Photo: Sam Bithoney

A few weeks ago I was at a family BBQ / birthday party for my two year old nephew. Since my brother-in-law worked later than he had hoped, I took up barbecue duty. A 5 + 1 burner gas grill is no big deal for a seasoned veteran like me: gas open, burner turned on, switch pressed. Lit.

Instead of normal preheating, I got a grease fire.

It turned out that this grill hasn’t been cleaned in a while. Possibly ever. I had to make loads of decisions in a very short space of time to avert a disaster, and luckily the only damage was to the grill itself – and a bit of siding that is now reminiscent of lasagna pasta.

The fire was on the left, on the pilot burners. That could have been a lot worse. Photo: Sam Bithoney

Baked on. Photo: Sam Bithoney

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Grease the gas valve and inside of the door. The doors. Pictured: Sam Bithoney

If you have a grill, you must have a fire extinguisher. “

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All of this could have been prevented by regular cleaning and, in the worst case, a fire extinguisher. If you own a barbecue, you must own a fire extinguisher. Do you have two grills? Good news, they come in packs of two! The safety of you and your loved ones is worth more than the $ 50 you will spend.

How to clean a gas grill

Whether you’re a new grill owner in need of a tutorial or an old professional who put it off, today is a great day to start cleaning. Let’s take a tour of my gas grill, which hasn’t been cleaned since the end of April. (I like to clean mine as soon as my tank is low, about once a month in the summer.)

I mean, I clean the grates. Photo: Sam Bithoney

Burn off the excess

Start with a burn off to loosen things up. Those crispy pieces on the wire rack may be the only thing touching your food, but there’s a lot more of them below and they get better when things are warm.

ATTENTION: If your grill is awful, awful, splattered with fat and overflowing the drip pan, don’t turn it on. Skip to the drip pan and tub cleaning stages below and come back here afterwards.

Turn all burners on, close the lid, and leave alone for an hour. During this time, put together your mise en place: gloves, spatula, garbage bag and newspaper or a flat cardboard box. Scrape your grids off as best you can with the brush of your choice and kill the heat. Part one is done.

Any idea how hard it is to fold a trash bag? Photo: Sam Bithoney

Once the grids are cool enough to handle with heat-resistant gloves or mittens, remove them as well as any internal parts (like these triangular bars) and place them on top of your handy, flattened piece of cardboard.

Everyone out! Photo: Sam Bithoney

Somebody is bathing today! Photo: Sam Bithoney

Clean the drip pan and the pan

Pull out your drip pan and use the spatula to scrape whatever you can straight into the trash. If the pan is covered in fat, clean it too! I don’t use any chemicals here other than dish soap but if you use one Solvent or grease remover, be sure to wash and dry the pan thoroughly before putting it back in your grill.

Photo: Sam Bithoney

Next up: the tub (where the burners are). Now that you’ve cleaned your drip pan to a splendid shine, we’re going to get it dirty again. The drain hole from the tub to the drip pan can clog, so it is best to clean the tub’s contents first before attempting to stuff more dirt through such a small opening.

Grab your trusty knife and lure all of the loosened dirt into the drip pan, tip it out, and replace the pan, grids, and interior components if necessary, and that’s it. It’s a very short and incredibly satisfying process that too better heat distribution through your cooking surface.

Sharp eyes will spot a bit of hot dog fat on the left grate. It can’t be changed. Photo: Sam Bithoney

Oh yeah, and if you’re thinking of buying a Father’s Day BBQ, Independence Day BBQ, or throwing a BBQ to celebrate reunion with your friends, please grab a fire extinguisher first (and hope your family never has to think about it thank you for keeping them from burning).

Photo: Tanya New Zealand (Shutterstock)

Aloe vera is a succulent plant that is commonly used in gels, creams, ointments, and hand sanitizers, and although they are used for Thousands of years, today it is used to soothe the symptoms of sunburn or to treat cuts and scratches. You may think it’s difficult to grow or care for, but aloe vera is a common houseplant that is pretty easy to grow and harvest. Here’s how to take care of your own.

How to pot an aloe vera plant

The best thing about aloe plants is that they are succulents that require minimal maintenance. As long as you pay attention keep them alive requires little maintenance. First of all, make sure you buy cacti and or juicy bottomwhich costs about $ 6. Then mix in the cactus soil Pebbles, sand or perlite to ensure proper drainage. Like any succulent plant, aloe plants are prone to Root rot when it’s stuck in standing water. You can also consider turning your aloe vera into a. to plant terracotta Pot that dries quickly.

When repotting your aloe plant, be sure to remove the aloe from its previous pot and shake off any remaining dirt from its roots. Fill the pot three-quarters full with moist soil and then place the plant in the pot. Fill the rest of the pot with soil around the plant, leaving three-quarters of an inch free at the top. The Peasant almanac says not to water the plant after transplanting, as this can prevent the plant from forming new roots. Remember, when your aloe plant grows so big and tall that it can tip over, it’s time to transplant into a larger pot or cut back its leaves.

How to care for an aloe vera plant

Since aloe naturally lives in desert-like climates, it is a sun-loving plant. You can keep aloe vera plants indoors in bright, indirect sunlight and water them about every two weeks. Wait for the soil to dry completely before watering again. When you make water soak the earth and make sure it drains properly and doesn’t pool in the pot.

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How to prune an aloe vera plant

You will often see the tips of an aloe plant turning brown and shrinking, but this is not a sign of impending doom. The juicy spring offers three options: cut off the shriveled part, cut a little below the brown part to prevent further browning, or cut the whole sheet (depending on where it is). When pruning, cut off older, outer leaves as new growth will come from the center. Try to cut as close to the base as possible to remove all of the sheet to get the shape you want.

How to harvest the aloe from an aloe vera plant

Harvesting an aloe plant is relatively easy. According to Health line, you should only cut three or four leaves from your plant at a time without inhibiting the plant’s growth. Cut at the base of the leaf where the majority of the aloe will sit. Then cut off the prickly parts and wash them thoroughly with water. Then cut the leaf into cubes and use a knife to separate the fleshy inside from the leaf and let the yellow juice drain off. You can then either use the cubes as needed or put the pieces in a blender and strain to extract the gel. Although aloe vera has many uses, it is of course important consult a doctor before using any type of topical substance.

Google is rolling out its latest Pixel Drop as part of the June 2021 Android security update. For those who didn’t know, Pixel Drops are released year-round, adding Pixel-specific features alongside the usual security patches that all Android phones get.

This month, Pixel users are getting several helpful features like locked folders in Google Photos, a new night vision video mode, and a slew of new Pride Month-themed wallpapers (the you can look here).

All variants of the Pixel 5, 4, 4a, 4a 5G, 3 and 3a smartphones can download the update, but as with previous Pixel Drops, some features are only available for certain Pixel devices. Below, we’ll cover all of the new features introduced in the June 2021 Pixel Drop and determine which phones they can be used on.

Night Sight is perfect for taking astrophotography videos [Pixel 4 and newer]

If you have a Pixel 4 or later, your phone’s camera can now turn your night vision photos into video, so you can take long exposures and videos of the night sky at the same time. Night vision recordings can take up to four minutes; Your phone speeds up the footage into a quick time-lapse of the stars moving across the sky.

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To record night vision video:

1. Open the camera app.
2. Choose “Night vision” from the slider menu at the bottom of the screen.
3. Tap the shutter button to take the photo. (For best results, stabilize your phone with something secure, such as a tripod or stand.)
4. Wait for the photo exposure to complete.
5. Then tap to preview.
6. Swipe right on the photo to view the video.

Put pictures that are only for your eyes in a locked folder in Google Photos

With Google Photos, you can now create a password-protected locked folder to store your “sensitive photos and videos,” as Google calls them. We know what you really mean, Google.

The locked folder is secured with a password or a biometric lock (like a face or fingerprint), and everything in the folder is stored locally – nothing is sent to the cloud or accessed remotely.

How to set up a locked Google photo folder

1. Open Google Photos
2. Go to Library> Utilities> Locked Folder
3. Follow the instructions on the screen.

You can save new photos and videos to the locked folder right after they are captured, or move content from your Google Photos library to the folder as follows:

1. Open a photo or video in Google Photos.
2. Tap the three-dot icon and select “Move to locked folder.”
3. Tap “Move” to confirm.

The Google Assistant can answer your phone for you [Pixel 4 and newer]

When your phone rings, you can now hands-free ask the Google Assistant to answer or decline the incoming call:

• Say “Hey Google, take the call” to answer a call.
• Say “Ok Google, reject the call” to send it to voicemail.

These commands work for Pixel 5, 4, 4a, and 4a 5G devices that have the Google Assistant set up.

Screenshot: Brendan Hesse

Listen to the heads-up reminder

Heads Up Reminder is a digital wellbeing feature that aims to make you more aware of your surroundings while staring at your phone.

With the feature turned on, your phone will recognize when you walk and look at the screen and will regularly remind you to look and check what is going on around you.

You can set heads-up reminders for your Pixel device at. activate and configure Settings> Digital Wellbeing> Cheer Up.

Gboard text copy is now smarter smart

The Pixel’s standard Gboard keyboard can now recognize links, contact information, and other information from a selected block of text and offers to paste that information into any applicable apps, your clipboard, or other destinations.

Previous updates have been extended to new regions

Several older features including Call monitoring, Car accident detection, and the recorder app will be expanded to other regions as well.

• Call screening is now available in Japan.
• Car crash detection is now available in Spain, Ireland and Singapore. (Does not support Pixel 3a devices.)
• The recorder app now recognizes four additional English dialects: Australian, British, Irish and Singaporean.

How to download the June 2021 Pixel Drop

Again, the June 2021 Pixel Drop will now be rolled out on all Pixel 5, 4, 4a, 4a 5G, 3, and 3a Pixel devices, including XL models. To download the update, go to Settings> System> Advanced> System Update to see if it’s waiting for you Note that some features may require additional app updates, so not everything is immediately available.

Photo: ifong (Shutterstock)

Whatever your goals, there will be some exercises that are perfect for you (as part of a well-designed, loaded accordingly Exercise program) and others who may not be a good fit. But there are no exercises that one should “never” do.

Unfortunately, trainers and fitness writers like to make lists of supposedly bad exercises. The one that upset me this morning had the title Never do these ab exercises if you are over 40, the trainer says. It’s from Eat This Not That, a website and diet book empire, that seems to draw energy from the collective gasps of people who suddenly realize they’ve been doing things wrong all along! (Spoiler: You’re probably fine.) The premise doesn’t even make sense: It’s not that a 39-year-old should train his abs differently than a 40-year-old.

According to this article, no one should do side bends, situps, or Russian twists over 40. According to another about good housekeeping, No one should use the hip adductor machine or leg extension machine, crunches, upright rows, neck lat pulldowns, side bends, back extensions, hanging leg raises, triceps dips, chest flies, or time with the elliptical. This article from Shape agrees with the leg extension machine and neck pull-ups, and adds that we should never do squats in the Smith machine, do abs, adductor, or abductor machines, or even lay face down on the floor and do supermen . Lest you think that one solution is to leave Planet Fitness and join a Crossfit box or powerlifting gym, there are people out there who will tell you too never squat, never deadlift, and the there are 11 ways Crossfit will “destroy your body”.

If you tried to stick to all of these lists, you would end up with almost nothing to do. (Except bird dogs. Everyone loves Bird dogs.)

Just because a trainer doesn’t like an exercise doesn’t make it dangerous

I’ve also been in the fitness world long enough to know that exercise is getting in and out of style simply because of the clique and trending nature of the field. And I’ve done and seen enough strange elevators knowing that any exercise one person swears by will ruin you is exactly what another person has been doing with no problem for a decade.

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How can the trainers and writers of these “never” articles support their conclusions? Well, for the most part, they don’t. The reasons for not doing these exercises usually boil down to one of the following:

Just none of these are good reasons to avoid exercise. It can make perfect sense for a trainer to say, “I don’t like Russian twists and turns because they usually get them wrong, so I like to recommend this other exercise instead” or “Standing chest flies are more of a” shoulder exercise than a chest exercise , so I like to program something else when we’re trying to work the chest. ”But there’s a long unsupported leap from there to“ never ”doing an exercise.

The complaint that some exercises aren’t “natural” is hilarious to be honest. There’s nothing natural about going to a gym and using purpose-built equipment to change the shape or capabilities of your body. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. Our bodies are adaptable and we can teach them lots of fun things, from climbing trees to ice skating to driving forklifts.

The last two points here – on stress and injury – deserve a closer look. Anyone who puts a lot of strain on their body is at risk of injury (as is anyone who doesn’t move their body, because lack of exercise is not good for us either.)

First of all, it’s important to know that these injury risks are almost entirely theoretical. There’s no study showing that tricep dips cause injury; These warnings are based on the trainers’ gut instinct. The studies we have of injuries teach us things like Runners suffer a lot more injuries per 1000 hours of training as People who do weight trainingwhich suggests that our gut feeling is not very well calibrated.

What that means in the real world

If I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that almost anything works for someone. Exercises don’t exist in a vacuum either: the way you load the exercise and how it fits into your program probably matters more than the actual exercise.

I remember being taught by a trainer that physical therapists hate the extensors because they ruin people’s knees. Years later I was in physical therapy after ACL surgery and the PT made sure I did a lot of leg extensions to build the muscles that would protect my knee. It worked: my knee recovered and my leg is strong.

I still have dozens of stories like this. I used to think that deadlifts made an old injury to my back worse, but the more deadlifts I did, the less my back hurt. I used to “know” that back presses were dangerous, but sometimes my trainer gives me back presses and I do, and my shoulders haven’t self-destructed; In fact, I think they’re stronger for that.

So instead of taking a lift off your exercise plan because someone said you should “never” do it, you may just have to wonder if it makes sense for you. Is it actually working the muscle you need to work? Are you doing the exercise in a reasonably safe and effective form? Was it programmed for you by someone who knows what they’re doing? Does it feel good when you do it? If you can answer yes to these questions, don’t let a writer or trainer you have never met talk you out of it.