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It'll Only Take One Look To Convince You That This Head-Mounted Display Is The Future Of Gaming

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Oculus Rift

Forget everything you thought you knew about virtual reality.

Once people try on the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, any skepticism vanishes. It's truly that amazing.

In the past, virtual reality headsets were hindered by their limited field of view, making it appear like you were sitting in a dark room facing a television that was several feet from you.

But the Oculus Rift puts you inside the screen, with an enormous field of view expanding so that it fills your vision. With stereoscopic 3D built in too, the level of immersion is unparalleled.

Head-tracking technology allows the Rift to "keep up" as you turn your head to look around the virtual environment. The best way to describe it: You feel completely immersed in a virtual world. Your real-world surroundings disappear. It can even make you dizzy.

For now, the Rift is still only available to developers who want to create video games compatible with the headset. An HD consumer version with extra features to be released sometime next year.

We've been testing the Oculus Rift developer kit for awhile now, making sure to put it through the paces. We haven't had one person try it who hasn't been blown away.

With the headset's enormous popularity, many non-developers (like us!) have purchased developer kits without the intention of developing games. Responding to the high demand, Oculus founder Palmer Lucky mentioned that consumers would do better to wait for the finished product, as it will improve upon many of the device's features.

But there are many willing to put up with a lower resolution developer unit with limited content just so they can experience tech's bleeding edge, and the library of compatible games and free tech demos is growing each day.

Here's a taste of what you can do with the Oculus Rift developer kit right now. It will only get better. 

The Rift Development Kit comes in this sturdy plastic box.



You wear the Rift just like a pair of ski goggles.



The Oculus Rift attaches to a relay box, which then hooks up to your computer. This allows the headset to be lighter. The relay box can be plugged in by either an HDMI or DVI cable.



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14 Ways To Celebrate A Championship Like A Boss

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Red Auerbach Cigar Championship Celebration

Winning a world championship requires a lifetime of sacrifice. Elite athletes must forego many of the vices the average person takes for granted. The best believe their opponent is training every second they are not.

A championship temporarily changes that. Accomplishing a lifetime goal calls for an annihilation of inhibition, a raucous embrace of debauchery and an unabashed embrace of self-promotion.

Following the best examples of every phase, we offer the ultimate step-by-step guide to celebrating a championship like a boss.  

Take your jersey off. Wave it around. Run around without a care.

No one did this better than U.S. women's soccer star Brandi Chastain. Moments after slotting home the World Cup-winning goal  in 1999, Chastain ripped off her jersey and immortalized herself as an icon for female athletes worldwide. 



Dump Gatorade on your coach.

Remember all those extra practices? Now is your time to claim revenge. What can your coach do? The season is over at you have celebrating to do.



Put on a generic championship hat and shirt.

You can't look dumb when you're a champion.



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5 Hit Movies Critics Thought Would Flop At Theaters

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world war z brad pitt

The highly anticipated premiere of Brad Pitt’s "World War Z" is just a few days away, but critics have been salivating for months about what a disaster it will be — long before anyone had seen any footage.

Hardly the first film with advance reports of onset complications, bloated budgets, and release delays, "World War Z" is only the latest victim of the Hollywood press’ eagerness to deem movies dead in the water before they’ve had the chance to set sail.

Yet World "War Z" is sitting with a very healthy 80% Fresh rating on RottenTomatoes.com, with critics from "Variety" to "The Hollywood Reporter" reporting that the film is “surprisingly smart” and an “immersive apocalyptic spectacle.” From a purely filmmaking point of view, the film is already a success.

For every "Heaven’s Gate" and "Cutthroat Island," which bankrupted United Artists and Carolco Pictures respectively, there are a slew of classic films that refused to believe their hype, or lack thereof. We take a look at five of our favorite would-be disasters. 

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)

Grumblings began early on when Truman Capote screeched to anyone who would listen that “Paramount double-crossed me in every way and cast Audrey!”

After Capote’s first pick, Marilyn Monroe, declined the part, Hepburn came on board with one condition—a director switch from then unknown John Frankenheimer to Blake Edwards, signaling another potential red flag. (Ultimately it’s Edwards who has been credited with turning the perfectly lovely story into a genre-defining classic.)

Fortunately, one seriously considered change was never made: when a Paramount exec insisted on cutting “Moon River” at the last minute, Hepburn—for whose limited range Henry Mancini had written the tune—reportedly fumed, “Over my dead body!”



Cleopatra (1963)

While it was an indisputably difficult set—during the two-year production, Elizabeth Taylor fell ill enough to require a tracheotomy and shut down filming for several months, her very public affair with costar Richard Burton turned the $44 million shoot into even more of a circus, and a swift backlash encircled the set almost before the cameras began rolling — "Cleopatra" is not the financial or critical disaster it’s historically made out to be.

Ranked the 38th-highest grossing movie of all time, with appropriate adjustments for inflation, it’s made more money than any of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" or Lord of the Rings" movies — not to mention four Academy Awards.



Star Wars (1977)

The odyssey that was getting George Lucas’ saga to screen is almost as epic as the series itself, but what’s perhaps most compelling is how its cast and the crew openly psyched themselves out before "Star Wars" was ever released.

Alec Guinness said it was his idea to kill his character off so that he “wouldn’t have to carry on saying these rubbish lines,” the crew repeatedly expressed concerns that the film felt too much like a bad kiddie flick, and Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford were visibly unenthusiastic in promotional interviews.

But what was most potentially damaging? Lucas was so worried about what his box-office returns might be that he ran off to Hawaii on opening weekend with Steven Spielberg. Instead of attending the premiere, the two sat on the beach and conceived "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Probably not a bad call.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

IS MOBILE, ALABAMA MISERABLE? Women In Frilly Dresses Show Up At Airport To Prove Our Reporter Wrong

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Our Deputy Editor Julie Zeveloff made the journey down to Mobile, Alabama to see if it truly is the third most miserable city in the country.

And in true Southern style, she was welcomed by a group of women in colorful frilly dresses (with matching hats and umbrellas) along with the local media and mayoral hopeful Sandy Stimpson.*

Speaking with local news station WKRG, Julie said, "So far my impression having only been here for 2 minutes is that it's a friendly and loving place."

Stimpson invited our editor down to the Port City in a YouTube video, which quickly escalated into a Tumblr campaign complete with a "Julie Wish You Were Here" sign.

Watch her arrival below. You can also read more about how Julie got invited to Mobile here.

WKRG News 5

Julie's arrival was also covered by Local 15 News reporter, Derrick Rose.

*Julie will not be covering the mayoral race between Stimpson and Sam Jones, who has been in office since 2005. Instead, she'll be seeing what Mobile has to offer and if it deserves its Gallup rating.

DON'T MISS: The 11 Most Miserable Cities In America

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The Best Images And GIFs From Game 7 Of The NBA Finals

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Game seven was the 1,315th game of the NBA season and in the end, it lived up to the hype.

It was a great game with plenty of entertaining moments that culminated with LeBron James silencing many of his critics with his second NBA championship and his second Finals MVP award.

On the next few pages we'll take a look at some of the best images from the NBA's biggest stage.

Would he or wouldn't he? In the end, Team Headband won



The Big Three and the Heat's banners



The Heat gave away some odd shirts to the fans at the game, which included faces of all the players



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Apple Is Using This Deck To Convince The DOJ That It's Not Fixing E-Book Prices (AAPL)

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tim cook

After three weeks defending itself in a court case that revolves around alleged e-book price fixing, Apple presented its closing argument yesterday.

The trouble began when the Department of Justice released an email conversation between Steve Jobs and James Murdoch of News Corporation.

In it, Jobs wrote Murdoch should "throw in with Apple and see if we can all make a go of this to create a real mainstream e-books market at $12.99 and $14.99."

It gets a little more damning. Apple allegedly used its App Store ecosystem to push around publishers that weren't on board. From the NYT report:

After Random House finally agreed to a contract on Jan. 18, 2011, Eddy Cue, the Apple executive in charge of its e-books deals, sent an e-mail to Mr. Jobs attributing the publisher’s capitulation, in part, to 'the fact that I prevented an app from Random House from going live in the app store,' the filing reads.

So let's dive into the deck. A quick note on an unfamiliar term that appears throughout it – "windowing" is a publishing industry term for releasing a physical book on time and delaying the digital release, akin to a movie coming out in theaters and not being available on DVD until many weeks later.







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Eat These 7 Foods To Take The Edge Off Your Stressful Day

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Most people struggle with balancing life demands with work commitments. But for entrepreneurs, finding balance can seem near impossible. The pressure of getting everything done can be overwhelming. And, if left unchecked, that stress can lead to other issues, including high blood pressure and depression.

Worst of all, stress leads people to make poor food choices. When you self-medicate with junk food, it can actually amplify anxiety and do more damage to your health. But there are a few healthy foods that actually help offset stress. Include these in your regular diet, and you'll feel more grounded and more productive. You might even lose a few pounds sin the process.

oatmeal

1. Turkey. Turkey contains tryptophan, an amino acid that boosts serotonin production, which helps alleviate stress. Add turkey to your morning omelet or slice it up into a salad at lunch.

2. Spinach. This leafy vegetable is a great source of magnesium, a mineral that helps promote a sense of calm. Spinach, which is a great source of fiber, also helps boost your energy levels. Opt for this instead of lettuce in your salad at lunch.

3. Salmon. This fish is full of Omega 3 essential fatty acids, which help to boost serotonin production. The DHA (docosahexanoic acid) in Omega 3 fats help to nourish the brain while mitigating stress hormones. Plus, the Omega 3 in salmon can reduce inflammation and promote healthy blood flow, both of which are compromised with chronic stress. Enjoy wild Alaskan salmon up to three times a week.

4. Nuts and seeds. Nuts and seeds are a rich source of Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids, which help reduce stress. Walnuts are one of the best sources of Omega 3s. Cashews and sunflower seeds also contain tryptophan, which boosts serotonin production and can take the edge off a stressful day. Have a handful of nuts as an afternoon snack.

5. Oatmeal. The complex carbohydrates in oatmeal help to boost serotonin production. Plus, oats have a lot of calming magnesium as well as potassium, which has been shown to help lower blood pressure. Have a bowl for breakfast with some walnuts and cashews, as well as some cinnamon to help stabilize your blood sugar, and you will be on your way to a more tranquil day.

6. Citrus fruit. Oranges, grapefruit, and other citrus fruits are a great way to get your vitamin C, which studies show reduces stress levels. Plus, vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that boosts your immune system. Have an orange in the afternoon for a calming and nourishing snack.

7. Sweet potatoes and carrots. Root vegetables are a good source of fiber and carbohydrates, which can help to boost serotonin production. Plus, because they are subtly sweet, they can offset cravings for sugar. Sweet potatoes and carrots are also a great source of vitamins and minerals that are good for your blood pressure and your heart. Have a handful of baby carrots with some almond butter in the afternoon or a sweet potato with dinner a couple of times a week.

Find Us On Facebook — Business Insider: Science

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The Future Of Mobile Development: HTML5 Vs. Native Apps [SLIDE DECK]

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bii_html5update_caniuse

What's better? Native apps downloaded to our devices, and engineered specifically for Android, iOS and other mobile platforms? Or Web apps — written in HTML5 and related Web technologies — which are housed on the Web and run across all mobile platforms and devices? 

BI Intelligence tackles these questions in this deck on the future of mobile development. We look at the differences between HTML5 and native apps, and analyze the short-term and long-term prospects, as well as the current performance gap between the two.

We've posted the deck here. We hope you enjoy it. 

BI Intelligence is a research and analysis service focused on mobile computing and the Internet. Subscribers can download both the entire deck as a PDF or PowerPoint and the individual charts from the presentation, as well as all of our reports on HTML5 and native apps. Please sign up for a free trial here.







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Wall Street's Brightest Minds Reveal THE MOST IMPORTANT CHARTS IN THE WORLD

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MOST IMPORTANT CHARTS IN THE WORLD

Here they are: the most important charts in the world.

We asked our favorite analysts, traders, economists, and strategists across the Street for the charts that they deem the most important right now, and this is what they sent us.

A lot of the focus is on fixed income – specifically, what is going on in the U.S. Treasury market. The sell-off there over the past several weeks and the attendant rise in bond yields has had violent implications in financial markets around the world.

But there are a lot of other things going on as well.

Frederik Ducrozet, Crédit Agricole: Unemployment rates in the U.S. and the eurozone are diverging



Sebastien Galy, Société Générale: The U.S. has rarely endured negative real interest rates for this long



Bartosz Pawlowski, BNP Paribas: Real money investors haven't started dumping emerging markets yet



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14 Pictures That Show The World Is Too Crowded

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Is overpopulation a problem?

By 2100, the world's population is expected to reach 11 billion people.

As of today, we're at 7.09 billion and counting, according to the U.S. Census World Clock.

Whether you agree or disagree, overpopulation has become a major challenge and concern for countries around the world.

This collection of pictures from Reuters shows just how overpopulated certain parts of the world currently are.

From beaches to subway cars, cramped and sweaty bodies are just a part of life.

A beach in China's eastern Shandong province on a typical summer Saturday. So relaxing.

Source: REUTERS



Indonesian commuters hang off the entrance of a train in the West Java province. Only 300 cars each day serve 500,000 commuters.

Source: REUTERS



This is a line to get into a train station in the Philippines. Because of increasing fuel costs, Filipinos are choosing to take public transportation instead.

Source: REUTERS



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These Are The Most Expensive Cities To Watch A Movie In The US

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drive in movieSummer movie season is approaching!  

As you settle in to watch the man of steel save the world, see how monsters learned how to scare, or watch thick-necked men drive around in the millionth Fast and Furious movie, you might notice that these flicks are taking a heavy toll on your wallet, and they’re only getting more expensive.

Regal Entertainment CEO David Ownby said that the price of 2-D movies will rise 3-4% this year, as it has over the past few years. 

3-D effects can add up to $5 to overall ticket costs. Movie prices vary widely based on location.  NerdWallet has listed the most expensive and cheapest cities to watch your favorite summer flicks.  The prices listed are for first-run new releases shown 6-10 pm on Saturdays at indoor theaters.

The Least Expensive Cities for Moviegoers

RankCityMovie cost
1Paris TX$4.92
2Marion-McDowell County NC$5.00
3Camden SC$5.00
4Indianapolis-Morgan County IN$5.34
5Athens-Henderson County TX$5.50
6Kodiak AK$5.67
7Corpus Christi TX$5.96
8Thomasville-Lexington NC$6.00
9Hastings NE$6.25
10Carlsbad NM$6.33

 

The Worst Cities for Moviegoers

RankCityMovie cost
1New York (Manhattan) NY$13.33
2Miami-Dade County FL$12.54
3Los Angeles-Long Beach CA$12.53
4New York (Queens) NY$12.48
5New York (Brooklyn) NY$12.25
6Orange County CA$11.92
7Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA$11.54
8Fort Lauderdale FL$11.50
9San Diego CA$11.50
10Wilmington DE$11.50

SEE ALSO: The 17 Most Expensive Divorces Ever

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The 50 Most Powerful People In Enterprise Tech

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Larry EllisonBy now it's obvious that enterprise is one of the hottest areas in tech these days.

Enterprise tech is undergoing a major transformation with new apps, cloud computing, mobile devices, and many, many changes to the way networks and data centers are built and managed.

Plus, enterprise tech is enriching investors. So far this year we've seen investors gobbling up IPOs from companies like Tableau Software, Marketo, Gigamon, and numerous billion-dollar acquisitions.

So it's time again to shine a spotlight on the people in enterprise tech who are transforming your world.

Oracle's Larry Ellison: Perpetually on top.

Larry Ellison, CEO, Oracle.

Year, after year, decade after decade, Ellison's power grows along with Oracle's. He has crafted his most ambitious plan yet for the software giant: to turn it into a hardware and data center giant.

Although Oracle hasn't hit its stride with these new plans yet, it's hard to doubt the man. He's been successful at almost everything he's done, including winning the most prestigious sailing race ever: The America's Cup. He brought the 2013 race to his home base in San Francisco this summer to try and win again.



Microsoft's Steve Ballmer: Navigating the iconic company through rough waters.

Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft.

Ballmer has given Microsoft a no-holds-barred makeover, including getting into the PC business with Surface, launching a radically different version of Windows, and revamping its software for the cloud. 

While some of these plans have been off to a rocky start, particularly Windows 8 and Surface, Ballmer's got his eye on Microsoft's long-term future. Enterprises are still likely to slowly buy into his vision.



Cisco's John Chambers: Setting his sights on IBM and HP.

John Chambers, chairman and CEO, Cisco.

Chambers has been CEO of Cisco Systems since 1995. Although he's been talking about his retirement more now than he ever has, he's still running the company with all his might. He's trying to navigate Cisco past its roots as a network equipment company becoming a bigger IT company that competes with IBM and HP.

He needs to succeed because new technologies called software-defined networking threaten the way networks will be built and Cisco's stronghold on that market.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 25 Least Populated Countries In The World

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Icelandic coast

A lot of you out there love to travel to unusual tourist spots, judging by the number of people reading, tweeting and commenting on The 25 Least Visited Countries in the World I recently published.

Quite a few comments indicate that some of the countries on that list may be too hard or expensive to get to or too dangerous to go anywhere near.

That calls for another bucket list proposal on the 25 countries where 'no one' lives and why you should still visit. Maldives narrowly misses the list, being number 26 with eight thousand people 'too many' to join it.

25. Iceland. Population: 320,060

Why so few? 
Would you want to live on an island with fierce and flaming volcanoes, yet so cold it's called Iceland? The country was also discovered by Norwegian vikings and was the last European country to be settled.

Why you may still want to visit
The lava based scenery rising from the storms of the Atlantic is fantastic! So is the food. Just leave your whale meat boycotting plans at home. Whale meat is the healthiest meat on the planet and tastes fantastic when prepared as it is supposed to in one of Reykjavik's gourmet restaurants. You may also try puffin or walrus.

Tourists annually, in percentage of population
1,418,000 tourists, 443% of the population!

As if the US would have 1,390,639,197 tourists per year. That reads 1 billion, 390 millions 639 thousand and 197 and could have helped settle the US debt, although every tourist would still have to cover 11,826 USD to eliminate it. Some smaller countries have even higher percentages, but they have very small populations (less than 100,000 citizens) and are not surrounded by an ocean. I therefore still consider Iceland's tourist numbers more impressive. 

What else
What is the worst liqueur you can think of? Make it twice as bad, and you have Brennivín, the national Icelandic liquor that is also known as Black Death. Why it was ever invented? To make hákarl, cured and fermented (more commonly referred to as rotten or putrefied) shark edible. You will drown and mask the shark taste with a shot or five with Brennivín in order to regain consciousness. Do also note that the country has so few people that everyone is listed by their first name in the telephone directory.


24. Belize. Population: 312,971

Why so few? 
Belize has the lowest population density in Central America. Having so few neighbours doesn't attract many new ones, except for John McAfee. Of course it doesn't help when the few neighbours there disappear in mysterious ways, either.
 
Why you may still want to visit
The Great Blue Hole is one of the world's top diving spots. It is a so-called submarine sinkhole where you can dive with sharks. It's over 300 meters wide and 124 meters deep. Go there early to avoid the worst tourist crowds, though.

Tourists annually, in percentage of population
250,000 tourists, 80% of the population.

What else
Do avoid San Pedro unless your ideal holiday involves queues, mass tourism, overpaying for bar food of questionable quality and generally being ripped off. 


23. Barbados. Population: 274,200

Why so few? 
One third of the population emigrated to Britain and the US the four decades following WWII. A strict family planning program that resulted in a crude birth rate of 17 per 1,000 inhabitants the first half of the eighties didn't make things much better.

Why you may still want to visit
The tap water in Barbados is fantastic, do drink a lot of it when there! And if you are British and a little hesitant to leave your united kingdom, rest assured, driving is on the left.

Tourists annually, in percentage of population
568,000 tourists, 207% of the population.
 
What else
There are a lot of old British pensioners here. They are great fun until they suddenly fall asleep around 21:00. Barbados is being nicknamed The Little Britain of the Caribbean. 'Computer says no!'


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12 New (Or Improved) Restaurants In The Hamptons

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Delmonico'sSure, you can spend your days in the Hamptons lounging on the beach, but come night you've got to eat—or nibble, if you want to keep up that bathing suit body.

This season the area is filled with a bevy of new options, from stylish haunts that will be popping champagne for their first ever brunches to a few old favorites that are back with new-and-improved decor and menus.

Click through our slideshow to see what's new on the scene this summer (note: this article makes for excellent reading while on the Jitney).

SEE ALSO: The Coolest Hotel Amenities In The Hamptons

Nick and Toni’s

136 North Main St., East Hampton

After 25 years of playing host to high-profile diners like Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Steven Spielberg, Gwyneth Paltrow, Richard Gere and Martha Stewart, the restaurant upped its own glamour with an interior overhaul. The house’s charm remains intact, but it gained panache in the form of new black-walnut tables, leather banquettes and high-tops by the bar. New dishes include salad with breakfast radishes and toasted hazelnuts in an herb vinaigrette; arugula and kale salad with grapefruit and avocado vinaigrette; sea scallop crudo with ramp aïoli, pea vines and black salt; and seared Broken Arrow Ranch antelope with spring vegetable hash, enhanced with produce from Nick and Toni’s garden. Who knows - you may be in the bathroom line next to Alec Baldwin.



The Living Room at c/o The Maidstone

207 Main St., East Hampton

Chef Mathais Brogie arrived from Stockholm to take the reins at this Scandinavian-accented restaurant this summer. He's kept standards like lamb meatballs with sheep ricotta gnudi, and herring three ways with pickled red onion, sour cream, Vasterbotten cheese and potato. New offerings range from iced watermelon soup with feta cheese, sage and mint to Long Island chicken with summer bulghur, pistachios and curry caper butter to marinated lamb with spicy carrot and fiddlehead ferns.



Babette's

66 Newtown Ln., East Hampton

The health-oriented spot in the middle of East Hampton has always been packed for breakfast with regulars like Bon Jovi, Paul McCartney, Jay-Z and Ron Perelman. Bill Clinton celebrates his birthday there every August with an organic carrot cake. Current owner Barbara Layton has broadened her dinner offerings, and the nighttime scene is gaining momentum. Check out pan-roasted, sesame-crusted tofu or tempeh with steamed edamame, shiitake mushrooms, and red quinoa, or savor the grilled organic salmon with asparagus, oyster mushrooms, crisp polenta and a tomatillo sauce. Organic cocktails like the cucumber-lime margarita or pomegranate martini are made with fresh juice, and when the lights go down and the candles glow, the dining room becomes surprisingly romantic.



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America's Top Small Business Owners Share The Secrets To Making It Big

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Pete JohnsonEvery state in America picked one small business owner as its small business person of the year as part of National Small Business Week. Each one of them was up for the national award as well. 

One of these, John Stonecipher, President and CEO of Guidance Aviation Inc has just won the award of Small Business Person Of The Year

These people are doing amazing things, from contracting with the Department of Homeland Security to making silver-gallium nanoneedles. 

Here are 18 of the winners, along with the one piece of advice they have for current and aspiring business owners.  

ARIZONA: John Stonecipher, President and CEO of Guidance Aviation Inc. and Small Business Person Of The Year Winner

Guidance Aviation is a high-altitude flight school and John Stonecipher just won Small Business Person Of The Year.

One piece of advice for small business owners: 

"Surround yourself around the best people you can and give them an opportunity to do what they love to do best. Each one of my staff and faculty are leaders themselves. I cannot succeed without them."


OREGON: Judith Huck, President Classique Floors Inc.

Classique Floors sells and installs floor coverings for new home builders, restoration companies, homeowners and commercial construction clients.

One piece of advice for small business owners: 

"Always take the high road in business decisions.  Do the right thing. You’ll never regret it."



IOWA: Charles Hammond, President and CEO, Raining Rose

Raining Rose Inc. is a producer of customized lip balm and other natural body care products, founded in the late 1990s by a couple who started creating lip balms in the kitchen of their home as a hobby. 

One piece of advice for small business owners: 

"Try to find a mentor if possible. I was incredibly fortunate to have had Art Christoffersen as my business partner ... He was a great sounding board and really never told me what to do, but he asked some great questions that led me to the answer."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

These Lucky Marines Are Going On A Helicopter Mission In Hawaii

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Amid the pristine beaches and resorts of Hawaii, there is a major Marine Corps base of critical importance to U.S. Pacific operations.

The Marine Corps Base at Kaneohe Bay is home to U.S. Pacific Command, Marine Corps Forces Pacific, and the Pacific division of Special Operations Command, including thousands of active-duty fleet Marines from the 3rd Marine Regiment and Marine Aircraft Group 24. 

One of the lucky Marines stationed there is Sgt. Reece Lodder, an award-winning Marine Corps combat correspondent, who recently took to the skies to photograph Marine helicopter operations over Kaneohe Bay.

Lodder was kind enough to share images from his trip.

Prior to the flight, maintenance Marines perform checks to ensure everything works perfectly.



They check under all the panels.



Here, a pilot checks the aircraft's hydraulic fluid.



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Here's What Drones Will Soon Be Able To See From 17,500 Feet

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If the revelations about the NSA collecting phone records and other data wasn't enough to worry you consider this: FBI Director Robert Mueller just came forward and admitted that the FBI has used unmanned aerial vehicles for domestic surveillance.

What exactly can a spy drone see? Reddit user uranusaur found a video excerpt from a Nova story called "Rise of the Drones" from January.

The video shows impressive camera technology currently under development for drones and explores where they might be in a few years.

Using a 1.8 billion pixel camera, drones can watch entire cities at once.



By zooming in, drones can track individual objects that are moving, like cars...



...and people.



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10 Awesome Rooftop Bars In Philadelphia

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City Tap House Philadelphia

Philadelphia, while it has its own historical American charm, may not be the first city to come to mind when you think of stellar skyline views. But when you're chowing down at some of their finest rooftop establishments, you might just think otherwise.

The folks over at Zagat came out with a list of 10 hot rooftop bars and restaurants in Philadelphia. They're bursting with charm, flavor, and fun, and they're perfect for summer. 

Stratus Lounge

433 Chestnut St.

Stratus Lounge sits on top of an early twentieth century building in the Historic District of Philadelphia. The rooftop bar of the Hotel Monaco, Stratus Lounge owes its expertly crafted cocktails to resident mixologist Bess Gulliver, who gives the drinks a global twist.



The Corner

102 S. 13th St.

Thirteenth Street is a busy hub of excitement in Center City, and is also home to The Corner restaurant and bar. Just like the name implies, you get a great overall view of downtown Philly while dining on exquisite American bites like pork belly sliders and duck pastrami.




Continental Mid-town

1801 Chestnut St.

In the summer, enjoy fabulous cocktails in this place's park-like outdoor patio. Day or night, the view from this rooftop bar is to die for.



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The 10 Most Unhealthy Things Paula Deen Has Ever Put In Her Mouth

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Paula Deen

On Friday, Paula Deen was put on the chopping block at the Food Network and fired after admitting she used the N-word.

Instead of talking — which has caused quite the controversy for the Southern TV chef — Deen should have just stuffed her mouth shut with one of her calorie-filled dishes. 

Chocolate pizza, butter cake ice cream, and Krispy Kreme pudding. Welcome to Paula Deen’s recipes, where Candyland gumdrop dreams come to fruition.

If you’ve ever skimmed through the 121 recipe pages on Paula Deen’s website, you’ll come across some ridiculous concoctions.

We’ve skimmed through the more than 3,000 food offerings and picked out 10 of her unhealthiest recipes. 

Get 'em while they're hot.

10. Tastes Like Lasagna Soup

Now, you can take your lasagna on the go. In case, you know, you ever wanted to drink meat and cheese out of a thermos.




9. Peanut Butter Cup Brownie S'mores

Have you ever wanted to ingest a cup of butter? 

When the recipe begins with, “1 cup butter, softened, plus more for baking dish,” we can already feel our arteries clogging. 



8. Cheese on the Cob

Deen tells us this is what summer tastes like:

“Spread a thick layer of mayonnaise on corn, and dust with cheese, chili powder, salt, and pepper.”  

No, Deen. This is what a heart attack feels like.

 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

11 Tips For Taking Travel Pictures And Videos With Your Phone

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Remember lugging around your Dad's brand-new Nikon & telephoto lens during the family trip to the Kennedy Space Center? Those days are over. 

Most mobile phones have 8.0 megapixel cameras. They produce high-definition video and photos that can become beautiful 8 x 10s. And if you really want to accessorize your phone with additional lenses and sound gear, they'd all fit into your pocket.

It's easier than ever, but you still need to know what you're doing. Here's a primer:

1) Shoot with a plan — try to tell the story of your trip, don't just randomly point and shoot. Capture the place (wide shot), the scene (medium shot) and the characters (close-ups).

2) This is so obvious, but it must be said. Make sure to turn your phone 90 degrees to record video in landscape instead of portrait to take full advantage of the frame.  

3) If you're trying to focus on a specific person or object, move in closer - don't zoom.

4) Centered is the most unflattering angle of a person (including yourself!) you could possibly take. It makes your nose look flat and face appear wider than it is. Try capturing subjects slightly off-center.

5) Rule of Thirds; Most consumer cameras have this function built in as a guide, but it' easy to remember. If the frame is broken up into a grid of 9 squares place your subject against the background to the right or left of center on one of the cross-hairs between two squares. It allows for the most information to be included in the shot and is typically the most visually appealing. The Rule of Thirds

6) Take lots and lots of CLOSE UPS of people posed and candid; architectural/monument details are often stunning; food looks great before it's consumed and really try to restrain yourself to capturing only special/unique meals.

7) When shooting landscapes try placing the horizon in the bottom half of the frame. 

Point Dume

8) Stop Motion: Try capturing a moment with rapid fire photos instead of video. When you get home you can either pull them into iMovie or Movie Maker to make a short video or print them out with iPhoto to make a flipbook.

9) Use the app Vine for capturing video. 6 seconds of that street parade in Barcelona is really all you need. 

10) Give your images/video some legs and pick up either a mini-tripod or dolly. 

11) Sound is fifty percent of the moving image experience so for those willing to take audio into account, consider buying a external microphone.

Bonus: A cool concept can't hurt. For inspiration, check out one of the coolest short travel videos ever: 

SEE ALSO: 10 Stellar Travel Apps You've Probably Never Heard Of

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