The Filters that Refresh

The Filters that Refresh

Home water filters don't all attack the same problems, so it's important to have your water tested before you choose a filter. Your options include:

Physical filters: Designed to sift out particles such as dirt, sediment, and rust, these filters are usually made of fabric, fiber, ceramic, or other screening. They may be effective enough to remove particles as small as asbestos fibers, but they can't screen out all suspect organisms and so shouldn't be relied upon to filter microbiologically contaminated waters.

Activated carbon filters: These may improve your water's smell, taste, and appearance by removing some organic chemical contaminants. But they don't eliminate salts, metals, and most inorganic chemicals and should not be relied upon to treat water containing problem organisms. To avoid becoming sodden with chemical and bacterial impurities, they need to be changed at regular intervals.

Reverse osmosis units: These systems have water pass through a membrane and collect in a storage tank. They are largely effective in removing most inorganic chemicals, including salts, lead, and other metals, asbestos, minerals, nitrates, and some organic chemicals. But they waste about 75 percent of the tap water run through them and slow the flow of water. The membranes also are susceptible to decay and failure and need periodic replacement.

Distillation units: Bu vaporizing water and then condensing it, these units eliminate most dissolved solids, including salts, metals, minerals, asbestos fibers, particles, and some organic chemicals. But they're not effective against all chemical impurities and bacteria, and the heating will raise energy bills.

Ultraviolet disinfection:Destroys bacteria and viruses. But it can't eliminate most chemical polluants and, unless disinfection is regularly maintained, dissolved and suspended solids may keep the water from receiving enough exposure to ultraviolet light to be healthy.

New York 42th street. Photo by Elena.

Fact File: Art for safety's sake

Not all art supplies are safe to use, especially by children:

• Powdered clay is both toxic and an irritant. Talc-free, pre-mixed clay is a good alternative.
• Permanent felt-tip markers may be toxic. Use water-based markers.
• Epoxy glue is flammable and an irritant. Substitute white or yellow glue, school paste, or certain glue sticks.
• Instant papier mâché is toxic and irritates. Newspaper and a simple flour paste will do just fine.

Accidents Do Happen

The National Safety Council reports that about 25,000 Americans die from accidents in the home every year. Falls cause nearly one-third of those deaths; fires and burns about a fifth, and all other types, about half. More than a third of those killed were 75 or older. Persons 25 to 44 make up about about a fifth; children under 5 about one-tenth. Among the leading causes of accidental death in the home are falls (includes deaths from falls from one level to another – stairs, ladder, roof, etc., and falls from the same level), poisoning by solids and liquids (includes death from drugs, medicines, mushrooms, shellfish, commonly recognized poisons. Excludes poisonings from spoiled foods, salmonella, etc. Those are classified as disease deaths. Fires, burns, deaths associated with fires (includes deaths from fires, burns,injuries in conflagrations in the home such as asphyxiation, falls, being struck by falling objects. Excludes burns from hot objects or liquids. Suffocation-ingested object (includes deaths from unintentional ingestion or inhalation of objects or food resulting in the obstruction of respiratory passages. Firearms (Includes firearms injuries in or on home premises – such as while cleaning or playing with guns. Excludes deaths from explosive materials.

Superplants for Your Garden

Superplants for Your Garden

Today's fruits, vegetables, and flowers are being bred for perfection

Car designs are always being improved, so are tennis racquets and home computers. So why shouldn't the technology of a tomato plant or an impatiens be perfected? Each year horticulturists at botanical gardens, seed companies, and universities stake a claim to gardeners' gratitude by successfully breeding superior new varieties of flowers, vegetables, and fruits.

Take the plant officially known as the Tomato f1 Big Beef. Introduced in 1994, the Big Beef is a tomato plant  that produces fruit earlier than other beefsteak types and maintains impressive yields throughout the growing season. Even late-season tomatoes developed high on the plant are large, flavorful, and meaty. Or say your passion is for flowering perennials. You'll enjoy the Lavender Lady, which is an English lavender that blooms early and profusely.

Seed catalog aficionados know that each new season's editions carry wondrous claims for their new superplants. But if you are uncomfortable accepting the word of a catalog copywriter, you should be on the lookout for seeds that bear a commendation from All-America Selections (AAS), a nonprofit organization that annually cites what it regards as the best new gardening species. University horticulturists, seed companies, and backyard gardeners submit newly developed seeds to AAS, which then tests the entries at 55 locations across North America. The test sites include private and public gardens from Pennsylvania State University to Disney World.

Superplants for Your Garden. Photo by Elena.

Anyone can enter their seeds as long as they are brand new and have never been sold anywhere in the world say experts which promote the home garden seed industry. New varieties are matched against the closest comparisons currently on the market, and three winners are selected each year from the realm of vegetables, flowers, and bedding plants. Among the winners were many flowers, starting from Petunia f1 Celebrity Chiffonmorn, the Petunia f1 Purple Wave, the Rudbeckia hirta Indian Summer and others.

So what will be the superplants of tomorrow? The hunt is on for plants with more uniform growth patterns. Experts are encouraging the development of produce with old-fashioned flavors. One such fruit, the Showing watermelon, boasts an 11 percent sugar content and tastes almost like a sugar lump. In the past, breeders concentrated on developing hearty commercial varieties, paying relatively little attention to flavor, although that is what backyard gardeners value the most. But now, manufacturers are trying to get the breeders to understand that people need to breed for the home gardener, too.

Tennis

How to Pick a Racquet

Get a grip on the most important equipment in the game

Buying a tennis racquet is the most complex thing imaginable, say racquet consultants to the most famous stars and experts in racuet-testing companies. All consumers have to do is walk into a sporting goods store and see a wall of racquets to be confused. We asked Bosworth for a private lesson in racquet picking. Here's what experts say:

You naturally look for an exact fit in shoes, clothes, and everything else you buy. Do the same with racquets, which are individualized instruments that must be chosen carefully. Don't worry about all the marketing, the technologically, or even industry guides suggesting a particular type of racquet for a particular type of player. Instead, start with some racquets suggested by your local pro or some friends and take a three-step approach.

First, simplify your understanding of the racquet. Realize that the racquet is simply a setup of three independent systems – the frame, the strings, and the handle.

Second, plant to customize. Any racquet can be made more or less powerful by adjusting the three systems – handle size and shape, overall weight and balance, and string type and tension. So plan to adjust the systems of any racquet you buy depending on what you want the racquet to do.

And third, try the racquet out. For some reason, dem-ing racquets is not a common practice among tennis consumers. Don't just buy something off the shelf. Pro shops and stores usually have demos available for testing, and friends will often let you use their favorite racquet. The greater variety you test, the more intelligent the decision will be as to which one is more effective. Also, don't limit your play-testing to racquets. Test different strings and tensions as well. Here are some factors to consider as you go about your tests.

Raquet factors

Be guided by your preference and the racquet's playability. Today's wide body is to the old conventional racquets what a bazooka is to a popgun, but the power has come at the sacrifice of arm and control problems. For those seeking a balance between power and control, conventional wisdom suggests that the wider the body, the more inherent power; the more conventional the racquet, the more control, But don't oversimplify: this formula can be drastically affected by materials, how the weight is distributed, and other, more complex engineering factors.

Weight also is a critical factor: Two heavy a racquet will strain your wrist, arm, elbow, or shoulder, but the new ultralights have have also been a principal cause of injury because they are just too light to overcome the impact of the ball. Balance, whether the racquet is head0heavy or handle-heavy, will similarly affect playability, and your arm.

Finally, theere are many types of grip materials. Experiment with the one that is the most comfortable and effective.

String factors

Strings are the most important part of the racquet in regard to storing energy and influencing the spin of the ball. But one need only look at the variety available to see that they also represent an even greater dilemma to the consumer than perhaps racquets do.

Essentially, you have two choices – gut and synthetics. If you purchase gut, expect to pay more than when you venture into synthetics, as the costs drop, but the variations soar.

Generally synthetics are thought to last longer, but you really have to take into account climate and humidity (dry weather is better for strings), surface (clay is harder on strings), the type of racquet (some have grommets, or stringholes, that are harder on strings than others) and the type of player you are (spin players are harder on their strings).

Gauge, or string thickness, is as critical as string type. Thicker gauges – that is, fatter strings – last longer. As a rule, recreational players should expect to get several months out of a set of strings before they break or lose flexibility, while more competitive players may have to string more often.

Ask the pro's advice on tension. He or she will help you find the optimum tension range for your racquet, your game, and your comfort. The looser the strings, the more power. Tighter may give more spin control, but also may add shock. Until you know what you like, seek the guidance of a racquet stringer certified by the U.S. Racquet Stringers Association.

Ryan Gosling, an elegant tennis player. Photo by Elena.

Cost factors

Expect to spend from $250 to $400 for a standard retail purchase. Racquets often are discounted, though, so shop around. Look for last year's model, which is often just as good. Whatever you buy, buy two if you can. That way, you won't be out of action when a string breaks.

Where the Ball Machines Never Stop

When their volleys need sharpening or their second serve droops a bit, the top players in the world go back too school, often high-tech tennis compound overseen by doting roving professors of the net. Whether you're a novice or a club player, you also con enroll in camps, clinics, and academies that will lift your level of play, if not bombard you with a million balls. Since the tennis camp boom in the early 1970s, only a select number of schools have emerged as leaders in the United States and Canada. Some are run like boot camps, while others resemble – or are part of – country clubs, north-wood retreats, or beachside around the world, Here's his guided tour of the camps. Most offer multiday packages, with prices starting at about $100 a day, including tennis and lodging. The two John Gardiner camps are by far the priciest of the lot.

Amelia Island Plantation Tennis Academy, Amelia Island, Fla.: There is no multyday school, but you can piece together daily two-hour clinics – and then hop over to the beach. The academy aims to eliminate errors and keep the points alive.

Amherst Tennis Camp, Amherst, Mass.: Long-running boot camp thriving since early 1970s on Amherst College's ivied campus. Rousing drills on 36 courts refine existing strokes. Three half-hour private lessons included. With junior camps (ages 10 to 17) operating nearby, perfect for families. Option to live, eat off-campus.

Colony Beach & Tennis Resort, Longboat Key, Fla: Clubby tennis hangout (touring pros come and go) stages clinics on long weekends twice a month except busy March and April. Morning drills, supervised match play afternoons, and lots of time for the fine white beach. Condo bungalows are comfortable, if tightly bunched.

Harry Hopman/ Saddlebrook International Tennis, Wesley Chapel, Fla: Noted for its junior program, Hopman also trains adults on a regimen developed for kids: fast-moving drills stressing preparation and conditioning. With tiring pace and resort toys to hand (two pools, two golf courses, full fitness center), half-day sessions are enough.

Inn at Manitou, McKeller, Ontario: Solid instruction at a lovely lakefront setting 150 miles north of Toronto. Attractive 33-room inn, serving fine food, open May to October. Manitou-Wabing sports and arts camp nearby.

John Gardener's Tennis Ranch in Carmel Valley, Carmel Valley, Calif.: The John Gardiner flag-ship operation in California (12 years older than Scottsdale) may provide the most elegant tennis vacation in the country. Favored by 50-plus country clubbers happy with jacket-and-tie edict at dinner. Teaching is highly personalized, and food is tops. The catch is the price, very high for one week. Open April 1 to December 1.

John Gardiner's Tennis Ranch on Camelback, Scottsdale, Ariz.: Chic, expensive, formal, and beginning to show its age, the ranch is drawing a somewhat younger clientele, singles among them, and is updating the food. The instruction remains spirited and thorough. Sunday through Sunday weeks from $2000.

John Newcombe's Tennis Ranch, New Braunfels, Texas: The ex-star isn't always around, but his tactics are in evidence. Stroke improvement, not conditioning, is stressed at this 28-court complex, 30 minutes from San Atonio. Popular weekend package (two nights-, three clinics, all meals), in cottage or condo.

Killington School for Tennis, Killington, Vt: They videotape every stroke with immediate analysis. Green Mounatins are a cooling backdrop. Open May through September.

La Quinta Hotel Golf & Tennis Resort, La Quinta, Calif: Coury at this hide-away near Palm Springs. Old Hacienda serves as clubhouse for 21 hard, 6 grass, 3 Har-Tru courts.

Lodge of the Four Seasons, Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.: Intensive tennis instruction in beautiful Missouri lake country. Led by great gurus with a special focus on double play. The rambling resort offers four indoor courts, as well as boating, riding and golf.

Nick Bullettieri Tennis Academy, Bradenton, Fla. : Best known for its junior program, academy offers adults novel drills and classroom sessions to simplify and improve strokes. On full package you stay in condominium clusters by the courts and eat hearty, if ordinary.

Stan Smith Tennis Academy, Hilton Head, S.C.: Ace player of two generations ago, Smith appears only at Thanksgiving week clinic, but his classic game serves as model for all instruction at handsomely landscaped Sea Pines Racquer Club. Classes are held only three hours a day, leaving time for beach, golf, and biking.

Stratton Tennis School, Stratton Mountain, Vt.: Their programs incorporate techniques gleaned from many top clinics. Learn movement and footwork by seeing a lot of balls, Two-day clinics from mid-May to Columbus Day (with Saturday-Sunday the most popular). Golf, riding, and sailboard schools offer a diversion.

Topnotch at Stowe, Stowe, Vt.: Sweat is out in style at this posh northern Vermont inn. Tom Salmon's efficient clinics are particularly beneficial for beginners. Use off-court time for riding, biking, exercising in deluxe fitness center, or antiquing. Clinics open all winter on four indoor courts.

Van Der Meer Tennis Center, Hilton Head, S.C.: For everyone from tot to pro, Let the staff tailor a day, weekend, or week package (at either on-premises spartan Tennis Center or nearby Shipyard Plantation resort). Try to reserve a periodic clinic taught by local masters who will spot your flaws in minutes.

Vic Braden Tennis College, Coto de Caza, Calif.: Braden relies on high-tech props (lots of video) and a dogmatic teaching style that stresses top-spin.

Flowerbed. Photo by Elena.

Customizing Your Racquet

Tips on getting the best from your racquet from racquet experts

Frame: Adjust the weight and balance with lead tape in strategic places. Avoid putting it on top if the racket is already too head-heavy. It is fairly easy to add weight, far less so to eliminate it, so while taking care to avoid buying too light a racquet, make absolutely certain you don't buy one that is too heavy.

Strings: Don't settle for whatever strings are in the racquet. Choose you own, on the advice of the pro, and then take advantage of stringing offers or other opportunities. Play-test new strings whenever you can.

Handle: If the handle is turning in the hand after contact, it might be that it is too small or that its shape isn't suited to you. Perhaps that butt cap is too large, or too small for the hand to feel comfortable. After the handle by unwrapping the grip, changing the shape or size of the underhandle with suitable tape, and then rewrapping. Or similarly change the butt cap by building it up with tape or shaving it down. If you experience excessive wear on the thumb, the racquet is moving around a lot in the hand.

Tennis elbow, anyone: Fewer than 5 percent of those who get tennis elbow play tennis, according to Tennis Magazine. Golfers, violinists, and surgeons also suffer from it. If you get tennis elbow (an inflammation or tiny tear of the muscle in the forearm), wait 20 minutes to let your body heat return to normal, then use ice to reduce the pain. Severe pain may need a prescription of cortisone.

Aberration

Aberration

By Genevieve Valentine

She’d seen the sun rise over the valley once. It hit the top of the mountains first in a line of gold, and crept over the fields in a dozen shades of green -there had been sheep, only a handful, someone had been careless and would lose them before the sun was fully up. Pines ringed them in now, a jagged mouth that case long shadows. At the edge of the green was the drop, and the lake underneath dare as a pool of oil.

The hill she stood on was clumps of heather that smelled rotten despite the dried out grass, and with every step she sun an inch as if the hill was going to give. There was a village at the bottom of the valley, just at the horizon, but no lights were on at all; she was the only one awake, watching the sun as the lake hid from it, as the sheep oved closer to the fall.

I want to keep this, she thought. There was no reason, there was never a reason to keep one thing that passed over another thing that passed, but this she loved more than she could remember loving anything. She was breathing just looking at it, hard enough that she could feel ribs.

She took a dozen pictures with the box camera she’d stolent from the city she’d walked away from, knowing none of them would hold this, knowing she was losing the moment when the heather looked alive with light. When the first two sheep fell she watched them go an had to sit down to keep from reaching forward over the edge of the drop to pull them back and try to catch it in the frame.

They made a noise as they fell, all of them, the same anguished cry that was more human than any sound a human made but she’s forgotten it. It was a long time ago, and there are no pictures.

Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015, edited by Rich Horton, Prime Books, 2015.

Aberration. Photo - Elena.

Doing Battle With Blight

Doing Battle With Blight

Stressed-out plants are the most vulnerable to external enemies

Diseases and pests know easy marks when they see them. When fallen fruit and leaves are left too long on garden beds, when plants are placed too close together and diseases vegetation isn’t destroyed quickly, it’s like hanging out a sign that says, “Unwelcome Visitors, Inquire Within.” But pest and disease problems can be greatly minimized if you watch for danger signs and follow good cultivation practices.

The first principle of preventive maintenance is to keep plants adequately watered, weeded, pruned, and fertilized. Plants that are well maintained and healthy will resist most attacks.

Diversifying what you plant, as well as where and when you plant, is also very helpful. By planting a variety of flowers and vegetables, you help ensure that even if one plant species is destroyed by disease or pests, there will still be an abundance of other plants. By rotating vegetable crops to different locations within the garden bed each year, a gardener reduces the risk that insect populations and diseases will infest an area where their favorite plants are most likely to be sited. If you are worried about a particular pest, find out from your local county extension office when that pest will be at its most destructive stage and plant before or after that time.

You can also use nature to repel nature by practicing what gardening writhers call “companion planting”. In this case, you fight fire with fire, or more precisely, odor. For example, many pests are repelled by strong-smelling plants such as marigolds, mint, basil, garlic, onions, chives, nasturtiums, and savory. Plants these in and around your vegetables and ornamental plants and they’ll keep uninvited guests away.

If all this fails to stop incursions, construct barriers around plants to prevent pests from laying eggs nearby or crawling up plant stems. The barriers may include plant collars made of plastic, metal, or sticky tape. Why should you provide summer lodging for bad house guests?

Keep your garden clean! Photo by Elena.

The best organic disease fighters

Is your garden being overrun by hostile pests and diseases? Here’s a natural arsenal to defend your turf:

Bacillus thuringiensis (BT): This natural biological control is sprayed on plants and soil to control caterpillar pests and is available at most garden centers. Follow package directions.

Biodegradable soaps: Composed of nonphospate liquid soaps, they are mixed with water and sprayed on plants. Sometimes calles insecticidal soap, biodegradable soaps like Safer and Retuer can control a wide range of pests such as aphids and mealyybugs.

Bordeaux mixture: A classic organic spray that derives its name from decades of use in France’s wine-growing region. It is effective for preventing most foliage fungal problems on fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees and shrubs.

Diacide: A mixture of diatomaceous earth and Pyrethrum (derived from the pyrethrum daisy). It will destroy aphids, beetles, leafhoppers, worms, caterpillars, and ants.

Diatomaceous Earth: A naturally occuring material with shap, jagged edges. It is sprinkled around the base of plants to act as a barrier against soft-skinned pests like bugs.

Dromant oil: A petroleum-based substance that is applied in the fall to smother overwintering insects. It is partciuarly effective against spides mits, scale, and aphids. Dormant oil is often used on fruit trees.

Lime sulphur: Useful in preventing fungal outbreaks on fruits, nuts berries, and ornamental plants.

Liquid copper: It controls powdery mildew, bacterial blights, and anthracnose on vegetables, fruits, and ornamental plants.

Pyrethrum: A dust or spray made from a chrysanthemum species. Kills a variety of insects from aphids to caterpillas.

Rotenone and Sabadilla: Two botancal inseccticides used to kill aphids, wormd, borers, and other hard to kill pests.

Wettable dusting sulphur: A finely ground sulphur that is effective against many foliage diseases.