Now that iOS 8.1.3 is out, Apple also pushed an update for OS X Yosemite. Now at 10.10.2, Apple’s desktop update brings with it some bug fixes we’re happy to find. The update isn’t massive, but fixes a series of things users have been wanting Apple to fix for some time, now. Apple has addressed a WiFi bug that caused … Continue reading
Earlier this month at CES 2015 we first heard about the 2nd tier wearable device from Razer, one called the Nabu X. Here less than a month later the device is already on sale to the general public. This device went on sale to Razer Insiders before, coming in at a price that very well could be kicking the device … Continue reading
Over the last year, vaping (or “smoking” e-cigarettes) has gone mainstream, as more former smokers turn to this alternative to the dangers of smoking real cigarettes. Because vaping emulates the smoking experience, now 70 percent of American smokers who are looking to quit are turning to e-cigs, according to statistics compiled by Ecigsopedia. Vaping is now the most popular over-the-counter cessation option, which researchers have found to be 60 percent more effective than nicotine patches.
The e-cig industry is projected to reach $2 billion in the U.S. alone. Celebrities like Katherine Heigl and Lindsay Lohan, both publicly criticized for their smoking habits (among other things), have become e-cig advocates. And companies like blu Cigs and ploom are capitalizing on the surging popularity of these products.
For smokers looking to try e-cigarettes and vaping to help them quit smoking, here are a few tips on making the potentially life-saving decision.
Even though vaping is designed to emulate the experience of smoking a real cigarette, it’s not exactly an identical experience, and it may not be to everyone’s liking. In fact, vaping more closely resembles the experience of smoking a hookah pipe. To start, smokers should consider purchasing a disposable e-cigarette. They are sold individually for around $10 or in a pack. They last for about 400 puffs and come in two flavors: tobacco and menthol. Disposable e-cigs are more affordable than rechargeable e-cigs and are about the same size as real cigarettes.
It may take some time to get adjusted to the taste and feel of the disposable e-cigarette and expect to continue craving real cigarettes in the beginning. If you are able to adopt the disposable e-cigarette, however, investing in a rechargeable e-cig (or vaping pen) will be more affordable in the long run than to continue purchase disposable e-cigs.
Because they have a rechargeable battery, vaping pens are bigger and heavier than real cigarettes and disposable e-cigs. Starter packs include the pen with internal battery, charger, replaceable coils and fluid of your choice that comes in a wide variety of flavors from tobacco to marshmallow. Starter packs can cost anywhere from $50 to $80 depending on the brand and can be purchased at e-cig retailers, smoke shops or online.
The vaping pen requires more upkeep but offers and endless array of choices and customization options than your standard disposable e-cig. The battery needs to be charged about once a week but only for about an hour. The coils burn out after about a month but they offer different resistance to determine how hard you have to inhale the vapor. Lastly, the fluid also comes in a variety of nicotine levels and flavors, so you can test different ways and find the best vaping experience for you.
For former pipe smokers looking to quit, the world of vaping has also created e-cigs designed to look exactly like a pipe, even with a varnished wood finish. These pipes work similarly to the vaping pens but tend to cost a little more. Certainly worth the price difference, however, if you want to look like a modern-day Cary Grant.
The man who accidentally crashed a “quad copter” drone on the White House grounds earlier this week had been drinking before the incident, the New York Times reports.
The man told Secret Service investigators he had been drinking at an apartment nearby before he flew the drone and lost control of the aircraft, sending it over the White House fence.
The man contacted the Secret Service and claimed responsibility for the drone, after he saw reports of the drone in the news, according to the AP.
The drone crashed on the White House grounds early Monday morning. President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, weren’t home at the time.
Obama spoke about the incident in an interview with CNN broadcast Tuesday, saying it signals a “broader problem.”
“We don’t yet have the legal structures and the architecture both globally and within individual countries to manage them the way that we need to,” Obama said.
“Part of my job over the past several years and over the next couple of years that I’m still in office is seeing if we can start providing some sort of framework that ensures that we get the good and minimize the bad,” he added.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — An attorney for “Django Unchained” actress Daniele Watts and her boyfriend has entered not guilty pleas on their behalf to misdemeanor lewd conduct charges.
Attorney Lou Shapiro entered the pleas at a brief hearing Tuesday in Los Angeles. Watts and Brian Lucas were charged in October after briefly being detained by Los Angeles police who were investigating a report of lewd conduct in a parked Mercedes the previous month.
After the incident, Watts suggested she was a victim of racial profiling. She has said she and her boyfriend were just kissing in the car.
Police say officers followed proper protocols while investigating the call.
Neither Watts nor Lucas appeared in court Tuesday. Their case will be called again Feb. 23.
Just because you’re married doesn’t mean that you and your boo are huge proponents of Valentine’s Day and all of the mushy-gushy, red rose B.S. it typically entails.
That being said, there’s no reason happy couples shouldn’t find a less nauseating way to celebrate their love. Below we’ve rounded up 17 alternative V-Day cards for couples with a less traditional definition of romance.
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A compelling new film is in the works that takes a look at two very different types of queer experience.
“JOHNNY” is the story of a young male prostitute hired for the night by a conflicted older man who has spent his life running from his sexuality. As the film’s Indiegogo campaign notes, “JOHNNY” is the story about finding the inner strength to take ownership and responsibility over the person one has become.
“JOHNNY” takes an honest look at two different experiences of queerness oftentimes not portrayed in the mainstream.
The Huffington Post chatted with writer and star of “JOHNNY,” Brandon Crowder, this week about his vision for the film and what he hopes viewers take away from it.
The Huffington Post: What are you trying to communicate with this project about being queer in the modern day?
Brandon Crowder: “JOHNNY” is a story about two men finally coming face-to-face with difficult truths about themselves that they’ve been too afraid to confront. As a gay man, I can absolutely understand the desire to hide myself from the world out of fear of being rejected. Navigating life as a queer individual can be an isolating existence, and it’s easy to feel as though no one else could possibly understand the struggles you are facing.
What I hope to communicate in telling the story of “JOHNNY” is that being queer is not a singular journey — you are not alone in the things you feel and the struggles you face. Finding the strength and the courage to finally become the person you really want to be can be a difficult process. It means letting go of the things that are holding you back, and giving yourself permission to build a life that will truly make you happy. It’s a risk; and it is scary. But it’s a risk worth taking.
Why is this film important?
We live in an exciting time for LGBT stories being depicted on film, and great strides have been made in the prevalence of LGBT characters represented in mainstream media. Film in particular has an incredible ability to give an audience the opportunity to experience life from a perspective outside of their own reality. I want to share LGBTQ stories like “JOHNNY” in the hopes that I can contribute to a more nuanced and inclusive understanding of the complexity of the human experience.
“JOHNNY” is story about acceptance, which can be a very difficult process, particularly for individuals who are struggling with their sexual identity. My hope is that viewers will be able to find solidarity with these characters, and perhaps even find the support they need to move forward in their own story — and be able to let go of the things that have been holding them back.
What are you trying to communicate about how age affects our experiences within the queer community? Why is this important?
What interests me most about the characters in “JOHNNY” is that even though they come from very different walks of life, they are still facing similar struggles with being able to accept certain things about themselves. In telling this story, I want to explore the commonalities that can be found in how we internalize our feelings of guilt and shame, and how those feelings can affect the people we become.
The characters in the film are from two different generations, and they have taken very different paths on their journeys toward self-acceptance. Yet they both still find themselves having a similarly difficult time coming to terms with who they are. What’s important to me about this is the realization that we all face struggle and, regardless of where you may be in the timeline of your life, it’s never too late to give yourself permission to become the person you would like to be.
What do you hope viewers take away from this film?
In telling the story of “JOHNNY,” I hope to give viewers an opportunity to share a moment in time with two people who are having a difficult time coming to terms with who they are and what they want from life. I hope these characters can be recognizable to someone else who may also be having difficulty accepting themselves.
I think that art can be a great tool for starting conversation. And I hope to encourage viewers to engage in an open and honest dialogue about the ways in which we internalize our feelings toward homosexuality and about the power those feelings can have in limiting the amount of happiness we allow ourselves to enjoy.
Head here to check out the Indiegogo campaign for “JOHNNY.”
Do you have decision fatigue? You know, when you waffle over making decisions that should be simpler than they feel.
You make dozens of decisions every day ranging from simple ones (what to wear in the morning or what to eat) to more complex ones (whether you’ve outgrown a relationship or a job description).
Sure, there are areas of your life where you feel confident. And at other times, you find yourself stuck in a figure eight loop of uncertainty. Have you missed key opportunities because you couldn’t make up your mind? The band Rush said it best in their song Freewill, “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”
Watch the video below and in five short minutes, you’ll learn how to make decisions simply, quickly and easily, no matter how complex. In only two steps, you’ll be making the right decision… every time.
Do you know what you value?
Have you used what’s most important to you to guide your decisions?
Do you pay attention to what gives you energy and what drains you of energy?
You have to know yourself to navigate this busy, complex world. Once you get clear on these two points, your decision-making process will be easy.
In the comments section below, I would love to hear from you:
The i-Five Community thrives on your comments and it’s a great place to get support. Kudos to you for investing in your communication, your relationships and your good health!
Warmly,
Doctor Neha
Neha Sangwan, M.D., CEO of Intuitive Intelligence is an Internal Medicine physician and corporate communication consultant who empowers people toward better health by teaching them practical communication tools to strengthen their relationships, decrease their stress levels and create the life they want. Learn more about her at her website, DoctorNeha.com. You can also subscribe to her newsletter, become a fan on Facebook, follow her on Twitter, connect on LinkedIn, or watch her videos on Youtube.
To pre-order Doctor Neha’s book, Talk Rx: Five Steps to Honest Conversations That Create Connection, Health, and Happiness, click here.
Security-obsessed pop star Taylor Swift has been hacked.
On Tuesday, the 25-year-old’s Twitter account was breached by some folks who took the opportunity to give themselves a couple of shout-outs.
The hacked tweets were deleted about 15 minutes after they were posted, and The Verge reports that Swift’s Instagram account was also compromised for a short period of time, as well.
A user by the name of @Lizzard, whose Twitter account has now been suspended, threatened to release nude photos of Swift in exchange for Bitcoin payment.
In his profile, @Lizzard claimed to be the “Leader of Lizard Squad,” and a member of “LulzSec, Anonymous, UGNazi, ISISGang, GoP, globalHell, stc, zf0, htp, el8, GoD. lurk moar” located in North Korea (and as BuzzFeed points out, “Info from Dataminr seems to suggest his ties to North Korea could be legit”).
“My Twitter got hacked but don’t worry, Twitter is deleting the hacker tweets and locking my account until they can figure out how this happened and get me new passwords. Never a dull moment,” she wrote, before later learning news that her Instagram had also been hacked.
“Now Instagram. This is going to be a long day,” she added.
As entrepreneurs, we may not technically be actors. But we are always on stage — communicating, presenting ourselves and our ideas, and trying to connect with our customers, partners and teams.
That means there’s a lot we can learn from someone like top Broadway actor Sandra Joseph. Joseph is the longest-running leading lady of the smash hit Phantom of the Opera. Her more than 1,300 appearances as Christine helped not only launch her to stardom, but also taught her key lessons that fuel her continued success today. Since stepping down from Phantom in 2006, Joseph has kick-started her entrepreneurial engine as a performer, keynote speaker and co-author of Your Creative Soul: Expressing Your Authentic Voice.
Joseph recently shared with AES Nation her best Broadway-honed advice for achieving huge entrepreneurial success.
Lesson #1: Fight through the fear. Joseph’s journey from a self-described introvert to a Broadway star required her to confront her greatest fears at nearly every turn. At her first ever performance — a small role in her school’s Christmas concert when she was just a kid — Joseph was overcome with fear and backed out at the last second. “That was really a pivotal moment for me,” she says. “I felt so much regret and embarrassment that my fear of failure and humiliation made me stay silent and hidden in the crowd.”
And as an emerging actor in New York, Joseph had to confront the fear of failure on a daily basis. After all, Broadway is a cut-throat business. Hundreds of actors may try out for a single part in a highly competitive process. But Joseph was passionate about acting and theater; she made the decision that the failure she encountered was just another step on the road to success.
The takeaway: Everyone encounters those moments of fear and potential failure. But standing up to the fear of failure is critical. Indeed, it’s virtually a prerequisite for entrepreneurs — the best of the best of whom fail over and over again on their way to success. Thomas Edison tried and failed thousands of times before he succeeded in creating a working lightbulb. And while we all want to mitigate risk, there are times when entrepreneurs simply have to embrace that risk to achieve the success they’re striving for.
Lesson #2: Invest in the support you need to excel. For many entrepreneurs, the difference between giving in to fear and seizing an opportunity often comes down to how prepared they are. Joseph says preparation was a critical tool in helping her overcome her fear of failure. Throughout her career, she worked with the best coaches and teachers she could find. In fact, even when she was barely scraping by as a struggling actor, she took what little money she had and spent it on classes and coaching. “I had to study with the coaches I knew could help me achieve the level that I wanted to get to,” she says. “It paid off. Working with those coaches transformed my career.”
In our competitive world, it’s critical to work with people who can help you excel with whatever talents you already have. Successful entrepreneurs know that it pays to find those people who have walked the path before you and can show you the way.
Lesson #3: Be authentic. The hardest lesson Joseph had to learn was that it’s best to simply be yourself. After months of performing in the chorus of the touring production of “Phantom…”, Joseph had an opportunity to try out for the role of Christine. She planned out a routine that she felt sure would wow the directors. But just a few minutes into the audition, Joseph knew her approach wasn’t what they were looking for. “I just wanted that part so desperately that I came across as phony and like I was trying too hard,” she says.
Fortunately for Joseph, she got another shot. “I said, ‘okay, my only goal is to be authentic and sing that song as honestly as I possibly can,'” she says.
That audition was the turning point: Joseph won the part and spent the next 10 years as Christine. The experience offers a crucial lesson that Joseph has been teaching to businesspeople and entrepreneurs through her speaking engagements: By being authentic, you bring more of who you truly are to all your dealings with others. As a result, the honesty and sincerity you can bring to the table serve as critical ways to differentiate yourself from the competition.
This is a lesson we can all learn: We can’t control other people, but we can control ourselves by making sure we are authentic and real. As entrepreneurs, if we’re the best we can be, we’re going to win the vast majority of the time.
Looking for ways to accelerate your success as a business owner and live a life “on purpose?” Check out the insights, tactics and actionable strategies from today’s top entrepreneurs at AES Nation.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
