


The AutoAir™ Bosch 500 Series dishwasher looks like the perfect dishwasher that would work well for my home. I love the new technology and I know that so many of you would love this as well!
One Dad's Quest to Regain Control of his Kingdom
The AutoAir™ Bosch 500 Series dishwasher looks like the perfect dishwasher that would work well for my home. I love the new technology and I know that so many of you would love this as well!
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I love the sound that I get from the Altec Lansing Rockbox XL. You get 50 Watts of bass, but even better, you can control the sound easily and get the volume and sound that you want no matter what you want to play. I tested it out with my spotify playlist and it sounded great!
On top of great sound this speaker is also a great addition to the party. There are 5 LED light modes that either illuminate the light directly or pulse with the music which you are playing. This really can make the party pop, especially after the sun goes down.
I have yet to try this yet, but the speaker is also waterproof and will float upright in water. I will definitely need to bring this speaker with me to try this out the next time that I am around a pool!
While I only bought one speaker, the technology with this speaker allows you to pair up to 50 compatible speakers together to create a sound experience that no one will forget. After seeing how well this one works, I would have no issue with getting more for the future.
The world we live in today is full of distractions. On a daily basis, we’re bombarded with information and our senses are flooded with a myriad of things. Our minds are constantly being influenced by things around us, whether it’s advertisements we watch, magazines we read, or social media we follow. We’re also influenced by color, tones and even a slight gesture in someone’s eyes. We might not realize it’s happening but all these things make us spend our time, energy or money on things we don’t really want or need.
Have you found yourself looking forward to the next gadget you want to buy, the next episode of a TV series you’ve just can’t miss, or feel the compulsion to avidly follow a certain persons social media news feed? There’s so much going on in your life that you’ve got little time left to reflect or ponder. If you do find yourself looking inward all you feel is a sense of fear and emptiness. You don’t know what to do and try to fill the gap with external sources of gratification. What you should be doing instead is reconnecting with yourself. If you’re more connected, you’ll be more capable, strong, confident, loving and compassionate.
Here are some ways you can find that connection with yourself again.
Start your day with a few minutes meditation. It’s an excellent way of connecting with yourself. Each day is going to be different because you’re going to face a variety of situations, feelings and emotions. However, starting your day in the same way helps you understand where you stand, how you’re feeling and prepares you for the day.
Does it feel like there’s so much going on in your mind that you’re always losing track? When there are lots of different thoughts going on in your mind, it’s going to make you feel completely overwhelmed and disconnected from yourself. There is something you can do to stop yourself feeling this way. Journaling is a tool that can help you feel clearer and more connected. Spend a few minutes in the morning simply free-writing your thoughts. It’s a great way of letting it all go.
For many people, noticing and acknowledging feelings can be very difficult. It’s not something people tend to do very often. Imagine yourself in the following situation. You’re rushing for an appointment and feeling very stressed. Pause, take a deep breath and think about where you’re holding your stress. Once you’ve decided, focus on breathing into it and feel more connected.
Naming your feelings can also help. It might just be a word or two but by identifying and describing your feelings you’re acknowledging them and giving them less importance.
This is something that might seem counterintuitive to begin with but accepting your thoughts and emotions without being judgmental is going to help you let go of stress, feel more grounded and alive in the world. Don’t spend time judging yourself but focus more on observing your feelings and the sensations that are happening. You don’t need to do anything or try to fix your feelings, just accept that you’ve got them.
You might be feeling disconnected from yourself but have you thought that maybe you’re too connected to your technology? The modern world is technology driven so it’s important to take time away from your screens, giving your eyes and mind a break. Take an hour out of every day and enjoy a digital detox.
Nature is all around you, even in you live in the middle of a city. Take some time out of your day to enjoy it and you’ll be amazed how much better you feel. Being with Mother Nature can be a very comforting experience, whether you’re taking a walk in a local park, heading to the beach or even sitting in your own garden.
Movement and exercise can have a positive effect on your physical and mental health. Don’t think of it as a chore but think of it as a form of self-love. Listen to your body more and go with what it wants rather than forcing yourself to do something you don’t want to. It’s possible to move your body and exercise in a variety of ways. Hit your local yoga class, take a run, turn up the music and dance around your living room. Find ways to exercise that feel expansive and are a way of freeing your body.
Are there certain things that really make you smile and your heart sing? Is there’s something you really enjoy doing? It might be painting, singing, getting creative or gardening. It doesn’t really matter what it is as long as you enjoying doing it. Find time to do these things more often. If you’ve got a to-do list, take a critical look at it as there’s bound to be something you can drop so you’ve got room in your schedule for activities that make you happy.
A great way to start the day is by smiling at yourself in the mirror. Look into your own eyes and feel that connection. If you smile at yourself, you’ll feel your vibration rise. Positive affirmations and mantras can also help as they are a way of acknowledging your own presence before you go out and take on the day.
Try these small actions on a daily basis and you’ll feel a deeper connection within yourself. You’re helping yourself to stay grounded, gain confidence and live a life that’s in line with your values. Connecting to yourself is a daily process and it requires you to focus on your feelings, let go of judgment and be kind, not just to yourself but those around you. Take it one step, one thought and one feeling at a time.
Many of us spend much of our time a day on a computer. It’s not uncommon to have to use one for your career, and even if not, heading home and managing accounts, our schedule, keeping up with old friends, or simply learning something new is usually all conveniently found on the computer nowadays.
But while we’re a long way from dial-up internet and floppy discs, even in 2019 computers can have problems or small inconveniences that can aggravate you or simply stall progress, which is the last thing you want after a heavy workday. Thankfully, there are tools to make your computing experience easier for yourself, tools that can help you feel more comfortable in using them daily. Not only will you be better equipped to manage your normal responsibilities with those tools, but you make be able to branch out and enjoy doing something you never thought possible.
For example, adjusting your settings might help you work from device to device with ease, or perhaps save the notes you need for later. With that in mind, let us consider how you can make the computing experience easier:
Organize Your Files
Indexing your files can be done in most modern operating systems automatically, but even then, it’s important to organize them well. Placing them in named folders and subfolders, dating certain documents, placing only essential documents on your desktop in the form of a shortcut and not the actual file, learning how to cloud backup those files after saving them and also making USB or physical backups can ensure that your files are where you need them, when you need them, how you need them, and all this even in the face of potentially losing them.
Learn Keyboard Shortcuts
You might find that simply interacting with a computer takes its precious time, particularly in certain complex programs. Learning keyboard shortcuts can often help you with this to an extensive degree. For example, learning how to force quit an application without losing your other work can be important. If in a complex and creative program such as Photoshop, learning the keyboard shortcuts for the brush, crop, lasso and color pallette tools (just to scratch the very surface,) can help you save valuable time, and ensure that you’re face to face with your creativity from the get go.
Learning keyboard shortcuts can often work from program to program, but they will all define this differently, so don’t be afraid to get to grips with this and cement that in your head over time.
Learn To Touch Type
Touch typing is where you place your fingers in a balanced and symmetrical line on the keyboard, allowing you to use your fingers in the quickest and most efficient manner when typing words. Not only can this help you use all your fingers, but that will naturally raise your WPM (words per minute,) and you’ll heavily reduce the risk of hand injuries from typing too long. This is a great idea for those who suffer from issues such as carpal tunnel.
With this advice, we hope you can make the computing experience easier for yourself.
Did you know that the second most common entry point for burglars is through your garage? While you probably are great about locking all of the doors and windows at night and while you are away, you may unwittingly be tempting bad guy fate with a vulnerable garage door.
Needless to say, you do not want thieves anywhere near the interior of your garage. If you’re a car enthusiast, you may have a valuable vehicle in there, along with other items that are worth plenty of money like tools, car parts and memorabilia. And as a loving Dad, remember that your most precious property — your beautiful kids and spouse — are right behind one more garage door, the one that leads into your house.
Fortunately, upping the security of your garage door is not that difficult. You can also take these steps in stages so they don’t hammer your budget too much at one time.
If a burglar is casing your neighborhood, chances are good he will skip the home and garage that have a visible home security camera system in favor of an un-monitored property. If you have considered adding this type of security feature, now is a great time to do just that. Thanks to the proliferation of some pretty amazing technology, you can now purchase home security camera systems that feature long-range night vision that allow the cameras to literally see in the dark. The beauty of these home security cameras is impressive: the Lorex Nocturnal security cameras, for example, have the longest night vision ranges that are currently available, which means that if some creep is on your property at night, your camera system will capture him in living color, right down to the color of his baseball cap and jacket. The wired Nocturnal cameras can be installed above your garage door, front entrance or wherever you choose.
Sometimes, notes Family Handyman, the security of a garage will be undermined due to the simple reason that someone forgot to close the door. Or, you may have pushed the button on the remote as you drove away, but didn’t realize that a box or toy got in the way of the safety sensor, and prevented the door from closing. To avoid this scenario, invest in a garage door sensor that sends a signal to the monitor, thus telling you if the door is opened or closed. While you can purchase a sensor that will alert you if the garage door is open, but not close the door on its own, it might be a better option to upgrade your garage door opener to something like the Chamberlain MyQ garage door opener. As CNET.com notes, this opener lets you open and close the door from anywhere, as long as you have an internet connection, and it will also monitor if the door is left open. This way, if you get to work 20 miles from your home and the Chamberlain alert says “hey man, your door is wide open” you can close it remotely rather than having to drive all the way home — now that is pretty cool.
If you are ever tempted to leave your garage door open a crack during the hot summer months to keep your garage and the rooms adjacent to it a bit cooler, you are also giving thieves an easy way into your abode. Instead, consider upgrading your garage door to one that is well-insulated. Most garage doors have virtually no installation at all, which is why the spaces are like igloos in the winter and ovens in the summer. But if you purchase an insulated model, you can significantly reduce the amount of heat or cold that transfers from the garage to the house, as well as stop keeping the door open a few inches and tempting burglars.
In addition to the aforementioned tips like installing a home security camera system, be sure to also keep the interior door between your garage and your home locked at all times, and also never keep your clicker in a car that stays out overnight on the driveway or street. All a bad guy has to do is break into your vehicle and he can help himself to the remote control, open the door and start stealing your valuable stuff that’s in the garage, and possibly the house too. Fortunately, making a garage more secure is not a Herculean task, and it’s one that you can do in steps — starting today.
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If it were up to parents, most would probably leave their children’s social media use for later in life, yet recent Pew Research shows that 95% of teens have access to a smartphone, and around 45% claim to be online almost constantly. The Internet is useful for learning and social connection in a myriad of ways, but some parents can worry that social media use in particular is taking up most of their kids’ free time. Because social media use is so rampant, we can, perhaps, begin by asking kids how they feel about it. Also in Pew’s survey, around 31% of children felt that social media had a positive effect, while 45% said these sites didn’t affect them positively or negatively. A smaller percent (24%) said they were negatively affected. How can parents boost the positive and reduce the negative?
Know What Platforms Your Children are Using
The most often used online platforms for kids are Snapchat, YouTube, and Instagram. Snapchat, available for kids aged 13 and above, is thankfully used in a generally lighthearted way – to share funny edited photos as well as play games. To ensure healthy use, let your kids know that they myth that snaps ‘disappear after 24 hours’ is unfounded. Go through what type of photos are safe to share. Enter the Settings section to control features such as location and who can view content your child uploads. YouTube and Instagram are a bit easier to control, because you can see whom your child subscribes to or follows, respectively, so you can view content by the people they follow and ensure language and content is appropriate.
Streaming and Live Content
Your children may be keen to watch streamed or live content from their favorite gamers or influencers on sites like Twitch. This is a super fun way to interact with other gamers, follow their favorite broadcasters, and broadcast content themselves. Sites like Twitch are ideal for super communicative kids who are perhaps interested in a career in the media. However, because live comments are unpredictable, this type of site is best for young adults who are quickly able to spot and avoid incendiary or negative content.
Thinking of Limiting Social Media Use?
In the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health, researchers found that for parents, three out of the five top health concerns for their kids involve Internet use. These concerns included cyberbullying, not getting enough exercise, and Internet safety. Parents often wonder whether or not to limit social media use or screen time, since they fear doing so may make kids even more eager to reach for their phones. If you have doubts about whether or not to limit social media use (say to weekends or for a specific time during the day), perhaps recent scientific findings may be useful. An Iowa State University study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that children who have limited screen time get more sleep, perform better academically, have better behavior, and have a lower risk of obesity. Lowering exposure to violent media in particular increases positive social interaction and decreases aggression.
Making Other Plans
It’s far easier to entice kids off social media on weekends if you have something more exciting up your sleeve. Car Jung espoused that getaways to nature were crucial for human health (including children’s health), while nature author Richard Louv notes that in his own case, “Nature was my Ritalin” – i.e. it enhanced focus and instilled a sense of wonder many kids are missing these days. Any plan your kids enjoy is fabulous, but if it can involve movement, free play, and exercise in the Great Outdoors, all the better. Once you are in the wild, you can always pause for a little meditation session, encouraging kids to open their senses to the sights, sounds, and textures of ‘the here and now’.
Social media is a fun way for kids to stay connected with their peers and to fill in idle time. However, your kids’ lives will hopefully be so busy that they don’t need to wile away the hours. Getting kids interested in sport, nature, and hobbies like reading or crafts can give them a natural outlet through which to express themselves and their talents. Make sure you enjoy your kids to the fall by bonding with them in as many outdoor adventures as you can; time flies, especially, it seems, when you have kids.
With the Special Guest App, it is easier than ever to book live, local music for your event using your phone. If you want to elevate your next party, BBQ or social gathering, you need the Special Guest App. Special Guest connects you with a wide array of local talent. Find a full band, a DJ, or a single musician that fits your needs, and, more importantly, your budget. You’ll find the best local talent using the app–from the bar band you used to love hearing on the weekends to up-and-coming local stars.
Book Entertainment In a Few Clicks
It’s impossibly easy to hire a musician with Special Guest. No complicated contracts or payment disputes–just enter your date, browse the list of available talent, and then request to book on demand; it’s that simple. You know the cost up front and the musician gets paid–the entire process is seamless. You’re protected if the talent doesn’t show up or has to cancel for any reason, too. If that’s not peace of mind, we don’t know what is.
Musicians Get More Gigs with Special Guest
For a local performer, securing paid gigs can be challenging. It’s hard to get your name out there and find a good-paying opportunity or get booked with regularity. Special Guest connects musicians with gigs, getting them hired quickly and easily, right from their iPhone. If you’re a musician ready to get more work, then you need to get on Special Guest. You can find gigs, make more money and market yourself, for FREE. Who knows? You might even land your big break.
You keep 100% of your booking fee–Special Guest doesn’t take a cut. That means you get more of your hard-earned cash in your pocket. The app is a one-stop-shop for both talent, and those who need to book entertainment.
Venue Owners, Rejoice–It Just Got Easier to Book Talent
If your bar, club, or restaurant is in need of some live entertainment, Special Guest has just what you need. We can help you book talent, hire a talent buyer to manager future events, or just optimize the way you book entertainment at your venue. You have enough to do–let the pros handle it. Call 877-81-TALENT to learn more or contact us to set-up a DEMO.
Special Guest is changing the way we book talent. The app was even mentioned on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Damon Wayans Jr and Kristopher Jones are behind this revolutionary talent booking app. If you need to book talent, or you’re a performer looking to book more gigs, get hooked up with the Special Guest App today.
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