Dump the Junk 2010

Pass on unwanted, space-hogging items and give them a new lease of life. NB. These tips came from an article written in 2010, so some of the information may be out of date - worth re-checking postal addresses and phone numbers.

Appliances: Many retailers take away an old appliance and recycle it for free when they deliver a new one. Local charities or furniture re-use centres may take unwanted working appliances, or try Freecycle.

Books: Pass them on to family and friends, or donate them to charity shops. Or try swapping them via websites such as www.readitswapit.co.uk or selling them on www.greenmetropolis.com, which donates 5p per sale to the Woodland Trust.

Bras: They have to be clean, with working clasps and straps, but can be distributed to underprivileged women in the UK and overseas. Write the size on a label and paperclip it to one strap, then send it to: BreastTalk.co.uk Bra Appeal, PO Box 71, Craven Arms, Shropshire SY7 0WZ.

CDs and DVDs: If you can't give them away, sell them on www.ebay.co.uk or www.musicmagpie.co.uk. Or recycle them; send to Polymer Recycling Ltd, Reeds Lane, Moreton, Wirral CH46 1DW, or email Darren@ayrtons.com for more information. They also accept VHS videos and vinyl records.

Computers: Look in the phone book for computer recycling companies or ask local charities. Remember to permanently delete your data from the hard drive and to include all cables, manuals and software CDs.

Furniture: The Furniture Re-Use Network coordinates 400 furniture and appliance re-use and recycling organisations in the UK - visit www.frn.org.uk or call 0845 602 8003. Alternatively, offer unwannted items to others in your community via your local Freecycle group.

Glasses: Donate them to Vision Aid Overseas through participating opticians, both independent and high-street chains. They'll be cleaned, graded and packed, then shipped overseas to the developing world. For more details, visit www.vao.org.uk/spectacles.

Mobile phones: Recycling Appeal (0845 130 2010 or www.recyclingappeal.com) buys working phones with the original battery, donating 60% of the profit to more than 100 charities. Or you could sell yours through www.envirofone.com or earn points on Boots Advantage Cards - visit  www.bootsrecycle.com/consumer to find out more.

Printer Cartridges: Don't buy new printer cartridges, refill them. Cartridge World (www.cartridgeworld.co.uk) refills most makes. DIY refill kits exist but they can be messy. Recycle Appeal and Boots (see above for both) recycle old injet cartridges.

Medicines: Medicines taken back to a pharmacy are incinerated or disposed of in landfill sites, but if you return still-in-date tablets and unused dressings to a GP practice registered with the charity Inter Care, some of them can be redistributed abroad. Call 0116 269 5925 or email info@intercare.org.uk for more information. Never throw medicine in the dustbin and don't flush it away down the sink or toilet, as it could pollute the water supply.

Toys: Children's hospitals, hospices, charity shops, local children's charities, playgroups or toy libraries may be able to use toys in good condition, or try Freecycle (see above). Many toys are made from multiple materials, so can be difficult to recycle, and for safety reasons broken toys may have to be binned with non-recyclable rubbish rather than given away.

Videos: Many charity shops no longer accept audio or VHS video cassettes. Send them to The Recycling People, although there is a charge starting at £15 for up to 50 cassettes. Call 0844 800 3235 or email rogerdennett@therecyclingpeople.co.uk. There is no charge for CDs and DVDs.

To find out what your local recycling centre will take, contact your local authority or visit www.recyclenow.com.

Feature in Good Housekeeping, January 2010

Tomato Facts

Tomatoes don't taste of anything until you eat them. (Drain the liquid from the flesh and eat them separately, they'll both be pretty tasteless.) Tomatoes create the molecules that give them their savoury umami flavour when an enzyme in the juice reacts with the flesh - i.e. when you chew them.

But the enzyme is destroyed at temperatures below 4 degrees C, so NEVER keep your tomatoes in the fridge.

Feature in The Guardian food supplement, 20 Sep. 2014

Should We Eat Meat?

• Around 30% of the crops we grow are fed to animals.
• Livestock is proabbaly responsible for around 14.5% oof man-made greenhouse emissions.
• Cattle digestive system produces methane as a by-product of digesting grass. (Similar, though slightly less with sheep.)
• Intensively reared cattle in the US (fed pellets, kept in fenced in yards with no grass) grow faster and produce up to 40% less methane.
• Environmental impact highest for cattle and sheep, then pigs, then chickens, then mussels.
• To be environmentally friendly, best bet is to stick to less than 100gms (3oz) of meat per day. (That's half what we currently eat.)

Dr Michael Mosley Should I Eat Meat? Documentary on BBC2 (August 2014)

Can eating meat be eco-friendly? BBC News website http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28858289

Buying Perfume?

Perfume Blog
boisdejasmin.com: Perfumer and fragrance writer Victoria Frolova posts thoughtful reviews on perfumes, and a useful forum for fragrance lovers to post questions and share discoveries.

Buying perfume

• Spray fragrance on to a blotter card and take away with you. Eliminate any that don't feel like you until you are left with one or two. Try these on your skin, and review the scent over several hours before you pick your favourite. (Perfumier Roja Dove)
• Spray fragrance on clean skin in the morning, when your sense of smell is at its peak. The next day, smell your clothes to get an idea of the full depth of the perfume. (Linda Pilkington of Ormonde Jayne)
• Move out of the cosmetic department to get a better assessment of scent, away from competing fragrances.
• Take your time and if in doubt have a cup of tea. Try not to smell more than three at once, as you'll overload your senses. (Lyn Harris of Miller Harris)
• To prevent your nose gettting overwhelmed, smell the lighter, citrus fragrances first, then work you way up to heavier florals and musks. (Jo Malone of Malone Loves)

Eco-conscious Perfumes

•  Fashion brand H&M has extended its sustainably sourced Conscious clothing to inlcude fragrances. Exclusive Perfume Oils are made from Ecocert organic oils and sold in recycled glass bottles.
• The Body Shop Elixirs of Nature perfumes use ingredients from community-traded farms.

Sources: Good Housekeeping, December 2013, May & Sept. 2017, Nov. 2019.

Finding Out about Websites

How many images are on a website? Do a search for site:www.sitename.com and click on the Images tab. This will then pull up a collection of all the images on a site. You can also combine this with a search term, so a search for site:www.bbc.co.uk blair will pull up a collection of all the images on the BBC site that refer to Blair (Tony or otherwise).

When was a webpage last updated? This depends on how a web page is put together. If it's a straightforward HTML page it's worth trying the following: go to the page you are interested in, and in the address bar, type javascript:alert(document.lastModified) exactly as given. That will then pop up a little dialogue box that tells you when the page was last updated. It's not foolproof but better than nothing.

Is there an easy way to find out how many pages/screens there are on an individual website? Go to a search engine such as Google and do a search for site:www.yoursite.com and you'll see how many pages the search engine has indexed. This won't be entirely accurate since the site author may have hidden pages behind a password or in a database, but it should be a reasonable indication of the size of the site.

Phil Bradley in CILIP Update (various dates)

Finance Tips

A savings account opened 10 years ago may be earning very little interest. Look around to find something better but beware introductory bonus rates. These typically last one year, after which they drop to virtually nothing. If you do go for one of these, keep a note of when you opened it so you can move it to a better account when the introductory rate ends.

Putting jobs off just makes us feel guilty, so get into a routine with your finances. As bills and statements come through the letter box, put them into a specific box or tray, and go through them once a week. A good day is Mon(ey)day.

If you are self-employed, you need to keep all paperwork (receipts, invoices, payments, insurance, etc.) for a year after the online tax return deadline, which is 31 January each year. But you'll have to keep documents and receipts for longer if HMRC decides to carry out a check on you.

Block Nuisance Phone Calls

Fed up with cold callers at home?

• To reduce them, register with the Telephone Preference Service at tpsonline.org.uk or call 0845 070 0707.
• When you buy online, opt out of receiving marketing materials
• And ask your telephone landline provider about its call blocking services.
• Look at new handsets which include TrueCall blocking software.

Figure Flattery 2

Pear shape

• Wide-neck tops balance out larger hips. Choose a bright colour to draw the eye upwards.
• Flat-front trousers with a slight flare give the illusion of smaller hips. Wear with slim-fitting tops for a longer, leaner look.
• Keep belts on the waist. If they sit low on the hips they will accentuae your widest part.
• Fit and flare dresses will skim over the hips, givng a neat A-line look.

Apple shape

• Drapes, ruching and gathers are great for covering lumps and bumps without adding too much volume. 
• If you wear a loose tunic to cover your tummy, team it with a pair of slim-leg trousers to balance the look.
• High-waisted shapewear works wondes, smoothing your sihouette.
• A tailored boyfriend-style blazer is a flattering alternative to floaty tops. Make sure it ends at your hips and not on your waist.

Curvy

• Don't do baggy. Big shapes make you look bigger. Try body-skimming shapes that accentuate curves.
• Prints and patterns should be simple and understated. Choose a darker background for a slimmed-down look.
• With trousers, opt for clean lines and minimal detailing. Navy, indigo and slate grey are good alternatives to black.

Bigger Boobs

• A body skimming silhouette is more flattering than a baggy one. 
• Invest in a well-made, properly fitted bra.
• Wrap dresses separate and slim the bust.
• A vertical print narrows the whole silhouette.
• Slim your torso with a fitted top or jacket and wide-leg trousers.

Good Housekeeping, October 2013

Menopause

The menopause brings a number of changes caused by declining levels of the hormone oestrogen, including hot flushes, night sweats and weight gain. These symptoms can be controlled with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) but not everyone wants to go down this road. The fact that Asian women seem to suffer less with these symptoms is thought to be down to their high dietary intake of foods containing phyto-oestrogens. A number of phyto-oestrogens (from a variety of plants and herbs) are now also available in supplement form. The following are good sources of phyo-oestrogens.

Foods: lentils, chickpeas, broad beans and soya beans.

Herbal suppplements: black cohosh, ginko biloba, ginseng, sage, red clover and soya.

NB: red clover isoflavones cause less environmental impact that intensive farming of soya beans.

Once you are over 60, your energy requirements drop by about 100 calories a day. Falling oestrogen levels make you more sensitive to insulin, so space out your carbohydrate foods over the  day.

Photograph Sharing Website

Although Flickr is still popular, a lot of people have got very unhappy since it's dropped the ability to have paid accounts, and they are looking elsewhere to park their photographs.

550px (http://500px.com) is a photograph sharing website that displays some really high quality content and users can vote on the images that they see and follow particular photographers. It doesn't have the same community groups element that Flickr has, but if you're a keen photographer, or you want to find excellent pictures, this is worth a look, though I should point out that there may sometimes be artistic nudity.

Phil Bradley in CILIP Update, July 2013

Freezing Herbs & Spices

• Fresh root ginger - can be frozen. Useful if you have bought a piece bigger than you need and won't be using it again soon.
• Freeze chillies and then grate them frozen over spicy dishes.

Skin Care Tips

Curb the sweet tooth. After the age of 35, the damage of eating too much sugar shows on the face. It enters the bloodstream and attaches itself to the collagen and elastin protein, weakening it and changing its structure. This shows up on the skin's surface as wrinkles, sagging and a loss of radiance.

Neck and decollete skin is thinner than on the face and easily gets sun damaged. It doesn't require a separate cream, but you should use SPF (sun protection cream) during the day and a moisturiser over neck and chest at night-time.

Hands can be dry, lined and have age spots before their time, as they are consistently exposed to UV light and cleaning products. Always use rubber gloves when doing chores and a hand cream with SPF - you should apply it after every hand wash.

Good Housekeeping, October 2013

Lift Your Mood with Clothes

Getting stuck in a style rut can lower your mood. A study by Prof. Karen Pine at the University of Hertfordshire showed that people who wore the same 10% or less of their clothes were more likely tosuffer from low mood than those who wore at least half their wardrobe on a regular basis.

Prof. Pine explains: 'We often keep the clothes we feel best in for special occasions only. But what you wear affects your emotional state. Our study found that women felt generally more upbeat whenthey wore a flattering dress than whenthey dressed in jeans and a baggy top.' The perfect excuse to give your jeans a rest and give your best dress more outings.

Good Housekeeping, October 2013

Sweat and Body Odour

Sweat glands produce sweat which, combined with bacteria, results in under-arm odour. This is due to the existence of an active ABCC11 gene. Most people have at least one “G” allele in that gene, giving a smelliness propensity (and also wet/sticky earwax), while others have the non-smelly, dry earwax AA genetic allele which means that though they sweat they don't get body odour.

East Asians tend more often to have the non-smelly AA allele, while European and African populations are more likely to have the G allele, which leads to body odor. In the UK around 2% of the population have the non-smelly gene.

So if you are someone with the non-smelly AA allele, you don't need deodorant. However, people who don't need to are still using deodorant. This unneccesary use of deodorant by those who don’t need it varies around the world (e.g. around 75% of non-odour producers in the UK, but very few in north-east Asia), and is probably due to socio-cultural beliefs and, in the West, pressure of marketing.

 

Univ. Bristol report 2013 (sample of 6,495 women who are part of the wider Children of the 90s study).

Meeting Diary Software

If you need to arrange a meeting or a get-together meal with friends. there are numerous resouces out there on the internet to help you do this. Here are a few to try.

Meet with Approval (www.meetwithapproval.com/)

Meeting Wizard (www.meetingwizard.com/)

Meet-O-Matic (www.meetomatic.com/calandar.php)

If you don't like any of these, a search for 'Web 2.0' meetings should pull up some useful sites.

Phil Bradley in CILIP Update

Taxing the Super Rich

[In a general election year (2015), politicians of all colours will be trying to get our votes - and one of the issues will be the economy. So we need the real facts about what they are saying.The following piece looks at the issue of taxing the wealthiest.]

The Super Rich Bubble
In the 1980s, Reaganomics and Thatcherism promoted the notion that society would benefit from allowing the super-rich to get richer - now referred to as 'trickle-down'. This has turned out to be a fallacy.

Who are we talking about? Let's start with the richest one per cent. But there is an enormous gap between the poorest of the one per cent (anyone earning £200,000 a year) and the top 0.01 per cent - the 85 individuals whose combined peresonal wealth is equivalent to that of half the world's population. [Yes, 85 people are as wealthy as half the world's population!]

What do the rich spend their money on? They flit one from penthouse to another across the globe, have private jets, catch helicopters into London (the fare for a 20-minute ride is £3,000), have their own social calendar (skiing in Loisters, Formula One in Monaco, polo in Oxfordshire) and luxury goods (yachts, cars, planes) while a few buy football clubs. Their luxury spending is typically on things that appreciate fastest in value (diamonds, watches, paintings, vintage cars, gold) and importantly retain value in recessions.

They are insulating their wealth and it's also the reason why trickle-down doesn't work. Super-rich spending stays in the super-rich bubble; it does not convert to jobs in factories or even greater sales on the high street. It is an illusion. More damagingly, governments - Conservative, New Labour and coalition - have pursued low tax cuts to woo the super-rich as a central plank of economic policy.

The mechanism that attracted the super-rich to London was the exploitation of an obscure hangover from Empire called the non-dom rule, first created 200 years ago to protect the wealth of plantations and slave owners returning from the Colonies. In the 1960s, Greek shipping tycoons chose London  because they could use the non-dom rule to avoid paying tax. They were followed by the Arab oil sheiks in the 1970s and now the Russian oligarchs.

These non-doms (about 120,000 of them in the UK) pay a flat fee of £30,000 for being here. That status means they don't pay tax in Britain on their overseas assets. World-renowned economists (such as France's Thomas Pikkety and Ha-joon Chang at Cambridge) have been analysing data and come to the shocking conclusions that instead of trickle-down, it is now clear that there is a deluge of cash running upwards to the vast reservoir of super-rich wealth. A key OECD report before Christmas 2014 stated that the UK economy would have been a staggering 20% bigger had the gap between the rich and the poor not widened so dramatically in the last 30 years.

Jaques Peretti in Radio Times, 3-9- January 2015

Work Smarter

If you've a  got a heavy workload just now, and are feeling the pressure, try these ideas to lessen the load.
Meetings

• Shrink appointments. Most people schedule an hour, usually more than needed. Book 45 minutes for long meetings and 20 minutes for short ones. 
• Insist on an agenda.
• Don't book back-to-back appointments. Add downtime between meetings to take stock of recent meetings, and respond to new enquiries.
• Start on time - even if not everyone is there. If key people are missing, cancel the meeting - it's not ok to waste other people's time.
• Delegate or duck out. Not sure what the meeting is or why you've been invited? Ask the organiser to clarify why you're on the list. If they've asked the wrong person, suggest a colleague. If they fudge the answer, decline; you might ruffle a few feathers but save yourself some time and sent a strong message.

To Do Lists: Making 'to do' lists sharpens our focus. Writing down items, completing them and crossing them off, gives a sense of accomplishment that can energise. But not all 'to do' lists are the same, so here are some suggestions.

•  Be your own boss for two minutes. Ask yourself 'Which three tasks does my employer care about most?' Every day cross reference the list with today's tasks and prioritise.
• Timetable your tasks to match your most productive times. keep a diary for a week to note the time you are at your best.
• While you travel, use a Dictaphone to make notes on things you need to do. (Kelly Hoppen)
• Use an Excel spreadsheet with a colour-coded list to see what is most urgent. Each morning take 15 minutes to review and move items up or down to prioritise. (Sophie Hobson)
• Use blank sheets of unlined paper and draw pictures and diagrams. (Edwina Dunn)
• Use a paper diary with a week per page. Don't double-book and space out meetings and deadlines.

How to Push Back

• Be less available. Unless you've promised to be available at a certain time or you will reply straight away, they should be able to wait until a time that suits you.
• Suggest alternatives. If you see a smarter way to do things, suggest it to your boss. Could two weekly meetings be merged? Does a pointless form slow you down? 
• If you can't say No, say Not Now or Not Me. If it isn't urgent, ask to postpone it. If a colleague is more suitable, ask them to replace you. If anyone questions this, politely explain you have a heavy workload at the moment and need to prioritise to get it all done.

Turn off Distractions

• Divert calls to voicemail.
• Check email only twice a day.
• Switch off alerts and reminders - they are distracting.
• Find a quiet room.
• Don't share your work emailwith friends.

Finally

• If you wake up early, get up and do something useful. Clear your email, think about long-term plans or read an interesting article.
• Plan your wardrobe the night before.
• Go Mediterranean and add nuts and fish to your diet - they can improve mood and focus in ten days. 
• Exercise at lunchtime releases feel-good endorphins which improve mood and reduce stress.
• Take proper breaks away from your desk or computer. Take a walk if you can. 
• Keep emails short. Be clear in the subject line - Action required or For information only.
• Plan to spend proper time with family and friends at the weekend to feel more relaxed and revived for Monday.

Feature in Glamour, September 2014

Financial Records

It's all to easy to drown in paperwork, but some stuff you have to keep - just not for ever. So here is a list of how long you need to keep specific types of document.

• Bank statements - One year.
• Bills - One year
• Payslips - one year (until your next P60 arrives)
• P60/P45 - Indefinitely
• Mortgage documents - Indefinitely
• Insurance agreements - While policy is active and until any switch to a new provider is complete.
• Investment and pension documents - Indefinitely
• Car servicing, repair bills and MOTs - Keep until you sell the car

For any papers you absolutely must keep, file in an A-Z concertina file, or filing drawer. For everything else, go digital.

• Opt to receive paperless bills and view them online.
• Sign up to online banking: 24/7 access should make it easier to monitor spending. For security reasons, only log into your account on your home computer or your own personal electronic devices and make sure you sign out every time.
• Upload scans of remaining documents to your computer.
• Be sure to back up your computer files on to a separate hard drive. Free online storage service Dropbox lets users store up to 2GB worth of files. Google's Cloud Platform and Apple's i-Cloud also let users save files to their online storage facility.
• Before you throw out old financial documents, shred any that contain sensitive financial details, account numbers and contact information.

Hygiene Tips

Withour being obsessive about it, it is important to keep things clean in kitches, bathrooms and toilets.

• Rinse after washing up. It flushes the germs on hands, textiles and dishes down the drain.
• Loos have lids for a reason. Close the lid before flushing to prevent contaminated droplets landing on taps, cosmetics or your toothbrush - they can travel for almost two metres (6 feet).
• Buy his and hers bath towels. Intaimacy is wonderful, but sometimes hygiene comes first. Give everyone in the family their own towel and facecloth so they keep their germs to themselves.
• Bin the kitchen cloth. Once used, a kitchen cloth or sponge turns into a germ factory and may contain 10,000 bacteria per square inch, including E. coli and salmonella. Disinfect them regularly with sterilising fluid or buy disposables.
• Ignore 'clean' dirt. Dusting behind the bookshelves makes little difference to our health. Germs come from a source such as raw chicken, human waste or a pet, so targeted hygiene is needed to break the chain of infection. As bacteria and viruses can survive on surfaces for several hours or even longer, be vigilant about cleaning kitchen sinks and chopping boards, door knobs, fridge handles, phones, keyboards, the tv remote and our hands.

 Good Housekeeping, November 2013

Pensions

If you've moved from job to job, you may have belonged to several pension schemes. By consolidating the  different pension pots into one, you'll have a better idea of your retirement fund's value and be able to keep a closer eye on charges BUT there are two exceptions.

• If you have a final salary scheme pension you are better off NOT consolidating.
• If you are due to retire soon and have already built up quite large pension funds, you are also better off NOT consolidating.

However, small pots have flexibility which you may lose if you combine them. Take advice.

You can track down old or forgotten pension pots through the Pension Tracing Service: call 0845 600 2537.

Set up an annual meeting with your employer's pension scheme advisor or an independant financial advisor (IFA). They can see how your pension is doing and if you need to change anything. To find an IFA try the website unbiased.co.uk.

State Pensions (2020 facts)

• You need 35 years of contributions to get a full state pension. # Qualifying years of NI contributions take into account time spent raising children up to the age of 12, caring for someone who is sick or disabled, or spent in full time training.
• You may be eligible to pay voluntary contributions to build up additional years.
• Over 55, you are entitled to free face-to-face or over-the-phone guidance from pensionwise.gov.uk.

Beware fraudsters. If someone calls you offering to help you access your pension pot before age 55, it is likely to be a pension scam. You could lose your money and face a tax charge of up to 55% of the amount transferred plus further charges from your pension provider. Check the ScamSmart site for known pension scams (fca.org.uk/scamsmart).

Information correct at September 2013. Updated 5 March 2020.

Soundproofing

Life just seems to get noisier and noisier. Here are some tips to cut down on noise levels.

• Mind the gaps. Fill gaps around doors and window frames, seal spaces around pipes through ceilings and floors with insulation. For outer doors use draught excluders and keyhole covers. Put putty or expanding foam around pipes and wires where they enter the house.
• Use your decor. As a rough guide, at lease 25% of a room should be good at absorbing noise. As well as cushions, heavy curtains and carpets, use decorative room dividers and upholstered screens and break up sound reflecting surfaces with shelving and bookcases. If replacinginternal doors, opt for solid rather than hollow ones.
• Buy quieter gadgets. Unfortunately the best appliances are not always the quietest, though manufacturers are starting to develop less noisy products. Look for the Quiet Mark logo (a purple Q) launched in 2012.
• Block it out. Don't underestimate the value of good wall and loft insulation. Change from single to double glazing.
• Herd of elephants living upstairs? The trend for hard floors has led to an increase in noise levels. With wooden floors, insulate between the joists. For laminate flooring, use a good-quality foam-cushioned underlay. Put rubber or felt stops on chair and table feet.

Good Housekeeping, June 2013

Myth of Common Law Wife

Living together? What are your rights? While many still believe in the myth of the 'common law wife', in reality there is little legal protection for unmarried women if their relationship breaks down or their partner dies.

No matter how long you've shared a home, ownership of everything is decided by property law, rather than the courts as it is with divorcing couples.

In 2011, the Government announced it would NOT be implementing a scheme of financial rights for cohabitants recommended by the Law Commission and there are currently no plans for reform.

Good Housekeeping, October 2013

Prolonging Mobile Phone Battery Life

iPhone

• Reduce brightness  by going to settings Settings>Wallpapers>Brightness
• Check your settings to see if you you have an auto power saving mode and use it. It keeps a mobile running for longer when the battery reaches a certain level by adjusting settings (e.g. how quicky the screensaver appears) and turning off functions like the camera flash.
• Switch off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi by going to Settings; GPS at Privacy>Location and mobile data at Settings.
• Double click on the home button and all the apps will appear. To stop one from running, simply swipe it upwards.

Android

• Reduce brightness  by going to settings Settings>Display>Brightness
• Check your settings to see if you you have an auto power saving mode and use it. It keeps a mobile running for longer when the battery reaches a certain level by adjusting settings (e.g. how quicky the screensaver appears) and turning off functions like the camera flash.
• Switch off 3G, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi by going to Settings>Wireless>Network; GPS can be turned off using the Location and Security option.
• Go to the Google Play store online and download the free Watchdog Task Manager app to monitor your all usage.

Good Housekeeping, April 2014

How to be Confident

Act confident and you will start to feel confident as well as appear confident to others.

• Keep feet  less than shoulder-width apart, with weight evenly balanced.
• Lift your chin, keep your eyes on the horizon, let your shoulders relax and lift your chest slightly. Stand up straight, don't slouch or lean on one leg.
• Don't fold your arms, it makes you look smaller.
• When in doubt, be a great listener - this involves eye contact, nodding, mirroring (subtly mimicry) and facing the speaker.

Speaking in public? Many people are afraid of this, but remember it is only fear - which is just a feeling and can be changed.

• Practise this exercise: Sit comfortably in a quiet place and allow your mind to bring forward a memory of a time - any time - when you felt confident. Then observe the feeling.
• Practise your speech in front of a mirror. Record yourself on your phone and watch it back.
• Still nervous? On the day, pretend your audience are your favourite cartoon or TV characters, or focus on a dot at the back of the room, not on the sea of faces.
• Remember that the audience has chosen to come to your talk or event and want to hear about your topic - they want you to do well.
• Have a 3 second pause between sentences or the points you want to make. It may feel long but will help you deliver your message.

How to argue well. Avoid being confrontational. When you want to express a different point of view, avoid saying "you are wrong" or "that's not right because". For example if someone says "I can't stand so-and-so", respond politely "I quite like him for his quirkiness". Then you are not arguing bur giving a different point of view in a way that's easy to accept.

Sharing Digital Files

What's a quick and easy way to share screenshots? There are a number of these, including Kwout (http://kwout.com) and Awesome Screenshot (http://awesomescreenshot.com). You can add them onto your browser bar, find the image that you want, capture the screen or part of the screen, save it or post is online to a URL they provide. You can then send your friend or colleague an email linking them directly to the image. Really simple and straightforward.

Want to share family photos but limit access? (1) If you have a Flickr account (or simply create one if you haven't) upload the images but make them private (Flickr gives you this option during the upload process) and only accessible by friends/family or both. If other members of your family get accounts, you can add them as friends or family and they'll be able to view them. (2) If a number of you want to share your images, you could create a private, invitation-only Flickr group. As Administrator you can decide who is able to join the group and then view/post photographs. (3) Create your own private portal at somewhere like Zimbio.com.

Want to send really large files to colleagues that are too big to go in an email? There are lots of applications on the web, which allow you to upload a file onto their server space and then provide colleague email addresses. The application sends them an email and they can then log on to the site and let the browser download the file. There are limitations on file size (but these can be somewhere in the range of 1 GB or more) and how long the file will be stored for, but they're usually free, and sometimes you don't even have to register. Examples are: Megashares, Bigupload and YouSendIt.

Looking for a resource that allows you to upload files and let colleagues share them, and possibly add their own? Try Drop.io (http://drop.io). It allows you to upload presentations, documents and so on to a specific URL it provides. You can view files directly on the site, and chat with anyone else who is there at the same time. Each 'drop' is limited to a total suze of 100MB, but there is a commercial version available if you find it really addictive.


Phil Bradley in CILIP Update (various dates)

Weight Loss Facts

Weight loss research can be technical, confusing and contradictory. So here's a quick run down on the latest thinking.

True: Exercise does not burn off pounds: Moderate workouts don't lead to weight loss, probably because they make us hungrier. But another reason is that one of the ways your body adapts to an increase in exercise is to lower your metabolic rate by about 7% - so you end up burning fewer calories (anywhere between 50 and 75) per day. On the other hand, it does boost your Trousers Fit Factor as exercise helps reduce your waist and gives you a firmer, leaner shape overall.

True: Three square meals a day: Dieters who stick to breakfast, lunch and dinner are often no hungrier than those who eat frequent small meals and snacks through the day. People mis-interpret the size of a mini meal and end up taking in far more calories than they realise. Also more meals means more exposure to food, which creates more opportunities for overeating.

True: Set Challenging Goals: Dutch researchers found that the more weight loss participants strived for, the more effort they made and the more weight they reported losing after two months. It is thought that being ambitious has a psychologically energising effect, reinforcing your commitment and drive.

False: Cut calories, lose pounds equation: The much-quoted equation 'to lose a pound, cut 3,500 calories' doesn't account for the slowdown in your metabolism as you lose weight. As you continue with calorie cutting, the weight loss will slow down. Knowing that this is not true can keep you from getting discouraged when the scale seems stuck.

False: Milk helps you lose weight: While dairy products may help dieters in the short term, ultimately it is not a successful strategy. To satisfy your dairy cravings, opt for yogurt as this does seem to help with weight loss in the long term.

False: YoYo Dieting is bad for weight loss: Recent research shows that a history of losing, gaining and losing weight wasn't linked to negative effects on metabolism. However, yoyo dieters often try one crash diet after another; they should look for a plan that focuses on healthy lifestyle changes that lead to slow and steady weight loss.

True: Watch what you eat - for ever: The constant bombardment of food temptations has led to a situation where self-control is essential. But don't outlaw a long list of favourite foods. Instead practise flexible restraint - leaving out puddings or chips most days, but occasionally allowing yourself those treats. To monitor how well you are balancing restraint with indulgence, step on your scales at least once a week to alert youto the need to rein in your eating.

False: Track carbs to keep weight off: A balanced diet is better than counting carbohydrates or fat grams. Carb-counting plans can cause an increase in cortisol and C-reactive protein levels - factors that may elevate your risk of cardio-vascular disease. Fat-counting plans can cause a big slowdown in metabolism, leading dieters to burn an average of 423 fewer calories a day. A balanced (low-glycemic) plan includes lots of whole grains, fresh vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, healthy fats like olive oil. and lean fish and meats. It is based on regulating blood sugar and hormone levels, and can be easier to stick to as it does not restrict entire classes of food.

Be Informed: A European study of diet and exercise found that participants who were given detailed explanations of the research were more likely to exercise more, eat better or both, than a less clued up group.

Good Housekeeping August 2013