When Things Go Wrong in Flat Sharing

There are many advantages in sharing a flat with someone. It
is especially advantageous if you are able to split all the bills on a monthly
basis, including the food bill as well. However, in flat
share London, many things can go wrong. One of these is especially
the violation of ones rights (and this applies to both parties).

This may take a while to evolve, but it certainly will make
for a very unpleasant room
share. You might be excited at the prospect of having someone around to
share conversation with as well, but it might soon turn out to impinge on your
privacy. The flat mate might also start interrupting your daily routine and
that might just be the beginning of your frustrations.

The worst is when you and your flatmate do not get along,
especially at a later stage. This can become quite uncomfortable and it can
make life quite miserable especially if they have signed a lease. You will have
to wait for the lease to end unless you can make a deal with each other to end
it sooner. That is, if things become too out of hand and unbearable.

The breakdown often happens if you do not share the same
habits and tastes in things. It will become an annoyance and can lead to a
complete breakdown in communication. This will block out the finding of any
solution. With different social habits, you could drive each other quite mad
too.

For example, you might enjoy an early night and your
flatmate might be a night owl, watching television until the early hours of the
morning. He or she might also have friends over at all hours and this is not
what you have signed up for. It can be extremely frustrating and
infuriating.

The worse part of it is that he or she might feel that it is
their right, as they are sharing the costs with you (especially if that is the
case). You might feel that you are not able to talk to them because of that as
well. It may lead to a cold war situation and, hence, no solution.

The best way to avoid all trouble with a flatmate is to make
sure that there are clear guidelines from the start. As a further protection,
it should be included in the lease agreement. If any of the guidelines, or
rules, is overstepped, you are in the clear to have an open discussion. This
would prevent potential conflict as well as clarify a living standard before
you even start sharing the flat.

Even more so, you should try and screen your potential
flatmates, as this would potentially assist a better living environment. You
could go as far as getting the person who best matches your lifestyle.

 

 

 

 

I am a freelance writer and designer

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4 Things that Will Make You ReThink Coffee

If coffee doesn’t impress you even if it is the second most traded commodity in the world—after oil—and that coffee drinkers are as many as there are Chinese in China, how about this—it invented marine insurance. Kind of, at least. Here are some grand matters that coffee has one way or another shaped and influenced, meriting a good conversation around the brew machine on your next coffee break.

1 Insurance

It’s the 17th century and London was the world’s trade center. It was also a city replete with coffee houses, and one of these was Edward’s Lloyd’s coffee shop, a kind of watering hole for traders and shippers. In there, they talked about, well, trading and shipping. At the top of the talk list was likely the dreaded scene: a ship sinking in the ocean along with its cargo. Cups of caffeine were taken and dozens of ideas were shared until someone thought about sharing the cost when a ship should sink. Lloyd’s would become the major shipping and cargo insurance of today and it can trace its roots in that coffee house.

2 Revolution

It’s known that coffee was a greater threat to governments than guns or arrows for that matter. In the 1500s, coffee became popular in Mecca. The caffeine tended to make people to think more and soon the conversation would spill over to politics. Not good for the sitting imams, who decided to ban coffee in the kingdom. 

The storming of Bastille was also thought to have been caused by coffee. When the Marquis de Sade was denied his regular coffee one day in the course of his 12-year imprisonment, he was said to go mad and cry out to the people in the street that the king’s men were cutting the political prisoners’ throats. This roused the already brewing sentiments against the royals and led to the storming of the castle. If that story is a little blurred, the American Revolution account was quite accurate.

The Boston Tea Party of 1773, the popular time mark that led to the making of the United States of America, aroused patriots to shift from drinking tea, an act seen as pro-British Empire, to preferring coffee, as trivialized in this infographic.

3 Socialism

Coffee trade makes many businessmen millionaires, but the farmers remain one of the world’s poorest. Free trade seems incapable of solving this dilemma that in the late eighties, the Dutch started selling coffee with fair trade labels, a socialist idea that farmers must be subsidized to allow them to continue growing coffee. Today, the U.K. headquarters manages and organizes this label, ensuring that when you buy a fair trade labeled coffee, the farmer is paid a minimum respectable price.


4 Oil Drilling

Fracking, it’s the newest technology in extracting crude oil from the ground. A liquid mix is forcibly shot underground to create cracks and fissures and release petroleum or natural gas. The U.S. has started applying fracking, using myriad liquid components that, in one analysis, include benign materials as coffee grounds and walnut shells. Fracking should be interesting as lobbyists claim: it will make America a top producer in natural gas in years to come. But it’s also full of risks especially that some other not-so-benign chemicals go with the coffee in the fracking liquid. One trivia though about fracking—the world’s number two commodity meets the world’s number one. Now that’s another good coffee topic.

 

Alex is a veteran financial author at FinancesOnline.com. His core areas include the stock market, small and medium enterprises and personal finance. He holds an MA in Economics at the University of Denver. He has had written for various local papers on politics, business and features for nearly twenty years now. Alex’s goal is to help average American families understand the in and out of personal finance to make more informed decisions and improve their financial health.

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Being an Athlete for Your School: The Bonus Benefits

The most notable benefit of participating in school sports is the physical aspect. As part of the team, you’ll being working out at practices or games at least five days a week, and maybe conditioning on the weekends. That doesn't even include competitions, fundraising, events, spirit-building activities, camp...the list keeps on going. But isn’t there more? Behind the smiles, outside of practices and beyond the pep rallies, what does it really mean to be an athlete for your school?

Making friends. One of the best parts about being on a sports teamin school is making lifelong friends. Athletes are responsible for inspiring school spirit, which often has a social aspect. In addition to getting the chance to bond with your team, you will also have the chance to meet other students and members of your community. And with making friends comes the wonderful additional aspect - making memories. You'll take these memories with you throughout your life.

Meeting a Mentor. Whether it is your coach or an older teammate, many athletes will find themselves looking up to someone. This person can serve as a mentor not only for athletic issues, but also for life. This mentor can help you make some of the tough decisions that you may face during your time as a young athlete. A lot of stress can be reduced when you have a mentor to lean on in times of need. They've gone through what you're going through now and can offer sage advice.

Being a Mentor. On the flip side of that, you will also find yourself acting as a mentor to younger, aspiring athletes in your community and at your school.

Scholarship Money for College. Most athletes are required to maintain a minimum GPA. Combine athletic talent and good grades and you may find yourself with a full ride scholarship to college. Many universities and colleges offer a variety of scholarships, no matter what sport you play!

Life Skills. You might be overlooking the fact that, as a student and athlete, you are learning valuable life skills every time you practice, compete and participate in fundraising activities. The teamwork, self discipline, time management and responsibility skills that you are learning and using every day as an athlete will be an asset when you are ready to go into the job field, have a family or solve a general conflict.

Health and Happiness. So we already know that being an athlete means you are more likely to be physically fit, but what about emotional health? Believe it or not, all that activity you are doing is actually making you healthier and happier! The physical demands of being an athlete help your body release endorphins and antibodies, helping you fight off sickness and depression and reduce stress.

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5 Ways to Be a Great Teammate

The atmosphere of a performance or competition can help a sports team get pumped; but before they even get to the sidelines, field, or the stage, they have to help each other be a team in practices. The way that teammates interact can have a huge and lasting effect on the overall camaraderie of the team.

Teammates may feel the pressure of trying to balance great teamwork with individual competitiveness, but with a little dedication, anyone can learn to contribute to the team and still achieve group and personal goals. Be a great athlete by being a great teammate!

1) Good teammates know what to do; GREAT teammates sacrifice and follow through.
Many times in a situation, you know the right choice. What separates a good teammate from a great teammate is actually doing the right thing. In order to be a great teammate, the team must always come first. Sometimes you may not like what’s best for the team, but you do it anyway. For example, you may want a solo or lead spot but know in your heart that someone else would make a better choice. Be a great teammate and let the other person take the spotlight.

2. Good teammates can be led; GREAT teammates lead by example.
To be a good teammate, you need to know how to listen to your coach and captain. But if you want to be a great teammate, you shouldn’t just follow; you should lead! Be a good role model for everyone else on the team. When it’s time to start warming up, instead of chatting with friends, immediately get started. Just because you’re not the captain doesn’t mean you can’t be an influential leader for your team.

3. Good teammates resist placing blame; GREAT teammates take responsibility.
Even if it’s not your fault, it can be immature to place the blame on someone else. In order to be a great teammate, it takes more than just holding your tongue; take responsibility for it. When you’re on a team, everyone is responsible for every person’s mistake. Even if you’re not pointing a finger at someone else, not taking responsibility for the mistake is almost just as bad. If there is one person in particular who is falling behind, rather than place blame, help him/her out.

4. Good teammates accept tasks; GREAT teammates get it done.
It’s one thing to take on an extra load of work. It’s another thing to actually do it. A great teammate is trustworthy and reliable. When a great teammate is given an assignment, the coach or captain knows that the person will get it done on time. It’s important to be trustworthy. It’s not just a coach or captain relying on you; it’s an entire team! If given an assignment, the coach is entrusting you with a lot of responsibility! Prove that you’re a great (and reliable) teammate by completing the assignment on time.

5. Good teammates are spirited; GREAT teammates always remain positive.
Whether you’re a cheerleader or a football player, it’s easy for an athlete to be spirited at a game or competition when the energy is up. It’s another thing to be positive during a difficult practice session or poor performance. A great teammate has a positive attitude, even when times are tough. By maintaining a positive attitude, you can encourage other teammates to do the same. If your team is going through a rough patch (or is just having an “off” day at practice), don’t get discouraged. Be a great teammate and raise everyone’s spirits.

With a background in dance and gymnastics, Melissa takes on the world of sports and athletics.

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Sleep Tight, Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite!

All they want is your blood. They are usually active at night as you sleep. What are we talking about? Vampires, you say? Wrong. We mean bed bugs. You might wake up in the morning only to experience severe itching on your skin but not see an insect of any sort in your bed immediately. Believe it or not, the same bed bugs that caused you that inconvenience as you slept can travel over 100 feet in a night and generally reside within eight feet of their sleeping human hosts.

 

Bed bugs spend most of their time clustered in small, dark crevices, like the seams in a mattress or in the folds of your blanket. In the dark, they crawl out, to stick their needlelike mouthparts into your flesh in order to feed on your blood. However, the bite of a bedbug, though annoying during your waking hours, does not sting like the bite of a bee since these clever bugs inject an anesthetic to keep you from noticing their stealthy midnight meal. In fact, a sleeping person usually goes on sleeping while the bug slurps up their blood! However, the problem in this whole equation is the bug’s spit, which enter the little hole pierced in your skin. A lot of people are allergic to the substances in the bedbug’s saliva (about 70%), which causes rashes and bumps, and that itch quite a bit.

 

 

 

So, how can you identify the presence of bed bugs?

·         Bite marks on your body can be a good indicator but in some individuals it takes as long as two weeks for a visible mark to develop.

·         Bed bugs molt, so you may find what are dried up exoskeletons of these creatures in your bed as evidence of the bugs’ presence.

·         Black or rust colored spots on your bed are probably the blood-filled fecal material of bed bugs after they dined on your blood at night.

·         Carefully inspect your mattress and sheet to check for the bed bugs themselves. They are flat with rust-colored oval bodies from 1 mm to 7 mm. The only way to be sure that you have bed bugs is to find and identify a live bed bug.

·         Qualified pest management professionals can tell you for sure, upon inspection, whether or not you have bed bugs. These insects often go undetected to the average person.

·         If you think that the bites you have received have not occurred at night, chances are they are not bed bug bites. Again, have your home inspected to be sure.

 

What to do if you have bed bugs?

·         Firstly, DO NOT use pesticides to get rid of bed bugs yourself. General insect pesticides will not rid your home of bed bugs. Instead, if may cause the bed bugs to spread further around your house.

·         If you live in an apartment or a rented home alert the housing manager or owner of the property about the problem.

·         The simplest and most effective way to get rid of bed bugs is to be on the look-out as soon as you suspect a problem, clean your house regularly, and have a pest management professional take care of the job for you.

·         If you use a vacuum cleaner to get rid of bed bugs make sure to carefully seal the vacuum bag in another plastic bag and properly dispose of it outside your home. Similarly, if you use soap and water to clean certain areas of your home, you can place the dirty water in a toilet and flush it down to keep captured bugs from escaping out into your home again.

·         Clean your mattress and bedding properly and disinfect the bed frame and the head/foot board to keep bed bugs from infesting your bed again.

 

Most importantly, remember what your mom used to tell you as she tucked you in—“Night, night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite!”

 

Angie Picardo is a staff writer for NerdWallet. Her mission is to help consumers stay financially savvy, and save some money with the best savings account rate.

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Tips about Cleaning the bedrooms

Cleaning the bedrooms properly doesn’t just mean running around the vacuum cleaner and make the beds, it’s not enough to simply make the room’s look presentable, they also need to be clean so that you can be sure everyone in the household is sleeping in a room that is healthy and as germ free as possible. The best thing you can do is to make a list of all the things that don’t need to be done daily, it is easy to forget when you last cleaned something and therefore know when it’s due to be done again. And if you are trying to put off doing the cleaning, it’s much easier to say “I’ve not long cleaned that” when you have no way of checking. You should try to keep on top of cleaning bedrooms, if you do it won’t take as long to clean in the future.

De-cluttering:

Each day when you go into the rooms to make the beds and open the windows to let some fresh air in, you should de-clutter the room. This means getting rid of anything in the room that you do not want or need, and storing away anything that is left in the room so that very little is left on display. Put away all personal items in bedside tables. Keeping on top of de-cluttering is very important but once you’ve done it once, if you then do it daily, it takes hardly any time.

Cleaning Floors and surfaces:

You will need to vacuum and polish the surfaces in the bedrooms, ideally this should be done daily, but as long as you do it a couple of times a week it should be fine. Remember to vacuum the ceilings and light fixtures to remove any dust, and wipe over things like light switches and remote controls, i.e. things that are used and therefore touched often.

Windows:

You should make sure you clean the windows in your bedrooms regularly to allow as much natural light into the room as possible. Try to clean the windows monthly, avoid doing this on a sunny day as this will cause the window cleaner to dry quicker and then the window will have smears. Try not to get too much cleaning solution on the window frames and sills as it could damage the wood or break down the plastic bonding, make sure you remember to also clean your window frames, sills and handles each time you clean your windows.

The beds:

You should change the linen on the beds with a fresh set every week, once you have removed the old sheets allow the mattress some time to air, and flip and rotate the mattress before you put the fresh linen on. When you wash bedding, make sure the temperature of the water is at least 60 degrees to kill any germs or dust mites living in the fabric, and let the linen dry naturally in direct sunlight.

Dust mites love to live in mattresses and bed linen, they cause allergies and an increase in symptoms of asthma sufferers as well as some skin irritations. Cleaning your mattress will greatly reduce the amount of dust mites living in it, though it will not get rid of the problem entirely as this is almost impossible to achieve. Vacuum your mattresses at the very least, once a month, and consider using an upholstery cleaner to get rid of any unsightly stains or dirty marks. Once you have cleaned your mattress consider buy a protective mattress cover so that you don’t need to clean the mattress itself as often in the future.

The article has been written on behalf of http://www.cleanershouse.co.uk/office-cleaning/TW9-commercial-cleaning-richmond.html

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Five Ways to Be a Successful Spear Fisherman

Spearfishing has been around for millennia and was mostly known just as a means of providing sustenance and a means of livelihood for fishermen of old. Using sticks with sharpened ends or sticks with sharpened metal points at the end, they would wade in shallow water and spear at fish swimming nearby and caught just enough for a whole day’s meal.


These days, however, spearfishing is done by using elastic powered spear guns and slings or compressed gas pneumatic powered spearguns to hunt, in addition to specialized equipment that can adapt to varying aquatic conditions and fish species. Spearfishing may be done using free-diving, snorkeling or scuba-diving techniques although in some countries spearfishing using scuba equipment is illegal as well as the use of spear guns. 


Despite these conditions, many people are still inclined to join the ranks of seasoned spearos and share in the exhilarating sense of adventure that accompanies every spearfishing trip. Here then are a few tips to ensure your first spearfishing trip is a splashing success:

Join the Club

It is recommended that you join online forums or spearfishing clubs so that you can readily get information or ask questions from experienced spear fishermen about the sport. You can learn things like how to prepare for your first fishing trip, what equipment you’ll need and also be updated on the current rules and regulations concerning where and where you can’t spearfish.


Be Prepared

Get an idea of what particular species of fish you will most likely encounter in your chosen destination as this will help you prepare the necessary equipment you will need. Also update yourself on the current rules and regulations for bag limits in the area you are diving in.




Make Sure You are Fit to Spearfish

As with any new endeavor involving strenuous physical activity, you will need to undergo medical examination to make sure you are fit enough for the sport. Take note that you will be required to swim at least 200m without fins, be able to spend up to at least six hours in cold waters and cope with strong currents and rough seas so it is important that you don’t have any respiratory or heart problems. Even having the slightest cold or sinus infections will make you unfit for spearfishing so being in excellent physical conditions is a must.


Get the Proper Spearfishing Equipment

A writer becomes a success at what he does when he is equipped with a laptop and excellent internet connection with which to do research. Aspiring spearos become successful when they equip themselves with the proper spearfishing gear like masks, fins, snorkels, wetsuits, weight belts, spear guns, floats, knives and fish keep. Never make price the major consideration as these gears are aimed to both protect you underwater and make sure you are safe while spearfishing.


Learn to Be Quiet

The aim of spearfishing is to be able to catch fish without them being aware of it. If you observe experienced spearos at work, you will notice that they do their best to move as quietly as possible to make sure they don’t scare the fish away. Also, if you settle down quietly on the seabed, chances are you will find that more fish will tend to swim your way.


So there you have it, a five-step guide towards becoming a successful spear fisherman. Now that you have a basic idea of how to go aboutspearfishing, it is up to you to hone your skills and fine tune them until you are a menace underwater, expertly catching elusive game fish and winning competitions. Just make sure you update yourself regularly on any important information like licensing fees and restricted areas so you can continue this sport for a long, long time.

 

Lincoln Davis knows all about spear fishing and gears. He's now blogging for a spear fishing products company and would like to share his tips, advice and suggestions about what he has learned about spearfishing.

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How to Use a Spear Gun Safely

There are a lot of hobbies people get into these days to keep from getting too bored and to have something to look forward to during the weekends aside from the latest DVDs or shopping trips to the mall. 

Among the many weekend activities that people engage in is fishing. However, those who want to up the ante a bit go for something decidedly more adventurous and quite dangerous especially if you are inexperienced in it – spearfishing. OK, so it’s really not something new as spearfishing has been around for millennia, having been done by ancient civilizations initially as a means of livelihood and providing sustenance for their families but as the years went by, it evolved into the extreme competitive sport it is today.

From merely using sharpened sticks with pointed metal ends, spear fishermen are now using elastic-powered spear guns and slings, or compressed gas pneumatic-powered 

spearguns and other specialized equipment designed to quickly hunt fish and adaptable to various aquatic environments. Spearfishing using spear guns is considered one of the most environment-friendly types of fishing since there are no lures or lines left in the water. 


However, those who are new to the realm of spearfishing and would like to learn how to use a spear gun need to be aware that first and foremost it is a weapon and as such, need to be handled with care and responsibility. Never point your gun at other people and never load your gun out of the water. With these safety precautions in mind, here are the steps on how to use a spear gun safely:


Make sure you use a spear gun that is the right size for you so you can have a better grip and control on it. Longer spear guns have more accuracy due to the fact that the water doesn’t slow down a heavy spear or alter its course easily. The downside of it is that they are harder to handle under water and harder to load. 

 

Always keep your safety triggers engaged. However, as they are also prone to failing, make sure you keep your fingers away from the trigger until it is time to shoot. 

Grip the end of your retrieval line then pull the line back toward the rear of the spear gun and secure it on the line release.

Place the butt of the gun against your hip, thigh or chest depending on what is the most comfortable position for you. Look past the fish before you shoot to make sure no one or nothing else is in the line of fire. Spear lanyards sometimes fail and will affect the spear’s target.

Remember to point the sling away from other people and to load and unload your gun underwater. Never go for fish that are too large for you to handle as you can get dragged around or further underwater. Only shoot enough fish that you can eat and make sure you take them out of the water immediately.

Another thing you need to remember when using spear guns is to quickly ascend to shallow water if the fish are fighting and when you dive underwater remain as still as possible to avoid scaring the fish away. And lastly, fire the spear underwater when you are done, retract the spear but don’t reload the gun.

 

Lincoln Davis knows all about spear fishing and gears. He's now blogging for a spear fishing products company and would like to share his tips, advice and suggestions about what he has learned about spearfishing.

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