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Pool Supplies for Clean and Safe Swimming

The warm weather is here to stay for the season. With the heat and humidity, and immediate access to the sun?s hot rays, most people will want to jump in a pool eventually. Many homeowners build pools into their yards or maintain above ground pools. In either case, proper upkeep requires having the right pool supplies to keep it clean and safe for everyone.

Most importantly, it is essential to keep the water clean. Contaminants can find their way in from the air or from unknowing swimmers and foul the water. Small particles can buildup and make the pool unsightly to swim in. They can also cause injury if stepped on the wrong way. Pump and filtration systems can work on a consistent basis to intake water, filter it, and pass the clean water back out into the pool again.

Pool drains can be dangerous, especially for children. The suction is often overpowering for the strength of a child, so anti-entrapment systems can be used to stop the pump in case any suction is detected. This process works by allowing air into the pump, eliminating the force of entrapment almost immediately.

You can also keep the pool safe by getting the right ladder. Many kinds of ladders and steps are available. Depending on the type of pool, its depth, and how the ladder is being used, you?ll be able to gauge which product is most suitable. Lights are available for ladders as well.

Other pool supplies include pool heaters and thermometers. Some heaters are designed for installation above ground, but there are others that can be put below ground and out of sight. Various kinds of liners are available too, including expandable ones that will last and protect your pool even in winter. Accessories will help install liners as well as patch tears and holes.

Buyer Beware: fragrances contain endocrine disrupting and cancer causing compounds

Abercrombie & Fitch, Calvin Klein Eternity, and Britney Spears? Curious, to name a few, contain a dozen or more chemicals not listed on their labels that have not been assessed for safety by the beauty industries self policing review panel. Many of these chemicals cause allergic reactions, disrupt hormones, and could play a role in developing cancer.

A recent study found that out of the 91 ingredients identified, a scant 19 have been reviewed by the beauty industry, and only 27 have been assessed by the international Fragrance association and the Research institute for Fragrance Materials.

For this study, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a national coalition of health and environmental groups, commissioned tests of 17 fragranced products at an independent laboratory. Campaign partner Environmental Working Group assessed data from the tests and the product labels. The analysis reveals that the 17 products contained, on average:
? Fourteen secret chemicals not listed on labels due to a loophole in federal law that allows companies to claim fragrances as trade secrets. American Eagle Seventy Seven contained 24 hidden chemicals, the highest number of any product in the study.
? Ten sensitizing chemicals associated with allergic reactions such as asthma, wheezing, headaches and contact dermatitis. Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Gio contained 19 different sensitizing chemicals, more than any other product in the study
? Four hormone-disrupting chemicals linked to a range of health effects including sperm damage, thyroid disruption and cancer. Halle by Halle Berry, Quicksilver and Jennifer Lopez J. Lo Glow each contained seven different chemicals with the potential to disrupt the hormone system.

Fend off wrinkles by training your face

Exercise your face? Well think about it, your face is comprised of 20 muscles. Ask yourself, what’s the difference between working out the muscles in your legs, chest, or abs and your face? Facial muscles are the same as any other muscle in your body, and require the same type of stimulation to stay strong and of normal size. If they are not used they will become weak and unable to support the skin and adipose tissue that lies above them, promoting sagging and wrinkles.

Intent.com suggests the following to keep your face looking young:

* Raise your eyebrows as high as you can and hold them for five seconds.
* Open your mouth as wide as possible and stick your tongue out as far as you can and hold for a few seconds.
* Using your three center fingers, press down on your cheeks and smile as hard as you can to raise your cheek muscles against your fingers.
* Move your nose as much as you can from side to side.
* Lift your eyebrows as high as you can, open your eyes as wide as possible and frown at the same time.
* Pucker your lips out as far as possible into the shape of an “O.” Then change your expression into a wide smile. Repeat several times.
* Sit in a comfortable chair and look up at the ceiling. Pucker your lips and stick your tongue out as far as possible to exercise your neck muscles.

Xyience offers a chance to win a UFC weekend

XYIENCE, maker of Xenergy, the official energy drink of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), announces that one lucky winner of its new Las Vegas/UFC Weekend Experience Sweepstakes will have a chance to spend the weekend in Las Vegas, attend a UFC fight and to train at XYIENCE team athlete Wanderlei Silva?s state-of-the-art mixed martial arts (MMA) training facility, Wand Fight Team. The sweepstakes, which kicks off on May 1 and runs through August 31, 2010 is being held in conjunction with up to 40,000 of XYIENCE?s independent retailers across the United States (excluding Ark., Fla., Miss, N.C., N.Y., R.I. and S.C.) The grand prize also includes airfare, hotel accommodations and two tickets to a UFC event. Entries can be submitted at www.xyience.com/promo. No purchase necessary to enter, though winners must be legal residents of the United States and at least 18 years old with valid proof of age. Winners will be selected at random and announced in mid September.

XYIENCE will also award 10 second-place prize packages that will include a video game console and a 2010 edition of an MMA video game. Thirty third-place winners receive gift cards redeemable for a future UFC pay-per-view event.

Little goals leads to big goals

The hardest part to attaining goals is pre-payment. The goal is attained only after you?ve paid the price or done the work. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Attaining a goal requires effort and you get what you put in. The life you lead today is a reflection of the work you put in up to the present. The life you lead in the future is determined by the work you put in between now and then.

Many people bite off more than they can chew. They set lofty goals usually while they?re caught up in emotion, work hard for a while, don?t see big returns, get discouraged and quit. Achieving big goals is a lot of work and fitness is no different than any other aspect of your life. There is an old saying that if you save your pennies, the dollars take care of themselves. We need to set and achieve smaller goals and gradually we?ll realize bigger goals.

To reach a big goal, one must set small goals. Remember, every journey begins with one step. Simply take your big goals and segment them into smaller, more attainable goals. Look at these smaller goals as rungs on a ladder. Not only does each rung get you one more step toward the top, you must hit each one to safely and effectively reach your destination.

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