Tuffs Sain
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The Great British Toilet Map
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The “Great British Toilet Map” is a way for Brits and others to find local toilets using a free site online. One of the approaches it uses to do this is through an “open data” approach that is supported by local area councils.
The open data approach means that there’s no restrictions on the use of the data. You don’t have to pay anyone to use it, and you can freely download it. This means that, for example, it can be incorporated into other websites and smart-phone apps to make finding toilets easy. This is one of the possible future uses for the map.
The Future of the Toilet Map
There are currently over 250 toilets listed in the map, but there are quite a few councils that choose to not publish data openly on the map. You can click on individual councils on the map to let you know whether the data is being published from them. There’s an option there to contact the councils to get them to release open data.
The map started with only data from Brent, but now there are 8 councils in London on board with at least 11 others that are being solicited for their help. Individual people are encouraged to help out with their project by finding any other councils that may be able to list data and pass this information on to the map crew. Additionally, it’s possible that some of the data is missing, or that it’s incorrect. This sort of crowd-sourced project will rely on individuals who use it to help pass along this info to the crew in order to make the best, accurate, and most up to date depiction of the toilet data possible.
Expanding Past London
Currently the map focuses mostly on London, since it had to start somewhere and London is a pretty huge, obvious choice. After all, London had way more toilets than other areas. It just made sense to star with London as a test city. There are at least 30 other councils in the UK that will consider putting up open data about toilets. So the map is likely to expand considerably in the future, filling in data well beyond just London, but for now, London is the absolute focus of the project and people living in London will benefit from knowing where toilets are the most.
Other Map Expansions
The Map has many ambitions that may or may not happen, but they are certainly ambitious. For example, the Map hopes to expand nationally as much as possible. There are also hopes to include any kind of toilet that Is open to the public, including toilets in Tesco, for example. You may be able to add toilet data directly in the future as well.
There are additional possibilities such as color coding for different types of toilets, a link to OpenStreetMap, and even the ability to add specific information about individual toilets, such as mentioning which toilets are broken or the toilet seats are damaged, or which doors don’t lock.
Clocking Bathroom Time at T-Mobile
0In the hurly-burly of professional life, it is often said that we somehow manage to schedule every single second of our days and still manage not to have enough time for anything. Interestingly enough, some companies seem to want to do that almost literally, and impose such standards on their employees in turn. Their employees’ extenuating circumstances apparently may or may not be taken into account with regards to the apparent necessity of docking them for every second not spent trying to get to the bottom line.
Image credit: Courtesy Kristi Rifkin
Cutting into employees’ valuable time for web-surfing and deleting e-mail could be seen as somewhat veering into the territory of micromanaging, albeit at least vaguely understandable. However, most people hold bathroom time sacred. However, apparently some companies feel that bathroom time is quite negotiable and even avoidable. For T-Mobile, even pregnant women who need to drink large amounts of water should not be exempt from micromanaging their bathroom time. Businesses have always tried to push the upper limits of human potential, it seems, although trying to subvert the laws of nature in this manner is somewhat overly ambitious. Imposing your own ambitions to fight the laws of nature onto other people crosses another boundary.
Pregnant Kristi Rifkin was a T-Mobile call center employee. Amazingly enough, the decision to have her clock out during each bathroom visit was actually the Human Resources decision, which they no doubt deemed brilliant and reasonable. Fortunately, however, even truly ambitious employers like T-Mobile do not expect their customers to represent them each moment of their lives throughout the full duration of their employment. No, even T-Mobile gives their employees some measure of vacation time. Kristi Rifkin had such vacation time accumulated, and thus, she was able to use the bathroom according to the demands of her pregnancy.
One certainly wonders what would happen if she tried to add up all those minute spent in the bathroom during the day at a T-Mobile call center. The sort of vacation that can be achieved under such circumstances would no doubt prove to be at least somewhat surprising and unconventional. It is certainly a bold move that management would consider time away from one’s desk to be a vacation. One wonders what would happen if they started doing the same thing with employee lunch breaks, and whether some employees would be willing to make that professional sacrifice and simply eat nothing in a last ditch attempt to preserve their holiday breaks.
T-Mobile may counter that they simply aren’t paying their employees to use the bathroom. Given that they apparently did not expect the same standards of other employees, including themselves, their argument appears somewhat inconsistent. Kristi Rifkin was finally fired without any severance package based on something allegedly unrelated to the events of her bathroom breaks, although people following the story may have their suspicions about it. One can only hope that her next workplace and her next vacation will meet her needs and be fulfilling.
Are You Overweight – Enjoy Bigger Toilets In Aircrafts
0Those of us who are overweight know how annoying the tiny airplane bathrooms can be. Fortunately, that is all about to change. A German company has created the Big Lavatory for airplanes. The aim is for those who need extra room, along with individuals who need wheelchair access. The current airplane bathroom is about 5 feet wide by only 4 feet deep. The design for the Big Lavatory is considerably bigger than that, which will offer additional comfort for overweight individuals and more leg room for others.
Thankfully, that means in the future, passengers won’t have to decide between cramming themselves into a tight space on a tiny toilet and having to hold it on a long flight. Of course this innovation isn’t the only thing that has been announced. At the Crystal Cabin Awards, there were other announcements that were made that deal with in flight comfort.
Friends who travel together will no longer have to decide the breakdown of their group on their flight. Instead, reversible inflight seating will allow everyone to sit face to face. This will make flying a more enjoyable experience, while boosting socialization. Safety is of course the goal of these seats which can be returned to their standard position and secured during the takeoff and landing process. This makes them a safe and smart invention.
Of course, while this is a nice feature it doesn’t offer the practicality of the Big Lavatory that will help a group of people who are often overlooked. This groundbreaking trend in improving the comfort of overweight passengers is really a great move forward. Especially since overweight individuals have long been overlooked and rejected by society itself.
Airlines remain interested in these larger toilets because they are a great way to boost business. Commuters will be more interested in having additional room in the bathroom, which means those who are larger will have a more comfortable flight. Most aren’t even concerned with the loss of precious seating either. The reason is that advertising on an in room bathroom will air while an individual is using the facilities. The airlines can use the revenue to offset their losses, while advertising companies pay to have a captive audience.
This translates to a boost in sales, since more people are overweight in the United States than ever before. These new toilets allow everyone to fly comfortably. Also represented are handicapped individuals who might otherwise be forced to try to hold everything in until they are able to access the toilets again at the airport.
While it isn’t a groundbreaking medical discovery, those who are regularly traveling will certainly appreciate the larger bathrooms that are designed for them. Large people and those with special needs no longer have to feel like outcasts, thanks to a considerate German company that decided to address a problem that many others choose to overlook.
A Lazy Man’s Guide on Bathroom Cleaning
Nobody enjoys cleaning the bathroom. Some find it rather disgusting and keep putting it off to avoid the situation. Although, a bathroom won’t get cleaned on its own. Somebody has to do it.
There are some easy ways to cleaning the bathroom. It actually isn’t that difficult. Some people just don’t enjoy the thought of cleaning a toilet bowl-but who does? By following a few simple tips, cleaning the bathroom can actually be quite simple.
6 Tips On How You Can Increase The Value Of Your Property
You’re expecting an addition to the family or you just feel like you want to take the next step and move into a new home. Before you do that, you need to build up the value of your current property so that you can make a profit or at least get enough money for your next deposit.
Renovate your Kitchen
The best place to start to increase your property value is by updating and modernising your kitchen area. People enjoy big kitchens with enough room for storage when they want to cook a meal. Also replace old counters with new ones and replace old appliances with modernised versions.
Possible buyers don’t want to pay more than they have to already so if you’re giving them an up to date kitchen room they’ll feel more inclined to buy your property.
Bathroom
People enjoy bathrooms that give them ample space to roam in and it’s turned into a place where most families spend a lot of time in lately. Include a spa bath or a whirlpool tub as well as showers with different settings for steam and multiple jets streams. A double sink is also a good addition as well as a new geyser for warm water, they’ll definitely be testing water pressure and how fast the water turns warm.
Master Bedroom
Walk in closets and lounging areas in the bedroom are big these days and you’ll be filling buyers’ needs by creating spaces for these two crucial elements.
Windows
With electricity prices increasing every year people are turning to natural lighting. This is why you should be expanding your current windows or putting in more windows to allow for natural light.
Outside
Cleaning your home outside will make a big difference in property value. Give your house a good lick of paint (try to use modern, neutral colours), fix up the fence or pavement that you’ve been meaning to for years and also give the garden a good clean. It’s a cheap and effective way to raise your property’s value. If you have some extra money left have a good look at your roof and irrigation system.
Storage
As people move out of their old homes they need storage space. Others need the extra space for their tools or hobbies.
Some of these fixes might be more expensive than others but you’ll reap the benefits when an agent comes to re-evaluate your home.
Len just sold one of his properties for a profit just by making a few changes to his property, the estate agents in Johannesburg couldn’t believe the change in value on his house. They did sell it quickly though.
Converting Your Bathroom into a Functional Room
When we think of the most used rooms in the house, kitchen and family rooms struck our minds. Yes, those areas get utilized significantly on a day to day basis, but we oftentimes overlook the bathroom. No matter the size of your bathroom, converting it into a functional living space will never be more rewarding for you and your family. Whether renovating the current bathroom or if you are trying to utilize the space more efficiently, organization is the key to create an enviable bathroom. Organizational solutions are a fabulous way to enhance your overall bathroom experience and create a more relaxing environment.
Under Sink Storage
Having a place for everything is one of the most valuable things when creating a functional bathroom, especially for small bathrooms. Utilizing space efficiently is the best way to create functionality. Place organizers such as plastic drawers or baskets under your sink to store toilet tissue, makeup, hair products, and other bathroom goods. If one need more space for kids’ stuff or if one owes a pedestal sink with no under storage, one can hang shelves above their toilet with baskets on top, to organize their bathroom.
Shelving
To incorporate functionality and design one can add a bathroom storage unit, shelves or a bathroom cabinet. Whether one place shelves directly above a toilet or on a blank wall, they add a wow factor and are functional too. Place baskets, towels, or toilet paper on shelves to get items off your floor and create more walking space.
Soundproofing Internal Doors
Doors that are used on the inside of a house are usually quite light. In fact, many of them are hollow on the inside. The purpose of these doors is more to provide visual privacy than anything else. As you might imagine, they don’t often do a terribly good job at keeping sound isolated. Hollow doors are full of air, so they will transmit sound fairly well due to all of the air.
The thin materials used in internal doors such as plywood or other thin wooden materials are also hardly maximized for keeping sound isolated. This means that if you want to keep sound out of or in a certain room, you really need to apply additional soundproofing procedures to the door. There are a variety of different ways to do this.
7 Smart Strategies For Bathroom Remodelling In London
When it comes to bathroom remodelling, British consumers lead the way in being highly selective about the fact that a bathroom space should provide them a totally relaxing and rejuvenating experience. They no longer consider the bathroom as just an essential portion of their home, but a retreating area where they can spend quality time in a spa like ambience for a revitalizing session of aqua therapy, and their bathroom remodelling plans are now include by upgrades across the furniture, flooring and wall segments.
Preference For Natural Sunlight
To create the ambience of bright sunshine right into their bathroom, discerning homeowners across the UK are increasingly incorporating large windows in their bathroom remodelling plans for allowing maximum natural sunlight to illuminate the interior.
Petition for the Toilet Plans in UK
“I run the only toilet in this part of town you see! So if you gotta go, you got to go through me!”
- It’s A Privilege To Pee by Urinetown
They say “When you gotta go, you gotta go!”, but when public toilets are not available, where do you “go”? That’s what thousands of agitated residents are asking their Muncipal Council bosses, who decided to shut down a majority of the public toilets and launched the unusual Community Toilet scheme. Through this scheme, the Council endeavours to allow the public access to clean and safe toilets and urinals in the local business houses like Shops, Pubs and Restaurants.
With over 100 premises already having signed up and many more lined up to join, it is hoped that the inconvenience resulting from the closure of public toilets will be offset by the toilet facility in these establishments. Without having to make any purchase or paying any “pee fee”, members of the public can utilize their toilet facilities. However, this convenience comes with a caveat: In an exceptional circumstance, the business houses have the right to disallow the use of this convenience.
The public is worried and not without reason
Beware-Glass Shower Doors Can Explode Randomly
If you happen to have a shower door made of glass, then you have cause to be worried. Anything that’s made of glass can shatter, and shower doors are no exception. When the do explode, shower doors can cause serious lacerations since you will obviously not be wearing clothes at the time. Jeans especially can often soak up damage, but people who aren’t wearing any in the shower can take the full force of a wall of glass exploding in all directions.
And this isn’t even to mention the amount of time it would take to clean up all of the glass, and the thousands of dollars it would cost to fix up everything.
If you think this could never happen, than there’s a new story that might interest you. Dorothy Malikski was in the news in the last few months for reporting that her shower door shattered while her mother was in there.
