Showing posts with label practical. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

1940's and 50's ergonomic kitchen

Wednesday, April 05, 2017

Culinary Therapy

http://www.thekitchn.com/cooking-with-a-physical-disability-171416

http://www.cookingmanager.com/tipscooking-disability-injury/

http://www.centrahealthcare.com/rehabilitation-through-culinary-therapy/

https://sites.duke.edu/ptot/outpatient-services/patient-resources/cooking/

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nxGvAXjaYHAC&pg=PA17&lpg=PA17&dq=physical+rehab+cooking&source=bl&ots=zHJk-dKtcN&sig=6ZKSYWZQY9VclA9eNm8X00jFQk0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwij-63L_Y3TAhWBJ8AKHdtXCbQ4ChDoAQhGMAc#v=onepage&q=physical%20rehab%20cooking&f=false - Extract of 'Cooking and Screaming: Finding My Own Recipe for Recovery' By Adrienne Kane

https://sites.duke.edu/ptot/outpatient-services/patient-resources/energy-conservation/
'

Energy Conservation

What is energy conservation? Energy conservation refers to the way activities are done to minimize muscle fatigue, joint stress, and pain. By using your body efficiently and doing things in a sequential way, you can save your energy. Work Simplification and Energy Conservation principles will allow you to remain independent and be less frustrated by your illness when the energy you have lasts throughout the day.

Energy Conservation Principles and Techniques

Organization

Planning ahead
Prioritize your work.
Analyze the work to be done.
Eliminate all unnecessary steps.
Combine tasks or activities.
Consider making changes to tasks or activity.

Balance Rest and Activity

Frequent short rests are of more benefit than fewer longer ones.
The amount of rest you need and the amount of activity you can do will vary day to day.
Plan your work so difficult tasks are done during your best time of day and are distributed throughout the week..
Avoid activities which cannot be stopped immediately if they become too stressful.
Rest before you tire.
Plan a balance of work, recreation, exercise, and rest.
If possible, lie down to rest.
Practice breathing techniques.

Work Simplification

Cancel tasks that are not really necessary.
Delegate responsibilities to others.
Simplify your methods of work .
Sit to work whenever possible.
Adjust height of work surfaces to allow for good posture.
Use equipment when necessary to conserve energy.
Avoid prolong exposure to moist heat.'

Blogs about Life following a disability

http://lifedisabled.com/

http://homeafterstroke.blogspot.co.uk/

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Drawing drinking water from the atmosphere - warka water

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/this-tower-pulls-drinking-water-out-of-thin-air-180950399/

This Tower Pulls Drinking Water Out of Thin Air

Designer Arturo Vittori says his invention can provide remote villages with more than 25 gallons of clean drinking water per day

By Tuan C. Nguyen

smithsonian.com April 8, 2014

Warka Water towers are designed to take advantage of condensation. (Architecture and Vision )

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/this-tower-pulls-drinking-water-out-of-thin-air-180950399/#O2G7j8eKskDBoiS2.99
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter

In some parts of Ethiopia, finding potable water is a six-hour journey.

People in the region spend 40 billion hours a year trying to find and collect water, says a group called the Water Project. And even when they find it, the water is often not safe, collected from ponds or lakes teeming with infectious bacteria, contaminated with animal waste or other harmful substances.

The water scarcity issue—which affects nearly 1 billion people in Africa alone—has drawn the attention of big-name philanthropists like actor and Water.org co-founder Matt Damon and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who, through their respective nonprofits, have poured millions of dollars into research and solutions, coming up with things like a system that converts toilet water to drinking water and a "Re-invent the Toilet Challenge," among others.

Critics, however, have their doubts about integrating such complex technologies in remote villages that don't even have access to a local repairman. Costs and maintenance could render many of these ideas impractical.

"If the many failed development projects of the past 60 years have taught us anything," wrote one critic, Toilets for People founder Jason Kasshe, in a New York Times editorial, "it's that complicated, imported solutions do not work."

Other low-tech inventions, like this life straw, aren't as complicated, but still rely on users to find a water source.

It was this dilemma—supplying drinking water in a way that's both practical and convenient—that served as the impetus for a new product called Warka Water, an inexpensive, easily-assembled structure that extracts gallons of fresh water from the air.

The invention from Arturo Vittori, an industrial designer, and his colleague Andreas Vogler doesn't involve complicated gadgetry or feats of engineering, but instead relies on basic elements like shape and material and the ways in which they work together.

At first glance, the 30-foot-tall, vase-shaped towers, named after a fig tree native to Ethiopia, have the look and feel of a showy art installation. But every detail, from carefully-placed curves to unique materials, has a functional purpose.

The rigid outer housing of each tower is comprised of lightweight and elastic juncus stalks, woven in a pattern that offers stability in the face of strong wind gusts while still allowing air to flow through. A mesh net made of nylon or polypropylene, which calls to mind a large Chinese lantern, hangs inside, collecting droplets of dew that form along the surface. As cold air condenses, the droplets roll down into a container at the bottom of the tower. The water in the container then passes through a tube that functions as a faucet, carrying the water to those waiting on the ground.

Using mesh to facilitate clean drinking water isn't an entirely new concept. A few years back, an MIT student designed a fog-harvesting device with the material. But Vittori's invention yields more water, at a lower cost, than some other concepts that came before it.

"[In Ethiopia], public infrastructures do not exist and building [something like] a well is not easy," Vittori says of the country. "To find water, you need to drill in the ground very deep, often as much as 1,600 feet. So it's technically difficult and expensive. Moreover, pumps need electricity to run as well as access to spare parts in case the pump breaks down."

So how would Warka Water's low-tech design hold up in remote sub-Saharan villages? Internal field tests have shown that one Warka Water tower can supply more than 25 gallons of water throughout the course of a day, Vittori claims. He says because the most important factor in collecting condensation is the difference in temperature between nightfall and daybreak, the towers are proving successful even in the desert, where temperatures, in that time, can differ as much as 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

The structures, made from biodegradable materials, are easy to clean and can be erected without mechanical tools in less than a week. Plus, he says, "once locals have the necessary know-how, they will be able to teach other villages and communities to build the Warka."

In all, it costs about $500 to set up a tower—less than a quarter of the cost of something like the Gates toilet, which costs about $2,200 to install and more to maintain. If the tower is mass produced, the price would be even lower, Vittori says. His team hopes to install two Warka Towers in Ethiopia by next year and is currently searching for investors who may be interested in scaling the water harvesting technology across the region.

"It's not just illnesses that we're trying to address. Many Ethiopian children from rural villages spend several hours every day to fetch water, time they could invest for more productive activities and education," he says. "If we can give people something that lets them be more independent, they can free themselves from this cycle."

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

flatbreads

ROTI
Serves 4
Ingredients
300g wholewheat flour
4 tsp rapeseed oil (or clarified butter)
300ml water
Half a tsp of salt
Plain flour for rolling
Method
Carefully sift the flour into a bowl. Add the oil and salt. Pour in the water and mix to form a soft dough.
On a floured surface, knead the dough well for a few minutes. Keep aside for half an hour and then knead again for a minute or two. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions.
Sprinkle a work surface liberally with flour and roll each portion out into a 15cm-diameter thin circle. Remove any excess flour and put aside. Heat a cast-iron griddle on a medium flame and slap the rolled circle on to the griddle. Cook lightly for 10 seconds or until one side browns and then flip the roti and cook the other side. If you like your rotis crispy, then toast quickly on an open flame with tongs. Serve hot and for a decadent touch, brush with butter before serving.
NAAN BREAD
Ingredients to make 4 naans
250g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
Half a tsp salt
2 tbsp yoghurt
80ml whole milk
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Topping: caramelised onions, nigella seeds, fresh coriander or mint. (If you prefer you could even add fresh herbs, finely chopped, in the dough mix.)
Method
Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. In another bowl mix together the milk with the vegetable oil.
Add the yoghurt to the sifted flour followed by the milk and oil. Mix everything together to make a soft, pliable dough. Turn out on the work surface and knead for five minutes until smooth. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with cling film and rest it for 20 minutes or so in a warm place.
Preheat your oven grill to medium and place a baking tray on the top shelf of the oven. Turn the dough out and divide into four portions. Roll out quite thinly to a teardrop shape. Top each naan with coriander leaves or your preferred choice of topping and pat lightly into the naan. Prick the naan with a fork to make sure it doesn't rise.
Remove the baking tray from the oven; place the bread on it and return to the oven to cook for three minutes or until speckled lightly brown. Smear with butter and serve warm.
Recipe by Maunika Gowardhan; for more Indian recipes go to cookinacurry.co.uk

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/rise-and-rise-of-flat-bread-how-to-bake-the-indian-way-7939605.html

Saturday, March 05, 2011

Getting organised...

3 home office zones

5 steps to a permanently cleaner office

Desktop zones

It's all about the zones. Apparantly...

I wish I was one of those naturally uber-organised-neat-freak type people, who has everything organised all of the time. I try. I try hard. But it just feels like a cycle of intense tidying followed by a slow but steady decline into a natural state of organised chaos, followed by intense tidying, followed by...
You get the picture.