Author: nlpnowcom

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Light in our life, Energy Saving Lamps, LED’s and incandescent light bulbs

In the UK, the old style light bulbs, the filament type or incandescent light bulb, are being phased out, and now the preferred option is to buy and fit Energy Saving Lamps, which are also known as compact fluorescent lamps.

It makes sense to replace old inefficient tungsten filament bulbs, as they are heavy users of electricity, of power. The basic principle of filament bulbs is to heat a coil (filament), the heated coil glows which produces light, the hotter the coil, the more light will be produced.


incandescent light bulb

So, the byproduct of producing light is the heat, which is wasted energy.

New technology lamps, LED‘s and Energy Saving Lamps work on different principles.

LED‘s are illuminated by electrons that run through semiconductor material, the diode, they do not have a filament, therefore do not produce heat, use less electricity and will never burn out.


Light Emitting Diode (LED)‘s

Energy Saving Lamps work by a completely different process called fluorescence. In principle, electricity is passed through two electrodes, one each end of a white tube which contains a mercury gas. The electrons produced by the electricity passing through the electrodes at each end of the white tube, strike the mercury gas which generates energy or ultraviolet light which unfortunately we humans cannot see. But, the white glass tube is coated with chemicals called phosphors, and when the ultraviolet light hits the phosphors there is a reaction and more energy is produced in the form of photons which we can see as light.


Energy Saving Lamps

So with LED‘s and Energy Saving Lamps, little heat is generated and wasted. It is said that 90% of the energy used in the filament type or incandescent light bulb goes on heat. Energy Saving Lamps are said to use 80% less energy and last 10 times longer than old style lamps.

There are the downsides with LED‘s and Energy Saving Lamps. The Energy Saving Lamps use mercury, and when discarded at the end of their life, the mercury gas can enter the environment and is harmful to it, therefore any old  fluorescence lamps should be discarded responsibly.

LED‘s are now being fitted to torches, car lights and traffic lights. As they use minimal energy, last a very long time, fitting LED lights to street furniture is very cost effective. But as LED‘s produce no heat, it was found that any snow or ice that formed on traffic lights was not melted, and thus drivers did not see the signals which resulted in accidents. People have to be employed to clear the snow and ice from the street furniture, rather defeating the cost saving I think.

Great ideas for saving energy and the environment.

Let me continue.

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Eating Out

Horseshoe Crab

Where is the food I know? Pizza, kebab, fish-n-chips.

Eating food in Malaysia is an adventure, I never know what is going to come next, what I am eating, what will it taste like, will I like it or hate it.

Fish and sea food is a big part of the dietary culture of South East Asia, especially in the coastal regions, and unfortunately, it is not a food high on my “like list”, in fact, I avoid fish and marine food as much as possible. My avoidance of fish does not usually present problems, as most fish restaurants will have a meat dish, and grass dishes, sorry vegetables.

I will try anything, and that includes food, but fish, no thank you, unless it comes in batter, traditionally served in the British fish-n-chips meal.

I think my dislike of fish came from when I was a small boy at primary school, when we were told to eat everything on our plate, as just think of all those starving people who had nothing to eat. Being a trusting and loving young boy I did eat everything, including the bones, and now feeling a fish bone in my mouth makes me want to vomit.

I could never understand why my offer of the unwanted food on my plate I did not want to eat was always refused to be sent out to the starving people.

I must be typically British, only liking bland food, but.in some cultures, the stronger the taste and smell of the fish the better people like it. Here in Malaysia and in the flat below mine in Norbiton Hall in the UK, the stronger the smell that can be produced whilst cooking the fish, the better is the presupposition, or belief is, that the better the food will taste. Oh Poo Poo literally.

So, a small party of the family, staying in our home here in Bukit Mertajam, decided that it was time to go to a small fishing village, to eat at one of the fish restaurants.

I emptied my mine of any idea of having to eat fish, crab, lobster, squid, prawn, whatever, at least there would be rice.

The first dish to arrive was a Horseshoe Crab. Certainly something I had never eaten before, in fact something I had never seen before, only in pictures or on the TV, or its’ shell being used as a helmet by Manny the Mammoth in the film Ice Age 3. 


The shell of the Horseshoe crab, also being held by the sword like tail

This strange creature is not a crab at all, but is closely related to spiders, ticks, and scorpions. It is said to be a “living fossil”, as evidence exists in fossil remains dating back to the Triassic period some 230 million years ago, and similar fossils from the Devoian period some 400 million years ago. 

The Horseshoe Crab, or as it is also known in Malaysia and surrounding region as the King Crab, has three main parts to its body, the head, the helmet shaped part, the abdominal part and the tail or as it is known the telson, each hard shell like structures.

The crustacean was served up-side-down, and I had no idea what to eat, or how to eat it.


The Horseshoe Crab ready to eat

All I saw was the hard sword like tail pointing towards me, the helmet part filled with vegetables and roe, eggs. The roe or eggs were brown leather coloured, and upon eating them, they were like leather in texture and having no strong taste. But, there was no meat, only eggs. I was told that the only the female Horseshoe Crab is used, and then only the eggs.

Later upon leaving the restaurant, you have to walk past the tanks, buckets and boxes of sea life, waiting to be put to the pot, and then I spied a bucket of Horseshoe Crabs, the top one being upside down. It was then I understood why there is no meat. The body is very small.


A bucket of Horseshoe Crabs ready for the pot

In the next photograph, the underside of the Horseshoe crab can be seen.


The appendages of the Horseshoe Crab

In the lower half of the picture are six appendages, the first pair, the chelicera are the genital pores, whilst the remaining five pairs are the inedible lungs or book gills, which allows the Horseshoe Crab to breath out of water, as long as the lungs are kept wet. As the female lays her eggs on the beaches in sand, and I believe mating occurs at this time, breathing out of water is desirable.

In the upper half of the picture can be seen the “legs” or another six pairs of appendages, each having a distinct purpose and shape. the first are used to pass food into its’ mouth. The second pair are used for walking, with the remaining four pairs used as pushers for movement.

So now I can add the Horseshoe Crab to the list of many strange things I have eaten, I have tried this food, and it was not that bad.

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Happy New Year

A HAPPY NEW YEAR

To all my regular readers, to you who have been part of my life, to those who have been in my courses,my training around the world, to you I have yet to meet, a very Happy New Year, and may all your wishes come to fruitions, and may 2010 may be as a great person who has seen my future told me, be a Golden Year for us all.

Apart from the great build-up to the festive season for me, the actual Christmas Day and New Year Day held no real celebrations, as I was flying all Christmas Day from England to Malaysia, and I fell asleep at 11pm New Years Eve, missing the change from the “Noughties” to the “Tennies“, (2009 – 2010).

Celebrations were held on New Year’s Day here in Bukit Mertajam, not to celebrate the coming of the new year, as in the Chinese culture, the Chinese New Year (14th February 2010), marks a bigger time, the most significant part or festive time of their calendar.

It was the 70th birthday of my sister-in-law, still undergoing treatment for cancer, still requiring attention and constant support.

Perhaps, you like me had time to reflect on the past year, being able to review like my blog here, some of the past year’s events that had some significants to us.

During the year, I had lost relatives, friends, acquaintances, maybe through death, maybe because we had different views, maybe because we had found new directions for our lives, our businesses, our work, our downtime, our playtime, maybe because we had found new friends, formed new relationships which conflict with existing relationships, found new things to take our attention and time.

During the year, I had been used, my eagerness to help, to give, had been abused by others many times for their own short time gain.

During the year, I had seen many changes in the world, with new issues facing us including the big Global Warming issue. I had seen town centers changing, with major retail outlets closing down, and new business’s with new names and products taking over.

During the year, I had seen many relationships change, new partners, divorces.

During the year, I had been upset by the losses the changes that had taken place.

During the year, I have met many new people, kind, open people, formed new relationships, as I visited many countries around the world.

During the year, I have witnessed people form new relationships with success where others had failed.

During the year, I have seen and helped people make changes to their lives for the better.

During the year, I have seen children bloom and blossom, where once there was failure now is success.

During the year, I have seen new lives been born into our world, human, animal and plants, and watched them grow.

During the year, I have made new relationships in my personal, business and family life.

During the year, I have made old and existing relationships stronger.

During the year, I have given my time and effort willingly and freely, to put back into the world, the community, what it has given me. I joined Rotary Club.

During the year, I have learned many new ideas, subjects and things, and realised that I do not know everything, and that each and every one of us has a different cat on the mat, different belief systems, be those for culture, politics, religion or nationalistic reasons, and no-one is right, no-one is correct, no-one has the whole answer.

During the year, I have realised that I should dwell on the good things that have happened, the good intention each of us have, and the good which will come.

Now in 2010 I hope I have learned from my mistakes that have gone and been finished with, and to look to the future in a POSITIVE way, to give more than I take, to be more tolerant, and not hold a grudge against others who do me wrong or take a different route in business or life to the journey I am on.

There is a Susan Boyle in us all, all we have to do is Dream the Dream of Dreams..

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL 

Categories
English Sayings Thoughts

As one door closes another opens, Woolworths and usefulshopp

There is an English saying that says, “as one door closes another opens“.

In the town center or market square in Kingston upon Thames there are many shops, some small and some large.

One of these shops is Borders, and as in the articles Relationships change – Borders and Yes it is true, they are lost to me, I wrote that the company is closing much to my displeasure.


Borders bookshop Kingston upon Thames to close

Only one year ago the shop next door to Borders, a very old established shopping chain, (99 years), once found in many British high streets, called Woolworths also failed and went out of business, and for a year the large shop in Kingston stayed empty.

Today an established Swedish outlet opened a new shop in the old Woolworth’s premises. Clas Ohlson’s hardware shop is called usefulshopp. The new Clas Ohlson stores sell useful items, from electrical and multi-media products, hard-to-find kitchen and bathroom accessories, to tools and gardening equipment, or to me gadgets, my wonderland.


Clas Ohlson usefulshopp, Kingston upon Thames

I spent a happy few hours wondering around the shop eyeing many products I am sure in the near future will find their way back to my home.

So as Border’s doors must surely soon close, I wonder who, what or when will the company be to take over the premises, and if what they sell will be attractive to me as te open their doors.

Border’s shop, with its’ historic 300 year old stairs, has occupied the premises for only a few years, yet they have found a place in my heart, but like most things in our life, nothing lasts forever, and something else will take its place. Every week it seems a shop closes in the every town, sometimes a new shop takes up residence, and sometimes the old retailer reopens its’ doors revamped and better, renewing perhaps a stronger relationship in the partnership of retailer and shopper.

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Uncategorized

Yes it is true, they are lost to me

Yes it is true, my “local” favorite bookshop will be closing.

Braving the rather rare English inclement weather today, I again faced the cold darkness of the heavy clouds, and walked down to the town center of Kingston upon Thames to get my exercise. Even though it was just after lunch, the cars had their lights on, as the skies darkened, and I had to dance around the puddles of water from the previous downpour.


A cold wet walk into Kingston upon Thames along Old London Road

I still cannot believe my “local” favorite bookshop, Borders,will be closing, but it is. The shop windows are empty of any merchandise, just signs declaring the closure. I will miss you.


Borders bookshop closing Kingston upon Thames

Categories
Culture

Train Spotting, today

I must admit, when non British participants on my courses around the world laugh at the hobby of Train Spotting, as they can not understand why the British, and Germans and French, do it, or what joy they have from the hobby, I have often thought “why do todays train spotters do the hobby?“.

Catching the train into London’s Waterloo station in Central London on a fairly regular basis, we pass through the railway station of Clapham Junction, Britain’s and possibly Europe’s busiest station for train movements, with over 100 trains passing through per hour.


A Train Spotter at Clapham Junction

Whilst relaxing on the journey through Clapham Junction, I have often spotted Train Spotters standing on the platforms, photographing and noting down the details of the trains as they pass by. So, I decided to stop and talk to one and ask what do they get these days as against when I did it in my younger days.

I met John on another platform, who had traveled a considerable distance to spend the day in Clapham Junction, and he told me his story.

Having retired some years ago, he and his wife needed to take up a hobby to keep them occupied. His wife a keen photographer suggested they combined their two hobbies so they could travel and be with each other. Unfortunately his wife died, but John’s interest in trains had been reawakened, and now he travels the country Train Spotting.

John said that every Thursday he travels to Doncaster, another major British railway station, to pursue his hobby of Train Spotting, and there could be up to one hundred others there.

As I talked to John about what he gains from the hobby, I began to understand that each train which before today looked the same to me, had its’ own life, where it was made, how long it had been in service, what modifications had been made, what was the power of the motors, how many passengers would it sit and hold, where was its’ home base.

As I listened, I was taken in by John’s enthusiasm and knowledge. He told me why certain trains were built in the way they were, that nearly every train now new to Britain was built in other countries, Canada, Japan, Italy.

On my way home I visited a newsagent selling magazines, and in the hobby section, there seem to be more magazines for train enthusiasts than any other hobby, so there must be a demand for the information.

Come on the rest of the world,  join us British and take-up the Train Spotting hobby. We are not that strange are we?


Train Spotter John at Clapham Junction.

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Two’s company, three’s a crowd

In a previous article, Sometimes I feel like a petrol pump, I wrote Two’s company, three’s a crowd, and I have had questions as to what this English saying, or idiom, means from friends in none English speaking countries.

Two’s company, three’s a crowd, can refer to when a couple will go out for a romantic meal and the woman takes her mother with her. Thus the romantic meal will be uncomfortable, in fact, unromantic.

Two’s company, three’s a crowd, can also be used when referring to too many people being present at an event when the event was designed to be for a small number of people (two), but is usually only used when referring to two people, as above.

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Memory Mind Maps Presentations

Gaziantep Üniversitesi Naci Topçuoğlu

In a hall so full of students, so full they were sitting on the stairs, I had the honour of giving a presentation of how they could enhance their memory skills and an overview of Mind Maps.

The University of Gaziantep has a number of academic units including Gaziantep Üniversitesi Naci Topçuoğlu, or the Vocational School of Higher Education.

Helped by Mehpare Kileci for the translation, we were on stage for nearly two hours of interactive fun and learning.


Phillip Holt on stage with Mehpare Kileci at Gaziantep Üniversitesi Naci Topçuoğlu

Large numbers of students crowded around at the end of the talk to ask questions, so I hope they learned from the presentation.

Categories
NLP

Chocolate Cake Gaziantep 2009

The end of another course for NLP in Gaziantep. A chocolate cake.


The end of the November 2009 Master Practitioner in Gaziantep.

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What ever has happened to Jack Frost?

It has been a quick trip to Italy, to deliver as part of the training team of NLPItaly’s for the NLP Master Practitioner course in Milan, two weekends, with twenty-four fantastic participants having fun together, whilst learning great NLP techniques such as Time Lines, Future Pacing, Perceptual Positions, with yes Antonio and Phillip’s Sausage.

The temperature may have been warm inside the training room, but outside, although pleasant, for me that is, it is obvious summer is behind us. People are wearing coats, scarves and woolly hats, but me, I only had my suit and no coat, resulting in Elena my friend and translator telling me off.

I was happy in the evenings to have something to eat in a restaurant, having good conversations, relaxing with good food, knowing that we would walk to my favourite ice cream parlour or gelateria in Milano, Jack Frost.

Friday night Elena and myself went for a pizza very near to Jack Frost, so that we could have an ice cream after the meal, but when we went to Jack Frost’s shop, it was closed, its’ shutters down, and no signs as to why. Perhaps we had arrived late? We had eaten at 10pm.

Saturday night we dined with a friend his wife and new son, and travelled some distance to Jack Frost, but this time it was early evening, but still it was closed.

Our life was at an end. What would we do without our gelato, our ice cream? We made our way back to our hotel trying to think where there may be a gelateria.

We asked a hotel doorman, who said to go back to where Jack Frost was. We asked three youths dressed-up for Halloween, and they sent us back towards Jack Frost. Oh well, “Try it, you might like it“, came to mind, and we went back, just a bit more effort for us.

Two shops down was a new gelateria I had never seen before, “il tuo gelato“.


The new Jack Frost, il tuo GELATO

Elena and myself looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders, and decided to try it.

My first words to the shop assistant as we entered “il tuo GELATO” was what happened to Jack Frost? Her reply was that this was it.

Sorry “il tuo GELATO” will never be the same as Jack Frost, but I suppose I might get used to it.

So I must visit the new shop “il tuo GELATO” at least three times to get my brain to learn and accept the new shop.

That is my excuse for eating more ice cream.


il tuo GELATO