Plan for Progress  

My girlfriend and I are going to wear Sonny and Cher Halloween costumes this year, but I strongly considered going with a costume based on a movie character. The link between Hollywood and the costume industry is becoming stronger every year, so you can find outfits for even the most obscure characters. If you’re having a hard time coming up with ideas, why not give one of these a try?

Costumes from Hollywood Motion Pictures

• Captain Jack Sparrow – You don’t have to look like Johnny Depp to pull off this costume dedicated to everyone’s favorite bumbling, stumbling pirate. The three-cornered hat is pretty cool, and make sure you purchase a cutlass to complete the outfit.
• Princess Leia – The most traditional costume is the white outfit she wore in Star Wars. If you’ve got a great body, though, you might consider the slave girl get-up she sported in the opening scenes of Return of the Jedi.
• Optimus Prime – The leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime has an alternate form as a semi-truck and wages a non-stop battle against the evil plots of the Decepticons.
• Harry Potter – If you have the right look (and glasses), you’ll be the hit of the party as The Boy Who Lived. Get a couple of pals to go as Hermione and Ron.
• Darth Vader – When it comes to movie villains, nobody is more popular than this lightsaber -wielding master of the Force. Too bad these costumes can’t duplicate his distinctive breathing sounds.
• Wicked Witch – Dorothy’s nemesis from The Wizard of Oz gets to wear a pointy witch hat, but make sure to apply plenty of green make-up for maximum effect.
• Cruella De Vil – The dog-hating villain from Disney’s 101 Dalmatians can be a pretty sexy costume on the right woman. The black-and-white wig will also allow you to stand out from the crowd.
• Woody – Your kids will get a kick out of this costume devoted to the lovable cowboy (voiced by Tom Hanks) from Toy Story and its sequels.
• Babydoll – Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch disappointed at the box office, but you can still be a big hit as a waif with big swords and even bigger guns. If you’ve got a number of hot gal pals, you can attend as the whole gang of female butt kickers from the movie.

My girlfriend is obsessed with Cher, so I suppose we could always drop the Sonny and Cher gimmick and dress up like characters from her many movies. Maybe a Moonstruck angle would be appropriate, with my gal dressed as Cher’s saucy Italian and me made to look like Nicolas Cage’s one-handed Ronny Cammareri.

An oxygen concentrator is a device that delivers oxygen to patients irrespective of whether they are in the hospital or are home bound. It takes in air and absorbs unwanted gases such as nitrogen, leaving oxygen which has a higher concentration. A home oxygen concentrator is for a patient who is

Portable Oxygen Concentrators

With the onset of the 2000s, manufacturers have suddenly understood the importance of mobile oxygen concentrators. These are basically oxygen generators that are, well, portable. Of course the portable nature of them means that they need battery power as well for when people are out and about but many can also be plugged into a cars cigar lighter. Basically they can be plugged in anywhere, even if people are on the move! Portable oxygen concentrators do not provide as much oxygen for as long as free standing models but they can deliver an adequate amount for someone to be able to get out and live a relatively normal life. Basically there are two kinds of home oxygen

concentrators:

Continuous flow As the name suggests, these oxygen concentrators provide a continuous flow of oxygen.

Pulse FlowPulse flow concentrators deliver oxygen when they detect that the patient is inhaling.

Uses of Home Oxygen Concentrators

The most common use is for people with respiratory problems, simply living their everyday life. In the past people with such problems would have been isolated in hospital or at home, relying on make-shift concentrators that are not really convenient to be carried around. However, with the introduction of portable devices meant that most people could come close to living a normal life. Of course they have to be constantly conscious of the level of their batteries but spare batteries can be carried and fortunately portable concentrators can be recharged in a car lighter socket.

Another use of portable home oxygen concentrators is by the US military. They have used them in Afghanistan and Iraq and they are part of the kit given to surgical teams close to and in combat zones.

Clearly the invention of the home oxygen concentrators cannot be undermined. It helps to save lives in war-zones and it also allows people with respiratory problems to leave their homes and travel the world if they want to, whereas only a few years ago they would have been stranded at either in their homes, in hospital or a nursing home!