Science: How To Remove Mould From Your Beloved Clothes

Aspergillus, a mould commonly found on starchy foods
(such as bread and potatoes), and grow in or on many plants
and trees, often mentioned in House M.D.
Image from Wikipedia

Have you ever woke up on a humid summer day in Hong Kong just to realise that your favourite clothes are covered with moulds? Well, this is what happened to me this morning when I saw my camera luggage bag all covered with horrible mould. I should have taken a photo of it but I didn't remember I could write about it. When I did remember, I have 99% fixed the mould problem, thus I can't exactly show you a photo of a mouldy luggage bag. Then again, as long as a method works perfectly, I guess nothing else matters any more.

mouldy luggage bag
Image from Locky's English Playground

Once-moulded luggage bag, now cleaned
Image from Locky's English Playground

I don't know what kind of materials or why those materials mould much easily than others. My jacket as it happened, was placed  in the same cabinet as the luggage bag and it too was all mouldy, but the my wife's cotton coat right next to it is fine. Strange indeed. The moulds seem to like my stuff more.

Regular bleach
Image from howtocleanstuff

I have tried many different methods: plain water (cannot remove the mould stains), hot water (cannot remove stains), water with bleach (get a little slimy afterwards), concentrated bleach (very slimy), water with detergent (useless), water with Dettol (smells great but cannot remove stains), etc. 

I have failed so many times that I was going to listen to my wife and take my jacket for dry cleaning. Hey! Dry cleaning! Why don't I do it by myself? 

Had I not put my Galaxy S2 into sea water, I wouldn't have thought about using the magic liquid that saved my S2!!!

Meet the Magic Liquid and the lint roller
Image from Locky's English Playground

Yes!!! It's alcohol again! What else? Think about it, what liquid is an organic solvent, kills germs and bacteria, dries up quickly by itself, leaves no trace of smell and removes stains? Alcohol!!! It is one magical potion and I really love it!

Before cleaning with alcohol, tiny bit of mould left
Image from Locky's English Playground

To do the job, it is as simple as getting a piece of cloth, pour some alcohol onto it and start rubbing the mouldy fabric, don't go cheap on the alcohol if you want your clothes to be completely mould-free (it's not like alcohol is expensive anyway).

After cleaning with alcohol
Image from Locky's English Playground

Your cloth will leave some lint on the fabric, so use a lint roller to remove them.

My favourite jacket, almost 100% cleaned and mould-free
Image from Locky's English Playground

And just like that, your clothes will be return to its best look in no time! I'm going to wear this today when I go out! Just to show off a bit!

Have a mould-free weekend!

Vocabulary:
stain -- (n)[C] a dirty mark on something that is difficult to remove:
dry cleaning -- (n) is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a chemical solvent other than water
slimy -- (adj) covered in slime:
trace -- (n)[C or U] a sign that something has happened or existed:
potion -- (n)[C] a liquid that is believed to have a magical effect on someone who drinks it:
lint roller -- (n)[C] or lint remover is a roll of one-sided adhesive paper on a cardboard or plastic barrel that is mounted on a central spindle, with an attached handle.
in no time -- very quickly or very soon:


Resources:
Aspergillus @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspergillus

Technology: My First Galaxy S2 Surgery -- Sea Water Damage S2 Fixed!! @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2013/02/technology-my-first-galaxy-s2-surgery.html

Dry Cleaning @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_cleaning

Lint Roller @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lint_roller

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/stain_3
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/slimy?q=slimy
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/trace_3
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/potion?q=potion+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/time_1?q=in+no+time+

News & Opinions: S4 and Liver

It is a week that starts with a bang, and I bring to you 2 good and 2 bad news.

The first good news is for gamers. Most people have missed this out on the day of the announcement of the Samsung Galaxy S4, and that is the Samsung gamepad.

The number of games available currently is limited, but EA will add another 16 games to it on the April 26th, including the popular The Sims, Simpsons: Tapped Out, Plants vs. Zombies, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Monopoly, and Bejeweled Blitz.

That said, it doesn't mean you cannot play other games because since the release of Galaxy S3, all later models work with emulators for say, XBOX, PSP or SNES, so is it necessary to spend that money to buy the gamepad? But, competition wise, Samsung is really coming in strong.

The second news is a magnificent news for the world!

OrganOx Metra
Image from Reuters

A team of British doctors, engineers and surgeons have invented the world's first liver-preservation device which can maintain the donor's liver in good shape outside the human body for 24 hours or more through the blood circulation system of the device.

The traditional "iced" liver method can damage or oxygen-deprive the liver during the freezing process, with this device, livers and patients in the number of thousands can be saved.

Hooray!!




Resources:
Technology: Welcome! Samsung Galaxy S4!! @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2013/03/technology-welcome-samsung-galaxy-s4.html

Hands On With Samsung Galaxy S4 New Game Arcade At New York Launch Event @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/eDkIthBjRI8

PSP Emulator (ppsspp)/Galaxy Note 2 @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Sydp3ooIrQ

How Samsung Galaxy S4 Will Compete With Sony PlayStation 4 @ Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaudiosi/2013/03/17/how-the-samsung-galaxy-s4-will-compete-with-sony-playstation-4/

Device keeps liver "alive" outside body in medical first @ Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/15/us-liver-device-transplant-idUSBRE92E0SI20130315

Technology: Welcome! Samsung Galaxy S4!!

Samsung Galaxy S 4 is here!
Image from phandroid

Nothing is more important than the announcement of Samsung Galaxy S4 today, so it is definitely getting a post on this English Playground.

Ok, Ok, what's the phone like?

Let's just start with the videos of Jeremy Maxwell!

Now, here's the Samsung UNPACKED 2013 Live if you want to watch it. Please start watching from 0:40:00.

If you simply want to see S4 in a nutshell, here are some of the best hands-on videos on the internet.

So, what do I think about the new Galaxy S4? Here's what I consider as the S4's wows and woes,

Display:

The Wows
The 4.99" 16M-color Super AMOLED HD capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels (441ppi) is great! That 441ppi trashes iPad 4's Retina Display 264ppi! 40% clearer than the iPad 4!!! Of course, how much better is 441ppi on AMOLED than 264ppi on an LCD iPhone 5 to the human eye is hard to judge. Let's wait and see.

The Woes

The fact that the phone looks almost identical to the S3 and Note 2 makes me feel most disappointed because I was expecting their flexible OLED screen, but maybe it was just me asking too much, since Samsung has already mentioned that those flexible display phones will be under the name of "YOUM" instead of "Galaxy". Still, looking at the new S4 I can't say I am too happy about the lack of difference.

Image from Corning

It is worth noting that the guys at the Samsung UNPACKED didn't try to chuck the S4 onto the floor, meaning that the toughness of the glass -- Corning Gorilla Glass 3, isn't one of the real selling point of the S4, unlike the Sony Xperia Z which is kind of "unbreakable".

Software:

The Wows
People don't coin Samsung as "The New Apple" for nothing. Ever since the Galaxy Note 1, the world has started to see the creative drive in the company, the potential innovation eruption that would one day occur in front of everyone's eye, and then it really happened when Samsung Galaxy S3 came out, shaking the world with its Smart Stay (keep the screen on while looking at it), swipe screen to capture photos, a dozen of gesture functions.

This time, they have up the ante and continue to shocked me with dozens of innovative features and I must agree that Samsung really observes, listens and answers to the needs of the users.

S Translator
Image from mshcdn

I love the S Translator, it seems very fast and much more spontaneous than Google Translate, and you do need that when you are really travelling to a foreign country and need to ask for directions because the person being asked will not want to wait too long to help you.

The Woes

Toggles features on Android 4.2.2
Image from i.i.com

No big changes with Touchwiz, but seems like you can get the Android 4.2.2 Toggles if you want through the settings.



Camera:

The Wows
Not the first phone to have 13 MP back-facing camera (Sony Xperia Z has 13.1 MP) but definitely a strong upgrade from 8MP.

Image from tweaktown

Perhaps the Dual Camera mode isn't too amazing for some because there are apps out there which can do the same, but I like that to be integrated into the phone as a stock camera function, it just frees you from open one app after another just to take one simple photo.

Image from androidspin

Drama Shot allows its users to to take more than 100 shots in 4 seconds then compressing that into one single photo, simple yet brilliant idea!

Image from androidspin

The Eraser function is awesome! The camera takes 5 consecutive photos and allow you to remove moving or unwanted objects of your choice to form the best photo you want. My minor concern is just that, is 5 consecutive shots enough?

I'm not too keen on the Sound & Shot feature though, because if you want to remember what you have said when you are taking a photo, why not just take a video?

The Woes

Photosphere
Image from Google

Not sure if this is a woe or not, but Samsung seems to have missed out on Photosphere, an Android 4.1.2 and 4.2 experience which allows its users to take 360 degree sphere photos. I have heard that Google has recently disabled this feature on 4.2.2 because they want to make this solely available for the LG Nexus 4. I hope that the S4 also gets it. With 8-core processor, the rendering can be done in a much shorter time.

I would be very happy if Samsung can offer Video Stabilization (VS) because this feature have really stunned me when I first heard it from Adobe Premiere Pro CS6. Soon after that, YouTube has also added its own video stabilization function, but that only works with uploaded video. So, how about the on-the-phone videos? If VS can be added, that would be awesome! FYI, Sony Xperia Z claims to have this function.


The Hype

The Wows
I really like the setting up of Jeremy Maxwell and the two videos of him. It's cute, it's fun, makes me want to know what will happen after the two episodes. I enjoy the drama show in the Samsung UNPACKED 2013, pretty clever and refreshing way of introducing new products.

The Woes
Why on earth did Jeremy not get anything to say when he took the phone out? He should be the kid to tell us something about the new phone, not the Korean chairman!! All that hype built up resulted in nothing!!! What a bummer!!! In the end, Jeremy ended up just being an actor/tap dancer in drama skits. Don't get me wrong, he's a great tap dancer! But he should play an even more important role! Let the kid speak!!!

The Good News

Samsung S Health
Image from webnews

Looking at the features that comes with the S4, I have to say that it won't be too difficult for the developers to port the OS onto other Samsung phones. Definitely, even for the powerful Note 2, the absence of the temperature and humidity sensors from all earlier Samsung smartphones means that none of them can enjoy the full functionalities of the S4, but other than that, all other features should be "port-capable".

S Health
Image from gigaom2

Thus, it is just a matter of time before the developers transfer all these amazing features to your S2, S3 and Note 2. They have done that before, so they will do it again.



Vocabulary:
in a nutshell -- using as few words as possible
wows and woes -- the surprises and the disappointments
up the ante -- If you up the ante, you increase your demands or the risks in a situation in order to achieve a better result:
bummer -- (n)[S] offensive something that is very annoying or not convenient:


Resources:
[Samsung UNPACKED] Be ready 4 The Next Galaxy @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/dIEfNaNCkKM

[Samsung UNPACKED] Be ready 4 The Next Galaxy (Part 2)  @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/YzkfC7--jog

Samsung Galaxy S4 hands-on @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/NIOQxZih9zE

Galaxy S4 hands-on demo @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUdi3BG6bPw

Samsung Galaxy S4 hands-on: First look @ GSMArena
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s_4-review-907.php

Samsung Galaxy S4 VS Sony Xperia Z @ GSMArena
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=5125&idPhone2=5204

Photography: Sport Video Capturing (feat. Adobe Premiere Pro CS6) @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2012/11/photography-sport-video-capturing-feat.html

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/nutshell?q=in+a+nutshell
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/wow_1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/woe?q=woe
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/up-the-ante?q=up+the+ante

Animals & News: 5 Species Of Sharks Are Safe... For Now

Great Hammerhead Shark
Image from Google

A grand victory to the sharks and manta rays this time round!!! Congratulations to the oceanic whitetip; porbeagle, scalloped hammerhead, great hammerhead and smooth hammerhead! Your chances of survival have just been drastically increased! Thank you so much to the people who have been working so hard to get them on CITES' protection lists. All humans owe you a favour.

A mature male porbeagle
Image from Canadian Shark Research lab

The only concern now is whether the fishermen will actually obey to the law and stop fishing the sharks and manta rays on the list. Illegal hunting happens everywhere around the world, and when the hunted sharks are finned, it is almost impossible for amateurs to tell whether the fins are from a shark on the protection list or not.

Fingers crossed, let's hope that I am simply worrying too much.

Let's hope that the demand is really down in China.

bb Sharky X Earth Hour 2013
Image from Locky's English Playground

In order to celebrate this victory and promote the upcoming Earth Hour 2013, I have created my very first animated gif of bb Sharky, you are welcome to download this and share it with your friends. You can also see this logo on our English Playground's title banner. See if bb Sharky blinks one eye to you.

To keep doing my part of the sharks, I will create more bb Sharky logos when I have time.



Vocabulary:
keep one's fingers crossed (for someone or something) and cross one's fingers -- to wish for luck for someone or something, sometimes by actually crossing one's fingers; to hope for a good outcome for someone or something.
blink -- (vb) [I or T] When you blink, you close and then open your eyes quickly once or several times, and when an eye blinks, it does this 

Resources:
Message: New bb Sharky Icon and Page Added @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2013/01/message-new-bb-sharky-icon-and-page.html

Animals: Doing My Part For The Sharks @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2013/01/animals-doing-my-part-for-sharks.html

Good News on the Shark Front @ NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/13/opinion/good-news-on-the-shark-front.html?_r=0

Shark Species Head for Protected List @  Voice of America
http://www.voanews.com/content/shark-species-head-for-protected-list/1619941.html

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
http://www.cites.org/

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/keep+fingers+crossed
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/blink_1?q=blink

Event: Earth Hour 2013

Image from Earth Hour

Yes! It's that time of the year again, when everyone should join hand-in-hand to fight global warming and send this message to the world simply by switching off all the lights and unused electrical appliances.

Locky's English Playground has played a part in education since 2009 and it has not missed a single year in spreading the importance of protecting our planet.

Like every year, I hope that parents can educate their children and children can too educate their parents.

It is THE biggest world event and we should all share the joy of the celebration.

Image from Earth Hour

Let's continue to make our world a better place to live.




Resources:
Earth Hour
http://earthhour.org/external_modules/splash/desktop.php?destination=node

Environment: Earth Hour 2009 @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2009/04/science-earth-hour.html

Environment: Earth Hour 2010 @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/02/environment-earth-hour-2010.html

Environment: Earth Hour 2010 (add-ons) @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/02/environment-earth-hour-2010-add-ons.html

Environment: Earth Hour 2010 Reminder @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/03/environment-earth-hour-2010-reminder.html

Environment: Earth Hour 2011 @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2011/03/environment-earth-hour-2011.html

Event: Earth Hour 2012 @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2012/03/event-earth-hour-2012.html

Technology & News: Free Apps To Recommend Part 6

Time for another round of great apps recommendation. This time, all apps are produced by XDA-developers themselves.

One of the coolest apps is Panoramic Screen by XDA Senior Member exisapps. This totally awesome app allows you to turn any 2D images into 3D panoramic live wallpapers. It offers a wide range of customisations for you to fit the particular 2D image of your choice. Check out the video below and you'll know what this app can do.

If you are a fan of Facebook but you find that the original Facebook app lack functionalities and speed which you want, then you can give this Atrium for an Alternate Facebook Experience a go. Developed by XDA Forum Member radiantbits, Atrium for an Alternate Facebook Experience

Images from XDA-developers

Images from XDA-developers

Images from XDA-developers

If you are looking for more than just controlling Facebook, you can try Social Network OverView for Facebook, Twitter,Google+, Instagram, RSS-Feeds, developed by XDA Senior Member MOST2K2. It does make communications easier, though it will be at the expense of viewing less graphics.

Images from XDA-developers

Images from XDA-developers

If you are looking for a floating video app, then Popcorn Player by XDA Forum Member twondcc is one of the best out there.

Image from XDA

It is similar to the Super Video, Floating & Popup I have recommended in Technology: Turning your Galaxy S2 to Galaxy S2.5!!! but better than it in the sense you can download YouTube videos with it!

Last but not least, XDA Forum Member PariDevelopers created an app called GeoTask which serves as a location-based task list. All you have to do is to add your tasks like all other To-Do apps, then add the location of the venues at which your tasks have to be accomplished, and then the app will remind you when you are within the alert range of the venues.

Image from XDA

Image from XDA

Image from XDA

With this app, you will not forget to handle your tasks and only remember it when you get home. Excellent app for absent-minded people like me.

Have a great weekend and have a blast with these cool apps!




Resources:

Generate Your Own Panoramic Live Wallpaper @ XDA-developers
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/generate-your-own-panoramic-live-wallpaper/


Panoramic Screen @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/PpUQ--ZnVwE


Atrium for an Alternate Facebook Experience @ XDA-developers
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/atrium-for-an-alternate-facebook-experience/

All Your Social Networking in SNOView @ XDA-developers
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/all-your-social-networking-in-snoview/

Technology: Turning your Galaxy S2 to Galaxy S2.5!!! @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2012/06/technology-turning-your-galaxy-s2-to.html

Enjoy Your Videos on Top of Other Apps with Popcorn Player @ XDA-developers
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/enjoy-your-videos-on-top-of-other-apps-with-popcorn-player/
http://www.1mobile.com/popcorn-player-float-pop-up-493214.html

Location-Based Reminders from GeoTask @  XDA-developers
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/location-based-reminders-from-geotask/