IF YOU COLOR YOUR HAIR, YOU NEED TO READ THIS RIGHT NOW !!

Hi my sweet readers,

You know yesterday was my friend’s bridal shower and we had so much fun. We all had a few drinks and danced like crazy till 3 in the morning. Within all this fun there was a small problem. One of my friend had few of grey hairs popping out. So she came to me for instant solution and we immediately had that covered with potato peel rinse. It looked fabulous.

After the party we all were just sitting down, She came to me and asked,” I dye my hair once a month but after just 2 washes my hair color starts to fade even though I use Jovees Color Protect Shampoo. Do you have any idea why?”

I guess many of you might be able to relate with this situation. If yes then trust me you are not the only one.

Tips to make your Hair Color last longer

Let me share with you few tips that play crucial role when it comes to dyeing your hair and making it last longer. Let’s check it out

Wash your hair atleast 24 – 48 hours before dyeing.

As you wash your hair, the natural oils in your scalp gets washed out. But washing your hair atleast 24 hours before dyeing helps to develop natural oils. Natural oils allows the dye to better bind with your hair and thus helps in staying for a longer duration.

Do not use conditioner before dyeing your hair.

As I mentioned in the above point you need to wash your hair atleast 1 or 2 days before coloring them but also keep in mind that you do not use conditioner. Conditioner washes off the  natural oils from your scalp.

Do not use warm or hot water water.

Using warm water to rinse will result in fading of your hair color more quickly.

Wait for 30 mins to shampoo.

Wait atleast 30 mins after rinsing your dye from your hair. This helps in developing the color really well on your hair. After shampoo apply conditioner and leave it on for atleast 3 mins.

Don’t Overdo it.

The time mentioned of the pack is how long you need to keep the dye on. Don’t over do it. Never ever keep your hair dye overnight. This can cause serious infection also may result in extremely dry hair.

Detangle your hair.Always remove tangles from your hair to ensure even application of hair dye.Apply semi permanent dye on your damp hair.If your hair are damp it helps in even application of your hair color.

Condition you hair for a week.

If  you have really dry and frizzy hair, condition them every night for atleast 7 days with hot showers before you are planning to color your hair. This will ensure that you wont experience really dry and frizzy hair after coloring.

Don’t Dye your hair too often.

Dyeing your hair too often will result in rough hair. Have little breaks in between dyeing sessions and let your hair breath.

Always use color protect shampoo and conditioner.

Colored hair needs some love and care after you put them through rough chemicals. Hence use good color protect shampoo and conditioner on your color treated hair.

These tips might seem really simple to do but trust me it really helps in pprevention of fading your hair color. Hope you all liked this article. Do you guys have any further tips to make your hair color long lasting then do share it with us via comments. you all know your comments makes me smile from ear to ear.Take care !!!

Digital radios for preppers

When I got my Kirisun S780s a few days ago, I was messing about with all the settings as I usually do with new gadgets, and turned on encryption in the programming software. This got me thinking about preppers. Preppers usually like to have communications equipment prepared for possible times of disaster.
In a WROL situation, where someone could loot you for all your preparations if they knew about them, I'm sure preppers would like to have encrypted communications, so that anyone with a scanner can't find out where they keep their food stores or secret stash of fuel.
These Kirisun radios provide inherent security, in that not many people will have radios that use the same vocoder, and it is unlikely anyone around you will have one. This could be called "security through obscurity". That is even if you don't turn on the encryption. To a scanner listening in analog, these radios just sound like a load of noise. Now, if someone were to buy a radio the same as you, and program it up to the same frequency, they would be able to listen in to any unencrypted comms. Thats where the encryption comes in handy. Switch over to an encrypted channel, and they will not be able to understand it at all. All you hear when listening to an encrypted channel on a radio without encryption, is a few funny digital noises. But at the same time, you can understand anyone without encryption on their radio.


There is a slight problem with the encryption though. It does not encrypt any other data. Only the voice is scrambled.
This means that when you key up, your ID can be seen, messages can be read, and your radios can even be presence checked. This could probably be fixed in a firmware update from Kirisun, but there would have to be a need for it.
Now this might break the deal for some, but the thing is, most people will not have these radios, and anyone who does, will not likely have them on the same channel in your area.


It is possible to use DMR (MOTOTRBO), P25, NXDN, dPMR, TETRA, and other digital standards with encryption, but these radios all cost a lot more per unit than the Kirisun radios, and I realise that most preppers probably don't have a huge budget to spend on communications.

Thor walkie talkie giveaway

The summer is in full steam and we are quickly running out of things to do outside. We have played hopscotch and mini/pretend soccer. We made chalk drawings. We explored nearby parks and playgrounds. We played under the sprinklers and watered each other from the garden hose.

What else can we do? Now we can also run around and talk to each other on a new Thor walkie talkie set which encourages interaction and outside play.

This Thor walkie talkies come in the shape of Thor’s mythic hammer, Mjolnir.  I do not know if Thor would actually use a radio transmitter to communicate,  but wouldn’t that be amazing if his hammer was that multifunctional?

The walkie talkie set consists of two devices and requires 9V batteries.  Each walkie talkie has a flexible antenna, which is safe for kids.  

It took my little girls a couple of minutes to figure out how a walkie talkie works since they are much more used to talking on the phone than on the radio. In the beginning, the most popular conversations topics were “where are you” and “what are you doing”. 

The Giveaway:

One lucky reader will receive one Thor walkie talkie set

This giveaway is open to U.S. addresses (no P.O. boxes).  

To participate in the giveaway, you could do any or all of the following:

1. Leave a comment – how do you keep kids busy during summer? (1 entry)
2. Tweet about this giveaway.  #win #thor walkie talkie set; enter #Giveaway @MyBusyChildren http://bit.ly/thorhammer    Leave a comment here with your Twitter name. (1 entry per day)
3. Join me on Google Friend Connect (left sidebar). Leave a comment here (1 entry)
4. Like me on Facebook. Leave a comment here with your Facebook name.  (1 entry)
5. Follow me on Networked Blogs. Leave a comment here that you follow (1 entry)
6. Follow me on Twitter. Leave a comment with your Twitter name (1 entry)
7. Submit this giveaway to any sweepstakes site or giveaway Linky. Leave one comment with a link each time you submit. (1 entry per submission/link; unlimited entries)
8. Blog about this giveaway. Leave two comments with a link to your post. (2 entries)
9. Subscribe to My Busy Children by email here or via Feedburner. Or subscribe to the RSS feed. Leave a comment indicating how you subscribed (1 entry)

This Giveaway ends on July 6, 11:59pm EST, 2011. The winner will be chosen randomly. I will email the winner, who will have 72 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen.

This giveaway is closed.

The winner is #65 - fancygrlnancy; fancygrlnancy says: follow in network blogs Nancy Partin

Review/giveaway disclaimer: I received no product or monetary compensation for this review/giveaway. I received one Thor walkie talkie set for review purposes.   

Best value walkie-talkie

... also known as Baofeng UV-5R Plus Qualette, review, recommendations and improvements.

Review primarily for mariners, secondarily for all interested in a cheap, portable and altogether excellent walkie-talkie.

What is it? 

Handheld radio covering 137-174 MHz and 400-520 MHz, costs 55 USD / 40 EUR / 34 GBP including  external speaker microphone, USB cable and protective cover, free shipping from Hong Kong took 2 weeks to Ireland.
Transmits and receives on Marine Channels, Personal Mobile Radio, Amateur bands, Family Radio Service, GMRS, practically any analog frequency used by ordinary folks.

Useful features

Weight 244 g / 8.62 oz with battery and protective cover, fits in your palm, size equivalent to a digital camera. Icom lists the M87E as "compact and lightweight", this is 36g lighter and about the same size.
Quality feel, first impression is "heavy, well built". Fit and finish is good, pushing buttons and rotating knob feels positive and reassuring.
Flashlight: LED on top, dedicated button for continuous light or strobe. Surprisingly strong light and usable torch, one less item to carry on duty.
FM radio: Listen to Broadcast Radio from 65 to 108 MHz. Automatically muted if incoming transmission detected.
Loud: 1000 mW audio output power. Fills a room easily.
Alarm: flashing white light, siren and automatically transmits on last selected frequency.
Display: standby / receive / transmit glows in different colours, user selectable. Alphanumeric display, so instead of 156.800 you can enter CH 16.
Dual watch, monitor two frequencies at the same time.
External speaker microphone: keep the radio in your pocket, speaker mic on shoulder. No armpit rope, no fumbling on your belt.
Power: selectable Low 1W and High 5W, independent reviews confirmed 10% less in real life, still on par with radios costing minimum 2-3 times more.
Computer programmable: via free software.
Long battery life: standby over 2 days, full charge in 4 hours. Half charge in 2 hours.
Cost: radio only 30 dollars. Dropped, overboard, destroyed - 30 dollars gone. You can even buy the old UV-5R for 20 dollars (shipped) which will be 80% identical cosmetically and offers exactly the same performance.

Yachting use

Any scenario when you need communication with crew members, or as an emergency radio.
Man overboard: Lone helmsman in the drink has at least a chance to call for help and / or direct rescue operations. GPS capable, buoyant Marine VHF e.g. Icom M91D is over 400 dollars.
Crew ashore: lounge on the beach and listen to local tunes, monitor two frequencies at the same time, port captain calls with clearance, crew member surfaces from nightclub, crew finished provisioning in supermarket 2 miles away - you will know that you're ready to go, no need to carry expensive (or yacht property) Marine VHF or second walkie talkie.
Party time: audio ear-shatteringly loud at 1000 mW output power, previously mentioned Icom only offers 700mW. In comparison: your laptop's built-in speakers maxxed out is probably quieter than this radio.
And a lot more, small size, high power output and low cost makes for a versatile radio.

Different versions - which one to buy

Recommended: UV-5R Plus Qualette Yellow. Easier to find in the dark and deep cupboards.
The original UV-5R, introduced few years ago revolutionized the handheld ham radio transceiver market due to low cost and usefulness; update added more interior metal, better antenna and firmware updates, most recent incarnation called the UV-5R Plus, subject of this review.
Latest models can be spotted from the antenna: taller with square top, no grooves on the bottom, superior to the original (first version) antenna. 
BEWARE: Ebay sellers feature the old antenna, often showing images with the new and old antenna side by side. Confirm antenna type before ordering.
Same brain, different body: UV-5R2 loses Band button, UV-B5 has rotary channel selector instead of flashlight, larger body and worse display. "Qualette" designation means radio comes in yellow, blue, camo and 
red colours. UV-5RA looks better, rounded curves, less compatible accessories.
As long as the radio features the new, improved antenna and comes with firmware 297 it is the latest version.
Whilst you're on Ebay order SMA female - SMA female barrel connectors for 1 dollar each, enables industry standard antennas and adapters to be used.

Accessories

Radio comes with battery, battery charger, wrist strap, FBI style earpiece, and belt clip. Belt clip screws on, strong enough for all-day use. Charger and adapter takes up little luggage space, important for international travel.
Package prices will be cheaper than purchasing accessories separately, do yourself a favour and buy a USB cable for PC programming.
Digital camera cases or a phone pouch can be used as radio is tiny.
Since the radio is around for a while, large range of accessories available. None of the newer models offer this diversity of accessories.
Speaker Mic: around 10 dollars, comes with clip, functions as a speaker (listen to received audio) and as a microphone (press the button and talk into it). Standard Kenwood-style two pin connector.
USB cable: 6-10 dollars, enables programming with computer, free software available.
Rubber sleeve: 6-8 dollars, protects from scratches and bumps.
Cloning cable: Copy frequencies and settings for 5 dollars in a few seconds between two radios.
High-capacity-battery: standard is 1800 mAh, 3600 mAh for 20 dollars.
Battery case: operate with six AA batteries, 9 dollars for the privilege. As standard battery is 7.4V presumably radio works with rechargeables, I haven't tested this.
Battery eliminator: 12 V (read: standard boat or car) supply, replaces battery pack, 9 dollars. Note that the charger adapter outputs 10V DC, I cut the adapter cord and hooked up to a 13.4V battery - charged the radio fine. If you need tethered operation stay safe and spend 9 bucks, charger might overheat from extra voltage.

Connectors

Radio comes with detachable antenna, SMA - Female

connector, looks like regular SMA connector turned inside out, signal pin inside,  rest of metal visible = ground.
SMA female barrel adapter required for regular SMA antenna connection, SMA male - BNC female for antennas featuring BNC connection.
Other adaptors (N-type shown) can be used to connect to mast-mounted antennas, as N-type connector is most often used in professional radio applications.
All antenna cables shall be 50 Ohm aka "radio coax". Ask for RG 58 cable, or LMR 240, LMR 400 for less cable loss or for long cable runs.

Antennas and performance improvements

For normal operation stock antenna is perfectly fine.

For maximum range or better performance on VHF (Marine Channels) you must buy a longer antenna. Nagoya 771 or 773 around 10 dollars, Diamond handheld antennas 20-30 dollars. Looks like a horsewhip, 15-20" / 30-50 cm lengths. I have a Nagoya 773 on order as it's collapsible, will report back on performance.

Length should be 75 divided by MHz of interest, for maximum efficiency on marine channels use 20" / 50 cm length wire - if no measure available roughly three palm's length, wrist to elbow distance or shorter and longer side of regular A4 paper together. 
Above 400 MHz use 7" / 17.5 cm length of wire, palm's length, safe bet.
Connect the wire to metal base, round wire connectors shown are a perfect fit. Plastic surrounding the socket needs to be cut, screw the antenna on and mark at the back of the radio first.
If using non-standard antennas, due to gap tiger tail is not flush and moves around, washers needed for a tight fit.
Tiger tail effectiveness: 50 % to 100 % improvement on both transmit and receive.

Computer programming

Definitely order a USB cable to use free software called CHIRP, setting up the radio with Marine and PMR channels takes 10 minutes.
You will need to download USB cable driver, CHIRP, then follow the detailed guide available on the miklor site.

IMPORTANT: Fully plug in the USB connection cable, small plug to small socket and larger plug to larger socket, last few mm makes a difference, repeat: fully plug in connection cable.
With Chirp Installed, Radio connected and turned on, Go to Radio, then Download from Radio (or press ALT+D). Software downloads channel settings from radio.
You may delete or edit channel settings individually, explore Radio - Import From Stock Config options.

Online support and resources

Sort of cult following for the UV-5R, lots of info on the web.
User guides on the Miklor website, please read them first.
Then play with radio and CHIRP, maybe google upcoming questions: probably it has been asked before.
Factory helpline, chat and support does not exist, but any and all of your questions will be answered by subscribing to the UV-5R Yahoo Group mailing list.
Miklor.com: all your need to know about this and other models, FAQ and user guides are excellent.

Legal Issues

Radio might not be legal TO TRANSMIT in certain countries, states, jurisdictions, or on specific frequencies. Using the radio as a radio scanner e.g. listening should be ok.
Please check local laws and regulations before transmitting with this radio.