"The beginning is the most important part of the work."
—Plato

When we speak, we have about 60 seconds to capture our audience's attention, establish credibility, orient them to our topic, and motivate them to listen, says Darlene Price, president of Well Said, Inc., and author of "Well Said! Presentations and Conversations That Get Results."

If you waste those precious opening seconds with a joke, an agenda, an apology, housekeeping details, a string of thank-yous, or a rambling pointless paragraph littered with "ums" and "uhs," your audience's minds are likely to drift, and you may not get them back. "You, your message, and your audience deserve much more," Price says. "You need to put the art in the start, the most important part of the work."

That's a tall order for any speaker — and it requires us to develop and rehearse a well-crafted attention-getting opener. Price offers seven options.

1. Tell a captivating story.

"Of all the starters in your toolkit, storytelling is among the most powerful and consistently successful," Price says. "As humans, we're hard-wired to enjoy and learn from stories. From bedtime stories and campfires, to Broadway theaters and boardrooms — heroes, villains, conflict, plots, dialogue, and lessons learned draw us in, remind us of our own lives, and hold our attention." 

The story can be about you personally, which tells the audience first-hand why you're invested in and passionate about the topic. Or you can tell a story about another person who the audience can learn from. "Another option: tell a fable, wisdom tale, historic event, or anecdote," Price says. "The idea is, start with a brief 60- to 90-second narrative that launches your speech and captivates your listeners, and make sure the story encapsulates the key point of your message."

She suggests you consider these questions as you craft your version of "Once upon a time": What challenges have you (or another) faced in relation to your topic? How did you (or another) overcome them? Who or what helped you or harmed you? What lessons were learned? What do you want your audience to gain, feel, or do as a result of the story? 

2. Ask a rhetorical thought-provoking question.

As Shakespeare wrote in "The Merchant of Venice," "If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?"

"As a speaker, you ask rhetorical questions for persuasive effect; you don't expect the audience to answer aloud, rather silently to themselves," Price explains. When crafted and delivered well, rhetorical questions influence an audience to believe in the position of the speaker. "Clearly, Shakespeare's character Shylock is leading his listeners to think 'yes' four times in order to justify revenge against Antonio. What do you want your audience to say 'yes' or 'no' to?" 

In addition to yes or no questions, you can also arouse curiosity and motivate your audience to think about the answer, she says.

3. State a shocking statistic or headline.

Price says the vice president of sales for America's leading healthcare IT company successfully sells software solutions to hospitals by starting her presentations with the following:

"According to a new study in the Journal of Patient Safety, medical errors leading to patient death are much higher than previously thought. Preventable adverse events, known as PAEs, cause up to 400,000 deaths per year for patients who seek care at a hospital. That means medical errors are the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer. Our vision is to create a world free of medical errors, and we need your help."

"The statistic, bold claim, or headline needs to be directly related to the main purpose of your presentation," Price explains. "Its impact ideally persuades the audience to listen and respond positively to your recommendation and next steps." 

China was one of the first countries in the world to label "Internet addiction" as a clinical disorder posing a major threat to its teenagers. 

According to Reuters, the Chinese government has taken an aggressive approach to the problem, building as many as 250 boot camps to eradicate internet addiction. 

Parents can elect to send their children to these camps, where they undergo psychological examinations and military-style physical training to cure their addiction. Many of the teens sent to these Chinese boot camps spend the majority of their waking hours on the Internet, whether it be on networking sites or online games. 

China was one of the first countries to label "internet addiction" as a clinical disorder deserving psychological treatment. Here, a man plays a game at a Beijing Internet cafe.

Scientists at Beijing's Daxing Internet Addiction Treatment Center scan an Internet addict's brain for research purposes. Some psychologists say that the competitive pressures of life in a 1.3 billion-person country could be a reason many Chinese teens retreat to the Internet.

A female instructor and a former soldier escort a young girl to Qide Education Center, an Internet addiction treatment facility in Beijing. There are as many as 250 secretive military-style camps like Qide in China.

Europe is home to historic cities, world-famous museums, and phenomenal restaurants. But there are also gorgeous hidden beaches, phenomenal ski resorts, and stunning natural formations like canyons, waterfalls, and gorges.

We've come up with the ultimate bucket list of travel destinations in Europe.

From biking along the canals of Amsterdam to tasting Chianti in Italy's Tuscany region, here are 50 things you need to do in Europe in your lifetime.

Stroll along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, in the south of France.

Hit the slopes at Innsbruck, a breathtaking ski resort in the mountains of Austria.

Dance to house music at an underground nightclub in Berlin, like Tresor.

London's Shoreditch neighborhood has become a newly trendy district for artists, galleries and cafes.

But it has also become home to some of the most ambitious vandalism and street art you'll ever see. While New York has long considered itself the spiritual home of graffiti as art, London's artists have elevated the form to a much higher level. Instead of mindless name-tagging, you get building-sized visual puns that take weeks of planning.

In fact, a local real estate agent tells us that landlords now commission them as murals.

This is what Banksy hath wrought.

Whenever construction starts on a building and wooden hoardings go up, street artists get to work.

It's often hard to know who the artists are. These black and white animals are probably by Roa, a Belgian artist.

In the world of street art, some painters are internationally famous. This two-part mural (see next photo) is by Paul Don Smith.

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats (CTBUH) recently announced the winners of its Best Tall Buildings Worldwide contest.

They declared four regional winners, as well as several finalists. An overall winner will announced on November 6.

The qualities they're looking for are a strong sustainability commitment, adding to the urban environment, and challenging the traditional perceptions of tall buildings.

The Council received 88 entries from around the world for the awards with the the largest entries from Asia and Europe.

WINNER (Asia & Australasia): One Central Park, Sydney. The most unique part of this 384-foot-tall residential building is the growth of plants around the outside, which the architects use for shading and to direct sunlight to save energy.

By Ateliers Jean Nouvel and PTW Architects

WINNER (Americas): Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building, Portland. Standing at 361 feet tall, this office tower was renovated from its original 1970 design into a lightweight, sustainable epicenter.

By Cutler Anderson Architects and SERA Architects.

WINNER (Europe): DeRotterdam, Rotterdam. At 489 feet, the mixed-use building is the largest in the Netherlands. The three towers will be used for offices, apartments, a hotel, conference facilities, shops, restaurants, and cafes.

By Office for Metropolitan Architecture

Brazil's soccer team isn't technically staying at the Atelier Molinaro Boutique Hotel, but you still might be able to catch a glimpse of them if you're a guest there. 

During the World Cup, the soccer players are sleeping at their training camp in Granja Comary on the edge of Serra dos Orgaos National Park, which is about 45 minutes from this Petrópolis hotel.

The Atelier Molinaro has stunning views of the surrounding mountains and is incredibly cozy with just 21 rooms. The lush retreat is home to a natural mineral water pool, jacuzzi and sauna, art boutique, volleyball court, and even a soccer field.

Welcome to Atelier Molinaro, a boutique hotel near the training grounds of Brazil's soccer team.

It's situated on more than 8 acres of forest just minutes from the center of Petrópolis and Itaipava.

The hotel takes advantage of its beautiful surroundings with plenty of outdoor eating areas.

The ultimate way to show your contempt for an enemy may be by building a "spite house."

Spite houses are homes built to annoy the neighbors, often by cutting off access to a road or obstructing their views. "They probably wouldn't get much attention if they looked like normal houses, but spite houses have a reputation for being kind of odd looking, since they're usually built on narrow parcels of land," columnist John Kelly wrote in The Washington Post.

Spite houses have a long history in the U.S. — a man reportedly built one in Massachusetts to tick off his brother way back in 1716.

Keep reading to learn about some of the most outrageous spite houses ever built.

The Old Spite House in Massachusetts dates back to 1716.

One of the oldest known spite houses was built in Marblehead, Mass. No one knows for sure why it was built, but theory holds that two brothers who hated each other occupied opposite sides of the home. It still stands today.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

New York's most famous spite house was demolished in 1915.

The Richardson Spite House was built on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in 1882. The owner reportedly built the five-foot-wide building after the owner of an adjacent plot tried to buy the land, and the deal fell through. The narrow building was home to 8 apartment suites, and was demolished in 1915.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

The McCobb Spite House stems from a family rivalry.

The McCobb Spite House was built in Phippsburg, Maine in 1806. McCobb thought his mother was trying to deprive him of his inheritance, and planned a home to overshadow hers. The house was later relocated to Rockport and still stands.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

You'll be able to buy smartwatches running Google's new operating system for wearable computers, Android Wear, starting this month.

Here's a quick look at the most important features in Android Wear. We used Samsung's newest smartwatch, the Gear Live, for the demo.

Android Wear only works with certain Android phones. You have to pair it to your phone using the companion Android Wear app.

The Android Wear app syncs your phone to your watch using Bluetooth.

The app also lets you manage what kinds of notifications you get on your watch. You can "mute" certain apps from delivering notifications.

Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One have been receiving the lion’s share of interest from media outlets and consumers alike. But Nintendo’s little console that could, the Wii U, might end up winning this generation’s console wars, even though the system is struggling mightily in commercial sales.

Sure, the Wii U doesn’t have a typical control setup like the Xbox One or PS4, its innards are not as powerful, and it doesn’t accommodate as many third-party games. But the basic Wii U is $100 cheaper than its Xbox and PlayStation counterparts, and it’s got a ton of upsides (see: games).

It’s backward compatible with Wii games

There’s so much the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One can do, but one thing they can’t do is play previous-generation titles. Sony and Microsoft are finding workarounds to this issue — for the most part, the companies are releasing costlier next-gen versions of its older games while offering trade-in systems for current owners — but at least Nintendo offers a full catalogue of Wii U and Wii games, as well as access to even more classic titles available over its online platform, called the Virtual Console.

The best of Wii includes several fantastic titles: "Super Mario Galaxy 1" and "2.""The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" and "Skyward Sword.""Okami.""Resident Evil 4" and the "Metroid Prime" trilogy. You could play these games for hours — and if you've never owned a Wii, you should absolutely try these games.

The Homebrew Channel

You might not know it, but the Wii U might be the most hackable game console out there right now. If you have an internet connection and a free SD card, you can activate classic game emulators, cheat engines, DVD players, and even Wii-specific Linux distributions. And if you’ve stored any old games on a USB stick, The Homebrew Channel can help you play those games, too. These homebrew options are easy to access: With the simple LetterBomb hack (HackMii has the full set of instructions), you’ll be able to activate The Homebrew Channel and an application called Homebrew Browser, which acts as an alternative marketplace to download popular apps, games, and emulators.

Cross-buy games

Nintendo just released its first “cross-buy” game for the Wii U, which means if you purchase the game for Nintendo’s handheld 3DS, you’ll receive the Wii U version for free as long as you have your Nintendo Network ID set up across both platforms. While the first game, “Squids Odyssey,” is nothing too fancy — it’s more or less "Angry Birds" with some RPG gameplay aspects — the promise of more cross-buy games is a great reason to own a Wii U (and, by extension, a 3DS).

Google jobs are some of the most sought-after positions in the entire tech industry.

Besides truly gorgeous office spaces, Google provides its workers with a lot of perks, and some former Googlers, and a few who are still with the company, listed their favorite benefits on Quora.

The free gourmet food and snacks are never-ending.

Googlers employees are extremely well fed, getting healthy and varied breakfast, lunch, and even dinner if they stay late — for free. There are also coffee and juice bars scattered throughout the campuses.

The consensus is that the convenience of having food provided cannot be overstated.

One Googler commented that they loved the food perk because, "it saves me time and money, and helps me build relationships with my colleagues."

Working at Google, you're exposed to amazing people and great thinkers.

One Googler said that the company is a great place to see, listen to, and meet with people who he grew up reading about ("Never in my life have I met so many people with a Wikipedia page than in the last year!" he writes).

Another Googler also had only great things to say about his coworkers:

We are surrounded by smart, driven people who provide the best environment for learning I've ever experienced. I don't mean through tech talks and formal training programs, I mean through working with awesome colleagues -- even the non-famous ones.

I've worked at several other .coms and have never been more challenged and energized professionally from my colleagues than at Google. People are generally happy to work there, they come from diverse backgrounds, and almost always have an interesting story to share.

Besides being exposed to tech leaders, there are often talks with celebrities and other thought leaders.

Googlers feel like they are really living in the future.

Because Google is one of the top technology companies in the world, it's no surprise that employees are at the forefront of technology.

Googlers get to use the company's products to get work done, and beta-test products that haven't been released to the public yet.

"Chrome was my primary browser before it was announced. I've used phones, tablets, and Chromebooks before they went on sale. It's fun. I get a sneak peek at the future, and if I give good feedback or get even more involved, I can shape it as well,"one employee shares.

Wealth tends to create more wealth, but a rich background is not the only way to the top. Some of the world's wealthiest people started out dirt poor.

All from humble beginnings, these 15 people not only climbed to the top of their industries but also became some of the richest people in the world.

Although the rich do get richer, these rags-to-riches stories remind us that through determination, grit, and a bit of luck anyone can overcome their circumstances and achieve extraordinary success.

Kenny Troutt, the founder of Excel Communications, paid his way through college by selling life insurance.

Net worth:$1.7 billion (as of Sept. 2013)

Troutt grew up with a bartender dad and paid for his own tuition at Southern Illinois University by selling life insurance. He made most of his money from phone company Excel Communications, which he founded in 1988 and took public in 1996. Two years later, Troutt merged his company with Teleglobe in a $3.5 billion deal.

He's now retired and invests heavily in racehorses.

Starbucks' Howard Schultz grew up in a housing complex for the poor.

Net worth:$2 billion (as of Sept. 2013)

In an interview with British tabloid Mirror, Schultz says: "Growing up I always felt like I was living on the other side of the tracks. I knew the people on the other side had more resources, more money, happier families. And for some reason, I don’t know why or how, I wanted to climb over that fence and achieve something beyond what people were saying was possible. I may have a suit and tie on now but I know where I’m from and I know what it’s like."

Schultz ended up winning a football scholarship to the University of Northern Michigan and went to work for Xerox after graduation. Shortly after, he took over a coffee shop called Starbucks, which at the time had only 60 shops. Schultz became the company's CEO in 1987 and grew the coffee chain to more than 16,000 outlets worldwide.

Investor Ken Langone's parents worked as a plumber and cafeteria worker.

Net worth:$2.1 billion (as of Sept. 2013)

To help pay for Langone's school at Bucknell University, he worked odd jobs and his parents mortgaged their home.

In 1968, Langone worked with Ross Perot to take Electronic Data Systems (HP) public. Just two years later, he partnered with Bernard Marcus to start Home Depot, which also went public in 1981.

Consider this: You can polish your mind with knowledge until it is a blinding shine, but if you don't externalize it, no one will recognize it.

Success is all about being noticed. You get noticed by showing the goods.

By adopting the following habits, you'll televise your qualities to the world (discreetly, of course).

Just watch how people react to you.

Brag Discreetly

I cannot emphasize the word discreetly enough.

If you trumpet all your achievements and pricey possessions, you will lose everyone's respect. You want people to know that you're making it without coming off as a boaster; slip things into conversation casually. State your accomplishments as matter-of-factly as possible without the detailed trimmings, or slip them into stories.

For instance, say: "I went to New Zealand on vacation. I had some extra money from the bonus I got for increasing our sales one year." This presentation allows you to stick to the facts and incorporate an achievement into a pertinent story.

But don't make it all about you. Give credit where credit is due. By recognizing success in your peers, you invite praise to be reciprocated in the future.

More from AskMen: 20 Signs You're A Boss In The Making

Be A Good Communicator

Do you ever wonder why companies today spend so much money on PR?

The reason is that effective communication has never been so important. You need to have the right words to communicate the right meaning, and remove any room for misinterpretation by people that are hungry to point out flaws.

The trick?

Choose your words carefully. Be specific and pay attention to context. Words can be warped beyond recognition if used carelessly. Relating only the bare essentials helps in this matter. And if you don't have anything nice to say about people, don't bother saying anything at all.

Listen to others. Really listen. Don't just nod while you wait for them to finish talking. You never know what valuable information could be couched in simple banter. Listen everywhere, even to conversations around the office. Sometimes, there's gold to be found in gossip.

Exit Graciously

Sometimes, you just need to cut a conversation short or leave important company on a dime.

You could just stand there listening politely, but you have better things to do. A successful person knows how to steer conversation with class, and can end one just as gracefully. Don't make excuses for your departure, because you don't have to.

Besides, excuses sound dishonest. Instead, thank the other party for their time and bid them farewell. That's it. It's all about taking command of situations with style.

More from AskMen: 50 "Unhealthy" Foods That Have Insane Health Benefits

The American economy is being reshaped along the booming industries of technology and energy, according to new rankings of America’s Best Performing Cities by the Milken Institute.

In the 2013 rankings, thirteen cities defined by Milken as tech hubs made it into the top 25, while nine could attribute their impressive growth to the energy industry, notably the shale and natural gas renaissance. 

Milken's ranking is based on data from both long- and short-term growth in jobs, wages, salaries, and technological output.

#15 Denver–Aurora–Broomfield, Colo.

This metro area has a diverse high-tech industry that mixes in telecommunications, aerospace, manufacturing, and energy research. The city does so well partially because of its attractive business climate and friendly government.

The city’s Business Incentive Fund makes it an attractive place for companies like Southwest Airlines (which just opened a new pilot and flight attendant base) and SCL Health Systems (which moved its headquarters to Denver). The Fund’s efforts will result in over 1,600 jobs and $6 in direct fiscal benefit over the next five years.

Read the full city profile at Milken »

#14 Nashville–Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, Tenn.

The Music City has something new to sing about, namely some serious job growth  An increase in automobile production added nearly 4,000 jobs in 2012, while tourism reached a record high in 2012. The city has experienced a cultural renaissance thanks to the opening of the Music City Convention Center, the Omni Hotel next door, and an expansion of the Country Music Hall of Fame, with an of 4,100 jobs in restaurants and bars in 2012.

Read the full city profile at Milken »

#13 Raleigh–Cary, N.C.

Raleigh has a large educated workforce, strong high-profile universities, and low operating costs for businesses. The city has experienced an expansion in the tech industry, fueling growth in a number of other areas. Recently, financial services firms like Fidelity Investments and Credit Suisse have built bases in the area, as well as MetLife, which has plans to build new global technology services hubs.

Read the full city profile at Milken »

For all of us normals, living in New York City isn't exactly easy on the wallet. But when the sky's the limit, as it is for many celebrities, you'd expect that they'd have the best homes money can buy.

Our friends at apartment data website AddressReport helped us hunt down the priciest places owned by celebs in the Big Apple.

From the Flatiron district to Williamsburg to the Village, these celebrities' homes will put your 500-square-foot studio to shame.

To estimate the approximate current value of the homes, we spoke to expert source AddressReport, which keeps data in these homes' markets.

30. Daniel Radcliffe's riverside apartment

Estimated value: $5.2 million

"Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe majorly upgraded from the cupboard under the stairs. He purchased the three-bedroom corner apartment at 1 Morton Square for $4.9 million in 2008.

"The boy who lived"lives in luxury, enjoying sunset views of New York Harbor from the curved windows, marble and granite counters, and a 500-bottle wine cellar.

Co-star Alan Rickman, who played Professor Snape, is rumored to live in the building as well.

To estimate the approximate current value of the homes, we spoke to expert source AddressReport, which keeps data in these homes' markets.

29. Nate Berkus' impeccably decorated West Village home

Estimated value: $5.25 million

When he's not buddying up to Oprah or making over homes across the country, Nate Berkus has a six-room co-op in Greenwich Village he can fix up over and over again, according to AddressReport. The celebrity design guru purchased the unit, down the street from his previous co-op, in 2013.

The duplex apartment has a wraparound rooftop terrace, a chef's kitchen with a custom-fabricated greenhouse, and wood-burning fireplaces in the living room and dining room.

To estimate the approximate current value of the homes, we spoke to expert source AddressReport, which keeps data in these homes' markets.

28. Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy's Greek revival townhouse

Estimated value: $6.9 million

This red carpet power couple owns a single famous townhouse in the West Village, decked out with 12-foot ceilings, antique floor boards, a courtyard, and tin ceilings throughout the house.

Built in the 1880s, the Greek revival unit was previously owned by David Shaffer, a famous psychiatrist and Anna Wintour's ex-husband.

To estimate the approximate current value of the homes, we spoke to expert source AddressReport, which keeps data in these homes' markets.

The New York City tech scene is bigger and stronger than ever, with new startups popping up all the time.

A good indicator: The number of companies represented at this year's TechDay NYC doubled from the year before.

We wanted to highlight some of the most interesting companies that are doing cool things to help boost Silicon Alley's reputation as a great place for tech. We picked the brains of several investors and people plugged into the New York City tech scene to put together this list of 31 startups.

We've ranked them in order of least-to-most funding.

Poncho will make sure you never forget your umbrella again.

Why you should care: Poncho is a text- or email-based weather service that gives subscribers fun, actionable advice about the weather each day instead of a list of temperatures. The company, which has a sassy orange cat as its mascot, initially only served New York City, but it launched in Boston in April. 

Year founded: 2013

Funding: Poncho is a Betaworks project 

EmPowered will make sure that you're never stranded with a dead phone again.

Why you should care: This startup was founded with the connected woman in mind. All of EmPowered's stylish bags can store enough juice to bring your smartphone from dead to 100% twice before you have to plug it back in. This is founder Loni Edward's third startup and she won the Woman In Business award at this year's TechDay NY event. 

Year founded: 2014 

Funding: None

Lynxsy plays matchmaker for college grads looking for startup jobs.

Why you should care:Lynxsy, which presented at TechStars Demo Day NYC, allows startups to recruit junior talent on demand. Recent grads can import their LinkedIn profiles to the app and make a brief video to apply. Then employers hire and pay their new employees directly through the app. 

Year founded: 2013

Funding: $118,000 for inclusion in TechStars NYC

Storm photographer Mike Hollingshead has been chasing the worst storms in America for the better part of the last two decades. He's seen quite a few storms and yet, he's never seen one quite like the storm he experienced last month in his hometown of Blair, Nebraska.

On June 3, heavy winds and large hail ripped through Nebraska and other parts of the Midwest in what meteorologists called a "land hurricane." The storm was so unique because it combined elements of a derecho storm with a supercell, producing incredible hail with devastating results.

A derecho is a windstorm that has extremely powerful straight-line winds, but rarely produces hail. Supercells are massive thunderstorms, characterized by a deep, persistent, updraft. Supercells often produce hailstones, but the cyclical nature of supercell wind ensures that large hail usually just hits the roofs of buildings, doing little damage.

When the two combined, it produced massive hailstones being whipped at buildings, houses, and cars with devastating force.

Hollingshead drove around Blair after the storm to check out the aftermath. It wasn't pretty. He shared some photos with us here, but you can check out more at his blog, Extreme Instability.

Wind speeds outside of the towns got as high as 70-100 mph. The hail literally forced people off the road.

Wind speeds in town were closer to 50-60 mph, but the destruction was no less devastating.

The Super 8 Motel didn't fare well. The hail ripped through the siding of the motel.

This car dealership was hit bad by the storm.

Nearly every car had the back windshields blown out by the hail.

When Hollingshead first saw this abandoned car, he assumed that the majority of the damage had been done by a falling tree branch. After looking closer, he realized that all of the damage was from the hail.

Branches and leaves were knocked onto this roof by the storm.

SEE ALSO: Storm Chaser Reveals His 16 Most Incredible Photos

FYI:  What Is A Derecho?

Join the conversation about this story »

A few months ago online ad company OpenX had been out trying to fundraise, according to two industry sources. 

It hired Deutsche Bank to help it raise $75 million, but for reasons that aren't clear, it didn't raise any money.

An OpenX spokesperson tells us, "We don’t need to raise equity capital at this stage, and we’re not actively seeking funding."

That doesn't mean OpenX didn't try to raise money, however. Earlier in the year, the adtech market was hot. The Rubicon Project IPO'd and the stock exploded on the first day.

OpenX has long been rumored to also be planning an IPO. It was ranked No.11 on Business Insider's list of hottest adtech companies this year. 

With all that, it makes sense for OpenX to at least explore the markets. 

One source familiar with OpenX's attempts to raise said, "Who needs a sixth exchange? It's hard for them." The source added, "They’re good people. They have a smart strategy, but it's too little, too late." 

Another source points out that ad companies Turn and MediaMath just raised big rounds of funding. Turn raised $80 million in January. MediaMath raised $73.5 million earlier this month. So the market is there, just not for OpenX, says our source.

OpenX is primarily an ad server. It also has an ad exchange and a server side platform. Those last two businesses are newer. 

Strangely, at the same time that we were tipped about OpenX raising money, someone sent us a document that's floating around about the company. The document has all sorts of juicy financial details. Initially we were told this is some sort of document related to the fundraise.

We've heard from a source that the document came from a former employee who was looking to sell shares for personal financial reasons.

We've included the document here, but it's important to note that OpenX says the projected revenue is "wrong, just wrong." It also says the valuation for the company and the shares outstanding is wrong.

The document does go some way to backing up what OpenX is saying publicly — its income statement indicates that its revenue is growing quickly ($38 million in 2012) while its losses are becoming smaller. So small, in fact, that the company could have become profitable anytime it wanted to in the last two years, it would appear.

We're only including the document here since it's out there, and we think it's worth noting, especially since OpenX says it's wrong.

There are a ton of startups trying to make it, and a lot of them just don't make the cut. In fact, 80% of new businesses fail within the first five years, according to a study by Inc. and the National Business Incubator Association.

Whether it's poor budgeting, lack of excitement, or bad management, startups fail all the time.

But a lot of the founders of these failed startups have really interesting advice to give after going through the challenges of making a startup work. We've rounded up some of the best lessons you can takeaway from failed startup founders.

4Chan founder Chris Poole shut down his artist community startups DrawQuest and Canvas earlier this year.

Source: Tumblr

Blurtt cofounder Jeanette Cajide couldn't save the startup from failure.

Source: TechCrunch

Pumodo CEO/cofounder Thorsteinn H. Fridriksson shut down his app last month.

Source: Tumblr

Mathematics is an increasingly central part of our world and an immensely fascinating realm of thought.

But long before the development of the math that gave us computers, quantum mechanics, and GPS satellites, generations of brilliant minds — spanning from the ancient Greeks through the eighteenth century — built up the basic mathematical ideas and tools that sit at the foundation of our understanding of math and its relationship to the world.

Here are 12 of the most brilliant of those minds and some of their contributions to the great chain of mathematics.

The Pythagoreans (5th Century BC)

Some of the earliest mathematicians were Pythagoras and his followers. Mixing religious mysticism with philosophy, the Pythagoreans' contemplative nature led them to explorations of geometry and numbers.

The most famous result attributed to Pythagoras is the Pythagorean theorem: for a right triangle, the sum of the squares of the two shorter legs that join to form the right angle is equal to the square of the long side opposite that angle. This is one of the fundamental results in plane geometry, and it continues to fascinate mathematicians and math enthusiasts to this day.

One apocryphal story of the Pythagoreans illustrates the danger of combining religion and math. The Pythagoreans idealized the whole numbers, and viewed them as a cornerstone of the universe. Their studies of geometry and music centered on relating quantities as ratios of whole numbers.

As the story goes, a follower of Pythagoras was investigating the ratio of the length of the long side of an isosceles right triangle to the length of one of the two shorter sides, which have the same length as each other. He then discovered that there was no way to express this as the ratio of two whole numbers. In modern terminology, this follower had figured out that the square root of 2 is an irrational number.

According to the legend, when the follower who discovered this fact revealed it to his peers, the idea that there could be irrational numbers — numbers that can't be expressed as a ratio of two whole numbers — was so shocking to the Pythagoreans that he was taken out on a boat and murdered by drowning.

Euclid (c. 300 BC)

Euclid was one of the first great Greek mathematicians. In his classic "Elements," Euclid laid the framework for our formal understanding of geometry. While earlier Greek philosophers like the Pythagoreans investigated a number of mathematical problems, Euclid introduced the idea of rigorous proof: Starting with a handful of assumed axioms about the basic nature of points, lines, circles, and angles, Euclid builds up ever more complicated ideas in geometry by using pure deductive logic to combine insights from previous results to understand new ideas. This process of using rigorous proof to build new results out of existing results introduced in the "Elements" has remained perhaps the most central guiding principle of mathematics for over two millennia.

Archimedes (c. 287-212 BC)

Archimedes was possibly the greatest mathematician of all time. He's best known for his contributions to our early understanding of physics by figuring out how levers work and in the famous legend of his discovery of how water is displaced by a submerged object: While taking a bath, Archimedes watched the water sloshing up to the top of his tub, and in the excitement of his discovery, he ran through the streets naked and shouting "Eureka!"

As a mathematician, however, Archimedes was able to outdo even his own accomplishments in physics. He was able to estimate the value of pi to a remarkably precise value and to calculate the area underneath a parabolic curve.

What is truly amazing about these accomplishments is that he made these calculations using techniques surprisingly close to those used by Newton, Leibniz, and their heirs in the development of calculus about 1,800 years later. He found these values by approximating them with measurements of polygons, adding more and more refined shapes, so that he would get closer and closer to the desired value. This is strongly reminiscent of the modern idea of an infinite limit. As far as his mathematical sophistication was concerned, Archimedes was nearly two millennia ahead of his time.

Wimbledon is one of the classiest sporting events of our time.

It takes place in England, known for its long history of royalty, it's played on grass courts, and the tennis stars are only allowed to wear white while playing.

The only white gear rule is a strict one, and according to The Guardian, it's gotten even stricter this year. 

Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash had to pull out of the veterans' competition because his shoes weren't completely white. Cash also told the Guardian that he heard some female players had to change their sports bras because they were not white and stuck out from under their clothing. Players were also allegedly told to not wear dark underwear as it could be seen when they began to sweat.

But a lot of women tennis players get creative with their white attire. Tennis outfits are a way for the players to express themselves so when color isn't an option, it's time to get funky with white. From full body suits, to see-through tops, to super short shorts, we've seen it all at Wimbledon.

Anna White went unconventional with this full body suit in 1985

Venus Williams' get up in 2000 had an open back that cut around showing off some stomach

In 2007, Venus Williams wore some very short and tight white shorts