GardenMandy’s Best Methods For Battling Garden Borne Bacteria

The best way to battle disease and bacteria in your garden is always through prevention. Part of prevention is making sure you practice sanitary gardening methods.

These include: always cleaning your tools when you are finished using them, treating or disposing of plants at the first sign of disease and properly clearing and preparing your soil for the next seasons’ crop.

However, even the most sanitary garden can sometimes become infected. Symptoms of bacteria include wilted leaves, brown spots on leaves and fruit, rotten stems and stinky fruit from the plant.

If your plant has a bacterial infection there are a few things you can do to treat it. First try to spray some compost tea on the leaves. That’s right! Compost tea does so much more than just fertilize.

If the compost tea fails to rid your plant of the bacteria, you are going to need to prune the areas that have been infected. Pay really close attention to the plant in question because if the bacteria has spread, which they do very quickly, you may need to dispose of the plant to prevent the bacteria spreading to other residents in your garden.

Unfortunately, bacteria is a problem that many gardeners face. Try to be vigilant and address the problem immediately to prevent the bacteria from spreading.

Good luck and happy gardening

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5 Things You Didn't Know: Google

By Jacob Franek
Entertainment Correspondent - Every Thursday

Read on for 5 things you didn't know about Google
There is no other company more synonymous with the internet than Google. As the mother of all search engines (a legitimate title considering Google surpassed Yahoo! as the most visited website in the U.S. in 2008), Google has come a long way since its early beginnings. It is also ranked as the No. 1 company to work for, according to Fortune magazine. Its popularity has become so widespread that most think Google was born along with the internet. To others, however, Google is the pinnacle of all internet companies -- a multifaceted search engine extraordinaire.

Why such intrigue? Well, here are a just a few things you didn’t know about Google.

1- Google spends $72 million a year on employee meals

Seventy-two million dollars a year -- that works out to about $7,530 per Googler (a term Google uses to identify employees). While the exact details vary depending on location (the Google empire spans the globe), employees at Google's California headquarters, aptly entitled the Googleplex, are welcome to at least two free meals a day from 11 different gourmet cafeterias. As if that weren’t enough, another thing you didn’t know about Google is that in addition to the cafeterias, Google offers numerous snack bars that are chock-full of healthy morsels to munch on.

And that's certainly not all. Is your car in a bit of a rut? Not to worry; Google offers on-site car washes and oil changes. The list of perks for working at Google is never-ending, making it no surprise that it's considered the No. 1 place to work, offering: on-site haircuts, full athletic facilities, massage therapists, language classes, drop-off dry cleaning, day cares, and on-site doctors, just to name a few. Oh, and if your dog is stuck at home and feeling a little lonely, just bring him to work -- Google doesn't mind.

2- Google was originally called BackRub

Like many other booming internet companies, Google has an interesting upbringing, one that is marked by a lowly beginning. Google began as a research project in January 1996 by cofounder Larry Page, a 24-year-old Ph.D. student at Standford University. Page was soon joined by 23-year-old Sergey Brin, another Ph.D. student, forming a duo that seemed destined for failure. According to Google's own corporate information, Brin and Page argued about every single topic they discussed. This incessant arguing, however, may have been what spurred the duo to rethink web-searching and develop a novel strategy that ranked websites according to the number of backlinks (i.e., according to the number of web pages that linked back to a web page being searched), and not based on the number of times a specific search term appeared on a given web page, as was the norm.

Because of this unique strategy, another thing you didn't know about Google is that Page and Brin nicknamed the search engine BackRub. Thankfully, in 1998, Brin and Page dropped the sexually suggestive nickname, and came up with “Google,” a term originating from a common misspelling of the word "googol," which refers to 10¹⁰⁰.

The word “google” has become so common, it was entered into numerous dictionaries in 2006, referring to the act of using the Google search engine to retrieve information via the internet.

3- Google loses $110 million a year through "I'm Feeling Lucky"

There's not much to see on Google's main search page, and perhaps simplicity is one of the keys to Google's success. When searching Google, you are given two options: “Google Search” or “I'm Feeling Lucky.” By clicking the former, you are given that familiar list of search results; by clicking the latter, however, you are automatically redirected to the first search result, bypassing the search engine’s results page.

Besides the fun factor, the idea behind the “I'm Feeling Lucky” feature is to provide the user with instant connection to the precise page they are searching for, thus saving them time that would normally be spent perusing endless search results. Sounds harmless enough, right? Not so fast. Because “I'm Feeling Lucky” bypasses all advertising, it is estimated that Google loses about $110 million per year in advertising-generated revenue. So why in the world would any Fortune 500 company not patch such a gaping leak? "It's possible to become too dry, too corporate, too much about making money. I think what's delightful about 'I'm Feeling Lucky' is that it reminds you there are real people here," Google Executive Marissa Mayer told Valleywag, an online tech-blog.

4- Google has a sense of humor

Google also offers full language support for Pig Latin, Klingon and even Elmer Fudd. Anyone else still feeling lucky? Try typing, “French military victories” and clicking “I'm Feeling Lucky.” Behold the result.

Some might remember the “miserable failure” fiasco when one typed those words and clicked “I'm Feeling Lucky,” and they were instantly connected to a biography of President George W. Bush on the White House website. Now, before you jump to conclusions, this trick -- which no longer works -- was carried out by members of the online community through the art of “Google bombing.” Google bombing works because of Google's backlink search strategy.

5- Google scans your e-mails

Nothing in life is perfect -- or without controversy -- and Google is no exception. Google scans your e-mails (at Gmail) through a process called “content extraction.” All incoming and outgoing e-mail is scanned for specific keywords to target advertising to the user. The process has brewed quite a storm of controversy, but Google has yet to back down on its stance.

Google has remained similarly headstrong about other criticisms; in an attempt to remain partisan to local governments, Google removes or does not include information from its services in compliance with local laws. Perhaps the most striking example of this is Google's adherence to the internet censorship policies of China (at Google.cn) so as not to bring up search results supporting the independence movement of Tibet and Taiwan, or any other information perceived to be harmful to the People's Republic of China.

Google Street has further been cited for breaching personal privacy. The service provides high-resolution street-view photos from around the world and has, on numerous occasions, caught people committing questionable acts. Moving from street to satellite, Google Earth has also come under fire from several Indian state governments about the security risks posed by the details from Google Earth's satellite imaging. When all is said and done, there are a lot of criticisms about Google and these few examples merely scratch the surface.


Um, Google does the searching -- anytime, and every time, you search for something on the internet.


It's hard to think of another search engine ever supplanting our beloved Google, but it's anyone's guess as to how the internet will work in the future. Maybe you'll just have to think of something and it will appear. Who knows? Try Googling it.

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Ten Improvements In Auto Interiors

In Pictures:
10 Improvements In Auto Interiors

t's as true for people as it is for cars: It's what's on the inside that counts.

Today's car owners, from the sports car driver to the soccer mom, want features and functions that make life easier--and they want them designed with a stylish flare. A J.D. Power & Associates 2007 consumer study--the most recent available--revealed that interior comfort is the second most important factor in choosing a vehicle, ranking ahead of exterior styling and just behind reliability and durability.

In past years, the interior has been a mere afterthought for some automakers who invested more effort in creating distinctively styled exteriors. But consumers are spending an average of 46 minutes commuting to work each day, according to the Gallup Poll's annual Work and Education survey. With motorists spending more time in their vehicles working, playing and traveling, the pressure is on for automakers to design specific interiors that fit certain consumer lifestyles rather than one-size-fits-all models.

There are several trends impacting interior design, fuel efficiency chief among them. Automakers competing in this environment of sharply rising gas prices can't significantly increase interior space if it means reducing fuel economy. At the same time, consumers are bringing entertainment and communication devices into their cars, and those new technologies need a plugged-in home inside the vehicle.

"Automakers are trying to do a lot more with less space," says Drew Winter, editor-in-chief of Ward's AutoWorld, an industry trade publication that recently hosted an auto interiors conference and trade show in Detroit. "The real estate in vehicle instrument panels is downsizing.”

Always Improving
Ward's AutoWorld evaluated 36 vehicles in eight categories on material selection, ergonomics, driver information, safety, overall value, comfort, fit and finish, aesthetics and design harmony, and named 10 award winners in various segments. Each of the 10 here was a winner or finalist in its category, highlighting a current trend in auto interiors designed to satisfy certain types of consumers.

Theresa Spafford, lead designer of color and trim at Mazda Design Americas, says interior designers continue to look at new materials, colors and design ideas to create the ideal interiors. "The exterior is how you recognize the vehicle, but your interior is how you live with your car," she says. "Anything you have to live with, you have to have a level of comfort, attraction, functionality and durability."

That ethos taken to an extreme is represented in the redesigned Audi TT interior. The former Audi TT interior had an industrial, stark look with sharp edges and harsh lines to set apart audio and climate controls, dashboard features and air vents. The redesigned Audi TT interior, however, is a cockpit with low-sitting seats that enhance the feel of driving a fast car. The sport steering wheel flattens at the bottom like that of a race car. The appearance is a modern, softer, smoother and more integrated interior with high-grade black leather seats and metallic brushed accents throughout the interior--on the glove box, shift stick and foot rest--that projects a dynamic, futuristic look.

Of course, that's a bit extreme for most. But the same sort of philosophy is at work in the interior redesigns of more mainstream vehicles, like the roomy Hyundai Sonata, by keeping a particular type of driver's needs in mind. The Sonata, designed for families and commuters, has a center console with durable cup holders and standard auxiliary input jacks that play iPods through the six-speaker system, managed with steering-wheel-mounted audio controls.

In fact, advances in entertainment and communication technology are influencing the way automakers view interiors as a whole. "People are bringing all of their entertainment--smart phones, iPods and navigation devices--into the vehicle," says Steve Younan, director of Suzuki's (other-otc: SZKMF.PK - news - people ) product planning. "They need a platform and flexibility to do that."

How important is a car's interior to you? Weigh in. Add your thoughts in the Reader Comments section below.

That's why, later this year, Suzuki is rolling out a road-trip version of the SX4 sedan equipped with a mobile navigation unit that docks in a customized cradle on the dash, but can be taken with you when you exit the vehicle. Paired with the Microsoft Network, the Suzuki Trip Navigation gives real-time traffic information--and the ability to play video games (if you didn't take that traffic information seriously and wind up at a standstill for a while). Users can also search for the lowest gas prices and nearest restaurants. You can even program the device to note where your car is parked, take the unit with you, and it will guide you back to the car.

Safety First
Consumers also want interiors that make driving easier and safer, says Kyle Bazemore, an Infiniti spokesman. The all-new Infiniti EX35, for example, has a round view monitor that uses cameras strategically located around the vehicle to project rear, front and side views on the navigation screen to aid parking in tight spaces.

When it comes to storage, car owners want it, but they don't necessarily want to see it. They want a clean, clutter-free look to a car that can, well, hold plenty of clutter. The Scion xD, for example, has a passenger cup holder that pops out of the dash when needed. The Dodge Journey and Mazda 5 take things a bit further, with storage bins that are accessed only when rear seats are folded up.

It's all about giving customers what they want, says Winter.

"The exterior draws people in, but when the get inside the car and sit behind the wheel, it's the interior that closes the deal," says Winter. "Automakers are bending over backward to make consumers happy with interiors."

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