Articles by Zek

The Secrets to Beauty in One Simple Video!

It is not a secret that Photoshop enables magazines to make people look like idealized versions of themselves. In the world of photographic manipulation, no one has wrinkles, or pimples, or unsightly beads of sweat on hot days. Everyone is skinny and muscular, and clothes fit perfectly. In addition to being wildly unrealistic, it’s always ripe for parody, and Forbes shared a video that perfectly nails the absurdity of it: Fotoshop by Adobé is hysterical, and I love how it takes on not only Photoshop but the entire beauty industry. We are bombarded daily by commercials for chemicals that hide…

Gear Bits

Using YouTube to Relive My Favorite Childhood Show

When I was a kid, I loved educational television. Sure, 3-2-1 Contact was fun, but my favorite show of all time was Square One! What was Square One? Only the greatest show of all time…about math! From Wikipedia: Square One Television (sometimes referred to as Square One) is an American children‘stelevision program produced by the Children’s Television Workshop to teach mathematics and abstract mathematical concepts to young viewers. Created and broadcast by PBS in the United States from 1987 to 1994, the show was intended to address the so-called “math crisis” among American schoolchildren. The show was revived for the 1995–1996…

Health and Fitness

The Singularity Is Coming, and It Says You Run too Slowly!

Runners have all sorts of ways to make themselves run faster. Personally, I like using my Garmin Forerunner, since nothing makes me feel slower than watching my snail’s pace tick off on my wrist. Then I convince myself the Garmin is judging me for being slow, and it makes me push harder. Others use landmarks, like trying to run harder to the nearest tree and then slowing down, etc. Now there’s a way to train harder that ups the geek ante to near-infinite levels. According to Runners World, engineers in Australia have invented “joggobot”, a flying drone that floats ahead…

eBooks

Search and Replace Meets the Kindle, the NOOK, and Tolstoy

Public domain titles are a tricky area for ebooks. On the one hand, a bit of digging can get you a free copy of a title easily. But paying a nominal amount sometimes means a better quality copy, with typos and other issues properly corrected. Unless, of course, you bought “War and Peace” for your NOOK. According to Poynter, a company named “Superior Formatting Publishing” put out a copy of “War and Peace” for the Kindle. Then they made one for the NOOK. In a mind-boggling bit of sloppiness, they did an automatic search and replace every time “Kindle” appeared,…

News & Features

Toshiba Unveils New Ultrabooks!

The world of laptops has had a very disruptive series of events over the last few years. There’s the whole netbook craze, which evolved into a tablet movement, and meanwhile, on the high-end, the MacBook Air line remains the gold standard for a lightweight, but powerful computer. Hence why Intel and Toshiba rolled out a trifecta of Ultrabooks today; lightweight computers for everyone’s needs! First up, the U845W for $999.99: Satellite U845W: The World’s First Ultrabook with an Ultra-Wide 21:9 Cinematic Display The entertainment-optimized Satellite U845W offers premium features and design in an ultra-slim form factor. Designed with movie enthusiasts…

eBooks, News & Features

Kobo Hits a Growth Spurt!

If you doubt there’s a three-horse race for dominance in ebooks, look no further than Kobo’s big announcement this morning. They are crowing about “triple-digit growth” in downloads, sales, and eReaders. Now, they are still trailing B&N and Amazon, especially in the USA, but they are likely pulling lots of sales from Sony, Google Books, and other small players. It’s also worth noting that Kobo is a huge international ebook player. They are owned by Rakuten, a Japanese company, and they have a strong presence in Canada as well as in the UK, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Australia, and New…

Gear Bits

Star Wars Burlesque! (NSFW)

A friend of mine sent me the link to this amazing new “Star Wars” themed show on Facebook, and now I really wish I had the vacation time and disposable income to visit Australia. Not only does it look beautiful but they have a very… Uhm… creative take on the Star Wars mythology. Again, warning, this is not suitable for kids, workplace, or anyone who doesn’t want to think about C3PO that way. Check it out. Sadly, I am guessing it will be some time before we see this show hit the states. Hopefully, it has a nice long run…

News & Features

FDA Declares High Fructose Corn Syrup Is NOT Sugar

If you’ve seen those corn industry commercials that claimed “your body can’t tell the difference between ‘corn sugar’ and ‘cane sugar’” and had to pause the tv from laughing at the idiocy of that statement, good news. The FDA agrees and has denied the corn industry the chance to rebrand high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as “corn sugar”, on the grounds that it is not, in fact, sugar. From the New York Times: “HFCS is an aqueous solution sweetener derived from corn after enzymatic hydrolysis of cornstarch, followed by enzymatic conversion of glucose (dextrose) to fructose,” the letter stated. “Thus,…

eBooks

Where Is the Future for Bookstores?

I was at a wedding over the weekend, and I tried making small talk with the gentleman seated next to me. As it turned out, he was from Chicago; we started chatting about the last time I was there for a work conference, which was held above a Barnes and Noble. He laughed and told me the Barnes and Noble is closed. In fact, between B&N tightening stores and Borders going bankrupt, Chicago is down to just two Barnes and Nobles to serve the large-scale bookstore needs for the city. This was quite a disappointment to my new buddy, as…

eBooks

Warren Buffett Sees a Profitable Future for Local News

Think books have a cloud of doom over them? It is a beautiful sunshine-y day compared to the forecast for newspapers. AOL’s local news experiment Patch is imploding, and newspapers are struggling badly to convert free online readers to subscribers via paywall and other means. Despite all the ugly news, there are some that see potential; in fact, Warren Buffett has announced that Berkshire Hathaway will be investing in several newspapers! From The Verge and Bloomberg: Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) struck a deal this month to acquire 63 newspapers, said he may buy more publications as the…

Editorials

Lessons Learned from Navigating without GPS

I have had a dedicated GPS in my car for the last 5 years. I started with a Garmin Streetpilot, and moved on to a Nuvi a few years ago. Up until a few days ago, I didn’t remember how to navigate without a robotic female voice barking angrily at me. But Sarah and I were heading to a wedding, and since she was heading down a few hours ahead of me, and had more stops than me, she borrowed my GPS. Suddenly I had a 2+ hour drive with no bossy instructions … how was I going to survive?…

News & Features

SPIbelt Debuts a New Design for the “American Widow Project”

I love my SPIbelt. It is probably my most-used piece of running gear, and I recommend it enthusiastically to everyone I know. The folks at SPIbelt are constantly pumping out new designs and styles, and their latest ones give a portion of the profits to the American Widow Project. From SPIbelt: The American Widow Project Stars and Stripes SPIbelt™ and SPIband™ The American Widow Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to the new generation of those who have lost the heroes of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. They emphasize healing through sharing stories, tears, and laughter. Military Widow to Military…

Gear Bits, Outdoors

Add “Skydiving Without a Parachute” to the “Don’t Try This at Home” List!

I saw a headline on The Clymb today about a skydiver who completed a jump without a parachute, and at first, assumed the gentleman made a dramatic landing with a malfunctioning parachute. As it turns out, the actual story is much cooler. The jumper is a stuntman, and he designed a wingsuit specifically to try skydiving without a parachute for landing. They laid out boxes to help cushion his descent, and he landed safely! Check out the video below, and then hit up Sky.com for more details on his suit and flight. Then let us know: would you jump out…

News & Features

Drink Like a Winner with a Gold Medal Bottle Opener

I am extremely excited for the upcoming Summer Olympics. Winter Olympics are ok, but summer is the best. Track and field, beach volleyball, swimming, beach volleyball, gymnastics, and did I mention beach volleyball? Now, I am not so excited as to celebrate with a themed party (full disclosure: we did that in college for the winter Olympics, and let’s just say it was sort of like “The Hangover” but with mystery IHOP receipts instead of casino ones). But if you do, you need to fully commit to it, and Gadgets and Gear has you covered with a medal-style bottle opener:…

Gear Bits

McDonalds Catches the Running Bug

Quick, what’s the first corporate sponsor that might come to mind for a huge distance race? If “McDonalds” didn’t spring to the forefront of your mind, you aren’t alone. However, the folks at Rock n Roll Marathons see some opportunity there, as they have teamed up with the big M to sponsor several of their upcoming races. From the press release: Five markets to feature select McDonald’s menu options San Diego, CA – May 23, 2012 – Competitor Group, Inc. (CGI), the leading media and event resource in the active lifestyle industry, today announced a partnership with McDonald’s USA…

Reviews

A Second Opinion on the LifeProof Case

At the start of the year, Dan reviewed the LifeProof iPhone case. He loved it. I have had one for a few months, and on paper it is the ideal case for me. But I don’t have the unconditional love for it that Dan did. So will the pros outweigh the cons? Read on for my take, though if you haven’t yet read Dan’s review i suggest you head there for a quick overview of the fundamentals of the case first. As I said, on paper this is the case for me. I run, in all-weather conditions, so having my…

Gear Bits

Modern Family Reimagined as Horror!

The ABC sitcom “Modern Family” is a sweet, funny look at what it means to be a family today. Each character has a mix of unique and stereotypical traits, and the kids are no exception. Alex, the middle child of one family, is the brainy daughter, and she often plays the straight man/outsider to the wackier elements of the show. One fan took those clips and reinterpreted them in a decidedly non-comedic way. What if Alex wasn’t just the brainy, put-upon middle child, but the brainy, put-upon, sociopath middle child? Fans of the show will know many of the out-of-context…

Gear Bits

Professional Athlete Doesn’t Always Mean Millionaire

Running is not as popular as, say, football or baseball when it comes to spectators. So it isn’t surprising that professional runners don’t have the same earning power. But this article from Runner’s World surprised me with how low compensation can be, even for a talented runner. According to the survey: – Our sport has a very steep pyramid of income opportunities. A select few enjoy a very good living…though even they can fall hard in a short period if performance lags or injuries intervene. – The top variables that affect an athlete’s earnings realization are “world ranking” and “event”….

eBooks

The Line Between Writing as a Business and Writing as an Art

Publishing has had a rough year, and it’s only May! The Department of Justice lawsuit, Barnes and Noble is splitting digital and paper into different companies, and it seems like mainstream media has put a death clock on bookstores. Plus ebooks have hosed the “traditional” model of bookselling: what used to be a yearlong process of hardcover to paperback to mass market is now hardcover/eBook to paperback. The entire business model is in flux, and it’s impacting authors and publishers. Unfortunately, in an idea that must have been conceived in a boardroom and not during the creative process, authors are…

Crowdfunding, Reviews

SlingShot Smartphone Accessory Review, Kickstart This!

We get a lot of gear sent to us in my household. Most of it disappears into my office/gear cave, and occasionally I ask Sarah for help with reviewing it. She rarely, if ever, comments on the items, but the SlingShot caught her attention. We used it on a few hikes to take video and photos, and today Sarah declared that it’s the first item I’ve ever reviewed that she would buy without hesitation. What triggered such high praise? Read on to find out more about this great Kickstarter project! Project title: SlingShot Status: In progress Closing date for funding:…

Gear Bits, Health and Fitness

Sugar, Salt, and Why We Love Junk Food

I love salt. A lot. My college friends still tease me about how I would salt my fries, then salt my ketchup for good measure. For the record, I don’t do that anymore, and not just because Sarah made me stop. We really do try to make an effort to eat “real food” (and yes, I recognize that the fried Oreos I had at the town carnival last night do not count), and this graphic shared by author Michael Pollan just further cemented that drive to eat better. I don’t know for certain that all of the claims are true,…

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