Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/143684538?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Thursday, October 6, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
The Great Video Game Detox Experiment - Minimalist at Home
I have a love-hate relationship with video games. To be more precise, I love to hate video games.
I cannot stand the mind-numbing effect it has on my kids. I detest how turning on a game essentially means turning off your hearing to everything around you. I hate the time wasted. Video games are like mental clutter to me.
I have two boys, ages nine and eleven who absolutely live to play video games and this is not a good thing in my book. For the most part, they don?t understand my negative feelings towards video games.
Growing a Video Game Addiction
I don?t think I always hated video games so much. Like most issues that grow into problems, it started small and slowly built momentum. We didn?t adopt a minimalist mindset until we?d been married for many years so the issues weren?t always so obvious.
In our poor days as newlyweds, my husband and I used to play Tetris and other simple games for our date nights. Being married to a computer geek also meant he has a love of all things technology based. As the gaming systems advanced, so did our collection. Birthdays and Christmas were the perfect opportunities to add the newest gaming system and family members eagerly bought more games for the kids.
As our boys got older, it became a favorite pass time to play games with daddy. As time went by, they slowly transitioned to playing more games on their own. With a father who builds computers, there was eventually a computer for the kids with games on it as well.
Like many addictions, the easiest way to become addicted is to convince yourself you don?t have a problem and that you can handle things how they are.
Looking back, I can?t exactly pinpoint where things went wrong. But I do know if I had to do it over again, I would avoid video games completely.
The Wake-Up Call
I had grown increasingly unhappy with the issue of video games in our house. We have built in limits that our kids cannot play games before their day of homeschool and they only get a two hour window in the afternoon to play. If they took longer on their schoolwork, then they miss out on their play time. Sounds simple enough, right?
What we found was that although the chance to play games acted as a good motivator to finish up their lessons, it was their entire focus. They would get whiny if they missed out on their game time and they absolutely lived for weekends when no schoolwork stood in the way of their screen time.
The brainstorm for my Video Game Detox Experiment came the other day when my oldest son asked if they could have ?a fun day.? I told him that we could have a fun day, but that didn?t mean they?d be having games all day. He replied,
?But having fun IS video games to us.?
Wow. In that moment, I saw how big of a problem we had and something had to change now.
Video Game Statistics
Here are some statistics on video games that I found. I was pretty shocked by many of them.
- 72% of American households play computer or video games
- 33% of gamers say that playing computer or video games is their favorite entertainment activity
- Total Spent on Video Games for 2010: $25.1 BILLION
I was surprised by the average age of game players.
- The average game player is 37 years old and has been playing games for 13 years.
- 18% of gamers are under 18 yrs, 53% are 18-49yrs, and 29% are 50+ yrs
I believe much of this is because the habits that children are taught follow them into adulthood.
Many parents don?t see video game playing as a problem and actually see it as a positive experience:
- 68% Believe game play provides mental stimulation or education
- 54% Believe game play helps to connect with friends
- 57% Believe game play helps the family spend time together
When you further consider the role that violent video games play, the research is even more disheartening. The top selling games each year are consistently the ?Action? and ?Shooter? games.
Violent video games are significantly associated with:
- Increased aggressive behavior, thoughts, and affect
- Increased physiological arousal
- Decreased pro-social (helping) behavior
High levels of violent video game exposure have been linked to:
- Delinquency
- Fighting at school and during free play periods
- Violent criminal behavior (e.g., self-reported assault, robbery)
I simply don?t want my family being any part of these kinds of statistics.
The Brainstorm
In the past we?d taken breaks from video games but it never seemed long enough to snap them out of their obsession.
So, I had the idea to take off an entire month from every kind of video game, computer game, portable gaming system, and even the little game apps on their iPods.
For the month of October our family will be video game free. I wasn?t met with as much resistance as I originally expected but I knew better than to say they?ll be gone for good.
After some time goes by, I plan to interview my boys on their thoughts about how the experiment is going. I?ll probably post an update here as well. I?m hopeful for big changes.
If you?d like to hear how the experiment goes, please consider signing up for updates. You can also follow me on Google+ or Twitter. Thanks so much for reading!
image credit
Source: http://www.minimalistathome.com/the-great-video-game-detox-experiment/
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2011 Nobel Prize in Physics
60-Second Science |
Space
Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt and Adam Reiss share the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics for their observations that type 1a supernovae indicate that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. Steve Mirsky reports.
October 4, 2011
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The 2011 Nobel Prize in physics goes to Saul Perlmutter at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Brian Schmidt at the Australian National Lab and Adam Reiss at Johns Hopkins. The Royal Swedish Academy?s Olga Botner:
?In a universe which is dominated by matter, one would expect gravity eventually should make the expansion slow down. Imagine then the utter astonishment when two groups of scientists headed by this year?s Nobel Laureates in 1998 discovered that the expansion was not slowing down, it was actually accelerating. By comparing the brightness of distant, far-away supernovae with the brightness of nearby supernovae, the scientists discovered that the far-away supernovae were about 25 percent too faint. They were too far away. The universe was accelerating. And so this discovery is fundamental and a milestone for cosmology. And a challenge for generations of scientists to come.?
?Steve Mirsky
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast]
Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=6c238d0fd2f0b2844da3d6fc23db4a59
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Guidelines To Be Imaginative | Self Improvement Blogs from ...
Many people accept that creativity is inborn. You either have it or you do not. Nevertheless, there are ways that you can polish the creative streak inside. There are definitely ways that you may be more creative.
The first step to raising your creativity is to believe that you?re creative. You cannot do good work unless you believe in yourself. Everybody are creative somewhere within. All is requires is to identify the creativity within and believe in it. You simply need to use it at the proper time and you would know that it has always been inside you.
Do not ever be scared to think differently. Even though your new concepts appear to be much too fantastic, make certain you at least give them a try. Out of the box ideas may appear ludicrous initially but can end up in major discoveries. All the developments in the history of mankind came out just because there were folk who could think differently. How else do you believe good products like the Zenmed Derma Cleanse System were developed?
Don?t think too much. Some individuals tend to believe too much and thus frame an opinion before doing anything considerable. You are not to come out with the best inside you unless you are prepared to take chances and experiment. You need to understand that not everything in life has insurance and you?ve got to take risks on 1 or 2 examples.
Even if you happen to have got a mind full of ideas countless, it needs constant refurbishing for you to get some more creative. Give your intelligence enough food and feed it with info. Visit museums, read, travel, watch pictures or do anything that may help you get a short break from the ordinary routine. All this will motivate you and make your intelligence look for new things.
You want to give yourself a little time for your creative outlets. Everyone are busy thru the week. There is barely any time left to indulge in creative activity of any sort. However you need to make certain that you take out time for your creative pursuits. Give a half hour everyday to play a musical instrument or to color. Whatever your medium of creativity might be make sure that you give it sufficient time.
Sometimes, all it takes to get the creative self out is a break. Just stop looking at the walls of your office while you?ve got nothing to do. Go for a short walk or a movie. The break that you take in such a way would help you suspect anew.
Now, when you know the keys to sharpen your creative talents, what are you waiting for? Rub those creative cells of your brain and get going!
Leon Edward helps people in Personal and Career Growth, leadership Development, Goal Setting, Success, Motivation, Self-Improvement, Happiness, Memory Improvement, Stress Reduction and more through his articles, blog posts and special reports . Join Leon Edwards Awesome Success Free, Get his personal success, development and growth weekly newsletter as well as success classics and tips on attracting success and wealth. Visit his Success-Leadership Library, Articles at http://www.AwesomeSuccess.org Leon Edward also helps people improve IQ, focus, memory, concentration, creativity, speed reading, public speaking , time management and reducing stress. Download his IQ Mind Brain Memory Self-Help library at his website http://www.IQMindBrainLibrary.comLeon Edward helps people improve in Leadership Development, Goal Setting, Success, Motivation, Self-Improvement, Happiness, Memory Improvement, Stress Reduction and more through his articles, blog posts and special reports . Join Leon Edwards Awesome Success Free, Get his personal development training, success and growth weekly newsletter as well as success classics and tips on attracting success and wealth. Visit his Success-Leadership Library, Articles at http://www.AwesomeSuccess.orgYou may also be interested in
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Tuesday, October 4, 2011
VB RE takes over Palladium management | CIJ Blog
VB Real Estate has taken over the asset and property management for Palladium in downtown Prague. If anyone is secretly saying to themselves, ?who?? here?s what we?ve been told so far.
VB Real Estate Services GmbH represents the new competence centre for real estate services within the ?VAG Group and was created in 2011 after the merger between Immoconsult Leasinggesellschaft m.b.H. and PREMIUMRED Real Estate Development GmbH. In future, the company will increasingly assume asset and property management tasks for third parties. Its activities will focus on Austria, Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic.?
We?ll have some more details on this a bit later, but VB RE?s Czech subsidiary Premiumred Asset Management will officially be the company doing the work.
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Source: http://cijblog.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/vb-re-takes-over-palladium-management/
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Things to Consider Before Selling Your Structured Settlement ...
At some point or another, you may find yourself in a situation where you are in urgent need of sizeable, lump sum amount of money. Perhaps you need money for a medical emergency, make a down payment on a house, or start a business. If you are unable to raise the required sum through other means it may be tempting to sell off your structured settlement payments to one of the plethora of structured settlement companies out there. Before you do so, however, there are a number of things you?ll want to bear in mind.
Firstly, many states actually have restrictions regarding the sale of structured settlements. Therefore, you may not be able to sell them even if you want to or need court approval first. Moreover, the terms of your settlement may not allow such a sale either. Even if it is possible to your sell your structured settlement, you need to realize that it is quite likely that you?ll lose money in the long run. Structured settlement companies are out there to make a profit and so the offers they make to you may be quite low. Yet another drawback is taxes. While you are receiving payments from a structured settlement plan, they may be tax free. However, as soon as you sell them, the amount that you sell them for may well be taxed.
If you are currently eligible for a structured settlement but have not yet entered into a formal agreement, we strongly recommend that you look into prearranging its terms in a way that anticipates your future needs. It may be possible to set it up in a way by which you receive an initial lump sum followed by periodic monthly or yearly payments or receive lump sum amounts at some future point in time. A competent lawyer can help with this. Sadly, if you are already in a binding agreement and did not do this, you won?t be able to change its terms and now request a lump sum from the paying party. If you find yourself in such a situation and you must sell your payments, be sure to contact an attorney and have him review the terms of any agreement that?s on the table and ensure your rights and interests are protected. Your attorney will also be able to tell whether the amount you will receive is fair. We also recommend that you shop around until you find a company willing to pay you a competitive price. Make sure they are well reputed and well-funded so that you in fact receive the payment you are due. Contacting a tax professional is also a good idea to figure out if there are ways you can reduce the amount you will need to pay.
There are many drawbacks to selling structured settlements but if you find yourself in a situation where you must do so, we hope you find the advice in this article to be useful. Thanks for reading and take care!
About the Author
To learn more about structured settlements including how they work, their pros and cons, and more useful tips on things you need to be aware of when buying and selling them, log on to our structured settlement guide. See you there!
Source: http://www.mps-hp.com/archives/119
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Health, Fitness & Anti Aging | Business Foundation
As the human lifespan lengthens, we have to think of new ways of aging. We will start to experience new things in our lives, and we will want to start to confide in pros if we feel our relationships with our partners, families and friends start to have barriers. We will want to continue to learn and to develop new interests. We don?t ever want to forget that the heart is also the symbol of what makes life worthwhile, in addition to keeping us going.
The decisions you will make today, and whatever you do this year will possibly halt or even reverse many common signs of aging. By this time next year you have the chance to be in great shape, and have more energy than you did 10 years ago, plus having fewer aches and pains than now. But you need to be aware of what those decisions should be.
We realize now, that there are actually 3 different ages:
Chronological age ? The total number of your birthdays.
Biological age ? What is the actual age of your body systems? Is your heart that of a young person? Or is stiff and laboring like someone with a lot more birthdays than you? How about your brain? Is it swift and able to rebound quickly? How is your memory? Or is your brain slower than someone half again your years? There numerous things you can possibly do that will help make a big difference biologically. These are the keys to the ?Ageless Aging? that you have probably heard of.
Psychological age ? this is the actual age that you feel you have reached? Some people feel like 70 when they?re only 50, while others in their 80?s act and feel like they?re still in their 60?s There are lots of things a person can do to feel years younger than they are. Research now shows that feeling better about your lot in life not only can affect your biological age, but even affects your chronological age.
Something new is now beginning to take place in the world of anti-aging. Doctors, who once considered naturopaths, osteopaths and others who first populated modern anti-aging as ?loony?, and whom they often called carnival barkers, are fast becoming anti-aging practitioners and offering patients treatments such as human growth hormone, testosterone, special diet and exercise regimens, antioxidants and hundreds of other supplements, thus hinting at the possibility of the ?fountain of youth?, so to speak.
One emergency room physician based in Northern California follows the movement closely by frequently attending anti-aging meetings and talking to friends in the field. He has also taken advantage of some of the techniques himself. He exercises five days a week, follows a strict low-fat diet that with fruits, vegetables and wild salmon but no white flour or red meat. He also uses supplements ranging from thiamin and biotin to DHEA, DMAE, colostrums, argentine, carnitine and omega-3 fatty acids ? these amount to over 50 pills daily, and he is 64 but looks to be in his 50?s
In 1994, the annual Las Vegas meeting of the brand new American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine was held in a small hotel in Vegas. It took place in a tent-like structure on the pool patio. In Dec, 2008, at the 15th annual meeting of said organization, roughly 2,000 people, including business owners, anti-aging promoters and hundreds of doctors ? from several fields of medicine ? filled a huge meeting space inside the Venetian.
There are now patients from around the country buying in. A 57-year-old Charleston, S.C., real estate agent saw an anti-aging doctor for the first in December when she sought help for joint pain, insomnia and lack of energy. She said that she knew something was going on but testing she had received did not show anything. She knew she had symptoms, but doctors kept telling her nothing was wrong but she knew different.
Patients generally see their anti-aging doctors a lot more often than the regular doctors. The reason is, in addition to checking on weight and body fat and general health; the docs are constantly monitoring a large range of sometimes esoteric health indicators with a battery of medical tests, including urinalysis and blood work. Checking levels of everything from testosterone and estrogen to follicle stimulating hormone and a natural steroid known as DHEA. With the results of all these tests, the doctors may then recommend drugs, hormones, supplements and special diets and fitness regimens ? and then see the patient again in several weeks or months for follow up.
?I am as mainstream as you can get. I am 59 years old, board certified in ob-gyn, as was my father. If you had come to me five, six years ago and talked about anti-aging, I would have said, ?Hogwash!?? says Dr. Andrew Jurow, an ob-gyn in Burlingame, Calif, says he is now a devotee also.
Tags: Aging, Anti, Fitness, Health ?
Source: http://esoteric-foundation.com/health-fitness-anti-aging.html
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