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People who choose to stay full time can have numerous reasons for doing so. They could be Disney employees thus enjoying the luxury of a very short journey time to work, since the majority of vacation rental villas are very well situated to access Walt Disney World and all it has to offer. Some residents own vacation homes in and around where they stay and they like to be close at hand to keep an eye on their property and look after their guests themselves. Others may have some kind of occupation related in some way to the hospitality/vacation industry. Then again you may just find some friendly folks who like the idea of having new and different neighbours every few weeks!

Having full time residents nearby can be a great thing. They very much enjoy visitors to their area and those who settle there full-time are well used to new neighbours every one or two weeks and are very friendly and keen to learn you are enjoying your stay and having a fabulous vacation.

Just generally walking about the resort your vacation villa is in, you are bound to pass some local residents who are always ready to greet you with a smile and genuinely wish you a nice day. If you have questions about the local area or attractions, I am sure you will find them only too happy to help.

That said, since these people are resident full time, one should always be remember to be courteous to them whilst still making the most of your vacation.

Local residents need their sleep too!

Generally there are safety and courtesy rules in all residential areas for quiet times at the pool. As a rule of thumb these tend to be 11pm-7am. One of the most tempting times to forget about these rules is for those visitors who have travelled from far away (e.g. U.K.) and need to make huge adjustments to time changes and body clocks. On the first morning of these guests vacation, they will tend to waken very early and it is strongly advised to resist the urge to come straight down to the pool until it reaches what everyone would agree is a slightly more reasonable time.

Stay in a resort based vacation home

You will find a great many of Orlando vacation villas have been built in resorts that offer communal areas. These can include any combination of the following: a communal swimming pool (in addition to your very own private pool at your holiday villa); a games room; a fitness room; a shop; a caf; basketball/volleyball courts; tennis courts; childrens play areas. Any of these areas offer the ideal opportunity to meet people from all over the world- both full time residents and other holidaymakers like you.

Showing your neighbours common courtesies will encourage them to extend a warm welcome when you return for another vacation at a later date and then your villa experience really will be like a home from home since you already know the neighbours!

Peter Kenny has been travelling to Florida for the last 20 years. You can find more articles on renting and buying private vacation homes here http://www.windsorpalmsflorida.com and http://www.reunionresort.us.com.

Even the most expensive floors can have problems. Woods are prone to scratches than any other flooring. Problems can range to minor problems to the surface or to a major one which damage on the structure. You can seek for a professional who will repair the damage or try to do it yourself.

I would try to tackle normal floor problems and possible ways to repair those.

1. One problem is the hardwood surface scratches which are very hard to avoid since this is natural wear and tear on every wood. If scratches on the floor are unapparent, color sticks or urethane touch-up kits available at most floor retailer stores can be used. If scratches are deep, you will need to change the damaged boards. I

2. Another problem would be buckled hardwood which is when boards rise up from the sub floor due to humidity levels. This should be repaired at once to avoid larger damage and the hazard of tripping. Expert help is sometimes required since the problem is beneath the floor. Fixing a screw into the flooring and the sub floor pulls down the buckled portion of the floor; cement block can also be used to deal with the problem

3. Hardwood plank gaps or separations of gaps are caused naturally by climate or by dryness. Woods will shrink or expand when wet or dry. The problem is seasonal so if the weather is humid, the floor is fine. Just be patient in waiting for the floor to return on its normal shape again, as long as the gaps are not that large, it is definitely okay.

4. Loose planks of wood can be fixed through nail and hammer set. Greatly loose boards can have deeper problems; this can be solved through replacement of the damaged strips on the floor.

5. Broken or split woods on the floor can also be repaired through hammer and special angled nails; larger splits may also need replacements.

6. Stained hardwood floors can be the most devastating problem on the floor since stains can mess up the beauty of the whole floor having dark colors. Refinishing the whole floor can be the only way to deal with stains but you can try this few steps:

a. Sand out the stained wood

b. Apply an acid mixture; this is a mixture of acid crystals (sold at retail flooring stores) and water on a clean white cloth. Let the mixture set on the floor for an hour.

c. Check if the stain is gone; if not repeat the process over again.

d. Once the stain is washed out rinse the area with vinegar and let the area dry completely.

e. Apply an oil-based stain that can match the bleached portion. Additional coats would be necessary to level the color of the floor. Once you have arrived at the color that you want, let the floor dry overnight.

Be sure to wear protection for your eyes when doing the whole process of floor stain removal.

7. Washboarding or cupping hardwood is a hardwood floor problem characterized by wood strips that are high on the edges but lower on the center. Cupping can be caused by moisture imbalance wherein more water is stagnated on the bottom of the wood than on top. The remedy for this problem is to stabilize the humidity levels of the wood surface first. Sand it out and refinish the hardwood.

8. Warped floors are floors that lose its shape. This can pose a serious problem; thus professional help is needed at once.

Cleanliness at home is still the best way to maintain the sturdiness of the hardwood floor. Vacuuming and mopping of the floor at least once a week is a good start. It has also been advice not to wax floors with polyurethane coatings because it will be very hard to recoat or refinish it again without sanding it wholly first.

Do not feel obliged to call the help of experts to make minor repairs on your flooring problems. There are those which are easy to deal with and you can try to solve it on your own. This can save you from a lot of hassle and money which can be used for bigger problems in the long run.

Hardwood floor repair takes a lot of time and patience. With appropriate techniques, tools and products, fixing of the floor will be as easy as 1-2-3.

Lee Dobbins writes for www.refinishing-hardwood-floors.com where you can learn more about choosing, maintaining and refinishing hardwood floors.

Everyone in Dallas, Houston and throughout the rest of Texas feels an occasional symptom or two from flu, cold, allergy or whatever is going around. But, when the symptoms become persistent, they could even become life threatening. Individuals who feel chest or abdominal pain, or experience unexplained bleeding, should seek immediate medical care. There are other symptoms that are less well known which, if you develop them, you should seek immediate medical care. Here are 10 symptoms that you should not ignore:

1. Unexplained weight loss
Experiencing a 5% weight loss in a month, or a 10% weight loss within 6-12 months, could be a symptom of a number of different conditions, including an over-active thyroid, depression, liver disease, cancer or other non-cancerous disorders which might interfere with how your body absorbs nutrients.

2. Persistent fever
Registering a persistent low-grade fever of more than 100.4 F should be evaluated if it lasts for a week or more. A low-grade fever can signal an underlying infection. Some cancers and other medical conditions can cause prolonged, persistent fever. A fever accompanied by violent chills, or higher than 103 F, should be evaluated right away.

3. Shortness of breath
Gasping for air or wheezing are medical emergencies. Causes can vary widely and can include asthma, heart problems, anxiety, panic attacks, or a blood clot in the lungs.

4. Unexplained changes in bowel habits
Bowel habit changes may signal a bacterial or viral infection, inflammatory bowel disease or, at the extreme, colon cancer. Seek medical attention for any of the following:
-Severe diarrhea lasting more than two days
-Mild diarrhea lasting a week
-Constipation that lasts for more than two weeks
-Unexplained urges to have a bowel movement
-Bloody diarrhea
-Black or tarry-colored stools

5. Mental status changes
Changes in behavior or thinking may be due to infection, head injury, stroke, low blood sugar or medications. Immediate medical care should be sought for any of the following:
-Sudden or gradual confused thinking
-Disorientation
-Sudden aggressive behavior
-Hallucinations

6. New or more-severe headaches -- especially for individuals over the age of 50. Seek immediate medical attention for:
-A sudden and severe headache, often called a thunderclap headache, because it comes on suddenly like a clap of thunder
-A headache accompanied by a fever, stiff neck, rash, mental confusion, seizure, vision changes, weakness, numbness, speaking difficulties, scalp tenderness or pain with chewing. Causes for headaches considered medical emergencies may include stroke, blood vessel inflammation, meningitis, brain tumor, aneurysm or bleeding on the brain after head trauma.

7. Short-term loss of vision, speaking, movement or control
With these symptoms, minutes count because they indicate the possibility of a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). Seek immediate medical attention for any of the following:
-Sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm, leg on one side of the body
-Sudden dimness, blurring or loss of vision
-Loss of speech, or trouble talking or understanding speech
-A sudden or severe headache
-Sudden dizziness, unsteadiness or a fall

8. Flashes of light
The sudden sensation of flashing lights may signal the beginning of retinal detachment. Seek immediate medical care to save vision in the affected eye.

9. Feeling full after eating very little
Feeling full sooner than normal after eating a meal, or feeling persistent nausea or vomiting for a week, might indicate possible gastrointestinal disorders, pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer or ovarian cancer.

10. Hot, red or swollen joints
These warning signs can indicate a joint infection, which requires emergency care to save the joint and prevent the spread of bacteria. Other causes could include gout or certain types of arthritis.

It's important for Texans, and everyone, to take care of themselves and to remember that part of your physical maintenance is being able to recognize certain symptoms, especially those that reoccur or don't go away. How you treat your body when youre young will certainly affect your health when you get older. Eventually, it will also affect your wallet as well.

If you're a young individual who likes to maintain a healthy condition, you should take a look at the revolutionary, comprehensive and highly affordable individual health insurance solutions created by Precedent specifically for you. For more information, visit us at our website, www.precedent.com. We offer a unique and innovative suite of individual health insurance solutions, including highly competitive HSA-qualified plans and an unparalleled real-time application and acceptance experience.

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Basics:

Ultra violet sterilization is one of the most effective means of controlling algae (green water) in ponds and is also effective at disease prevention in aquariums and ponds and for general water quality control in aquariums and ponds. There is a lot of new evidence as to the benefits of UV sterilization for ALL fish, and many myths have been dispelled such as UV Sterilizers destroying beneficial nitrifying bacteria, so please read on.

UVs are also useful in Reef aquaria, especially new ones where the chance of disease introduction is high and the UVs help in keeping a balanced Redox Potential is useful. As the reef aquaria ages the sterilizer can be placed on a timer or turned on and off as needed.

As for the Redox Potential, this is an often overlooked aspect of both freshwater and saltwater aquarists. The Redox Potential is basically the oxidation and reduction properties of water. This is VERY important for proper breakdown of organic waste!, especially in aquariums where the fish/invertebrates come from waters of low turbidity (African Cichlids) or tend to produce a lot of waste (Goldfish). Most experts agree that the proper Redox Potential should be -300-390 mV (less or more is not good, which is why a proper UV is excellent for this, as this is the range they tend to keep it at).

The key to success is water flow, water temperature and cleanliness of the bulb or quartz sleeve. It is important to have a flow rate that will turn over the pond or aquarium at least once or 1 times per hour for disease prevention or every three hours for green algae control (I have achieved effective disease sterilization as tested with a bacterial cloud with as little as once per two hours with a good installation in an otherwise well maintained aquarium). Example: 100 gph will service a 100 gallon pond well. The reason I mentioned such seemingly slow rates is too high a rate will not usually allow for adequate contact time with uvc radiation. Follow manufacturers recommendations for flow rate [our 15 watt model is 200-350 gph]. The other key is temperature. 60 to 85 degrees [F] has worked best for me.

Quartz sleeves help keep up a higher temperature (around 5 F in my tests) but dont allow for as good of contact with the water and are difficult to keep clean, so in my opinion the benefits are a wash. Which brings me to key # 3, keeping the bulb or quartz sleeve clean? First, you want to change the bulb every 6 months for disease prevention or once every year at the beginning of the growing season for green algae prevention. You want to clean the quartz sleeve at this time too, which is one reason for a simple model without a quartz sleeve, use just throw away the dirty bulb. [Although the temperature aspects of a quartz sleeve are worthy of note].

Back to temperature; if your water is very cold (such as a pond or even well water treatment system), I would suggest pre-heating your water before it passes through your UV Sterilizer unit, this is more effective than a quartz sleeve.

Other factors of note are water turbidity (dissolved waste particulates in the water column, poor circulation (a poor flow pattern that that has the water pickup and return too close where too much water goes unfiltered). If these factors exist you will need a larger UV Sterilizer for an effective pathogen kill.

Many arguments against UV Sterilizers in ponds is that they are not natural, but for the clarity most persons want out of their pond, this is not possible without either UV sterilization or a flow thru stream (although many persons with well planted, well shaded ponds do well with clarity). I also have read many anecdotal aquatic forum and blog posts that state that a UV Sterilizer is not that beneficial to an established aquarium as a healthy aquarium depends on beneficial bacteria typically growing on media in your filter which neutralize ammonia. Unfortunately the problem with this statement is beneficial bacteria belongs in the filter, not in the open water (and there is scientific research to back this up, one just needs to look for better sources of aquarium information and articles). Also this is great for advanced aquarists who are not adding fish and have a healthy Redox Potential, but not in the real world of average and above average aquarists that I have dealt with in the 100s of aquariums I have serviced.

How UVC Works:

All gases, liquids, and solids are made up of elements. The fundamental building blocks of elements are atoms, which in turn are made of electrons, neutrons and protons..., all held together by electronic attraction. This is referred to as polarity, the principle that positive and negative poles attract and remain bound together based upon the strength of that attraction. There are over 100 elements known in our universe. It is the elements that form compounds.

Elements combine to form gases, liquids or solids. For example, water is made of two molecules of hydrogen and one molecule of oxygen. Carbon dioxide is one molecule of carbon and two molecules of oxygen. These and all other combinations of elements are bound together by the force of attraction or polarity at the level of the atoms. Organic compounds. The compounds of our focus are those structures that are organic in nature. Primarily it is the organic molecules that are the basis of indoor contamination. We need to understand these compounds so we know how to clean and purify the home. Organic compounds are carbon based. Life is determined by carbon based DNA and amino acid chains. Carbon is not only found in "life," but a whole range of chemicals. A number of useful organic compounds are made up of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen and traces of other elements. The most recognizable organic compound is based upon the carbon and hydrogen combination, or hydrocarbons. Plastics, petroleum products and gasoline are hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbon Organic compounds tend to break down or decay faster than non-organic. The decaying process means hydrogen and carbon molecules separate. For example, if the plastic (organic) in milk bottle is left in the sun for a couple of years, much of it will decay. Skin, hair, tissue (all organic) decays more rapidly. This also shows the effectiveness in UV Sterilization in removing oil based pollutants from an aquarium

With the understanding that carbon is the building block of life (and more), we now need to look at the forces that will break down organic and carbon based contaminate molecules. In short, a photochemical process, initiated by short-wave ultraviolet can do this. Short-Wave Ultraviolet We all accept but dont understand the damaging effects of x-ray and gamma ray radiation. Why isnt visible light as destructive on human cells or bacteria as x-ray and short wave UV have been shown to be? X-ray, gamma, ultraviolet, infrared and visible light energy all fit in a category called "electromagnetic" energy. They all have the same characteristic "lazy S" energy wave, that travel at the speed of light. The light ray energy is called photons that oscillate, resulting in wave frequency. The difference in each type of wave energy is the wavelength, the distance across this wave. By definition, the shorter the distance across the wave, the more powerful the wave will be. The difference in the wavelength determines how the wave affects its surroundings. It is this wavelength difference that allows short-wave x-ray to pass through walls, while longer-wave visible light cannot pass though the same material; short-wave ultraviolet and x-ray can destroy DNA in living microorganisms and breakdown organic material while visible light will not.

Nanometers: Measuring Light Energy All light energy is measured on a "nanometer" (nm) scale. Nanometer means one-billionth of a meter. The lower end of the scale has the shortest wavelength, and the upper the longest. Cosmic, gamma, x-rays and "C" band UV are all classified short-wave energy. Visible light is at middle ground, at 400-700 NM on the scale. Infrared light is in the upper end of the spectrum, running from about 800 to 1400 NM, and radio waves are longer yet in the 1400 to 2200 NM range. Spectrograph: Charting Light Energy in Nanometers. What is Ultraviolet Light? Ultraviolet light is toward the low end of this scale, from about 100 to 400 NM, with three categories, "A," "B" and "C." UV is beyond the range of visible light and cannot be seen. We only see evidence of its presence. Short-wave UV, called "C" band (100 280 NM) is known as UVC. Most C band radiation is screened from the sun before reaching the earth by the production of ozone in the upper atmosphere. Useful UVC is entirely manmade, found in todays low-pressure UVC lamps. The most effective sterilizing range for UV is within the C bandwidth. This range is called the germicidal bandwidth. The ideal germicidal curve is considered 240 NM to 280 NM, with the most effective at 265 NM. With the initial exposure, UVC has properties that alter the cells of living tissue, particularly microbes. UVC radiation triggers the formation of peptide bonds between certain amino acids in the microbes DNA molecules. This renders bacteria, viruses and molds harmless by robbing them of the ability to reproduce. If the germ cells are exposed for longer periods, they start breaking down to the molecular level (carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen ions, etc.).

For further information, please visit ULTRAVIOLET STERILIZATION (How UV sterilization works). This article explains in depth with more links and diagrams the benefits and myths about aquarium and pond uv sterilization.

By Carl Strohmeyer

http://aquariumuvsterilizer.blogspot.com/