how to treat a bee sting

See below for our 5-step guide to treating a bee sting. (We consulted the articles at eHow.com.)

1. remove the stinger as soon as possible (The best method is actually scraping a credit card or dull butter knife against your skin in the opposite direction of the stinger entry to pop out the stinger. That way, you don't squeeze the gland full of venom that is attached to the embedded stinger when you pull it out, which would potentially inject more venom into your skin.)
2. wash the site with soap and water or alcohol
3. put an ice pack or cool, wet compress on the inflamed area
4. soothe the inflammation with a paste made from baking soda and water (You can also apply a gentle antibacterial antihistamine like Bactine or Benadryl or apply calamine lotion to help relieve itching and pain.)
5. take a general oral pain reliever like ibuprofen

Remember: some people have severe allergic reactions to stings, sometimes deadly. It is advised that if you experience severe symptoms directly following a sting, or if you are stung on the neck or mouth, seek medical attention immediately! Swelling in these areas may cause suffocation. A very interesting article on stings from West Virginia University can be found here.

Technorati tags: bee sting, sting, how to treat a sting, first aid

Photo credit: PDphoto.org

My Very Exciting Magic Carpet Just Sailed Under Nine Palace Elephants

Last year, many of us lamented when Pluto was denounced as a planet of our solar system. Recently, Pluto was given back a bit of its clout, named as a dwarf planet. However, in order to keep with this new system, Ceres and Eris had to jump onboard as dwarf planets, making the new order of our solar system's primary bodies: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Eris. (See more information on NASA's site here.) This development obviously renders the old mnemonic device My Very Educated Mother Just Sent Us Nine Pizzas obsolete. Enter Maryn Smith, a fourth grader who won National Geographic's planetary mnemonic contest with the phrase My Very Exciting Magic Carpet Just Sailed Under Nine Palace Elephants. Read the full article from CNN.com here. Can you think of another phrase?

Technorati tags: planets, mnemonic, solar system

Photo credit: NASA

10 tips on saving when you grocery shop

With all the products on the shelves, the antsy kids, an empty stomach, and your looming dinner deadline, shopping for groceries can be quite a bit of pressure. Keep your cool and follow the tips below to ensure that you're getting your money's worth while at the store. We drew these tips from the Washington Post article here on how to most effectively save at the grocery store. Another tip: take a peak at pack-n-tote.com, a site that specializes in reusable grocery bags (depicted above). Some stores will give you a few cents back when you use your own reusable bag, so you're saving your money while saving the environment.

1. Shop alone. Others (especially kids) can pressure you to buy costly extras.
2. Don't shop hungry. You're always inclined to buy more than you need when you do.
3. Stick to your list, but remain flexible. E.g. If you planned on buying chicken, but see a special on turkey, go with the latter.
4. Shop by unit price. If you look closely at the price tag on the shelves, there's a "unit price" listed for each item. This gives the best basis of comparison for items across brands and package amounts.
5. When you can, buy store brands. It can take some experimenting to ensure the quality and taste are good enough to replace your brand favorites. However, if the store brand varieties are fine, you can save a decent amount.
6. Shop around in the store. Price can vary depending on the location and form of the item. E.g. a whole chunk of cheese from the deli counter can cost less per pound than the pre-sliced form of the same variety in the dairy section. Another great example is juice in a jug versus concentrate.
7. Buy produce in season. If you're craving a fruit or veggie that's not in season, go for the ones pre-packaged in the freezer case. You might even get better quality from those in the freezer since they were most likely picked and packaged in season.
8. Be selective when buying convenience foods. Sure, it takes more effort to skin and mince a clove of garlic rather than buy the jar of pre-minced cloves. Just remember that you sacrifice taste and pay more. There are some items, however, like canned beans, that are easy, fast, and still inexpensive.
9. Look high and low for deals. The costliest items tend to be placed at eye level.
10. Take a calculator to help figure out costs per serving, etc.

Technorati tags: saving money, shop smart, saving on groceries, grocery shopping

Photo credit: pack-n-tote

top baby names of 2007

Not unlike the song "27 Jennifers" by Mike Doughty, when you were at school, most likely some names seemed more popular than others. Naming, like many other social phenomena, is cyclic and reflective of cultural trends. See below for the top male and female baby names of 2007 (which we got from babynames.com and babycenter.com).

FEMALE

• Sophia
• Isabella
• Emma
• Madison
• Ava
• Addison
• Hailey
• Emily
• Kaitlyn
• Olivia
• Abigail
• Cailyn

MALE

• Aiden
• Ethan
• Jacob
• Jaden
• Kaden
• Noah
• Jackson
• Jack
• Logan
• Matthew
• Braden
• Caleb

Technorati tags: names, top 2007 names, most popular names

strike's over, so who's out?

With the writer's strike officially over, Tinseltown is in a frenzy with exactly when all of the shows are coming back (if they even are). Take a look at a summary below of the rumored fates of your favorites. TV Guide has an hourly-updated webpage here that keeps you informed on many shows and the Los Angeles Times had a great grid here arranged by network. A great article over the general aftermath of the strike can be found here.

• 24: Season 7 postponed until January '09.
• 30 Rock: Expected to shoot 5 new episodes to begin airing on April 10.
• Battlestar Galactica: Returns April 4 with first half of 20-episode final season. Production on second half could start as early as March. Airdate for those TBD.
• The Big Bang Theory: Expected to shoot 9 new episodes to begin airing on March 17.
• Big Love: Expected to go into production on Season 3 in the spring. Airdate info is TBD.
• Bionic Woman: Most likely dead.
• Boston Legal: One pre-strike episode remains. Expected to shoot 8 additional episodes to air in April/May.
• Cane: Most likely dead.
• Desperate Housewives: Expected to shoot 7 new episodes to air in April/May.
• Dirty Sexy Money: No new episodes until fall; three remaining pre-strike episodes will undergo some tweaking and kick off fall run.
• ER: Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 10.
• Grey's Anatomy: Expected to shoot 5 new episodes to air in April/May.
• Heroes: No new episodes expected until fall.
• House: Expected to shoot 4 new episodes to begin airing in its new Monday time slot on April 28.
• Law & Order SVU: Expected to shoot 5 new episodes to begin airing on April 15.
• Lost: Five pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 5 additional episodes to air in April/May.
• The Office: Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 10.
• Saturday Night Live: Returns Feb. 23 with Tina Fey as host.
• Smallville: Three remaining pre-strike episodes will air March 13, 20 and 27. Expected to shoot 5 additional episodes to begin airing on April 17.
• Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Three pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

Technorati tags: tv shows, writers strike, returning episodes

Photo credit: NBC

omg, text terms r gr8!

Whether texting, instant messaging, or writing an E-mail, the bottom line is brevity. See below for a list of text abbreviations and acronyms we often use. Check out Netlingo for more exhaustive lists.

• 2moro = tomorrow
• 2nite = tonight
• afk = away from keyboard
• aim = aol instant messenger
• aka = also known as
• asap = as soon as possible
• bc = because
• b4 = before
• bf = best friend / boyfriend
• bff = best friend forever
• brb = be right back
• btw = by the way
• eod = end of day
• fb = facebook
• fyi = for your information
• gf = girlfriend
• gr8 = great
• gtg = got to go
• ho = hold on
• h8 u = hate you
• i<3u = I love you
• idk = I don't know
• im = instant message
• imo = in my opinion
• iou = I owe you
• irl = in real life
• jk = joking
• k = okay
• l8r = later
• lol = laugh out loud
• myob = mind your own business
• nm = nevermind
• np = no problem
• oic = oh, I see
• omg = oh my God
• otd = out the door
• pda = public display of affection / personal data assistant
• pov = point of view
• rotfl = rolling on the floor laughing
• tba = to be announced
• tbd = to be determined
• thx = thanks
• tlc = tender loving care
• tot = totally off topic
• ttfn = ta ta for now
• ttyl = talk to you later
• tyvm = thank you very much

Technorati tags: texting, acronyms, abbreviations, chatting

happy february 14th! (hey, it's not JUST v-day...)

Ah, February 14. For those of us with significant others, it's a day for expressing exactly how much you appreciate and care for him/her. (See Valentine's Day.) For those of us without significant others, it's still an excellent day to express to those most important to us how great we think they are. (At the very least, this requires an e-card.) However, we understand that for a few out there, this is a day that seems wrought with way too much PDA to handle. To endulge this latter group, we've listed out a few other significant things that make this day memorable (besides roses, chocolates, and stuffed teddy bears).

• Lupercalia: a very ancient, possibly pre-Roman pastoral festival, observed on February 13 through February 15 to avert evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility.
• Trifon Zarezan (Wine Grower's Day) in Bulgaria
• Ballantine's Day in Norway
• Arizona (1912, 48th) and Oregon (1859, 33rd) are admitted as states
• 1899: Voting machines are approved by the U.S. Congress for use in federal elections.
• St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1929): Seven people, six of them gangster rivals of Al Capone's gang, are murdered in Chicago, Illinois.
• 1989: The first of 24 satellites of the Global Positioning System are placed into orbit.
• 1924: The International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is founded.

Technorati tags: february 14, fun facts, trivia, valentine's day

Photo credit: 1800flowers

custom candies: how sweet they are

With V-Day just around the corner, who doesn't love those candy hearts with short and sweet nothings written on them? With the sites below, you can customize a variety of candy to say virtually anything (within the character limit, of course). You can choose to personalize M&Ms, Hershey's wrappers, and much more! It should also be noted that besides being sweet on V-Day, these custom candies are perfect for party favors and announcements, too. And for a bit of desktop fun, you can always create your own virtual candy heart here, as we did above.

• Wrapped Hersheys
• Custom Candy Bars
• My M&Ms
• Personalized Sweets
   

Technorati tags: custom candy, personalized candy, gifts, party favors, create a heart

Photo credit: Cryptogram.com

one hot race: how to decide who to vote for

Our blog often features DIY and GTD topics. Arguably, no action does more for yourself or gets more accomplished than voting. However, in this year's anything-but-easy race, how does one come to a decision on who to vote for? See below for a list of sites that we liked that may help you with your decision.

• WhoShouldYouVoteFor.com - a quiz that suggests which candidates are most aligned with your political beliefs
• FundRace - a site by The Huffington Post that shows monetary donations to candidates based on party affiliation, geography, and occupation
• Topix Presidential Election News - a site that compiles all of the major news stories on the presidential election (also has an option where you can have the information sent directly to your phone)
• SelectSmart.com - a handy tool to literally compare candidates and their stances on the issues side-by-side
• Wikipedia's article - a healthy base of general information on this year's presidential election, particularly as it relates to a broader historical aspect

Technorati tags: candidates, 2008 election, diy, gtd, voting

Photo credit: St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners

happy chinese new year!

Today marks the beginning of Chinese New Year. Traditional celebration includes reuniting with family, lighting fireworks, and adorning the color red. The 15 day festivities often include the Dragon Dance and conclude with the Lantern Festival. One particularly noteworthy thing about the Chinese calendar is the use of animals to represent years. One legend says that the animals fought over their place on the calendar. In order to fairly resolve the conflict, the gods had them race across a river. The order of the animals on the calendar reflects their completion of the race—the rat placing first and the pig finishing last. See below for general personality traits typically associated with each animal of the Chinese zodiac. Click here to see which one you are as determined by your year of birth.

• Rat: quick-witted, smart, charming, and persuasive
• Ox: patient, kind, stubborn, and conservative
• Tiger: authoritative, emotional, courageous, and intense
• Rabbit: popular, compassionate, and sincere
• Dragon: energetic, fearless, warm-hearted, and charismatic
• Snake: charming, gregarious, introverted, generous, and smart
• Horse: energetic, independent, impatient, and enjoy traveling
• Sheep: mild-mannered, shy, kind, and peace-loving
• Monkey: fun, energetic, and active
• Rooster: independent, practical, hard-working, and observant
• Dog: patient, diligent, generous, faithful, and kind
• Pig: loving, tolerant, honest, and appreciative of luxury

Technorati tags: chinese new year, chinese zodiac

Photo credit: derbyhomes.org