Since introducing Skitters into our life we’ve walked many miles, both near and far. The daily walks don’t vary much – I normally take her out along the sea front to Hove Lawns for her morning walk, Richard usually takes her out to the St Nicholas Rest Garden at lunchtime and early evenings. It is the weekend walks and holiday walks which have the promise of adventure.

We have an ever increasing collection of OS Maps now. When we’re planning a trip away somewhere, first on the shopping list is a new one. We’ve replaced our local one with a weatherproof version as we’d worn a hole through the first one due to too many rainy outings. We’ve become quite adept at spotting circular walks although still sometimes fail to work out the gradients – like on our first day in the Lake District when this nice gentle stroll we’d spotted took us up and over a fell.

Driving With Dogs is a website that Richard discovered one day. It lists dog walks from motorway junctions or services, allowing you to take a break, and take the dog for a wander in something more inspiring than a housing estate, industrial estate or service station. We’ve used quite a few of these walks, some are more “our kind of walks” than others, but they’ve all saved us the time and effort of trying to work something out ourselves.

Pocket Pub Walks East Sussex (Pocket Pub Walks) and Pocket Pub Walks West Sussex (Pocket Pub Walks) both contain walks of between 2.5 and 5.5 miles around East Sussex or West Sussex (as appropriate). All are circular and start/end at a pub. The guide also mentions whether the pub is dog or child friendly – the addition of this information is what prompted me to buy them in the first place. The books are small enough to fit into big pockets, and contain clear directions which mean you don’t necessarily need the OS Map as well. Every county needs these kind of books, especially the ones I holiday in. Finding out if a pub is dog friendly is often quite tricky, although DOGGIE PUBS and dog friendly do give a few clues but working out a walk that ties in with a good dog-friendly pub at the end is hard to work out when you’re unfamiliar with a place.

If any other dog walkers stumble across this post and have some other useful resources to share, please leave us a comment. Thanks!

For our Christmas cards this year we didn’t force the dog to be a model again, but took advantage of opportunities when they arose through the year. So, one of the designs featured Skitters wearing her Christmas collar, taken in the snow of last December

whilst the other was a photograph of a Santa painted on the Bondhi beach graffiti wall which we spotted whilst we were in Sydney last January

We’ve now done our travelling, and delivered all of the presents that need more than a short walk, so can start this relaxing thing that I’ve heard so much about.

Have a wonderful festive season

Last year, whilst we were preparing to go to the Gower peninsular we stocked up on OS maps, including one for Pembrokeshire. We spent all our time in the Gower, and didn’t use the map at all. So, we thought we’d rectify that and so decided to head there for a visit. We weren’t disappointed.

We found ourself a lovely house to stay at in Lower Fishguard and spent our week exploring the area, making the most of the mostly dog-friendly beaches, and enjoying the beautiful view from the balcony.

As I mentioned in a blog post a while ago, Traeth Llyfn, could be my favourite beach of all time. Other beaches we visited were Newgale sands, Porthmelgan, Abereiddy, Musselwick – all of which were charming and beautiful in their own way. The Pembrokeshire coastal path is well maintained, and well marked, and has some stunning views along the way.

The house was very dog friendly, and the garden was pretty secure too. There was at least one dog friendly pub in Fishguard itself and a few more in Pembrokeshire itself. The kitchen was well stocked (although if there had been 6 or 7 of us, there may not have been enough pots and pans). The bed was incredibly comfortable, and I spent many a happy afternoon in the living room, reading my book and looking out across the harbour.

Pembrokeshire is definitely an area that deserves further exploration, possibly more towards the Southern area.

During 2010 I walked 1282 miles in almost 675 hours (that’s 28 days) – there are traces for some of them here

Almost all of these (with the exception of the first 2 weeks in January when we were in Sydney and Tokyo) were as a result of taking Skitters for a walk. Richard will have done a similar amount – I still do the morning walks, he does the lunchtime/evening walks and we both do the longer, more explorey, weekend walks.

I can’t believe that I spent almost a month of 2010 outside walking

Last night we attended the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour UK Edition show in Brighton. We went last year too, and if I get my way will go every year till they stop bringing it back to Brighton. It’s a great opportunity to see a variety of sports films on a large screen with a beer in your hand.

The films they show vary depending on your venue, but we got to see:

• The Swiss Machine – awesome film, really incredible – watch the trailer here
• Wildwater – this went on a bit too long for me, but then I’m not a wildwater fanatic… So, decide for youself after you’ve watched the trailer
• Eastern Rises – when the lady introducing the video used the phrase “trust me” whilst telling us fly fishing was a great subject for a video I feared the worst, but this was a really well put together and, dare I say, interesting film which was utterly engaging – watch the trailer
• Follow Me – lovely mountain bike footage – short version of this film
• The Longest Way – a fast and furious look at photos and occasional video as Christop Reharge walks from Beijing to Germany (well part of the way at least)
• Azadi Freedom – part skiing film, part travel documentary about Kashmir, totally absorbing – watch trailer (also inline below)
• Parking Garage – a suitably silly way to end the evening

I think that Azadi Freedom ended up being my favourite of the evening, so I’ve embedded the trailer here for you to take a look at

This was only the 3rd date on their tour, so there are still plenty of opportunities for you to go and see some of these films, and I’d recommend it.

10 years ago, we posted this.

Blogger did rock then, but we finally gave up on it about 18 months ago when we finally moved over to wordpress

We don’t post very much any more, twitter and delicious (or pinboard) took our short comments and links to remember, leaving this for mainly travel related goodness.

Previously on “Jane on the radio”… we’d discovered a recording of Jane’s christening. Now we have the photos to go with it:

The write-up in Ariel, the BBC internal magazine, said:

Baby Jane made a name for herself last month when her Christening service was broadcast on Radio Humberside.  The Christening, at St Nicholas Parish Church, Hull, coincided with the time of Humberside’s regular Sunday morning United Acts of Worship.
It came as a happy surprise when the Vicar told Humberside staff: “We are doing a Christening this morning. Do you mind?” Humberside Station Manager John Cordeaux was delighted. And baby Jane Fothergill was the ideal ’star’ — well behaved, but making just enough baby noises to make her presence felt.
In the picture, Engineer Garry Heeley is adjusting the microphone at the font with Miss Fothergill about to be given her name by the Rev Christopher Hawthorne.

For many years I’d been intrigued by the idea of heading off in a VW Campervan and last year I decided to investigate it a bit more and see if I could find one I could hire for a weekend that would allow us to have the dog in there with us. CampinaVDub had been mentioned in a copy of out & about magazine so I investigated, found that they were based in Surrey, had availability for the weekend we’d got pencilled in and were happy for us to bring Skitters along with us.

We collected Daisy on a Friday afternoon in October and headed down to Durdle Door in Dorset. I’ve never driven a campervan before, and although this was one of the new Brazilian ones, it was still quite a different experience to driving our normal car. In fact, if I recall correctly I drove us to a Service Station just off the M3 and then Richard took over to drive us into Dorset. We turned up at the Durdle Door Holiday Park without reservations and got ourselves a pitch with no problem at all and proceeded to try and work out where everything was stowed (the van was really well stocked, it was just a matter of being organised and trying to work out where everything had been hidden) and then had a fight with the thermal window covers which were a total pain. We got dinner from the on-site pub but had to eat outside as they weren’t dog friendly indoors – this wasn’t great obviously but fortunately it was dry and not too cold.

The following day we headed out for an explore of the beautiful Durdle Door and walked down the coast to Lulworth Cove. Durdle Door was another of the beaches mentioned in the Top 10 dog-friendly beaches list (we’d already done 4 of them).

When we got back to the van we discovered that we’d gained a huge van next door, it was truly a case of little and large. At least ours was easier to manipulate, although I suspect their one had more home comforts.

We headed back down to Durdle Door in time for a beautiful sunset.

Skitters settled herself down for the evening, choosing to sit at the back in amongst the bedding and blankets.

On the Sunday we packed up and left Durdle Door and headed towards the New Forest via Lepe Country Park (another beach mentioned in the dog friendly beaches list) where we had a lovely long walk along the sea edge, and grabbed some lunch before driving on to the New Forest.

We spent the night at the Holmsley Caravan Park and Campsite which was basic but fine, and to be honest, as we had to have the van back at 11am on the Monday morning, we didn’t need much in the way of facilities.

Renting a campervan isn’t a cheap option but it was fun. By October the season is coming to an end, so a lot of the facilities at the caravan sites were closing or closed (for example the New Forest one only had one toilet block open). It was also starting to get quite chilly at night by October so the early mornings were a bit of a shock. We learnt after our first night that we needed to be pretty organised to not get in each others ways and to make sure that our early mornings involved freshly made tea without a large amount of swearing. All in all, a fun adventure, and one that I’d like to do again, but probably in June/July time instead.

Martyn asked:

How do you get on with BT Infinity in general? I was going to sign up but plan to move house in < 18 months so didn’t want the contract

Good question.  Moving ISP is a scary thing, better the devil you know, and all that.  For us especially so as Be, our previous ISP, were pretty good.  But we can’t get cable where we are (our neighbours can, we can’t: long story), so for speed no-one else can compare with BT for us.

In summary, we’re getting on very well in the most part.  During the day, we reliably see download speeds of 35+ Mbps and upload speeds of 8 Mbps.  That upload speed is fantastic for shipping photos around.  Not measured the evening performance, but not noticed any problems either.

The hardware (modem and wifi) are OK.  The modem died in the first month, but it was replaced by a BT engineer in 48 hours.  You can’t change the DNS on the wifi unit, which is a pain as BT’s DNS servers have crapped out on us once already.  But in general, you turn it on, it works.

I need to start keeping a log, but in the last couple of months I think there have been two outages. In both cases it took 3+ hours to resolve.  One was a DNS problem, and today… I don’t know what the problem was but it affected more than just BT.

All ISPs have outages, but the real difficulty with BT is getting a status report or even an acknowledgement that they know there’s a problem.  They do have a web status page but it’s never seems up to date.   Phoning them up is a waste of time. The @BTCare account tries, but can’t keep up, so you don’t often get any feedback until the issue is resolved.

Which is all a shame, because mostly it works and works well.  If BT were on the ball when there was a problem, I’d actually recommend them.

I like reading, and reading on the iPad is just fine.  Not great, room for improvement, but mostly good enough.

I have four main book readers: Kindle, iBooks, Readmill and Google Books.  The one I want to use most is Readmill. The one I actually use most is Kindle.  iBooks is fine until you have footnotes to follow, and then it’s unusable; but is my default choice for PDFs.  Google Books is so slow that I’ve not taken the trouble to investigate what else is wrong with it.

Kindle does most things right.  The only key feature it’s missing is an indicator of how far you are from the end of a chapter.  This is probably flagging me as terribly shallow, but I like to know if I’m approaching the end of a chunk of a book or not, so I can decide if I want to spend a few more minutes to get to the end or not.

The sharing from a Kindle is OK, but it doesn’t come close to the direction of Readmill.  I want Readmill to succeed, but it’s just not very good at displaying text: the sizing is all off, making it not fun when you get down to the nitty gritty business of eyes moving over words.  In other respects, it does well.  Rather than bang on about it, here’s my summary:

If your weight loss efforts have recently hit a plateau, don’t be too concerned; it’s an experience that many of us can inadvertently run into. Perhaps some stressful experiences at home or work have led you to comfort eat, or you are already fit, but your motivation has plummeted.

You might deem a weight loss boot camp just the solution; even just the phrase “boot camp” implies military-style hard work and no slacking. However, consider the following before you enrol…

What do different bootcamps offer?

There are many different boot camps from which you can choose, and what they all have in common is an aim to make you work your body more vigorously through both strength and cardio exercises.

Nonetheless, how exactly a boot camp reaches that end will depend on the specific one you choose. Hence, you should research a wide range of boot camps to discern what each of them involves – which could be high-intensity intervals or alternating challenges, SELF suggests.

You don’t need special gear just for bootcamp

Whatever you usually wear during a session at your local gym, you can typically expect to be able to wear on an indoor boot camp, too. Boot camps don’t tend to impose specific requirements in their participants’ workout attire; for example, women could opt for a sports bra, tank top and leggings.

However, if the boot camp will be in an exotic outdoor setting like Spain or Portugal, you should dress accordingly. Don’t expect that it will be just the exercises that get you sweating…

You don’t need to pay attention to everyone else exercising

You could understandably feel depressed and daunted if you see other people lifting hefty dumbbells or sprinting in a way that, right now, you could barely imagine doing yourself. However, you would not be expected to perform like this yourself – at least not early in your time at camp.

Some of the other participants might have much more workout experience than you. Carefully consider your own needs and level – and rest assured that your tutor will, too.

You can still occasionally let your hair down

Participating in a boot camp doesn’t strictly entail always spending time in grey, dingy rooms while a sullen-faced instructor barks one order after another like a military officer.

Even if you want the boot camp to last as long as a week, you could join what is called a luxury boot camp, which combines elements of both exercising and holidaying. Such camps can feature accommodation and swimming pools with which you can relax, says Metro.

A bootcamp can leave you feeling amazingly triumphant

Your early experiences of boot camp could feel painful if your body isn’t accustomed to such rigorous workouts. You might sometimes wake up in mornings feeling sore and unenthusiastic about getting back into gear. However, you should resist such disinclination.

Through regularly drinking enough water and eating sufficient food, you can help yourself get through a weight loss boot camp to impressive effect.

The post Weight loss bootcamps: what to know before you go appeared first on Jane and Richard.

There are some great moments which bring the family together every year. Christmas, birthdays and even graduations all manage to draw the whole family into one location and let us have an excuse for a party.

They are great but they are a million miles away from the fun and frivolities of any sporting event. The release of the yearly sporting calendar is always a cause for getting the diaries out and planning when we can have the best excuse for a party.

There are three events every year which just shout that we have to get together.

The first in the year and probably the biggest for us is the Grand National. It is the pinnacle of the horse racing year. Too many horses stand a chance to win and too many times has a horse from 100-1 managed to beat not just the odds, but the other twenty horses.

There is almost no way to properly and confidently predict which horse will win the race. The favourite loses more than it ever wins and the bookies take a hit every year. Just look at the odds that WilliamHill are offering and you will immediately see that there is no such thing as a certainty.

If the people who make a living out of knowing the results have no real idea, then anything you back is just as likely to win as the favourite.

Once the horse racing is out of the way, our attention turns straight onto the football and the world’s oldest knock-out competition. The FA Cup is right around the corner and less than a month later. The best thing is that there is a long enough gap between the two, that another party is not out of the question.

Come the 19th May, we are ready to scream for whichever team we dis-like the least and hope that our rivals don’t win. It never matters if our team aren’t in the final, mainly because they never make it, but also it’s just a great celebration and a pretty good excuse for a party.

Possibly our favourite sporting event of the year is right in the heart of the English summer. It’s a full day’s sporting action, day after day for a full three weeks. You can tune in just before lunch, put the barbecue on, enjoy a relaxing afternoon meal and then spend hours enjoying the spectacle of world class sport.

The Tour de France might have started as a publicity campaign for the country and a newspaper, but it has firmly become part of our yearly calendar. There is nothing like watching and appreciating the hours of blood, sweat and tears of the professional cyclists racing hundreds and thousands of miles, in three weeks of intense competition.

If you are after an excuse for a party, then you have three of the best excuses available. Just choose your favourite sport and make sure that you get the rest of the family around to join in.

The post The Biggest Sports Events Of Our Year appeared first on Jane and Richard.

For avid travellers, Singapore has been on the bucket list for some time. However, it has recently made it on to the list of the most popular holiday destinations, and it is not difficult to see why. The metropolitan city is littered with green space, looks after visitors, and has a great reputation for its food. Singapore is known for its melting pot of cultures, those who have resided in Singapore to escape conditions in their native countries or have moved to Singapore for business have brought with them a rich cultural heritage which has resulted in a diverse and exciting cultural scene for Singapore.

#Singapore #singaporestreets #singaporemrt #avasuninsingapore #avasuntravels #avasun #babygirl #loveava #4yearsold #57monthsold #dkhubby

A post shared by DK.AA (@missava_and_me) on Mar 23, 2018 at 2:17am PDT

Juxtaposed Architecture
In recent years, Singapore has caught the imagination of the world for its futuristic and interesting architecture, which appears to mimic the natural landscape and make use of space in the best ways possible. This is at odds with the older areas of the city, where you can see Colonial architecture and even older Malay style houses. In many other cities, this mixture of old and new can feel quite jarring, but in Singapore, it is a lesson in the country’s history of migration and diversity.

A post shared by Ростинг_Ульяновская (@rosting_ulianovskaya) on Mar 23, 2018 at 2:15am PDT

Modern architectural highlights include the Gardens by the Bay which represent the government’s aspiration to turn Singapore into a “city in a garden”. This is impressive when so many cities around the world struggle for green space and have high levels of pollution. The gardens feature giant “super trees”, and are home to many ferns and green plants. At night, the super trees are part of a magnificent light show which takes place in the park. In a bid to improve the quality of life within the city, officials have also created a major tourist attraction and a showcase for many of Singapore’s indigenous plants, as well as temporary exhibits for other plants.
The nightlife in Singapore is possibly one of the best hidden secrets in the city-state. Come nightfall, business districts welcome punters to vibrant bars and restaurants. If you head along Marina Bay, you’ll find the Marina Bay Casino which features 1,400 slot machines. If you’re used to playing slot games at home at online casinos with no deposit bonuses, then you’ll appreciate the change of scenery at Marina Sands. When it opened in 2010, it was billed as the world’s most expensive casino and has already featured in Independence Day: Resurgence – and it surely won’t be long until the glittering architectural gem will feature in a Bond film.
A Wealth of Hotel Options

A post shared by Gabriel Cross (@thegabrielcross) on Mar 21, 2018 at 6:38am PDT

When you’re thinking about where to stay in Singapore, think first about your budget. There are some great budget options. If you’re backpacking, there are reasonably priced hostels with a cool boutique feel, especially if you’re staying in the very centre of the city. If you prefer a five star service, Singapore has a range of options, from breath taking city views with rooftop pools, to quieter options which boast Michelin starred restaurants.
If you’re planning to hop around and not just visit the centre of the city, Ubin island should be on your list. Famed for its diverse wildlife, lush green forests and white sands, Ubin makes a great break from the silver skyscrapers of the inner city. You can stay on the island, in one of the small resorts tucked amongst the trees, but you can also visit for a day if you prefer. For animal lovers, Ubin is perfect. There are monkeys and lizards to look out for, but also pigs and dogs. Beware though, these dogs are not like your usual domesticated pets, they’re used to living in the wild so you should treat them as wild animals. They might approach you, but don’t make a habit of petting them, as they might misunderstand, and you’ll be inflicted with a nasty bite.
Probably the Perfect Holiday

A post shared by Sieu Keong (@hereasilentsky) on Mar 22, 2018 at 9:45pm PDT

Singapore’s climate makes it an ideal destination all year round. Whilst the heat and humidity remain consistent, if you’re particularly sensitive to heat, you might want to avoid May to June, as these make up the warmer months. The smoke haze during this time may be a problem, as the smoke from clearing fires in Sumatra tends to blow into the city.
If you fancy a holiday as diverse as your family might be, Singapore makes the perfect destination. You can mix a city break with a tropical resort, and also take cultural trips which will suit everybody’s needs. For romantic breaks, Singapore has everything. Romantic strolls in lush green parks, breathtaking views, and late night entertainment which will keep you going until the small hours.

The post Singapore is the Perfect Holiday Destination for Everyone appeared first on Jane and Richard.

While gamblers are no doubt geniuses when it comes to making split-second decisions which can result in a million dollar payday they might not be the best people to look at for long-term investment strategies. This does not imply that gamblers are not good investors. No, far from it. The gambler knows which strategy to use which investment. Professional gamblers invest in casino games daily from best online casino sites and earn enough money to take care of their responsibilities and even be irresponsible with.

Major Differences in Investing and Gambling

There are a couple of differences between gambling and investing (mainly because the two are very similar). Below are the top differences between investing and gambling.

• Gamblers already know they are going lose in the long term. The casinos only publish reports on how much their games will return to players in the very long term. These figures are never above 100% if they were the casinos would go out of business. All other investment portfolios promise to give back more than 100% what you invested. While both promise some sort of reward, with the casinos it is more like you are paying for the fun of playing casino games. This makes the actual winnings a bonus.

• No one can argue that gambling is a short-term activity. Just like any other hobby, gambling is a long-term engagement. The majority of people who end up with gambling problems fail to take it for what it is. A long journey with games of chance. That is why they fail to get satisfied with the short-term rewards. The difference is that the rewards for playing casino games come frequently and unexpectedly.

If you do not get it, just know that the difference is in the fun. With real money casino games, you are probably going to lose money but you will have fun doing it. On the other hand, financial investments will probably earn you money but it is not as fun. But that is an arguable point for another day.

The post Why You Do Not Want A Gambler To Give You Investment Tips appeared first on Jane and Richard.

I have been in the teaching game for over ten years. I have taught in four different schools and all of them had their challenges. The pupils were from a wide variety of social back grounds and ability levels. I know the behaviour issues and I deal with them on a daily basis. What I’m trying to say is that I know my job.

Then it comes to parent’s evening and suddenly I feel like I’m under fire. This will sound weird but I was accused of not bothering to teach this parent’s child. They were moaning at me for not doing my job. I was being told off, because this parent, who has never been in my classroom or seen my teaching, knew that I was not putting the effort in and was not bothering to teach their child.

It felt like I was being attacked and then it came to the crux of the matter. The parent was having a go at me because there was no way I could be teaching their child. they knew this because their child was, and I use this word as a direct quote, ‘enjoying’ my lessons.

How dare I! How very dare I plan and prepare a lesson which I think my pupils will enjoy. Why would I consider the pupil, when I try to figure out how to teach them. I took it as a massive compliment. Possibly one of the most back-handed compliments I will ever receive, but then again, when I told all the other teachers after the meeting, they laughed too.

We all enjoyed it.

I had the brilliant coincidence of teaching that pupil the following day. I probably shouldn’t have, but I asked them what it was about my class they enjoyed. Turns out that the thing they enjoy most about my lessons, are also the things I love planning the most.

I should explain a little bit. I love playing games, slots games, computer/mobile games, bingo games, basically any game. If I want to have a little fun, the very first place I’ll head to is TheBingoOnline.com. It makes me smile and I love it.

So I try to take these games into my lessons. I teach Computing, which just like everything else, if it was taught badly, it would be really boring. Yet, I try and put all the new things into games.

We play bingo using binary. I have treasure hunts through the school to find parts of code. I made a murder mystery game to help remember when to use a semi-colon.

It takes a lot of time, but as we all know, I re-use the exact same game twenty times with different classes. It is worth the investment and when I get the massively back-handed compliment from an uninformed parent, then it just becomes even more worth it.

I would love a Parent’s Evening where every single parent could sit down, look me square in the face and tell me that I’m not teaching their child. I would love to sit there and take their words, before pulling out the laptop, opening up the grade book and showing them a screen full of A’s.

Success builds success and rumours are riff about how I teach. Just like every good teacher, I try to make the boring aspects fun and I try to make the fun memorable. If one of my pupils puts the semi-colon in the right place, just because the remember that the semi-colon murdered the enter button on the end of the pier, then I will be a very happy teacher.

The post We Know How To Teach appeared first on Jane and Richard.

Patients often find it confusing to differentiate between a CT scan and an MRI scan. To them, they may seem similar and whether you need one or the other doesn’t matter. It is important however to identify key differences of each procedure so that next time you are required to undergo a scan you’ll know exactly what to expect. Here is a comparison of common patient concerns regarding undergoing a CT scan or MRI scan.

History

The MRI scan is a relatively new procedure with the first commercial MRI machine made available in 1981. Over time, significant advancements have been made to the machine resulting in greater accuracy. The CT scan, on the other hand, was invented a little earlier in 1971 when the very first brain scan was done.

Radiation exposure

This is a major concern for many patients who undergo scans in different areas of the body. CT scans emit minimal radiation doses. This equates to the same amount of radiation exposure an average person gets through daily activities within a period of three to five years. With an MRI scan, however, there is virtually no radiation exposure.

Suitability

CT scans, like the private CT scans in London clinics, are widely used on emergency patients and are suitable for detecting injuries to bones, taking high-resolution images of the chest, as well as detecting cancer. MRI scans are used to evaluate soft tissues. Some examples include damage to ligaments and tendons, injury to the spinal column, trauma and damage to the brain, as well as abnormal mass or growth.

Comfort level

MRI scans can be challenging for patients with claustrophobia as well as children who have difficulty lying still. Movement can affect the accuracy of images for MRI which is why patients have to lie very still for a certain amount of time. In some instances, when a patient experiences anxiety, sedation may become necessary. This is not the case with CT scans. The scanner is open thus the patient feels more comfortable and less closed in.

Time taken for a complete scan

CT scans are completed in less time than MRI scans. CT scans are normally done within five minutes. With MRI scans, it can take anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes and in some instances much longer.

Contrast agent administration

CT scans use iodinated agents that are non-ionic which have little to no known side effects. In some cases, allergic reactions to this compound may occur but this is also very rare. With MRI scans, on the other hand, there are very few known incidences of allergic reactions to the dye used.

Both of these procedures provide invaluable information for medical practitioners making disease diagnosis more accurate. In general, the need for either of these procedures depends on the body part that will be scanned.

The post A Brief Comparison of CT Scans and MRI Scans appeared first on Jane and Richard.

Travelling abroad is definitely something to look forward to. But for those who are travelling internationally for the first time, budget planning and deciding how to spend in another country can be a bit of a challenge. Here are some great practical money tips for ensuring that you have enough money with you anytime, wherever you may be on the globe.

Have a Little Cash Ready

While it seems obvious, this first tip is actually something that most of us might overlook in this age of so many payment options. Just be sure to keep your cash safe and not bring too much, to be safe from theft and losing it as you travel. It is good to have some cash handy for tipping and buying from certain stores that might not accept credit cards and other forms of payment. It is best to have your money converted in the country you are going to and not where you are from. Remember to shop around to get the best rate and be wary of black market exchanges.

Avoid Debit Card Fees Abroad

Before you leave for your international trip, check if your bank has a partnership with foreign banks in the country you are visiting, so you may be eligible to use your debit card without incurring charges, like foreign transaction fees and international ATM fees. There are banks which have branches and ATMs abroad and if your bank happens to be one of these, then you may be able to pay with your debit card without these extra fees.

Use the Safest Currency – Bitcoins

Unlike cash which can be stolen or lost, or be subject to exchange rates, bitcoins are relatively much safer to use when travelling since your bitcoin wallet is secured with logins. Bitcoin has gained so much popularity over recent years and is now being accepted by most merchants in several countries around the world, including Shopify stores, Reeds Jewelers, Gyft, and even online casinos like VegasCasino, and it is not surprising why. Aside from its guaranteed secure transactions, fees are relatively much lower compared to other forms of payment. As long as you have internet and your smartphone with you, you can make instant payments with your bitcoins.

Choose Which Credit Card to Use

Not all credit cards are equal, so you have to choose which one you would use abroad. The first thing to check is if your credit card requires foreign transaction fees. Of course, if the answer is yes, then you should leave this one at home. You also want to know if your credit card offers perks like frequent flyer miles or complimentary travel or car rental insurance. Don’t forget to check the limitations listed in the fine print. Also, check if your credit card will be accepted in your destination. While it may seem that MasterCard and Visa cards are accepted everywhere in the world, there are certain countries that prefer cash.

Going on a trip abroad offers so many exciting opportunities, and the last thing you want to be preoccupied with is how to pay for your overseas ventures. These practical money tips will make it so much easier for you to plan for the financial aspect of your vacation.

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There is nothing worse than looking like a million bucks in the mirror and like 50 cents in photos. Oh, how can those models look so flawless in photos?

Well, first of all, that is their job. Secondly, it takes practice and some good tips such as those listed below. So without further ado, here is how to have a million dollar smile in photos.

Smile with your eyes

Or squint. But just a little bit. Basically what you are trying to do is create tiny pillows underneath your eyes. Why? Well, try smiling without moving any muscles around your eyes. It will both look and feel flat, boring and fake. On the other hand, when you just smile with your eyes, you are already looking fresher and you can take a good picture, but when you combine eyes AND mouth, that will be one hell of a good picture.

Wear a bright lipstick

Lipstick will, logically, turn your lips into the center of your face and draw all the attention to them. So don’t be afraid to go bold with colors. However, there is one great lipstick trick that will make your teeth look even whiter than they already are. The key is to buy lipsticks that have blue undertones. Why? Because on the color wheel, blue hues are placed opposite of yellow and orange hues, and when they are placed next to each other, they tend to cancel one another.

“Close your eyes and open” trick

When you know someone is going to take your picture, close your eyes a couple seconds before that moment and slowly open them while you are also slowly drawing up the corners of your lips to form a smile. This way, you will eliminate the possibility of feeling awkward about taking a photo and your smile isn’t going to look forced at all.

Show off those teeth

You don’t necessarily need to make a huge, toothy grin, but when you show some teeth, your face gets brighter. And the key for a great picture-perfect smile is to try to show just your upper teeth. Have in mind that a close-mouthed smile is also okay, but you will look a lot more serious than the rest of the group.

But take care of your smile

We are not all blessed with a perfect Hollywood smile. And in the era of social media and selfies, we are more or less forced to make the best out of our smiles, which is perfectly fine.

Firstly, you should have a good dental hygiene. Make sure you floss, brush and have regular dental checkups and cleanings to make sure they are as clean and as pretty as they can be.  

Next, if your teeth are crooked, but you don’t want to wear braces, you can opt for Invisalign, which is basically almost the same thing as braces but it is completely invisible. These clear plastic aligners will put your teeth into the right positions. If you are an Aussie, you are lucky, because you can find the best quality Invisalign in Bondi Junction – so book your appointment today.

If, on the other hand, you have problems with discoloration and yellow teeth, you can do some quick at-home fixes such as rinsing them with hydrogen peroxide, brushing them with baking soda from time to time (because if you do it often, it could wear away your enamel). On the other hand, you could also opt for professional whitening, but that will cost you some extra bucks.

Lighting matters

Lighting is literally everything. It is the best beauty product in the world, and it’s free. It can make those nasty circles under the eyes disappear, it can make your skin and eyes glow and your teeth whiter. The best is to either face directly into it or away from it in order to avoid unflattering shadows.

The “uh” trick

Even though your whole life you’ve been hearing photographers yell: “Say cheese” when taking a photo of somebody, that actually results in cheesy photos. Firstly, that ‘ee’ sound will stretch your mouth into that unnatural and fake-looking smile, and secondly, your smile won’t look real and cheerful unless you are super happy. Not to mention that the sentence “say cheese” annoys almost every single person over the age of eight. On the other hand, pronouncing “uh” will cause your lips to form a much more natural smile. So the next time someone is taking your photo, try saying things like ‘Elijah’ or ‘Banana’.

That would be it. If you have some more perfect smile tips, feel free to share them in the comment section below.

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I was out running the other day with a good friend of mine. She does not run very often and has just started to get into running. I had just completed a good long run the weekend before, so it was a gentle run out for both of us.

It gave us the time to chat and talk about life, liberty and our running.

I am an experienced runner with a lot of events in my legs and the medals are clogging up a drawer at home. I’ve learnt many lessons the hard way and blistered more than I really should have for a man with my knowledge. Yet, one of the best things I know about running is how my body will feel in three-miles time.

It is hard to explain but when I am running a long run, I know how good or bad my legs are going to feel in a couple of miles time. I can assess how I’m feeling right now, know the pace I am running, the terrain I’m covering and the weather. They all put into a simple equation and I know that if I keep going as I am, how my legs will feel.

It allows me to slow down if I’m heading into trouble. It also lets me go harder if I think I have a lot left in the tank. I think it is my best strength and it was what I was trying to explain to my friend as we ran.

It got us onto talking about our bodies and how we’re coping physically as we leave our twenties and move solidly into our thirties. The little niggles and pains which would have disappeared within hours in our teens, are now lasting weeks and months.

It was funny how we both had LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor as one of our favourites, gone are the days of indie bands and movie stars and they’ve been replaced by running gear shops and the doctors.

Our running started to take over and the talking got a little shorter. My legs were still recovering from the weekend before and her legs were feeling their longest run in years. So, we did what all good runners of our ilk do and we slowed down to head into the pub.

I had read my legs perfectly and there was enough left in them for me to get to the bar and order our drinks. I swear this is the greatest strength any runner can have.

Learning how our bodies run and how we react to the different inputs, is key to a successful run. If I can slow down by a couple of seconds for the current mile and it will let me keep my pace for the next ten, then that is two seconds I am very happy to let go.

Running really shouldn’t be about maths, and I’m not happy to admit this but sometimes, there is an equation for everything in our daily lives.

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A carpet adds a nice touch to any room. There is nothing nicer than digging your toes into a lovely thick carpet as you make your way across the room. Most people only care for their carpet with a regular vacuum. However, sometimes it is worth getting in the professionals. Cleaning services can help bring your carpet back to life; read on to find out how.
The Carpet Looks Dirty

Despite your best efforts, over time the carpet will become grubby through use; especially if it is in a high traffic area of your home or business. It might not be noticeable at first but a quick look under some furniture will quickly show the difference.

A quick deep clean will help your carpets look refreshed and as good as new.

There Are Stains You Can’t Remove

It could be anything; dropped food or drink, something a pet brought in, something from the sole of a shoe. No matter what you have tried, be it a chemical from the store or a home remedy your mother swears by, the stain will not shift.

A professional carpet cleaner may be able to help you; so forget worrying about finding a rug to hide it. A carpet cleaning company may have more powerful stain removers than any you will find in-store and they will lift the stain away until you aren’t sure if it was even there.

How Often Should I Clean My Carpets?

It can be difficult to know exactly how often you should clean your carpets. If you like to vacuum every single day then you may want to get your carpets deep-cleaned more regularly than someone who only vacuums every week.

A good rule of thumb is once a year. If you have small children and/or pets, you may want to increase the frequency to every few months. It simply depends on how meticulous you wish to be with your cleaning.

If you are looking to clean commercial carpets, the time frame may be a little different. Dirty carpets can detract from an otherwise pleasant and clean office or retail space. It is therefore necessary to consider deep-cleaning at least monthly for high traffic areas. You will notice that it will make quite the difference overall.

Can I Clean My Carpets Myself?

Of course you can! You can hire steam cleaners from a number of sources which will allow you to clean rooms at your leisure. However, if you would rather let the pros handle it, there are a number of companies who will come directly to your home or place of work to clean your carpets for you.

They will take no more than a couple of hours depending on the size of the space or the number of carpets and it will only take a few hours to dry. Before you know it, you will have beautiful clean carpets for a cost much less than what it would have been to just replace them.

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