Difference between camphor and edible camphor

• Camphor is a white crystalline substance, obtained from the tree ‘Cinnamomum camphora’. It is used as medicine, insect repellent, etc.
• It has been used for long time in cooking. Now-a-days it is being widely used.
• Camphor used in cooking is ‘edible camphor’. It is also called ‘pachchai karpooram’, pachcha karpooram, pachai karpuram or pacha karpuram. Pachchai in Tamil means raw or green.
• Hindus usually burn camphor while praying to God (worshipping).
• Camphor is a main pooja (puja) item. Aarti (aarathi / Deepaaraathana / Deepa aarathana) is performed with it.
• Kan drishti (jealousy / evil gaze / Evil Eye) is believed to be eliminated by camphor.
• Dhrishti Parihaaram is said to be a measure to ward off the evil, cast by an evil eye.
• It is believed that burning camphor, when brought near any person, burns out all the negativity around the person.

Tips for good sleep / sound sleep

• Don’t use your bed for reading, writing, making telephone calls, cutting vegetables for cooking, taking snacks, watching television or making phone calls.
  
  
• Avoid seeing TV just before bed time.
  
  
• Avoid alcohol, tobacco and tea or coffee right before bedtime.
  
  
• Avoid exercises / workouts just before going to bed.
  
  
• A light massage and a warm bath before going to bed may help to have sound sleep.
  
  
• Keep regular bedtime hours.
  
  
• Sleep in a well ventilated quiet bedroom.
  
  
• If you can’t sleep well at all, consult doctor.

General computer cleaning tips

Dust is the main cause to heat up computer system. Heat makes the hardware failures. Therefore cleaning is the important part of computer maintenance. If cleanliness is maintained regularly, it will improve the cooling and the performance of computer and therefore the cost of computer maintenance will decrease considerably.

• Never place the computer on ground. Place the system and peripherals on a table or shelf specially designed for the purpose.

• Before cleaning, disconnect the system from power supply. Disconnect all cables and connectors.

• Blow air around all the hardware components by keeping the nozzle of blower at a safe distance of about ten centimeters. If compressed air is not available, use a vacuum cleaner.

• Never clean the inner components with a damp or wet cloth.

• The outer surface may be cleaned with a slightly damp cloth.

• If spray is used on the case, dry it using a paper towel.

• Reconnect all the removed cables and connectors.

• Reconnect the system with the power supply.

Home Remedies for Toothache

Sharp pain, throbbing pain, shooting pain or constant pain comes first, followed by toothache. So, taking care of teeth is very much necessary.

• Follow proper oral hygiene.
  

• Gently rub an ice cube in the area.
  

• Place a clove of garlic with a little rock salt on the affected tooth.
  

• Place a piece of onion on the tooth or gum.
  

• Put a few drops of clove oil on the trouble giving tooth.
  

• Mix a pinch of pepper powder with common salt and place the mixture on the affected portion of the tooth.
  

• Thoroughly rinse the mouth (mouth washing) with salt water (saline).

India banned smoking

From October 2, 2008 anyone smoking will be fined Rupees two hundred if found smoking at any place outside personal spaces like home and car, and open public areas like pavements and roads. The law came into effect after the Supreme Court rejected a petition of tobacco major ITC, which sought a stay on the government’s smoking ban order.

Places where you can’t smoke: Workplaces, hospitals, stations, auditoria, amusement centres, cinema halls, restaurants, bars, canteens, airports (except for smoking lounge), courts, educational institutions, libraries, banks, shopping malls, monuments, parks, bus stops, public transport.

Not listed as public places: Roads, and inside a car with windows rolled up.

The Delhi High Court has struck down the Ministry of Health’s 2005 notification banning smoking scenes. The court said the ban violated a filmmaker’s right to freedom of speech and expression as guaranteed under Article 19. “Directors should not have multifarious authorities breathing down their necks. A film must reflect the realities of life. It may be undesirable but it exists and is not banned by law”, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said. The order came on a petition filed by director Mahesh Bhatt questioning the validity of a notification under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act.

Vastu Tips

Vastu Shastra is the traditional Indian system of architecture and design of Vedic origin, applicable for all kind of dwelling areas. The Principles of Vastu date back to about 1000 years ago and constitutes the norms and specifications guarding the constructional and architectural pattern of a building. Vastu means the dwelling of humans and Gods. Following are some tips.

• The main entrance should be in the East or in the North direction. It should not be in front of the compound wall. It should not be in front of the main entrance of the opposite house.
  
• The height of the wall of the house in the North-Eastern side should be the least.
  
• If the wall of the house in the East is tall, it stalls the entry of prosperity, the Goddess Lakshmi, into the house. Therefore, it should be small in height.
  
• The Southern side of the house should be as tall and heavy as possible.
  In any room of the house the beam or column should not cross in the center.
  
• Rooms should not be triangular, oval, or round in shape.
  
• Terrace or balcony in the house should be either in the East or in the North.
  
• The slope of the house as well as the slope of the plinth should be towards East, North or North-East.
  
• Plinth should be the highest in the direction of South-West.
  
• The house should be equipped with a protective wall.
  
• The upper storey of the house should be constructed on the Southern or Western part.
  
• The cupboard in the wall should be the Southern or Western part direction of the house.
  
• Stale food, torn clothes, withered flowers, waste paper, empty bins and jars should never be stored in a house as it hinders the entrance of Goddess Lakshmi in the house.
  
• East (Purab) Pitrustaan(Manes): It should not be blocked , since it is the source of male issues.
  
• South-East (Aagneya) (Fire): Source of health, place of fire, cooking and food.
  
• South (Dakshina): Source of wealth, crops and happiness.
  
• South-West (Naryuthya)-(Earth): Source of character, behavior, cause of longevity and death.
  
• West (Paschima): Source of name, fame and prosperity.
  
• North-West (Vaayavya) (Air): Source of change, income from business, enmity and friendship.
  
• North (Uttara) Maathrusthan-This should not be blocked as it is the source of female issues.
  
• North-East (Eshanya) (Water) Source of health, wealth, prosperity and of male issues.
  

Prevent mosquito breeding

• Mosquitoes can be transmitters of dengue fever, encephalitis, malaria, yellow fever, Chikungunya, etc to humans.
  
• Mosquitoes must have water to lay their eggs. Get rid of the mosquitoes by frequently checking and removing stagnant water in your premises.
  
• So, drain water if any from old tires, jars, bottles, buckets, rain gutters, watering cans, unused tin cans etc. Turn them upside down.
  
• Change water at least once a week in fire bucket, bird bath, fountain, wading pool and plant trays to kill possible mosquito larvae.
  
• Clear any stagnant water in your air cooler unit.
  
• Loosen soil from potted plants to prevent the accumulation of stagnant water on the surface of the hardened soil.
  
• Clear away fallen leaves on roof.
  
• Empty the unused swimming pools, saunas, and hot tubs when not in use or cover them.
  
• Keep the rain drainages clean and free flow.
  
• Empty the overhead tank of house when unoccupied.
  
• Grow the special fish that eat mosquito larvae in ditches, ornamental pools etc.
  
• Mow the lawn at least once a week.
  
• Ensure windows, doors, septic tank’s air motion pipes etc are fitted with wire mesh to prevent entry of mosquitoes.
  
• Use mosquito repellents as required.
  
• Wear full sleeve shirt and full pant to avoid mosquito bite.
  
• Use mosquito net properly while sleeping.
  
• Don't dump unwanted things in storm drains or ditches.

Tips to maintain silk saris / sarees

To preserve the silk saree (silk sari), care is to be taken for storing, washing, dry cleaning, drying and ironing.

• Store the sari in a cool, dry place, wrapped in muslin cloth.
• Unfold your silk sarees and change the folding periodically, preferably every month.
• Don’t use soap for the first three washes. Gently rinse in plain cold water.
• For the subsequent washes, use a mild detergent.
• Wash the pallu, border and body separately.
• Don’t beat or lash the silk saree; it might lead to tearing of the zari.
• Avoid twisting or wringing.
• Don't bundle and keep wet for long durations.
• To remove stain, wash with cold water immediately.
• For hard stains, soak the stained area with petrol and brush with a soft cloth.
• Stained silk must be dry-cleaned as soon as possible.
• Remove lipstick stains & food stains using a dry-cleaning solvent and wash with soap and water.
• Remove greasy stains by dabbing talc, brushing off the talc, applying stain remover, and washing off the stain remover in hot water.
• Stains like blood, deodorant and perspiration can be cleaned with detergent.
• Dry-cleaning is the best way to care, since the solvents used do not affect silk.
• After washing, the saree must be dried under shadow.
• Iron the silk saree in medium heat, while it is still damp with a warm iron, or use a steam iron.

To view tips in Tamil, visit
http://tamiltip.blogspot.com/2009/08/tips-to-maintain-silk-saree.html

Tips to take good photograph / Picture using cell phone camera

Cell phones (mobile phones) are now-a-days used for talking, sending or receiving text or picture messages (SMS), hearing radio, viewing video, listening to music, browsing the web, taking, sending and receiving photos / pictures. Recent built-in cameras have acceptable mega pixels with advanced technology.

Tips:

• Clean the lens before taking a picture, using a glass cleaning cloth.
• There is a time lag between the pressing of the click button and the capturing of image by the camera. So practice to know the time difference in the particular phone.
• Hold the phone using both the hands and click the button to avoid blurring of the picture.
• Divide the picture into vertical and horizontal lines in your mind. Place the main subject of your picture on one of the lines or at the intersection or at the middle, whatever you feel good instead of simply centering the subject.
• The view finder of cell phone is of low resolution. The picture may look bad while viewing through it. You can edit and improve your results using computer. This includes changing the color at required area and removing the unwanted portion.
• Take advantage of the convenience of the cell phone camera.

Play safe Holi

Holi, the festival of colours is popular in North India, where people smear each other with loads of powdered colours and throw coloured water at each other.
These coloured powders usually contain special herbs such as henna (maruthani), margosa (veppilai / neem), kumkum, turmeric (manjal /haldi), and bilva (vilvam / bel).
Gulal can be made at home by mixing red sandalwood powder with a little flour (maida or atta). Red coloured water can be made by boiling red sandalwood powder with water.Bright yellow powder is obtained by mixing turmeric powder and gram flour (Besan / kadalai mavu). Mix the paste of green leafy vegetables in water to get green coloured water. Plain henna powder mixed in water will give a vibrant orange colour. Mix henna powder and gooseberry (amla / nellikkai / peru nelli) powder in water for a bright brown colour. Synthetic dyes and colours sold in the markets sometimes have a very harsh and toxic effect as they contain dangerous toxins such as lead and mercury. Therefore buy only skin friendly natural colours.

• Before playing, apply petroleum jelly or edible oil on exposed parts, to prevent colours from coming in contact with the skin. Wear clothes that cover maximum body, to protect your skin.

• While playing, ensure that your eyes remain protected at all times. Use sunglasses to protect your eyes from coloured water.Use a hat, cap or anything like that to protect your hair from being coloured with hard-to rinse dyes.
  People with a sensitive skin type and those prone to skin allergies should avoid being exposed to colours for a long time.
  If you feel pain or burning sensation after playing Holi, splash cold water on your eyes.

• After playing, dust off the colour as much as possible. Combing leads to breaking of hairs. Massage the scalp with lukewarm oil and rinse off with shampoo. While washing off the colour, use lukewarm water and keep your eyes closed. It is easy to remove the
  colour if you apply baby oil before playing Holi.

Incline sit-up for flat stomach

This exercise is useful to reduce belly (to lose belly fat), love handles and to have flat stomach.
Incline sit-up is a good exercise to train upper and lower abdominals.If incline sit-up bench is not available at the workout place, we can raise the height of a normal bench in one side and use. Some one can hold the legs of the person exercising in this case.

The exercise:

• Adjust the inclination of the board / bench according to your convenience.
• Sit on the sit-up bench, hook your feet under the foot pads and lie down with your feet at higher level than your head.
• Just touch both the ears by both the palms or cross the arms on the chest or place the hands on the hip.
• Start moving the upper body and bring close to vertical level.
• Slowly lower the upper body, keeping the back round and inhaling at the same time.
• The upper part of the back should not touch the bench.
• The downward motion should be a little slower than that of the upper.
• Now move up again and exhale at the same time.
• Repeat conveniently.
  

Beautiful face

Exercises to enhance beauty of your face and to be free from double Chin, sagging cheeks, crow’s feet, mouth wrinkles (laugh lines) and forehead wrinkles (worry lines).

• Double Chin: place a hand on the neck. Slightly pull the skin downward, moving your hand to the base of the neck. Smile lips closed and slightly raise chin up by looking towards the ceiling. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat 10 times.
  
• Sagging cheeks: let the cheeks be puffed up with air. Place both the fists on both cheeks and press providing resistance. Let the air come out slowly. Repeat 10 times, for a lift to the face.
  
• Crows feet: Place index and middle finger together, at the corner of each eye. Shut eyes and crunch them, squeezing tight with care. Hold for a few seconds and then open your eyes. Repeat 20 times, to reduce the wrinkles.
  
• Mouth wrinkles: Smile wide by keeping lips together. Hold for 5 seconds. Push mouth outward by bringing your lips together in a pout. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat 10 times. This will reduce laugh lines.
  
• Forehead wrinkles (worry lines): Press the forehead using interlocked fingers and move your eyebrows upward. Move your eyeballs, first up and then down. Feel the movement of the forehead muscle. This will reduce worry lines.