If you have an air conditioner, then you should feel fortunate. Believe it or not, there are people all over the world who are sweltering in heat while you are comfortably sitting in a nice 72 degrees.

However, along with the privileges of this luxurious appliance also comes a certain amount of responsibility. It’s important that you take care of your air conditioner by having it regularly serviced.

After all, you wouldn’t drive your car without having it serviced every now and then, would you? Why should the device that controls the air circulating your home be any different? Take a look at some of the reasons that you should keep up with getting your air conditioner serviced.

 

It Works More Efficiently

 

It’s true—your appliance will do a much better job at what it’s supposed to do if you take care of it. Getting it regularly maintenanced means that it will do the best possible job of cooling your home. You’ll notice that people who fail to call their air conditioner service person regularly have an air conditioner that doesn’t work as well as it should or needs to be replaced regularly.

 

Save Money

 

When your appliance works more efficiently, then it has to work less strenuously to keep your house cool. Every time that you schedule your air conditioner to be serviced, you’re saving yourself money. If you notice that your electric bill is unusually high, then you may want to ask yourself whether it might have something to do with your air conditioner. You’ll see a direct reflection in your energy bill by how often you take care of your air conditioner.

 

It Will Last Longer

 

You have more to gain than just a cooler home by keeping up with routine maintenance. Your system will last significantly longer, so you don’t have to worry about purchasing a major appliance more than twice a decade.

Your air conditioning should last ten years or more. The key to extending its life is having regular service done. Neglecting your air conditioner will lead to it eventually breaking down and ultimately having to replace it. Anyone that’s ever replaced an air conditioner knows that it doesn’t come cheap.

 

Better Quality Air

 

If you are an allergy sufferer, or if you have small children, then it’s important that you look after the quality of the air that you breathe. One of the best ways to do that is to perform routine maintenance on your HVAC system.

A professional service person cleans out everything, removing dust and particles that can aggravate your lungs. What better motivation to service your air conditioner than improving your health? So, what are you waiting for? Call your local service person today and schedule a service today.

 

Our organization, BCFS Health and Human Services, is a national leader in emergency management and medical sheltering. We provide emergency support services to local, state, and federal governments, as well as residential and emergency shelter services. We’ve responded to multiple natural disasters, including floods.

Flooding is especially damaging for families due to the destruction of property and the potential dangers. To help prepare families for a flood emergency, we’ve leveraged our years of experience to create several tips and strategies for managing a flood and keeping your family safe.

A first step we recommend for handling a flood emergency is to examine the risks. Use resources such as the FEMA Flood Map Service Center to estimate your risks and create a plan for monitoring those risks, like checking NOAA radio station broadcasts during heavy rains or using online resources to stay ahead of the latest forecasts and potential problems. For example, if you live near a flood-prone river that frequently crests over its banks, then an impending downpour should give you some warning time to prepare or evacuate the area in advance as a precaution.

While you gather information about flood risks and understand how to stay updated, it’s time to prepare your household. Gather important documents, photos, hard drives, and other items that are essential if you must leave quickly. Place these together in your emergency “go bag” that includes your emergency items. These should include flashlights, blankets, drinkable water, snacks, extra medications, baby formula, cash, external charging batteries, personal hygiene items, and other essentials. You can also set aside flood-specific clothing such as waders and waterproof boots to help you navigate flood waters.

At BCFS Health and Human Services, we advise parents talk to their kids about emergency flood planning, especially the steps they’ll need to take if disaster strikes. Talk to kids at an age-appropriate level, giving greater responsibility to kids as they grow older. For example, a five-year-old can understand some of the aspects of a flood and might be able to carry a jacket, while a 16-year-old can be provided much more context and tasks that can help the entire family. Discuss with kids the procedures they should take during a flood. Empty your emergency bags so they understand how to use the various contents. Provide your kids with their own copy of your emergency contact list of family members or neighbors and enter this information into their cell phones if necessary. Try not to scare kids with these conversations, but make sure they know it’s a serious topic and that you expect them to try their best to listen and learn so you can all work together to overcome a disaster, should it ever strike.

 

We have discussed writing a great dal on this blog in recent years and the reason as to why more of us should commit to working on our general writing abilities. Often we get some questions around the purpose of this, and what exactly one may be able to do as a writer, or if you have high level writing experience. The perfect example of this is a man named Roger Wolfson, who has used his incredible skill as a great American writer to forge a number of career paths for himself.

Let’s take a look at what Roger is able to do with his pen, and which careers that has helped him take on.

Speech Writer

Speech writing is about creating a clear and concise message, it is about delivering that message in a way which is easy to understand, and which evokes emotion. Some of the greatest speech writers in the world have this natural ability to utilize vocabulary and certain phrases, which really help the message hit home. This is not an easy craft, but the very best writers are able to do it with ease.

Scriptwriter

Whilst he may be much more than this, for the largest part of Roger’s career he has worked as a scriptwriter and that is something which very few people have the natural ability to do. If you are a great writer however and you have a grasp of how to report speech and how to use that to induce and provoke the emotions of your characters, then this is a wonderful gig to do. From film to TV, not to mention stageshows, scriptwriting is a rewarding and challenging area of writing to go into.

Author

When people think about an author they instantly consider the great authors of our time, but the reality is that writing a book is not about the fame or adulation, it is about the completion of a project. Roger himself has turned his pen to authorship on numerous occasions and used his abilities as a storyteller to create some great stuff. Even if you are only writing short stories, creating a piece like this is a perfect example of what you can do with your abilities as a writer.

Essayist

Given the blog culture which we have seen arise in recent years, there is once again a focus on those who have the ability to compose great essays. For many years these would be published in certain magazines and reviews, but the reality is that these days they are considered as lengthy online pieces which have something to say. Again Roger has compiled a wide range of essays, covering a wide range of political topics. If you have something to say, then this is the perfect way to deliver that message.

As you can see, as a writer there is an enormous range of areas which you can focus on that will increase our ability and showcase what you can do with a pen.

One of the biggest reasons why so many people like to blog is that it gives them free reign to talk about whatever they wish. What we often see with successful blogs is that there is a community which is built off the back of them, and this is particularly true when it comes to sports blogs. Stephen Stapinski Andover runs one of the hottest sports blogs out there and whilst he does discuss sports in general, he often talks about the important of focusing on a particular niche when blogging.

With this in mind, today we are going to take a look at the reasons as to why you are going to love blogging about sports.

Continuing The Passion

If you are a huge baseball fan then it is likely that your days are not only spent watching baseball, but also talking about it at every given opportunity. When you have your own blog you can take this passion to the max, and you can use all of your free time to talk about whatever you want to online. This is really a must-do for any sports fans.

Bring in Talking Points

If you have ever sat at home watching pundits on ESPN then you will no doubt have been screaming and shouting at them as they offer up their opinion. Well now that you have your very own blog you can use this space to put your own personal opinions out there and to have your say on the big talking points. The only reason that so many pundits get to say what they want is because they have a platform. Through your very own blog you too can create a platform to say whatever you like.

Community

The point which we mentioned in the intro is really important, the idea that you can build a community around your passion for sports. Fans of sports, just like bloggers, also want to have their say and you’ll get people who both agree and disagree with you. This community is what blogging is all about because you are literally attracting and connecting people from all over the world, who want to get involved and talk sports with you. This is a rewarding thing to do and it is cool to be part of such a community, especially if you created it.

Influencer

There is no point in doing this for money, it should very much be a passion project. Despite this however there is no getting away from the fact that if you are successful and you do have a large following, you can use that following to become something of an influencer. This means that you may get some offers from sports clubs or from those selling merch, to partner up with them on various projects and incentives. This is a great reward for the hard work which you will have put in on your own blog.

If you love sports, start a blog.

If you have a natural gift when it comes to writing stories and scenes, then a career in TV scriptwriting may certainly be for you. There are some sensational talents who have made their writing careers off the back of their ability to write a script, people like Roger Wolfson who have showcased their incredible talent to this industry in particular. Those like Roger however have had to depend on far more than just their natural ability to write, in order to find success within this industry.

There is a wealth of skills and characteristics which you’ll need to succeed in this field. There is much that people are unaware of about what TV writers face, and here are some things which you may not know.

Long Hours

The large majority of TV writers have to work incredibly long hours each and every day. TV shows are a constant, and that means that so too is the writing. This is not as simple as having a nice idea and then handing it over, this is very much shift work which has to be treated as such. It is for this reason why so many talk about the level of dedication required for success within this field.

Thankless

Despite the fact that he is one of this generation’s leading writers, there are many people who do not know who Roger Wolfson is. Even those who do know how great Roger is, may not be aware of the fact that he has written on some of the biggest TV shows which have graced the screen. The reason for this is that much of the work which scriptwriters create, are delivered by the actors and actresses on the screen. More often than not it is these actors and actresses who get the credit for the work of the scriptwriter. For this reason, those who do write scripts have to have thick skin, and accept that they will not get the adulation they may feel that they deserve.

Team Working Difficulties

Scriptwriting is something which simply has to be conducted by a team, and that is because you cannot expect individuals to consistently deliver high quality results on a daily basis. Whilst it is a great idea to have teams in place, there are some issues which occur as a result of this. For example ego can play a big part in these discussions, because everyone thinks that their idea or their line is the better one. Those TV shows which have won awards and cemented their place in history, they are the shows which have great teams working in sync with one another, and which leave ego at the door. Sadly however there are man shows which couldn’t reach the levels that they should have, because of these kinds of conflicts.

This can be a very rewarding position and if you thin that you have what it takes then you will fall in love with this career choice. It is important however to recognize that writing ability alone is not enough.

 

 

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After no one matched all six numbers in Tuesday night’s drawing, the jackpot for Friday’s drawing now stands at $970 million, or $716.3 million cash. It is for the third time in history that the Mega Millions jackpot is about to mark its height near $1 billion and the second time in the game’s history!

Why did it reach that high, you ask?

Because there hasn’t been a winner since the mid of September 2020 – that is almost four months and 36 consecutive drawings without a winner.

The $970 million payouts would be the second-largest Mega Million, after the $1.54 billion bonanza that was won in 2018. Based on the past multi-state lottery jackpots, the estimate may get much bigger by the time the drawing occurs on Friday night!

On Tuesday, the winning number was 10, 19, 26, 28, and 50 plus gold Mega Ball 16, which was, unfortunately, not matched with anyone’s number. The Megaplier number was 2.

However, eleven tickets still match five white balls to win at least $1 million. In this, two of those sold in Florida, won $2 million as they included an optional Megaplier purchase.

The game is likely to sport a jackpot of greater than a billion dollars by Friday.

According to the lottery officials, this is the longest stretch without a Mega Millions jackpot winner. The last time there was a jackpot winner was of $120 million on Sept. 15 by a Wisconsin player.

Mega Million tickets are sold in 44 states along with Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

On the other hand, the Powerball lottery jackpot has now gone up to an estimated $730 million, for which the winning numbers will be drawn on Wednesday night. This is the first time that both the lotteries have topped $700 million simultaneously.

The chances of winning a jackpot are 1 in 302.5 million for Mega Millions and 1 in 292.2 million for Powerball.

The number of customers of ticket sales over the next few days is going to go higher than ever before, so be sure to get your masks on and keep the distance because we don’t want the pandemic to last any longer now!

Or, you guys can buy lottery tickets online as well – that is a good option as well if you want to stay safe and get your tickets from the comfort of your home.

The following are ten of the biggest Mega Million jackpots ever, along with where the tickets were purchased:

• $1.54 billion – one winning ticket in South Carolina in October 2018.
• $656 million – three winning tickets in Kansas, Illinois, and Maryland in March 2012.
• $648 million – two winning tickets in Georgia and California in December 2013
• $615 million – it is not known if there were any winners in January 2021
• $543 million – one winning ticket in California in July 2018
• $536 million – one winning ticket in Indiana in July 2016
• $533 million – one winning ticket in New Jersey in March 2018
• $522 million – one winning ticket in California in June 2019
• $451 million – one winning ticket in Florida in January 2018
• $437 million – one winning ticket in New York in January 2019

The following are the top 20 United States Powerball lottery jackpots ever:

• Powerball: $1.5864 billion on Jan. 13, 2016, in California, Florida, Tennessee
• Powerball: $768.4 million, Mar. 27, 2019 (25 rollovers, starting at $40 million) – Wisconsin
• Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) – Massachusetts
• Powerball: $730 million, Jan. 20, 2021 (35 rollovers, starting at $20 million) – Preliminary estimate, not won yet
• Powerball: $687.8 million, Oct. 27, 2018 (21 rollovers, starting at $40 million) – Iowa, New York
• Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 (13 rollovers, starting at $40 million) – Florida
• Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) – Arizona, Missouri
• Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) – North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
• Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 (20 rollovers, starting at $40 million) – New Hampshire
• Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 (23 rollovers, starting at $40 million) – New Hampshire
• Powerball: $456.7 million, Mar. 17, 2018 (19 rollovers, starting at $15 million) – Pennsylvania
• Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 (12 rollovers, starting at $40 million) – Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
• Powerball: $447.8 million, Jun. 10, 2017 (19 rollovers, starting at $40 million) – California
• Powerball: $435.3 million, Feb. 22, 2017 (18 rollovers, starting at $40 million) – Indiana
• Powerball: $429.6 million, May 7, 2016 (18 rollovers, starting at $40 million) – New Jersey
• Powerball: $425.3 million, Feb. 19, 2014 (15 rollovers, starting at $40 million) – California

Here are the top 25 cash value jackpots – a good sign of what a winning ticket might be worth.

1. Powerball: $983.5 million cash (Jan. 13, 2016) in California, Florida, Tennessee
2. Mega Millions: $877.8 million cash, Oct. 23, 2018, in South Carolina
3. Mega Millions: $716.3 million cash, Jan. 22, 2021, not won yet
4. Powerball: $546 million cash, Jan. 20, 2021, not won yet
5. Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017, in Massachusetts
6. Powerball: $476.9 million cash, Mar. 27, 2019, in Wisconsin
7. Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, in Illinois, Kansas, and Maryland
8. Powerball: $396.2 million cash, Oct. 27, 2018, in Iowa, and New York
9. Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012, in Arizona and Missouri
10. Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015, in North Carolina, Puerto Rico, and Texas
11. Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016, in Indiana
12. Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013, in Florida
13. Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018, in New Hampshire
14. Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013, in California, and Georgia
15. Mega Millions: $340 million cash, Jun. 7, 2019, in California
16. Powerball: $336.8 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016, in New Hampshire
17. Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018, in New Jersey
18. Mega Millions: $320.5 million cash, Jul. 24, 2018, in California
19. Mega Millions: $319.9 million cash, Jun. 9, 2020 in Arizona
20. Powerball: $284 million cash, May 7, 2016, in New Jersey
21. Mega Millions: $281.9 million cash, Jan. 5, 2018, in Florida
22. Powerball: $279.1 million cash, Jun. 10, 2017, in California
23. Powerball: $276.5 million cash, Jan. 29, 2020, in Florida
24. Powerball: $273.9 million cash, Mar. 17, 2018, in Pennsylvania
25. Powerball: $263.5 million cash, Feb. 22, 2017, in Indiana

 

If you’re the type of dog owner who enjoys dressing their Boston Terrier up in fun clothing items such as sweaters, t-shirts and onesies, you’ve come to the right place! Simply continue reading in order to discover a handy guide on how to accurately measure your Boston Terrier for a wide variety of clothing styles.

How to Measure Your Boston Terrier for Clothing:

Aquire a soft tape measure:

Always measure your dog using a soft tape measure, as opposed to a metal tape measure which could harm your dog.

Ensure that your dog is standing up before you start taking measurements:

Many dog owners make the common mistake of measuring their dog when they are lying dog or sitting down. However, in order to take accurate measurements which will allow you to correctly measure your Boston Terrier for clothing, it’s important to measure your dog when they’re standing up. If you have difficulty getting your dog to stand still to take their measurements you may want to calm them down and coax them with your voice while a friend or family member quickly takes all of their measurements.

Measure under your dog’s chest:

You’ll need to measure under your dog’s chest, in order to purchase a sweater, onesie or t-shirt for your dog. Ideally you should measure from your dog’s front legs to the end of their rib cage.

Measure your dog’s chest carefully:

One of the most important measurements which you’ll take is the girth of your dog’s chest. To measure your dog’s girth, simply measure the widest part of your dog’s chest. Which is usually right between your dog’s front legs. For more information, click here.

Record your dog’s length:

Another easy measurement to take is your dog’s length. To get started measure from the your dog’s shoulder blades to the end of their tail. If you’ve never measured your dog for clothes before, you may want to start off with measuring your dog’s length.

Record your dog’s neck measurement:

Many clothing items such as sweaters and t-shirts require a neck measurement, to ensure that they fit properly. So it’s crucial to record your dog’s neck measurement. If you’re unsure of how to measure your dog’s neck, simply measure your dog’s neck where it’s collar normally sits. For an accurate, useful measurement.

Take your dog’s weight into account:

It’s also a wise idea to weigh your dog as many dog clothing breeds use weight as well as measurements to guide you to purchase clothing for your dog. If you don’t have scales at your home, just make sure to weigh your Boston Terrier at your local pet store or vet. As both locations should offer free electronic scales for you to use to accurately weigh your dog.

Don’t measure your dog too tightly:

To ensure that the clothes which you sew or purchase fit, make sure to avoid measuring your dog too tightly.

So if you’re interested in purchasing adorable clothing items and outfits for your dog and want to ensure that you select the right sizes, refer back to this handy guide when its time to measure your dog for its clothes. To read more on topics like this, check out the blog category.

If you asked most people to describe Mexico to you in a word, most people would say the word tacos within their first 5 guesses. This is not only one of the nation’s greatest exports but in Mexico tacos are very much life, and that is something which hasn’t changed in decades, and shows no sign of changing at all. When I first moved to Mexico my good friend and Mexican chef Rose Burillo was absolutely amazing in showing me around and showcasing the delicious tacos around the city. I have since tried just about every type of taco that there is, and here are the top options which I would recommend that you try.

Tacos al Pastor

One of the most commonly found tacos in the city is tacos al pastor, a very low cost option which can be found everywhere. These tacos feature pork meat which is heavily marinated and then stacked on a spit, and gradually turned as it is cooked. These tacos are served with a small slice of pineapple and then have cilantro, salsa and lime added to them, cheap and super tasty.

Mixiotes

Mixiotes are one of the most flavorsome tacos that you can buy and after just one bite you will be coming back for more and more. Mixiotes are made using lamb or mutton which is heavily seasoned and marinated before being boiled in a bag which is what gives it the moist and strong flavor. When you buy mixiotes you simply pop the bag open, spoon the meat onto your taco and add some spicy chilies, onions and cucumber, as well as some salsa and lime, absolutely delicious.

Suadero

Here in Mexico you will find juts about every part of the animal being cooked, and despite the fact that the Mexicans love all the bits that most of us don’t, it is one of the softest cuts of meat which is the most popular. Suadero is from the part of the cow between the belly and the upper leg, and it is one of the softest cuts of meat that you can find. This is a real favorite in Mexico and because of the fact that the meat doesn’t feature any muscle or tough to eat sinew, it is loved by everyone.

Barbacoa

Barbacoa is usually served on a weekend and the meat is slow cooked mutton, which has been lightly seasoned. The meat is so incredibly soft and supple, and this is why so many people love it. For many this is a dish which is best served if you have a slight hangover, and it is really the very best comfort food that you will find. The barbacoa taco is served with salsa, lime, cilantro and freshly chopped onions, and it is absolutely delicious.

These are the top 4 tacos which I would suggest that you try when you come to Mexico, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed at all.

Anouk Govil and myself decided that New York would be the perfect student city and so when arranging our college applications we both decided on the Big Apple as the perfect place. As far as a location goes this was perfect, not too far from our home back in Connecticut yet far enough away that we could find our independence. Both Anouk and I had spent some time in New York over the years but living there as a student would be an altogether different experience. To give you some background on this Connecticut is a relaxed place to live where we enjoy outdoor adventures, socializing and enjoying the laid back lifestyle. You can only imagine the shock that was in store for us.

Mayhem

The day that we arrived in New York we both believed that something big had gone down and that was why there was such chaos. We both began checking on social media to see what had happened and where we should avoid going to, yet Twitter told us nothing. We quickly realized that the only things which had ‘gone down’ was that we arrived in the city in the middle of rush hour. The city always has a blistering pace about it anyway but rush hour is all out war, where nobody wins.

Tourism

In other areas of the east coast there is still a lot of tourism but most of these tourists come to enjoy a relaxing break, here in new York the tourists are something very different indeed. The most difficult thing about this is that they are also very hard to avoid because there are iconic locations and sights to see throughout the city. Tourists here travel in packs of more than 50 and they can block up a sidewalk in a matter of seconds.

Manners

Back up in Connecticut we are the sort of people who wear our hearts on our sleeves and we pride ourselves on being kind and respectful to those around us, all of us with very good manners. As you can imagine then, people like us get chewed up and spat out in a city like New York where people simply do not have the time for too many pleasantries. This is not to say that the people are rude, this is not it at all, but any kind of chivalrous conduct will not do you any favors here. If you open the door for one person then you’ll be standing there as every other person behind them comes through. If you let someone cut in line then everyone will think they can do the same and so it goes on. The key to survival in this city, and that is how you should look at spending time here, survival, is to sharpen up your elbows, be direct and take whatever you can whenever you can. Do this and maybe you’ll get out alive.

If you own your own home, you likely try to take care of as much of the maintenance as you can by yourself. Not only does doing so help you to save money, but it also helps you to learn more skills now that can help you tackle bigger projects in the future.

Despite this, there are some times when it just makes more sense to hire a trusted and reputable handyman to come and take care of these things for you. So to help you know when you should turn the task over to someone else, here are three times when you should call a handyman.

Fixing Issues After A Home Inspection

When you’re in the process of selling your home or buying a new home, you’ve got enough on your plate to handle without having to fix every little thing that the home inspection turned up. So in a situation like this, Marian White, a contributor to Moving.com, shares that it can be much more convenient to simply hire a handyman who can take care of these things for you while you focus your attention on other aspects of your move. By doing this, you’ll ensure that everything is taken care of by the time you move in or move out without you having to worry about it yourself.

You Don’t Have The Proper Tools

Sometimes, even if you have the time and theoretical capabilities to complete whatever maintenance your home needs to have done, you may not actually have the tools on-hand to do so. If this is the case, Rachel Brougham, a contributor to the Family Handyman, recommends that you just leave this task to a handyman who can provide his or her own tools to handle the job.

While you will be paying for the labor of the handyman, you won’t be out the money for buying the tools you would have needed to do the work yourself, which may prove to be a more cost effective option anyway.

A Long Project List

Because you lead a busy life, it’s not uncommon for your to-do list to slowly keep growing and growing before you’re able to find the time to knock out some of the projects you need to get done around the house. And, since you’re not a professional at home maintenance or repair, your list might take you a few days or weekends of devoted time.

On the other hand, if you were to give that list to a handyman, Patricia Dreikorn, a contributor to Angie’s List, shares that you can take advantage of their experience with a variety of home improvement issues so that the projects will get taken care of quickly and correctly.

If you’ve been wondering if hiring a handyman was the right call for your home improvement or maintenance project, consider using the information mentioned above to see if doing so might be worth it to you.