Scales For You

Electronics have totally changed our world!  It’s amazing to look back fifty years and see the differences between the appliances, telephones, television sets, computers, games, etc.  The first television I remember seeing had about a 10 inch round screen, and of course, it was in black and white.  Now we see 50 and 60 inch flatscreen television set in many homes, and of course, in true-life color.  The first computer I remember was at a university and filled a large room.  I had to input my data by typing, and holes were punched in a series of cards.  The cards ran through the computer to produce the results.  It took a long time to run any kind of program, and I needed to understand computer language (which I never mastered).  Now I’m sitting here typing on a laptop and can surf the internet to research anything that happens to be on my mind, without any knowledge of computer language.  Remember the old dial telephones.  It took a long time just to dial a number, then you were tied to the phone by a lengthy cord.  Now we all have a cell phone in our pocket or attached to our waist and we aren’t tied to anything.  Amazing!

Bathroom, kitchen, and shipping scales have been vastly improved, also.  Besides being electronic, they are also digital.  This gives a much more accurate and precise reading.  Electronic scales are everywhere–in the home, in the grocery store, in the labs, etc.  Toss out the old, put in the new!  Our world has changed!

Remember the song “Little Things Mean a Lot”?  One of my friends mentioned today that the main things she learned from going to Weight Watchers were to be certain she was getting enough dairy products in her diet, and to watch the little things.  For example, the kind of cream we put in our coffee, how much oil we put in the bottom of our pan, or how many added extras and dressings we put on our salads.  These things add up and as the song says, “mean a lot”–a lot of calories, that is!

When you’re purchasing bathroom scales, little features “mean a lot”.  The hold feature allows you to step off the scale and still see how much you weigh.  As we age and our eyesight grows dimmer, this little feature “means a lot”.  The tracking feature that can track the weight of as many as ten users may “mean a lot”.  When you purchase your new scales, check the features to see which are important to you, then make your decision based on that. 

The number of children today who are living in single-parent homes, with step-parents, or grandparents is astounding.  The children who live with both natural parents are now in the minority.  These children need lots of love and attention, but they don’t need parents competing for love or using the children to get back at each other.  Love is not finite or competitive.  We don’t have to tear down the bonding the child has with other adults–we just need to build our own bonding.  How do you bond with a child?  You spend time with them, doing things with them.  It can be anything from playing a game with them, reading to them, or having them help you as you complete your chores.  Children love playing or working with adults, but too many times, we tell them to go play and get out of our way, since it is usually faster to complete the task without their help.  What a mistake we are making!

The child can have lots of fun and bonding helping us in the kitchen with the baking.  An extra plus is that they can learn a lot about measurement in the process.  A spring scale is quite inexpensive, yet will serve well in this activity.   Many of them have the Tare feature that will subtract the weight of the container.  The scale can be reset to zero after adding each ingredient, allowing you and the child to compare weights with measuring cups and spoons.  www.holladaypartners.com offers a wide selection of kitchen scales in many styles, sizes and colors to match any decor at the lowest prices ever.

When you’re buying food products, especially those marketed to kids, read the nutritional info on the back of the package, not the claims on the front.  A recent study by University of Calgary researchers found that, of more than 350 food products marketed to kids, 63% made health claims like “contains essential nutrients” or “good source of calcium”, but almost 90% were of poor nutritional quality.  Some granola bars, “health” drinks and other presumably nutritious choices may not be much better than hamburgers, fries, and doughnuts. 

Researching any product before purchasing is important in order to get the most value for the least amount of money.  When a professional furnishes a lab, they will research professional lab scales to see which features are important to their work activity.  www.holladaypartners.com has a variety of scales that can satisfy the needs of most labs at the lowest prices ever.

Have you ever thought about comparing budgeting your money you are spending with budgeting your food you are consuming.  A new VISA study found that American “misplace” about $3,000 in cash every year.  It may go for gadgets such as iPods, iPhones or Blackberries or just things we want for our kids.  In order to stop this “mystery spending”, we must review our purchases regularly so we can see quickly what we’re spending, then set a budget and stick to it.  This will help eliminate impulse buying and help us start to save. 

Doesn’t this sound a lot like dieting.  We “misplace” food by eating-on-the-go, snacking, eating while reading or watching television, and eating when we’re not hungry because someone else is eating or providing food.  In order to stop this “mystery eating”, we must document what we eat so we can see quickly what we’re consuming, then set a food plan and stick to it.  This will help eliminate impulse eating and we can start to lose the excess weight.  We will need scales to measure our food portions and scales to weigh ourselves in order to make this process work.  A variety of scales in many colors, sizes and styles are available at  www.holladaypartners.com   These are quality designer scales that will match any decor at the lowest prices ever.  Check them out.  You’ll be glad you did!

Our brains can’t tell the difference between something that we imagine and something that’s real.  That’s why two different people may have the same experience and it stresses one out and calms one.  For example:  Suppose after a day’s work, two employees leaving the building find that it’s raining.  One may see the rain as needed for their garden or lawn, while the other sees it as a problem getting to the car without getting wet.  The holiday season can be very stressful if we constantly fret about all of the extra things we need to do or want to do.  One morning I was discussing at the breakfast table all the things I had to do that week at school and after school, and I just couldn’t see how I would manage it all.  My husband calmly told me a story about a man who got up one morning and was putting on his shoes.  He was thinking about how many times he would have to tie his shoes if he lived to be an old man.  He got so stressed out, he shot himself.  That is quite extreme, but stress is definitely tied into our own perception of events.

If you are trying to sell products on ebay, you may be stressing about trying to figure the shipping costs into your price.  A shipping scale can help solve that problem.  Make a picture of your product to put online, then package it for shipping.  Weigh it on your shipping scale and figure your shipping cost.  Holladay Partners has a digital electronic shipping scale at the lowest price possible and with free shipping.  Check it out.

I’ve known a few men named Troy, but I didn’t know there was a system of measurement that used a troy ounce until recently.  The troy ounce is about 10 percent more that the avoirdupois ounce (the one most of us use), and is the only ounce used in the pricing of precious metals such as gold, platinum and silver.  It is also used to measure arrow and arrowhead weights in archery and bullets and powder weights in ballistics.

Many people don’t realize that an ounce of gold is weighed in a different weighing system from and ounce of sugar or flour.  If you have a hobby or a job that calls for weighing precious metals or gunpowder, etc., you need to invest in some good troy-ounces scales.   Holladay Partners has scales that weigh in many different increments at the lowest prices.  Check us out!

Every professional lab probably has a professional lab scale.  However, the type of scale needed in each lab depends on the kind of lab activities performed in that lab.  Also, sometimes a professional lab scale is needed in a business that does not actually have a lab, but needs to perform certain activities that require a professional lab scale.

Holladay Partners offers a variety of scales suited to every need.  Some of these scales weigh in ounces, grams, troy ounces, pennyweights and grains.  Some measure liquid and volume.  Some are large capacity scales.  Most of the scales have the Tare feature that will subtract the weight of a container.  Also, many have the hold feature that allows the display to be read after the item or person has been removed from the scale.  If your home or business is in need of a professional lab scale or any variety of other scales, check out these scales and select the ones that have the features that meet your needs.

If you are interested in buying or selling scrap gold or silver, you will need to learn a whole new method of weighing or measuring.   Precious metals are usually weighed by pennyweight.  A pennyweight (dwt) is the same as 24 grains, 1/240th of a troy pound, 1/20th of a troy ounce, and approximately 0.055 ounces or approximately 1.555 grams.  

It would take a lot of time and calculating to figure how many pennyweights you had if you weighed your gold or silver on a scale that weighed only in ounces or grams.  Holladay Partners offers pennyweight scales that can save you time and trouble.  These scales weigh in ounces, grams, carats, pennyweights and troy ounces.  They have the hold feature that allows you to remove your item from the scale and then read the weight from the display, and the Tare feature to subtract the weight of a container.  All you have to do is select the method of weighing you want to use.  What could be easier!

I recently found a children’s science experiment that used a large bowl full of water sitting in a baking pan as a scale to measure the volume of different objects.  You gently lower an  apple, rock, or another item into the water in the bowl and the water will overflow into the baking pan to make room for the object.  Then remove the bowl from the pan and pour the water from the pan into a clear measuring cup.  Where the water level lines up with the scale on the measuring cup determines the volume of the object.  By refilling the bowl with water, you can then measure another object. 

I’m sure elementary students in a science class would love experimenting with this measuring device.  However, when I’m ready to measure or weigh an item, I want an up-to-date digital, electronic scale with an easy-to-read display.  Technology has improved so much over the last few years, and I want to take advantage of it when I purchase a scale for my home and/or business.  I’m sure you do, too!