Tuesday, 30 June 2015

26 Cats Who Sum Up The Summer Job Struggle

These cats are ready to quit right meow!

Summer is in full swing!

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The flowers have bloomed, the mercury's rising, and days are spent soaking up the rays.

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But not your days.

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No, you'll be stuck inside all summer.

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How to Get the Hiccups

The diaphragm at the base of your chest is usually helpful, pushing the lungs or letting them expand as you breathe. For reasons that are not always obvious, it sometimes betrays your body and spasms jerkily, closing the back of your throat and unleashing a characteristic -hic- sound. No one enjoys this sensation — except, apparently, you.

Steps

Getting Hiccups from Eating or Drinking

Drink something fizzy. Sparkling water, soda, and other carbonated beverages can all cause hiccups.^[1] Drinking quickly might increase the odds of "success," if you can stand the painful prickling sensation.
Eat spicy food. Eating food spicier than you're used to might irritate the nerves around your throat and stomach, which can cause hiccups.^[2] Try two or three spoonfuls of bland food covered in hot sauce, then cross your fingers. Giving yourself an upset stomach by overdoing this might also lead to hiccups, but the regret is probably not worth the small chance of success.
Drink hot and cold beverages in the same sitting. Drink a hot drink, then follow it immediately with an icy one. Sudden temperature changes in the stomach sometimes cause hiccups.^[3] This method might also work with hot and cold foods eaten in rapid succession.
- Permanent tooth damage is a possibility with this method, as the enamel on your tooth can fracture. Do not make a habit of this activity, and never try it if you have porcelain tooth implants, or if your teeth feel painful or sensitive to heat or cold.^[4]

Trying Other Methods

Swallow a large mouthful of air. Suck in a mouthful of air, close your mouth, and swallow. This is one of the only methods successfully used by a research team, who believe that hiccups might be a reaction designed to dislodge large pieces of food from the esophagus.^[5]
- You could instead try chewing and swallowing a moderately large mouthful of bread. Trying this with other foods, especially un-chewed foods, is not recommended, due to the risk of choking.
- Trying this too many times is likely to lead to an unpleasant, bloated sensation.
Force yourself to burp. If you know how to burp on command, try this repeatedly until a hiccuping fit starts. If you can't, try sucking in air rapidly to the back of your throat. Pay attention to your glottis, or flap at the back of your throat, closing and reopening again rapidly.^[6] This is the motion that occurs when you hiccup, so stimulating it intentionally may trigger the automatic sensation.
Take a shower with abrupt temperature changes. Sudden temperature changes may stimulate certain nerves that can trigger a hiccuping session. If you're desperate for a chance at a hiccuping fit, jump in a cold shower, then switch to warm water after ten seconds.
- If the temperature inside and outside is significantly different, try walking outside and inside repeatedly.
- Temperature changes can also cause hives or swollen, itchy skin.
Trigger sudden emotions. Nervousness and excitement are likely the emotions most likely to trigger hiccups.^[7] Still, this is probably the least reliable method, as most people hiccup only occasionally despite daily mood shifts. Still, if there is a movie, video game, sport, or other activity that makes you excited, scared, or nervous, have a go at it right after trying one of the other methods.

Tips

If you're overcome with success and regret, try these hiccup cures.

Warnings

Many of these methods cause unpleasant sensations if attempted repeatedly. You may not wish to try them if you have an upset stomach, suffer from acid reflux, or feel ill.

Related wikiHows

Sources and Citations

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17 Dogs Who Want The Snacks

Give them the snacks.

"This is the face that needs one little bite of your sandwich."

Heidi Bokma

"It's been nearly fifteen minutes since my last snack so hand over the goods."

Pkrplr4116

"A smile for you, a treat for me. Now."

Emily Snider

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17 Cats Who Can't Stop, Won't Stop Dancing

Don’t even try to stop them.

The Ballroom Dancer:

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The Sneaky Snake:

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The Shy Fist Pumper:

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The One-Two Step:

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You Will Never Love TV As Much As These Dogs Do

Behold, the majesty of dogs watching television.

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This Simple Trick Will Tell You If It's Too Hot To Walk Your Dog

This viral Facebook post gives a new meaning to the “five-second rule.”

When it's really unbearably hot out this summer, don't forget to keep your animals' safety in mind.

Not only can they get heatstroke just like people, but their poor paws have to touch that fiery pavement, and, ouch.

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One simple trick for keeping your pet's paws safe is currently going viral after it was posted on Facebook by Moon Valley Canine Training in Sonoma, California.

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It's been shared over 100,000 times on Facebook and made the front page of Reddit.

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The trick: "Place the back of your hand on the pavement. If you cannot hold it for five seconds, it's too hot to walk your dog."

So if you need to take your dog out and the sidewalk doesn't pass this test, make sure to go somewhere shaded or grassy where they won't hurt their paws. And don't forget to bring water and keep a close eye on them if they'll be out there for a while.

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This Vine Shows What Happens When Your Dog Is Home Alone

“Oh. You’re home early.”

If you've ever wondered what your dog is up to when you go out, here's a clue.

Just casually sat in a chair, just like a regular person.

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And that.

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Is what your dog is doing.

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When you go out.

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17 Rescued Farm Animals Who Will Make You Question Eating Meat

The power of the animal spirit is amazing. Warning: Devastating stories with uncommonly happy endings ahead.

Valentino

Valentino is the sweetest little guy, but he wasn't always doing as well as he was when I saw him. The calf of a dairy cow, Valentino was sent to auction at only a day old. Usually these calves are sold for veal or raised for cheap beef, but since Valentino was so sick and badly abused, he was likely going to be left at the stockyard to die. Luckily, a horse rescuer saw him and took him to get care. After getting treatment at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals, Valentino is living his days with the older cows at the sanctuary.

Chelsea Marshall

Gabriel

Gabriel's mom, Marjorie, was one of a group of goats found on a rural property, extremely neglected: All were emaciated, coughing, and plagued by both internal and external parasites. On top of all that, their hooves were overgrown and rotten. Gabriel's mother gave birth shortly after her rescue and they're both living great lives with lots of behind-the-ear scratches (a goat favorite!).

Chelsea Marshall

Kristoff

Krstoff was among 24 baby turkeys left at the gate of the Watkins Glen Farm Sanctuary one morning. Their specific history is unknown, but it is clear from their shorn beaks and dire physical state that they came from a factory farm. Their shorn beaks are a product of suffering "de-beaking," a horrible procedure in which a human amputates the nerve-filled beak of the bird. Kristoff now gets to roam the farm with other turkeys, where his playful and curious demeanor is celebrated!

Chelsea Marshall

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A Barbecue With A Bunch Of Tiny Hamsters Is All You Need To See This Summer

Your ‘que will never be the same.

The tiny hamsters are at it again... you may remember them from their tiny tiki party or even when they had too much fun on a playground. This time they are turning it up a barbecue!

HelloDenizen / Via youtube.com

Gotta make sure the grill is poppin'!

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Bite-sized burgers for all.

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And what's a BBQ without grilled corn on the cob?

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How to Hollow Out a Coconut

A hollow coconut makes a great house for a hermit crab, and can also be used as a birdhouse. It can also be used as a festive decoration for any party, or for just clapping the empty halves together, and pretending to ride on a horse! You can even use it as a bowl or cup!

Steps

Draining the Coconut

Find the eyes of the coconut. Sort of like a bowling ball, the coconut will have three "eyes." They're really just spots on one end. Two will be side-by-side, and one will be the odd one out – it's this odd one that is the soft spot, which you can tap into to drain.
- Sometimes you'll need to remove strands from the husk to really get at the eyes. This is easy enough to do with your hands or a small knife. The area around the eye should be clean.
Poke into the eye with a knife, a drill bit, or a screwdriver. If your knife is small enough, you may be able just to poke right through the eye, through the meat, and into the liquid with your knife. If not, find a screwdriver or a drill bit that is small enough to force an opening.
- You may need to tap the end of the screwdriver or drill bit with a hammer. Just a few light taps ought to do it.
- If you experience a hissing sound once you break through to the meat, that's good – it means the coconut is depressurizing. If you don't (or if you experience air going out instead of in, it's possible your coconut has gone bad.
Drain the water into a bowl, jar or cup. Coconut water is delicious, so save it! However, make sure it's good before you combine it with other coconut water – you don't want to tarnish the whole batch. Here's how to know if it's good:
- It should be fairly clear, almost like water.
- There should be no clouds.
- It should not be slimy.

Cutting It in Half

Locate the thin line along the middle of the coconut. Every coconut has a natural "center point" that is marked by a thin line, sort of like an equator. This is where it will be easiest to break the coconut cleanly in half. Locate this line before you begin tapping.^[1]
- To hold the coconut properly, hold it in your non-dominant hand. The eyes should be facing down and the ends should be facing out to the sides.
Smack the coconut against the line with the back side of a large knife or meat cleaver. Never use the sharp blade of a knife to hit a coconut! Not only could you hurt yourself, but this could force the coconut to break in a dozen pieces. Using the blunt, back side of a heavy blade to slowly break it cleanly in half.
- A meat cleaver is great as there is a natural curve to the back side of the blade. This matches the curve of the coconut, applying pressure evenly. Again, the 3 eyes of the coconut should be facing away from your hand.
Rotate the coconut about a quarter of a turn with each rap. Crack the knife against the line a second time. Keep making slight rotations, always rapping against the line. Keep going in this manner until you hear a cracking sound. Once it starts cracking, use less and less force to keep it in two large pieces.
- For some coconuts, this will take a few smacks. For others, it will take a few full rotations. You're not doing anything wrong – some coconuts are simply easier to split than others.
- Keep rapping and turning until the crack has gone all the way around the coconut and it splits cleanly apart.

Cleaning It Out

Pry the meat away from the shell. Grab a spoon and position it between the meat and the shell with the back of the spoon facing the shell. The meat will come off in chunks as it breaks loose. You may not be able to get all the meat out (coconuts can be finicky), which is when the next step comes in handy.
- Spoon not working too great? Some coconut meat is more difficult than others. In this case, grab a small paring-like knife to shred at the meat. Make a cut into the meat and drive the knife along the edge, much like you would peel an orange.
- Before you toss the coconut meat, consider keeping it. It's delicious, especially when cold or turned into a smoothie!
Place the 2 coconut halves on a cookie sheet in the oven at 150°C (300°F) for 1-2 hours. The amount of time you need depends on the size of the coconut and the thickness of the meat. Once it's finished, the meat will have shrunk and you'll be able to pull out the meat in one piece.
- People in the Micronesian islands of Palau, Ponape, Chuuk, the Caroline's, etc., will lay coconut halves face up in the sunshine for a number of days till the meat separates from the shell.
Place the coconuts shell-side down in a well-ventilated area. Give them a few days (or up to a week) to fully dry and harden. Giving them this extra drying-out period will make them easier to use for crafts or as a cup or bowl.
- They make great decorations in the interim! And if there's even a shred of meat left, it will shrink up and dry during this time period, too.

Tips

Using a 3' bench or heavy stool, attach the coconut shredder by drilling two holes through the chisels handle. Place one hole close to the beginning of the head and one at the rear of the handle. You want this chisel coconut shredder to be tight! Use 1/4" diameter or larger hex headed bolts and place a split (lock) washer under the bolt head then pass the bolt through the chisel and into the hole you made in the bench or stool. Again, using a split washer and a lock nut, tighten the bolt. If you can't find a lock nut you can use two nuts. Tighten the first then tighten the second behind it to act as a lock.
To make a coconut grater, buy a heavy duty concrete chisel about 2" wide at one of the home improvement centers. Use a file or grinder to gently round the corners. Place the chisel in a vise and using a hacksaw, cut notches about an 1/8th of an inch wide all along the front edge. This includes the corners you just rounded. Make the with of these "tines" look similar to the spacing of a fork. Note you only need to go about 1/4" deep as you will only be scraping the coconut against the outside edge of these sharpened tines. Take a small file and file each side of the tine to a point. You now have a nice scraper.
Hacksaws are another method of cutting into the coconut. However, it is not simple and can be dangerous as the hacksaw usually slips off the rounded nut. Simply work in short sections all the way around the coconut. Do not try to cut through in one large line, just a small line until you reach the meat, then rotate and continue, kind of like opening a can with a ratchet-style can opener.
When shredding a coconut half start gently! Start at a 22 degree angle on the outer edge of a coconut and gently begin to scrape. Let the succulent white meat fall into a bowl. The idea is to scrape one or two strokes downward (never upward) and rotate the nut and continue scraping from the outside inward.

Warnings

Exercise caution when using sharp instruments, such as knives.

Things You'll Need

Large knife
Small knife, screwdriver, or drill bit
Bowl (for draining)
Cookie sheet (if baking)
Spoon

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Sources & Citations

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Monday, 29 June 2015

How to Identify a Ford Motor

The Ford Motor Company has put identification number tags on some of its motors since the mid 1950s and on all of its motors since January of 1964. Included on these tags is such information as the month and year of production, the model year, the change level number and the CID (cubic inch displacement). Reading Ford motor tags should hopefully be easier for even a novice by following the guide below.

Steps

Finding the tag on a 6 cylinder engine

Locate the tag under coil attaching bolts.

Finding the tag on an 8 cylinder Engine

Locate the tag for most standard 8 cylinder Ford motors under coil attaching bolts.
Locate the tag for 8 cylinder 352 Ford motors under the dipstick-tube.
Locate the tag for 8 cylinder 330, 361 and 391 Ford motors under the heat indicator bulb.
Locate the tag for 8 cylinder 401, 477 and 534 Ford motors under the carburetor attaching stud.

Reading the tag

Read the 1st digit in the identification tag. This will be a letter. If the letter is a "B," it means that the engine was built in the 1950s. Each decade after that has its own succeeding letter; "C" designates the 1960s, "D" designates the 1970s and so on.
Read the 2nd digit in the Ford motor tag. It will be any numeral from "0" to "9," and it designates the year in the decade it was built.
Read the 3rd digit in the Ford engine number. This will be a letter, and it signifies the basic design of the vehicle as shown below.
- "A" - Generic full size engine
- "D" - Falcon
- "E" - Truck
- "F" - Foreign Trans-Am racing
- "G" - 1961 to 1967 Comet/1968 to 1976 Montenegro
- "H" - 1966 to 1982 Heavy truck
- "J" - Industrial Ford
- "L" - Lincoln
- "M" - Mercury
- "O" - 1967 to 1976 Ford Torino/all Ford Fairlane
- "S" - Thunderbird
- "T" - Truck
- "W" - Cougar
- "Y" - Meteor
- "Z" - Mustang
- "6" - Pantera
Read the 4th digit in the Ford engine number. It will always be an "E" to designate that it was designed by the Ford engine team.
Read the next 4 digits, which are the last digits in the motor number. These 4 numbers will always be between 6000 and 6898, which describes the part numbering of the generic engine assembly.