April 2019 - Official Blog-Phoenix Pop

Types of T Shirt – Based on Sleeves, Necklines and Fit

April 30, 2019

What are the types of t shirt available? Starting with the basic t shirt, you have the Crew Neck, the V Neck and the Henley Y Neck. The basic differences between these shirts is the shape and style of their necklines. The Crew Neck has a circular aspect that wraps closely around one’s neck and is best for people who have sloping shoulders and narrow faces. The V-style sports a “V” around the neck area and is best for people who have broad shoulders and round faces.

Types of T Shirt

The are many t shirts to choose from. They can vary based on neckline, sleeve length, and/or the type of it. Here are some characteristics that differentiate t shirts.

Scoops, Polo Shirts and Raglan Sleeves.

The Scoop Neck is a kind of Crew Neck but with a wider area, usually falling just below the collarbone. This shirt is best for a casual look.

Polo t-shirts are timeless designs that have been popularized by golfers. The addition of buttons down front can make the look more formal. Polo shirts are great for guys who have a lean frame.

Raglan sleeves get their inspiration, cut and design from traditional baseball uniforms. The sleeves are affixed by diagonal stitching instead of the more common up-and-down, which adds to the shirt’s uniqueness. In terms of sleeve type, there’s Sleeveless, Full-Length, Quarter Length and Cap Sleeves.

Different Kinds of T-Shirt Fit

There are several options for wearing t-shirts, all of which depend on your frame, facial profile, occasion and style preference. More than that, each shirt may have several aspects of fit, which can make or break your overall appearance. No one will look good on an ill-fitting shirt, so it’s best to consider the fit as well as the type when shopping for clothes.

What constitutes a good fit for you? Simple. The shirt should wrap around your torso snugly, flatter the shape of your body and provide enough air circulation to make you comfortable. Body Fit, or Slim Fit tees hug the body and can be used as an undershirt. Baggy style exaggerates the proportions and come in wide and loose sizes. Muscle fit will accentuate your muscles in the arm and chest area and is great for gym-goers or bodybuilders.

Different T-Shirt Styles

Plain colored ones don’t have any designs and are staples in any men’s wardrobe. You can opt for Printed or Graphic ones and choose which slogan or design works for you. Pocket tees usually have a small pocket stitched in the breast area. Hood-style shirts are sophisticated pieces that look great in the gym or when playing sports.

In Conclusion

There are quite a number of types of t shirt you can choose to wear everyday for comfort, style and activity. The best ones are the ones you are most comfortable wearing. The neckline, sleeves, and fit style all make a difference in t shirt types.

Gifts for Ramadan Eid – What Should You Gift?

April 24, 2019

Ramadan is a sacred and solemn festival, and it is certainly a time of reflection and prayer and of course, charity. It is a festival that talks preaches and practices peace, love and universal brotherhood. It is much more than catering to material needs and worldly desires. This festival is a chance to go much beyond superficial living and try and answer some questions to your inner self and get closer to the spiritual world. Hence, Ramadan also marks the season of fasting and it also is the season for offering and gifts. If you are looking for the best gifts for Ramadan Eid, then you could get quite a few suggestions from this article. There are endless gifting options available and choosing the right one could be a confusing task. Hence, we are hopeful that the tips given below could be useful in more ways than one.

Gifts for Ramadan Eid

Gift Baskets

Food without any doubt is one of the best gifting options, and it makes all the more sense during Ramadan when Muslims are into fasting. Hence, gift baskets with fruits and other such things could be a good gifting option. You could pack your gift baskets with almonds, dates, honey, juices, pistachios, fruit cakes, dates and other such things. You can either customize the same or offer readymade options taking into account your budgets and customers needs and requirements.

Islamic Calligraphy Art

Islamic culture have some of the best and ancient artistic works to interpret the Quran into an art form. This has resulted in some of the best non-representational calligraphic works. It indeed is a treat to see and enjoy, especially those who know the Quran well and can understand when it is represented graphically and pictorially. It is available at different prices, sizes, shapes and materials in which the calligraphic art is made available. Many creatives have also incorporated Islamic text into jewelry and wearable pieces. Hence, it certainly could be a good buy for all those who are keen on offering something unique and different to their loved, near and dear ones.

Jewelry and Watches

There is no doubt that any man or woman would enjoy receiving some sort of jewelry or watches as a gift. To make this gift more meaningful, do your due diligence and find out what the person enjoys most out of their jewelry. You can then customize the gift to their liking or choose something that’s unique.

CDs and Books For Children

There is no doubt that children of all ages love CDs and books, and presenting the same during Id-ul-Fitr could be a great way forward. Though in today’s modern world of the internet and computers, it might be a bit tough. If you are able to convince them and teach them the finer points of book reading and quality CD watching, then it is quite obvious that you could be offering something that is quite unique and good. However, you need to do your research and offer them something that is of the best quality in terms of contents and presentation. You have them available in different price ranges and therefore, budget should not be much of a constraint. You can buy them either from brick and mortar stores or have them purchased from online stores.

Ramadan Gift Card

You also could send a secret Santa gift exchange card as a Ramadan Eid gift. This can be used by your guests to exchange the gift cards for various gifts of their own choice and liking. By doing so, you are not binding them on certain fixed gifts and are rather allowing them to make a purchase that they think are best suited to them.

Conclusion

Hence, if you look around and do your research, you will certainly come across dozens of gifts for Ramadan Eid. You could choose them depending on age, gender, price and other attributes. Many service providers can also have them delivered to the house of the guest.

Escape Room Benefits – Improve Various Skills

April 23, 2019

An escape room is simply an immersive experience that encourages participants to cooperate, get clues, and solve problems to complete a given mission. These activities are often learning and cognitive experiences for many people, as well as provide a great gaming experience. Also, escape rooms can be a great opportunity for players who are looking for scenarios which can be educationally-enriching and make them feeling content, intelligent, and happy. If you are still hesitating about this form of entertainment, here are some escape room benefits to know.

Escape Room Benefits

Below are some of the main benefits you can experience when you try an escape room.

Improve Creativity

One of the most important benefits of escape games is that they provide participates great opportunities to employ their mind to solve problems creatively. Most of these activities require you to challenge yourself and your teammates to think outside of the box. From difficult riddles to hectic physical exercises, escape rooms can be a great place to break from normal life and live with your creativity. More importantly, these experiences can transition into many areas of your life and improve your productivity.

Enhance Collaboration

Even in those settings in which collaboration already exists, encouraging teamwork and cooperation in a new context like escape rooms could stimulate idea and communication synthesis skills in participants. Dealing with a new group of issues in a strange environment could break the daily routine of people who just collaborate with their own colleagues in the same departments. In other words, escape games provide a great opportunity for us to mix and match between different teams from various departments in the same organizations. As a result, there will be many challenges to help them work more efficiently with new faces.

The team which struggles together will stay together. Escape games allow different people to face and overcome the same challenges, thus building empathy between them. Even though victories can be significant, struggling and failing together could also be valuable lessons because it provides team members with a great opportunity to express their appreciation, responsiveness, and compassion.

Reduce Stress and Have Fun

If you are stressed from your daily work, then escape games can be a great option to have fun and get away from stress. With many interesting activities and challenges, you can get great joy and satisfaction from dealing with new information or cooperating with new people. As a result, this will increase your adrenaline and give you a sense of achievement when the mission is completed.

Increase Your Motivation

Problem-solving activities and physical movements in an escape room would trigger your brain to produce more dopamine. This substance does not only encourage the brain to have a greater sense of pleasure, but it would also be important for improving your motivation. In addition, these activities can create a pattern of challenges to success, thus creating a positive connotation and training your cognitive system to incentivize achievements in the future.

In Conclusion

Overall, playing in an escape room is fun. All the escape room benefits and psychological satisfaction that you get from participating will make you feel entertained and help improve many skills. Thus, it is a great option for personal entertainment, work events, or team building activities.

Who Invented the Segway? – The Evolution of the Segway

April 22, 2019

Have you ever wondered who invented the Segway? The Segway electric vehicle, created by an inventor named Dean Kamen, is a distinct unit with a self-balancing, two-wheeled design. Many experts and consumers often consider it as one of the most outstanding breakthroughs in the world. In this post, we’ll show you a brief history of this innovative vehicle.

Who Invented the Segway?

As said above, the Segway was created by Dean Kamen, a prominent engineer with more than 440 patents in the US and other countries. The Segway is originated from the previous balancing technology that Kamen developed in the IBOT Mobility system in 1990. He came up with this idea after seeing a man attempting to get the wheelchair over the sidewalk curb. In the beginning, it was a 6-wheeled motorized wheelchair which enables the handicapped people to climb stairs. In addition, it could lift them to the eye level.

The Segway featured a compact design that does not take up too much space. The vehicle offered extreme maneuverability and works on most pathways and pedestrian sidewalks. Additionally, it produced zero emissions. The Segway LLC was founded in 2000 in New Hampshire with 130 employees, to develop and manufacture the Segway HT.

The Introduction of Segway to the Market

The first Segway HT was launched to the public in 2001. It grasped the attention of many people because celebrities used it on national TV. On February 2002, legislation was approved that allowed Segways to be used on sidewalks. On November of the same year, the vehicle was distributed at the price of $3000. However, a software issue had resulted in some safety issues and caused a recall in 2006. These days, however, you can still see these vehicles in many urban areas, especially parks and public spaces.

Bottom Line

The answer to “who invented the Segway” is Dean Kamen. Segway is quickly becoming a popular mode of transportation in many parts of the world. With many advanced features and compact designs, these units can be a great option for moving in the short distance. Over time, we will definitely see more developments to make it better.

Wedding Photo Tips For Beginners – What to Prepare for

April 18, 2019

Are you in need of some wedding photo tips for beginners? For the newlyweds, it is vital to have photos made of their best day. Taking pictures and having them as souvenirs to remind them of that special day is always important. Every special occasion should have memories since they only happen once in life. Wedding photos mean more than a thousand words and it is important to get every moment captured. If you are new to photographing weddings, here are some tips to help you out.

Wedding Photo Tips For Beginners

Use a Contract

A contract is a binding agreement between two parties, so it’s important to have a signed contract for any upcoming event you’re photographing. A contract simply places matters at a more professional level where the parties can be held liable whenever there’s a breach of contract. For new photographers, whether its a friend or stranger, use a contract to avoid misunderstandings later. People may be arrogant and still hold a notion that photography is just but a hobby and they might end by taking advantage of you, but the contract will help prevent this. Let your client see the level of professionalism you display and they will handle you with the respect you deserve.

Dress Appropriately

Once you get the opportunity to be a photographer at any wedding, blend in with the crowd. Don’t create extra attention on yourself because of its not your day. Dress like a guest and fit in the day’s occasion and work without disrupting the wedding. Wear shoes with a flat sole because you will spend much of your day moving up and down. Having shoes also that produce sound when walking is highly discouraged since you will be disrupting the wedding due to the nature of your work. If possible, try and fit in the theme of the wedding and dress professionally.

Take Backup Gear and Extra Batteries

Most wedding takes up a lot of time, so make sure you’re fully prepared. Because you might be new, you should always have options in case something goes wrong as you’re photographing. During the peak of the occasion, you don’t want to have your camera battery die and not have any extras. For a wedding you need to be well prepared in order to capture everything throughout the day. Come prepared with extra camera bodies, lenses, memory cards, and batteries to ensure that you don’t disappoint.

In Conclusion

With the right mindset and equipment, these wedding photo tips for beginners should help you feel fully prepared. Remember to always capture the best moments and the right time to win the hearts of your clients. You are marketing yourself too, potential clients are the invited guests, work smart and you will receive additional work.

April Fundraising Ideas

April 15, 2019

April is a great month to have a fundraiser, because of Easter and the perfect Spring weather. There are different ways you can go about raising money for your special cause, so we have created a list of seven fundraising ideas. Here are a few April fundraising ideas to inspire you!

April Fundraising Ideas

1) Cake & Coffee

Everyone can use a cup of coffee in the morning, and who can turn down cake for breakfast? You can have a morning fundraiser and sell cake and coffee to help successfully raise money for your cause.

2) Costume Competition

Give everyone the option to wear a costume for a costume competition but charge a fee to participate! Given the various festivities in April, dressing up can be a fun activity for the students. Be sure to offer a cool prize or reward to create an incentive.

3) Wacky Hat Day

Inspire everyone to pick the wackiest hat they can find and wear it, in return for donations. Encourage them to be creative to build up more excitement. Make things even more fun by hosting a competition for the wackiest hat. April Fundraising Ideas

4) Easter Egg Hunt

Kids and adults love Easter eggs hunts, so hosting one is a great way to raise money in April. Charge a fee for entry to all ages. You may even want to add more activities to the event such as an egg and spoon race, to attract more people. Remember to offer a prize for the winner to increase competitiveness and fun!

5) Play a Game

Play a game that everyone can participate in and charge a fee to play. Pin the tail on the Easter bunny is perfect for the season. You could also play “guess how many jellybeans are in this container”. Give a prize to the person who was the closest to the target and to the actual number of jelly beans.

6) Host an Easter Stage Production

Why not celebrate Easter with a play or talent show? Charge a fee to participate in and to watch the show. To keep costs down try to find a local organization such as a church or school, who is willing to let you host at their venue for free. At the end of the show introduce the actors or announce a winner for the talent show.

7) Get Some Exercise

April is the perfect time to get outside and get some exercise. Participate in a sponsored event such as a swim, run, or walk. Ask family and friends to participate as well!

Conclusion

April is a great month to begin a fundraiser for school. With these April fundraising ideas, you are sure to meet your fundraiser goals and have fun at the same time.

What are Microservices?

April 11, 2019

Have you ever wondered what are microservices and how are they integrated into scaling industries to build applications? This post will show some basic facts and features of this advanced approach in software development.

What are Microservices?

Microservices are a software architecture which breaks down applications into smaller elements to allow for greater agility. These parts are typically autonomous and aligned with a specific objective or business. By using this approach, large firms could launch new services and products much faster, as well as align their development experts with business goals.

Features of Microservices

In general, microservices are characterized by two main features:

– Specialized

Each component is built for a set of functions and focuses on dealing with a particular issue. When developers add more code to a component over time and the component gets complex, it could be divided into smaller ones.

– Autonomous

Each part of the service in this approach could be created, operated, deployed, and adjusted without influencing the functions of other components. Services don’t have to share their implementation or code with the others. Any communication between separate components will occur through well-defined APIs.

Benefits of Using Microservices

There are many benefits of the microservices approach:

– Flexible Scaling

This technique enables each service to be scaled independently to meet demands for the application it supports. As a result, development teams can right-size the needs for infrastructure, measure the expenses precisely, and ensure availability when a service is in a spike.

– Agility

Microservices can create an organization of independent, small teams which take ownership of the services. Each team acts within a well understood and small context, and is allowed to work more quickly and independently. This shortens the cycle times of development to help companies benefit from the aggregate output.

– Resilience

Independence of each service increases the resistance of the application to fail. In monolithic architectures, when a single element fails, it could cause the failure of the whole application. But with microservices, applications could deal with total service failures by degrading functions and won’t crash the whole application.

Microservices vs Monolithic Architectures

All processes in monolithic architectures are tightly combined and run in a single service. Thus, if there is any spike in one process, the whole architecture needs to be scaled, making it more complex to add or remove a feature. As a result, it limits experimentation and creates more challenges to implement innovative ideas. Due to its single design, monolithic architectures are often at higher risks of process failures.

In a microservices architecture, the application is created as independent elements which operate each application process in an independent service. Those components communicate through a well-defined interface with lightweight APIs. They are constructed for business capabilities with different functions. This makes it easy to update, deploy, and scale each service to meet demands for particular functions.

Bottom Line

So, what are microservices exactly? Compared to monolithic architectures, microservices can provide more benefits to businesses. In addition to ensuring quicker developments of software or packages, companies can make use of this approach to align their development experts with overall business groups.

Home Remedies to Kill Termites

April 9, 2019

The infestation of termites can make your furniture items useless very soon, unless you try to kill them. Termites can invade your home throughout the year as they are not seasonal. Basically, there are five types of termites including Conehead, Drywood, Formosan, Dampwood and Subterranean, but your furniture is commonly destroyed by drywood termites. While planning to kill termites you should be aware of some home remedies to kill termites. The home remedies in this article aim to help you in killing the termites effectively.

Home Remedies to Kill Termites

Use Orange Oil:

This oil can be used to eliminate termites effectively if their infestation is confined to a limited area. It is one of the inexpensive ways to get rid of termites as this oil is extracted from the peel of orange fruits.

Spray Soapy Water:

By spraying soapy water on termites you can kill them effectively as it will make it hard for them to breathe in by making their outer shell resistant. Thus ultimately they will die. However, this method works at the surface, as it won’t kill the termites you don’t get to spray.

Spray Clove Oil:

One of the harmless and natural remedies to kill termites along with other insects is clove oil. You can mix a few drops of clove oil in water filled in a spray bottle. With clove oil, you can easily get rid of termites by spraying this solution on the affected area.

Trap Termites In Cardboard:

You can trap termites effectively and easily by using wet cardboard. The cellulose present in the cardboard will attract termites as they are fond of cellulose. When you will place this cardboard near affected area termites will start damaging it. You can use an insecticide to kill them when they are accumulated in high numbers on the cardboard.

Trap termites with Canola Oil:

you can eradicate termites from your home effectively by using Canola oil. It has been proved through a study that termites may not survive after 2-3 days if they are put in a solution of water and canola oil. This oil can be used to kill not only termites but various other insects also.

Use of Garlic Oil:

The insecticidal properties of garlic can help in killing even a severe infestation of termites. You can spray the mixture of garlic oil and water in the affected area to kill them effectively.

Flood the Soil:

A flood of water can also kill the colonies of termites if they have infested the garden soil. They may leave the place after getting frustrated by the destruction of their colonies.

Electrocution:

The severe infestation of termites can also be eliminated effectively by electrocuting the items they are infested in. the entire colony of termites infested in a wooden item can be killed by passing high voltage current through it.

Final Words

By reading this write-up you will know various home remedies to kill termites. Using these Methods will help you get rid of them effectively and affordably. You need to get rid of termites as soon as possible as you already know how the presence of termites in your home can harm you.

How to Remove Super Glue from Plastic – Saving Your Items

April 8, 2019

Have you ever spilled super glue on any plastic surface? If so, you might be wondering how to remove super glue from plastic. This can be one of the most challenging tasks to do since dried glue is similar in texture to plastic. When trying to remove the super glue which has already formed into plastic form, the removers eat through it and causes it to disintegrate. This article will go over removing super glue from plastic. Below is a list of items you may need to help you remove super glue on plastic surfaces.

Bowl or Bucket
Plastic Wrap
Paper Towels
Water
Rubbing Alcohol
Cotton Balls
Soap
Tape
Soft Cloths

How to Remove Super Glue from Plastic

Using a bucket or container mix some water and soap.
Moisten and rinse a piece of cloth or towel with the soapy water in the bucket.

Get the wet piece of towel cover the area affected by the glue and allow it to set for some time. To make this step more effective cover, add a plastic wrap alongside the towel and allow it to dry up slowly to make the glue soften and come out easily.

For effective results remove the towel, plastic covering, and tape after 3- 4 hours to ensure effective soaking. After that get a clean cloth and use it to remove the softened glue. Repeat the process until the glue is removed.

As noted, this procedure is effective but it needs time and patience in order to remove the glue on the plastic surface without damaging it.

Another way of getting rid of the glue is by rubbing alcohol on the plastic surface. You will need the help of a soft cotton ball which will be used to rub in alcohol on the plastic surface.
Using a clean moistened piece of cloth blot the softened glue away to clean out the surface.

Removing Super Glue on Vinyl Surfaces

The items that you need:

Paper towels
Water
Acetone
Soft cloths
Cotton balls

How to Remove Super Glue from Vinyl

Using acetone moistened cotton ball or towel bolt the glued surface until it becomes soft enough. Acetone is available on all hardware store so it won’t be hard for you to get one.

When the glue becomes loosely attached to the vinyl surface use a clean and moist piece of cloth or towel and gently remove the glue.

In order to remove any remaining acetone use clean water and cloth to wipe off the excess and later dry the surface completely.

Other Important and Valuable Tips

For precautionary purposes first, use acetone on a small area of your surface to avoid fading and discoloration of some areas since acetone is naughtily known for that. You should also remove the acetone as soon as possible to avoid any detrimental reaction which might cause damage on the surface.

Be cautious when removing superglue on any plastic surface with the print when using acetone or rubbing alcohol since it easily removes the print from the surface. Using acetone on plastic items is not recommended though it can be used as the last alternative. The trick is removing the acetone as quickly as possible to avoid any reaction with the plastic material.

Bottom Line

It’s easy to learn these procedures because they will help you if super glue spills on any metal surface. Be careful when handling the solutions since they can react with your skin too. Use protective gear when handling these solutions. Overall, you should now better understand how to remove super glue from plastic.

How to Maintain a Pool Table

April 2, 2019

A well-maintained pool table will not only play better, but also last longer than one that’s neglected. The most important thing about getting the most out of your pool table is to keep it in good condition. Whether you’re a competitive player, or a casual player who enjoys the game only over the weekends, here are a few tips on how to maintain a pool table.

Coverage

Start by giving your pool table the best protection when it’s not in use by covering it with a specially designed cover. Vinyl covers protect your table from dirt and dust, the damaging rays of the sun, kids, spills, pets, high levels of humidity and moisture and other random contaminants. Be sure to choose the right size of cover for your table.

Table Position

Pool tables are best kept away from sunlight. Avoid positioning your pool table near windows as the rays of the sun can easily fade the wood and damage the felt. Similarly, wooden pool tables shouldn’t be placed in rooms with high humidity levels. You wouldn’t want the wooden surface to get mold or dry either.

Safe Playing Practices

You can prolong the useful life of your table by taking a few precautions when playing pool games. For instance, avoid chalking the tip of your cue on the table to prevent the dust from damaging the felt. That helps to protect the cloth from dust that can affect its smoothness. Similarly, you want to avoid shots that involve digging the cue’s tip into the cloth as that may cause small scratches can lead to major tears.

Another useful tip is to take off or avoid playing with loose jewelry as they can prick the cloth and eventually damage it. Loose watches and bracelets can also scratch and dent the rails of your table.

Ball Cleaning

Every now and then, clean the balls with a soft cloth and billiard ball cleaner, or some warm water and soap. Properly cleaned balls will keep the cloth, cues and cushions in better condition.

Cloth Cleaning

Keep a soft bristle brush handy and use it to sweep chalk, talc and dust away from the table. You can also use it to clean the table after every game or during gameplay, if necessary. The trick here is to sweep gently yet briskly in one direction, preferably towards the pockets, which can be clean with a soft piece of damp cloth. It’s also advisable to give the cloth a proper cleaning by vacuuming it regularly. Set the vacuum cleaner on a low setting and avoid using an attachment with a brush.

Frame Cleaning

Clean the area under the rail with a soft bristle brush and clean the rail, legs and cabinet with a dry soft piece of lint-free cloth.

Bottom Line

All these tips on how to maintain a pool table should help you to get the most out of your pool table and extend its useful life. Have a rule that there’s no drinking or eating at the table, and chalk your cue away from the table. Taking precautionary steps will help keep your pool table in top condition.