Thursday, October 10, 2013

Search Australia updated to easily provide calorie content of food.

A common search we're carrying out at the moment is the energy content of different food. Yes, we're dieting, so it does help if you can work out quickly the energy content of different food. For example, how many kilojoules are there in an apple?

Interestingly Google provides this information. The information returned is in Calories, but multiplying by four (actual conversion is to multiple by 4.2) is fairly easy and gives an approximation of the energy in kilojoules. (Note the use of the upper case in Calories. I've explained this below.)

I decided to make it even easier for myself and those using Search Australia. If you now enter the letter 'c' followed by a space and then the food item, you'll get the Calories for the food. There is a selection option which enables you to vary the size of the food item.

So now if you want to know the energy content of an apple, just enter 'c apple' in Search Australia and there's your answer.


Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

PS. When referring to energy content in kilojoules is easy. However, the terms calorie and Calorie are frequently interchanged and can cause some confusion. Calorie with a capital is 1000 calories. If the number you're expecting to see is out by a factor of a thousand then this is the reason. The energy content of food is often shown in Calories and kilojoules. If you see the energy content shown as calories, chances are it is an error and the word calories should have been capitalised. When we write about the energy content of food is it OK to use the word calorie, but do keep in mind when we are using the measurement of the amount of energy in a food item, we are usually referring to the Calorie value in capital 'c', because it is a more convenient smaller number. That is 1 Calorie equals 1000 calories. 1 Calories equals 4.2 kilojoules. 1 calorie equals 4.2 joules. 1 Calorie is also known as a kilocalorie.

Tuesday, October 08, 2013

12V car kettle product is a dud.

I continue to review products in terms of saving electricity and one product I thought would be worth testing was a 12V car kettle. I have a low wattage solar panel, regulator and 12V 38Ah battery which easily stores enough power to boil water for a cuppa. What better way to save money than using the sun to boil water for a cuppa.
I purchased a 12V car kettle and performed a test. For two cups of water it took around half an hour and for a single cup around 15-20 minutes. I don't know about you, but I don't think waiting 15-30 minutes for a cup of coffee makes sense.

I was hoping for a better outcome but really it makes sense. The car cigarette lighter is most likely only designed to take appliances using about 10 amps. That means we are probably using about 120 watts. A normal kettle runs at around 2000-2400 watts, or uses nearly 20 times the amount of power. Thus if it takes about 1-2 minutes to boil a cup of water in a kettle it would take 10-20 times longer in the car kettle. Had I known this at the time I wouldn't have bothered purchasing the car kettle. We live and learn.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.energycostcalculator.com.au
 

Thursday, October 03, 2013

Use Weight Loss Maths to lose weight.

I've recently finished changing how the Weight Loss Maths sites is structured and updated the main page with the three main concepts behind losing weight and that losing weight doesn't have to cost you a cent. I lost 22 kg and part of my weight loss journey was to see if I could lose weight without any additional exercise. It's not that I'm lazy, it is just that I wanted to prove whether or not you could lose weight without changing your exercise routine. The answer is, yes you can. That doesn't mean you shouldn't exercise, just that you can still lose weight without building up a sweat. I'd also highly recommend activity as it will further increase the speed of losing weight once you have your diet under control.

I'm sharing my story and the tools I used to lose weight and your can find the information at www.WeightLossMaths.com.au.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Wednesday, October 02, 2013

Alert: CatchOfTheDay.com.au - Gift - 150 AU$

If you receive an email with the subject 'CatchOfTheDay.com.au - Gift - 150 AU$' you should delete it. It is a fake message containing the following.

CatchOfTheDay.com.au - Gift - 150 AU$
You have (1) new message.
Click here to get your 150 AU$ voucher
You can spend them on whatever you want on http://www.CatchOfTheDay.com.au.

The link does not take you to the CatchOfTheDay site.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.