How to buy Starbucks coffee with your iPhone

Starbucks introduced a new app for iPhone and BlackBerry today allowing users to pay for coffee via smartphone. And with a location (let’s be honest, more like four or five) in our neighborhood, we decided to try it out.

The only things you’re required to have are a Starbucks gift card and account. You’re able to sign up for an account on your phone, but consider yourselves warned, it’s not a fun process. We all know apps aren’t great data entry tools, and this one is no exception. It unfortunately wasn’t an option during the test run, so head here and do it beforehand if you plan on using the app.

We also had an issue finding the coffee shop’s location. It could’ve easily been a 3G glitch, but one of the baristas mentioned that its particular locale is sometimes difficult to find via GPS, and manually finding the address proved challenging. After a second run, we were able to pay remotely. It really is as simple as it claims to be: you register your gift card (or cards), tap for purchases, and let the barista scan it after you order. What we’re uncertain of is why this is so much easier than handing over a debit or credit card. Other than the seconds and fraction of human interaction it shaves off, the experience seems pretty comparable.

But for those times when  you’ve got nothing but your phone and a craving for caffeine, the Starbucks Mobile App has you covered.

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How to Find the Best Late-Winter Deals

The holidays might be over, but shoppers are still searching for the best deals in the aftermath of a furious shopping season. As stores restock inventory, many of them will have markdown sales to clear the store of surplus stock from the holiday season.

Markdowns do not necessarily mean the best product for your dollar, but research can help you pick between the bargains and the throwaways. Here are a few tips for discount shopping that will have you prepared for any future purchase:

Purchase seasonal items after the season. Now is the perfect time to pick up deeply discounted holiday items like wreaths, ornaments, lights, and other holiday related items. Stores stocked up and now they need to liquidate as much of the product as possible since space is always a premium. It's not uncommon for you to find things slashed by 50 percent, 75 percent, or even 90 percent as the days go on. A few years ago we picked up the bulk of our Christmas tree ornaments at deep discount from retailers like Michael's and Macy's.

Monitor online deals. Online retailers want to continue the momentum from the holiday season by pumping out a solid stream of good deals, many of which will be available online. Online buying has become very popular because it allows you to compare prices, stores, brands, without having to leave your home. You can keep track of bargains being offered, and keep it in mind for future, since some stores offer competitive pricing. There are also deal sites that offer coupons or cash back rewards.

Avoid the bandwagon. Buying items when they are in high demand guarantees it'll be hard to find a bargain. This is basically the corollary to the first tip! Try to buy flowers and jewelry around Valentine's Day and you're guaranteed to pay full retail price, because everyone else is. Your only recourse is to either shop very early, if it can be stored easily, or shop after the season. Also, shopping for these items months before the holidays means you can avoid the skirmish at the store.

[Visit the U.S. News My Money blog for the best money advice from around the web.]

Be at the right place at the right time. The time of year plays an important role in items for sale, which can be helpful knowledge for any shopper. For example, the day of the week plays a role in airline ticket prices. Tuesday evening through Thursday are the best days to buy tickets, and scheduling flights out on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday will help with lower prices. As we begin to enter Spring, items such as winter gear, lawn mowers, and computers tend to have bargain prices.

Remember coupons. Finally, before you make any purchase, especially one online, look for a coupon. You can usually secure significant savings by doing a little Google search for coupons and promotion codes or going to a big aggregator like RetailMeNot.com. Vendors often have coupons for dollars off or free shipping, both of which can save you a few dollars on your purchase. If you take a few minutes, you never know what you'll find. It's easily one of the best return on your times you'll ever have and you'll feel clever finding it.

While bargains are never guaranteed, these tips will help shoppers begin the search for future purchases. Also, knowing these tips means you can avoid Black Friday and other popular shopping days, which encourage large crowds and more frustration. Make your new years resolution to shop like a professional.

Jim Wang writes about personal finance at Bargaineering.com. When he's not tackling money issues, he's usually looking forward to his next vacation and writing about it at Wanderlust Journey.

Taken from

http://www.usnews.com/

How to Tailor Your Resume for an Employer

With five candidates for every job, competition is fierce. Your online profile affects your chances to win interviews, but your resume is still the most crucial element of your job-search strategy. And tailoring your resume for each specific employer is one way to make sure you’ll stand out.

Here are five tips to help you figure out how to appeal to your targeted employers:

1. Study organizations’ websites. Companies spend a lot of time, effort, and money compiling their public relations profiles for visitors. Look for repeated words and phrases, taglines, and hints about their philosophical approaches. Some employers include videos or testimonials from employees to illustrate their corporate culture.

[See 10 Ways to Use Social Media in Your Job Search.]

What can you learn?

Is the company leadership-focused? Team-oriented? Do they value diversity? Is community service important? What are their goals? Do they specify problems they solve? What buzzwords appear multiple times on the sites? Studying the company’s official online presence offers a window for you to determine a) if the job is a good fit and b) how to market yourself for the position.

Mirror some of their language and values in your resume. For example, if the company highlights their commitment to community service, showcase volunteer activities on your resume. Also include keywords they use to describe themselves and their employees.

[See How to Rock Your Next Job Interview.]

2. Review LinkedIn profiles with your target job title. Look for key skills to include in your materials. Review information from employees working for similar organizations for suggestions of the type of work, skills, and accomplishments you should highlight to land interviews.

3. Identify your industry’s national and local conferences. Does your field have a go-to conference where big players offer insights and advice? Visit the conference sites, read speaker bios, and review session descriptions. Pick out the field’s “pain points,”—the problems they’re trying to solve—based on their conference topics. Address these issues and detail your relevant accomplishments on your resume.

4. Study job descriptions. Use Linkup.com, Indeed.com, Monster.com, CareerBuilder, LinkedIn’s jobs, and company sites to research job descriptions.(Look at job descriptions even if those positions aren’t geographically desirable. As long as the description appeals to you, you can use it to improve your resume.

[For more career advice, visit U.S. News Careers, or find us on Facebook or Twitter.]

Identify the buzzwords, key phrases, and re-appearing information. Does everyone mention cross-functional teams? Include it on your resume. Is there a particular software package your industry mentions in every job description? You need to know it, list it, and be able to illustrate how you used it.

5. Talk to people. Conduct informational meetings with people who work in your target field and ask what skills they use, what problems they face, and the types of qualities their organizations seek. Use the data you gather to enhance your resume. Targeting your resume with information to appeal to your next employer will give you the upper hand in a competitive market.

Miriam Salpeter is a job search and social media consultant, career coach, author, speaker, resume writer and owner of Keppie Careers. She teaches job seekers and entrepreneurs how to incorporate social media tools along with traditional strategies to empower their success. Connect with her via Twitter @Keppie_Careers.

Taken from http://www.usnews.com/

How to Travel Affordably in Retirement

Many of us look forward to retirement as a time when we can enjoy a bit more travel. The trick for those of us on a fixed income is how to seize more adventure for less money.

You don’t have to be retired to know how to stretch a travel dollar. Sujai Kumar lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. Three years ago, on his way to India, he spent the night in London before his flight out the next day. While he has many friends there he could have crashed with, he decided to stay with a perfect stranger because he wanted to give CouchSurfing a try. He stayed in the guest room of a lovely flat in Greenwich. The next day his hostess took him for a stroll around the neighborhood and over to Blackheath Village, where they enjoyed a nice lunch together before his flight out that afternoon.

[See 5 Ways to Keep Retirement Exciting.]

Since that trip, Sujai has enjoyed over a dozen couch surfing stays and entertained nearly two dozen visitors in his home, through the CouchSurfing.org website. Despite the name, he has only once slept on an actual couch. Usually he has a bed, and most often his own room, although bunk beds in a hallway were once his accommodation. Now he says, “I can’t imagine staying in a hotel anymore unless I absolutely have to.” He loves the glimpse he gets of the local culture from actually living with locals instead of in a sterile hotel room.

One of his favorite experiences so far was spending three nights with a family in Iceland. When they bundled up their one-year-old and put him in his carriage for a nap outside on the covered porch, he learned that this is a typical napping place for the babies of Iceland, something he never would have gleaned staying in a hotel. He now counts his hosts among his friends. They are working on plans to visit him in Scotland.

[See 10 Reasons Retirement Makes You Feel Younger.]

If you don’t mind staying in other people’s homes, but you’d rather not stay while they are actually there, perhaps a home exchange is more your style. We’ve had nearly a dozen successful home trades over the past couple of years. We’ve swapped twice for the same elegant studio near New York City’s Columbus Circle. The bed, in a former closet, was a tight but quiet alternative to the previous week’s stay in a more spacious one-bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side. While we did have more room in the first apartment, the rumble of the Lexington Avenue subway line, which ran directly beneath the apartment, jostled us to sleep each night.

Our favorite stay was in a 200-year-old farmhouse in Brattleboro, Vt. We went from the hustle and bustle of New York, to the quiet calm of sipping our evening glass of wine, pool-side, as we gazed past the thick of maple trees out over the Connecticut river. After a couple of visits by the resident mouse, we learned that we needed to store our food securely in cabinets, not right out on the kitchen counters.

Even if you are not comfortable hosting guests in your home, you can still find deals living like a local. Airbnb.com offers inexpensive rentals of rooms like couch surfing, or whole apartments and houses like home exchange, but you won’t have to use your home as currency.

[See 5 Tips for Affordable Travel in Retirement.]

Don’t despair if a more traditional hotel room is where you prefer to rest your head. There are plenty of last-minute vacation packages available to travelers who are flexible with their dates, and that means most retirees. Many hotels offer package deals through discount travel agents, to fill up vacant rooms or to generate business for new resorts. I eagerly await weekly emails from discount travel agents such as Travelzoo and Travel by Jen, which let me know of hotel, resort, and cruise deals when I’m ready to get out of town on a moment’s notice.

Couch surfing and home exchanging take a fair amount of time. You may have to kiss a lot of frogs to find the right match, and you should spend some time getting to know your travel partners before handing over the keys to your home. Taking advantage of last-minute travel deals requires a fair amount of flexibility. You’ll have to be pretty spontaneous to enjoy the lowest rates. But in retirement you’ve got all the time in the world to plan, and the freedom to come and go as you please. So, why not enjoy a few extra adventures.

Sydney Lagier is a former certified public accountant. Since retiring in 2008 at the age of 44, she has been writing about the transition from productive member of society to gal of leisure at her blog, Retirement: A Full-Time Job.

Taken from : http://www.usnews.com

How to Eat Well in Athens - Choice Tables

I know: I’ve been a victim of it. Athenian after Athenian has tugged me out to this or that sleekly designed room with boldly geometric plates upon which intricately stacked food teeters. And I have wondered where the pleasures of grilled octopus might be hiding, and what had happened to the simplicity at the heart of Greece’s best cooking, which needn’t suffer from any inferiority complex at all.

So on a recent trip to Athens I set my own narrow parameters, my own traditional terms. I would eat nothing that didn’t have easily discernible Greek roots. I would go nowhere that belonged to the Cosmopolitan Hodgepodge school of precious international cooking. Rather than chasing the new, I would revel in the old; the longer the restaurants had been around, the better. They had stood the test of time.

My approach was relatively inexpensive and seemed fitting for a moment of economic retrenchment in a blessed, cursed, bailed-out country. I put comfort ahead of dazzle. And it led to some excellent eating.

Margaro

I remember the moment I fell in love with the restaurant Margaro. Five minutes after sitting down at a barely set table with a flimsy paper covering, I looked up to see a wrinkly, square-shaped old woman lifting a whole red mullet, about seven inches long, to her lips and eating it as if it were an ear of corn. That’s my kind of gusto.

At Margaro you get mullet, because that’s what everyone does and that’s nearly all there is. A shiny menu attached to our table by a rope — as if someone might steal it! — mentioned a few other fish, but a server told my companion and me that he could and would summarize the night’s options himself. We could have mullet, shrimp or langoustine. That was it.

We asked for a platter that included everything, and inquired about a Greek salad, for pacing and roughage. They had one, with a brick of salty feta and dark-hued olive oil, and it pleased without wowing us.

But the shrimp, langoustine and especially mullet were fantastic. Pretty much all that happens to them on their journey from larder to table is that they are dusted with flour and salt and thoroughly dunked in very hot oil. They emerge from it crunchy, like piscine French fries. They’re served whole, and while we used our fingers for bits of the crustaceans, we confined ourselves to utensils for the mullet, each one good for maybe six bites. We tore through nearly a dozen of them.

Afterward we ate halvah, a tahini-flavored delicacy that, at Margaro, has the consistency and taste of cookie dough. It was wonderful — and the lone dessert available.

There’s a crude, irresistible poetry to how pared down this taverna is. It is located on a random street in the port city of Piraeus, which is to Athens somewhat as Brooklyn is to Manhattan: a component of the bigger metropolis, stripped of some of the glitz and quickly reached by subway. Those flimsy table coverings are held in place by what look like steroidal paper clips. The white wine — only one generic kind — is served in metal pitchers. And there’s nothing that really qualifies as décor on the vast, covered front porch, which is where the crowd, mostly older folk, eats.

With exuberance they chatter and chew as a breeze blows toward the kitchen and platter after platter of red mullet is carried out of it. That’s nearly the whole of the spectacle, and it’s more than enough.

Margaro, Hatzikyriakou 126, Piraeus; (30-210) 4514226. Dinner for two, with wine, is about 45 euros or about $58 at $1.31 to the euro.

Doris

Just as no one who goes to Margaro misses the mullet, no one who visits Doris skips the loukoumades, which are technically doughnuts, but so superior to others that being lumped in with them is a hideous injustice. They defy culinary gravity in their impossibly airy crispness — or maybe it’s a shockingly crispy airiness. Either way they’re a textural miracle, and a taste revelation.

To get to Doris you burrow into a crammed central Athens neighborhood of narrow, slanting streets. The atmosphere is both functional and festive: a cafe of sorts up front, a big dining room behind it, a garden to the side, high ceilings, yellow and pink walls. The menu is scrawled in Greek on an enormous chalkboard, but you don’t have to understand it because most of the food is displayed in big pans and dishes — a lineup of the hoariest classics, which might also be called clichés. Moussaka, sagonaki, stuffed tomatoes: all of it is here.

And most of it is well prepared. I recommend skipping the Greek pasta dishes (dry) but making sure to have the grilled green peppers filled with cheese, which are superb. Get a bunch of stuff and pass it around. That’s what the Greek regulars here do.

taken from : http://www.nytimes.com

How to celebrate MLK Jr. Day in NYC

Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Here are some public events in New York City on Monday marking the occasion. The events are free except where indicated.

BROOKLYN

Brooklyn Academy of Music Tribute:
Begins at 10:30 a.m., BAM Opera House, 30 Lafayette St., Brooklyn, (718) 636-4100. Keynote speaker is Walter Mosley. Music by the Persuasions and the Reverence Timothy Write Memorial Choir of the Grace Tabernacle Christian Center. There is a community art exhibition and a screening of "Neshoba: The Prince of Freedom," an award-winning documentary about a town in Mississippi 40 years after the murders of three civil rights workers.
*
Art and Videos for Children
11:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Brooklyn Children's Museum, 145 Brooklyn Ave., (718) 735-4400, admission $7.50 per person, under 1 free
11:30 a.m., a short DVD presentation of the "I Have A Dream Speech."
1:30 p.m., Coretta Scott King dance tribute, the Pinnacle Praise Dancers celebrate through poetry and dance.
2:30, Interactive show looks at the historic and present-day struggles for freedom, social justice and human rights
3 p.m., make art using African Adinkra symbols of hope, love and friendship to take home.
*
Free Concert
6 p.m., seating begins at 5:30 p.m., first-come, first-served basis, Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, at Brooklyn College campus, 2900 Campus Road

BRONX

Interfaith Service
10 a.m., Trinity Baptist Church, 808 E. 224th Street, Bronx, 718.590.3989. In conjunction with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., the service will honor the legacy of Dr. King and celebrate the national community service theme, "Remember! Celebrate! Act! A Day On ... Not A Day Off"
*
Children's Programs
9 a.m. - 5 p.m., St. Mary's Recreation Center (in St. Mary's Playground) St. Ann's Ave. and 145th St., (718) 402-5155. Video images and audio presentation of two of King's famous speeches will be on display.
12 p.m. - 3 p.m., Owen Dolen Golden Age Center (in Owen F. Dolen Park), 1400 East Tremont Ave., (718) 822-4282,
Children can listen to the "I Have a Dream" speech, watch a documentary about King's life and discuss the country's history and future.

MANHATTAN

Raising Citizens: Martin Luther King, Jr. Festival
10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Children's Museum of Manhattan, 212 W. 83rd St. between Broadway and Amsterdam, (212) 721-1234,  admission: $10. Kids can celebrate the city's diversity by creating collages of what they see in their neighborhood and learn what some teens are doing to make the world a better place. At 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., the world famous Harlem Gospel Choir will perform.
*
Walking Tours in Central Park
10 a.m., annual tour by eighth-graders from the Manhattan Country School, Strawberry Fields at Central Park West and 72nd St. The students will lead a tour and stop in several places to give speeches on the theme, "We Have Another Dream: Civil Rights in the 21st Century."
*
12 - 1 p.m., Seneca Village Tour, inside the park at the southeast corner of 85th St. and Central Park West, (212) 772-0210. Seneca Village was Manhattan's first known community of African-American property owners, on land that would become Central Park. Learn about the history of the village, the property owners, and what New York City was like at the time.
*
Artists Celebrate Dr. King
6:30 p.m., Peter Norton Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th St., (212) 864-5400
Jazz musician Craig Harris and ensemble performs parts of "God's Trombones," illuminating the teachings of black preachers. Choreographer Bridget Moore's "Remembrance of Things Past" combines one of King's most important speeches with dance and video. Vocalists Neshama Carlebach and  members of the Green Pastures Baptist Church Choir sing African-American spirituals.
Emceed by Ruth Messinger, with a keynote address by the Rev. Dr. Suzan D. Johnson Cook.

QUEENS

King Documentary Screening
3 p.m., Museum of the Moving Image, 3601 35th Ave., Astoria
King: A Filmed Record ... Montgomery To Memphis
This tribute documentary uses archival footage of King's life, from the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott to his assassination in 1968, intercut with dramatic readings and interviews by friends and admirers, including Ruby Dee, James Earl Jones, Paul Newman, Harry Belafonte, and more. Made in 1970, 185 minutes.

STATEN ISLAND

Children's Service
10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Unitarian Church of Staten Island, 312 Fillmore St., (718) 447-2204. A service and creative activities aimed at kids aged 7 to 13 will honor King. The church will screen the feature film "Selma, Lord, Selma," about an Alabama girl inspired by King. Lunch and snacks will be served. Participants are encouraged to donate to a food drive.

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How to Choose a Wireless Provider and Smartphone

How do you choose the right smartphone? What if you get a great smartphone, but the network it is on is flaky, unreliable, and constantly drops calls? What if you choose an awesome wireless provider, but can't get the smartphone you really want? The following process will help you find the right combination of wireless provider and smartphone that works best for you.

Let me begin by saying that I abhor device exclusivity. I understand that there are technical differences between the GSM and CDMA networks, and that compatibility is dictated to some degree by those limitations. But, I don't believe users should have to switch wireless providers to get the smartphone they want, or that some customers should be prohibited from choosing specific smartphones based on the strength or weakness of a given provider in their area.

In a perfect world, you would be able to independently determine which wireless provider works best for your needs, and then choose which smartphone you want without being limited to the smartphones offered by the provider you chose. But, for now--at least in the United States--that is not the way it works.

Given that device exclusivity does exist for most smartphones, what is the best approach for choosing a wireless provider and a smartphone that can perform the various functions you need it to without making you want to smash it on the pavement? I believe if you follow these steps--in order--you will have a more satisfying experience all around.

Signal Strength

By signal strength, I mean signal strength for you. One of the things that gets quickly lost in the zealous debate over which provider is "best" is that they all have dead zones and gaps in coverage. Just because Verizon has the strongest signal or fastest network performance for your cousin in Topeka doesn't mean that it will be the best network for you in Albuquerque.

You should also consider the entire range you might use the smartphone in. Obviously, you want to have strong network coverage at your home, and at your place of work--the combination of the two probably make up the majority of your waking hours. But, also consider where else you might go frequently and make sure your provider of choice has got you covered. The bottom line is that without an adequate network and decent signal strength your smartphone is a glorified MP3 player, so this is really the most important part of the decision.

Globe Trotter

For the world travelers among us, the question of network availability and signal strength has to be applied on a more global level. If you also travel overseas frequently, a GSM-based provider like AT&T or T-Mobile might make more sense because GSM is a more universally accepted wireless standard than CDMA. If there is a specific region or country that you visit frequently, make sure your choice of wireless provider and smartphone will still be functional there.

Price and Perks

Assuming you have multiple wireless providers capable of meeting your needs in terms of coverage and signal strength, the next thing to consider is the cost. Verizon still offers an unlimited data plan, but AT&T claims that 98 percent of its customers use less than 2GB of data per month, and nearly two-thirds use less than 200MB of data per month, so perhaps buying an unlimited data plan is just expensive overkill.

AT&T has rollover minutes, but only on large voice packages where it is significantly less likely you will ever go over your monthly allocation and dip into the rollover pool--so again it may be a case of expensive overkill for the illusion of a service you won't really use.

When it comes to cost, Sprint seems to be the better of the available choices. Sprint offers a $99 unlimited everything package, and generally allows the use of capable smartphones as Wi-Fi hotspots and other features like tethering without nickel and diming like Verizon and AT&T tend to do.

Make sure you consider all of the ways you might want to use your smartphone--as a phone, surfing the Web, texting, e-mail, streaming video, etc.--and calculate the total package for each wireless provider to figure out which works best for you.

The Smartphone Itself

At this point, either you have made a decision on the wireless provider, in which case you can simply choose from the available smartphones to pick the one that meets your needs and be done. If you are still undecided between multiple wireless providers, you can review the smartphone options at each one and select the wireless provider that has the smartphone you prefer.

Truthfully, the smartphone itself is not nearly as important as the wireless provider. There is no point in having a great smartphone on a network that doesn't work. And--frankly--the high end smartphones are relatively comparable. If you choose Sprint you won't be able to get an iPhone (yet), but you can get the EVO Shift. If you elect Verizon as your wireless provider, you can't get the Samsung Epic 4G, but you can get the Droid X or the iPhone.

You get the idea. I understand some people are very passionate about specific smartphones, but on paper the high end devices are all relatively comparable, and the difference between an iPhone, a BlackBerry Torch, a Droid 2, or a Samsung Focus are not nearly as critical to the functionality and overall smartphone experience as the network it runs on.

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How to Choose Color

Choosing the right colors is crucial when you are designing a kitchen, be it for cabinetry, tile, flooring or even hardware. When reviewing cabinet options, for example, not only should you be looking at whether you want a raised or flat panel door style, a durable surface on both the inside and outside, as well as an efficient layout to fully accommodate your client's needs, but you should also be really “fussy” about selecting the perfect hue, shade, tint and/or tone. Creating the right color combination is critical and can mean the difference between a space that is ho-hum and one that is stunning.

Following are some important ideas to keep in mind when designing your new kitchen:

1. If you decide you want two colors for your kitchen cabinetry—one for the wall or perimeter units and another for the island, for example—make sure they’re different enough from each other that your selections look intentional. If not, the result will look like you tried to match the colors and failed.

2. Choose hardware that stands out from the cabinets. A white porcelain knob on a white cabinet will get lost visually, whereas a rubbed bronze knob on the same white cabinets will give you more style.

3. Also, keep in mind the color of your faucet when selecting your hardware. Although they don’t have to be exactly the same, they should be colors/finishes that will work together.

4. Often the hardware on your cabinets is an opportunity to add a little sparkle in the room. For the understated kitchen without a lot of colors or textures, a cut-glass-style knob or a colorful door knob can be the perfect jewelry to accessorize the design.

5. Create a backsplash that lightens your workspace. Going darker will darken work areas and work surfaces, thus requiring more task lighting, while paler colors will add brightness by reflecting light onto countertops.

6. A hard-working component of any kitchen, the kitchen sink demands a color/finish that is as appealing as it is functional. Keep in mind that a sink in a lighter tone or even stainless steel tends to appear clean and bright whereas darker options may blend in with the countertops but will lose that feeling of cleanliness.

7. Take time to evaluate and examine your work surface selection before placing an order. Some people may find a black, shiny countertop hard on their eyes and feel more comfortable living with and working on one in a medium or lighter color.

8. When choosing an island work surface, either opt for a color that differs noticeably from that of the perimeter countertops or go with a completely different material. As an example, you might specify granite for your built-in cabinets and then contrast it with a beautiful wood surface on the island. For visual interest, differentiate the island countertop from that of the perimeter cabinetry by selecting a contrasting color or material. Photo courtesy of Amy Wax, Your Color Source Studios.

9. However, if you do use wood for your island countertop, avoid choosing one in the same color as the cabinetry below. A dark wood or black island might work better with a lighter wood top and vice versa.

10. Finally, the color of the walls of your kitchen should contrast with that of your cabinets. To really show off the cabinets, make sure they stand out against the color of the room.

Hopefully, you’ll find these color ideas useful. People frequently select a function or style they like when designing their kitchen without remembering that selecting the right color, or depth of color, can make or break a kitchen design.

—Amy Wax is an architectural color consultant and principal of Your Color Source Studios in Montclair, NJ. She is the recipient of a 2010 Benjamin Moore Hue Award for Residential Exteriors and VP of the International Association of Color Consultants of North America( IACC-NA). Wax also served on Benjamin Moore’s first Residential Advisory Council, and her book, Can’t Fail Color Schemes, published by Creative Homeowner, has been recognized with several awards. Her latest is Can’t Fail Color Schemes: Kitchens & Baths.

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How to Cope With Stomach Flu Symptoms

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 12 (HealthDay News) -- If you get the stomach flu (also known as viral gastroenteritis), there are a number of things you can do to cope with the illness, an expert suggests.

"This virus causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, fever, and head and muscle aches. Although the virus itself most often is not a serious health threat, it can cause serious complications like dehydration, which can be especially dangerous for young children and older adults," Dr. Christopher Zipp, a family physician at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey's School of Osteopathic Medicine, said in a university news release.

Zipp offered the following tips for coping with stomach flu:

Avoid dehydration by consuming plenty of fluids. The best choices are water or half-strength juices. It's best to avoid sodas or sports drinks, but they can be given to people who can't tolerate the recommended fluids.Relieve body aches and fever by taking over-the-counter, non-aspirin pain relievers such as acetaminophen, as directed.Rest as much as possible.Take steps to prevent spread of the virus. Throw away used tissues immediately and wash your hands often. Soiled bed linens or clothes should be washed separately from other laundry.Make sure you're fully recovered before heading back to work or school. People with the stomach flu can still be contagious for up to 72 hours after they feel better.

"Keep in mind that this illness is caused by a virus. Antibiotics, which work against bacterial infections, will not help you to recover," Zipp explained.

"Most people will begin to feel better after a couple of days, but don't hesitate to contact your physician if you or a family member experiences extreme symptoms, such as uncontrolled vomiting or a high fever that persists and does not respond to over-the-counter medications," he added.

-- Robert Preidt Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, news release, Jan. 7, 2011

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How to get through Blue Monday

Money can’t buy you happiness, but giving it away will lift your mood. Harvard Business School found that spending as little as £3 on others instantly makes you happier. A 2008 study published in the journal Science found that people were more content if they felt their money was having a positive impact on others, and not just themselves. Leave a bigger tip at lunch, or put a little something into that Christian Aid envelope.

Lovebomb your partner

Make your first text message or tweet of the day a slushy one. For this simple karmic act, known to pop philosophers as “paying it forward”, you can expect a good vibe in return. For ideas of what to write in your message, dip into Tweetie Pie: 140 Ways To Say I Love You (Orion, £6.99), a new pocket-book full of epithets such as “We didn’t speak much last night. We didn’t need to. I like that. xxx”.

Get singing

You don’t have to audition for Simon Cowell to feel the benefit: singing to yourself in the shower is an easy way to boost your levels of oxytocin, a feel-good hormone that scientists believe also acts as a natural painkiller. A report by the University of Sydney revealed that belting out a song has a palliative effect. “It lifts the mood, removes stress, and makes people feel better and happier,” says Sue Philips of the Alzheimer’s Society in Wales, which has set up singing groups for people with dementia. Reports suggest that singing can also improve cognitive function, reduce depression and boost the immune system.

Get the teas in

Psychologists at Yale University found that workers were more kindly disposed towards their colleagues, seeing them as more generous and caring if they had just held a warm drink in their hands.

“Physical warmth can make us see others as warmer people, but also cause us to be warmer – more generous and trusting – as well,” said the report’s co-author, Professor John A Bargh. So who will get in the next tea round, then?

Sit up straight

It can be difficult to summon up the enthusiasm to exercise at this time of year, but performing gentle exercises while sitting will help lift your mood. Wendy Oliver, a trainer who runs the Touch Studios in Bristol, says: “The answer is to engage in exercises that focus on enhancing posture. Our moods have a big influence on our posture and stance, creating tension in our bodies.”

Eat yourself happy

There is no end of advice at this time of year on what to eat to live healthier and get thinner. However, some foods will also help lift your mood. Ian Marber, from the Food Doctor nutrition consultants, recommends eating raw green beans, which are rich in magnesium, a nutrient that reduces emotional irritability and belligerence; the Institute of Psychiatry found magnesium deficiencies in patients who suffered from depression.

Low levels of vitamin B12 are also associated with mood swings; one serving of red snapper has three times your recommended daily intake. Something of an acquired taste, liquorice contains isoflavene, which helps control reactions to stress. Break out the Allsorts.

Go dancing

This is not recommended just for Strictly Come Dancing addicts going cold turkey. A quick foxtrot around the living room will release enough endorphins, the feel-good hormone, to take your mind off the bleakness of the weather. Former Strictly judge Arlene Phillips says: “Dancing isn’t just about the physical benefit – it makes you feel good, too. Watch people walking down the street: if they’re listening to music there’s a spring in their step.”

Go barefoot

Walking around the office in bare feet will give you a quick physical lift. Dr Liz Miller, in her new book Moodmapping (Rodale, £8.99), says: “Tired feet make you feel tired. By giving them new sensations, and allowing your toes to move, you wake up a part of the body normally enclosed and give yourself a reflexology session. Once your feet feel better, the rest of you will, too.”

Get flirty

If any excuse were needed, it is good to practise your chat-up lines. “Part of your brain’s hypothalamus responds to flirtatious encounters by producing the hormone dopamine,” says Dr Michael Green, a neurologist at Aston University. “Brain cells that store it are then primed to fire the feel-good chemical into your synapses.” And if your other half finds out, you have the perfect explanation.

Say it with flowers

A study by Harvard Medical School has shown that floral-scented candles can put a smile on your face. Researchers found that a votive or two can reduce anxiety, make you feel more enthusiastic and give your spirits a lift. A behavioural study also suggested that “morning people” felt far happier and more energetic after waking to a vase of fresh-cut flowers. That’s petal power for you.

Listen to the birds

Birdsong can help you through the gloom of shorter winter days, says the National Trust, which has launched an online audio guide to Britain’s best-loved birds. Trust ecologist Peter Brash says that listeners will feel better for hearing it. “Taking the time out to listen to five minutes of birdsong every day could be beneficial to our wellbeing – although there is no real substitute for listening to birds singing in the outdoors, and we’re never far away from birdsong wherever we are.”

A study of the mood-altering effect of sounds by Goldsmiths College, University of London, found that even a short burst of birdsong – or other “happy” sounds such as crashing waves and crackling fires – affects perceptions, creating the illusion that you are content in your surroundings and making the day seem more bearable.

To coincide with the Big Garden Birdwatch, the Telegraph has teamed up with RSPB to compile The Essential Guide to British Garden Birds, free inside The Daily Telegraph on January 29. Meanwhile, inside The Sunday Telegraph (January 30th) you will find a free CD of uplifting birdsong, The Dawn Chorus. For more details, visit telegraph.co.uk/promotions

Write a journal

Today is the day you need to focus on the good things in your life. Before bedtime, write down all the things you have to be grateful for, as well as all the things that went well over the course of the day. Effective journal-writing captures the essence of your thoughts, provides reflection, allows for creativity, sharper memories, self-examination, and spiritual direction for a more complete person. Doing this also helps you wind down, ensuring a better night’s sleep.

Professor James Pennebaker, from the University of Texas, who has carried out numerous experiments on the health benefits of expressing your thoughts and feelings in writing, found that journal-keepers produce less cortisol, a stress hormone, and demonstrate a more vigorous antibody response to bacteria and viruses. “Writing a diary is a chance to stop, stand back and look at your life,” he says. “Use the quiet time to make life-force corrections.”

View the original article here

How to reduce junk mail

Remember back during the holidays when the mail brought cool things like cards and packages? Trips to the mailbox just aren't as much fun now that we're back to just getting credit card offers and catalogs we've never heard of.

Unwanted mail is a pain in plenty of ways, says professional organizer Lorie Marrero, creator of ClutterDiet.com and author of "The Clutter Diet: The Skinny on Organizing Your Home and Taking Control of Your Life." Staying on top of it takes time, and if we don't stay on top of it, it clutters our homes. "Paper is the No. 1 problem that people report to us," Marrero says, and mail is a big part of paper clutter.

One type of junk mail, pre-approved credit card offers, can be worse than annoying: If your mailbox isn't secure, thieves can swipe pre-approved credit card offers and steal your identity.

We consulted Marrero and Lydia Hekman, media and public relations manager for the Better Business Bureau in Austin, for ideas on how to make sure that only the mail you want gets to your mailbox.

Credit cards

Let's start with those pre-approved credit card offers. If you want to stop getting them, Marrero and Hekman say to visit optoutprescreen.com or call 888-5-OPTOUT. The service, operated by the three major credit reporting bureaus, will ask for information you should normally be leery about giving out, including your birth date and Social Security number, but the BBB says it's safe to share these details and that they are kept confidential. If you're using the optoutprescreen.com web site, be extra-careful typing the URL so you don't accidentally end up at a copycat site, Marrero says.

Catalogs

Hekman says that if your mailbox is stuffed with catalogs from companies you've never bought from, or never even heard of, chances are your information got shared by a catalog from which you did order. You can get off the list kept by Abacus, whose members are catalog and publishing companies. E-mail optout@abacus-us.com or write to Abacus, Inc., P.O. Box 1478, Broomfield, CO 80038.

Marketing

A key step to reducing mail that's pitching you products is visiting the Direct Marketing Association's website at dmachoice.org, Marrero and Hekman say. You can request to stop receiving mailings from DMA members, but companies can take a while to remove your name from their lists, the BBB cautions.

General services

If you don't want to go through all of these steps to stopping unwanted mail, there are services that will do the work for you, but they will cost more than taking care of things on your own.

"The easiest, yet most expensive, is 41pounds," Marrero says. "What I like about it is it's the most comprehensive solution." The nonprofit group charges $41 to stop unwanted mail for a household for five years. Learn more at 41pounds.org.

Maintenance

Even going through all these steps or using a comprehensive service won't entirely free you from unwanted mail. Anytime you provide your address, find out whether you're also signing up for mailings — and whether you can opt out, Marrero says. She also recommends having a general system for processing your mail. Sort it daily into the categories of action (things like bills), reference (things you should file) and trash. Don't automatically send junk mail to your trash pile, though. Is there an action you can take to stop it, such as calling a toll-free number that's listed on the mailing? Your vigilance will pay off in a mailbox that stays de-junked.

sbeckham@statesman.com;?445-3826

View the original article here

How to watch Slamdance films without going to Utah

How to watch Slamdance films without going to Utah | 24 Frames | Los Angeles Times body {background-color:#ffffff !important;}ul#root li.navLink a {padding-top:17px; padding-right:4px; padding-bottom:16px; padding-left: 5px;} Subscribe/Manage Account Place An Ad LAT Store Jobs Cars Real Estate Rentals More Classifieds Custom Publishing Entertainment HOME LOCAL L.A. Now Politics Crime Education O.C. Westside Neighborhoods Environment Obituaries Findlocal U.S. Politics Now Top of the Ticket Science & Environment Obituaries Religion WORLD Afghanistan & Pakistan Africa Asia Europe Iran Iraq Latin America Mexico Under Siege Middle East Business Money & Co. Technology Personal Finance Small Business Company Town Jobs Real Estate Autos SPORTS Lakers Clippers Dodgers Angels USC UCLA Kings Ducks Soccer High Schools Bleacher Report ENTERTAINMENT Movies Television Music Celebrity Arts & Culture Company Town Calendar The Envelope Findlocal Health Booster Shots Fitness & Nutrition Medicine Behavior Healthcare Reform Hospitals Living Home Food Image Books Findlocal Brand X Magazine Your Scene Cars Travel California Hawaii Mexico Las Vegas Europe Travel & Deal Blog Destinations Opinion Editorials Op-Ed Letters Opinion L.A. MORE Corrections Readers' Rep Photos Video Blogs Data Desk Comics Puzzles & Games Community Mobile Site Subscribe / Manage Account Print Ads Place an Ad LAT Store Jobs Cars Real Estate Rentals More Classifieds Weekly Ad#inTheNews {min-height:20px;} 24 FramesMovies: Past, present and future« Previous |24 Frames Home| Next »

How to watch Slamdance films without going to UtahJanuary 12, 2011 |  3:35pm

 

Continuing the trend of bringing the experience of Park City to a wider, not necessarily snowbound audience, the Slamdance Film Festival has announced that a slate of films will be available through video on demand during this year's fest, running from Jan. 20-27. (And a selection of previous years' films will be available year-round.) Last year, Slamdance had a handful of titles available on VOD; this year it has upped the number to 17.

Working in partnership with Microsoft, the Slamdance titles will be available through the Xbox and Zune platforms for $4 for standard definition and $6 for high definition. Slamdance splits its share 50-50 with filmmakers. (The festival is also providing 10%  of its Park City box office proceeds to filmmakers.)

From this year's narrative competition, Doug Manley's "Modern Imbecile's Planet World," Damon Russell's "Snow on Tha Bluff" and Albert Birney and Jon Moses' "The Beast Pageant" will be available for the duration of the festival alongside the competition documentaries "Road Dogs" by Shane Aquino and "Scrapper" by Stephan Wassman.

A selection of 12 films from previous editions of Slamdance will also become available starting Jan. 20 and remain up year-round. Among those titles are the documentaries "Off the Grid" by Jeremy and Randy Stulbery, "Orwell Rolls in His Grave" by Robert Kane Pappas and "Zombie Girl" by Justin John and Aaron Marshall. Narrative features that will be available year-round include "Omaha: The Movie" by Slamdance co-founder Dan Mirvish and previous Grand Prize winner "We Go Way Back" by Lynn Shelton.

-- Mark Olsen

Image courtesy Slamdance Film Festival

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How to make your subwoofer sound better

REL T-Series Subwoofers

(Credit: REL)

I recently wrote about how to improve the sound of your speakers by fine-tuning their placement in your room. Hey, it's a free "tweak," and can make a big difference in your sound.

The same logic applies to subwoofers. So if you just plopped your sub down in the corner, chances are you haven't even begun to hear how good it can sound. Optimizing subwoofer placement within your room is the key to achieving the best possible performance.

To judge the potential for changing the sound, move the sub 5 or more feet from wherever it is, and listen for the difference. If you like the sound, live with the new position for a few days, and then move it again. Try moving the sub to different corners of the room to see which one maximizes deep bass output. Or do just the opposite and place the sub closer to the center of the wall; that may result in smoother, more accurate bass response. Experiment and see for yourself.

Next, examine your subwoofer's connectivity options, and hook up your interconnect cable to the input labeled "Sub In," "LFE," "Direct," or "Bypass," and not the Left/Right Main RCA inputs. I'll cover speaker level inputs and output connectivity in a future blog.

Look for the Sub In, LFE, Direct, or Bypass input on your subwoofer; it is the best connection option.

(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)

To use the Sub/LFE RCA input you'll need a long interconnect cable; most consumer electronics dealers stock these cables, or try Radio Shack. How long is long enough? Measure the distance between your receiver and sub and remember to include the distances up and down over doorways and furniture. Buying a cable that's a foot or two too short is a drag, and after you've opened the package you may not be able to return it for a refund or exchange.

If your receiver is equipped with an auto speaker calibration program such as Audyssey, run it every time you move the subwoofer to a new position in the room.

If you don't have auto setup, try turning the sub's crossover control knob to its maximum, highest numerical setting (you're going to rely on the receiver's internal crossover control to route the mid- and high frequencies to the speakers and the bass to the sub). You'll find the crossover setting in the speaker setup menu, and on some receivers you'll be presented with a wide range of settings from 40Hz up to 200Hz. Your speaker and/or subwoofer's user manual may offer specific guidance in this area. If not, here are my crossover recommendations: for small speakers with 2- or 3-inch woofers, try between 150Hz and 200Hz; for midsize speakers with 4- or 5-inch woofers, use 80Hz or 100Hz; and with large bookshelf speakers or skinny floorstanding speakers, try a 60Hz or 80Hz crossover.

The real key to getting the best out of the sub lies in achieving a seamless blend with your speakers. Ideally, you should never be able to hear the bass coming from the sub; it should appear to come from the speakers. Try to keep the sub within a few feet of small left front or right front speakers.

Questions? Leave them in the Comments section and I'll answer them soon in a future blog.

View the original article here