On Wall Street, you work long hours, so a coffee addiction is almost inescapable.

It's not just that you need that caffeine, it's that it's a part of the job's culture. When you start out as a young analyst, the boring hours between spreadsheets and pitch books are spent going on Starbucks runs.

Unless you can get the interns to go get it, of course.

Our love of coffee noted, it's very possible to drink too much coffee, and that can be harmful to your body. Research shows that ingesting too much caffeine (500-600 milligrams or 5 or more cups of coffee) can cause anything from restlessness to muscle tremors.

So keep all this in mind when you order your next double shot of espresso.

A University of Melbourne study called caffeine "the most commonly used psychoactive drug," and said drinking more than 5 cups a day can have you hearing things.

From A 2011 story published in The Daily Mail:

Professor Simon Crowe, of La Trobe University in Melbourne, said: "We also told them that within the white noise there may be parts of the song White Christmas and if you hear it, press a button. We didn’t include White Christmas in the white noise but found that more people who were very stressed and had high levels of caffeine thought they heard the song. The combination of caffeine and stress affect the likelihood of an individual experiencing a psychosis-like symptom."

High levels of caffeine can damage your liver, especially if you take pain medication regularly as well.

According to studies by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

It can raise your blood pressure.

That's according to a 2012 Carnegie Mellon study which also says that coffee can stimulate the heart and cause shallow breathing.

Recently, we told you about an exoplanet that rains glass. Sideways.

Which got us thinking: 1.) we will never complain about the weather here on Earth again and 2.) surely that's got to be the worst place to live in the entire universe.

But no! With the help of NASA and Kepler astronomers and a couple physicists, we found nine additional wildly inhospitable planets.

Of course, you wouldn't survive too well anywhere in the universe that isn't Earth, but these places would be particularly awful--places with conditions "well-matched to Dante's visions of hell," as physicist Steve Tufte describes one of the planets. Check out the most miserable planets in the universe.

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Venus

Venus is very close to Earth in distance (between 24 and 162 million miles away) and in size (it's about 95% of Earth’s size), and prior to the 20th century, scientists thought it could be home to life. In reality, as physicist Steve Tufte puts it, Venus has conditions "well-matched to Dante's visions of hell."

The planet has more volcanoes than any other planet in our solar system and much of its surface is covered in lava. The surface pressure is equivalent to being more than half a mile underwater (which would about triple the deepest dive ever), and its temperature averages more than 730 K (hot enough to melt lead).

On top of all that, the planet is surrounded by a thick cloud of sulfuric acid, which would really, really suck, and its atmosphere is 96 percent carbon dioxide.

Conditions on Venus are hypothesized to be a direct result of a runaway greenhouse effect, in which the self-regulating carbon cycle spirals out of control. Billions of years ago, scientists believe, temperatures rose enough on Venus that water evaporated. Water vapor is a greenhouse gas, and so as more water evaporated, the planet only got hotter. Once a certain threshold was broken, it became a "runaway effect," where the self-regulating system fails. The result is the dreadful conditions for life we see on Venus today.

COROT-7b

When it rains on COROT-7b, it rains rocks. ‘Nuff said? Well, it gets worse: COROT-7b, which is 489 light-years from Earth and about 1.5 times our size, is estimated to be around 2,800 K (that’s 4,580 degrees F); the exoplanet is so close to its star that its year lasts only 20 hours on Earth; and its surface is probably a welcoming mixture of volcanoes, lava, and rocks. Okay, ‘nuff said.

TrES-2b

This planet is about 750 light-years away, and is basically a demon planet. Not much is known about it aside from the fact that it’s the darkest exoplanet discovered to date: blacker than coal, it reflects less than 1 percent of light.

Astronomers aren’t entirely sure what accounts for its darkness, but it could be that it lacks reflective clouds or has light-absorbing chemicals in its atmosphere. The fact that it’s so dark doesn’t mean it’s cold, though — in fact, what little light it does emit has a faint red glow like a hot electric stove, and its temperature is estimated to be around 1,255 K (1,800 degrees F).

Professional social situations can be awkward.

The rules are slightly different from standard social settings, yet business schools rarely discuss professional etiquette topics.

In her new book "The Essentials Of Business Etiquette," Barbara Pachter writes about the specific skills professionals need to understand when presenting themselves in a business setting.

From how to introduce yourself to what to order at restaurants, these are the social rules you need to know when establishing relationships.

Pachter has given us permission to use these excerpts from her book.

Always say your full name.

In a business situation, you should use your full name, but you should also pay attention to how others want to be introduced.

If your name is too long or difficult to pronounce, Pachter says you should consider changing or shortening it. Or you should consider writing down the pronunciation of your name on a business card and giving it to others.

Source: "The Essentials Of Business Etiquette"

Always stand when you're being introduced to someone.

"Standing helps establish your presence. You make it easy for others to ignore you if you don’t stand. If you are caught off guard and cannot rise, you should lean forward to indicate that you would stand, if you could."

Source: "The Essentials Of Business Etiquette"

Only say "thank you" once or twice during a conversation.

"You need to say it only once or twice within a conversation. Otherwise, you may dilute its impact and possibly make yourself seem somewhat helpless and needy."

Source: "The Essentials Of Business Etiquette"

One of the best ways to experience the travel style of yesteryear's rich and famous is to spend some time on a luxury train.

Typically, these trains provide private two-person overnight compartments, some with built-in showers, along with lavish service, onboard guides, and elaborate meals.

Many also include a variety of day tours at stops along the way. Most carry passengers in vintage cars from the 1920s to 1950s that have been refurbished to modern standards or in newer cars designed to look like the classics.

Luxury trains are extremely expensive, so if you're more interested in the scenery and stops along the way than the extravagance, you can replicate many luxury rail journeys using ordinary modern trains at a fraction of the cost. I've included tips for this as well.

The Simplon-Orient-Express

The Orient-Express has to be the all-time winner for name recognition among iconic trains. The Simplon-Orient-Express excursion train still makes the traditional run from Paris to Istanbul via Budapest and Bucharest once per year (local rail conditions permitting), lacking only the original's onboard murder and intrigue.

But most trips are shorter two- to four-day links on various routes connecting London, Venice, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Bucharest. The train uses original vintage coaches that have been upgraded to operate on modern railroads and are hauled by modern and usually electric locomotives. Prices run between $1,000 and $1,400 per person, per day, and are all-inclusive. The Simplon-Orient-Express folks operate vintage trains over several other European routes at comparable rates.

The Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express

The Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express serves the world's longest continuous railway line. This luxury train operates 15-day itineraries in modern cars, linking Moscow with Vladivostok. The train provides three classes of service, and all three include in-cabin showers, meal service, drinks, excursions, services of onboard tour guides, and porterage. There's even an onboard doctor included in the base prices.

But prices are stiff, starting at more than $15,000 per person for double occupancy in Silver Class. Golden Eagle also operates a Silk Road train linking Moscow with Beijing via Bukhara, Samarkand, and Almaty. If that's too stiff, you can do the regular straight-through seven-day Trans-Siberian Express over the same route through Real Russia. A first-class berth costs about $2,000 per person for single or double occupancy, including meals.

The Blue Train

South Africa's Blue Train is yet another storied luxury train. All accommodations are in private two-person compartments with built-in showers and toilet facilities. The trip cost includes meals, drinks, and a high level of personal service. The Blue Train runs between Cape Town and Pretoria; in either direction, you leave early in the morning and arrive at around noon the next day. Trips run four to five times a month.

Costs for a deluxe suite start at 15,155 rand (about $1,500, according to xe.com) per person for double occupancy in the high season (September 1–November 15) or 12,380 rand (about $1,260) during low season. A few luxury suites include bathtubs rather than showers, and these are more expensive. The Blue Train operates on other South African routes as well. If you just want the Cape Town-Johannesburg train trip, you can ride a sleeper on the bare-bones Shosholoza Meyl tourist train, with prices starting at around 600 rand (about $60), or take the Premier Classe deluxe train, with prices starting at around 2,500 rand (about $250), including meals. Arrange both through African Sun Travel.

Can you guess the largest ethnic group in America?

We sorted through Census data on general, Hispanic or Latino, Asian, and American Indian populations to identify the dominant flavors in the great melting pot.

It turns out the biggest group is not the English, who once controlled the 13 colonies, nor the Irish, who came over in vast waves in the 19th century, nor the Mexicans, who cross the southern border in large numbers in search of jobs.

The largest ethnic group, at 49,206,934 people in 2011, is the Germans, who came over in waves dating back to the 1670s.

Of course, ethnicity is a tricky word, and if we were to count all Americans of Hispanic or Latino origin as one group, then that group would take a narrow lead with 49,215,563 people. For the purposes of this list, however, we are sticking with the most specific ethnicities tracked (in self-reporting surveys) by the Census.

#30 Greek: 1,319,188

Although Greek heritage has been recorded in the U.S. since the 1600s, the most substantial number of Greek immigrants came to the U.S. from the mid-1800s up until Greece's admission to the European Union in 1981. Today the U.S. is home to the largest Greek community outside of Greece.

Famous Greek Americans: Jennifer Aniston; Bob Costas; Tina Fey; John Stamos; Frank Zappa; and George Papanicolaou, creator of the Pap smear.

#29 Dominican (Dominican Republic): 1,414,551

After the fall of dictator Rafael Trujillo in 1965, the U.S. occupied the Dominican Republic in order to end a civil war. The U.S. also eased travel restrictions, and as a result, large numbers of Dominicans began immigrating to the U.S. in the late 1960s.

The states with the most Dominican Americans are New York, New Jersey, Florida, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.

Famous Dominican Americans include: Sammy Sosa, Junot Díaz, Oscar De La Renta, Alex Rodriguez, and Zoe Saldana. 

#28 Danish: 1,420,962

Danes have been living in the U.S. since the late 1600s, but they steadily immigrated to America for much of the 1800s before Danish immigration tapered off. California, Utah, Minnesota, and Wisconsin all have large numbers of Danish Americans.

Famous Danish Americans include: Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen, Scarlet Johansson, Lars Ulrich of Metallica, the Hanson brothers, and Iggy Pop are all Danish.

One of the biggest computer annoyances is when your machine gets slow over time.

This can start to happen years after you get a PC, but sometimes it happens in just a few short months.

Since we all use our computers for different tasks and activities, there isn't one single reason that pinpoints why this happens.

The thing is, when you first get a new computer and boot it up it works lightning fast. That's because it doesn't have anything on it.

Regardless of whether you have a PC or Mac, over time as you download files, install software, and surf the Internet, your computer gets bloated with files that hog system resources.

In addition, there are many other things that contribute to a slowdown. We explored some of the major causes.

We started by speaking with Rachel, a tech expert who works at New York City authorized Apple repair shop Tekserve. Rachel told us that software and hard drive corruption are two reasons why your computer may slow down over time.

Corruption can be caused by a host of things but it's mostly bugs in the operating system, corrupted RAM data, static electricity (from carpet or other fabrics), power surges, failing hardware, and for Windows users, normal operating system decomposition with age.

Two other huge culprits are not having enough RAM (memory to run programs) and simply running out of hard disk space.

Not having enough RAM causes your hard drive to try to compensate for a lack of memory. The computer will constantly seek more RAM taking away resources from other tasks.

Another thing users fall victim to is installing unnecessary software. This will fill up your hard drive, causing you to run out of space at the price of speed.

There are useful free programs that help you easily identify what is taking up space on your hard drive:

• For Mac users try: OmniDiskSweeper, a free program that breaks down exactly which files take up the most space.
• For PC users  try WinDirStat, a disk usage statistics viewer and cleanup tool.

But what if you don't have a lot of apps or programs on your computer and it's still going slow?

If you're updating your software regularly, that can contribute to a slowdown because the updates themselves take up more space and require more system resources. Whitson Gordon of Lifehacker points out that, "in theory, if you did a clean install and never updated any of your software, everything would run as fast in year four as it did on day one. But that's not exactly a feasible—or secure—way to use your computer."

If you have a spinning hard drive, once they get older they simply start to slow down as they reach the end of life.

It's important to note that all spinning hard drives will die eventually, it could be tomorrow but it could also happen 10 years from now. It's just the nature of their design.

A simple solution to prevent slowdowns caused by the hard drive is to install a solid state hard drive (SSD) in your current computer or buy a new computer with one. Solid state hard drives take advantage of flash memory, which is found primarily in tablets and smartphones. Without going too deep, a SSD's flash memory doesn't have an arm like the above hard drive to write data, instead it relies on a processor making it much more reliable. You can read more about the difference between a SSD and HDD here.

We also can't ignore that fact that for PC users malware and viruses can also contribute to a computer slowing down. 

A huge misconception with PC users is that you need to load up on antivirus software to keep your computer fast. This is simply a myth that was debunked by Whitson Gordon too.

Gordon recommends that before you run out and buy pricey antivirus software you should first:

Start by learning a bit more about viruses and what they do ... Your first line of defense should be safe browsing. If you're downloading shady files, clicking on internet pop-ups, or opening links from unknown email, you'll greatly increase your chances of getting one. But if you're even mildly responsible, it's unlikely you'll ever get an infection.

Besides checking what is taking up space on your hard drive and practicing safe browsing you should also:

• Regularly clear your cache, internet browsing history, and temporary Internet files.
• Empty the trash can.
•  Check which programs are running at start up and also see what background services you are having load after a set amount of time.

SEE ALSO: 8 Simple Online Privacy Tips Everyone Needs To Know

Join the conversation about this story »

There's a saying:

"The only difference between men and boys is the size of their toys."

A few tech moguls have some very big, floating toys. Mark Cuban, Larry Ellison, and Paul Allen are just a few who own some of the largest yachts in the world.

Others vacation on yachts with models. Others zip around with friends.

Eric Schmidt was selling his 255-foot tugboat yacht in April. It was once valued at $48 million. He also bought a yacht that was bigger than Larry Page's.

Eric Schmidt has owned multiple yachts. In 2011, New York Post reported that Schmidt had purchased a yacht larger than Google CEO Larry Page's. The 195-foot yacht was purchased in 2009 for a reported $72.3 million.

In addition to the mega-yacht, Schmidt and his wife Wendy "accumulated some $60-odd million in assets for 'ocean studies,'" according to The ODP. That $60 million included two boats, one which was priced at $48 million.

There are pictures of the large tugboat yacht here.

Steve Jobs designed a 250-foot yacht run by 27 MacBooks that's now owned by his family.

One year after his death, the yacht Steve Jobs personally designed was completed.

It's a 250-foot yacht with a large sun deck designed by Philippe Starc. It was built in the Netherlands by shipbuilder Koninklijke De Vries.

There are more photos of the yacht, here.

Amazon's star engineer James Hamilton lives on a boat and often works remotely from Hawaii.

James Hamilton, a star Amazon engineer who makes sure its Web services business is always up and running, lives on a boat with his family.

His boat, The Dirona, is a custom-built, 52-foot Nordhavn yacht.

Pictures of the yacht can be found here.

"Elysium" has been called a "socialist" blockbuster, thanks to a plot that finds a group of impoverished earthlings rising up to take on a group of 1-percenters who luxuriate on a posh space station without a care in the world.

Star Matt Damon and director Neill Blomkamp insist the film has no political message, but with a plot that echoes the Occupy Wall Street movement, it's clear that "Elysium" has more on its mind than popcorn.

Nor is it alone in using the science-fiction genre to raise questions about social, environmental or political issues. 

1. THE MATRIX (1999)

What Was Brainy: Few action movies draw on Plato's Allegory of the Cave, Buddhist teachings and the work of theorists like Jean Baudrillard to cook up a futuristic world where machines have created a simulated reality in order to control humanity. The film was such a hit with brainiacs that college courses sprung up to dissect its layers of meanings and philosopher Cornel West joined the cast of its two sequels, "The Matrix Reloaded" and "Matrix Revolutions."

What Fell a Few IQ Points Short of Intelligent: Somebody forgot to tell Keanu Reeves to drop the surfer voice. Also, both "Reloaded" and "Revolutions" weren't thought-provoking --  just boring and pretentious.

2. MINORITY REPORT (2002)

What Was Brainy: Steven Spielberg's thriller focused on a police force that uses a trio of psychics to arrest criminals before they commit crimes. It's filled with gripping action sequences, but that's just frosting. At its heart, the film asks troubling questions about free will and seems to anticipate law-enforcement debates currently taking place in the country involving issues like stop-and-frisk and the widening expansion of government surveillance.

What Fell a Few IQ Points Short of Intelligent: The big "reveal" is a howler, and the ending suffers from Spielberg's addiction to syrup.

3. THE FLY (1986)

What Was Brainy: Man turns into bug is hardly the stuff of many academic essays -- unless of course they're about Kafka. In the hands of an idiosyncratic auteur like David Cronenberg, "The Fly" became a meditation on the horrors of aging, with many critics drawing parallels between the slow dissolution of the mad scientist played by Jeff Goldblum and the AIDS epidemic that prematurely killed off scores of young men and women during the Reagan era.

What Fell a Few IQ Points Short of Intelligent: There are a few cheap shocks, but like "Matrix," the real sin was the moronic sequel the movie spawned, 1989's "The Fly II." That dud suffered from Cronenberg's decision not to participate. Not smart, Hollywood. Not smart at all.

Terry Rosema is a storm chaser from Grand Rapids, Mich.

He is also partially blind.

Despite having little to no vision when looking straight ahead, the trained graphic designer takes arresting photos of tornadoes, lighting, and other severe storms. 

Rosema's story came by way of The Weekly Flickr, where you can learn more about his path to storm-chasing. 

The photographer was kind enough to let us republish some of his images here.

You can see more of Rosema's work on his Flickr photostream. 

Rosema became interested in storm chasing in 2008.

Read more about Rosema's photos on The Weekly Flickr »

At that time he was working as a graphic designer in Michigan.

Read more about Rosema's photos on The Weekly Flickr »

A friend, who was a meteorologist, asked him to help design a vehicle that could drive through storms.

Read more about Rosema's photos on The Weekly Flickr »

Can you guess the largest ethnic group in America?

We sorted through Census data on general, Hispanic or Latino, Asian, and American Indian populations to identify the dominant flavors in the great melting pot.

It turns out the biggest group is not the English, who once controlled the 13 colonies, nor the Irish, who came over in vast waves in the 19th century, nor the Mexicans, who cross the southern border in large numbers in search of jobs.

The largest ethnic group, at 49,206,934 people in 2011, is the Germans, who came over in waves dating back to the 1670s.

Of course, ethnicity is a tricky word, and if we were to count all Americans of Hispanic or Latino origin as one group, then that group would take a narrow lead with 49,215,563 people. For the purposes of this list, however, we are sticking with the most specific ethnicities tracked (in self-reporting surveys) by the Census.

#30 Greek: 1,319,188

Although Greek heritage has been recorded in the U.S. since the 1600s, the most substantial number of Greek immigrants came to the U.S. from the mid-1800s up until Greece's admission to the European Union in 1981. Today the U.S. is home to the largest Greek community outside of Greece.

Famous Greek Americans include: Jennifer Aniston; Bob Costas; Tina Fey; John Stamos; Frank Zappa; and George Papanicolaou, creator of the Pap smear.

#29 Dominican (Dominican Republic): 1,414,551

After the fall of dictator Rafael Trujillo in 1965, the U.S. occupied the Dominican Republic in order to end a civil war. The U.S. also eased travel restrictions, and as a result, large numbers of Dominicans began immigrating to the U.S. in the late 1960s.

The states with the most Dominican Americans are New York, New Jersey, Florida, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.

Famous Dominican Americans include: Sammy Sosa, Junot Díaz, Oscar De La Renta, Alex Rodriguez, and Zoe Saldana. 

#28 Danish: 1,420,962

Danes have been living in the U.S. since the late 1600s, but they steadily immigrated to America for much of the 1800s before Danish immigration tapered off. California, Utah, Minnesota, and Wisconsin all have large numbers of Danish Americans.

Famous Danish Americans include: Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen, Scarlet Johansson, Lars Ulrich of Metallica, the Hanson brothers, and Iggy Pop are all Danish.

For most of us, coffee is that one thing we simply can’t live without.

But when we’re on the road, nothing brings us that sense of comfort, that kick that gets us going, and that rush that keeps us smiling, quite like a good cup of coffee.

We’ve rounded up a few ambrosial stories about some of the best coffee shops in the world.

Brooklyn, New York

We had heard through the grapevine that there was a coffee shop in Brooklyn that was using mysterious bulb-like bottles to brew potently good coffee.

The roots of this strange, but delectably innovative coffee shop were tethered to its first (and very humble) stand at farmers’ markets in California. Catching the eye of bohemian hipsters, the simple kiosk became too popular to support all its coffee groupies and was (happily) forced to open its first shop in San Francisco.

Since then, the lines have continued to grow at Blue Bottle Coffee, yet that doesn’t seem to deter its loyal customers from waiting a few extra minutes for their morning jump-start. In fact, it appeared that most people were intrigued by the neat line of  individual drip-filters depositing a steamy stream of aromatic blends.

Read more about Blue Bottle Coffee here.

Copenhagen, Denmark

Few things in the world are as versatile and ubiquitous as a cup of coffee that lends itself perfectly to be enjoyed in a multitude of settings.

In Copenhagen, the variety of cafés and coffee bars rival those in Palermo or Paris. As the weather gets even nippier, here are three locales that each offer a different experience while sipping on a cozy brew.

Check out the best Copenhagen coffee shops here.

Manhattan, New York

Don’t be fooled by the clichés, New Yorkers love to relax, preferably with a cup of snobbishly good coffee and some kind of Apple device within the confines of a low-key hipster spot . The city is ridden with coffee shops that will most likely disappoint, but it also offers some of the most innovative cafés that rival Seattle’s best.

If you’re new to the city, or just haven’t gotten around to seeking out those neighborhood gems, you may want to take a moment to kick back at some (or all) of these saporous spots and dismiss that New York-minute-mentality to sip the day away.

See the best NYC coffee shops here.

Mariah Carey made a fashion statement recently when rocking custom-made, bedazzled and feathered slings for her dislocated shoulder.

The diva successfully made something functional, fashionable.

But Mariah isn't the first celebrity to wear a sling — or cast or crutches — while performing, on the red carpet, or at high profile events.

Everyone from Kristen Stewart to David Beckham has made injuries look good.

Kristen Stewart headed down the red carpet on crutches after she "sliced her foot" as Jennifer Garner walked behind her at the Academy Awards in 2013.

Brad Pitt arrived at the 2012 Critics' Choice Awards in Los Angeles, cane in hand, after he slipped carrying his daughter down a hill. “It was either her or me," he said of his injured ACL.

Jessie J performed with a broken foot at the Glastonbury Festival in 2011. The singer injured her left foot when she fell off a stage during rehearsal a few weeks prior.

Apple's iPads are designed to be easy to use, but many owners are not getting the best out of the tablet – here are some hidden features that may transform the way you use your iPad.

Some features on the iPad are straight forward – a touch screen is, after all, designed to be easy to use.

More adventurous users have, however, discovered some hidden features that are perhaps not so obvious and have shared them.

Here we provide give you a quick tour of the best hidden features of the iPad and show just what it can do.

Multitasking gestures

Buried under general settings is an innocuous little switch that turns on multitasking gestures. This allows you to use several fingers at once to control the iPad.

Pinching four or five fingers across the screen will return you to the Home Screen of the iPad from any App.

Swiping four or five figures upwards will reveal the multitasking bar, showing which Apps are currently running. Swiping down again will hide it.

Swipe those digits to the left or right will allow you to change Apps at flicking speed.

Zoom

Want to see something close up, then this feature might be for you.

This feature sits in the accessibility folder under general settings. when turned on, double tap on the screen with three fingers to zoom into a spot.

To navigate around while zoomed in, drag three fingers around the screen.

And if things still are not magnified enough, then double tap again while zoomed in with three fingers before dragging them up or down. This will zoom you right in and out of the action.

Shake to undo

Made a mistake when typing and wish there was a handy undo button just like on your desktop word processor. Actually there is, but you have to get physical.

Simply pick up your iPad, hold it tightly and give it a rigorous shake. A box will flash up on the screen asking if you would like to undo the typing you have just inputted.

Triple click the home button

While most people know that a double click of the home button will bring up the multitasking bar, allowing you to access apps that are open, few will know about triple click.

Hidden in the accessibility menu in general setting, there is an option to turn on triple click.

You can then chose to activate a number of features when the round button at the bottom of the screen is pressed three times in quick succession.

These include the ability to invert the colours on the screen or to zoom. The iPad's VoiceOver function, which helps people with visual difficulties navigate around the screen, can also be activated in this way.

Find my iPad

Are you one of those forgetful people who leaves your portable technology lying around in rooms and then forgets where you put it? Then this feature is for you.

Turn it on in the iCloud settings and next time your iPad vanishes from the face of the Earth, log in to the iCloud on your nearest computer or phone with your iTunes details.

You can then ask your iPad to display a message telling any potential finder how to return it to you.

You can ask the iPad to play a sound that overrides any volume and mute settings. Have you found it yet?

There it is, buried under that stack of newspapers.

Wipe your iPad

In addition to helping you find your iPad, if it is lost forever or has been stolen, then the iCloud will let you remotely set a passcode and also allow you to erase all your data.

Be aware though, if you wipe it, you can't use the previous function to find it again.

Find my Friends

Fantastic if you haven't spent too much time tinkering with your iPad and actually still have friends.

This free App from Apple allows you to see where other friends with iPads and iPhones also using the application are on a map.

You need to ask their permission before you can see where they are, but it is potentially very useful for anyone wanting to track the progress of visiting relatives to ensure you have the house cleaned and dinner in the oven in time for their arrival.

It could also be incredibly useful for that friend who is utterly incapable of following directions. Just look up their location and guide them in.

Split your keyboard

This feature is designed to help those who prefer are more ergonomic typing position rather than having their hands fighting over the keys.

Tap and hold the keyboard button on the bottom right that you would normally use to hide the keyboard. Then select "split" from the pop up menu.

You do need to have the option turned on in the keyboard menu in settings.

For some reason, splitting the keyboard also provides access to hidden keys – so press in the empty space next to the Y and you will type a T, next the H and it will type a G, next to the V and it will type a B, and so on.

It's a weird feature, for people who don't know how keys work, presumably.

Access your home computer

This one costs a little money, but by downloading iTeleport, it means you can access your home computer from anywhere in the world through your iPad.

Control downloads, play music to the empty house to make potential burglars think you are home, email yourself files from your desktop.

The possibilities are endless, provided you leave the computer switched on of course.

Double space equals full stop

Ever get tired of typing full stops. How much time could you save if you could just do away with them. Probably fractions of a second.

But if you are typing in full flow, this little feature can actually be very useful. Simply tap the space bar on the keyboard twice and it will produce a full stop and a single space.

What will you do with all the extra time on your hands?

Hidden characters

Wondering how to get that letter "u" with an accent, an "o" with an umlaut or that weird vertical line with a diagonal stroke across it that you are always looking for? Then look no further.

Simply hold down a letter on the keyboard and a number of special characters associated with that key will appear. Slide your finger up to select the one you want and then let go.

One particularly useful one is the apostrophe hidden behind the comma key.

Short cuts

Another option in the keyboard settings. Programme your own abbreviations that the iPad will automatically turn into real words as you type.

"BW" can become "Best Wishes" and "omw" will become "On my way". Perfect for anyone battling against the spread of text speak.

Just be careful which short cut keys you choose. It can be very embarrassing to hit the wrong key when typing "my" and end up sending your boss a message with the words "miss you" in it.

Quick numbers

Need to type a number in a line of text? Just touch the numbers button on the keyboard, drag it over to the number you want and let go.

You'll then be taken straight back to the normal letters on the keyboard, saving you having to press three separate keys just to type a number one.

Picture Frame

If you haven't been curious enough to press the little icon with the flower on it next to the unlock slider then perhaps you should.

It displays a slide show of all the pictures on your iPad, turning it into a digital picture frame. Just make sure there is nothing embarrassing on there first.

Using the picture frame settings, it is possible to change the transition between photos from a dissolve to a kind of folding action, the time each photo is displayed and the order.

You can also ask the slide show to zoom in on faces that the iPad detects in the photo as it displays it.

Dictionary

The iPad has a built-in dictionary. Simply touch and hold a word and then tap "define" in the pop up menu. All of Samuel Johnson's hard work is at your fingertips.

Get assistance

If you are finding multi-gesturing too much of a drag, or are digitally challenged, then the iPad can help.

A feature in the accessibility settings allows you to turn on Assistive Touch. This handy little item displays a virtual home key on your screen, which you can move around at will.

Touch it and it will bring up a pop-up menu with a multitude of functions, including the ability to control multi-touch gestures with just a single finger.

You can also take a screenshot at the touch of a button and "shake" the iPad without having to pick it up.

Change the sounds your iPad makes

Tired of that chirpy "ping ping" whenever you get a message – customise the sounds your iPad will make in the sound folder of general settings. Or mute it all together.

With Apple preparing to release iOS 7 later this year, the list of features it has secreted away will doubtless grow. And if you find any others you think might be useful, then please let us know by emailing richard.gray@telegraph.co.uk

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Last month, the world's distilleries did battle at the International Wine and Spirit Competition.

The event, now in its 44th year, aims to "promote the quality and excellence of the world’s best wines, spirits and liqueurs,"according to its website.

The judging process at the competition is rigorous. Wines and liquors are subject to both professional blind tasting and chemical and microbiological analysis.

The best bottles score between 90-100 on the judges' scale, but a few receive special recognition: Gold Outstanding.

And as a result, they received elegantly-written endorsements such as: "A treasure chest of liquid gold!"

From blends to single malts to single barrels, 18 Scotches took home a Gold Outstanding award at last month's competition.

Laphroaig Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 18 YO

"Incredible nose with amazing rich floral notes followed by smoke, rich barley, liquorice, treacle and then a wave of sea spray. Full powered entry into the mouth with immediate distribution of flavours to every taste bud. Big rich sensation as multi layers of flavour descend and smother the palate. Wonderful and sensational. A comment: 'a conquest of fresh cut flowers ready to drink with delight!'"

Source: IWSC

Ben Nevis Single Cask Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 15 YO

"Nose leads with fragrant rose wood followed by lavender, violets and honey. Hints of caramel and toasty oak. Well edged by vanilla, cinnamon and black pepper. In the mouth dried fruit adds to the complexity along with fig and peach. Good balance and fine texture. Smooth flow leads to fine, well modulated finish."

Source: IWSC

The Glenlivet 21 Year Old Archive

"Fascinating nose that seems to offer just about everything! Rich chocolate, full malt, citrus, sherry and light smoky note. Even a hint of rum? Gracious entry into the mouth with smooth, velvet flow across the palate. Repeat of everything the nose had while extra flavours of ripe fruit, honey and some dark sugar develop. Rich spice where vanilla is dominant. Great balance and super oak support. Elegant, rich and warming. Pure perfection."

Source: IWSC

Chances are, by now you have a smartphone and maybe a tablet, and you never leave home without one or both of them.

These devices have transformed our daily lives. While much attention is  given to the coolest consumer apps, mobile apps that help you do your job better are arguably even more important.

With that in mind, we've assembled a collection of apps that can help you be a rock star at work.

We curated this list by polling coworkers, researching the recommendations of other tech publications, and sifting through ratings on the major app stores.

Jump to the apps in the following categories:

Business productivity: Apps that help you work faster, better, smarter.

Business social networking: Stay connected to colleagues and coworkers.

Business travel/entertainment: Help for business trips and meeting.

Calendar/To-Do: Keep your projects organized.

Job hunting: Find your next, great gig.

Communication: Talk, text, meet, connect.

Finance/Expenses: Bill customers, track expenses.

Scanning/Printing: Help with paperwork.

Security: Keep other people out of your business.

Business productivity

Business productivity apps will let you work faster, smarter, better.

Jump to:

Audio Memos

CloudOn

Evernote

LectureNotes

Roambi Analytics

Audio Memos lets you take recordings and save them in Dropbox.

Price: $0.99

Available on: Android and iOS

Turn your smartphone into a high-end audio recorder that can record meetings, voice notes, anything. Then send your recordings by email or upload them to Dropbox.

CloudOn lets you run Microsoft Office on the iPad.

Price: Free

Available on:Android and iOS

There are a few apps that run Microsoft Office on the iPad and Android tablets. We like CloudOn because 1) it's free, 2) it supports many of Office's more advanced features, 3) it's designed to work on a touch interface.

Most world records are pretty standard — the world's smallest man (21.5 inches tall), the world's oldest twin sisters (103 years old), or the world's highest standing jump (4 feet 10 inches onto a platform) are all interesting factoids to know.

But other records are totally wacky, like the biggest jigsaw puzzle made of tents or the largest gathering in Sumo wrestler suits (seriously).

These categories are often completely invented and submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records. Sometimes, they even make it into the official book itself.

So in honor of the release of the Guinness Book of World Records 2013, here are the 15 weirdest records broken by people around the world.

On July 28, 2013, 1,213 people broke a Guinness World Record by applying facial masks for 10 minutes at the same time in Taipei.

Source: Reuters

Chris "The Duchess" Walton is the current Guinness World Record holder for longest fingernails. Seen here in NYC back in 2011, her nails (which she's been growing for 18 years) measured 10 feet 2 inches on her left hand and 9 feet 7 inches on her right at the time.

Source: Reuters

In February 2013, 4,483 people hula-hooped for seven minutes, setting the Guinness World Record for most number of people simultaneously hula-hooping. The event took place at the Thammasat University stadium on the outskirts of Bangkok.

Source: Reuters

In America, home ownership is losing ground to the rental cohort, and new internet-based services like Airbnb, Rent the Runway, Zipcar, and TaskRabbit – just to name a few – have enabled the rise of the "renting and sharing economy."

Now, "rent" is becoming the new "own," according to market strategists at ConvergEx Group, who warn that the ripple effects of such a trend could be "catastrophic."

"Americans of every demographic are flocking to services like Airbnb, Taskrabbit, and Bag Borrow or Steal for one overwhelming reason: renting and sharing allow us to live the life we want without spending beyond our means," the strategists write in a note to clients. "Not all of it is intentional, mind you: low cash flow (or none at all) is most certainly driving many customers to rent rather than buy. But it’s also becoming quite trendy; consumers either unwilling or unable to afford big-ticket purchases – whether it be a house for $500,000 or a new dress for $500."

The strategists point to projections that suggest the "sharing" and "rental" economies will generate $3.5 billion in revenue in 2013, and grow to as big as $110 billion over the next few years.

What's to blame? A few main effects are at play here, according to the ConvergEx team:

• The bursting of the housing bubble and the attendant rise in personal bankruptcies
• Lower disposable incomes as wage growth in America remains elusive
• The introduction of new apps and websites in the past few years that enable more renting and sharing opportunities

"The potential impacts of renting/leasing as a long-term trend, though, are worrisome: renting and sharing could lead to lower home sales (and, subsequently lower home values and net worths), as well as lower auto and retail sales," write the strategists. "The ripple effects could also be catastrophic: adjusting to a consumer who does not necessarily buy, but rather rents, would necessitate a shift in production, sales, and even employment structures. Everything interesting in economics happens at the margin, so if the nth consumer chooses to rent an apartment instead of buying a house or making do with a car-share program instead of purchasing a new vehicle, then demand for new houses and cars drops."

For the ConvergEx team, even more worrying than the rise of renting and sharing at the expense of ownership are the underlying reasons driving consumers to rent and share more.

"The crisis-sparked renting and sharing economy could have an effect similar to that of the Depression, in which the consumer psyche is morphed to constantly imagine a worst-case-scenario," they write. "The recent recession, arguably, could be fostering a generation of 'renters' and 'sharers' (as opposed to 'savers') who are wary of potentially risky investment vehicles or financial instruments. Recent urbanization trends in the U.S. population could be the first signal of this: cities are the hubs of the renting and sharing economy, after all."

That's why the behavior of the Millennials – the generation often parametrized as having been born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s, will be key to watch.

"As it stands, the rental economy will probably prosper for a bit longer as this cohort pays back student loans and finds higher-paying jobs," say the ConvergEx strategists. "But as they approach their 30s and beyond, it’s not overly optimistic to expect them to make the big-ticket purchases they couldn’t before. Some will be renters for life, of course, but many will come to appreciate the value of owning: taking out a mortgage for a home typically results in lower monthly payments than rent, for example."

The share of renters in the American economy has risen to 35% from 31% before the housing crisis.

The data are clearly reflected in search data: Americans are Googling "house for rent" more than ever before.

A similar trend can be seen in searches for "car lease." According to ConvergEx, leases accounted for 27.5% of all new car purchases in 2013, up from 10.9% in 2009.

On Jul. 8 the Italian Navy I GrupAer based at Grottaglie, started a new air-to-air training campaign at the AWTI (Air Weapons Training Installation) of Decimomannu airbase, Italy.

During their stay in Sardinia, The Aviationist’s contributor Alessandro visited their detachment and took some interviews that helped him drawing the most detailed picture of the Italian Navy Harriers training conducted at “Deci”.

Support and defense of the fleet are the primary role of the AV-8B+ jump jets of the Marina Militare, that can be also tasked with air-to-ground, anti-ship, reconnaissance and identification of naval units missions thanks to the flexibility of the platform.

Realism is the foundation of a successful training, that’s why the deployment involved also a team of FCs (Fighter Controllers) and AAWOs (Anti-Air Warfare Officer) coming from the Naval Units of the fleet.

Missions can be reviewed on screens in order to have a closer look at each phase of the sortie and become aware of mistakes and things that can be improved.

Ancestry is a broad concept. While we revise our feature on the most common ethnicities in America, presented below is the data we used to identify the dominant flavors in the great melting pot.

The tables come from Census data on general, Asian, Hispanic or Latino, and American Indian populations.

General:

 Asian:

Hispanic or Latino: 

American Indian populations: 

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Apple will announce the next iPhone on Tuesday, September 10. 

It will likely release 10 days later on Friday, September 20. 

So what can you expect from Apple? We've gather all the big rumors about the next iPhone here. 

It is expected to be called the iPhone 5S and look exactly like the iPhone 5.

But that doesn't mean it will be exactly the same as the iPhone 5.

The next iPhone's internals are going to be totally, different, according to leaks.