Monthly Archives: February 2012

Food, Health

Golden Pears Helps to Relieve Cough

Whenever I have a flu, the cough symptom would also accompany it. For most cases, the cough would disappear a few days after the flu is gone. However there would be a few occasions whereby the cough stayed on even when I have recovered from the flu. Sometimes I think it is the cold air from the air-conditioned office that makes it worse. The throat would be itchy and dry; and drinking lots of water does give temporary relief. Also I would avoid eating fried, barbecue, spicy and oily food and take lots of vegetables and fruits.

One of the best fruit to eat for relieving a cough is to eat a golden pear. This is a method that I have learned from a colleague of mine. Most of the golden pear sold in the supermarkets originate either from Korea or China. The Korean golden pear taste nicer but it is more expensive. I would normally buy some golden pears and eat it in the office or at home. You can also turn them into pear juice and drink it straight from the cup. Golden pears does help to relieve the cough and also get rid of the irritating phlegm in your body. It is very cooling and refreshing and it helps to dispel the heat in the body. The golden pear is an alkaline fruit  and it contains lots of minerals, vitamins and fiber. Whenever I am thirsty, eating one golden pear would immediately quench my thirst as the fruit is very juicy and it contains lot of water. It is very suitable for those people having fever, as it is a cooling fruit.

 

Golden Pear

 

The golden pears are round in shape and are much larger than the European pears. Personally, I prefer to eat golden pears as it is much more juicer and sweeter. I have seen some people peeling the skin of the golden pear before eating it, this is just a personal preference. My friend also recommends another method to relieve cough – cut the pears into pieces and placed it in a pot of water; add some almonds and honey – boiled it for about 1 hour either using a double boiler or a slow cooker. When it is ready, simply serve it warm in a bowl. This is a remedy used by the Chinese traditional medicine to relieve cough and getting rid of the phlegm.

 

Golden Pear

 

Do it Yourself Quick Fix

Desktop PC Have No Screen Display – How I fixed it.

There was one incident when I turned on my desktop PC and there was no display on my LCD monitor. The desktop was turned on and LED button on the PC was lighted up but the LCD monitor screen was blank. I proceed to check all the cables to make sure that it were firmly slotted into the respective slots at the back of my desktop. Then I checked the LCD monitor to make sure that it was working well. After that, I turned on the PC again and there was power but the PC was not booted up – there was the absence of the normal single beep sound.

 

Desktop PC does not boot and there is Blank Screen on LCD Monitor

 

I opened up the casing of the PC and then turn off and on the PC again. The desktop PC turned on, I saw the cooling fan moving and the power supply box was also functioning well. Everything seems to work well except that the PC did not boot up – again there was no beep sound. I have previously encountered this problem years ago on my old PC and the technician told me at that time that the memory card ( RAM ) was faulty. He replaced the RAM and the PC worked perfectly thereafter. My current desktop is using 4GB DDR2 memory – there are 2 memory cards in the slot.

 

My Old RAM card from my previous old computer

 

What I did was to turn off the power on the desktop, and remove the 2 RAM cards from the slot. Remember to unhook the catch on the left and right side first before you can remove the RAM card. I took off the 2 RAM cards and then slot one of it in; then I turn on the PC – again there was no beep sound. I turned off the power of the desktop and remove the RAM card; then I slot the other RAM in and turn on the desktop again – again failed. Then I remembered that I still have a old RAM card from my previous old PC. Though this RAM card is not suitable for this current desktop; I wanted to try to see whether it can work.

Remember to turn off the power of the computer when you are putting in or taking out the memory cards. I put the old memory card into the slot and turned on the PC, there was a beep sound but there was no image on the LCD monitor. I turned off the power and turn it on again – again there was a clear beep sound but no image. So I took off the old memory card and then slot the two existing RAM cards into the slot again. I turned on the power and viola there was a clear beep sound; the Windows 7 icon appeared on my LCD screen; and the PC was back to normal again. What I was doing is simply to flash the memory module or reset the computer memory. So if you have an old PC, do remember to keep the RAM card; as you may need it in future to reset or flash the memory module in your desktop.

 

RAM Cards and Slots in my Desktop PC

 

When your desktop PC have no display but there is power, do check the all the cables and power supply first before attempting to open up the PC. When you are opening up the casing of your PC, do remember to turn off the power before touching anything inside – remember safety is paramount.

 

 

Do it Yourself Quick Fix

Cannot Start Up or Boot Windows 7 – How I fixed it.

Recently I have encountered a problem on my desktop PC. When I turned on the PC, the Windows 7 remains stagnant and refused to start up / boot. All that I saw on my LCD screen was the Windows 7 icon being frozen. I tried to restart my PC and also used the Windows repair option as provided in this operating system, but it did not work. I am no computer expert – in fact I am almost a complete idiot when it comes to repairing my desktop PC. My first thought was perhaps it was time to buy a new desktop PC – as this PC was around 2 years already. My desktop is a Intel 2 Core Quad with a 4 GB DDR2 memory – it is a very fast desktop and I could do many tasks simultaneously easily. So it would be such a waste simply to discard this desktop.

 

Windows 7 hang on the screen - unable to proceed further.

 

My next step was to called up a PC repair store and I told them the problem over the phone. The person told me that the charges to fix the problem was approximately US$200 and it could be up and going in about 4 hours – meaning that I could collect it on the same day. He mentioned that he would have to a diagnostic test on my desktop and most likely to replace my existing hard disk with a new one. The warranty period after the repair was one month. I felt that the repair cost quoted was expensive  and was hoping to find another repair store which can do it at better rate.

While I was watching the TV in the evening, I suddenly recalled that I have a hard disk which I had removed from my previous old desktop PC. I took it out from my store room and saw that it was a Hitachi brand hard disk. I opened up my desktop and remove the current hard disk from the slot. Before removing it, I had to pulled out the 2 cables that were attached to the hard disk. It was quite difficult to pull out the hard disk from the steel slot as it was a tight fit – the trick is to do it slowly with a firm grip. After removing the hard disk, insert the new hard disk into the slot; again do it slowly and push it in with a firm grip. Thereafter reconnect the 2 cables to the new hard disk.

 

Hard disk

 

The next step is to insert the Windows 7 boot up disk into your CD slot and the Windows 7 would automatically prompt you to install the operating system into the new hard disk. If there is no prompt, just off the PC and then turn it on again. – remember the Windows 7 boot up disk should be in the CD slot. Just follow the instructions as given and install Windows 7 – it took about less than 30 minutes to install Windows 7 for my desktop PC.

 

Original Hard Disk

 

Now my desktop PC is able to function normally again. I believe the cause of the problem ( in my case ) was that the hard disk was corrupted. I am not sure whether there are any other reasons that cause the Windows 7 unable to boot or start up; but if you have a spare hard disk on hand, perhaps you can try out this method. Remember the hard disk that you are going to replace need not be the same size (GB) as the existing one in your PC. In fact I used a lesser GB hard disk to replace the current one in my desktop and it still work perfectly. You can increase the memory size in your desktop later by buying a new hard disk later and adding it to your PC.

 

Hard Disk Slot in the Desktop PC

 

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Health, Personal Products & Body Care

Skechers Tone-Ups Trainer Shoes

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Recently I had bought a Skechers Tone-Ups Trainer shoes which is supposed to give me a better muscles workout, a higher calorie burn level and a reduction of joint stress.  The small leaflet in the shoe box mentioned that the Skechers Tone-Ups trainer shoes is constructed with Tr-Density technology, that is – Progressive Suspension Midsole, Kinetic Core Midsole and high density rubber outsole. My first impression of this new shoes is that it is well constructed and design. There are lots of trainer shoes in the market that are selling at a high price but looked cheap on design and using cheap materials.

Skechers Tone-Ups Trainer Review

When I put on the Skechers tone-ups trainer shoes, my feet felt comfortable. I could also feel that there is a durometer cradle that balance the weight of my front and back feet. Other shoes that I have would put the weight mainly on the back of my feet; which can be stressful for my feet if I stand or walk for a long period of time. I felt strange when I first put on this trainer shoes due to this cradle, but after a few days, I got used to it and I liked the feel of it. The sole of the shoes are very strong and thick, so even when I am walking on uneven surface, my feet are well protected from impact and stress.

Skechers Tone-Ups Trainer

I am not sure whether I have burned higher calories as a  result of wearing Skechers tone-up trainer shoes – this is difficult to prove. I have used this pair of shoes for long walk in the park ( about 8km) on uneven and rocky surface and my feet felt comfortable and protected. There is no tiredness or sore feeling on my feet and knees. Whether it gives me a more efficient workout because it is a tone up trainer shoes is subjective. The real benefit is the comfort on my feet and knees that it has provided when I am wearing it.

Skechers Tone-Ups Trainer

Another thing is that this trainer shoes provides a good grip during raining days or on wet slippery floor. If you take a look at the photos of the sole of the shoes, you can see that it is well designed for this purpose. I do not know how long the rubber soles of this shoes would wear out if I used it for long walk all the time. For my previous trainer shoes, the rubber soles was worn out after one year of continuous workout exercise.

Skechers Tone-Ups Trainer

One of the best way to relieve a tired feet is to soak them on salt – it helps to deodorize and relieve stress on your feet. Whether you are using ordinary salt or espsom salt ( magnesium sulfate ) it is fine. My preference is using Epsom salt as I find it very effective in relieving ache and stress; also it really does a good job in cleaning my feet.

Skechers Tone-Ups Trainer

 

 

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