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4 Reasons You’re Not Sleeping and What You Can Do About Them

Want to be more productive? Get a better night’s sleep.

TIME

Most healthy-living formulas consist of two basic tenets: Eat less and move more. Truthfully, it should be more of a three-pronged approach: Eat well, move more, and get adequate sleep. The first two steps are made more effective by the third—and when you don’t have enough sleep, food and movement aren’t enough to keep your body feeling well and performing at its optimal level.

Unfortunately, getting good sleep is a struggle many of us face, and it’s not entirely a modern dilemma. Yes, blinking cell phones, bright alarm clocks, and dinging computers are relatively new in human history and may make the bedroom less relaxing and more taxing, but other factors can interfere with your sleep pattern, too. This month, get serious about getting more shut-eye. Here are some real solutions to the most common sleep obstacles.

1. Lights

“Light at night can delay your circadian rhythm, or your body’s…

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Tupac Lives Again via a Hologram at Coachella Festival

Tupac lives again thanks to a hologram made possible by AV Concepts in partnership with Dr. Dre’s production company and the award-winning visual production house, Digital Domain.  Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg closed the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California doing a performance with the 3-D image of Tupac. Pac’s likeness is a little eerie but amazing all the same.  According to the AV Concepts website, the hologram has been in the works for months.  

After months of design, engineering, and creative consultation,  AV Concepts delivered a perceived 3-dimensional, life-sized holographic projection of Tupac to perform on stage with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg during the renowned desert festival.

AV Concepts provided consultative support to award-winning visual production house Digital Domain who delivered the life-like imagery that was critical to the success and impact of the performance. The performance amazed thousands of Coachella festival-goers as well as online fans.

The Tupac image is surprisingly life-like, and more than a little creepy.  This is especially so for a rap superstar who many in the Hip Hop community will not accept as even being dead.

As I watched with my mouth open, I had to wonder how this new hologram will open up the doors for the estates of other iconic figures.  Will we begin to see performances by Elvis, Frank Sinatra or Michael Jackson?  Could Whitney Houston come back to do a guest role in Sparkle 2?  The sky is the limit and technology is now leading the way.

Watch for yourself.

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Why I Deleted Your Post!

Removepost

People forget that the most important part of social networking is… well… being social and networking.  How is it that someone who doesn’t interact with me – either online or off- finds it permissible to post information on my Facebook wall.  They will often promote their upcoming book release, event, or new business venture?  They have never, ever engaged with me on one single topic… ever. Yet, they have no problem asking to me like their Facebook page, support their contest or vote for their business. It’s like walking into a party, (barely) introducing yourself, then telling having that person ask you to tell everyone else in the room why their business is so great. Who would do that?

How can it be that someone who didn’t bother to take the time to ever send me so much as one single tweet, feels comfortable sending me a DM to Tweet something for them?  Well, I won’t do it.  If you do not socialize with me; I will not support your cause, event or business.  I will promptly delete your post and may potentially block you from accessing my sites all together.  Don’t tag me in the photos that I’m not actually in.  Don’t post your fliers and website information to my wall.  Oh, and PLEASE stop asking me to Tweet details about your event as part of your marketing strategy.  But instead of just fussing about what doesn’t work, let me give you an example of what does.

For over a decade, I was a part-time aerobic instructor.  For a time, I was even a personal trainer. Seven years ago I decided I didn’t want to teach anymore.  I just wanted to do my day job and not worry about coming up with new routines.  As a result… you guesed it… the pounds have started to creep on.  My muscle mass has began to decrease at an alarming rate and I’ve lost quite a bit of bone density.  I am an avid biker – clocking at least 25 miles a week – so my heart is healthy but my body is weak.  So, I’ve recommitted myself to getting back into shape.  I’ve been working out and using my favorite fitness apps to share my progression on Facebook and Twitter.

For the past month, a Facebook friend has been commenting on my posts, encouraging me and providing me with inspiration.  As a result, I started watching his Facebook posts more closely.  Come to find out… my Facebook friend, Orlando Darden Jr, is a personal trainer, has a Facebook group page and runs a FREE Bootcamp just blocks from my house.  He never once, in all this time, posted one single thing about his business or occupation.  He never tweeted me anything about what he does (he Tweets as @BodyFitDC).  But, because he’s been social… being generally supportive and interested in my progress.. engaging with me online… I found out what he does on my own.  Once I discovered he was a trainer, I joined his Bootcamp via Meetup and of course I will naturally be tweeting, blogging and doing Facebook posts about my progress and his personal training skills.  He gets free marketing and promotion… organically… without having to ask.

Remember, it’s called social networking… so go ahead… start being social… start to care about the people you interact with online.  Otherwise, at least in my case, I’m deleting your post from my wall – quick, fast, and in a hurry- and won’t be tweeting anything on your behalf.  Oh, and in an ironic twist, I will post this blog on your wall or send it to you in a Tweet as an FYI and as free promotion for my blog.  Hey, fair is fair.  I’ll “see” you online!

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How an iPad can Improve Your Dining Experience

The next time you walk into your favorite restaurant you may be handed an iPad rather than a menu. Just think about the possibilities. You’ll be able to see what your dish will look like ahead of time, get the calorie count of your order, have a wine pairing picked out for you and send any modifications you may want directly to the server’s iPad.

For some restaurants, when it comes to wine orders, having the iPad act as a virtual sommelier is proving to be a great business tool. Digital wine lists have reported a significant increase in profits from wine sales. I see this as a win-win. It combines two of my favorite things… mobile technology and wine. Now, if only they could develop a scratch and smell app!

Amplify’d from www.travelandleisure.com

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With the release of the iPad nearly one year ago, the device is changing the way we do business. And while it might seem an unlikely combination, even restaurants have hopped on the bandwagon. Yes, a handful are loading their menus onto iPads for customers to peruse—a costly and wasteful business practice, all in the name of flashiness, as far as I’m concerned. But that’s not exactly what I’m talking about; there are more and more turning iPads into useful (and yes, flashy) tools that actually improve the dining experience.

What I’ve been seeing are restaurants digitizing their extensive wine offerings specifically for the iPad. Why am I inclined to value this more than a simple digital food menu? Because besides just listing out the wines, these apps, like the one implemented at Hotel Casa del Mar’s Catch Restaurant in Santa Monica, also offer a wealth of information to help you decide on the perfect wine…that is, without the assistance of an on-site sommelier. (Which, let’s be honest, you’re hard-pressed to find at most restaurants.) Catch’s iPad wine list lets diners browse wines by year, price, tasting notes, high-res images, where it was made, and even dish selection. And with more than 200 wines in their cellar, a little help is more than welcome!

But Catch isn’t the first, nor will it be the last, to put this technological twist on the age-old drink. In Atlanta, Bone’s has a similar app for its 1,300 plus wines, with extensive details, year, region and price. Here in NYC, South Gate has a similar app for its 600 plus bottle collection; Naples Tomato, in—you guessed it—Naples, FL has one for its 500 plus bottles; and Chicago Cut Steakhouse recently debuted its digital 800 plus bottle list.

Oh, and did I mention? In case you’re wondering just how useful this is, most of the restaurants with digital wine lists have reported a significant increase in profits from wine sales.

Read more at www.travelandleisure.com

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Want to find out where the ladies are… there’s an app for that

Fellas, if you’re looking for a date this Valentine’s Day and you can’t find them, just point your geolocation app in any direction and you’ll find a women in the closest proximity to where you are.

Wheretheladies.at has taken dating (AKA stalking) to a whole other level. Of course, the app is only available in San Francisco (no comment) but I’m going to need one of these apps in Washington, DC so I can find out where the men are! In a city where women outnumber men 13-1 I need all the help I can get!

Amplify’d from techcrunch.com

Geo-location has come to this: After three weeks in review, Wheretheladies.at, a web app that aggregates Foursquare checkins by the female gender, is now available on the iPhone. The concept OF A BIG COMPASS POINTING YOU IN THE DIRECTION OF LADIES is so unprecedented that Apple actually called co-founder Jeff Hodsdon on his cellphone to ask about the app during the review process.

Co-founded by Path’s Danny Trinh and Hodsdon, Wheretheladies.at the iPhone app ranks nearby locations by the number of females who have checked in (using a dictionary crawl and permutation logic when gender isn’t available) as well as helpfully points you in the direction of the critical mass of ladies in your vicinity.

We previously called this service “evolutionary advantage,” as it is essentially nerds using technology to circumvent Darwinism. The fittest now includes those who have smarts, or at least smartphones.

Hodsdon says that the difference between Wheretheladies.at and apps like Assisted Serendipity is temporal. Wheretheladies.at only counts check-ins within the past 30 minutes to ensure that ladies will be there when you arrive, “When it says 10 ladies are at Elbo Room that means in the last ~30min.  I think that is key.  It’s about where to head to right now.”

Right now the app only works in San Francisco, but the team is working on getting it to other cities. When I asked if they would ever build  Wheretheguys.at, Hodsdon quickly replied, “I’ll start on that now.”

Read more at techcrunch.com

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Welcoming in 2011!!

2011

I LOVE this time of year!  As we start a new year I love to look back on the earlier 365 days to see what has worked, what no longer serves our higher good and what we need to improve on for the year ahead..  Every year around this time I do inventory on where I’ve been and where I’m going in the upcoming year.  I read over previous blog posts, intentions, affirmations and goals.  I look over my vision board and see what, if anything needs to be readjusted, added or taken off.  I don’t make New Year’s Eve Resolutions but what I always do is some serious housecleaning… clearing the old to make way for the new.  I follow my housecleaning up with an intention for the upcoming year that I revisit and rework throughout the 365-day cycle. In 2011 let’s focus on what we really want as we embark on this new year.  To  get us started, here are five things I will no longer waste my time on (some of them are carried over from last year… what can I say, some habits are harder than others to break) and I hope you’ll consider joining me:

  1. “Friendships” that do not serve our higher good-  We do not have time for people who will drain our energy or who do not support the highest version of ourselves.  I challenge us all to love and respect ourselves, love and respect others, and expect to be loved and respected in return.  Accept nothing less for we deserve the best.
  2. “Wishing” and “regretting”– Wishing I did this or regretting I did not do that does nothing to help us build a better future and leaves us feeling powerless to change our life.  We either need to do what it is our heart is calling us to do, rework our plan, or admit some things may never be.  Reinvent yourself or let it go but leave the past in the past and live in the here and now… right here… right now.
  3. Grudges They keep us stuck in the past and drain us mentally, spiritually and over time, can even make us physically sick.  So, accept things the way they are.  That doesn’t mean we have to condone or even judge a situation in any way.  Rather, it means we realize things are as they are and we let it be.  It is our reaction to the situation, not the situation itself that is in our control.  So, let us all forgive ourselves and others AND MOVE ONE!
  4. Not being fully present- This year, I will take it ALL in and I challenge you to do the same. We can no longer sleep walk through our lives.  It is up to us to create the best life possible and to enjoy every single moment of it, the good and the bad so that we can experience the entire journey and know true joy.
  5. Not living your dreams– Here it is folks, right here right now… the moment is NOW to do, be, have, get, WHATEVER it is your heart is calling for.  This is the year, my friends… not tomorrow or next month… TODAY!  So, get busy on those vision boards and start living the BEST LIFE EVER!!