How To Cure Sticky Rubber

Has this ever happened to you?  Your beloved wireless karaoke microphones, your car interior handles, your favourite multi-adaptor suddenly became sticky and impossible to hold. Their rubberized coatings have turned sticky  and no matter how much talcum powder you pour on them, they still remain sticky after the talcum powder wore off.

So why does rubber do this? Natural or synthetic rubber starts out as a very sticky substance. The rubber  can revert back to it’s original state under certain conditions. Once that happens you’re stuck with rubber that has become sticky and tacky.   (Ref: https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Clean-Sticky-Rubber/   )

A common method to cure this sticky rubber  is to use 90% isopropyl solution. But this involves actually removing the rubber coating down to the plastic/metal base. I discovered another method that doesn’t end up removing the rubber coating but merely removes the stickiness. 

It happened when my karaoke wireless microphones became impossible to hold because the rubberized handles had turned sticky. I used a handle wrap (those that we wrap around racquets to improve our grip) to wrap around the microphones’ handles and I thought nothing more about it.  Until one day, as the wrap unravelled itself, I discovered that the stickiness on the microphones’ handles had gone!

You can thank me if you find that it also works for you.

 

A Home Karaoke Set And Library To Be Proud Of

I believe I have a (nearly) complete Home Entertainment setup. Here’s why I say so: 

  • An “active” system comprising  an AV Receiver with large screen HD TV,  satellite receiver, digital transmission receiver,  BlueRay-DVD player, media player,  Chromecast, Raku Stick and a projector with a 110″ screen. And of course 6 speakers. When you watch movies and concerts,  your mind has to be “active”.
  • A “passive” system comprising a HiFi Integrated Amp,  a CD player,  a sub-woofer, and HiFi speakers. Your mind is “passive” listening to beautiful music.
  • An “interactive” system, consisting  of a PlayStation and…. the Karaoke system described below.

The Hardware

The Software

Building the karaoke songs library

  1. Search for the karaoke song on YouTube. If there are multiple versions, choose the one with the most views.
  2. In aTube Catcher, select Video Downloader. Use the settings to choose the location for your downloaded files.  Set the Output Profile to MP4 Video 1200kbps.
  3.  Paste the YouTube URL in the video downloader and click download.
  4. Open the Kanto Player application and select the karaoke song that you have downloaded and enjoy!

 

Remedy for Diseased Tuber or Bulb Plant

I hit upon this effective remedy by sheer chance. My pot of Rodent Tuber  (Typhonium flagelliforme Lodd.)   became distressed with slimy rotting tubers. It was apparent to me that the plant was dying and it seemed that I was going to lose my pot of precious  Rodent Tubers. Fellow gardeners will know the hollow feeling in the gut.

 Apparently the bulbs’ soft rots are caused by several types of bacteria, but most commonly by species of gram-negative bacteria, Erwinia, Pectobacterium, and Pseudomonas.  The soft rot decay is generally odorless but becomes foul and slimy when other secondary bacteria invade the infected tissues.

Meanwhile, I have a large stock of homemade “garbage enzyme”. This garbage enzyme has tons of uses, ranging from natural floor cleaner, kitchen cleaner, dishwashing liquid, air purifier, insect repellent, pesticide, and fertilizer.

I wondered what would happen if I were to soak the diseased bulbs in a small container of garbage enzyme and I did just that. I soaked  (immersed) the bulbs in the garbage enzyme for about 30 minutes and then re-potted the bulbs in a pot of fresh soil. The bulbs didn’t die and after a few days, there were new fresh leaves! It worked! So if you have a diseased rotting slimy bulb or tuber…immerse in garbage enzyme for about 30 minutes or more before re-potting in fresh soil. You can save the bulb or tuber.

How to make garbage enzyme.

Rodent Tuber

How To Stop Hiccups

Who has not suffered an inconvenient,  irritating, embarrassing hiccup which often is untimely?    Yes, everyone has had to endure it at one time or another.

What causes this annoyance? 

Apparently, there are   various reasons but probably the most common  one is when we eat too quickly and especially when we are nervous or excited. But who cares what causes it? You are here now because you are intrigued by the  title  and just want to know how to stop the  *&$# hiccups.

Here’s how to stop the hiccups

Disclaimer: This is something that I accidentally discovered which works wonder for me. I have not seen this method described anywhere else. It may not work for you, but why not give it a try? You have nothing to lose and I hope you will  feedback to us if it does work for you.,

When the annoying hiccups start, just pinch your left thumb at the joint with your right thumb and forefinger, then apply pressure and rub /twist at the joint working down to the neck of the left thumb.  Do that for a minute or so, then change to the right thumb, rubbing and twisting with your left thumb and forefinger. Do that for a minute or so.  Have the hiccups gone away? If not repeat until they disappear. It shouldn’t take you more than 5 minutes.

 

 

Write and tell us if it works for you!

A True Cat’s Tale

This is all true;   the  events  did happen and the life story is still being played out.

Sylvia, that’s   the name we gave her,  gave birth to five adorable kittens  on 9-Feb-2020.  She wandered into our home  and into our lives,   some  two months earlier. We could tell she was pregnant and was looking for a nest  to deliver her kittens. She had a collar so we tried our best to locate her owner.  We asked in a few  of our neighbourhood Whatsapp groups but no-one claimed her.  My son remarked that she looked like Sylvester the cartoon cat, so we called her Sylvia.

And on an early afternoon  of 9-Feb-2020, Sylvia, the young first-time   mother,   clumsily gave birth to her five kittens in the litter box.   She couldn’t bite and eat the placenta which was covered with the litter material so the kittens were all stuck together still joined to the  placenta. We had to rush them  to the vet  to separate them.  The vet offered to help find adopters when the kittens are bigger. And so the five kittens stayed with Sylvia in our home; a pure white, a  chocolate-coloured , a  tortoiseshell, a grey-and-white and a calico.   We didn’t give them  names as we did not want to get too attached  to them knowing that  they will be given up for adoption.

On 16-Mar, I took the  Pure White for an adopter.  The next day, the mum Sylvia, became very distressed when she realised the kitten was missing. So late at night, she relocated the whole litter elsewhere . It was so sad. All the kittens were relocated and I couldn’t find them. Sylvia still came to see me for her own meals;  breakfast, lunch and dinner…alone.

Over the next few days, Sylvia may have realised her mistake and looked so forlorn that I had to console her. A neighbour, Dr Chan Kah Yein, told me that cats are telepathic and can understand what we are saying. So I ended up talking  routinely to Sylvia and urged her to bring back the kittens. She looked so sad and so was I. Perhaps, for some reason, Sylvia could not retrieve the kittens.  

Then on 23-Mar-2020,  a big burly ginger-coloured Tom Cat came to the house  and seeing that Sylvia was cosy with him, I guess he  must be her mate. I fed him as well and urged him to help Sylvia to find the kittens.

Then on the blessed morning of 24-Mar-2020, I saw the whole family back in my house with the adorable kittens all looking so happy to be back. But there is a twist to this fairy tale. 

My neighbour told me that her son saw  the Tom cat leading the four kittens  along the road back to the house late at night. The Tom cat led the way and the four kittens followed him back. What a sight that must have been! What a pity that I didn’t get to see it.

The four kittens stayed  with Sylvia contentedly until in early April, the vet called to remind me that the adopters were waiting for the kittens. She  planned to come  to my house to pick up Sylvia  (to be spayed) and the four kittens on 15-April-2020.  On the night of 14-April-2020, I was talking to my neighbour and told her that the vet was coming in the morning to take Sylvia and the kittens. Sylvia must have overheard the conversation, because the next morning the Grey-and-White and Calico were missing and  I couldn’t find them anywhere.  I guess Sylvia must have relocated them and couldn’t move the other two in time, as they were now bigger.  By the time I caged Sylvia and the Tortoiseshell, the Chocolate one  fled and I couldn’t find it even with my neighbour’s help. The vet came and took  Sylvia and Tortoiseshell away at about 11.00am. But in the evening, the Chocolate one came back for food and I managed to cage it as well. The vet picked it up later that evening.

The two  other kittens remained missing since the night of 14-April-2020.   I brought Sylvia home after her surgery on the 17-April-2020. She looked very sad and  I asked her to go and find the kittens.  The Tom cat came and I coaxed them both to go and bring back the kittens.  Early next morning, I was awakened by Sylvia’s loud meowing and when I went out to check,  I saw that Sylvia had brought back the two kittens. Amazing! And  even though Sylvia just had a surgery to spay her, she still breastfed the two kittens lovingly.

 

My wife and I took that as an omen and we decided to keep the two kittens.  I suggested Whisky for the  male Grey-and White and my wife named the female Calico as  Brandy. I decided to call the big burly Tom cat, Vodka. So now we have Sylvia, the bartender, with Vodka, Whisky and Brandy.

Update: 20-Dec-2020

Whisky and Brandy are now more than 10 months old and they are even bigger than their mother, Sylvia. But inexplicably, Sylvia left home about 4 months ago. Why? Perhaps it got too painful when the kittens still want to suckle. Or is it a territorial thing…..where the mother gives way to her grown-up kittens? In any case, after she was away for about 2 months, Sylvia suddenly turned up one day at mealtime. But she had a different demeanour and hissed and scratched at Whisky and Brandy when they tried to cuddle up to her. Vodka too suffered her mean demeanour. I fed her and as soon as she finished eating, she slinked away. And this has become her strange behaviour. She will turn up at mealtimes now and then, and each time she will disappear after eating. And she remained mean to Whisky, Brandy and Vodka. So strange, so sad. But she looked well fed and healthy, and still wore her pink collar. So some kind soul must be taking care of her…thank you, whoever you are.

To be continued…. The return of Sylvia

27-Nov-2022

On 1-Jan-2021, Sylvia suddenly returned and kept quietly by herself at the patio next to the fish pond. She abandoned her kittens for almost a year and now they do not welcome her. 

But today, 27-Nov-2022, two years on, Sylvia has reconciled with Brandy not completely with Whisky. Sylvia and Brandy will groom each other but Sylvia will smack Whisky he gets too close to her. Initially Whisky will just let Sylvia hiss, smack and scratch him but lately he has begun to retaliate.

Both Sylvia and Brandy are spayed but not Whisky. Maybe that’s why Whisky is a roamer and gets into fights, as the neighbourhood Romeo. I am considering getting him neutered. But he has not returned home for the last 4 days.

Simply Papaya

When I was a kid, I don’t think  I ever really looked at a papaya flower.  We had a couple of papaya trees in our garden and it seemed like we always had papaya to eat.  My mom just  scattered the seeds in the ground and without fail, the seeds would germinate, grow to be  fruiting trees in no time at all.  And  the papaya fruits back then were all huge which we could hardly finish eating.

So just imagine now in my adulthood , when I tried to grow the “simple” papaya, I am baffled why I am faced  with  some challenges. 

The first one  bore fruits but they kept dropping off before maturity . The tree was quite skinny and sickly. Maybe I didn’t fertilise it enough.

The next three plants bore lots of flowers but they were male and couldn’t bear fruits!

Lots of (male) flowers!

It is very frustrating, to say the least, that after nuturing a papaya plant for many months only to find that it is a MALE papaya plant. Here’s a close-up of the male flower.

Beautiful clump of non-fruiting MALE flowers

Finally I have a possible successful papaya tree… the female flower is already fertilised and the young fruit is forming nicely. Here’s how a proper female papaya fruiting-flower looks like.

Joy! A fruiting female papaya tree.

I learnt that even though you may have a female papaya plant, the flowers may drop if they are not fertilised. While some papaya trees may self-fertilised, others may require cross fertilisation. So pray that there are other papaya trees around your neighbourhood.

As a footnote, I grow all my papaya trees in large pots, not in the ground. So actually there is a different challenge growing it in a pot compared to directly in the ground.