2. March 2012 by admin.

Windows 8 vs. iPad feature-by-feature - way to go MS -

Posted in Military, Technology, Patents and Portfolios, iPhone, Invention, Managing Business, Programming Code Help, Kewler Favorites | Print | No Comments »

2. March 2012 by admin.

From Runner’s world:

Piriformis syndrome is a frustrating condition that’s literally a pain in the butt for runners. This throbbing ache originates in the buttocks and often radiates down the legs and/or to the spine. The culprit is an overtaxed piriformis muscle (from running on uneven ground or having tight hamstrings, for example) that spasms and aggravates the sciatic nerve. This routine will help keep your piriformis strong and flexible. Do the exercises three times each week, after a run.

Bonus Postrun Relief
After a long run or intense workout, end your stretching session by placing a thermalball under your right sit bone. Put all of your weight on the ball and slowly rotate your hips to release the piriformis. Do this for several seconds, and then switch sides.

CLAM SHELL
Lie on your right side with your knees bent. Rest your head on your hand or on your arm. Contract your abs and slowly open and close the top leg 20 times. Rest and repeat; switch sides.

PIGEON FORWARD FOLD
Begin on your hands and knees. Bring the heel of your right foot in front of your left hip. Relax into this position and hold while taking 10 to 20 deep breaths. Repeat on the opposite side.

SIDE PLANK WITH LEG LIFT
Start in a plank position. Rotate your body so that you’re balancing on your right hand. Slowly, with control, lift and lower your top leg five to 10 times. Rest and switch sides.

STANDING FIGURE 4
Stand on your left leg. Rest your right foot on your left knee and do a single-leg squat. With your hands on your hips, hold this position for a few seconds. Return to start and repeat 10 times on each leg.

Posted in Back Pain, Physical Therapy, Massage, Health and Wellness, Pain Relief | Print | No Comments »

1. March 2012 by admin.

One hitch in bringing 3-D motion pictures to home theaters has been the glasses—people hate them. Yet viewers have been enjoying motionless 3-D images unassisted since at least the 1960s. At that time, VariVue was printing postcards covered with a lenticular array that sent each eye a slightly different view. This year Toshiba demonstrated a similar kind of glasses-free 3-D display, and Nintendo released its 3DS. Instead of a lens, the 3DS uses a barrier to produce the stereoscopic effect.

http://www.popsci.com/files/3DTV_v4.html

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1. March 2012 by admin.

A new prototype of the Navy’s weapon of the future just completed its first test, blasting a chunk of metal through the air at speeds up to 5,600 MPH. 

Posted in SBIR / STTR, Military, Invention, Kewler Favorites | Print | No Comments »

29. February 2012 by admin.

Display Altered Brain Connectivity in the Default Mode Network—An Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) MRI Study 

pain biomarkers:

Some people say “pain is all in the mind.” Perhaps it actually is, according to a poster on an imaging biomarker presented at the 2012 AAPM (American Academy of Pain Medicine) Annual Meeting. The researchers, from Harvard Medical School and the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, looked at the brains of people with chronic low back pain and discogenic pain along with those of healthy people using arterial spin labeling, a form of MRI that measures blood flow to particular brain regions. Comparing the images showed changes in connectivity between regions of the brain. While this is early work in a small group, the imaging technique may have potential as an objective biomarker for chronic pain. Pain biomarkers are elusive, but could be useful in diagnosis and tracking pain in clinical trials, as well as in helping patients and physicians differentiate chronic pain from psychological symptoms.

Pain in the brain

Posted in Physical Therapy, Back Pain, Massage, Military, Health and Wellness, Pain Relief | Print | No Comments »

28. February 2012 by admin.

Is Internet Access an inalienable right for individuals and organizations? Does net access come with responsibilities similar to driving a car, which failure to abide by can result in limiting or denying access entirely? The UN and other countries have called Internet access a basic human right. Is Internet Access a basic human right or a privilege to be earned and maintained by good behavior?

When we were young, a simple lock gave all the protection we needed and passwords were required only to enter childhood forts. Today’s connected world creates new safety risks for kids. But you can change that. Kids need security professionals, like you, to volunteer to teach them how to stay safe online and how to use the Internet in ways that won’t jeopardize their privacy or damage their reputations. A few hours of your time could mean a lifetime of safety to a child.

In the absence of personal relationships, we have no choice but to substitute confidence for trust, compliance for trustworthiness. This progression has enabled society to scale to unprecedented complexity, but has also permitted massive global failures. In a world completely reliant on technology, a cataclysmic disaster is waiting to happen. As menacing computer malfunctions pop up around the world, some with deadly results, the protagonist realizes that there isn’t much time if he hopes to prevent an international catastrophe.

Posted in Marketing, Military, Social Network, Wealth Management, Invention, Programming Code Help, Managing Business, Pain Relief, Health and Wellness, Kewler Favorites | Print | No Comments »

28. February 2012 by admin.

create an interesting chart based on Finnish male IQ tests.  Interesting source

 Source->Abstract

Posted in Wealth Management, Social Network, Health and Wellness, Kewler Favorites | Print | No Comments »

27. February 2012 by admin.

How to deal effectively and productively with angry complaints

Never underestimate the power of the angry customer.  The more a complaint is repeated, the longer its legs grow.  A small issue can morph into a big deal.  It can trigger a rant that ends with a referral source never calling you again. You could end up on with a social network free for all, one that won’t improve your business or reputation.

Move quickly to resolve issues.  The longer a customer remains angry the more frequently he/she will tell others about what happened.  As you wait to solve the problem, they continue to have no information to share about the how the problem is being solved.

Show empathy.  Often this is the most difficult strategy.  When a complaint comes at a bad or busy time, it is difficult to show you care.  There’s and old saying, “Never let them see you sweat.” Well, never let a customer sense you don’t care that they are upset and explain to them the actions you are taking to resolve the problem.

Send a follow-up note to those who complain.  Let the customer, referral source or patient know that you appreciate them taking the time to discuss a problem.  Let them know the relationship is valuable, and thank them for giving you the opportunity to not only fix the problem and keep their business, but to ensure the same problem doesn’t happen again.

Posted in Massage, Physical Therapy, Social Network, Nonprofit, Managing Business, Health and Wellness, Kewler Favorites | Print | No Comments »

27. February 2012 by C C.

Living with fibromyalgia pain can contribute to depression and anxiety. But some experts believe there are other related conditions that could be contributing to your blues.

By Nancy Christie

Medically reviewed by Ed Zimney, MD

Chronic, widespread muscular pain and tenderness, sleep problems and fatigue, morning stiffness and headaches, concentration and digestive irregularities: All of these symptoms can make daily functioning very difficult for those with fibromyalgia. But equally challenging are the depression and anxiety that often accompany the disorder.

Over a lifetime, as many as 62 percent of fibromyalgia patients may experience symptoms of major depressive disorder, and 56 percent may experience some type of anxiety disorder. According to Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D., medical director of The Fibromyalgia & Fatigue Centers, anxiety in people with fibromyalgia often manifests itself as rapid shallow breathing (hyperventilation), while depression may be expressed as a decrease in normal interests.

While it is not unexpected to have an emotional or psychological response to a chronic illness, there may be other physiological reasons that explain why anxiety and depression occur in fibromyalgia patients consistently enough that they are listed as symptoms of the condition. “Biochemically, depression is very different in [people with] fibromyalgia than otherwise,” says Dr. Teitelbaum. “In fibromyalgia, it is often associated with an underactive adrenal function [a low cortisol level], whereas depression [in a non-fibromyalgia population] is associated with a high cortisol level.”

Fibromyalgia: Physical Factors That Can Affect Emotional Health

According to some doctors who routinely treat fibromyalgia, there are a number of factors that appear to increase the likelihood of developing anxiety and/or depression if you have this condition.

Hypothyroidism. Antiaging medicine specialist Pamela W. Smith, MD, MPH, director of The Center For Healthy Living and Longevity in Michigan, says, “Ninety-five percent of people with fibro have low thyroid function (hypothyroidism) and 100 percent of them have low adrenal function — and both conditions can cause depression and anxiety.” The thyroid gland produces hormones that help regulate metabolism. Fortunately, hypothyroidism (when the level of certain thyroid hormones produced is below normal) is easy to diagnose. A complete blood test for thyroid levels, including TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) and other thyroid hormones, can identify if a problem exists, says Dr. Smith. Once treated with appropriate medication, thyroid function should return to normal, and depression or anxiety should ease as well.

Low cortisol levels. Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands in response to stress. When the adrenals produce an insufficient supply of cortisol, however, it can result in what’s sometimes called “adrenal fatigue;” symptoms include muscle aches and pains, extreme fatigue, anxiety, and elevated levels of cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure. According to Dr. Smith, adrenal fatigue can occur when the body is under stress for extended periods of time. “When you are first stressed, cortisol elevates,” she explains. “But if you stay stressed for a long time, the body can’t keep up by making extra cortisol, so it makes just enough to keep you alive.”

Dr. Smith says that low cortisol levels related to stress often do not show up on standard blood tests, and she believes they are best measured by saliva testing. “Many physicians only measure cortisol levels as related to Addison’s disease or Cushing’s disease. They do not look at what happens when the body makes only enough cortisol to stay alive but not to function well (adrenal fatigue),” she explains.

Cortisol levels can be normalized by reducing stress, says Dr. Smith. Techniques Dr. Smith recommends include “prayer, meditation, tai chi, yoga, breathing techniques and massage, [although] herbal therapies, adrenal extracts, and medications may all be necessary to bring cortisol levels back to normal.” she says, adding, “it may take one to two years to fully normalize the body’s stress system.” As cortisol levels are restored, fibromyalgia-related anxiety and depression generally lessen, she notes.

Poor mitochondrial functioning. Mitochondria are the energy-producing parts of the cell that assist in vital body processes like metabolism. When their function is impaired, they can also play a role in the development of depression and anxiety in people with fibromyalgia, says Dr. Smith. She reports that in her patients, supplements such as coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), the amino acid-like compound L-carnitine, NADH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, which is related to niacin, a B vitamin), D-ribose, and the antioxidant alpha-lipoic acid all help to refuel mitochondria. And in some patients, taking these supplements has been helpful in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety related to fibromyalgia.

Vitamin D deficiency. Fibromyalgia has been linked to low levels of vitamin D, which has also been found to occur more frequently in patients with anxiety and depression. Vitamin D deficiency can be offset by supplementation and eating foods enriched with this nutrient, such as fortified orange juice or margarine.

Poor sleep. Insufficient restorative sleep can lead to or aggravate existing anxiety and depression in people with fibromyalgia, and they do not go into the stage of sleep known as REM sleep, says Dr. Smith. This problem may be further compounded by taking antidepressant medication, which can suppress REM sleep in certain people. Other causes of non-restorative sleep in patients with fibromyalgia can include muscular aches and pains and, according to one study, decreased levels of the hormone melatonin.

“There really are metabolic reasons why people with fibromyalgia have the symptoms that they have,” says Dr. Smith. She recommends that people with fibromyalgia undergo testing to determine if an underlying deficiency or a related health condition could be complicating their situation and bringing depression and anxiety to the surface.

Posted in Physical Therapy, Massage, Health and Wellness, Pain Relief, Food | Print | No Comments »

24. February 2012 by admin.

• There’s no place for your product: “Investors are fond of debating which they care about more: the market or the entrepreneur. The reality is, great entrepreneurs find great markets. Many startups never achieve the elusive product-market fit. Some companies, like Facebook and Zynga, find product-market fit right out of the gate. Or at least they appear to. Others, like Intuit, go along for years until they crack the code.”

• Your product sucks: ”Many potentially great companies fail because they deliver bad products. No one sets out to build a bad product. So how do they end up getting built? You can still suffer from product blindness—using your product so much that you work around the difficulties, the friction that prevents mass adoption. Just consider file sharing company Dropbox. There were other file sharing products before Dropbox, but Dropbox kept the product simple and made it easy to use.”

• You don’t have vision or chops: “There’s the romantic notion of starting something—of being your own boss, running your own show, and building what you want to build. But being a successful entrepreneur means being a visionary—and being able to execute your way to making that vision a reality.
”

• You burn too much money on sales and marketing early on: ”For every venture dollar invested, I estimate that more than two-thirds goes into sales and marketing costs and only a third into product development—sometimes less. Spending on sales and marketing too early means no return if customers or users don’t bite. Once you up the burn, it’s hard to go back. So make sure you have product-market fit before ramping sales and marketing.

• Only your friends use your product: “So you’ve got a great market and a killer product. A few people have heard of it—the only problem is, they’re all friends of yours. Like the tree falling in the empty forest, thousands of great products have gone unused because no one knew they existed. They’re not just unknown—they’re invisible. How do you get the word out in a crowded market without incinerating cash? Build the best product and generate a lot of buzz around your brand.”

• You don’t know how to use others to build scale: “Lots of companies can get a few users or sell a few products. Few can do that at scale, in a repeatable, efficient way. Today’s startups use highly leveraged approaches—freemium, word of mouth, partner strategies, and viral acquisition to drive highly leverage growth. You should too.
”

• No one can understand what you’re saying: “Communication can make or break a startup. As I heard an investor once ask an entrepreneur, ‘if you can’t communicate your pitch effectively to us, why should we think you’ll be able to communicate effectively to your team?’ His words stuck in my mind and he was right. Words matter.” 
Speaker training is a good idea. “One time an entrepreneur gave a pitch and looked down at the conference table the whole time. Didn’t make eye contact. It was painful.”

• Your pitch is too long. “It’s bad when people realize they’re running out of time but they just start speaking faster instead of bumping up a level. They try to fit more in. It all gets lost in details. It’s awkward for everyone and really hurts the pitch.”

• Your pitch doesn’t play on emotions. “Many entrepreneurs get in front of people with access to capital but failed to convince their audience to invest. A huge part of pitching comes down to psychology and emotion. Investors are primarily motivated by two things: greed and fear.”

• You make excuses: ”Time and again I hear someone say they have a great idea for a company but they just don’t want to give up their current job to pursue their idea. Other times people have great ideas, but aren’t sure how to get going. Starting a company is hard. Yet dozens of people, when I asked why they decided to start something new, gave me the same answer: ‘I realized if I didn’t do it now, I’d never be able to do it’.”

• You lack focus: “When I got my first check (actually, it was a wire transfer) from a venture investor some ten years ago, he gave me one piece of advice. ‘Focus wins.’ The advice is as sound today as it was when he gave it to me. In a startup, you could be doing any one of a thousand things. But focus tells you which one thing to do to win.”

• There’s a lot of drama: ”A lot of startups fail because they suffer from drag. They go after small markets, build the wrong product, the founders don’t get along, or they make it too hard for users or customers to use their products. These issues create what I refer to as startup drag. Entrepreneurs have to be eternal optimists but with sufficient pragmatism to make their optimism reality. Get too much drag and it’s easy to lose the optimism and confidence that breeds success.”

• “This is the last money we’ll ever need”: “Don’t say that. It just sounds naive. But most early stage companies need more money. Investors are in the business of investing money. They want to hear how you’re going to win, how you’re going to be the market leader, not how you won’t need their money.”

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