Wildfires

Florence Bernard asked:


just came to my mind recently observing the cats I have in my house. It really struck me how relevant this would be to kids and parents, and how much it can impact people. Earl Nightingale has a chapter in one of his recordings called “Attitude”. I played it to my class a couple of years ago and was very interested hearing the comments it raised amongst a group of 13-year-olds. But let’s start with my cat story. There are three cats now in my house. First there was mine, Coconut, and then two little strays were rescued and added to the pack! Now I’ll spare you the details of them getting to know each other, the love-hate relationship finally turned love-love! All is well now and we are a happy family, with everybody getting along very well. Now, here’s the interesting thing. One of the new little kittens, Wildfire, is very friendly and the other one, Caroline, is very shy. Caroline is actually more than shy. She gets very scared at everything and tends to hide a lot. I don’t know what happened to her while she was out there, but some people must have been very mean to her. In the past few weeks, I have seen her gain a lot of confidence and it is much easier for us to approach her. But in reality, she gets a lot less attention than Wildfire. I always try to make a point to go and find her and say hello to Caroline when I come home and good night when I go to bed. Wildfire however, comes to me when I open the door, usually accompanied by Coconut and both will get a hug straight away. If I have been shopping and I have things to put away I will usually do that first and I may forget to go and say hi to little Caroline. At night, Coconut and Wildfire are usually on the bed or near it, in the same room at least and Caroline stays in another room in her own bed. Poor Caroline misses out on so much! I feel a bit guilty, but isn’t this what happens in life? By being stuck in her fears and the idea that she has created in her cute little cat mind that, maybe, people will hurt her, Caroline misses out on the people who love her. It is difficult to translate this to her in cat language and all I can do right now and keep loving her more until she really trusts me 100%. People, and more importantly, children, tend to react the same way. Kids who get in trouble with a teacher may develop an apprehension with that teacher and clam up. This attitude will cause them to miss out on a good experience in class. With parents, the same can happen. They might once misinterpret something a parent says and change their attitude. I can’t explain all this to little Caroline, but you can do it with your kids. Going towards people is what makes a difference. Your attitude is everything. What you give is what you get! If you smile at people, they’ll smile back. If you show willingness, you can get whatever you want. Don’t let one event affect you for the rest of your life. Turn the page, move on and rise above! Don’t let other people dictate the person you want to be. If people are unpleasant to you, don’t fall for it and keep being nice. You’ll always come out of it stronger!

LUTHER

Jayna Haney asked:


A good sense of humor is vital to finding happiness in your stepfamily life. Why? Because with all the complications, you’ll need some ways to make it okay. How? By trying to step away from it mentally and act like a third party just looking on. Laughter makes our problems more manageable. See it for the craziness that it sometimes is.

We went through a tough period at the beginning of our stepfamily life. We started watching Seinfeld every night, just so we could laugh at something. It doesn’t matter what you and your spouse laugh about. Just laugh together. With daily practice at developing the broadest, widest ability to see the strange, weird and funny, you can handle anything.

Family life of all kinds is an adventure! And nowhere does it get more complicated or amusing than when the family tree begins to sprout new branches. I was a divorced parent with two children. When I remarried, my husband also had two children, so we became a family of 6 with two ex-spouses — but not for long. They both got married the next year. And now, the family tree has grown by leaps and bounds.

Our children have an extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and yes, four parents per kid. No longer a family tree, we have a family forest.

Our sense of humor helps us to see many things in a positive way. Our four kids decided during a winter holiday car trip to sing our own version of the 12 days of Christmas. We sang about 12 fun cousins, 11 grandparents, 10 aunts and uncles down to three beautiful daughters, two crazy parents, and ONE Wonderful Son! (You get the idea!) Or the time when the children laughed about taking all the last names of each of their parents, and how that would sound with all four last names.

Our sweet children have to think before they answer how many siblings they each have… five! But on the other hand, they like feeling close even to the step-siblings of their step-siblings. Because, gee, they figure we are all somehow related, aren’t we?

It was at soccer game when their new step-cousin (on their Dad’s side) was trying to introduce his grandma to all the family. First, he introduced his new step-cousin (my daughter), then he introduced my step-daughter as his step-step cousin, and me as his step-aunt, turning to us and saying, “You are related to me now, aren’t you?”

Or the time my daughter’s step-sister on her dad’s side said to me, “You’re my step-mom now, right?” It made sense to her. If my daughter was her step-sister, I should be her step-mom. Right?

Most kids have one or two parents at a soccer game. Our kids have 3 or 4. Throw in all siblings, several grandparents, a dog, a babysitter, and any aunts, uncles or cousins that may come along.

But two years ago, it all changed again. My ex-husband and his wife had a new baby. How does the newborn fit in the mix? Just fine - not to worry… the family forest has room for everyone!

I have learned to enjoy the puzzled look on people’s faces when we start trying to explain all the different relationships. As one friend told us, “You guys need a tactician”. Yep, but it would help if he would tell that to my ex-husband, my two step-wives (the wife of my ex-husband, and the ex-wife of my husband), and step-husband (the husband of my husband’s ex-wife.) Got that?



MALCOLM

Muna wa Wanjiru asked:


Paper production is far from representing an easy process as for one tone of paper, ninety-eight tons of wood and other materials are needed. We can’t recycle the same paper indefinitely, theoretically we can reuse paper for about six times at the maximum, but within every new paper manufactured lot, there are fresh fibers added too; so, practically we recycle newer and older fiber at the same time.

Federal laws say that paper can contain between 10% and 100% recycled material. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggests that 50% should be fresh and 50% recycled; and it is according to the percentage of the recycled paper used, that many governments offer financial support as a reward for the ecological effort pro-recycle paper companies make.

The idea to recycle paper appeared like a necessity for the forest preservation. Statistics show that about 90% of paper is made out of wood and that almost half of the global harvested wood goes to the paper industry. Reforesting is another method used by most wood harvesting companies as an effort to preserve the forest. Estimations indicate that recycling only half of the world’s paper would save 80,000 km² (20 million acres) of forest.

To recycle paper means to save about 50% of the energy cost a company would pay to produce it from fresh wood. This is enough energy to heat up a home for an entire year. More that 35% of the solid waste in a city is paper, recycling it would mean saving lots of trees and energy. Nevertheless, the problem that remains is that the collecting system isn’t working perfectly, and it is not used at its real capacity.

When speaking about air and water pollution as influenced by the effort to recycle paper, statistics are very encouraging; EPA claims that recycle paper industries reduce water pollution with 35% and air pollution with 74%. This encouraging levels of successful reprocessing justify the large sums of money governments pay companies that get involved in recycling.

How did it all start? By the beginning of the 19th century the paper industry couldn’t keep the pace with the demand for books and writing materials. Therefore recycling paper appeared as a necessity, and old books or books held as invaluable were simply recycled to allow the printing of new ones. In the United States the first paper mill appeared in 1690 while in the 19th century the recycling businesses were turning into a real industry.



DARNELL

Allan Wright asked:


Hurricane Katrina, which struck the US Gulf Coast four years ago, was a real eye-opener for all that witnessed the human tragedy.  The inability of New Orleans to cope with the storm was dreadful.  All of the country watched in horror as the storm descended on Louisiana, bringing pain and suffering to the residents.

As we watched, it became very apparent that most people were ill prepared to sustain themselves for even the first 72 hours of a disaster, let alone the many days it took for help to actually arrive.

Have we learned from past disasters?

Are we all now more prepared than ever before to protect ourselves and our families from future disasters, or are we still unconvinced that it can actually happen to us.

Presently a growing wildfire in the mountains north of Los Angeles has spread over miles of bone-dry forest, forcing evacuations of homes. Authorities issued a mandatory evacuation notice for 150 homes located within a half-square-mile area and on the slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains.

Another wildfire on the Palos Verdes Peninsula on the south Los Angeles County coast has now been contained, but not before 1,500 people were forced to flee at the height of the fire.

A state of emergency was declared in the county as the other blazes forced evacuations and knocked out power in parts of the state.

The evening news tonight states that 10,000 homes in British Columbia, Canada are threatened by a large wildfire that is spreading quickly. The residents have been notified that evacuation may be necessary at any time.

Did everyone that was forced from their homes during last week’s wildfires have sufficient emergency supplies to see them through?  Did the people without power have food and water for their families?

I certainly hope that they did!

Are those in British Columbia that are about to be forced from their homes, prepared with emergency supplies to see themselves through the coming days.

 I certainly hope that they are!

We all know that we need to be prepared, however the fact is that only a very few of us are ready for even the smallest emergency, let alone one of larger significance.

I can assure you that all of those people that survived these disasters will be much more prepared for the next emergency situation they are faced with.

It is human nature to feel that the natural and manmade disasters that we see on the TV could never happen to us.  The truth is that no part of our country, or North America for that matter, is immune to a natural or a man-made disaster.

The point that I am trying to make here is that if we do not attempt to prepare for an emergency situation, no matter how large or small, we are leaving ourselves and our family’s health and safety to chance.  Are you really willing to take that gamble?  I’m not.



RANDY

Gail Metcalf asked:


You need to protect yourself from mosquitoes. When you think about mosquito pest control by netting, you could break it down into individual control and public control.

Although several cities, states and countries should provide some sort of regulated mosquito control, you will probably also want to get rid of the pesky critters that plague your personal surroundings and mosquito netting is a good solution.

Government pest control agencies can use pesticides in areas where there is a heavy population of mosquitoes, but that might not be enough to deter these insects. The bottom line is you need to protect yourself from these small insects because they have been known to carry diseases.

Mosquitoes are actually flies that will bite human beings and animals, leaving itchy red welts that can bother you for days. For your own personal mosquito control, you may want to purchase insect repellent that contains deet to keep the bugs from biting. You can get skin repellants in sprays, creams, sticks, and liquids. Most species of mosquitoes are nocturnal and only the female will **** blood from other animals.

Another popular type of mosquito maintenance is the burning of citronella oil. The smoke from these candles or burners do keep the mosquitoes away, but in heavily windy conditions, the citronella could prove to be useless. Additional options are to spray your camping equiptment and clothing with permethrin, which is also an insecticide.

If you are trying to fend off mosquitoes from hatching anywhere near your home, and you have a lot of standing water sources such as fountains or birdbaths, you can purchase mosquito dunks to place in the water, which will kill mosquito larva. Dunks generally work up to thirty days and are selected depending on how big the water area is. The dunks contain a biological agent that kills the mosquito when ingested, but is safe for all other animals and humans.

Try a few of these pest control solutions to kill the little pests in your area. Once again some pest control methods work better than others while some are more costly. Try them out until you find the one that gives you the a lot of relief from swarms of buzzing mosquitoes. Finally, you might want to try netting which works the best. Netting is so small that the mosquitoes cannot pass through it, keeping you protected from them.



WILLARD

Diana Ennen asked:


As the California wildfires continue and the new threat of mud slides emerge, disaster recovery planning is front and center. It’s important for all to take this time to plan. If you havent prepared a disaster recovery plan, now is the time to do so. Even 30 minutes now can save one from a lifetime of heartaches.

Dr. Paulo J. Reyes, a First Responder in California and author of the fiction thriller Sledgehammer has firsthand disaster recovery experience and participated in various disaster relief efforts in California including the major earthquake in L.A. in 1994. He advised, “Loss of lives can be greatly reduced if everyone has a complete plan of action prior to the event. Not only with the reduction of heart attacks and stress related illnesses, but people tend to get to safety quicker if they have already planned ahead and know what they are going to do. Here are some steps to take to prepare:

Step One –Identify a safe place for everyone to meet. This pre-determined place should be discussed with family members prior to an emergency. A second location should be discussed. Also, out-of-town relatives should be advised of this location. Additionally, each person should have a list of phone numbers for immediate neighbors and family members. 3X5 index cards work well.

Step Two  Take an inventory now. Write down all your valuables (personal and business). Don’t forget the little things that can truly add up. Keep receipts of all purchases. The receipts allow you to get that value when filing a claim. Take photos. Secure all this in a safe place.

Step Three — Write down a complete family medical history. Include any medical conditions, medicines and dosages, doctors names and contact information, where medical records can be found, etc. Be specific. A life can truly depend on this one step alone.

Step Four  Get a copy of all important information, wills, trusts, mortgages, deeds, birth certificates, contracts, medical records, even household bills to help get things restored quickly, etc. Back-up your computer. Get extra cash. Often ATMs are down so cash is needed.

Step Five — Write down all your computer passwords, and important information.

Step Six — Doublecheck all your insurance coverage. Are you adequately covered? Write down all your coverages, insurance policies, contact information, policy numbers, group numbers, date of births, etc. Think coverage of everything — life insurance, car insurance, property insurance, business insurance, etc.

Step Seven — No one wants to think about this one, but you should for your family’s protection. Do you have your will up-to-date? If not, please do. Especially for those with minor children. You need to know that they will be taken care of and placed in the homes of those who you trust and whom you know will provide the best care.

Plan now and update your plan often. Also, when you write down your information and contact numbers it allows you to see if you have the coverages you need. The amount of stress this will save can make a big difference in how you recover if a disaster were to offer.



LES

Wildfire Marketing Group asked:


We all have our version of the perfect home, don’t we? When you visualize your ideal home what do you see from your windows? Is it white sandy shores, palm trees, and crystal clear water? Perhaps you dream of looking out across mountain peaks lined with luscious forests and rivers. Maybe you envision your favorite sports team’s stadium as your neighbor.

Ponder this for one moment. What if you could have ANY VIEW you wanted, what exactly would you prefer?

Whatever your answer is, Create My Scene can help you design a custom Scene that will turn your vision into a reality. Our company captures breathtaking views on camera and transfers the images into striking scenes for your home. You can turn any wall, ceiling, window, or even screen patio into a life-like rendition of your ideal view.

It truly is your Scene when you work with Create My Scene. The entire process starts with the perfect image. We invite you to choose from our collection of images; you can even submit one of your own images to us! At this point, if you still haven’t discovered your ideal picture, we will work with you to get the image you crave.

We were founded with customization in mind.

There are many places where you can find wall murals that come in one of three standard sizes. At Create My Scene, you get the benefit of ordering scenes printed at the exact size in which you specify. This saves ‘self-installers’ lots of time and headache by eliminating the tedious task of cutting a standard mural to fit the wall.

If you have ever shopped for a standard mural, you probably noticed that almost every company carried the exact same images. This is another area of business where we separate ourselves from the competition. We have a team of photographers working directly for us. They constantly provide us with fresh, one-of-a-kind images for our database. We will even send them on a special assignment if you request an image that we don’t have!

Believe it or not, we took our company one step further. Instead of having ONE option—wallpaper, we give you many choices of materials. What does this mean to you?

It means that you can turn virtually any surface into a Scene. We help our customers make the best choice each of their unique projects.

For walls we offer non-stick vinyl, adhesive vinyl, cloth, wallpaper, and more. There are advantages to each material. For example, you may rent the place where you currently reside. In this case we would most likely recommend a non-stick vinyl so that you can take your Scene with you when you move. Adhesive vinyl is useful for surfaces such as wood paneling, doors, and concrete—surfaces where standard wallpaper would never work.

We also have a variety of materials for windows: static cling, window-perf, and backlit vinyl to name a few. Each material serves a specific purpose. For instance, static cling can be used over and over again without harming your window or your Scene; window-perf is a bit more permanent, but it allows more light to pass through.

You can even turn your boring screen porch or patio into a masterpiece. We have a mesh material that can be easily inserted into any standard window screen or screen enclosure. This particular product allows light and air to pass through just like your standard screen. You can create the appearance of more space on your tiny porch with a view of the city or you can transform your pool area into a tropical oasis.

There is no job too creative for Create My Scene. We challenge you to use your imagination. Tell us about your ideal view, we can help you turn that vision into a reality.



REX