This is probably a very silly post, but I’m in a silly mood. I had KFC for lunch yesterday (maybe that’s why), and was struck by how insidious the menu is at the Carlingford branch – if you actually want to have their chicken and not a burger, you can either choose from the ~$3 snack options, or else you have to order a ~$10 combo box that could easily feed 2-3 people. I couldn’t see any other “in between” options (nor most of the other options listed on their Web site menu). I would’ve been happy with a piece of chicken and some chips, but ended up getting the “All-stars” box containing:

• A piece of original recipe chicken
• 2 hot-and-spicy wicked wings
• A crispy strip
• Popcorn chicken
• Chips
• Potato and gravy
• A bread roll
• A can of soft drink

Now I’ve probably got you salivating, and you’re going to go out and get KFC aren’t you? Well if you are, or you tend to eat junk food anyway, try to keep the following three things in mind to minimise the damage to your health:

• Avoid drinking the cold drink that comes with the meal. There’s a rumour that drinking cold beverages will make the fat content of the meal congeal in your stomach, making it harder to digest. It could be Asian propaganda, since we like to have hot (Chinese) tea with our meals so I can’t guarantee that there is any scientific basis to the claim, but it does seem at least a little bit plausible. Plus, having less sugary fizzy drink never hurt anybody.
• Don’t eat everything – a few months ago I ordered a $5 meal at Macdonalds which included a cheeseburger, fries, soft serve and a drink. The Asian in me who was raised not to waste anything felt compelled to finish every last morsel, but after 2 spoonfuls of the slop that was being passed off as iced confectionery, and a couple of sips of the drink to wash down the limp, dry burger, I chucked the rest away (except the fries, of course… who can resist those salty fatty stalks of fried deliciousness?)
• Don’t super-size me, ‘coz although I could get the large coke and fries for only $1 extra, not carrying around  the extra weight of the coin is denying me precious exercise. Hehe… just kidding. Seriously though, just because it’s better value doesn’t mean that it’s better.

Isn’t it funny how fast food punishes fiscally responsible behaviour – as in getting better value-for-money – is more detrimental to your health? But man, if they ever open up a Cafe de Coral (大家樂) here in Australia, I’d be a lost cause.

For no reason at all, here’s a cool picture I found:

I couldn’t find the source of the image to give credit, but if it’s yours please let me know.

A couple of weeks ago my air filter died, and since then I have gone through unspeakable suffering with my sinuses. This is why I’m going to extol the virtues of good, clean air, and share with you how I’ve been getting it.

Air filters / air purifiers
It all started several years ago when a guy on an Internet forum offered to give away a supposedly dead Honeywell air filter. I nabbed it on a lark, and turns out that it was an American machine designed to run on 120V at 60Hz, and the only thing wrong with it was that it was being fed the wrong kind of power. I swapped a Nintendo DS for a super-heavy brick of a transformer, and the rest is history.

My unit (which is currently sitting in an electronics repair shop with a possible burnt-out motor) is a proper HEPA device, which means that it can filter out particles as small as 0.3 microns from the air – stuff like dust, pollen, smoke, mold, bacteria, and even odours! It is a 2-stage system, with an activated carbon pre-filter stage that prevents the HEPA stage from being wasted on catching the big stuff.

Considering that I’ve had it running 24/7 for around 5 years, and with a total spend on replacement filters of around $100* that’s not too shabby. It’s not as if it made my place completely dust-free, but I’m sure without it the surfaces around the house would have a much heavier coating than they do.

Vacuum cleaners
The filter is all very well and good, but of course nothing beats cleanliness. Obviously you’ll want to remove the source of the pathogens: pets, plants, unhygienic personal grooming habits… I digress, but regular cleaning is an unavoidable necessity. Carpets are wonderful and all, but they also harbour dust – and I’m allergic to dust mites. D’oh! That’s why my wife Jenny and I are pretty happy with our Dyson vacuum cleaner, which also includes a washable HEPA filter. Without intending to sound like a Dyson marketing brochure, I must admit it does do a very good job of sucking up stuff, with each vacuuming session invariably resulting in a canister full of gunk. I’m sure any competent brand of vacuum cleaner would do the same, but it’s just so much more satisfying being able to see the dust accumulating in that transparent tube.

Dehumidifiers
Jenny and I first noticed the mould growing in our previous apartment when we were moving out and had to clean it off the walls, curtains and windows. In our current place, it’s a lot worse, and due to much neglect it ended up all over the ceiling in the spare room. Our landlords very kindly offered to buy us a dehumidifier, which we’ve been using ever since.

As far as I can tell (without having really read up on it), dehumidifiers take advantage of the condensation effect by having a bunch of surfaces that are chilled, so that the moisture in the air condenses onto them. It’s amazing how much water can be sucked out of thin air; the machine has a 5 litre tank capacity, which can easily be filled in a single day. Most Web sites that I’ve read recommend a humidity of around 50-60% in order to keep mould under control. The humidity at our place fluctuates throughout the day, but is usually worst at night and especially on cold days, when it can get up to as high as 80%.

Air is the one thing that you will consume most in your lifetime. Now that there are studies which connect air quality with longer life expectancy, why wouldn’t you want better quality air?

—-

* I didn’t replace the filters as often as recommended, largely because of the cost, and not being under any obligation to do so in order to fulfil warranty conditions.