How to Remember to Remove Your Baby from the Car

I am heartbroken each time I watch the news and learn that another parent has forgotten their baby in the car and returned to find that something horrible has happened. I will be a parent soon and these are the things that keep me awake at night. After careful thought, I would like to offer some free and relatively easy solutions that may help new parents to overcome unexpected diversions that too often direct your attention away from your baby.

Develop a new routine to always check the back seat of a vehicle before you leave it, whether it is yours or not. Another important thing to do when you approach a vehicle is to look completely around it for hidden obstructions like children or toys. When you reach your destination and exit the vehicle, immediately open the back door and look into the back seat. Do this whether you know that you have your baby in the car or not. It is imperative that this becomes a habit for both parents and for anyone who will ever transport your child. If you are certain that you dropped the child off at the daycare or if you know that today is not your day to drive them, remember... making a careless mistake on the wrong day has needlessly cost the lives of too many young children.

If you are an employer, you have the ability and should make it a priority to watch after employees who transport young children prior to coming to work. Designate several rows of parking spaces for parents only. Have a few people routinely walk through the parking lot each morning to check those cars for forgotten children. This is a perfect job for security guards whose job is to patrol the parking lot anyway. Offer them an incentive to perform these checks. Also, post signs in the entrance of your building with a reminder about leaving small children in vehicles unattended.

Become better acquainted with your co-workers and develop a habit of asking other parents of young children how their children were doing this morning and what color shirt did their teacher have on this morning. Just that type of reminder may cause a person to remember that they never actually dropped the child off. Pay attention to small details. When you walk into the building from the parking lot, keep an eye out for car seats and casually look into cars as you walk past.

For the parents of small children who take them to daycare daily, be sure that your daycare has a list of emergency numbers, including several work numbers. Ask that they call each number and let someone know if you have not dropped your child off with them after a certain time. Check your cell phone each morning after arriving at work to be sure nobody has left messages for you. If you use Microsoft Outlook, set daily reminders asking whether you remembered your child. If you carry a briefcase with you to work, always put it in the back seat in the floor beside your child's car seat. That way, you will have to open the back door to retrieve it and you may discover an important surprise when you least expect it.

Hopefully, some of these tips will help parents to remember what is most important. If work becomes too stressful and you have difficulty focusing on the things that you are supposed to do, stop for a moment. Take a deep breath. Exhale slowly and ask yourself, "Why am I at work?" Your most obvious response is "to make money." Why do you need money? To take care of your family because they are important to you. Do not forget this! Take an extra 10 seconds out of your hectic morning commute to simply check the back seat of your car!

If you are a parent and you are reading this article at work, stop what you are doing and go check your car. Do it right now! Tell your boss that you need a breath of fresh air. If this article helps save just one child, then it will be the most important thing I've ever written for this website.


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How to Remove Dust, Specks, and Blemishes from Photos Using Photoshop

When restoring old photographs using Photoshop, often dust, specks, and blemishes disfigure otherwise beautiful works of art. This article will explain a few easy methods for removing these imperfections.

Open your photograph using Adobe Photoshop. The tools used in this article should be available no matter which version of Photoshop is used. Find the problem area on the photograph with dusk and specks. Use the zoom tool to take a closer look at the area.

If the imperfection is small and also if the background is mostly a solid color with minimal texture, the smudge tool may be used to make a speck of dust or a blemish disappear.

Some areas of the photo may have too much texture or definition and the smudge tool will not work without leaving an obvious trail. For areas like these, use the lasso tool and copy portions of the background which look similar to what the area behind the blemish should look like. Copy a piece of the background and then paste and move it into place. Some rotation or scaling may need to be done to complete the edit.

For areas where you want to blend similar tones, while leaving the pixels intact, try using the "Clone Stamp Tool."  Select this tool and then left-click an area that you would like to clone and then release.  Hold ALT and left-click in a nearby area to apply the cloned pixels to that area.  This tool takes some getting used to, but the results are worth it.

Continue these methods until the picture is free of dust, specks, and blemishes. Zoom in close and inspect the photo for mistakes. Adjust contrast and color balance as needed.

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How to Make a Light Bulb Easier to Remove from the Socket

Do you have an old light fixture that grips the light bulb in a way that makes it difficult to remove? If too much stress is applied while trying to remove the bulb, it will often cause the bulb to shatter. This article teaches a simple way to make light bulbs easier to remove.

When installing or removing a light bulb into an overhead light fixture, it is wise to wear protection for your eyes. Position the light switch for the light fixture to the OFF position. Carefully remove the installed light bulb from the light socket. If the bulb shatters, you will need to remove the metal base from the socket before proceeding.

Find a new light bulb which has never been installed. Rub the threads of the metal base of the new light bulb with the bar of soap. Be careful not to cover the bottom tip of the metal base with soap because it needs to make solid contact with the metal piece inside the base of the light socket.

Carefully install the new light bulb into the socket. The next time the bulb must be replaced, it should be noticeably easier to remove from the socket.  Position the switch for the light fixture back into the ON position to test the new light bulb. If the room is illuminated, you have completed your task.

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How to Permanently Delete Pictures and Files From Memory Cards

The increased popularity of digital cameras, due to their ease of use and convenience, has created a problem that many people overlook. There may be pictures and files created over time on the removable memory card that should not be shared with the rest of the world. Programs exist that allow the recovery of deleted picture files from memory cards. This article covers several ways to permanently remove the files and pictures from the memory card without damaging the card for further use.

Digital cameras provide a "delete" feature that will enable a user to remove pictures and files from a memory card. The problem is that these files are not actually removed from the memory card until the space is overwritten by another file. Using easy-to-find software that is available for free on the Internet, another user may be able to recover pictures or files that have not been overwritten. This is a great tool for those who accidentally delete a picture and want to recover it. This is a horrible thing for someone who lends their camera to another person with hidden pictures that they assume were gone forever.

Transfer all pictures from your memory card that you want to save into a folder on your PC. Once all of these files are "removed" from the card, format the card. This may be done by accessing your digital camera's settings. After formatting the card, switch the camera back to "picture taking" mode. Take pictures of the floor or the wall until the memory stick has been completely filled. Format the memory card again.

Perform a search on the Internet for picture recovery software. There are some free versions available that work very well. Try to recover the pictures that you deleted and see what happens. If you can recover them, then someone else can too. Don't assume that other people aren't curious and that they will not attempt to see your hidden picture files.

Another option is to format the memory card and then transfer as many files as possible from your PC back to the memory card and then format it again. The idea is to replace the important pictures and files with less important pictures and files that you do not mind people finding.

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