plastic Archives - Antony Simpson is an Author, Blogger, Nurse & Witch.

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Hello all,

Well what a week its been. I’ve been off on annual leave for a week. In the true spirit of Imbolc, I’ve spent the week at home undertaking a Spring clean. I’ve chucked out more than ten bin bags of clutter. There’s still some more sorting and cleaning to be done, but I’ve made a good start. It feels good for things to have their places again.

I’ve always loved plants, even if at times I’ve killed them with over love. But the problem is my two bengal cats. Cats are known to love to chew/destroy house plants. But then I discovered this indoor greenhouse at Ikea (see photo below). Steve and I were going to Ikea anyway, so I decided to pick it up along with an Aloe Vera plant.

indoor-greenhouse-from-ikea-2018 — Indoor Greenhouse from Ikea.

B52-Venus-Flytrap-from-LSH-2018 — B52 Venus Flytrap from Little Shop of Horrors.

I’ve always loved Venus Flytraps and because I had the space in the greenhouse, I decided to order a Flytrap online (see photo above).

I’ve named the Aloe Vera plant, Alan. I originally called it Dave, but couldn’t remember its name. I’ve named the Flytrap Edward, but watched Little Shop of Horrors (film) for the first time this week, so am thinking of renaming it to Audrey. I loved Little Shop of Horrors film. Feed me. Feed me. FEED ME!

The eagle-eyed among you will have spotted that I’ve padlocked the greenhouse handles. This is just to ensure the cats don’t get at the plants. Bengal cats are known for being intelligent. They’ve already scratched at the plastic windows, but failed to gain access to or munch on the plants. This is good, especially as Aloe Vera is apparently toxic to cats.

Write soon,

Antony

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Health Tech Review: Daylight Lamp by Beurer

Monday 2 January 2017 / Antony Simpson / Leave a Comment

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I had been thinking about getting a Seasonal affective Disorder (SAD) lamp for a while. Everyone I spoke to about it had friends that swore by theirs, but nobody that I knew actually had one.

So this Autumn, as evenings started to get darker earlier and there was less light in the mornings I treated myself to a Daylight Lamp by Beurer.

I have popped the daylight lamp on my desk and have used it daily, usually in the evenings after work throughout November & December. So what are my thoughts? They are mixed. The dark mornings haven’t seemed to affect my mood as bad, but this could be the placebo effect.

Despite the Daylight Lamp box boasting that the lamp is medically certified it doesn’t reference any specific research studies to back this claim up, let alone some good longitudinal research studies.

Here are my Pros and Cons for the Daylight Lamp by Beurer:

Pros

Cons

It appears to work. Getting up in the dark mornings hasn’t felt as difficult as in previous years. Nor has my mood seemingly been affected as much as normal by the lack of light. This could be the placebo effect, but does it really matter? As long as it works.

It is easy to setup and work. Simply position it, plug it in and use the one simple on/off switch on the front.

It is super-bright. I have nicknamed it my God Light.

It has a stand, so sits on my desk easily.

It is thin, meaning that it doesn’t take up much space.

It is plastic, meaning that it is easy to dust/clean.

It is lightweight meaning that it is easy to move. You could take it to work or other places with you.

The lamp made no difference to my blood sugars, which is a good thing as a type 1 diabetic.

It was expensive, when compared with other non-SAD lamps, costing nearly £50.

Replacement bulbs can only be bought from the manufacturer and not in any high street shops. I haven’t tried looking online, it’s possible that I’ll be able to get bulbs online. Hopefully they are not to expensive.

Switching on/off the lamp requires you to hold the back, as the product is so lightweight that trying to press the switch without holding the back results in it moving.

The front of the lamp does get warm/hot to the touch once it has been on a while. The manufacturer does recognise this and warms customers about it in the instructions.

Overall the Daylight Lamp by Beurer has more Pros than Cons and can be bought on Amazon.

Review soon,

Antony

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