Grab Bag App-ly Yourself:
Technology’s Best to Keep You Fit
• Pilates – Anytime, Anywhere
First, I will mention again my love of all loves, PilatesAnytime.com. Yes, I do teach a few classes on the site but truly, for my own consumption, I love the breadth of the offerings, the quality of instruction and the ease of use. There are excellent classes for all levels, from beginning to advanced. In this last year since it debuted it has blossomed into something very special.
PilatesAnytime.com can be your introduction to Pilates, with Monica’s 10-lesson “Mat Progression Series” and the Beginner Center which explains, in detail, the fundamentals of the foundation exercises (too much of this is missed if you drop into a class offered at your local studio).
For the more experienced Pilates student, there are loads of challenging classes, both on a Mat as well as on a variety of Pilates apparatus. In addition, one can find analyses and breakdowns of many of the more advanced exercises, accessing concepts that allow a much fuller understanding with tremendous benefit.
View 100’s of classes on your computer (you can even hook it up to your TV), your iPad, or even your iPhone (while on your phone, type http://www.pilatesanytime.com/m into your phone’s web browser to get the mobile version). If need be, you can load up an entire class on your laptop where you have internet service (push play, then pause, and the gray progress bar will let you know when it’s finished loading), then take your laptop to any location of choice for your Pilates class, view it and do it!
• Build Your Fitness
Back in April of last year I posted about Fitness Builder, an iPhone app I considered worthy of helping you exercise smarter, better and, most importantly, more often. Don’t be fooled by the pictures below… there are workouts for everyone’s liking; weights/props, no weights/no props, cardio, intervals, sport specific… you name it. Click on any of the screenshots below to link to the Fitness Builder App page:
I still love it and, coincidentally, two friends have recently asked me again about it. It’s a sign… a sign that we all feel the need to MOVE more.
• Know Where You’ve Been and How You Did
So here’s another I’ll throw at ya…. Nike+ GPS.
No longer do you have to shell out $60 for a Nike sensor to have this tracking and calculating app work… just an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad (not sure who would schlep an iPad when exercising, but maybe that’s just me??) running iOS 4, and this $1.99 app. This latest iteration gets pretty stellar reviews.
As you can see in the screenshots above, it will show you where you were fastest and slowest. It will also give you total time and pacing, let you incorporate your favorite music, give you encouraging feedback and let you play “tag” with friends (a fun way to spur each other on to get out and do something).
So… if you walk, run, bike, hike, snowshoe, cross-country ski, kayak, this might be just enough fun and facts to keep you motivated (you swimmers out there might look into an immersion-waterproofing system for the iPhone… I have a system that’s good enough for splashes and quick dips, but not 30 minutes under water).
Grab Bag Screwball Reader:
You’ve likely seen something similar before, but it’s always fun to “read” these again:
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid! Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the first and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it wouthit a porbelm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?
Grab Bag Microsoft Word Tips:
Most of us probably use Microsoft Word when we need to generate documents. Here are 10 tips to make you a savvy user of the word processing behemoth. These are written for PC users… but most translate well on a Mac. Props to Seamus Bellamy, Paul Lily, and David Murphy – MaximumPC.
Cheat Sheet: Tips and Tricks for Microsoft Word
The name’s practically synonymous with “productivity app.” If you’re reading this article at work you’ve probably got a Word doc open right now, and you might think you’ve got a good handle on Microsoft’s word processor. We’ll bet you don’t know as much as you think you do. Don’t believe us? Read on for 10 quick tips and tricks for Microsoft Word.
Be Selective with How You Select
You already know that double-clicking selects a single word, and you probably figured out that triple-clicking selects an entire paragraph. But if you just want to select a single sentence, hold down Ctrl and click on any word. To select an entire table, hold down Alt and double-click.
Add a Comment Box
When a friend or family member sends you a document to proofread, don’t waste your time writing a lengthy email detailing all the horrendous mistakes you found; mark up their Word file instead. Highlight a portion of text, click the Review tab in the Ribbon bar, and select New Comment.
Insert Bullets and Number Lists Using Your Keyboard
When inspiration hits, lifting your fingers off the keyboard to use your mouse can mess up your mojo, but what do you do if you need to insert a bullet or numbered list? It’s simple: type an asterisk and hit the spacebar to auto-create a bullet list. You can do the same with numbers and dashes.
Use the Built-In Thesaurus
You don’t need to hop online to use a thesaurus, the folks in Redmond had the good sense to bundle one in Word. To use it, highlight an entry and press Shift+F7. Pretty simple, right? Or maybe we should say it’s trouble-free, straightforward, effortless, uncomplicated, or painless.
Backup/Transfer Your Settings
Nearly every customization you make to Word gets saved in the Normal.dot template, a hidden file that you should keep backed up. You’ll find it by navigating to C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates. Be sure to enable viewing of hidden files, folders, and drives.
Extend Word’s Trial Period
Microsoft allows you to test drive Office 2010 free for 30 days; after that, you have to pony up for a license and activate. Or you can ‘rearm’ Office for another 30-day trial, up to 5 times for a total of 180 days. To rearm, open an elevated command prompt and go to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform and run OSPPREARM.exe. If you installed the 32-bit edition of Office on a 64-bit OS, replace Program Files with Program Files (x86).
Insert Screenshots into Word
One of our favorite new features in Word 2010 is the ability to glue screen grabs right into the document we’re working on. Just use the Print Screen key as normal to grab an image, and then go to Insert > Illustrations > Screenshot. On a Mac, hit the Shift+ Command+4 keys simultaneously, click and drag to select what you want to capture on your screen, release the mouse and the resulting image is a Screenshot (probably placed on your desktop) which can be inserted into Word (2011) by the Word Menu bar Insert→Photo→Picture from file→Screenshot.
Hop Back and Forth with Bookmarks
To add a bookmark in Word, position your cursor and go to Insert > Links > Bookmark. Give your bookmark a name and click Add. To jump back to that point, just go back to the Bookmark menu, highlight your entry, and click Go To.
Select Text Vertically
Did you mess up your numbered list? Maybe some funky symbols got placed at the beginning of each sentence when you copied over an email. Whatever your reason for wanting to select text vertically, you can do so by holding down the Alt (Mac-Option) key and using your mouse cursor.
Password Protect Work Documents
One of these days, you’re going to punch your obnoxious roommate square in the face for digging around your personal documents. Or better yet, just lock your docs. To password protect a Word document, click on File > Info > Protect Document > Encrypt with Password.
Grab Bag Pout-tea:
Let’s chalk up yet another benefit for GREEN TEA!! I really am a cheerleader on the Green Tea Squad, and I enjoyed hearing this new green tea tip on the Dr. Oz show this last week. To soothe dry, chapped lips, soak a green tea bag in warm water and press between your lips, holding it there for as long as possible. The polyphenols in the green tea help soothe your cracked kisser.
Grab Bag Hair Tomorrow:
This just in a few weeks ago…. from New Beauty magazine. Let’s cheer on the boys and girls at UCLA… hopefully they’ll hurry up and everyone can put down the Rogaine and back away from the Garnier:
A stress-blocking injection may reverse hair loss and prevent grays
Marci Robin, Senior Online Editor
A chemical compound discovered “entirely by accident” in UCLA labs has been found to not only reduce stress but also, consequently, regrow hair where it has fallen out.
The compound in question is called astressin-B, which blocks the stress hormone corticotrophin-releasing factor, or CRF. It was originally being injected into mice with a chronic stress condition to determine if it would help their gastrointestinal function.
However, the UCLA researchers discovered that this CRF-blocker has a surprising effect: the mice, who had lost much of their hair due to the stress condition, grew all of their hair back within three months.
After this discovery, the researchers compared the compound to minoxidil, the most common medication prescribed for hair loss, and found that the CRF-blocker grew back significantly more hair.
And it had one other amazing effect: it prevented hair from turning gray.
The authors of the study, which appears in the scientific journal PLoS One, say that it could take as long as five years before astressin-B is tested in human hair-loss trials. However, they are confident that it could eventually be used as an injection or nasal spray for people.
Grab Bag Brain Game:
Coordination AND keyboarding skills…. a Two-fer 🙂
Grab Bag Funny Stuff:
If you’ve had the chance to see this baby already, you know what an effect this can have on your outlook for the day. If not, you’re in for a boost.
This should really be placed in a health-related section, because the laughter that this is GUARANTEED to provide will trigger a cascade of chemical reactions that can help to combat the effects of depression, heart disease, and cancer, just to name a few.
Watch. Repeat. Daily.
I laugh pretty frequently and pretty easily… this baby brought me to tears from laughing – crying from laughter… it doesn’t get much better. Thanks Lay, I needed that!!
xo JP
The whole country seems to have embraced this little spirit, as he’s been on so many news and morning shows. Can we EVER get enough of a child’s laughter?
Wow! What a great issue! You are so darn smart! And I love you, too.
Mom
Thanks, mommy 🙂
LOVE the news about astressin-B, but the idea of a nose spray gave me visions of unwanted nose hair!!!!!!! Like we don’t have enough problems getting rid of hair!!!
That would be an unwanted side effect…. but noone promised it would be easy 😉
Reading about all that exercisr wore me out.
Always love your blog…so much information.
Thank You
You’ll be downloading those apps before you know it!
Thank you LK! Thank you!