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Do-it-Yourself Projects That Lead to the Most ER Visits: As the economy continues to bump along many homeowners are taking their lumps as they attempt to make home repairs they would normally hire someone else to do. This year 43 million homeowners will take on 57 million home improvement projects. Of those intrepid folks, one in five will be injured, according to the Home Safety Council. Accidents that typically send people to the emergency room involve falling off ladders, getting struck by mower debris, lacerations from a power tool or chain saw and burns or breathing difficulties caused by household chemicals. “We want to keep reminding people how easy it is to do a job right by doing it safely,” Climbing a ladder. Falls from ladders and stools sent over 246,733 Americans to hospital emergency rooms in 2009 (the last year for which full statistics are available) according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Experts from the CPSC, HSC and Consumer Reports recommend the following:
- Use the right ladder for the job.
- Always select a height that doesn't require you to reach up or out in a way that destabilizes the ladder;
- keep your belt buckle centered between the rails.
Set up your ladder on a firm, level surface. - With an extension ladder, the base should be one foot away from the wall for every four feet the ladder reaches up.
- Use your stepladder only in the open, A-shaped position and lock the spreaders. Don't step above the labeled maximum height. Beyond that point, the odds of an accident increase significantly.
The seven deadly sins CEOs won't admit: weaknesses?" At the top of the business world, people seem to have taken to heart the advice to admit no negative traits, just positives in disguise, says Lucy Kellaway of the Financial Times. Every week for the past year and a half, the Financial Times has asked business leaders 20 questions including: "What are your three worst features?" By studying the replies, I've amassed a treasure trove of data that overwhelmingly supports a long-held pet theory of mine.
The three worst traits of chief executives are a lack of self-knowledge, a lack of self-knowledge and a quite extraordinary willingness to give themselves the benefit of the doubt. When it comes to describing their dark sides, 58 out of 60 leaders felt bound by the same rule - any weakness is perfectly admissible, so long as it is really a strength.They almost all cite impatience, perfectionism and being too demanding - all of which turn out to be things that it's rather good for a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to be. What is particularly interesting about this mass outpouring of faux weaknesses is that there is no difference between men and women, and no difference between Americans and Europeans. All are as bad as each other.
Self-made men who may be CEOs from large multi-nationals to your local window cleaning company will have: Drive, Determination and Vision. This means that unless the information is presented to them in a useful form, they may just not listen. Giving themselves benefit of doubt, is down to their drive and determination. You have to be optimistic to conquer all issues.
If you're encouraged by the "pending" signs around your neighborhood, and want to put your home on the market, you first need to get it sale-ready. That requires a strategy, because depending on the upgrades your home needs, it might be a time-consuming task. We're not talking major overhauls, like redoing bathrooms and kitchens. But there are changes you can make that will give a good return on your real-estate investment. The most productive changes you can make include updating the flooring, adding a fresh coat of paint, de-cluttering and cleaning like there's no tomorrow. These sound easy, but actually getting them done is another matter. Extreme cleaning - The more you can clean, the better. To save time and energy, hire a cleaning service to thoroughly clean the kitchen, its appliances and bathrooms. Hiring a professional window washer who cleans both the indoors and outdoors results in extra sparkle.
Bob Hoskins, 68, was born in Bury St Edmunds and raised in London. Having left school at 15, he worked as a porter, lorry driver and window cleaner. In 1968, he accompanied a friend to a play audition and ended up with the lead. Ten years later, he starred in his first TV drama, Dennis Potter's Pennies From Heaven, and in 1980 he made his major film debut with The Long Good Friday. He went on to star in The Cotton Club in 1984 and Mona Lisa in 1986, a performance that earned him an Oscar nomination.
Great deals to be had — but do your homework first: Ever hear of online daily deal companies? Simply supply any deal company, Groupon, Teambuy and Dealfind seem to be the current biggies, with an email address and every day you’ll receive, via email, a fantastic opportunity to save money on local activities, events, restaurants and local services. The savings can be truly astounding. Not so long ago — OK, I was new to it and got a little carried away on Dealfind — I bought a complete lawn-care package at 83 per cent off the regular price, a gutter-cleaning and window-washing package at tremendous savings ($55 for a $280 package) and a voucher for $49 that was redeemable for $170 worth of organic meat. Well, within days of buying the vouchers for the lawn care and gutter cleaning-window washing packages, the businesses offering the services became incommunicado.
Former window cleaner dies, 83: A window cleaner who did the same round for more than 60 years has died. Albert Bateson, who died on June 26, aged 83, worked as a window cleaner up to the age of 77. He joined his father on the rounds in Great Lever when he was 15 and continued the business. He was born in at a house in Eustace Street, where he lived all his life, and cleaned windows for his neighbours and the surrounding streets. Stepdaughter Christine Schofield, aged 57, said: “He went out at 8am every morning come rain, snow or sunshine. “His ladders are still in the garage and we have found notes books from his rounds going back years with what the weather was like each day and what he charged. He really enjoyed the job because he was a friendly person and liked meeting people, it is something he has always done. “I am sure he will be missed by a lot of people.” He enjoyed being active and keeping fit, and was a competitive ballroom dancer with his wife Irene until she died 13 years ago. Mr Bateson continued his passion for dancing at the British Legion club in Swinton until last year when he started to struggle with arthritis. He died of pneumonia and his funeral took place at Overdale on Tuesday.
According to the Ontario Ministry of Labour 25 construction workers died in the province in 2010, with 8 deaths so far this year. That is something the construction industry could – perhaps should – profile and acknowledge in a more public and meaningful way. But when a construction worker or window washer dies, workers and washers do not fly in from other cities as police do, at their own expense, for their fallen comrades. They do not organize a funeral procession.
St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce Director Pat McKeown said, "The future lies in small business." The Chamber of Commerce works with local small business owners to make sure the community knows about their company. One of its efforts is a monthly spotlight on eight businesses. The event, which is hosted at one of the businesses, gives owners the chance to talk about their company with the public and other business owners. It also gives them the chance to network. McKeown said, "Payroll people can network with window cleaners, window cleaners can network with hotel owners, the accountants. You name it, they're networking." Hilton said, "It's given me exposure to a lot of the other businesses around here and I think word of mouth is so important. These are the kind of people who when they say something good about your business. It's very influential." And those involved agree, it's these efforts that help secure a strong future for small businesses and a stable economy in St. Lawrence County.
Blistered but happy after big row: Three men in a boat have completed an epic journey up the River Thames in aid of research into motor neurone disease. Cumnor man Stuart Bates, 41, was joined by friends Julian Tolputt, 32, and Lawrie Hall, 22, on a challenge to row a 26ft Victorian skiff 100 miles upstream from Richmond to Oxford in six days. They hope to raise £10,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association and have already collected £8,500. Mr Bates’ brother, Spencer, 49, was diagnosed with the condition in 2009. The team, called Three Dopes in a Boat, slept on the boat each night and sometimes rowed from 7am to 9pm.
Mr Bates, a window cleaner, said: “We are all covered in blisters on our hands and in places where you really would not want blisters, but it was absolutely worth it.” He added: “Watching Spencer change from a fit, muscular, ‘life and soul of the party’ man in such a short space of time is almost unbearable.” They were joined by broadcaster Natalie Pinkham, an MNDA ambassador, Olympian Sir Steve Redgrave and Prof Kevin Talbot, director of the Oxford Motor Neuron Disease Care and Research Centre.
And finally... why patients make me happy: A great deal of my time, I admit, is spent seething and grumbling about the state of things, in a mood of bolshie dissent. My only interest is in doing what is best for my patients — yet, in a world where the GP is an independent subcontractor, with our monopoly employer being Her Majesty’s Government, we are always faced with an overriding imperative: saving money. But boiling over with frustration about such matters does not always occupy my mind: often, I find myself marvelling at the sometimes extraordinary and often delightful things that happen to a GP.
Late one summer afternoon I was sitting in my consulting room, back to the window, talking to my last patient of the day. Behind me I heard the familiar sound of the window cleaner’s ladder against the outside balcony, and became aware that he had arrived at my first-floor window and was starting his task. Suddenly the window was raised and he stuck his head in, over my shoulder, saying ‘Hello, Sir’ to my patient. The elderly patient in front of me at once stood up and seized the window cleaner by the hand, beaming, with a look of pleasure and astonishment on his face.
For our window cleaner — Tom Windows, as we called him — had been my patient’s rear gunner in a Lancaster bomber. The patient had been an NCO who, despite his lack of officer status, had been a pilot — and both had survived the conflict. This had been their first meeting for many years, and there was only one thing for it: we sauntered down to the Ladbroke Arms to celebrate with a hearty Guinness.
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