This story, entitled, "Now, scented clothing that masks the stench of body odour," would be amusing if people weren't taking it so seriously. Variations of this report are all over the news and the Internet this week. It's featured in the latest issue of the Journal Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, for crying out loud. Frankly, I think the story… well… stinks. It's a cover-up. Underneath all that added scent the microbes that create the smell continue working non-stop. Odious, odorous Microbes: bad. Built-in, natural, everlasting antimicrobial agents in your garments: good. Very good.

Here's what they say:

The researchers developed microcapsules filled with limonene (which is found in the rinds of lemons and gives them their citrus smell), and applied them to samples of wool and polyester… Later, they tested the scent-infused fabrics and discovered that the scent was long-lasting and resisted drying cleaning and other wear… According to the researchers, such lemony-fresh fabrics can be put to use for making BO-neutralizing, suits, socks and even underwear.

So let's see… underneath all that lemony scent the microbes are still making a stink, but that's OK because no one can detect their odor because it's masked by another odor? Do I have that right?

How about this instead: prevent the cause of any body odor in the first place, dispense with the perfume, and don't pollute the air with any olfactory sensation, all of which has the added benefit of keeping you healthier because microbes on your skin can do bad things beside just stink up the place. That's what we do in making DRIFIRE Performance FR garments, and we do it two ways.

First, every DRIFIRE garment comes with Freshguard® technology from our partner Optimer. They are the people who developed the patented blend which is the basis of our FR variant of performance wear.  Freshguard is an environmentally-friendly, odor-neutralizing treatment embedded in the yarn. It virtually eliminates odor.  But we also offer the option of additional solutions from Noble Biomaterials.  They are a leader in the apparel application of precious metals, which are used for natural antimicrobial, anti-odor and anti-static properties in DRIFIRE.

Sure, it's nice to smell clean, as if there were no microbes at work on your body. But for my money, it is much better to be  clean, by keeping the source of odor in check in the first place.

With the advent of summertime, have you been finding it a little hot and sticky? Well, as uncomfortable as you may be, thank your lucky stars you're not working in Baghdad. Thanks to Yahoo Weather, you can dial up the local weather just about anywhere in the world. That's exactly what I did this morning. Here's the site if you want to check for yourself from time to time. In the meantime, just how hot is it there on this early July day? The high temperature is expected to be 113 degrees. It'll cool off later way down to 91 degrees.

It doesn't get much better in the coming days:

Tomorrow: A mainly sunny sky. High 113F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph.
Tomorrow night: Clear. Low 91F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: Sunny skies. High near 115F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph.
Sunday: Mainly sunny. Highs 113 to 117F and lows in the mid 80s.
Monday: Sunny. Highs 112 to 116F and lows in the upper 80s.

Fortunately, many of our military men and women serving in Iraq and other extremely hot… and cold… climates have the advantage of DRIFIRE Performance FR wear which wicks away moisture and dries faster than any other fiber combination available today. Many of them write to us, praising the product and thanking us. But it is we who are proud and grateful to be helping them with their mission. Meanwhile, our mission will be complete when DRIFIRE is available to all in uniform.

Heather Murtagh, writing for the San Mateo Daily Journal, gives readers a few tips on how to stay cool on hot days. It's a fairly comprehensive advisory… it even includes some advice on keeping Fido and Rover out of harms way from the heat. But there are two unfortunate things about the list of things a person can do to stay cool. One, a lot of men and women in the military simply can't elect to stay indoors, or limit their 'exercise,' for example. And two, there's a gaping hole in the report where DRIFIRE technology could have been inserted to great benefit.

The article advises you to drink plenty of fluids; replenish salt loss with sports drinks, watch for heat stroke; sit in the shade; don't over-exercise; favor early morning and late afternoon excursions; and seek out public air-conditioned buildings if you're without that luxury at home.

But, as we at DRIFIRE know, clothing matters, too. Our garments that keep you dry and cool by wicking moisture away from the skin — which are, in fact, the very best in the world at this — are a critical factor in thermoregulation… which has everything to do with minimizing the risk of excessive heat.

Ask average people to name the things firefighters are called upon to do, and most will say, "Fight fires," and leave it at that. For some number of those being polled on the question, fighting fires may be the only thing they can come up with. But I think if you ask any firefighter, just about anywhere in the world, he or she will easily give you a much longer list. Just looking at the news today, for example, there are the usual firefighter news items: wildfires in California, furniture factory fires; highway collisions followed by fires; backyard pool incidents; barbecue flare ups and so forth. But from across the pond, courtesy of NewsWales.com comes a story about firefighters that just has to be filed under, "Now I've heard everything…"

Firemen were called to a river in a field in Nantmor, near Porthmadog, to rescue a cow stuck on the muddy river bank… A crew from Porthmadog, the specialist emergency tender from Caernarfon and the water rescue unit from Betws Y Coed found the Welsh Black cow stranded on a muddy river bank. It appeared to have been stranded for around an hour… Firefighters in protective equipment attached strops to the animal and its owner used his tractor to help pull her to safety.

The cow has since been checked and appears to be fit and well.

Humorous? Perhaps. But if you ask me it is a serious testament to people's first thoughts whenever they encounter a problem of almost any kind. "Call the fire department," is often the first order of business because people trust them, have a high regard for their skills under stress, and know that firefighters will do all within their power to solve a problem, even if most people would find the effort far afield from fighting fires.

In a world in which it sometimes seems these days as though more and more people are eager to say, "That's not my job," we're blessed here at DRIFIRE to have firefighters as a major component of our market.

This week DRIFIRE got an email from a fan of our products asking if our garments were available in any stores. It's a good question and if one person is wondering about it, chances are others may have the same interest. The short answer is that other than various on-base military PX type outlets, you're not going to find DRIFIRE Performance FR Wear on the racks at your local mall. Not yet, anyway. As the saying goes, 'Never say never,' but for now, the online option is the way to go. Plus, with gasoline at $4.00+ a gallon, the online option saves you money and time! With the savings, you can buy more DRIFIRE products, right?

Where to start? Here's a link via Yahoo Shopping. I like this one because just about everything we make is listed and shown here and priced for individual purchase… but you can use any preferred portal of your own choice.