Friday, October 27, 2017
Paintings by El Gato Chimney El Gato Chimney was born in 1981 in...
Paintings by El Gato Chimney
El Gato Chimney was born in 1981 in Milan, where he currently lives and works.
He started his career as a self-taught artist, developing an early interest in graffiti, which made him pursue a successful journey into street art, that he still cites as one of his inspirations, along with steampunk culture and surrealism.
As the years went by, his art went through some changes, due to the fact that he acquired both new knowledge and technical skills, and that brought him to an introspective research to depict immaterial things, such as emotions and inner visions. For more visit the artists’ website and Facebook.
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posted by Margaret
Paintings by El Gato Chimney El Gato Chimney was born in 1981 in... crss
Paintings by El Gato Chimney
El Gato Chimney was born in 1981 in Milan, where he currently lives and works.
He started his career as a self-taught artist, developing an early interest in graffiti, which made him pursue a successful journey into street art, that he still cites as one of his inspirations, along with steampunk culture and surrealism.
As the years went by, his art went through some changes, due to the fact that he acquired both new knowledge and technical skills, and that brought him to an introspective research to depict immaterial things, such as emotions and inner visions. For more visit the artists’ website and Facebook.
Receive art updates from our Twitter feed
posted by Margaret
crssIt’s Friday! What are your plans for the weekend? Visiting any...
It’s Friday!
What are your plans for the weekend? Visiting any galleries?
It’s Friday! What are your plans for the weekend? Visiting any... crss
It’s Friday!
What are your plans for the weekend? Visiting any galleries?
crssThe Best iPhone Accessories to Take Your iPhone Use to the Next Level
If you are an iPhone user, the simplicity and unique style of iPhone must be some of your reasons why you love this phone.
Nowadays, phones aren’t just a tool to make emergency phone calls or to touch base with relatives; they’re a sense of identity. They are seemingly glued to the palm of your hands, and people even accessorize them to further display elements of their personality, and give the phone an enhancement in terms of functionality and appearance.
This list of iPhone accessories is what you need to take your iPhone use to the next level.
1. Square Jellyfish Jelly Grip Tripod
This extremely lightweight tripod is perfect for hands-free use. Whether you’re watching a how-to video and you need to use your hands, or you’re trying to take a family photo, this accessory is a must. It even features a lifetime warranty!
Best For: The iPhone User who needs a helping hand.
Square Jellyfish Jelly Grip Tripod – $17.49
2. The Great Pyramid Dock
This brilliant iPhone dock was inspired by the Khufu Pyramid. Thanks to the sturdy yet minimalistic structure, you can easily charge your phone or listen to music while still leaving space on your desk or nightstand.
Perfect For: The iPhone user who loves to multi-task stylishly. This dock even features bult-in speakers!
The Great Pyramid Dock – $19.99
3. Bobine Blackout iPhone Cable Mount
This mount works on a monitor and in your car to create a second computer screen or a navigation and hands-free calling option.
Best For: The iPhone user who appreciates multiple options in one accessory.
BOBINE BLACKOUT Everywhere Mount iPhone Lightning Car Dock – $39.95
4. ALLDOCK Electric Charging Station
All dock allows you to find your ideal charging station to fit all your devices in one easy place. It allows you to avoid messy cables and having to charge multiple devices all over your home.
Best For: The Apple family with multiple devices.
Alldock Charging Stations – $129
5. SANDMARC iPhone Photography Lenses
Admit it, when you use the portrait mode on your camera, you feel like a professional, right? Well now it’s time to take your iPhone photography to the next level. These photography lenses come in three editions: Macro, Wide and Fisheye. Each lens comes as a complete iPhone photography package that includes a clip and case mount for different iPhone models.
Best For: The Instagram addict.
SANDMARC iPhone Photography Lenses- $79.99
6. BatteryPro Apple Watch Portable Charger
Portable chargers are always a must have, and this one is a game-changer. This portable battery fits neatly in your back pocket, and can hold a charge for two weeks. The charger is magnetic, and you simply flip over the built-in StowStrap to secure your device. This stops the Apple Watch from falling around in your bag and protects the screen. The BatteryPro has a high-speed USB outlet to charge your iPhone. It keeps your handset running for more than three days, thanks to a large 8,000mAh capacity.
Best For: The busy gadget lover in your life.
BatteryPro Apple Watch Portable Charger – $100
7. VAIN STHLM Commute Headphones
These wireless headphones connect using Bluetooth and deliver CD-like quality audio. They feature built-in controls on the ear cup to ensure ease of use while listening to your favorite music or podcast. They also reduce outside noise, while the microphone reduces wind noise while you talk.
Best For: The Commuter
VAIN STHLM Commute Headphones – $140
8. Pearl Magnetic Car Phone Mount
While most vehicles now incorporate bluetooth functionality, it is sometimes still necessary to see your phone while you’re driving. Looking down at the map can sometimes be dangerous, so a simple, magnetic mount like this one is ideal!
Mounting is easy. Simply place one of the thin, metal plates on your phone or underneath your phone case, and you’re ready to go. The mount even allows for 140-degree rotation, so you can be sure to adjust the view to your needs.
Best For: The traveling iPhone user.
Pearl Magnetic Car Phone Mount – $39.99
9. SANDMARC Drama Filter – Polarizer (PL) Filter for iPhone
This filter fits over your iPhone lens to suppress surface glare while bringing out the colors in your photography. Having a filter in place means you can spend less time trying to digitally edit the image and more time gaining followers on social media.
Best For: The photographer who appreciates time management.
SANDMARC Drama Filter – $29.99
10. iOS Digital Stereo Microphone by Shure
This small yet powerful USB mic takes your videos audio from a 4 to a 10. Whether you’re trying to produce high quality youtube videos on a budget or just gain better sound in videos, this mic will be your new favorite accessory.
Best For: The sound tech on a budget.
Shure MV88 iOS Digital Stereo Condenser Microphone – $149
The post The Best iPhone Accessories to Take Your iPhone Use to the Next Level appeared first on Lifehack.
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Why It's Important To Drink More Water At Work
It’s no surprise that we spend the majority of our waking lives at work. The average person will spend around 90,000 hours at their workplace in their lifetime. When it comes to our health, it isn’t always our main priority especially at work, while we’re sitting at our computers or moving from meeting to meeting. Getting through our daily workload will always be at the forefront of our mind.
In Japan, where people work the longest hours – on average 60-70 hours a week – around 10,000 people drop dead at their desks a year, a phenomenon known as “karoshi”.[1] This only highlights the need to look after our health, and one of the most common health issues at the work place is dehydration.
It’s incredibly easy to avoid drinking enough water when we’re focused on getting work done or too busy to grab a glass of water. Many of us turn to tea or coffee to stay alert during the day. Yet this is counteractive due to their diuretic effects – in other words, they increase urination and therefore expel fluid more easily leading to dehydration. Sitting too far from the office water fountain or kitchen can also mean less likelihood of hydrating adequately.
Dehydration: The Silent Killer
When it comes to our health we all know we should drink an adequate amount each day. After all, 60 percent of the body is made up of water and the human brain is composed of 75 percent water.
But the main problem with dehydration is you don’t always feel the effects so obviously as you do with other health issues such as a bad back from sitting down too long or tired eyes from staring at a computer screen.
Hydrating regularly lubricates our joints and eyes, keeps our skin healthy, allows optimum digestion, eliminates toxins and optimises the energy produced through our cells. Besides reducing concentration, not hydrating properly can create an imbalance of salts and sugars in the body which can quickly lead to other health problems.
In other words, if you feel a headache coming on or feel slightly weak, don’t reach for a mid-morning snack. The best thing to do is grab that glass of water first.
How Dehydration Affects Productivity
We’re not always aware of the benefits of drinking enough water and how it impacts our health and work life. As a result, we often neglect to drink more water even if we know we haven’t always drunk enough during the day.
A report showed that up to 75 percent of Americans don’t drink the recommended 10 cups of water a day issued by the Institute of Medicine. This means most people are walking around mildly to severely dehydrated without even realising.
When we get health issues such as severe tiredness, headaches, weight gain, high blood pressure or kidney complications, our first thought isn’t that we’re not drinking enough water. When it comes to our work, it can have wide-reaching implications – when we go home due to that incessant headache or we struggle with concentrating, our colleagues and departments indirectly suffer too.
A recent survey translated this to a $2.5 billion loss in productivity each year as a result of people taking time off work due to chronic illness – many of which could be put down to simple dehydration. A further study looking at forest workers found a significant reduction in productivity in those who were in a state of dehydration.[2]
What are the Signs of Dehydration?
We don’t always realise how much fluid we lose throughout the day and how important it is to rehydrate. Sweating, visiting the bathroom and even respiration uses up vital fluids in our body. Put that with any vomiting, diarrhea, alcohol consumption or excessive exercise and our water stores can become empty extremely quickly.
There are several signs of mild to moderate dehydration which include: dry mouth, tiredness, less need to urinate, headaches, fogginess in the head and lack of concentration.
Severe dehydration could include symptoms such as: irritability, confusion, extreme thirst, quickened heartbeat, rapid breathing and either no urination or urine that’s dark in colour.
How Employers Can Avoid Dehydration in the Work Place
The awareness of the possible devastating effects of dehydration is paramount in our daily lives and no more so than at work. There are some effective ways to encourage ourselves and our workforce to keep water intake topped up.
Setting Up a Workplace Hydration Programme
Encouraging our employees and colleagues to keep hydrated is a key way to keep hydration to the maximum. Offices and other places of work can implement a system to do this in a clear and effective way.
- Provide employees with easily-accessible water. This could come in the form of providing bottled water, creating water stations throughout the work space and providing regular fresh water to water coolers. These encourage people to think more about hydrating especially if there are viable and fresh options.
- Educate people. While most people are aware they need to drink water, it’s easy to dismiss the implications of not doing so. Placing educational materials such as posters around the workplace showing the importance of keeping hydrated as well as how dehydration has a negative effect on health will keep people more aware and motivated to get that glass of water.
- Appoint a Hydration Action Committee. Having accountability is really important when it comes to implementing a system and motivating people to drink more water. Create a committee to ensure water supplies are adequate and find fun and innovative ways to keep people hydrated.
- Liven up plain water. One of the main reasons people struggle to drink more water is that it’s just too boring in taste. As a result many reach for sodas and energy drinks thinking they’re topping up their fluids effectively. There are several ways of livening up water such as making ice cubes out of 100% fruit juice and adding them to water (reducing the amount of sugar), keep wedges of fruit for people to add to their glass of water or supplying large pitchers of water containing fruits such as cucumber, orange, lemon or melon to have infused water at hand. Outside workers can be supplied with bottled water. This way employees are happy and hydrated while employers have more productive staff on their hands.
- Get rid of sports drinks and sodas. As mentioned before, many people opt for fizzy drinks such as sports/energy drinks or sodas. By getting rid of these in an office setting, it will encourage people to quench their thirst in a more positive and healthy way. Sugar-laden drinks will only serve to cause more problems with weight gain, sugar crashes and headaches.
How Employees Can Make Sure They Hydrate Well
Drinking enough water is all about establishing a habit until it becomes second nature. There are several things you can do to help you in your daily water-drinking routine.
- Use a hydration monitoring app. There are tonnes of free apps out there that remind you to drink such as Daily Water, Waterlogged or iDrated. They also let you add what you’ve drunk throughout the day letting you see when you’ve drunk your recommended amount.
- Always carry a water bottle. Having water always on our person will act as a constant reminder to drink. If you’re rushing from meeting to meeting then having a bottle with you will counteract the excuse of being to busy to hydrate.
- Eat more water-contained foods. Fruit such as melons, apples and oranges will boost your water intake so try to opt for these as a snack. When eating your lunch always make sure you have a glass of water with you instead of your usual tea, coffee or soda.
- Set yourself a challenge. Fill a large 2L jug with water, place it near or on your desk and challenge yourself to finish it by the time you leave to go home. Having a constant reminder in front of you will motivate you to get that water intake up.
- Reduce your coffee and tea intake. It’s very easy to create a habit of getting that morning coffee and continuing the habit throughout the day. It’s important to stay alert but in reality, water can more than do this for us. Make an intention to cut down the number of teas and coffees you consume throughout the course of your day and replace it with water.
Always remember the benefits drinking enough water brings to your working life. These include increasing energy, concentration and relieving tiredness, promoting weight loss with a healthy diet, flushing out unwanted toxins in the body, improving skin complexion, maintaining regular digestion, boosting your immune system, reducing headaches, preventing muscle cramps and sprains and, most importantly, puts you in a great mood. When your body is functioning at its optimum you will feel great and perform better!
Featured photo credit: Burst via pexels.com
Reference
| [1] | ^ | Business Insider: 15 Seriously Disturbing Facts About Your Job |
| [2] | ^ | Industrial Safety & Hygiene News: Avoid dehydration in the work place |
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10 Amazing Benefits Of Chia Seeds and How To Eat Them
Chia seeds are a tiny superfood that pack a big punch. These small, mildly-flavored seeds are packed with antioxidants, support a healthy digestive system, and lower cholesterol. They can even help you shed pounds!
Chia seeds have been part of pop culture since the 1980s
My first interaction with chia seeds was actually through Chia Pets, terra cotta figurines that sprouted the seeds to give the effect of hair or fur. The seeds come from the Salvia hispanica plant, a member of the mint family.[1] The plant is native to Central America, and the Aztecs and Mayans regularly consumed the seeds as an energy booster.[2]
Today, the humble chia seed has taken on a life of its own. Though people still know the seeds in the context of that Chia Pet they bought back in 1982, we now think of them primarily as a health food.
Chia seeds have maximum nutritional effect in minimalist packaging
Unlike some of the more ostentatious superfoods on the market –the avocados, acai, and cacao– chia seeds outward appearance and flavor is understated. The small grayish seeds have a light nutty flavor that is virtually undetectable.
Just because chia seeds don’t have a bold flavor or flashy outward appearance, doesn’t mean that their nutrition profile is any less amazing. According to the USDA, chia seeds are good sources of protein and fiber, and they are rich in calcium, Vitamin A, Iron, and Omega-3 fatty acids.[3]
Each tablespoon of chia seeds is roughly 70 calories, but because these are low in carbohydrates, most of the energy that comes from a serving of chia seeds is quickly metabolized.[4]
10 Reasons to add chia seeds to your diet
1. Chia seeds improve digestive function
The high fiber content of these tiny seeds means that they’ll help you stay regular and reduce bowel irritation. Gut flora love high-fiber foods, which means that chia seeds support the good bacteria in your digestive tract.[5]
2. Get enough essential minerals
Getting enough calcium into your system is a challenge–especially for those of us who don’t consume dairy. Chia seeds contain a high percentage of your daily recommended intake of calcium. They’re also loaded with magnesium, phosphorous, and manganese.[6]
3. They’re a great source of antioxidants
These antioxidants not only make chia seeds extremely shelf-stable[7], they also reduce free radicals.[8] Free radicals cause cell damage, which can lead to everything from aging to cancer.
4. Meet your weight loss goals
While the jury is still out on whether chia seeds make your body better at burning fat, they can definitely help you in your weight loss journey. When swallowed or allowed to soak, the seeds produce a gel-like substance that can make you feel full faster.[9]
5. Get stronger bones
Since a serving of chia seeds contains a whopping 18% of your daily recommended intake of Calcium, consuming them is bound to have a positive effect on bone health.[10] To be clear, a serving of chia seeds contains more calcium than a serving of milk.
Trace minerals such as magnesium and boron, both of which can be found in chia seeds, make it easier for your body to absorb Vitamin D. Vitamin D, in turn, enables your body to make use of all that calcium.[11]
6. Prevent and manage type 2 diabetes
Diets high in fiber prevent the insulin roller coaster that can trigger diabetes. A high fiber diet not only prevents diabetes, but also makes it easier to manage the illness.[12]
7. Detoxify your body
Since chia seeds support your digestive health, they help you get rid of toxins naturally. Their anti-inflammatory qualities enable them to prevent and repair damage that takes place at a cellular level. The result is less waste from your body, and more effective elimination of waste that you do produce.[13]
8. Enjoy those Omega-3s
Omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation, prevent cancer, and support health overall, but they aren’t always easy to incorporate into your diet. Flax seeds are a common source of omega-3 fatty acids, but your body can’t break flax seeds down on its own.
On the other hand, you can fully digest chia seeds, which gives you access to all their inflammation-fighting powers.[14]
9. Keep your heart healthy
Those amazing Omega-3s support cardiovascular health. Chia seeds’ incredible combination of Omega-3s, trace minerals, and anti-inflammatory properties lower blood pressure, and even prevent atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).[15]
10. Lower your cholesterol
The omega-3 fatty acids and high fiber content of chia seeds can reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.[16]
Adding chia seeds to your diet is a cinch
Since chia seeds have such a mild flavor, you can easily incorporate them into a number of dishes that you already make. They pair well with sweet and savory dishes. Whether you sprinkle a serving onto your salad, use the seeds in a smoothie, or add them to baked recipes, you’re in for a treat.
Try these delicious chia seed recipes
Coconut Chia Protein Pancakes[17]
You need:
- 1⁄4 cup gluten free all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 3 tablespoons vanilla whey protein powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
- sea salt (a pinch)
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 tablespoon coconut flakes
- 1 egg
- 4 tablespoons almond milk
To make this:
1. Mix dry ingredients into a bowl. Gradually add wet ingredients and stir thoroughly.
2. Heat and grease a frying pan or skillet. Use 2 Tbs. of batter per pancake.
3. After the top of the pancake starts to bubble, flip it and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
Blueberry-Chia Smoothie[18]
You need:
- 1 large banana, cut into 1-inch pieces, frozen
- ½ cup frozen pineapple chunks
- ¼ cup Blueberry–Chia Seed Jam
- 1 cup coconut water or unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tablespoon golden flaxseed oil (optional)
To make this:
Blend these ingredients together until you have a smooth mixture. Enjoy!
Grain-Free Chia Buckwheat Pizza ((NYOUTRITIOUS: Grain-Free Chia Buckwheat Pizza))
You need:
PIZZA BASE
- ¼ cup chia seeds (whole)¾ cup water
- 3 tbsp unrefined whole grain buckwheat flour (gluten free)
- 1 tsp oregano, dried
- 1 tbsp pine nuts, chopped
- 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds, chopped
- 1 tsp sea salt
TOPPINGS
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 mushrooms, sliced
- 4-5 slices bell pepper, sliced
- small handful fresh basil leaves
- 1-2 tsp oregano, dried
- ½ Spanish onion, sliced
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 oz goats cheddar cheese, grated
- handful arugula leaves (rucola)
To make this:
- Combine chia seeds, water, buckwheat flour, oregano & salt and mix well until the mixture starts to thicken up.
- Add chopped pine nuts and pumpkin seed.
- Spread out the crust mixture on a piece of parchment paper and form the dough in a round shape. Flatten to about 1 cm for a firm thin crust.
- Bake at 175°C (350°F) for 30-40 minutes until firm.
- Remove from oven and add toppings of your choice and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
- Grate goat’s cheese on top and sprinkle with fresh arugula before serving.
Dynamite comes in small packages
Though small in size, chia seeds have a lot to offer us. Add them to your diet to reap the many benefits of enjoying this super-food.
Reference
The post 10 Amazing Benefits Of Chia Seeds and How To Eat Them appeared first on Lifehack.
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