Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Optimizing Windows XP for Best Results in Just a Few Minutes

It's very important for you to know how to maximize performance with Windows XP, especially if you're using your computer a lot. Windows XP is known for its stability and even surpasses other operating systems used today Like Vista and Windows 7, but there are still a lot of common problems in Windows XP, so you can still improve your computer a lot with the right treatment. The registry is the best place to start.

The Windows registry is a place on the system that stores important information for each and every one of your programs, like when it was used last and when it was modified. These files will be changed regularly as you use your computer. So, as you use your computer more and more, these files can overload your system or become corrupt. There may be many of them no longer in use as you uninstall programs. Malicious programs such as viruses may also change your registry files to purposefully harm your computer. That is why your computer becomes slower over time. You can easily use registry cleaner software to optimize your PC in just a few minutes.

Registry Cleaner program can solve these problems. It also helps speed up the performance of Windows XP. Here's how it works: say you had a program that you uninstalled and the uninstaller missed some of the registry values it needed to run. Now your computer has extraneous information it no longer needs. The cleaner will find all of these and get rid of them. Now the registry is smaller and when Windows XP accesses it, it will take less time for it to find what it needs. Example: let's say you're looking up a keyword on a search engine. Would you want to have 10 results or one million? The same is true for your registry, the fewer the searches, the faster it finds what it needs.

So, to optimize your Windows XP computer, your first and most important step is to download a registry cleaner. The registry is very sensitive so I advice you to make a little research and download only the most trustful registry cleaner. I believe that the software "Registry Fix" is the best one for the job. Many allow you to use it for a free search first to find all of the problems you have. You can then purchase the program for a full version.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Learn How to Make Jerky At Home

What comes to mind when you consider jerky? Fast snacks from the convenience store? Food for long car trips? Believe me, there's more to jerky than just that. Convenient and easy to eat, jerky is a tasty food that is good for you too. There are many varieties of jerky now days, and once you know how to fix it yourself, you can make some delicious snacks for yourself or your family.

So where do you start? A good place to begin is to decide the type of jerky you want to make. What kind of meat should you use? Given the huge assortment of meats used these days for making jerky, you could go with something as ordinary as pork or as wild as emu. I don't know about you, but there's not a huge 'emu' department in my local store, so for this article, let's just go with an old standard, beef.

Another great reason to make jerky is that you can use whatever quality of beef you can afford. Start by cutting across the grain into strips. How thick you cut is your choice, but keep in mind that thin strips dry faster and thick strips make chewy jerky.

Once you've cut the beef the way you want it, marinade for ten hours in a combination of Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, garlic, pepper, onion powder and salt. Now of course this is just a basic mix to get you started. You can marinade the beef in whatever seasoning you want. Be courageous and try something exotic!

After the required marinading time has passed, you're ready to dry. There are a few different ways you can dry the beef. First, you can use your oven by putting the setting on warm. You will need to put the strips flat in the oven on a rack and you'll need to open the door frequently to let moisture out so your beef will dry out. Normally, drying with this procedure takes anywhere from two to ten hours.

Deciding to make jerky with a food dehydrator is also a good idea, but of course you'll need to buy a dehydrator which can be found a retail stores and online. Dehydrators make the whole process go by a bit quicker, and you can still use your oven for other things.

How do you know when the jerky is done? When drying is complete, the beef will look stringy and cracked. Take the jerky out of the oven or dehydrator and store in zip lock bags. If you have some small zip lock bags you can store for individual snacks for the whole family to take to school, work or for road trips.

Now that you know how easy it is to make homemade jerky, get out and find some recipes and experiment. Enjoy!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Frequently Used Terms in the Construction of Down Bedding

Knowing how to buy and care for down and feather bedding products will give years of comfort and service, as well as enhance room decor. The following information will help you to make an informed decision when purchasing down and feather bedding products.

Down is a product of waterfowl. Land fowl such as chickens and turkeys do not produce down. Down comes from the chest area of the bird, and does not have quills which makes these feathers highly valued. The acquiring, cleaning, and manufacturing of the finished product is lengthy. Because down is a natural fill product it is breathable, durable, resilient, and light weight, making it an excellent investment is sleeping comfort. Goose down is the ultimate insulating barrier between your body and the temperature your sleeping in.

When choosing your comforter a higher thread count is desirable. Thread count is determined by the number of threads that are in one square inch of fabric. Higher thread count means the comforter is lighter and softer. Generally the higher the thread count the less little feathers poke through the comforters fabric.

Frequently down products are referred to as having "loft," which essentially means how fluffy the product is. Two major factors contribute to the loft of the comforter.

· First is the ratio of down to feather. Feathers do not loft nor do they have fill power. A lot of feathers prevents the down from lofting as fully as possible.

· The second factor that contributes to loft ability is the size of the down clusters. Goose down ias larger clusters giving it advantage over duck down.

Fill power measures how fluffy the comforter is. A high fill power means maximum warmth at the lightest weight. It also means longer lasting. Fill power is measured by the number of cubic inches occupied by 1 ounce of down. Higher fill power is means more puffy.

· Superb quality comforters will have 800 + fill power and will last a lifetime.

· Excellent quality comforters will have 700 + fill power, and with proper care will last many years.

· Good quality comforters will have 600 + fill power.

Baffle design construction means there is less tendency for the stitching to break. The comforters are sewn through or baffled which allows the fill to loft and add strength to the comforter. The baffles allow the down to move in the boxes, but help prevent the down from shifting which allows the body to maintain even temperature.

When choosing down bedding products, consider that most of us spend 1/3 of our life in bed. Properly cared for your down comforter will give many years of exceptional comfort. To make the bed of your dreams, snuggle up with the comfort of down.