Finally, the real$99 tablet computers are here! According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, electronics makers Acer has plans to release a new Android-powered 7-inch device that costs just under a hundred bucks and could dramatically change the personal computing market in a short time.
The Iconia B1 tablet will compete as a lower cost alternative to the Amazon Kindle Fire and small Samsung Galaxy tablets, as well as the ultra popular Apple iPad. It will also most likely be in direct combat with a rumored $100 Asus tablet to be released in 2013.
Unfortunately the Acer device will only be available in "emerging markets" -- aka 3rd-world countries -- at least at first. But many experts expect demand to be strong enough in North America and Europe for the company to begin selling the cheap tablets in major markets as well. A lower-cost Windows 8-powered tablet is also rumored to be in the works at Acer.
We say: It's about time tablet prices dropped to the sub-$100 level! We predict that within 2 years everyone will be walking around with high-powered 50-dollar ad-supported tablets that do just about everything the typical content consumer needs.
It turns out the new Samsung Galaxy "smart" camera is even cooler than we originally thought.. a lot cooler. It's a lot more than just an internet-connected Android-powered digicam. In fact, it's really unlike anything else we've seen out there on the gadget market so far.
In the ad-video/YouTube infomercial below Samsung does a good job of showing off the Galaxy cam's very unique on-the-fly editing, sharing, video capturing, zooming, and automatic photo backup features...
If you're into photography like we are, there's no way you can watch that and not want to buy one! :)
It turns out the "great change" the Mayans predicted for 12/21/12 had nothing to do with the end of the world, at least not in a physical sense. Yesterday, Korean pop star Psy's "Gangnam Style" video hit the one billion views mark on Youtube. It is now the most watched online video in history and some worry the milestone could signal a gigantic (probably downward) shift in the global consciousness.
The fact that such a bizarre video made for such a crazy song has gotten so many views definitely signals something big and probably not-so-great for human beings. The really scary thing is that it took only about 5 months for the video to hit a billion-plus views!
We say: The world is definitely in big, big trouble. We just hope the new "global mind" can eventually move us toward something a little better than this...
After years of talk about a Mayan apocalypse arriving on 12/21/2012, so far nothing has happened in Australia, New Zealand, China, and other places where the 21st of December is already well underway.
It seems the "experts" were wrong and the new Baktun has arrived without any major problems.
We say: Good news, but we're still gonna gonna wait til midnight to celebrate here on the US West Coast!
We're not sure about any of that but he definitely seems to be "challenged" in some way. Case in point: him punching OJ Mayo in the groin the other night. Check it out:
Wow, that does not look fun. Will Cousins force other NBA stars to start wearing athletic cups soon??
Gas prices in the US have dropped big time over the past couple of months, according to a new report. Commodities experts are calling it a "true price crash" as the price per gallon is down over 10 cents in just the past 3 weeks. The national average is currently $3.38 per gallon.
This is good news for Americans getting ready to spend spend spend for the Christmas/holiday shopping season!
"This crash began back when refining problems around the country were being fixed, one after the other, at the same time that our seasonal gasoline demand was shrinking."
Oil prices are expected to drop even more before the end of 2012 and could drop at an even faster pace in 2013 as more and more alternative energy sources come online in North America.
We say: This is really great news for the still-struggling US economy. And even better news for our pickup trucks and gas-guzzling SUVs!
Danish pro tennis player Caroline Wozniacki stuffed towels into her shirt and shorts to imitate the curvy "look" of famously voluptuous American player Serena Williams during a recent exhibition match in Brazil.
Check out the video below:
Some call this crude, some even call it racist... we call it strangely sexy!
Power Balance bracelets -- a well known scam athletic performance "energy" product -- recently made a promotional deal with the NBA. Despite a complete lack of evidence that they do anything at all, the NBA made a deal to sell special team logo versions of the bracelets in arenas, at over 30 bucks a pop!
Even Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant wears, endorses, and investsin the company.
Luckily, not all NBA big-shots are sell outs who'll promote any piece of crap in exchange for a new revenue stream. Case-in-point: Mark Cuban, outspoken owner of the Dallas Mavericks. Recently a friend recorded him showing just how he feels about the Mavs-branded Power Bracelets. Check it out:
We say: It's sad that a sports organization as influential (especially on little kids and teenagers) would stoop to promoting and selling this junk. Also, we like Mark Cuban A LOT more now! :)
A few days ago one of the world's sexiest Asian models -- Kiana Kim -- did a short video interview with a blogger at the Chicago Sun-Times Sports Collectibles Convention. She talked about her upcoming reality TV show with fiancée/baseball legend Pete Rose.
Check it out:
I'm not sure exactly why but I have a feeling this show is gonna be a HUGE hit. Extremely busty Playboy model and ex-sports superstar... how can it not be popular??
Black Friday is a pretty big deal in the United States, at least in terms of shopping/retail. It's like a special holiday for people who can't stand to have too much cash in their wallets, purses, or bank accounts!
The problem is that it's no longer very easy to get your hands on the best "deals" being offered in those big brick-and-mortar stores. The "consumer competition" levels have skyrocketed in recent years, thanks to more free-flowing information channels (thanks internet!) and a bad economy that seems to turn normal people into deal-searching lunatic zombies.
Here's a great video that outlines some pretty useful tips for finding the best Black Friday deals for the 2012 holiday season:
We say: The 3 best tips mentioned are "research," "be courteous," and "plan ahead"... the best tip not mentioned is bring a flask of your favorite whiskey and a designated driver, it makes the whole experience a lot better.
CNN reporter Anderson Cooper was giving a live report from Palestinian territory on Sunday night when a bomb hit nearby. A large explosion shook the entire area and caused him to declare the following:
"Whoa... Well, that was a rather large explosion."
Yesterday newly re-elected President Obama cried while giving a very nice speech to a group of his election staffers. Yes really, check out the video...
In another historical election, President Obama won re-election on Tuesday, despite a very bad economy and lots of doubt about his ability. Here's his acceptance speech after the election:
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What do you think about Obama winning re-election in the 2012 Presidential Election? Leave your comments below!
So, apparently, some little girls play tackle football. And some of them are really, really, really, really fast. One in particular, Samantha Gordon, appears to have blazing speed that allows her to outrun all the boys.
Check it out:
WOW!
Best quote from the YouTube comments: "They just told her that boys have cooties and she wanted no part of cooties."
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What do you think about his little speed demon? Leave your comments below!
On election day in the US, the majority of voters think the country is on the wrong track, according to exit poll data. The sluggish economy seems to be the biggest reason. Despite this, President Obama is expected to win re-election over Mitt Romney and voters are generally much more optimistic than they were during the last election in 2008.
Exit polls that year showed about 75% of voters believed the country was headed in the wrong direction. Of course, the country was in the middle of an economic implosion and mired in 2 major wars at the time.
According to results from early voting exit polling done by NBC News over the past few weeks, around 52 percent of voters think the country is one the wrong track while 46 percent think it was headed in the right direction. Yet 53% of voters think the federal government is doing too much.
About 60% of people polled think the economy is the most important issue currently facing the US. Of those, most chose unemployment as the biggest issue, followed closely by rising prices, with taxes and housing near the bottom.
Data from the polls showed a very sharp divide between supporters and opponents of Obamacare. About a quarter of early voters want to see the health care program totally repealed and about 23% want some of it repealed. Another 25% actually want to see the program expanded to provide health coverage for more people at lower cost.
We say: It's really interesting to see that so many people think the country is headed in the wrong direction but, at the same time, most people want the federal government to do less... not more! We have to say we agree that serious changes need to be made, especially in terms of boosting the economy, but more government programs are definitely not the best way to do that.
For the first time in history, normal New Jersey residents will be able to vote via email or fax (aka "E-vote") in tomorrow's Presidential election. NJ voters will simply need to submit a ballot application by email or fax to their county clerk in order to take part in the ground-breaking online program.
The state's leaders made the decision to let people vote online "remotely" because of the damage caused by Superstorm Sandy last week, which literally destroyed homes with wind and massive flooding. Many residents are displaced and would otherwise not be able to vote in what many consider to be one of the most important national elections in US history. Also, the program will allow busy emergency workers to continue with disaster-relief work instead of spending hours standing in line waiting to cast their ballots.
Many US states already allow remote electronic voting for military members and US ex-pats living in other countries. But this is the first time regular civilian residents of New Jersey will be permitted to vote via email.
"This has been an extraordinary storm that has created unthinkable destruction across our state, and we know many people have questions about how and where to cast their vote in Tuesday's election... To help alleviate pressure on polling places, we encourage voters to either use electronic voting or the extended hours at county offices to cast their vote."
Will Ferrell will do almost anything to get you to vote tomorrow. He'll cook you a meal, move your couch, give you a badly-drawn tattoo, dance, eat toenails, punch himself in the face, give you hand-made home decorations, etc.
There are strong rumors that Facebook is creating a new online "classifieds" service to compete with Craiglist According to insiders, the project is a priority for the web giant and its development has been fast-tracked so that it can be rolled out asap.
Supposedly called "Facebook Marketplace", the classifieds tools will allow users to create short ads that can be broadcasted to their list of friends. It will allow you to sell your furniture, rent out a guest house, or fill a job position using the power of your FB friends' news feed notifications.
The service is similar to Facebook's "promoted posts" feature and, according to the rumors, will cost less than $5 per ad (some type of ads will be free). The classified ads will "stand out" in friends' news feeds in order to increase views. They can include several photos as well as links to external web pages.
Maybe the most interesting feature of the new service is the ability for friends to share, re-post, and tag the ads with people who aren't in your personal list of contacts. So your new roommate could be the friend of a friend of yours who happens to live in the same city. And you could also make several friends/contacts whether a "sale" occurs or not.
There is also a very interesting "projects" feature that will help people source help with news projects, ventures, and start-up businesses. It will be similar to Craigslist's "Gigs" section and it could be the most powerful part of the new project. In the future we may see dozens of new Facebook start-ups being launched every day!
Hurricane (or "super storm") Sandy was one of the biggest storms to ever hit the US East Coast. There are hundreds of amazing videos showing the incredible power of this unique weather event. Over the past few days millions of people from all over the world have jumped online to search for the best "Sandy videos" available. Here are 2 of the most popular...
Here's a video of Sandy hitting the New Jersey shore:
Here's a time-lapse video showing the storm arriving in New York City:
A few days ago Felix Baumgartner floated to an altitude of over 128,000 feet in a helium balloon -- then jumped out. He free fell for 4 min 20 sec, reaching a maximum velocity of 833 mph and breaking the world records for highest free fall and highest manned balloon flight. He made the incredible jump on the 65th anniversary of Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier for the first time.
Kourtney Kardashian recently had her 2nd child and, just like the first time around, she was able to lose most of the post-pregnancy "baby weight" very quickly. So far she's lost 30 pounds out of a total of 45 lbs she gained during the pregnancy and she says she didn't resort to any extreme weight loss tactics. So no QuickTrim Extreme Burn or Belly Bandits we assume.
Ms. Kardashian say she was able to achieve the quick weight loss by eating a healthy diet and jogging. She says that after her first baby she was breastfeeding and ate a box of Nilla Wafers nearly every day. This time she's taken to snacking on another nearly-as-delicious treat: edamame!
We say: Good for Kourtney. But for some reason we're pretty sure she's done a lot more than just eat boiled soybeans and go for morning jogs on the beach with her sexy sister Kim. Being as rich as she is means a lot less body fat and very little cellulite -- plastic surgeons are a celebrity's best friend!
Google has introduced a new, cheaper version of their very light, very thin "Chromebook" laptops. The Samsung computer will cost only $250, putting it into direct competition with all the new low-cost tablets being released, including Google's own Nexus 7 tab.
According to top Google development manager Sundar Pichai:
"It's the BEST laptop that's ever been designed at this price... We assume that you have a Windows machine in your home, or maybe a Mac. This isn't built to replace those machines but instead be an additional computer... We really want this to be for everyone in your family... We really want users to think about this as one extra computer for your kitchen counter, one near the bed, maybe a computer for your kids or family."
The New Samsung Chromebook features specs just below those of the popular Samsung Series 5 Chromebook. It runs on a microprocessor designed for tablets and smartphones, the Exynos dual-core ARM processor, and features 2GB of RAM and 16GB of memory storage. Buyers also get 100GB of Google Drive cloud storage space free for 2 years. It also has a 11.6 inch screen, a weight of just 2 and a half pounds, and an ultra-thin 0.8 inch thickness
You can buy your own Google/Samsung Chromebook on Amazon and the Google Play online marketplace, as well as at several special "Chromezone" kiosks in Best Buy stores.
We say: This is REALLY good news. We love our tablets but not having a real keyboard often sucks. It's hard to "blog" using a normal tab!
Good news for photography-nerds: Samsung is set to release a new digital camera/phone hybrid product called the Galaxy Camera. It's one of the first Android-based "smart" cameras on the market and some experts expect it to become another big seller for the company.
Samsung reps say the new camera is unlike anything else currently on the market. It features a built-in 4G cellular network connection and basically the same user interface that's found on the Galaxy 2 and Galaxy 3 android smartphones. It has an incredibly powerful 21X zoom and can take photos up to 16-megapixels in size. It also features no external buttons -- all the controls are accessed through the back panel touchscreen.
The new camera has a lot of things in common with the new Galaxy S3 phone. It has a big, nearly-5-inch 720p display, 1.4 GHz microprocessor, and built-in GPS for those times when you forget where you're taking a photo. The photo app that comes with the device allows you to do nearly everything a high-end digital camera can do, including edit the pics right on the camera using the touchscreen.
Probably the coolest thing about the new Galaxy Camera is the sharing and "social" functionality built into it. It will connect to the internet through 3G and 4G cell networks as well as via a normal Wi-Fi connection. So you can instantly upload photos to social sharing sites like Instagram or just email them to a list of your best friends. It can also be set to automatically "backup" your photos to Samsung or Google cloud storage sites.
We say: Something tells us this cool new digital camera is gonna cost a lot of money. Plus it will give AT&T another excuse to rob us blind. Still... we want one now!!!
Ever want a cheap, simple way to lock and unlock your front door with your iPhone or Android smartphone? If so, then you're in luck. The new Lockitron keyless entry device is a very innovative gizmo that attaches to your door's deadbolt and makes it incredibly easy to control who can enter your house, apartment, bungalow, or mansion.
By moving your app-enabled phone nearby, or even by sending the Lockitron a text message (if you happen to be on the other side of the planet), you can open or secure your door. Apigy, the maker, has designed the product to communicate via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (4.0 only so far), and simple text message.
The Lockitron app even allows you to "share" door-opening abilities with friends and dog-walkers you choose. The device can also lets you know when the lock has been opened or closed. So you know when your kid gets home... or when your crazy ex-girlfriend decides to drop by unannounced.
The Lockitron box is removable so even renters can use it. And if you lose your phone you can easily log into a special website and reset the entry code so no one can steal your stuff after jacking your Droid. Right now, Apigy is running a "discount" special and you can pre-order your very own Lockitron for just $149!
We say: High-end iPhone and Android-controlled web cams and home security systems are about to get really, really popular... but right now most of them are also really expensive. It's nice to know there's a low-cost alternative for us cheap-asses!
Tired of having to go out to the store to buy every little thing you need? Imagine being able to create the plastic piece that broke off of your expensive new television set, a pair of high heel shoes, a new bicycle, or even a hand gun in the comfort of your own home? Cheap 3D printing technology will soon allow you to do that, according to many experts.
"Personal" 3D printers are getting more powerful and less expensive every day. They've been used in industry for over 20 years but, up until very recently, they were way too costly to be accessible to most people. New technology innovations are changing that very quickly.
In fact, many experts believe that in-home 3D printers will become almost as common as normal inkjet paper printers eventually. Even "professional-grade" 3-dimensional printing technology is quickly becoming more affordable.
One group of engineers from MIT recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for a new type of very "high-resolution" 3D printer -- called the "Form 1" -- that will sell for less than $3,000... far less than the $30,000+ price tag high-end printers were selling for just a couple of years ago. The group has already raised over a million dollars for the project.
According to Formlabs engineer Maxim Labovsky:
"The product is definitely not targeted towards the mass consumer... It produces parts like you can't get anywhere else with any other low-cost machine... It's a complete package -- easy to use and well-designed -- and I think it's a first of its kind."
3D printing may not become a totally mainstream phenomenon for several more years. But already thousands of hobbyists, including many engineers and designers, are using the machines to create plastic products and metal parts. Some chefs are even using them to created very intricately detailed food products!
One of the companies leading the pack in the home 3D printing field is Makerbot. Their machines are very affordable (a new model, the "Replicator 2", recently went on sale for $2,200) and can use thousands of open-source, downloadable designs from the company's "Thingiverse" database.
Makerbot is planning to open stores where potential customers can see with their own eyes just how amazing this new, lower-cost technology is.
We say: We want one! If cheap home 3D printers will allow us to avoid making trip to Home Depot and Walmart we predict they will quickly become the best-selling consumer product in the world!
More good news for high-tech gadget geeks: Google is developing a new "smart watch"that uses technology similar to their Google Glasses product released a few months ago. According to a new patent filed by the web giant, the watch features a flip-up lens that can "see" nearby objects and written words and then provide up-to-date info related to what it sees.
So in many ways it's Google Glasses for people who don't use glasses. According to the patent, the smart watch will communicate with your smartphone so you can view info on the screen. But it will also feature a built-in screen, underneath the bezel/lens, to view fresh data from the comfort of your own wrist.
Among other uses, a Google Smartwatch could potentially be set to always be scanning the area around you, giving you real-time info related to buildings, products, streets, signs, and maybe even people. Obviously things like GPS directions and "best price" information would be easy to serve to the wearer... as would all those lovely Google advertisements.
We say: This is great because we don't wear glasses and want more ways to view more Google ads all day long (Gmail, search, YouTube, Android apps, etc just aren't enough for our unquenchable ad-thirst!).
Low-carb diets really may have some big health benefits, according to new research from Duke University. A clinical review of 17 studies, involving over 1100 obese patients, found that most low-carb dieters lost a very significant amount of weight -- about 18 pounds in 6 months to a year!
Besides losing pounds and several inches in their waists, most study participants experienced lower blood pressure, lower C-reactive protein levels, better triglycerides numbers, and an increase in good "HDL" cholesterol... among other benefits.
According to researcher William Yancy:
"These improvements occurred during weight loss which is known to lead to some of these changes."
This new research ads to several years' worth of evidence showing that low-carb diets like the Atkins diet are almost definitely effective for rapid weight loss, body fat reduction, and overall health/fitness. Since the late 90's several studies, as well as a ton of anecdotal evidence, has pointed to the fact that cutting carbohydrate consumption (especially sugar consumption!) leads to fast, healthy weight loss and a reduced risk of heart disease.
We say: It's time many doctors and "health experts" stop lying to the public, saying that Atkins and other low-carb diets are very unhealthy They may not be the "best diets" in the world, but for many overweight and obese people they are viable options for losing body fat and improving overall health!
Less exercise can give you better weight loss results, according to a new report from the University of Copenhagen. In fact, doing just 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day can help you lose a significant amount of weight, as long as you also eat a healthy diet.
Researchers studied a group of overweight men in their 20's and 30's. They found that, over the course of 13 weeks, those who followed a consistent "moderate-intensity" exercise routine lost a lot more weight than the ones who performed "high-intensity" workouts on a daily basis.
Experts aren't exactly sure what's going on here but a leading theory is that high-volume, high-intensity exercise leads to a big increase in hunger and calorie consumption. And it may actually cause you to underestimate how much food you're really eating overall. Also, study participants who did the high-intensity exercise tended to move a lot less at other times of the day, most likely due to exhaustion -- so they actually ended up burning fewer calories overall than the moderate exercisers.
The bottom line is that, in many cases, less exercise appears to lead to more weight loss. Moderate-intensity exercise doesn't cause the big hunger/appetite spikes, so you don't overeat. Also, it leaves you with enough energy to do things like take the stairs instead of the elevator. Of course, either way you need to do it on a consistent daily (or almost daily) basis in order to lose the weight efficiently.
We say: This is good news for us "moderate" fitness fans, but we know for a fact that there's a ton of health and fat loss benefits from doing a few high-intensity exercise routines every week -- especially if your goal is fast fat loss and muscle building/toning!
First they said belly fat is extremely dangerous. Then, more recently, they said it isn't so bad after all. Now they say it's actually just about the worst type of body fat we can carry around! Results of a new study showed that people with high levels of "central obesity" (aka big bellies) are almost 3 times more likely to diet from heart disease and twice as likely to die from any cause.
According to the researcher from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, having lots of abdominal fat is even worse than being fully obese. This is important because it's very possible to be at what's considered a "normal weight" for your height yet still have significant amounts of fat hanging off your stomach-area.
According to lead researcher and cardiologist Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez:
"People with normal weight may be less likely to feel the need for lifestyle changes... But, central obesity isn't healthy even in those with normal weight."
Belly fat appears to have multiple negative affects on health. It increases insulin resistance and greatly increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Also, people with high levels of abdominal fat tend to have less "protective" fat in other areas of the body.
Experts say that if you're in the normal weight range for your height, sex, age etc. and have a lot of belly fat the best way to reduce the risks is to lose weight and increase lean muscle mass. Apparently, more evenly distributed body fat can greatly boost your long-term health.
We say: Getting rid of belly fat isn't that easy to do but this is definitely another reason to get back on the diet/regular exercise program!
It turns out the popular alternative medicine treatment called acupuncture really does work for reducing perceived pain in the body... probably in more than one way. A new study shows the pain-relief experienced by many acupuncture patients is real and probably not just due to a placebo affect, although much of the benefit is probably due to the human brain.
This is fairly surprising because skeptics have for years stated that the procedure involving placing thin needles into the skin is a pure scam that provides no real benefits. Still, acupuncture has been used in Asia for thousands of years so many alternative and natural health practitioners recommend it for dealing with pain and other health conditions without drugs.
Researchers from the Archives of Internal Medicine looked at 29 high-quality clinical trials involving about 18,000 people who underwent acupuncture treatments for chronic pain related to back/neck problems, arthritis, headaches, etc. They found evidence that real genuine acupuncture done by an expert in the proper systematic way does appear to significantly reduce pain.
Still, many experts -- including some involved in this new study -- say that at least part of acupuncture's beneficial effects are most likely due to patients believing and wanting the treatment to work.
We say: Even if there is a strong placebo effect involved in reducing pain with acupuncture (or any other alternative drug-free treatment for that matter) who cares?? If someone feels less pain overall that certainly isn't a bad thing, no matter what the mechanism is.
Every year special holiday versions of popular foods are released. But this year a special "Halloween" version of the ultra-popular Oreo cookie has literally exploded onto the social media scene. Not a single official ad has yet been run for the new "Candy Corn Oreos" yet millions of people in North America are already clamoring to buy them!
It seems the photos of the very unique-looking hybrid cookies have made the Candy Corn Oreos a viral sensation on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and the other big social networks.
We say: Like the guy in the video below, we hate candy corn... but we love Oreos. So we might have to take a trip to the grocery store in the near future...
Amazon.com has released the updated "2.0" version of its extremely popular Kindle Fire tablet computer... several of them actually. The new Kindles feature high-definition screens, larger sizes, longer battery life, and greatly improved computing power, according to gadget industry experts.
During the launch this past week Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos had this to say:
"We love to invent. We love to pioneer. We even like going down alleys that turn out to be blind alleys... Every once in a while those blind alleys turn into broad avenues. And that turns out to be lots of fun."
2 of the new Kindle Fires feature larger 8.9 inch screens, putting them in-between the original 7-inch model and the industry-leading Apple iPad (9.7 inch screen). The "Fire HD" tablets will feature high-end Dolby Digital Plus speakers, HDMI TV/monitor ports, and 2 special antennas for improved WiFi and 4G connectability.
The low-cost tablets are priced at $199 for the 7-inch model and $299 for the 8.9 inch version. Industry experts expect them to compete strongly with Google's new Nexus 7 tablet, especially because of Amazon's huge content library.
We say: We all have the original Kindle Fire and it kind of sucks. Very buggy and no HDMI port. Instead of gambling on Amazon again we plan to get the new Google Nexus tablet!
If you want to boost your brain's ability to memorize things, shut your eyes for a few minutes. That's the message from a group of neuroscientists from Scotland, who performed a study on elderly men and women that tested their ability to memorize details with and without short breaks.
They found that participants who closed their eyes for 10 minutes in a dark room were better able to recall the details of a story they had heard. After the brief "brain rest" people were able to remember significantly more details than when they weren't allowed to take a break.
What's really amazing is that the memory boost lasted for a whole week. So it appears that taking just a short rest could allow you to process and remember large amounts of information. That's good news for older people, students, and those poor folks who have to work 12 hour shifts!
We say: For the best possible memory boost you might want to take things a bit further and try some meditation. It's been shown to be a great memory enhancer!
In a huge shock to the international sports community, a 16-year-old African-American girl has become the all-around Olympic champion in women's gymnastics. It was her second gold in two days after helping her team win on Tuesday.
Experts say Douglas and her trainer Liang Chow were able to accomplish an amazing feat. Two years ago when she moved away from home to train with a world-class coach in Des Moines, Iowa Douglas was considered to be only "above average" in the American gymnastics community.
Turning her into a world champion took a giant effort, with countless hours of training and huge sacrifices for the petite dynamo. In the finals competition she was able to beat out 2 of the world's best Russian gymnasts, Viktoria Komova and 2010 world champion Aliya Mustafina, to take the gold and secure her place in sports history forever.
American swimmer Michael Phelps became the greatest, most decorated athlete in the history of the Olympics yesterday by winning his 19th medal. He took a very close silver in the 200 meter butterfly and then pulled himself together enough to win a gold medal in the 4 by 200 meter freestyle relay.
That puts him ahead of the previous medal count record holder Larisa Latynina, a Russian Soviet gymnast from the 50's and 60's. The 27 year old US athlete previously won 8 medals in the 2004 games in Athens and then scooped up a record 8 gold medals in the Beijing games.
He has not had a fantastic start to the 2012 games -- missing a medal in the 400 meter medley and taking second in the 4 by 100 freestyle relay -- but that really doesn't matter now. He now has a total of 19 Olympic medals, nearly all golds with a few silvers thrown in.
That makes Michael Phelps, officially, the greatest Olympian in history!
The owners of Caesars Palace hotel and casino really want to build a giant ferris wheel on the Las Vegas Strip, and now they're one step closer to doing so. Clark County just granted a construction license to casino mega-corporaton Caesars Entertainment to build what will be the world's largest "observation wheel" (apparently that sounds cooler), standing 550 tall and code-named the "High Roller" ride.
The wheel will be the centerpiece of Caesars' new $550 million "Linq" development project. It will be taller than the 541-foot Singapore Flyer wheel and bigger than the Mandalay Bay resort's planned 500-foot SkyVue wheel, which will be located just 3 miles down the Strip.
Caesars hopes the new project will help to revitalize the part of the Strip that's connected to three of their large properties: Harrah's, Imperial Palace, and the Flamingo. Caesers executives say they're already getting inquiries from people who want to get married hundreds of feet up in the sky.
We say: If there's one thing Las Vegas really needs, it's giant ferris wheels observation wheels. It's gonna be A LOT of fun to be in these things when the famous 30-mph Vegas wind gusts kick up!
After making what many are calling one of the dumbest decisions in NBA personnel history, the Knicks have let phenom player Jeremy Lin go to the Houston Rockets for nothing. That's very bad news for NYC-area stores who still have thousands of virtually-worthless Lin Knicks jerseys on hand.
But it's very good news for Texas sporting good stores and online sports merchandise retailers who will be selling what is already predicted to be one of the most-popular NBA jerseys on the market (again)!
Since last evening's announcement, online searches related to Jeremy Lin Houston jerseys have exploded, especially on the big social networks. The team's official Twitter account is already promoting pre-orders and Twitter in general is buzzing with JLin jersey talk.
Lots of people will be looking to cash in, and not just Americans. There are rumors that some Chinese companies are already selling (very fake) Jeremy Lin Houston Rockets jerseys with the #17 on them. That's kind of funny since the Rockets have already announced Lin will get his old #7 jersey he wore during his first tour with the team.
We say: Last February's Jeremy Lin explosion was amazing to watch. Hopefully he can continue to improve and turn into a new, younger, much-more-Asian version of Steve Nash. We can't believe New York let him leave but we're bigger Rockets fans than Knicks fans so it works out for us!
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What do you think about the Jeremy Lin deal and the popularity of his new Houston jersey? Leave your comment and questions below... thanks!
Here's a little good news for those of us with big bellies: belly fat may not be as bad for our health as we thought. A new study from Chicago's Loyola University found that abdominal fat appears to help regulate the immune system and also help heal damaged tissue in other parts of the body.
Researchers looked at the unique cells of the omentum -- the network of fatty tissue surrounding vital internal organs -- and found some interesting things that may lead to more effective immunosuppressive drugs and even treatments for autoimmune disorders like Crohn's disease.
Loyola's researchers found that belly fat even contains special types of stem cells called mesenchymal cells. They're able to turn themselves into other important body cells such as lung cells and bone cells. They're also important because they can move to injured areas of the body and help repair damaged tissue by generating fresh cells.
According to study author Makio Iwashima:
"We now have evidence that the omentum is not just fat sitting in the belly."
Still, experts do not suggest trying to increase your stomach fat levels. Most healthy people will have enough (or way more than enough) to get the immune-regulating and tissue-healing benefits of the belly's cells. And with all the known risks of having too much, it's definitely worth the effort to lose belly fat if you have too much of the stuff!
Looking for a new type of low cost smartphone to buy? Good news then. A fresh report from Bloomberg confirms several months of rumors: Amazon is definitely going to release a new "Kindle" phone designed to compete with the Apple iPhone and Android phones.
According to Bloomberg's people, Amazon is working with mobile device giant Foxconn to manufacture the new phone. For many months now market experts have speculated that Amazon would come out with a Kindle phone because of the extreme popularity of the company's cheap Kindle Fire tablet computer. Also, Taiwanese media reports from November of 2011 stated that Amazon had begun talks with Foxconn to build a new mobile phone product.
Like the Kindle Fire, the new Amazon phone will almost definitely be designed to consume content -- ebooks, magazines, movies, muscie, etc. -- purchased in the Amazon marketplace. That means it too will likely run a very modified (some say limited) version of the Google Android operating system that's closely tied into the Amazon/Kindle app store. It also mean, hopefully, that the device will be significantly cheaper than the iPhone and high-end Amazon phones (which run $500 and up currently).
We say: We like our Kindle Fires a lot, despite their bugginess and small screen size, so a Kindle phone would probably be very cool as well. Plus, we always like to see more competition in the smartphone market. The sooner we get to a $50 high-end smarthphone the better!
100's of thousands of people will lose their internet access this coming Monday due to a nasty computer virus called DNSChanger. That's because the FBI will be shutting down special web servers it had set up on a temporary basis in order to help people with infected machines.
Fortunately there are easy ways to check for the DNSChanger virus on your own machine. Still, lots of people around the world aren't going to be able to log-in on July 9th.
A small group of Estonian computer hackers have been able to infect about 4 million computers around the world over the past 5+ years with their unique creation. The malware program redirects web browsers to fake "spoofed" web sites with malicious ads and links. Last year the FBI was able to arrest the cybercriminals but they have not been able to stop the negative effects of the widespread virus.
Experts say at least 300,000 computers around the world -- and at least 70,000 in the United States -- remain infected with DNSChanger. That's considered to be a huge number and may have some very negative potential consequences. The FBI has attempted to contact people infected with the program but they say that can't identify all of them. They have published some tips for checking/fixing your own computer.
We say: If you don't have at least a good free anti-virus program setup on all of your PCs, laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc you probably deserve to lose internet access for awhile!
Scientists may have finally discovered the Higgs boson, the so-called "God particle" theorized to be the fundamental building block of our universe. Researchers at the $10 billion CERN Large Hadron Collider near Geneva have announced "observations" of a super small particle with characteristics similar to those of the famous boson.
The scientists looked at computer data from hundreds of trillions of high-energy proton collisions -- the results of years of physics investigations -- in order to come to their amazing conclusion. They claim that two equal phenomenon were observed in two separate experiments in different parts of the collider, which confirm the accuracy of the results.
Still, experts say even more data will have to be collected and analyzed in order to completely confirm the results of the experiments. Until then, we non-geek laypeople will just have to anxiously await the results of the research!
More good news for us caffeine junkies! Coffee and its high caffeine levels might protect you from a common form of skin cancer, according to a new study. The Cancer Research medical journal reports that drinking regular coffee, tea, coffee, or even caffeinated cola appears to protect people from basal cell carcinoma.
According to study author Jiali Han, a professor at Harvard Medical School:
"It's the caffeine that's most likely responsible for the beneficial effect... Caffeine inhibits tumor progression. We saw the effect in mice and thought we should do this research to see if it applies to humans, too.... I'm not going to say we need to promote coffee based on this research, but this is just one more addition to the list of ways coffee has been associated with positive health benefits."
This new research just adds to a mountain of recent evidence pointing to coffee's health benefits -- including protection against type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's, liver cancer, cirrhosis, and heart failure. It has also been shown to provide a huge boost in exercise performance.
We say: Anything that gives us more reasons to drink 4 cups of coffee a day and 2 Rockstar energy drinks is good news to us. Plus skin cancer is a real threat here in Las Vegas so it's good to know we've been "protecting" ourselves so well all these years... :)
Need to lose some bodyfat? For the first time in 13 years, the FDA has approved a new weight loss drug -- one it initially rejected a couple years ago. Experts believe the move is part of the government's attempts to help control the skyrocketing obesity epidemic in North America.
According to Cowen & Co analyst Simos Simeonidis:
"It appears that the agency's view has officially shifted towards 'not treating obesity is a risk in and of itself, so we're willing to put drugs in the market in order to help people lose weight, even if there's risk associated'."
Belviq is the brand name for lorcaserin and it's expected to become a billion-dollar product within a short amount of time. The new diet drug works by altering "hunger" signals in the brain, so users feel full on significantly less calories. In clinical studies, users lost five percent of their bodyweight (about 12 lbs) on average -- not a huge amount of weight but enough to make a big difference in the health of obese patients.
Belviq is only approved for use in obese adults with a BMI of 30 or more or in those with a BMI of 27 or more who have at least one health problem related to their weight. So if you're overweight and have type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc you can qualify for a Belviq prescription from your doctor.
We say: These weight loss drugs almost always have side-effects that make them a dangerous way to lose weight. Clean eating and regular exercise is a MUCH better option for those of use who need to lose a few pounds!
Google has been hard at work recently, launching a new 7" tablet as well as their own "Siri"-clone voice assistant program. The tech giant says the feature is far superior to Apple's popular Siri functionality built into the new iPhone 4S.
The new voice search product is built into Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" and is powered by Google Knowledge Graph, a very cool semantic-search engine recently launched this year. It's expected to be availabe by mid-July and, at least initially, only on a select few new Android smartphones and tablet computers (surely including the Google Nexus 7).
Also built into the Android 4.1 OS is "Google Now" which apparently alerts you to important information you need to know right when you need to know it. For example, it can tell you when the next train or subway car is coming to your current location.
Here's a video about the new Google voice assistant:
We say: It's about time Google launched their own Siri! We were about to buy overpriced iPhones because we're too lazy to type questions into the Google search bar on our Samsung Galaxy phones!
While many big restaurant chains in the US are struggling in the down economy, sexy girl-based restaurants -- or "Breastaurants" -- like Hooters, Twin Peaks, and the Tilted Kilt are seeing their profits skyrocket, according to food industry research firm Technomic. The sports bars/grills with cute and usually busty waitresses in skimpy uniforms are apparently doing a great job at attracting younger professional clientele with more disposable income to spend... and they're making a lot of money in the process!
Three of the newer "boob" chains -- Mugs N Jugs, Twin Peaks, the Tilted Kilt -- have experienced combined growth of 30% this year alone. The Twin Peaks chain has quickly turned into a $40+ million business in just a couple of years by hiring really sexy, outgoing waitresses!
Obviously cleavage and tight clothing helps to attract guys. Those guys consume lots of beer, drinks, wings, burgers, etc and don't mind paying a little extra because of the view and compnay. But many of the owners of these places say they are designed to be "family friendly" restaurants that just happen to have a lot of sex appeal.
According to Tilted Kilt CEO Rod Lynch: "We want to be very PG-13."
We say: Cute, large breasted waitresses will always sell, no matter what the economy's doing! They'll get customers in the door, get them to drink more than they probably should, get them to eat a lot of fried and grilled food, and them get them to leave big, fat tips. Our hometown of Las Vegas figured that out a long time ago and it looks like more business are finally catching on!
Niche exercise options are getting more and more popular. First there were women-only gyms. Then gyms for seniors. Now there's a gym that's only for fat women. The Body Exchange gym in Vancouver has decided to ban people who they consider too thin, too fit, too sexy, etc.
Why? So that their overweight clients don't feel intimidated and don't avoid coming to the gym to workout. Owner Louise Green say she wants the fitness center to be a "safe haven" for out-of-shape women with low self esteem. Her gym is one of the first to only allow "plus size" clients to join.
According to Green:
"Many of our clients have not had successful fitness pasts so I can see the anxiety before we get started and I can see the relief and happiness after we finish... People are often too fearful to become active. There wasn’t a model that offered camaraderie."
We say: This isn't a bad idea to help overweight ladies turn into sexier, fitter, healthier versions of themselves. It also isn't exactly a new idea. Here in Las Vegas Downsize Fitness only allows people who carry around at least 50 extra pounds to sign up. We're not quite at that point yet so for now we'll stick to watching the ridiculously sexy fitness models at the local Las Vegas Athletic Club for motivation!
