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Like ghosts? Then you'll love Poveglia, a small, deserted island in the Venetian lagoon that's going on the auction block next month. It's been called "the island of madness," "Hell," and "the most haunted place on Earth." You'd just love it to pieces.
iSkelter's computer furniture is designed with the Mac and iOS user in mind - cutouts help you hold your iPhone, iPad, laptop and other accessories in place. What's more, it's all made out of compressed bamboo - strong, durable and sustainable. Funded by Kickstarter, iSkelter showed off their latest wares at Macworld|iWorld 2014 including a new desk that's available in either sitting or standing configurations.
While not everyone's comfortable with splashing out on a fancy Vertu phone, there's no stopping us from appreciating the company's craftsmanship and engineering expertise since its Nokia days. We're talking about dealing with various luxurious materials -- pearl, ruby, sapphire, titanium, gold, alutex, alligator skin and more -- while making sure that each device is mechanically built to last. As such, it's perhaps a slight surprise that Vertu phones are actually "handmade in England." Courtesy of our buddy and CEO Max Pogliani, we got to see the process up close and personal at his 60-strong workshop in Church Crookham. (And in case your butler isn't around to read this article to you, we've also got a video tour after the break.)
Unlike conventional manufacturing methods where one device is passed down an assembly line, every Vertu phone is put together by one person alone at his or her workstation. Each craftsman is surrounded by a monitor plus trays of components (mainly screws, gems, bezels and fixtures), some of which are placed on a stack of motorized rotating trays. At the press of a foot pedal, not only does the computer show the next work instruction, but the rotating trays also offer the necessary parts for that step.
Depending on the model, a Vertu phone can take two to three hours or up to a day to be fully assembled and polished. It is then placed inside a sophisticated (and very expensive) testing jig, which performs approximately 800 electronic and mechanical tests over the course of four to five minutes. After a final visual inspection, voila! A new Vertu phone is born. It'll most likely be sent off to one of the boutiques around the world, though there's also a small chance that it'll end up being a guinea pig for Vertu's various reliability tests: drop test, tumble test, humidity test and temperature test. Just too bad Vertu doesn't sell its test subjects with a discount.
Motorola today added Motorola Assist to its growing stable of software features that have moved from the system level of its smartphones into Google Play.
Along with that change comes the addition of a new "quick reply" feature. When you're driving or are in a meeting, incoming calls can be automatically declined, and a custom text message automatically sent.
Motorola Assist will work with the Moto X, Droid Ultra, Droid Mini and Droid Maxx.
Motorola also has put Touchless Control, the Moto X camera, Droid Zap and a number of other device-specific features into Google Play.
via +Mark Rose
If your iPhone or iPad is running iOS 7 you've got a lot more options when it comes to customizing system fonts than ever before. With Dynamic Type and font size, there's a wide array of options available. You can even make text bold throughout iOS 7 if you want. Not sure how to increase or decrease font size? Here's how:
That's all there is to it. Once you're happy with the size, you're done. If you need larger text than what the general Text Size option provides, you can do that too! Here's how:
Once you've got a font size you're happy with, that's all there is to it.
Dynamic Type will follow through to any app that supports it which should help for those with visual impairments. Do you use Dynamic Type? Have you increased or decreased font sizes on your iPhone or iPad?
Having a bit of fun across the water, "The Voice UK" soundtrack writer Lily Allen was seen leaving Hotel Edition at 3AM with her husband on Friday (November 15).
Sexy and stylish in a multi-patterned fur coat, the "Everybody's Changing" singer sported blue and purple highlights in her black hair, and wore rainbow-colored shorts and black tights.
The 28-year-old may have been all smiles because she was so pleased with her first live performance of "Hard Out Here" on the London Eye earlier that same. evening.
After her successful performance, Lily tweeted about her song, writing, "Watch me sing #HOH for the first time. And see why I needed all that auto tune . #yoyopod #lol."
Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/lily-allen/lily-allen-has-some-nighttime-fun-across-pond-962218In this Nov. 12, 2013 photo, Diane LeBlanc, 50, poses for a photograph her office in Baton Rouge, La. LeBlanc lost 40 pounds since joining "Heads Up" , a supervised weight loss assistance program, provided by the Pennington Biomedical Research Center and the Louisiana Office of Group Benefits. (AP Photo/Tim Mueller)
In this Nov. 12, 2013 photo, Diane LeBlanc, 50, poses for a photograph her office in Baton Rouge, La. LeBlanc lost 40 pounds since joining "Heads Up" , a supervised weight loss assistance program, provided by the Pennington Biomedical Research Center and the Louisiana Office of Group Benefits. (AP Photo/Tim Mueller)
In this Nov. 12, 2013 photo, Diane LeBlanc, 50, poses for a photograph her office in Baton Rouge, La. LeBlanc lost 40 pounds since joining "Heads Up" , a supervised weight loss assistance program, provided by the Pennington Biomedical Research Center and the Louisiana Office of Group Benefits. (AP Photo/Tim Mueller)
ATLANTA (AP) — Next time you go for a checkup, don't be surprised if your doctor gets on your case about your weight.
The medical profession has issued new guidelines for fighting the nation's obesity epidemic, and they urge physicians to be a lot more aggressive about helping patients drop those extra pounds.
Doctors should calculate your body mass index, a weight-to-height ratio. And if you need to lose weight, they should come up with a plan and send you for counseling.
"We recognize that telling patients to lose weight is not enough," said Dr. Donna Ryan, co-chair of the guidelines committee.
The good news? By next year, most insurance companies are expected to cover counseling and other obesity treatments, following in the steps of the Medicare program, which began paying for one-on-one help last year.
More than a third of U.S. adults are obese, and that's been the case since the middle of the last decade. Officials define someone with a BMI of 30 or higher as obese. A 5-foot-9 person would be obese at 203 pounds.
Doctors are well aware that excess weight can trigger diabetes and lead to heart disease and other health problems. Yet surveys have shown that only about a third of obese patients recall their doctor talking to them about their BMI or counseling them about weight loss.
The guidelines were released this week by a group of medical organizations that include the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology and the Obesity Society.
They come amid a spate of important developments in the fight against obesity.
Last year, the Food and Drug Administration approved two more obesity-fighting drugs. And this year, the AMA labeled obesity a disease, a measure intended to get doctors to pay more attention to the problem and prod more insurers to pay for treatments.
Yet many people have been on their own when it comes to slimming down, left to sift through the myriad diets and exercise schemes that are promoted for weight loss. And most doctors have little training in how to help their obese patients, other than telling them it's a problem and they need to do something about it.
"I feel for these guys," said Dr. Tim Church, a researcher at Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center. "They have patients who come in and ask them about the latest fad diet. They're not trained in this stuff and they're not comfortable" recommending particular diets or weight-loss plans.
The guidelines advise doctors to:
— At least once year, calculate patients' BMI, measure their waists and tell them if they are overweight or obese.
— Develop a weight-loss plan that includes exercise and moderate calorie-cutting.
— Consider recommending weight-loss surgery for patients with a BMI of 40 or for those with a BMI of 35 who also have two other risk factors for heart disease such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
— Refer overweight and obese patients who are headed for heart problems to weight-loss programs. Specifically, discuss enrolling them in at least 14 face-to-face counseling sessions over six months with a registered dietitian, psychologist or other professional with training in weight management.
Web or phone-based counseling sessions are considered a less effective option.
Donna LeBlanc said the new guidelines are overdue.
More than year ago, the Baton Rouge, La., woman sat down with her longtime family doctor to talk about her weight and get a referral for some kind of help. She had tried dieting without success for more than a decade, had high blood pressure and was about to hit a dress size of 20.
She said the doctor smiled and told her: "There's a lot of programs out there. But really, you just have to eat less."
"It just devastated me," LeBlanc recalled. "He was saying, 'It's all in your mind.' I was thinking, 'If I could do that, don't you think I would have done it by now?'"
She changed doctors and has lost 40 pounds from her 5-foot-4 frame since May after getting into an intensive Pennington weight-loss program that includes counseling sessions.
Doctors "need to get the message," ''LeBlanc said. "Just telling someone you need to push the plate away is not going to work for everyone."
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Online:
Guidelines: http://www.obesity.org
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-11-13-US-MED-Obesity-Getting-Serious/id-888d602cc3dc46a0a6077987209fb2deRafael Natal (17-4-1, 5-2-1 UFC) vs. Tim Kennedy (16-4, 1-0 UFC), at UFC Fight for the Troops 3
Rafael Natal began his MMA career in his native Brazil in 2005. He fought his first 8 fights on the Brazilian MMA circuit racking up impressive wins over mostly local opposition going 7-0 until an Eduardo Telles head kick gave Natal his first loss. This was also Natal’s last fight in his homeland until he would come back to Brazil as a UFC fighter just this year. Natal went to work fighting in the United States primarily in the Northeast regional shows until he was picked up by the UFC in 2010. Since debuting in the UFC Natal has quietly built a nice record and with this 3 fight winning streak he is currently riding, could be poised to make a run towards the top 10. Like most Brazilian fighters, Rafael comes from a high level BJJ background and is now a legitimate black belt in the art. Aside from his stellar grappling chops, Natal has added a few extra wrinkles to his game over the years and now brings a well rounded skill set to the cage. He may not be elite level in striking, but he can be effective and is ever improving in the stand up department. He hits hard with punches, elbows, low kicks, and high kicks, and is not afraid to slug it out in the center of the cage at times. He also covers distance particularly well with his lunging straight lefts or straight rights (he fights southpaw and orthodox) and will throw in some variety in the form of spinning back fists, front kicks to the face and body, chopping leg kicks, or a combination of the above. His striking defense is not quite on par with his striking offense and he has been hittable. His chin is not terrible but 3 of his 4 losses are KO’s or TKO’s and he was dropped in another of his more recent fights. For takedowns Natal is more likely to work to the clinch, get under hooks, and drag a guy to the ground than he is to shoot a double- or single-leg. And he does the former regularly with a good degree of success. Surviving in the UFC for 3 solid years is an accomplishment in and of itself nowadays, but if Natal is going to make a run the time is now. He has looked somewhat leaner in recent fights and that is likely due to an increased emphasis on strength and conditioning and cleaning up his diet, this shows he is taking his career as serious as ever.
Military man and member of the United States Army, Tim Kennedy is another veteran fighter picked up by the UFC in its acquisition of the now defunct Strikeforce promotion. Kennedy comes from a well rounded martial arts base having trained boxing, wrestling, and Japanese Jujutsu as a youth. After an extensive run on the chaotic amateur MMA scene, Tim made his pro MMA debut in 2001. Since then he has been very consistent and effective while facing numerous MMA veterans along the way. Tim is a workhorse of a fighter, strong, conditioned, and basic. He has won with strikes as often as he has won with submissions (2 of his submission wins are due to strikes) and can win gut check decisions as well. Unfortunately for him, he can lose gut check decisions as well. And he has done just that in 2 title fights under the Strikeforce banner. His striking is basic but effective and consists mainly of boxing, with some good power in his fists. He has a good chin not having been KO’d since his pro debut in 2001. Tim’s grappling game can be particularly effective in wars of attrition as he likes to lock up in the clinch against the cage and drag guys down in the type of sequences that can really drain you if you’re not in great shape, all while throwing in enough shot takedowns to keep his foes guessing. Most of Kennedy’s time spent on the floor is spent in top position as he can be tough to muscle around and this strength has lent itself well to arm choke submission wins for Tim
As much as I’d like to see Natal continue his progression, I’m picking him to lose here. On paper these guys may be closely matched but a closer look reveals Tim Kennedy has a definitive edge in the intangibles. This event being put on in cooperation with, and for the benefit of, the United States Military is only going to get Kennedy fired up. There is no way he will want to lose in this setting and has the nerves to withstand that kind of pressure. Another factor is confidence. Rafael Natal being a BJJ black belt is impressive, but Tim Kennedy has spent a combined 70 minutes in the cage with Jacare Souza, Roger Gracie, and Jason Miller, and did not get submitted. That kind of confidence is what will allow Tim Kennedy to open up with strikes and win this by late ground n pound stoppage or a solid decision victory.
Front-Page Photo Credit: Joshua Lindsey-USA TODAY Sports
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