How to Germ Proof Your Kitchen and Other Household Areas Against Bird Flu (chicago plastic surgeons) and Other Diseases
No commentsBy Richard Stooker
Chances are there’re a lot more germs growing in your kitchen and the rest of your house than you think. Your kitchen is a breeding ground for cold, influenza and stomach viruses, as well as the normal microbes that inhabit your skin and digestive tracts.
Even though you think you’re a great housekeeper.
The most dangerous area is the kitchen. Yes, surprising as it seems, your kitchen probably has more germs than your bathroom — where the worst of them are flushed away.
Your kitchen contains a huge number of surfaces. You and your family touch them, and spatter and spill food over counters and the table and onto the floor. You pick up utensils. You cut up and cook food that even if not contaminated also contains nutrition for germ growth.
Yes, you clean your kitchen. But few people practice sanitation as strictly as they could.
One problem is raw meat. Beef can contain E coli 0157 and poultry can contain Salmonella and Campylobacter.
It’s highly unlikely in the U.S. or other developed countries that are watching their poultry flocks very carefully for signs of bird flu, that the chicken you buy in the store has H5N1 virus in it.
But if that should ever happen, these good sanitation habits will help protect you from it.
You should wash your hands WELL at every stage of meal preparation. That means before you start. After you cut up the vegetables. After you put the meat dish into the oven. Before you set the table. And then before you eat.
Every stage of handling and preparing food can possibly spread an infection to your skin. If you wash your hands between the handling of different foods, you reduce the risk that you’ll introduce the new microbes into the next dish you’re cooking.
This washing between foods also applies to utensils and cutting boards.
Never cut up chicken and then use the same surface and knife to cut up vegetables without washing them thoroughly with soap and hot water first.
And don’t wipe food off your hands with your apron or a rag you should throw down, or your apron or rag will have lots of germs from food growing in it and you’ll be transmitting them into what you’re cooking.
And don’t touch your face with your hands until they’re thoroughly washed, or you could be introducing germs from the food into your own body.
Also, all meat and fish should be thoroughly cooked — well done. Never serve any meat with any pink left in it. The heat of cooking kills a lot of microbes and parasites that could otherwise make you ill.
Of course, you need to keep your floor swept and mopped with disinfectant, and all counters and tables cleaned and disinfected. And all dishes and utensils washed well with hot water.
Any throw rugs or curtains in the kitchen should be washed regularly. Any rubber mats should be cleaned with water and bleach. Washclothes and sponges should be kept dry.
c 2006 by Richard Stooker
Richard Stooker is the author of How to Protect Yourself and Your Family From Bird Flu and
Bird Flu Blog
The Interviewer’s Perception or Who Gets Hired?
By Jack Deal
I recently interviewed on radio a high tech human resources guru from Silicon Valley. During one segment of the show we had been talking about appropriate dress for a high tech job position. At one of the commercial breaks he mentioned he had done recruiting at a small high tech company that had adopted ‘grunge’ as its corporate identity. He had interviewees that had torn clothing, matted hair and no shoes.
It was a strange set of interviews, he confided, but for better or worse the company had set the standard. A suit and tie were definitely not appropriate. Later in the show we discussed in more detail what sorts of things were appropriate.
Having been involved in thousands of interviews I thought I had seen it all: alcohol, facial tattoos, free use of obscenities, etc. Still, the question of an interviewer’s perception is an interesting one so I began to jot down a few notes.
The perceptual experts tell us we have 6 seconds to make a first impression. That is the visual side of perception. Personal hygiene, with the possible exception of some high tech grungers, strikes me first. If hair is dirty, clothes unkempt and shoes soiled then the perception, mine included, is that the individual does not take care of himself or herself. If they can’t take care of themselves when going to an interview — what will they do when hired? What does it say about an interviewee if they do not care about personal appearance?
Beyond the physical, I think we get a more personal picture in the first two minutes of an interview. These are often awkward moments ‘hi, how are you, thanks for coming, good to see you’, etc. These initial moments are a good indicator of an individual’s behavior when dealing with the unknown and determining their level of people skills. This initial chit-chat also sets the stage for the rest of the interview.
In the United States, we shake hands, especially in a business context. If I get a weak touch, strongman grip, or vertical yanking then I will perceive the individual tends to the extreme. I may be wrong, but for the applicant the interviewer’s perception is reality.
I usually begin by asking the applicant to give me a thumbnail sketch of their skills and abilities. Most qualified applicants can usually give a synopsis in a minute or two. This is not a difficult question but it does require a variety of skills to pull it off. If the applicant cannot state what they can do then the implication is they cannot do anything. Obviously this may be true with some applicants and not with others. But perception is perception.
Gradually I get around to what they are looking for. Amazingly, some answer they do not know. If they appear truthful, a ‘don’t know’ response can be seen as being honest. Most of the time, it implies the applicant has no ambition or has not thought very much. Here reality creates the perception and it’s a negative.
What I normally want to hear is they are looking for an opportunity and challenge. This means that at some point the applicant will have ’smoke coming out of their smokestack’. This is an indicator of ambition, drive, work ethic, etc. If they are looking for security and stability and no smoke I often perceive they are in it just for the paycheck.
I let the applicant do the talking and I just ask a series of questions. Near the end of the interview I usually ask them if they have any questions about the company. Amazingly again, many applicants say no, even when they know virtually nothing about their potential future employer! What I perceive is a good response is one or two insightful questions. Going into a long series of intricate questions is just as bad as not having any questions at all.
There are several areas that send flags up at different points in the interview. If they jump right on salary and benefits I know they are more interested in what the company can do for them then what they can do for the company. If they speak poorly about their past employers then I know they would probably do the same with my company. If they tell me secrets or confidential information about their past employers, I know they will do the same to me. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.
I am used to applicants being nervous but experienced interviewers can get applicants to relax. The sole purpose of the interview is to find out if the applicant will be appropriate for the company. This seems too obvious! Yet many applicants do not understand this simple concept. We have a very short period of time to determine if the applicant is appropriate to become ‘one of our family’. And why would we ever hire an obvious problem?
Those of us that conduct interviews are people too. We have our perceptions: the good, bad and ugly.
The difference is we decide who gets hired.
Jack D. Deal is the owner of Deal Business Consulting. Related articlesmay be found at http://www.jddeal.com and http://www.freeandinquiringmind.typepad.com
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Do You Suffer With Chronic Bad Breath?
By Rick Calligaris
Chronic bad breath is a condition that results in contintinuous symptoms such as bad taste and smell emitting from your mouth due to the presence of oral bacteria or some other underlying medical condition. If you have chronic bad breath it is probably affecting your interactions with other people at work and in your personal and love life.
Bad breath can definitely get in between people in a negative way so it is important to find out if you have a chronic condition and to beging traetment right away if you do. Once you begin taking actions to resolve the condition you will feel better about being around other people as well as out in public If you are concerned about your condition offending others you may want to consider the following points to help you decide if bad breath is a significant problem for you.
Do You Have a Bad Taste in Your Mouth?
If you constantly have a bad taste in your mouth there is a strong likelihood that you have chronic bad breath. What you taste is the decay from the food particles left in your mouth. Unless you clean your teeth and tongue regularly and frequently you will continue to experience a bad taste in your mouth.
Do You Eat Mints Like they are Going out of style?
Have others offered you a breath mint or breath freshening gum before they will talk to you? Chances are the reason they gave you the mint or gum is that they cannot stand your breath unless its odour has been masked.
Many people are too polite to bring up a delicate matter like bad breath and so they offer a mint or gum to the person with the offending breath before they will talk with them. If this happens regularly to you you may have chronic bad breath. And if you walk into a room and others either turn their head or leave this is another sign that your condition may be impacting your personal and professional relationships.
Do People Turn Away from you?
When you stand close to people and talk to them do step step back when you begin talking? If this happens regularly people may be stepping back to avoid horrid smell which is another indication that you may have chronic bad breath.
Do You Have a White or Yellow Coated Tongue?
A white or yellow coating on the tongue can indicate a condition that causes chronic bad breath. The coating on the tongue should be regularly brushed or scraped off because if it is allowed to build up it can create an environment for bad breath to further develop.
If any are all of the examples appliy to you it is recommended that you take proactive steps to eliminate the root cause of your chronic bad breath condition. Once you have your condition under control you will find more pleasure in your interactions with other people. You will begin to notice that others are no longer avoiding you or handing you candy before they will talk to you.
To Your Fresh Breath & Improved Relationships!
Did you know that you can get rid of your Bad Breath in less than One Day? Find out exactly how easy it is to improve your breath, reverse your gum disease, and start enjoying life today:
Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 11:35 pm and is filed under hygiene. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
