Dominica Island Blog: Sharing Every Dominican Moment with the World

Are cell phones the next cigarettes?

Written by Chris in Tips For Life No Comments →

Editor’s note: Found this interesting Post on the Msn.com, which speaks about Cell phones and the potential health risks they can have on humans. Over the last 8–10 years there has been an explosion of Cell phones in the Caribbean market, and Dominica is no exception. Nowadays nearly everyone owns one or more cell phones; but very few people know the potential health risks cell phones can have people. So I thought it would be interesting to share this article with *DW* readers.

It took years for the hazards of smoking to come to light. Now there’s debate over the safety of mobile phones, but studies on their possible health effects are far from definitive.

Why can’t we get a definitive answer about cell phones and health?

Mobile phones have been around for more than 20 years, and they’re now used by more than 3 billion people. Yet questions linger over whether mobile phones can contribute to health problems, including cancer.

The most recent alarm came from the director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, who warned school employees to limit their cell phone use based on early unpublished data from scientific studies.

“Although the evidence is still controversial, I am convinced that there are sufficient data to warrant issuing an advisory to share some precautionary advice on cell-phone use,” Ronald Herberman wrote in a memo to 3,000 faculty and staff members in late July.

To be clear, many studies have presented evidence that cell phones are safe. Major players in the wireless industry, including Nokia, Motorola, Verizon and AT&T, say there is no cause for concern.

“The overwhelming majority of studies that have been published in scientific journals around the globe show that wireless phones do not pose a health risk,” according to a press release from the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association issued in response to Herberman’s memo.

But definitive scientific proof is tough to come by.

One key reason is that people use their cell phones, by definition, in ways that make them hard to study. We make phone calls on the go, from the grocery store or in our cars. That makes it difficult to reap the precise details important to scientific study, such as how long we use the phone or which side of the head it is pressed against.

The topic also falls between areas of scientific study, with doctors expert in the human body on one side and engineers well-versed in radio technology on the other.

Finally, time is an issue. While cell phones have been around a while, they’ve been mainstream products for only 10 years or so, and it may take much longer than that for adverse effects to show up.

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Basic Skills Your Child Needs to Know That She’s Not Getting In School

Written by Chris in Tips For Life 1 Comment →

Sometime ago, my friend and fellow blogger Dan Tanner shared his thoughts on the education system here in Dominica. While his thoughts were unique and were directed more towards how women - not get the same rights and opportunities as men in Dominica.

One thing I’ve learn about the whole education system here in Dominica, and in most Caribbean countries – that our school system (in general) is not giving kids the basic reading, writing, arithmetic and science skills needed to be competitive in the high-tech world out there (at least, that’s my general assumption, and let’s not argue it here).

Many kids enter primary and secondary schools were they’re taught these basic subjects, but we all know that there is much more to life that those basic subjects and unless you have an exceptional (thinking outside the box) teacher who is willing to break out of the mold, your child isn’t learning the crucial things he or she needs to learn in life. It’s a whole new ball game whenever you step out in the real world as an adult and if you’re not equipped, then you’re going to be left behind.

Think about your own personal experience for a moment. When you got out of high school, did you know everything you needed in order to survive in life, let alone succeed? If you were lucky, you knew how to read and had some basic history and math skills, and if you were even luckier, you had good study habits that would serve you well in college.

Most likely you were not prepared for life, unless you had parent who did you that favor. It’s a fact, many of us screwed up our early adult lives because we didn’t know those necessary skills – and we’re paying the consequences now.

That’s a part of life, you might say, learning these lessons. But it’s also possible to prepare your child a bit before they go out on their own, and if we can’t get the schools to teach these skills, then you should do it ourselves.

The following is a basic curriculum in life that a child should know before reaching adulthood. Probably there are many other skills you can add to this list, but at least it’s a starting point.

Also please note - that these subjects should not be taught by lectures or textbooks. They can only be taught by setting examples, by everyday conversations, by showing, and allowing the child (or teenage) to experience these things on their own (with you supervision at first). Once you’ve walked them through the skill a few times under your supervision, give you child the trust t it on his/her own and to let them learn from their own mistakes. Just be sure to check back every now and then.

Financial

• Saving. Don’t spend more than what you earn, so simple and yet very few young adults understand it or know how to follow. Teach your child from a early age to put part of money he/she receives or earns in the bank. Teach them how to set a savings goal.

• Credit. For many adults this is a major problem. Teach them how to avoid it when it’s not necessary, and how to avoid getting into too much debt, and how to use a credit card responsibly.

• Retirement. It’s important to start investing in retirement when you’re young and should be aware of the different options available. Also know the pros and cons of each, and how to do each.

Thinking skills

• Reading. Sure, kids are taught to read (well most of them), but school often make reading boring. Show your child the wonderful imaginative worlds there are out there. And show them how to find out about stuff in the world through the Internet, and how to evaluate what they read for credibility, and logic.

• Critical Thinking. Nowadays, we are taught to be robots, to listen to the teacher and not to question, to accept what we are told and not to think, to be good employees and to shut up. Critical thinking is one of the most important skills not taught in school.

Success

• Motivation. Teach your child that discipline isn’t the key to achieving a goal, but its motivation and passion. Show them how great it feels to achieve a goal. Start them with small, easily achievable goals, and let them develop this skill.

• Procrastination. It’s a problem we all deal with as adults (and even as kids). Now, I believe that there should be a time for goofing off, being lazy, and having fun. But when there’s something to do that we really need to do, how do we get ourselves to do it? Learn the reasons behind procrastination, and how to address them. How to beat procrastination?

Practical

• Cleaning. Nowadays too many adults grow up without knowing how to do laundry, to clean a house properly and keeping it clean. Develop a weekly and monthly cleaning routine. Teach your child all these things instead of just telling her what to do.

• Organization. How to keep things organized and in their place; to keep a to-do list, how to set routines, how to focus on the important tasks.

Happiness

• Enjoy life. Kids don’t have much of a problem with this, but some awareness of its importance and how to do it, even as an adult would be helpful. Set a good example of this, and your kids will follow.

• Find purpose. Teach your children the importance of this and show how to do it yourself. Whether the purpose is making your family happy or the purpose of finding your calling, having a purpose in life is extremely important.

Do you have any skills to add to this list? Let us hear them in the comments.

Take Your Best Driver’s license Photo Ever

Written by Chris in Tips For Life No Comments →

After seating for two hours at the traffic department, I had the opportunity to watch most people leaving upset and complaining about their new driver’s license photo. Its a clear reaction to a bad photo, considering the fact that you have to live with this horrible photo on your license of years. Nowadays, you have to show your driver’s license for just about everything. Are you happy with the photo on your driver’s license? If no, there’s are a few steps on how you take a good license photo.

Wear good clothes.

The first time I went to have my driver’s license taken, I saw people there wearing old beat up tee shirt , ripped pants and washed-out polo shirts. I said to myself - how can they expect to feel good about their appearance while wearing stuff that looks like it was pulled out of the clothes hamper?

I guess the saying is true - clothes makes the man. Well, there is something you can do about that. Firstly , its not like the camera will pick up your whole outfit, it won’t. But there’s a positive feeling of “I look good” when you wear nice clothes - which the end photo will reveal. Wear something nice. You’ll feel better about your appearance - it will reflect on your photo.

Get rid of the hat and sunglasses

Think you’ll be able to cover up a bad hair day or brandy reddened-eyes? Think again. Firstly, they won’t let you take a driver’s license photo with a hat or sunglasses on.

Brush or Comb your hair

I almost laughed myself to death at people who acted surprised when the camera person seats them down for a picture. “You mean I am getting my photo NOW? I didn’t bring my brush.”

As if the photographer’s response would be “Oh no, you are a special case and you can just mail us a glamor shot when it’s convenient.”

Note to self: If you pass the drivers license test, yes you will get your picture taken that same day. So brush, comb or just fix your hair before you leave the house…ok

Keep your eyes Open

They won’t shoot a photo of you if your eyes are closed. So plan on having your eyes open…that will definitely help. You need to know this ahead of time because as soon as the photographer says “Open your eyes” that’s the exact second s/he’ll snap your photo. Welcome to four to eight years of looking as if you just found out that person you’ve been dating your first cousin.

Not Grin, But Smile

This is going to be tough. The traffic department is unpleasant for most of us- it’s no photo studio. You are going to need to think happy thoughts and smile wide. I suggest not to exaggerating your smile. Otherwise, the basic camera shot might make you look a laughing monkey.

Be nice to Traffic Dept personnel

Traffic employees are not the happiest people in the world. They have to deal with unhappy and irritated people all day long. If you can be refreshingly pleasant and treat the photographer nicely, maybe she’ll be more likely take that extra second to make sure you don’t look like your face should be on a wanted poster.:smile:

So ask the photographer how her day is going. She’ll probably want to tell you it sucks, but she’ll be happy you asked. And you’ll be happy you have a nice driver’s license photo.

That’s about it. If you follow these simple tips your driver’s license photo will look less like a mugshot and more like a happy, self-assured you. How did your driver’s license photo come out? What did you do to make it better (or worse)? Let’s hear about it in the comments.