench which did the trick... albeit a little challenging.
















STEP 3: Insert new hardware

I purchased a new gasket to act as a washer between the faucet and the countertop. Not sure if this was the correct product, but it seems to work well so far and the old one completely disintegrated.

















I also had to insert a spacer underneath the countertop for the faucet to sit plumb and needed to remove the old copper tubing completely and connect the hot and cold tubes to the water valves. Using plumbers tape helped and a lucky guess led me to securing hot to hot and cold to cold on the first try.

STEP 4: Test

















Success!

Total work time: 75 minutes (not including trip to Lowes). Difficulty level: 3 out of five.

Walking May Increase Brain Size and Boost Memory

http://lifehacker.com/5816456/