Home Kitchen

Kitchen flow and design

Let’s take a look at some common food prep flow plans you’ll discover inside the kitchen. The most basic and desirable flow plan is the straight line flow plan, also known as assembly line flow. Materials are constantly moving from one procedure to another in a straight line. This type of styling minimizes recoil; saves prep time and confusion about what leaves the kitchen area and what comes back.

The straight line layout works great for small facilities because it can be placed against a wall and accommodated for cooks’ tasks. When there is not enough space to organize food preparation in a straight line, a much appreciated and efficient option is parallel flow. There are four variations of the parallel style:

1. Back to back. The equipment is arranged within a long central counter or island in two straight lines running parallel to each other. Sometimes a four or five foot room divider or low wall is placed between the two lines. It is primarily a safety precaution, minimizing noise and clutter and preventing liquids spilled on one side from spreading to the other. However, putting up a wall here also makes cleaning and sanitation very difficult. The back-to-back arrangement centralizes plumbing and utilities;

You may not need to install as many drains, sinks, or outlets, since both sides of the counter can share the same ones. A back-to-back arrangement in which the walk-through window is parallel to (and behind one of) the production locations is sometimes recognized as a California-style kitchen. When the pass-through window is located perpendicular to the production line, it could be called a European-style kitchen area style. The benefit of the European style is that each cook in line can see the progression of the various dishes that make up the 1 table order.

2. Face to face. In this kitchen area configuration, a central aisle separates two straight lines of equipment on either side of the room. Sometimes the aisle is wide enough to add a straight line of work tables between the two rows of equipment. This configuration works well for high volume power installations such as schools and hospitals, but does not benefit from single source utilities. While it’s a great design for worker control, it forces people to work with their backs to each other, in effect separating the cooking of the food from the rest of the distribution process. Therefore, it is most likely not the best style for a restaurant.

3. L-shape. Wherever space is not enough for a straight or parallel layout, the L-shaped kitchen design is well suited to access multiple groups of equipment and is adaptable for catering restaurants. desk. It gives you the ability to fit more equipment within a smaller room. You’ll often find an L-shaped layout in dishwashing areas, using the dishwasher located in the center corner of the L.

4. U-shaped. This arrangement is seldom used, but is ideal for a small room with one or two employees, such as a salad preparation area or pantry. An island bar, like those found at TGI Friday’s restaurants, is a further example of the U-shape in performance. There are also circular and square kitchen area designs, but their limited flow patterns make them impractical. Avoid wasting space if you can by making your kitchen area rectangular, with its entrance on one of the longer walls to save steps.

The more food service establishments you visit, the more you realize that the back of house is a separate and distinct entity from the rest of the industry, with its own peculiar challenges and unique solutions.

Proper flow planning sometimes means dividing each function of the kitchen area into a department, and then deciding how those departments should interact with each other. They must also interact with the other departments outside the facility: your dining room, bar, cashier, etc. A great way to start the design process, both for the company as a whole and for the kitchen, is to create a bubble diagram. Each region (or workstation) is represented as a circle, or “bubble”, drawn in pencil within the location you’ve decided may be the most logical for that function. If two different workstations are going to share some equipment, you can let the sides of their circles cross slightly to indicate where the shared equipment will best be located.

The finished diagram will look abstract, but the exercise allows you to visualize each action center and think about your needs in relation to the other centers. You can also design a kitchen using a diamond pattern, placing the cooking area at one point on the diamond shape and other important areas in relation to it at other points. Note that this layout minimizes confusion (and accidents) with a separate kitchen entrance and exit. This allows table cleaners to deliver dirty dishes to the dishwashing area without having to walk all over the kitchen to do so.

An alternative to drawing diagrams is to list each execution center and then list any other work centers that should be placed next to it. Instead, list any venues that shouldn’t be next to them. For example, it’s probably not a great idea to have the ice maker and ice storage bin next to the center for frying and grilling.

Auto

BMW is electric

It is our collective and individual responsibility… to preserve and care for the environment in which we all live – Dalai Lama

BMW cars have always been more than just automobiles. They are something like a Swiss army knife; a finely crafted tool with everything you need for whatever the road throws at you. A BMW is a specially designed machine worn like a Robot Man suit, so technically advanced; you need to be a rocket scientist to understand all its intricacies. To appreciate all that potential and fully understand why BMW builds its cars this way; all you need to do is drive one.

With the world spiraling into the abyss of climate change, and the future of oil as secure as Lindsey Lohan’s next movie role, everyone is turning to greener vehicles. Hybrid and electric cars are no longer fashionable toys, but have become a necessary and important pillar in the plan to become oil free. Once limited by bad technology and microscopic scope, the electric car is being reborn as a viable alternative to the beloved internal combustion engine. BMW has joined the fray with not just a new car, but an entirely new lineup of cars. The BMW i8 Concept is one of the first in a group of cars produced by BMW i, a new sub-brand for marketing low-emission (green) vehicles.

Along with the i8, BMW plans to introduce a convertible roadster version called the i8 Spyder, as well as a small electric hatchback called the i3. i8 hybrid electric vehicles are designed to combine the sportiness of regular BMW cars with the fuel economy of a small car. The design features a new BMW Vision Efficient Dynamic Concept, which is an innovative plug-in hybrid that combines the modified electric drive system of the i3 Concept. The electric motor is mounted on the front axle with a high-performance three-cylinder combustion engine mounted at the rear to extend the range. The motor will act as an onboard generator and BMW promises 0-62MPH acceleration in under 5 seconds, along with an estimated 86MPG.

The key to this setup is torque, which is available from a starting point and will provide seamless acceleration. The battery technology is based on ultra-powerful lithium-ion cells with an integrated liquid cooling system for ideal operating temperatures. The car can be charged from a home power supply system and can drive more than 20 miles on battery power alone. The architecture is known as LifeDrive, and it’s basically a weight-efficient, layered approach to car design. The bottom layer is the Drive section, which encompasses the chassis, battery pack, powertrain, suspension, steering, and brakes. The top layer is the Life section, which is a carbon fiber reinforced plastic passenger compartment. This is the first time carbon fiber has been used in a mass market vehicle and it was developed here in the United States. The two sections are joined by just four bolts and industrial-grade adhesive. Using this setup, BMW promises a low center of gravity, perfect 50/50 weight distribution, and amazing handling.

The i8 is stunningly beautiful, with sweeping lines and a flat silhouette. It features a large transparent greenhouse (although I doubt the production version will remain unchanged) with doors that open upwards like wings. The car is sculptural and organic, with a distinctive kinetic wedge shape and forward stance. From the front, the car has typical BMW design cues complemented by two full U-shaped LED light setups. There’s also a semi-transparent black V rising from the hood, revealing the electric motor and fuel cell. carbon fiber Life. At the rear are three-dimensional air vents, a massive rear diffuser and “floating” taillights to match the U-shaped headlights. Both the headlights and taillights pulse like the heart of a futuristic monster and the effect is staggering. .

Inside the i8 there are large transparent surfaces on the doors and roof that give each section of the car the appearance of merging together. The interior is finished in a layered design with a Porcelain White support structure, a black technical level and a comfort section finished in Mocha Brown. The effect is modern and comforting at the same time, and the dash and center console are free of excessive buttons and switches. The instrument cluster consists of a large screen with information delivered in a high-resolution, three-dimensional format. There is also a separate center-mounted information display. The i8 is expected to be priced around $122,000 USD. Production is expected to begin sometime in 2014.

Article courtesy of Chris Raymond

Digital Marketing

An amazing guide to using social media in business

Remember how “Paper Boat” created a massive social media engagement campaign last year? In fact, it made them one of the brightest stars of startups in India. Not just newbies, but well-known companies like Make My Trip, AirBnB, and Nike, as well as social awareness groups like Deepika Padukone’s Live Love Laugh Foundation, used the power of social media to create ripples on the World Wide Web. If used the right way, social media can give your business a huge boost.

Let’s see how:

Using digital media is a cheap deal. If your brand is cool, it can be made even cooler with the publicity you can get on social media. Considering the increase in internet usage in India, we are embracing digital trends at a very fast pace. Therefore, it has become really essential to have a digital profile.

Be sure to use these social media tips in your campaigns:

post videos: The rate of interaction with the video is really very high. There are predictions that digital videos may replace advertisements on television. With this in mind, if you invest in video, you can get real engagement on social media. Live video streaming, creating personal stories like web series, vlogs, and engaging videos related to your business can help you get more traffic.

Upload personalized content and creative images: If your content and images are catchy, unique, personalized and speak to the brand story, you can get more likes. People are bored with the monotonous and outdated image of brands. Posts that include fresh content and creative images related to real activities help get more traffic on social media.

Focus more on mobile: As we all know, smartphones are slowly replacing internet usage on desktop computers. Therefore, create the content that is compatible with mobile devices. Plus, create posts for your local audience and distribute them according to the right format, time, and location. It will help you in targeting maximum people.

Create tech-driven posts: No matter how and what we think about Artificial Intelligence, we are curious about it and love to read and discuss about it. As we are all embracing machine culture in our daily lives, putting it on social media can lead to interesting engagements. Creating posts related to technology, innovations, tech related facts and Artificial Intelligence can help you get more traffic. You can mix technology with travel, healthcare, education, and even everyday activities like using appliances and equipment. Not only does it make life easier, but it can also help you get more likes.

Hire a professional: Managing social media for business is a bit different than posting from your personal account. You should always hire the professionals for the job, if you think you are not handling it properly. People who are professionals understand trends, they know how to strategize and how to deal with problems that come along the way. They know how to get more engagements with their content and can create impressive digital marketing posts. They have the knowledge of the major platforms and can offer an ongoing boost to your current status on the web. You can also outsource your digital media to agencies that work in the field.

Be available: There is no particular time when a potential customer can visit you and look for business. Therefore, it is always suggested that you make yourself available to your audience, if not 24/7, then at least during your working hours. Answer all the questions that your visitors ask you, if you can’t do it at the moment, make sure to tell them to wait and once you can, answer the questions. Having conversations with people who introduce you to digital media can help you gain recognition. Respond to your messages and comments. Say thank you when they share your posts, it will create communication and improve your reputation on social networks.

Use meaningful hashtags: Hashtags are popular and you can drive a lot of traffic to your digital media profiles with the use of this powerful tool. It helps categorize posts and make your content visible to people searching for similar stories. It will also help you discover the posts of your competitors. With the help of hashtags, you can connect with various brands and people of similar interests and build engagement. Using hashtags, which are related to your business, can generate massive traffic.

Now when you know the tips for making engaging posts, creative images, and impressive content for your social media campaign, let’s see where to place these posts.

These are the popular platforms for social media:

Facebook: As we all know, Facebook is one of the biggest social networking sites in the world and is the first in India, so it can bring you great business. Since Facebook arrived, more and more people join it. You can create your business account on Facebook or start a fan page. It is one of the best platforms for any business to gain a global audience.

FacebookMessenger: Also known as Messenger, it offers text, voice and video communication and you can use it to promote your brand and also to inform your customers about what’s happening in your company.

Google More: People weren’t too sure of its success when it launched in 2011, but today there are more than 500 million users on Google+, also known as G+. You can easily add people with similar interests and organize your connections with this platform. It has a global reach and you can publish and share your images, texts, videos and web links on G+. Being a product of Google, it helps to index the content in Google very fast.

Twitter: It is a micro-blogging site that offers a unique feature of sending your messages in 140 characters. If you can go for the personas and know how to create unique and catchy content, you can effectively advertise your business. You can interact, communicate, pass information, talk about the latest news, and target your audience with your products using Twitter. It is a powerful platform where you follow people and they do the same. You can like or retweet posts you find interesting and send personal messages in DM (direct message).

LinkedIn: It is a professional community where people can build their business or professional profiles. If you want to connect with professionals working in a similar field, LinkedIn is the perfect platform. Here you can check the profiles of the professionals because you have their education qualification, past work experiences, business network. Plus, if you want to build a network of local professionals, you’ll find countless registered users.

Youtube: Founded by three former PayPal employees, YouTube is the most popular video sharing platform. Every month, more than a billion visitors visit the website. You can upload your videos and reach maximum potential customers through video advertising on YouTube.

WhatsApp message: For instant text messages, WhatsApp is a great platform that you can use for your business. You can share text, images, videos and voice clips through your smartphone or tablet. It is an effective platform for instant communication with your customers. You can also run your business advertising campaign on WhatsApp.

instagram: Instagram is a social media platform where you can upload your photos and videos. It has an amazing feature of filters through which you can edit your images and this makes Instagram a unique platform loved by millions of users. Instagram arrived in 2010 and Facebook bought it in 2012. Since then, the number of people on Instagram has increased at a very high rate (since Instagram is linked to the Facebook profile). Popular for its hashtags, Instagram can help your business content go viral instantly.

If you are not part of these platforms, you should join them and start uploading your stories. It won’t take you long to reach your goal. So, you know what to upload from Social Networks, where to publish your content, your work will not end here, you will have to monitor your activities and the results. So if you’re not getting the traffic or result you want, you can change your strategy or work harder.

Management and monitoring of Digital Media:

It is not an easy task to manage all your accounts for social networks and it is a time consuming task to log in and out of each of the sites. To make your task easier, you should start using Hootsuite and manage your multiple Twitter accounts. Tweetdeck is a perfect option.

· hoot-suite: It is one of the amazing options to monitor your social media posts. It helps you verify any activity involving your company or name. It also shows the areas of your interest.

· tweet cover: If you use Twitter, you should not miss this resource. It will help you manage multiple Twitter accounts and will also help you organize mention and other engagements. You can jump to any topic of interest by searching instantly.

Analyzing your social media insights:

To analyze the insights of your social networks for companies, you can use any of these services:

hubspot: If you want to see how far your social media efforts have come, you should use this resource. It will let you know everything about your posts on social networks.

Facebook Page Manager: If you have a fan page on Facebook, you should check the statistics. It will help you control the traffic. You can check out the most popular posts, where the traffic is coming from, and you can also connect with your audience by replying to them directly.

seismic: For those who want to manage all their Social Media accounts from one resource, this is a great app. You can use Seesmic on your desktop as well as a smartphone.

klout: Another awesome platform to check your social media reach is Klout. It helps to check the most popular hashtags, posts and your overall progress from social networking sites.

Relationship

Rearrange your classroom: 3 tips for teachers at the beginning of the school year

Unless you are the most meticulous of teachers and have contacted previous teachers, former owners, parents, friends, and former librarians, chances are you won’t really meet your students on the first day of class. Sure, there are some stalkers who already have the perfect seating map, but most of us need at least a few days to assess personalities, look at academic skills, and suffer from bad partners. Also, you may find that that box or cabinet you thought was in a prime location is actually more of a nuisance than a help.

After a period of time, even the best teacher will often need to make some adjustments within their classroom. Here are three tips for teachers in the first few weeks of school to make your classroom a better learning environment.

1) Mix up your seating plan

Decide if you want children in rows and columns, at “tables” of 4 or 5 desks, or in some other formation. Should this child be sitting next to (or even a stone’s throw from) that child? Can these two children help each other if they are next to each other? Will these kids get high from smelling Elmer’s glue sticks if they sit next to each other?

Usually some combination of behavior and studies will determine the seating arrangement, especially if you have the children paired up in some way. It’s okay to change the seating plan several times, but don’t do it every day. Give a new combination at least a couple of days to make sure it doesn’t work before changing it back.

2) Moving furniture can free up space

If your teacher’s desk or a nondescript table is taking up space that would be better served otherwise, move it! Maybe it could be behind a shelf or screen above where a student desk couldn’t go.

While it’s usually best to arrange large furniture BEFORE school starts, there’s no law that says you can’t move it in the middle of the year. Remember, the easier it is for you to move around the room, the easier it will be to help students and keep them focused.

3) Keep those paths clear!

This follows directly from point number 2. Do not paint in a corner, or even in the center of the room, placing desks or furniture without gaps or openings. You want to be able to walk around the room (from one potential trouble spot to another) quickly and without hindrance. If you’re using a “horseshoe” pattern, be sure to leave a few gaps for easy entry and exit of the shoe. Otherwise, that horseshoe will NOT bring you luck!

Remember that you may find yourself rearranging your classroom more than once this year. It’s okay to take stock every few months and think about how your setup is working for you.

However, no matter how often you move things around, these three tips will always keep you on the right track.

Gaming

Camping Food Storage: How To Stop Animals From Stealing Your Food

Birds, squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, deer and more. They look cute, but when you’re on your back, be careful. They will easily risk rummaging through your food. Although many of these animals are small, they have a large, strong bite and their sharp teeth can cut through almost anything, their sharp claws can open most boxes and containers.

I lost a fleece jacket to a squirrel after leaving it on our picnic table for an afternoon with some nuts in a pocket. That squirrel worked its way through my zipper to get to the pocket and eat the nut pieces.

We have also had what we thought were raccoon proof containers invaded. The lids were ripped and torn and the food inside became a buffet for a family of raccoons one night.

Even some types of food coolers are easily breached by bears. With cunning paws, sharp teeth, and a desire to stop at nothing to chew up your food, the only animal-proof way to protect your food and containers is to hang your food or, better yet, when camping with your family, keep your food stored in your vehicle when you are not at your campsite.

Even dry foods that are sealed in resealable containers or bags can attract wildlife. Their sense of smell is far greater than a human’s sense of smell and even sealed food can become easy prey for them.

Also do not store your food inside your tent. You risk losing your store to the wild if they really want a sample. These animals can rip through fabric, rip through zippers, and will stop at nothing to get to your good-smelling food.

Our best advice is to keep your food inside the large containers and coolers you’ve brought with you camping. Just bring food for meal times and snacks. When you leave your campsite for long periods of time, place your food containers inside your vehicle. And never leave open food or any food item on your picnic table, dining table, inside your tent, or just lying around your campsite unless you want it to go away. Doing so will attract more animals as they will see your site as easy prey.

Some refrigerators are more bear resistant than others and if your refrigerator is very large and heavy, you can take a chance and leave it outside at night. It also depends on how friendly the area you are camping is. If there are bears in the area, you wouldn’t leave your fridge to chance.

Protect your food, protect your food containers and keep animals a safe distance from your campsite. They look cute but they don’t mind stealing your food. Don’t leave any food out after eating, keep all your food in containers, and place those containers inside your vehicle for an extended time outside of your camp.

Happy camping!

Health Fitness

Can Acid Reflux Cause Weight Gain?

I wouldn’t necessarily say that acid reflux causes weight gain, but I would say that there are foods that most people eat every day for years that cause acid reflux and weight gain.

So it may seem like acid reflux is causing your weight gain, but in reality, eating the wrong foods and combinations of foods can cause weight gain and acid reflux at the same time.

Just to give you a simple example of foods that give me acid reflux, and are known to cause weight gain, would be white sugar and white bread. There are many other foods, but let me explain these two and how they both cause acid reflux and weight gain.

White sugar makes your body too acidic. Your body will sometimes store excess acids in fat cells to protect your vital organs. This is one way it makes you store fat.

Another way it makes you store fat is that it raises your insulin levels and you start storing fat. Too much sugar is also a factor in diabetes.

White flour also causes your insulin to spike just like white sugar, but white flour also clogs the filter in your intestines that is supposed to absorb nutrients.

Too much bread and sugar are known to cause weight gain. This is fairly well accepted as true by the general population.

I met this guy who opened a pizzeria. It was normal size. After a few years of eating pizza and soda all day, he gained a lot of weight. He eventually sold the store, then slimmed down.

Bread and cheese cause constipation. If you’re constipated and eat a lot of sugar, the extra calories can’t even leave your body because the pathway out is physically obstructed.

Constipation can lead to excess toxicity, because toxins are not eliminated properly, which can lead to acne and many other health problems.

The calories from sugar have nowhere to go but to be stored in fat cells. Sugar is also causing other foods in the body to not be digested properly because the body will use the sugar first and stop digesting the rest of the food until the sugar is used up. So your body is starving for usable nutrients that have been properly digested.

Acid reflux usually tortures me if I eat any type of starch. Starches are bread, potatoes, rice, etc… Acid reflux is a sign that you are not digesting food well.

If you take medication to neutralize the acid, it will cause your food to not be further digested. Especially the meat. If this meat is trapped in your body due to constipation and is not digested because the stomach acid has been neutralized by the drugs, then it begins to rot.

Then you are full of rotten meat. This will also affect the way your body smells on the outside and if you have very smelly gas it means you are full of rotten food in your body.

You don’t have to live like this.

You can cleanse your body by correcting faulty dietary conditions and restore your health possibly better than ever.

If you eat meat, you want it to be fully digested in an acidic stomach. That’s why I sometimes take vitamin C ascorbic acid when I eat meat.

Vitamin C is also like a preservative. It is used in many canned foods as a preservative, kills yeast, and donates electrons to neutralize free radicals. It is a powerful antioxidant when taken in the right doses and in the right combinations of foods.

Most people eat meat. When you eat meat, your stomach pumps out a digestive fluid that is acidic to break down the meat. On the other hand, the body pumps out an enzyme to digest starch, but this enzyme is destroyed by acid.

The main cause of acid reflux is eating proteins and starches in the same meal. This always gives me horrible heartburn and acid reflux.

When you eat protein and starches at the same time, you’re asking for acid reflux because the body keeps pumping out more digestive fluid because it keeps getting destroyed because the starch enzyme gets destroyed by the acid.

In general, most people are eating a diet that they grew up on and that is determined by what other people eat. Most people have been eating poorly since they were very young and don’t know what it feels like to be symptom free.

I was one of these people. I’m telling you, there’s a huge health epidemic and it’s because people have been brainwashed and addicted, and there’s so much disinformation clutter on the web and on TV that it’s almost a lost cause to try to interest people about healthy eating. .

Those who don’t wake up and realize that eating an unnatural diet full of refined foods and chemicals will lead most people to a lifetime of disease, pain and suffering.

Eating bad food combinations, wrong macronutrient ratios, foods that cause constipation, sugar that feeds yeast (causing athlete’s foot and other yeast, yeast infections, jock itch, chronic fatigue), eating foods that make you acidic (causing filters bone minerals), and eating refined starches can cause acid reflux and weight gain in most people, in my opinion.

So it’s not acid reflux that causes weight gain, it’s faulty dietary habits that cause both unhealthy weight gain and acid reflux and heartburn. And in my experience, acid reflux and gas tones go hand in hand.

In summary and to get to my final point, faulty diet causes a ripple effect of many health symptoms and ailments that are entirely preventable if corrected before anything serious develops.

Acid reflux and weight gain will be the least of your worries, as these conditions are early warning signs of more serious health conditions that will continue to develop until you cleanse your digestive tract and normalize your body’s pH.

Acid reflux does not cause weight gain. Like excess gas, jock itch, headaches, acne and pimples, bad breath, rotten body odor.

These are all simply warning signs that your digestive system has been compromised. Many symptoms of disease, pain and suffering, and a single cause. Faulty Diet and Toxicity. Both easily correctable.

Legal Law

If that’s the law then

The 19th-century British author Charles Dickens once worked as a clerk at a law firm, and many of the characters in his novels were derived from clients he met while working at the firm. In one of his novels from the 1840s, I don’t remember which one by Dickens, there was a colloquy between two of the characters. The first character explains to the second character the operation of a new British law that has just come into force. Upon learning of the new law, the second character replies in disbelief, “Sir, if that’s the law, then the law is an ass!” Ever since I read that Dickens novel whose title I do remember, I have often read about new laws or legal rulings that remind me that Dickens’s character was right to describe the “law as an ass.” Here is a case in point that I remember writing about at the time.

In 2008, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit struck down a recently enacted New York law that required airlines to provide food, water, clean restrooms, and fresh air to passengers stuck on delayed planes. The law was struck down by the court, which noted that while the measure was well-intentioned, it violated federal authority.

The law was passed after thousands of passengers were stranded for up to ten hours on various JetBlue Airways flights at Kennedy International Airport on Valentine’s Day in 2007. Passengers complained that they were being deprived of food and water and that the toilets overflowed. A month later, passengers from other airlines were stranded aboard other airlines at Kennedy after an ice storm.

The law was challenged by the Air Transport Association of America, the industry trade group that represents major US airlines. It is strange that this trade group actually appears to be advocating that passengers be deprived of food, water, and clean toilets on stranded commercial aircraft.

The Second Circuit held that although the law’s goals were “laudable” and the circumstances that prompted its adoption were “deplorable,” only the federal government has the authority to pass such regulations. The doctrine of preference establishes that, according to the Commerce Clause, the federal rules that protect the health, safety and welfare of people who travel in our country must prevail and preempt or override any statute of state law that speaks about the same. business. We can certainly understand the federal doctrine of preference; however, in this case we should say: “Sir, if that is the law, then the law is an ass!”

See: Air Transport Association of America, Inc. c. Cuomo, No. 07-5771-cv, slip op (2d Cir. Mar. 25, 2008). 2008 US Application Lexis 6130

Lifestyle Fashion

Coping with the loss of a pet rat

For many rat owners, losing one of their furry best friends is a very emotional and painful experience. Often friends and family may not understand the extent of your grievance over the loss of a ‘rat’.

What they don’t understand is that you had a deep connection with your friend on a soul level and that he was a close friend, like a human friend.

Take heart and know that many pet sitters share this same deep grief when they lose a beloved animal friend.

Many people have different ways of coping, so it’s important to give yourself time and space to grieve the way only you can. Sometimes it’s helpful to pay tribute to your friend by creating a pictorial record of their life or by sharing an obituary on a rat forum.

Do what feels right to help him come to terms with his loss. Give yourself time before you feel like yourself again. It may take me about 2-3 months before I feel recovered from the loss of a raggedy friend. Having other rats to care for also helps. They may also feel the loss of a close friend, so they also need your comfort and presence to help them with their grievance.

What helps me is knowing that these little beings had a wonderful life with me that they otherwise never would have had. And also, my own faith in a Conscious Loving Creator gives me the feeling that life has no end, but only the physical abandonment of a material form that is no longer able to sustain itself.

Furthermore, the death of your current rat(s) also leaves room for more rats to come into your life and enjoy the love and wonderful lifestyle you have to give them.

Many people suffer so much that they say they don’t want another rat(s). Hopefully, after a little time, once they get over their grievance, they will realize that while it was painful to lose their friend, they also had many, many hours of joy and fun with them. And also the rats with them!

In the movie ‘Ghost’ Swayze’s character said at the end ‘You take love with you’. And I think that’s true. Love is invisible and yet there is no doubt that it exists. Just remember that each of your rats returns love to the Creator and returns it to the Universe. It’s a wonderful thought, isn’t it?

You are blessed to have met each of your wonderful furry friends and they were blessed to have met you and shared their lives with you.

If you are really struggling with the loss, share how you feel with rat keepers on a forum like http://www.fancyratsforum.co.uk, who will understand and empathize with your feelings.

Or contact a pet grief counselor online.

A book I recommend for the open minded is ‘Animals And The Afterlife’ by Kim Sheridan. It is a wonderful book with many true stories from pet owners who have experienced messages or contact with their lost pets. This book helped me a lot in coping with loss and the author has been caring for rats for many years which made it particularly meaningful to me.

I have also experienced ‘contact’ with my rats from the other side of life, and that has made me realize without a doubt, that life goes on.

“There is no death, only the abandonment of a form that temporarily embodies the spirit as part of the game of creation. The essence/spirit cannot die, it is all around us within everything that becomes or forms. It is the energy that animates our bodies and is the Source of creation. It is what gives life to form or being and simply lets go of form when matter cannot be sustained any longer due to disease or aging. Because all matter is subject to decomposition in this third dimensional existence, but life or spirit always Is. Forms will always come and go, but Spirit/Life always is, here and now, forever and ever. (open)

Healing wishes and love to you and your rats, wherever you are!

Pets

How Paul Brunton was told to go to Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi – Part II

Paul Brunton arrived in Madras (now called Chennai) in January 1931. He met the great author Mr. KSVenkataramani. It was Mr. Venkataramani who took Paul Brunton to the great sage of Kanchi, His Holiness Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Swami.

After the Chingleput interview, Paul Brunton returned to Madras.

That night he saw the great sage in his vision.

He recounted his experience in his own words:

“My astonished gaze meets the face and form of His Holiness Shri Shankara. It is clearly and unmistakably visible. He does not appear to be an ethereal ghost, but a solid human being. There is an eerie luminosity around the figure that separates him from the surrounding darkness

Surely vision is impossible? Haven’t I left it at Chingleput? She squeezed her eyes shut in an effort to prove the point. There is no difference and I still see it clearly!

It is enough that you receive the sensation of a benign and friendly presence. I open my eyes and take in the gentle figure in the flowing yellow robe. Her face changes, as her lips smile and seem to say: “Be humble and then you will find what you seek!”

The vision disappears as mysteriously as it came. It leaves one feeling elated, happy, and unfazed by its supernatural nature. Do I dismiss it as a dream? What does it matter?” Paul Brunton went to Thiruvannamalai and met Maharishi Ramana. He was attracted to Bhagavan Ramana. He stayed there. He started asking various questions.

On the twenty-third of January, 1936, he asked Bhagavan many questions.

Ramana.

Mr. Brunton asked Bhagavan if the Hill here is hollow.

Maharishi: The Puranas (Hindu holy scriptures) say so. When it is said that the Heart is a cavity; penetration into it proves that it is an extension of light. Similarly, the Hill is one of light. The cellars etc are covered by that Light.

Brunton: Are there caves inside?

Maharishi: In vision I have seen caves, cities with streets, etc., and a whole world in them.

Brunton: Are there Siddhas (holy men of the highest order) in it too?

Maharishi: It is said that all the Siddhas are there.

Brunton: Are there only Siddhas or others as well?

Maharishi: Just like this world.

Brunton: The Siddhas are said to be in the Himalayas.

Maharishi: Kailas is in the Himalayas; it is the abode of Siva. Where this Hill is Siva Himself. All the paraphernalia of his abode must also be where he himself is.

Brunton: Does Bhagavan think the Hill is hollow, etc?

Maharishi: It all depends on the point of view of the individual. You yourself have seen hermitages, etc., on this Hill in a vision. You have described such in your book.

Brunton: Yes. It was on the surface of the Hill. The vision was within me.

Maharishi: That is exactly so. Everything is within oneself. To see the world, there must be a viewer. There could be no world without the Self. The Self understands everything. In fact, the Self is everything. There is nothing besides the Self.

Brunton: What is the mystery of this hill?

Maharishi: Just as you said in The Secret Egypt: “The mystery of the pyramid is the mystery of Being”, so also the mystery of this Hill is the mystery of Being. Brunton understood the mystery of the Sacred Hill Arunachala. He introduced Bhagavan Ramana to the West in his book A Quest in Secret India, published in 1935. He had spent several months in Ramanasramam. His next book, The Secret Path, described Maharishi’s “Who am I” technique of self-inquiry.

Real Estate

Should Real Estate Wholesalers Accept Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is hot. So should investors selling wholesale properties make an effort to accept bitcoin or is it another major pitfall to avoid?

The buzz about bitcoin seems to be growing, just as the virtual currency is skyrocketing in value. So what are the real pros and cons of trading this digital currency for those wholesale houses? Is it essential or should it be avoided?

Actually, there are many benefits of incorporating bitcoins in the business of those wholesale properties.

This includes:

Make it easy for more people to buy and invest with you

Taking advantage of the dramatic increase in the price of bitcoin

Increased press, brand visibility and viral spread.

Attention from tech-savvy investors and buyers

Of course, many wholesale CEOs are finding out what Bitcoin is all about. Unfortunately, much of this is in the form of negative media surrounding the recent closure of Silk Road, the arrest of Charlie Shrem, and the mega-million dollar bitcoin seizure.

On the bright side, those who have followed this news will know that all of this has little to do with the use of bitcoins and everything to do with illegal activities being bought and sold. In fact, the fact that the government is supposedly selling the digital coins it stole makes Bitcoin legit.

It is becoming very easy to accept bitcoin, and more and more companies from various industries are adopting it. Right now there is an incredible window of opportunity to ride on the coattails of the coin and push the coin up. For many, it could be their best marketing move of the year and really help launch their business to the next level. Of course, this will not be an open door or opportunity for long. We’re talking weeks and months before the novelty wears off and everyone is doing it.

However, there are some critical considerations to keep in mind. Many may prefer to spend and accept bitcoin for privacy. However, while Bitcoin Magazine reports that 90% of those in existence are piling up, there is potential for large fluctuations.

For the past year, this has worked in favor of bitcoin owners and miners. Coins that were worth a few or a few hundred dollars a year ago are currently trading for hundreds and tens of thousands of dollars. Due to the limited number of people holding them, there is a lot of control in a few hands.

So recognize the value of using them to wholesale property, but think about the consequences of having too much virtual money.