Did you play Monument Valley (above left), the gorgeous perspective-based puzzler from last year? It costs $4 on Google Play / iTunes, and is one of 2014’s best games. And now you can get it for free. Sort of. You see, Ketchapp, the studio behind Thr…
Unlike Blinkbox Movies and Blinkbox Music, Tesco hasn’t found a buyer for its underperforming Blinkbox Books service. We expected the e-book platform to quietly fade into the night, along with customers’ purchases, but it seems Tesco has a parting gi…
Perhaps you expected that Apple’s last seven quarters in China were going to be an indicator of a less-than-stellar holiday quarter reported this week? Analysts like Ben Bajarin suggested earlier this month that Apple’s China iPhone sales would be monstrous, and could very well overtake sales in the USA – as it turns out, this wasn’t very far off the … Continue reading
Having been around since 1960, the Patriots are among the oldest teams in the NFL. In that half century, Pat Patriot and the team have certainly created many memorable moments, but there are a few little known stories worth noting.
Although you may have already known that the Patriots are going to win their fourth Super Bowl this Sunday, here are a few bits of trivia you’ve yet to learn:
1. The team was shortly called the Bay State Patriots. This had to change because of the unintended abbreviation, BS Patriots.
The Boston Patriots were the eighth team added to the AFL, keeping the original name until 1971. But owner Billy Sullivan became upset that Boston wasn’t allowing him to build a stadium in the downtown area, so he snubbed the city and moved to Foxboro. With the location change came a name change and the Patriots adopted the “Bay State Patriots” moniker. This didn’t go over well.
An AP story from 1971 entitled “Bay State or Boston? Even Patriots Unsure” explains:
The club’s board of directors voted a change from Boston to Bay State last week, recognizing the fact the team is scheduled to play home games this year in a 62,000-seat stadium under construction in Foxboro, about 20 miles south of Boston. The “Bay State” tag hasn’t proved too popular, and some Boston sports writers refuse to call the team by anything but “Patriots.”
And an article from Time points out that part of the hatred for the new name was because the abbreviation “B.S. Patriots” was obviously no good. The team name was quickly changed to the New England Patriots.
2. George R.R. Martin wrote the New England Patriots into Game of Thrones.
Unfortunately, they’re not given the best treatment. George R.R. Martin isn’t too fond of the team, saying to Sports Illustrated that the Patriots are the NFL’s Lannisters.
Talking on a Sports Illustrated podcast in 2013, Martin furthered this earlier claim describing Bill Belichick as “Evil Little Bill.” He said, “In some ways he might be worse than a Lannister. Maybe he’s a Greyjoy.”
In A Dance with Dragons there’s passage that has been determined to be about the Patriots 2007 undefeated season where they eventually lost the Super Bowl to the New York Giants. From the book:
The galley was also where the ship’s books were kept … the fourth and final volume of The Life of the Triarch Belicho, a famous Volantene patriot whose unbroken succession of conquests and triumphs ended rather abruptly when he was eaten by giants.
In the previously mentioned Sports Illustrated interview, Martin claimed “the Starks are heroes, so they would be the Giants.” You can read more about Martin’s NFL fandom on his blog, titled “Not a Blog”.
3. Bill Belichick once gave Larry Izzo a game ball for secretly going “number two” on the sidelines during a game.
In 2012, Wes Welker confirmed a rumor on ESPN’s “Highly Questionable” that Larry Izzo had gone “number two” during a game. Welker even progressed the story further claiming Izzo probably sees it as one of his greatest accomplishments:
Larry would be so mad at me if I said that this didn’t happen, because he takes ultimate pride in this whole deal. Of all the special teams tackles and Pro Bowls he’s made, I guarantee you that game ball is probably a more prized item for him than his Super Bowl rings.
Izzo was named special teams captain for the New England Patriots eight times.
4. Vladimir Putin apparently stole one of Robert Kraft’s Super Bowl rings, almost causing an international incident.
Vladimir Putin initially acquired the Super Bowl XXXIX ring during a meeting with various businessmen, including Robert Kraft, and at the time it was said to be a gift. However in 2013, as reported by the New York Post, Kraft gave a speech where he admitted that Putin had actually stolen the ring. Kraft said, “I took out the ring and showed it to [Putin], and he put it on and he goes, ‘I can kill someone with this ring.’ I put my hand out and he put it in his pocket, and three KGB guys got around him and walked out.”
The George W. Bush White House had called Kraft at the time to persuade him to not make an international incident out of the theft. Kraft explained in his speech, a White House representative told him, “It would really be in the best interest of US-Soviet relations if you meant to give the ring as a present.” Kraft continued the story:
I really didn’t [want to]. I had an emotional tie to the ring, it has my name on it. I don’t want to see it on eBay. There was a pause on the other end of the line, and the voice repeated, “It would really be in the best interest if you meant to give the ring as a present.”
The Kremlin has denied the ring was stolen.
5. The iconic Pat Patriot was originally drawn in just 45 minutes.
Phil Bissell was working as a Boston Globe cartoonist when the Patriots first received their name. A Globe editor asked Bissell to illustrate a potential logo and in 45 minutes, Bissell had Pat Patriot. The team loved the drawing so much that they paid Bissell and took the logo as their own. Over the years slight variations have been made to Pat, such as the more fierce eyes that are recognizable today, but more or less the logo has survived since that first assignment.
In a profile with USA Today, Bissell said, “Pat is just a living legend. People just like Pat. They seem to know this guy is getting down to business. He’s going to give it all.”
In late 2014, Bissell published a book called PatsPa! about his cartoons over the years, focusing on his various drawings of Pat Patriot over the years for the team.
Image: New England Patriots official website
BONUS: Tom Brady was drafted in the sixth round as a fourth-string QB, but when he first met Robert Kraft this is what Brady said:
“I’m the best decision this organization has ever made.”
Giving a speech at Gillette Stadium in 2012, Robert Kraft told the story of the first time he met Tom Brady.
Brady was only 22, but, according to Kraft, his trademark confidence was already quite apparent:
I still have the image of Tom Brady coming down the old Foxboro stadium steps with that pizza box under his arm, a skinny beanpole, and when he introduced himself to me and said, “Hi Mr. Kraft,” he was about to say who he was, but I said, “I know who you are, you’re Tom Brady. You’re our sixth round draft choice.” And he looked me in the eye and said, “I’m the best decision this organization has ever made.” It looks like he could be right.
Now it’s time to take that confidence and do this again.
All images Getty unless otherwise noted.
This week the folks at Sony Network Entertainment International have announced a strategic partnership with Spotify on a global level. According to Sony, Spotify’s streaming music network will be pushed to PlayStation Music as an exclusive partner. Spotify on PlayStation Music will be sent out to 41 markets globally (initially), moving first with PlayStation consoles and Sony Xperia tablets and … Continue reading
For more food drink and travel videos visit www.potluckvideo.com
A trip to the supermarket can often mean starting out with good intentions and ending with bags of chips and oreos.
But Food Network’s Melissa D’Arabian has a solution to make sure you stock up properly -and easily – every time you have to make a trip to the store. We talked to D’Arabian about her new book Supermarket Healthy and all the tips she has for planning your meals and making sure you stick to a plan in the grocery store.
Want to hear everything D’Arabian has to say? Watch the video above!
For more great food, drink and travel videos make sure to check out Potluck Video’s website, head over to our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter
By Morgan Quinn, Feature Writer
Investing in the stock market for the first time is intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Twenty years ago, if you wanted to start investing, you might have called a full-service broker on the phone who charged outrageous fees just to make a trade. Now, discount brokerages and do-it-yourself models allow regular people to make their own trades for a fraction of that cost — and user-friendly investing apps allow anyone with wifi and a bank account to start playing the stock market from the comfort of their phone.
As a first-time investor, even if you understand how the stock market works, you might not know how to play the market wisely. Luckily, there are apps designed specifically for novice investors — the technology is simple to understand, yet the features are comprehensive. These apps not only facilitate stock purchases, but they can help compare fees, offer investing suggestions, analyze mutual funds, aggregate net worth or even track cash flow.
If you want to start investing in the stock market, fire up your smartphone and download these six apps.
1. Acorns
The Acorns app is a great choice for first-time investors. The app allows users to “invest the change” by linking their credit or debit cards to the app, which rounds up regular purchases and invests the difference into a diversified portfolio of index funds chosen by Nobel Prize-winning economist Harry Markowitz.
The beauty of this system is that it makes investing easy and painless for a first-timer, no matter how much money he has, Jeff Cruttenden, cofounder and COO of Acorns, told GOBankingRates. “Acorns is designed for new and experienced investors who want a quick, easy, and automatic way to invest their money,” he said. “People can get started in seconds; then set it and forget it.”
While the ability to make small-dollar investments is appealing, the nature of the fee structure means your investing should be frequent. Acorn charges a monthly service fee, which is a small percentage of your account balance. So, if you leave a small lump sum of money in your account over a long period of time, the fee could eat up your balance, even if the market is performing well. Your balance should be large or constantly growing if you want to come out on top, which is easy if you follow Cruttenden’s advice and just “set it and forget it.”
2. Stock Market Simulator
The Stock Market Simulator app gives you the ability to try before you buy. Users can play a simulated version of the real U.S. stock market and invest virtual funds without taking on any real risk.
Accounts start with $10,000 and the virtual stock market gets updated 15-20 minutes behind the real U.S. market, meaning you can track your investments in real time. This app shouldn’t be used as a decision-making tool for actual trading, though — it’s just a great way for first-time investors to get their feet wet and learn how the stock market works without losing any actual money.
3. SigFig
SigFig is known for its online investment tools that track, manage and optimize existing portfolios, but it also allows users to manage their investments 100 percent through the app. Users just need to sign up, take a risk profile questionnaire, confirm a personalized investment plan and then fund the account. Investments are pulled into a single dashboard and offer a real-time view of every stock, mutual fund, ETF and other investment.
First-time investors can get help optimizing their portfolio with SigFig’s investment advice engine, as well as receive up-to-date market news and stats on relevant companies. The first $10,000 in your portfolio is managed for free, but, unlike some other investing apps, you will only get a three-year overview of your brokerage accounts, even though some investors prefer a 5-or 10-year look back.
4. Motif Explorer
Motif Investing investigates trends and world events that could lead to investment opportunities. Then the company builds portfolios, or motifs, based off related stocks. Some examples include clean tech or companies tied to the housing rebound, which are all current trends.
The site requires a $250 minimum and charges a commission of $9.95 for a portfolio that contains 30 stocks and ETFs. The Motif Explorer app allows users to monitor motif performance, find new ideas and review performance charts. And if you aren’t a Motif customer, you can still use the app to create lists of favorites and get more details about any investing ideas you’re interested in. This system might not be best for large investments or retirement portfolios, but Motif makes small-time investing fun and relevant — it’s a great way to introduce new investors to the market.
5. Yahoo! Finance
Taking a cue from its mega-popular iOS weather app, the Yahoo! Finance app is designed for a beautiful, personalized user experience. In fact, the design is so sleek that fans of this app compare it to iOS 7’s native Stocks app. The Yahoo! Finance app allows users to sync portfolios and quotes across multiple devices, tracking stocks, currencies, commodities and more. The interface is ideal for conducting a quick stock check and the push notifications allow you to stay current on breaking news so you can make informed decisions on the companies you invest in.
6. TD Ameritrade
The TD Ameritrade app focuses on the basic essentials of investing: mobile access to trading, streaming quotes, real-time balances, fund transfers, and up-to-date news and market research. What makes this app particularly unique is the Snapstock feature, which allows users to snap a picture or barcode on any item to find the company name, ticker symbol and stock quote, along with company-related news and charts.
7. Fidelity Investments
Once you have started feeling comfortable with investing, the Fidelity app is a good next step up from beginner programs. The app allows you to trade and track your accounts anywhere from a mobile device and recent new features include customizable home screens, additional money management tools, advanced charting, daily market videos and option trading. Users can transfer funds using an external bank account or by uploading an image of a check. Bill pay is available for certain accounts and there is a menu featuring news covering U.S. and international markets, technology, mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, and more. Account holders can create watch lists, as well as price trigger and trade notification alerts.
8. CNBC
One of Warren Buffett’s top pieces of investing advice is to read five newspapers a day. If you don’t have the time for that, start here: The CNBC app delivers breaking news, real-time stock market quotes, stock charts with customizable timeframes, and access to full-length CNBC programs. iTunes reviewers rave about the CNBC app — take this review: “Provides everything I need to read, hear and see related to business and financial news each day. The interface is user-friendly and pleasing to the eye.”
9. Benzinga
Benzinga offers an app that gives investors instant access to auto-updating stock quotes from any mobile device. This is a good option for investors who want immediate information, up-to-date quotes and breaking news. Social media fans will enjoy these additional features: tweets for trending stocks and news articles, and the capability to share content on social networks. Users can also opt in for breaking news push notifications, create watchlists and explore predictive quote search.
When first-time investors get more experienced, they can upgrade to BenzingaPro, which offers three more subscription levels to choose from. Subscribers can select from services ranging from the basic streaming news and data service to a premium subscription that includes an audio news squawk and instant analyst Q-and-A.
10. Bloomberg
The Bloomberg app combines breaking financial news and real-time stock tickers for major and minor stock exchanges that both causal and active investors can appreciate. One reviewer noted, “If you’re more interested in world and financial news than you are stocks, Bloomberg doubles up as a great resource for such information. It ties news and the stock market together in a fluid way that users will appreciate.”
You can customize your own stocks in the application and get a comprehensive view of your position in the market. Users can also get personalized news on companies in their watchlist, for the real-time, relevant information they need to make smart investing decisions.
As a board-certified naturopath, I know the healing power of real foods. And that includes even the tiniest of foods — like blueberries!
In fact, blueberries are one of my favorite “prescriptions,” because they’re absolutely loaded with antioxidants and other nutrients. They may taste like candy, but they’re actually powerful medicine.
Just this week, researchers at Florida State University published a new study about the power of blueberries. The study shows that these little berries can have a big effect when it comes to lowering your blood pressure and keeping your arteries elastic.
The new study involved 48 postmenopausal women with “prehypertension” or hypertension. The women ate either 22 grams of freeze-dried blueberry powder (the equivalent of one cup of fresh blueberries) or 22 grams of a placebo powder every day for eight weeks.
At the end of that time, participants receiving the blueberry powder had an average decrease of 5.1 percent in systolic blood pressure and 6.3 percent in diastolic blood pressure. That translated into 7 points in systolic pressure and 5 points in diastolic pressure — a big drop. In addition, women in the blueberry-treated group had an average reduction of 6.5 percent in arterial stiffness.
The researchers also found that levels of nitric oxide, which relaxes and widens blood vessels, increased by 68.5 percent in the women in the blueberry-treated group. The researchers say this change in nitric oxide levels may explain the reductions in blood pressure.
Those are major changes in just eight weeks. So don’t underestimate these berries just because they’re small and cute. Inside those little balls of sweetness is some serious BP-lowering power.
And really, wouldn’t you rather indulge in a bowl of blueberries and cream for breakfast — or maybe stir a sweet handful of dried blueberries into your yogurt at lunch — than pop a pill? If you’ve ever taken blood pressure meds, you know they cause debilitating side effects like dizziness, dry mouth, cough, irregular heartbeat, and constipation. The only side effect from blueberries, conversely, is that little fritz of joy each time you bite into them.
So if you want to keep your blood pressure levels healthy and low, add blueberries to your daily diet and see what they can do for you. If you’re not a fan of these fruits, consider buying capsules of powdered blueberries.
And by the way, the blood pressure-lowering effect of blueberries isn’t the only reason to love them. Here are more:
• They fight wrinkles. Blueberries are packed with antioxidants called acanthocyanins (that’s what makes them blue), and acanthocyanins protect your skin against sun-related damage and wrinkling.
• They can lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes or lower your blood glucose levels if you’re diabetic.
• They can help protect your eyes against damage from sunlight.
• They can keep your brain young, delaying cognitive decline as you age.
• They can help protect against breast cancer and prostate cancer.
So stock up on blueberries — fresh, frozen, and dried. Add them to smoothies and toss them in your salads. Stir them into Paleo pancake and muffin recipes, or sprinkle them on salmon.
And if you have kids, make sure you load them up with blueberries, too. But shhh… don’t tell them that blueberries are powerful medicine. We’ll keep that secret between us.
As any deep thinker and follower of astrology knows, the planets, when they aren’t spinning around and minding their own business, have total control over our lives. So much so that we attribute peoples’ entire personalities to whatever they are born under. An ordinary person can do whatever an ordinary person does, from being glucose intolerant or walking a high wire between two skyscrapers, and someone will say “Of course, he’s an Ares.” That same person can then go off to Madagascar and spend the rest of his life studying the aye-aye, and the comment will be “Aries, of course.” This fails to explain why millions of other Aries are staying put, eating glucose and having no idea what an aye-aye is.
But we aren’t here to diss astrology. Far from it. We are here to give it props and to blame it for everything that goes wrong with our lives. (All mothers will now breathe a sigh of relief about being let off the hook.)
If we ascribe to astrology the sole determinant of one’s bad luck, we are all now, in deep kimchi: Mercury is now in retrograde, and will continue to be so until February 11. What does this mean? We are glad you asked. Starting in January, Mercury slows down, appears to stop, and then appears to move backward. While one might conclude that planets, like people can become menopausal, this isn’t, in fact, the case. It’s actually an optical illusion.
Mercury is still moving, but it’s like watching a train moving more slowly than your train is moving. As you move forward, the train you are watching seems to be going backward. This is an example of the Really Show-Moving Train Law of Physics. It is also an example of being really happy that you are on the train that is moving quickly, because, as we all know, the scenery from trains can be pretty grim, unless we are traveling with Dr Zhivago or are in the Swiss Alps.
So, aside from being happy we have chosen the right train, what does all this really mean? Since Mercury is the Messenger, it means that the message seems to be going backward. In other words, the delivery is screwed up. Computers go on the fritz, cell phones die, all of technology becomes our enemy. We miss appointments, or if we arrive at them, we wish we hadn’t. We have a bad hair day that lasts for about a month. Every single person we meet online has been recently incarcerated. We find out that carrageenan, a thickening ingredient in our favorite organic food product, is toxic.
We anticipate that some of you are asking if there are any benefits to Mercury in retrograde. You are the terminally upbeat people who, in a past generation, watched Lawrence Welk. For you, we will try to come up with some weenie little shred of good news. Yes, of course Mercury retrograde has its sunny side. Every single thing has a sunny side, you optimistic weenie. Like having a horrific case of sunburn and poison ivy at the same time. The sunburn prevents you from touching yourself, so you are in no danger of scratching the poison ivy and spreading it all over your body, including your eyeballs.
For you, Mercury retrograde can teach flexibility, quick thinking and, above all, patience. There, are you happy now? Please be happy. Because the rest of us are wallowing in complete misery right now. And, to make it worse, we all know that retrograde will occur several more times before the year is up. We will barely have enough time to get our lives back on track before we put on our favorite pair of socks and our big toe pops through and we don’t change the socks because who will see and we go to someone’s house and they ask us to please take our shoes off. Right. Mercury retrograde is at it again.
BERLIN (AP) — Governments and private donors, among them the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, have pledged a record $7.5 billion to replenish a global vaccination program for the poor.
The Gates Foundation gave $1.55 billion to the public-private Gavi alliance that has immunized hundreds of millions of children worldwide since 2000.
Britain pledged $1.57 billion, Norway gave $969 million and the United States pledged $800 million at a conference Tuesday in Berlin.
Together with prior pledges this provides Gavi with a pot of $9.6 billion – slightly more than it requested – for its work between 2016 and 2020.
The Geneva-based organization said that the money would help immunize an additional 300 million children against preventable diseases, providing one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent millions of premature deaths.
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