From those awkward days in early gym class to Marine trainees racing through obstacle courses, rope climbing is a time-honored practice of testing and building your physical fitness. At one time, rope climbing was even an Olympic event, pitting agile athletes from around the world to see who could race up their rope the quickest. Rope climbing is not only a great workout for the upper body, it’s also a useful skill, whether you’re looking to do some technical climbing or scale Mount Midoriyama to become the next American Ninja Warrior.
There are several methods taught for proper rope climbing technique. The biggest difference between each technique is how you use your feet. No matter what method you use, you should always start by jumping up to grab the rope at the highest point possible. This helps give you a head start and provides some wiggle room for you to position the rope between your legs.
The Gulf Coast and East Coast have hurricanes, the Midwest and South have tornados, and the West Coast faces tsunami threats. No area of the country is without their own special brand of natural disaster to worry about. Earthquakes, however, span state lines, cross mountain ranges, and traverse climates. With the increased practice of deep wastewater disposal in the oil and gas industry, even the typically stable Midwest and central areas of the country are seeing an exponential rise in the number of earthquakes strong enough to get your house shaking (e.g., before 2009 there were an average of two magnitude 3+ earthquakes in Oklahoma; last year there were 907).
Surviving an earthquake starts far before the tremors begin, with careful preparation and planning. You should have enough food and water (a gallon per person per day) to last a minimum of three days, and communicate to friends and family where to meet and how to contact each other after an earthquake, assuming phone lines and electricity are down. Finally, take time to go through your house and secure tall, heavy pieces of furniture and appliances that might topple over. After an earthquake, be prepared to experience powerful aftershocks, and try to get to an open area as soon as it’s safe to do so. During an earthquake, the best survival techniques depend on your surroundings, so heed the tips above.
You think you’re warding off disease, but if you don’t spend enough time washing your hands in the correct manner you’re fooling yourself.
Use the simple guide below to wash your hands like a doctor.
January has been the month of the cold that would not die at the McKay household. First one half of the family got sick, then the other, then the first half again. It was a downright pandemic around here. Productivity, morale, and my gains — my poor, poor gains! — have suffered greatly.
It’s gotten me thinking about how to better handle getting sick in the future, and how to prevent getting sick in the first place. When it comes to the latter, proper and regular hand-washing is one of the most important weapons in your cold and flu-fighting arsenal.
In the past I’ve admittedly been a short and sloppy washer. And I’m not alone; studies have shown that only 5% of people wash their hands correctly.
So we talked to Bryan Canterbury, ER doctor at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, MA, to get his tips on how to wash thoroughly like a right-old medical professional. His doctor-endorsed guide is above.
According to the CDC, you should wash your hands:
Before, during, and after preparing food
Before eating food
Before and after caring for someone who is sick
Before and after treating a cut or wound
After using the toilet
After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet
After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
After touching an animal, animal feed, or animal waste
After handling pet food or pet treats
After touching garbage
Skip the antibacterial soap; it’s not only no more effective at getting rid of germs than regular soap, it may lead to the development of resistant strains of bacteria (i.e., the “super bug”). The antibacterial label also tends to make people careless about washing their hands the right way, figuring the soap will take care of the germs itself, which isn’t the case.
Hand sanitizer will work in a pinch — use a big glob, make sure it’s at least 60% alcohol, and rub it over every surface of your hands. Sanitizer’s not a good choice when you’ve got actual grime on your hands, and it doesn’t kill all germs, but it’s almost as effective as hand washing. It won’t lead to super bug-dom, either; hand sanitizer breaks down bacteria in a different way than the anti-microbials in antibacterial soap do. Here’s how Dr. Canterbury recommends using sanitizer:
“In the hospital, we use hand-sanitizer in-out of each patient room. But we are told to soap-and-water after the bathroom and before/after meals and when hands are visibly dirty — and I think that’s great minimum criteria throughout the day no matter your work/life setting; more if possible to prevent catching a cold, flu, pneumonia — or worse.”
There you go, how to wash (or sanitize) your hands like a doc. Until next time, keep your noses, and your hands clean.
Stack your firewood to last the Winter and to dry perfectly with this handy graphic.
After you split firewood, you want to stack it up and store it to begin the seasoning process and prepare it for burning. Firewood should be stored for a minimum of 6 months, and during that time you want to ensure it loses as much moisture as possible by exposing it to ample sunlight and air circulation. As noted above, while both elements are important, sun exposure should be prioritized over wind direction. If your backyard or property has inconsistent wind patterns, the stack should be aligned so that it catches the west-to-east winds which are common in North America.
You’ll know when your wood is ready for stove or fireplace by sight and sound: Check the ends of your firewood for hairline cracks that spiderweb across the grain, and bang the wood together; a low thud sound means you’re good to go, but a sharp clap means it still needs time.
If you’ve waited six months and your wood still doesn’t seem ready, your stack may be out of whack; check the guidelines above for tips on how it might be improved.
Pancakes are delicious, but it’s easy to screw them up if you’re not careful. Before you make your next batch, check out this handy graphic with tips on how to get them just right.
Let’s start by admitting that the nature of a perfect pancake is a subjective thing. Some people love thin, almost crepe-style pancakes, while others crave flapjacks that are heavy and almost cakey in texture. In the middle of those extremes is what we’re after — a pancake that’s got crispy edges and a moist, but not too dense inside. If you want to make the sort of hotcakes you’d find at an all-night diner in the middle of a long road trip, where heavy ceramic mugs accompany warm jugs of maple syrup ready to pour over golden stacks of butter-covered pancakes, these instructions will guide you.
The key to creating these divine cakes starts with fresh ingredients: don’t use flour, baking soda, or baking powder that’s more than 6 months old, as it weakens key interactions that make the difference between great flapjacks and mediocre ones.
