Lifestyle posts

Looking at individuals and breaking down their traits, how one inclination affects another habit, and why we choose to do the things we do is often challenging. Causation is difficult to isolate in the individual because there are simply too many factors amongst the things we can see and no about, let alone the plethora of underlying circumstances that remain hidden from us and outside observers, often for our entire lives. When we break the data down into groups and start analyzing it in reference to masses of people rather than individuals, we can often see the forest more clearly than we can see…

With about a million iPad apps and a billion iPhone apps available, finding good ones isn’t hard. Finding ones that stand out from the crowd often is. If you like making music but don’t necessarily have “skills” with instruments, MadPad is an iPhone or iPad app that can help. No skill required – just bring your imagination and creativity. “Remix your life” is their way of putting it. By sampling everyday sounds and using a slick interface to put them together into music, even the most mundane places like hardware stores can be used to create music. Check it out: …

The internet allows us to learn in ways that were never possible before. It helps us reach an educational potential in most things that is greater than live training alone. There are, however, exceptions. Certain things just shouldn’t be taught online. Gun safety, for example, should require physical attendance by the learners. It’s a gun. How does one learn everything they need to know about gun safety from their computer? We’re still waiting for that answer from the state of Maryland. They have failed to reply at this point. The infographic below by Mindflash takes a look at some of the most asinine…

We’ve always known in the social media age that babies can be instant hits on YouTube. Now, thanks to Bruce and Esther Huffman from McMinnville, Oregon, we know that the other end of the age spectrum can be just as adorable. While playing around with their new computer in their retirement community, the couple were trying to figure out how to do screen captures. They could see the video of themselves but did not realize until the end that they were recording it. Their granddaughter found and posted the video to YouTube with their blessing, ABC picked it up and made millions of people laugh. The self-proclaimed…

The battle has long waged between different gamer types. Which is better, console or PC gaming? That’s a question that likely won’t be answered in this generation, but we can all keep trying. Since 2009, PC game revenues have increased while console game revenues have decreased. 2010 marked the first recent shift in trends where more money was generated through PC game sales than console games. The trend started showing signs of reversing this year as projections for the holidays and into 2012 show a greater increase in console gaming sales over PC. Hardcore-PC-Gamers often point to processing…

We often take the ability to see inside the human body for granted, and why wouldn’t we? X-ray technology is well over a century old. But imagine you live in a time where science isn’t really sure what an atom is and the discovery of electrons is merely a glimmer in some frisky physicists’ eyes, and you begin to appreciate just how insanely intelligent some of these scientists had to be to harness and comprehensively describe the X-ray in its early days. Oh and there was also the fact that they completely revolutionized modern medicine with a discovery matched only by the discovery of antibiotics…

While many have a soft spot for the feel of the printed page, it’s hard to see a future where textbooks aren’t delivered to students digitally. It’s not just the benefit of taking the literal weight of textbooks off students’ backs — digital textbooks offer an opportunity to enhance the entire learning experience. The infographic below explores these possibilities. Even calling them “possibilities” is likely incorrect. As things go, it is inevitable that we’ll have schools going paper-free before we have mainstream flying cars. Damn you, science! Click to enlarge. Via: Online Education…

We know where to look to see what Johnny had for breakfast, how little Timmy slid into 3rd base, and what’s happening with Lady Gaga. There is no doubt that social media has connected us to our friends, family, and current events in ways that we couldn’t even imagine a decade ago. When it comes to business, that’s where things get a little more gray. Is it really working? Let’s face it – most who have tried to use social media for business purposes have been met with certain levels of disdain and abuse. They get called spammers. They’re get unfriended, unfollowed, blocked, banned, or publicly ridiculed….

The best part about being the Winklevoss twins is that they’ve put in the effort already. Everything else now seems to either fall in their lap or fall off their plate. Whether it’s having to settle for a mere $65 million for having the concept of Facebook allegedly stolen from them or the various endorsement and consultation deals they’ve been able to get from their infamy, the Olympic twins have done well for themselves in the last 5 years. Now, they’re doing more with pistachios. Yes, pistachios. Wonderful Pistachios, a company that is turning up the knob on viral videos ever since increasing…

It proved that it could beat the best Jeopardy! champions in the world at their own game. Now, IBM’s Watson will try to help doctors make better medical decisions for their patients. WellPoint, Inc. and IBM announced an agreement today to develop and launch Watson-based medical solutions. It will be the first commercial applications of the IBM Watson technology. The program, which is scheduled to roll out next year, will begin by assisting nurses who manage complex patient cases. It will help the insurer to review treatment requests from medical providers. Stage two will put the technology…