Any type of household vinegar or even table salt in water can be used to antique brass. This can take longer to take effect than the other methods several hours for vinegar, and up to several days with salt water but you do not have to handle any dangerous chemicals and probably already have the necessary ingredients in your kitchen. Prepare the brass first as described above to ensure the antiquing succeeds. Wear rubber gloves for any method to prevent getting oil on the brass. A mix of equal parts table salt and water will oxidize the brass, simply speeding up the natural aging process brass undergoes. Apply it with a small paintbrush over the entire surface and reapply daily until you've achieved the appearance you enjoy. Apply with a brush or simply dip the piece in any type of vinegar. Allow it to dry, then apply an additional coat if you'd like a darker color. Mix a spoonful of table salt into the vinegar for a greener patina. Heating the brass with a hair dryer or oven to around 450F (230C) will produce more noticeable results, but you'll need oven mitts or thick gardener gloves to handle it at this temperature. This may not achieve the authentic appearance that ammonia or antiquing solution will, but some people prefer the "gingerbread" appearance that results. In any case, it is certainly safer and less expensive than those methods. Pour some vinegar into a plastic bucket with an airtight lid. Place wooden blocks or other objects into the bucket so a stable, flat surface is dry above the level of the vinegar. Place the brass on top of the objects. Seal the lid to trap the vinegar fumes and let them alter the brass for several hours or overnight. Once the result you want is achieved, which may take several applications, wash the brass in warm water. Dry it gently with a towel or by applying heat. Once it is dry, you have the option to preserve its color by coating with a brass lacquer or wax.
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One-sentence summary -- Use vinegar or salt water to antique your brass safely and easily. Apply salt water to make brass slightly darker. Coat with vinegar instead for more pronounced aging. Use vinegar vapors for a warm brown appearance. Whichever method you used, wash with warm water and dry.

When you take detours and let other things disrupt your regular routine, you get more and more comfortable with life's little surprises. What's more, you experience more of the benefits that come along with the unplanned, like meeting cool new friends at a bar that you decide to take a chance on. Even small departures from routine, like a new route to work, will remind you to pause and focus on things that you normally miss. Little changes still help us out of our heads (and thus distracted from the worries that keep us serious) and into the present moment. . When you are stressed, you are much more likely to take things seriously; stress is when your body is poised to react in an intense way. This sets up a cycle of getting stressed from taking things seriously and taking things seriously reinforcing stress responses. Learning mental and physical methods to lessen stress is crucial. Examples include the following: Making long-term healthy lifestyle changes, like diet and exercise Using to-do lists Reducing negative self-talk Practicing progressive muscle relaxation Learning mindfulness and visualization meditations Loosening yourself up - literally - will make it much easier to approach life with cheery grace. There is a wide variety of movement-oriented arts that can help ease some of the bodily tension that usually accompanies a serious mind. Depending on your interests, you may want to take up dance, yoga, aerobics, or expressive arts like improvisational comedy or basic acting. Taking a class in any of these areas might be more helpful than teaching yourself because letting loose in the presence of others can be more encouraging than trying to learn alone. Listening to music more frequently can be a great way to alter your mood because it helps exaggerate certain feelings. This means that if you are trying to lighten up and focus on the cheerier parts of life, listening to upbeat music can bring these brighter aspects more clearly into focus. Try listening to up-tempo music in major keys. Any genre will do as long as it makes you personally feel relaxed and at ease. Intentionally giving yourself more to laugh about will help you remind yourself just how much humor lies in all situations. The following are simple ways to introduce yourself to more laughter: Watch a funny movie or TV show Visit a comedy club Read the comics section of the newspaper Share a funny story Host game night with friends Play with your pet (if you have one) Go to a "laughter yoga" class Goof around with children Make time for fun activities (e.g. bowling, miniature golfing, karaoke). There will always be little inconveniences that get in your way, but you always have the option to turn them into jokes. If you don't think there's anything to laugh at when, say, you find a hair in your soup, laugh about the very fact that something so small has the power to throw such a major wrench in your plans (or make you have a little talk with your waiter...). You could get aggravated and beat yourself up about the fact that your printer is malfunctioning, or you can joke about getting what you deserve for still using your old inkjet from the '90s. Try deliberately turning a molehill into a mountain just to see how silly it is when you do so unintentionally. Rant and rage about breaking a nail or dropping a quarter down into a grate as if it were the most serious thing in the world. This way you'll get an outsider's perspective of how you may be coming off when you really are being serious. Probably the easiest way to remember to stop taking life so seriously is to get swept up in a fun-loving group of people whose very presence knocks the seriousness right out of you. Take note of friends you already have and new people you meet who seem to laugh effortlessly and encourage you to do the same. Even when you're not together, imagine what these friends would think of how seriously you're taking whatever the latest issue is. How would they respond to the same problem? What's more, shared laughter is a highly effective way to keep relationships going strong. Laughing with others builds the same bonds of emotional sharing, but with the added dimensions of joy and vitality.
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One-sentence summary -- Break from habit occasionally. Learn techniques to cope with stress Express yourself through movement. Incorporate music into your life. Seek out opportunities to laugh. Make jokes to combat minor frustrations. Surround yourself with fun, supportive folks.

Older incandescent light bulbs do not contain liquid mercury. But, some newer energy-saving compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs do. Check the packaging that the bulbs came in for warnings regarding their mercury content. Energy-saving bulbs typically contain no more than 4 mg of mercuryjust enough to cover the tip of a pen. Even if the CFL bulb contains mercury, it might be in gaseous rather than liquid form. LED bulbs don't contain liquid mercury. Tilt switches (sometimes called "mercury switches") were used in older appliances to transmit an on/off signal. Appliances in the home that may contain mercury include chest freezers, televisions, thermostats, washing machines, space heaters, clothes dryers, and washing machines. Contact the appliance manufacturer or check your user manual to confirm if a given appliance has mercury. Contact an appliance recycler or your local hazardous waste collection center for information regarding the best way to dispose of these appliances. You might be able to locate up to 3 grams of mercury in thermostats. Most normal batteries do not contain mercury. However, the smaller "button cell" batteries that are used in watches, hearing aids, toys, pacemakers, and other devices still contain mercury. If you can find a device containing these small batteries, you've probably found liquid mercury. Certain pharmaceutical products might contain liquid mercury. Skin antiseptics, facial creams, contact lens solutions, and some vaccines could contain liquid mercury. To confirm that your pharmaceutical products contain liquid mercury, check the ingredients label or contact the manufacturer. Clocks from the 1600s or before often used liquid mercury as a pendulum weight. If you own such a clock, it probably contains liquid mercury.
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One-sentence summary --
Identify compact fluorescent light bulbs. Locate mercury in tilt switches. Find mercury in small batteries. Search for mercury in pharmaceuticals. Check antique clocks.