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9 life lessons I learned from being a janitor for a year

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janitor

Most college kids get jobs as waiters or lifeguards or tutors when they need extra cash.

I did something slightly less conventional.

My sophomore year of college I landed a part-time job as a janitor. I made just $6.25 an hour, and it wasn't glamorous, but it was one of the best life experiences I've had to date. Why? I learned some invaluable lessons that have stuck with me every day since.

Here are a few that stand out:

SEE ALSO: A former Goldman Sachs employee who launched a startup says the best piece of career advice she ever received is just 3 words

1. People are generally self-absorbed.

Many people don't think about how their actions – even seemingly insignificant ones — affect others.

For instance, when people go to the bathroom, they aren't thinking about aiming right so someone else doesn't have to clean up their mess, or about picking up the paper towel when their free-throw misses the trash can. No. They are thinking about finishing their business as quickly as possible so they can get out and get on with their life.

When I first started working as a janitor, this type of self-absorption annoyed me — it got under my skin. But I eventually accepted it because I know we all have a lot going on in our lives and we're all guilty of being at least a little bit self-absorbed. Plus, it was my job to clean up other people's messes. That's what I signed up for, and what I was paid to do.



2. Just because someone is your boss doesn't mean they are best suited to be your boss.

No one is perfect. Managers are human and have faults and doubts just like everyone else. But some bosses are really just not meant to be leaders.

Even at the janitorial level, this truth struck me hard when I noticed some of the "head janitors" gossiping with employees about colleagues in a mean manner. I couldn't believe they would stoop to that level of unprofessionalism — but I learned a good lesson: You should never put your boss on a pedestal.

I realized that just because someone lands a managerial role doesn't mean they actually deserve it (or will be good at it). 



3. People in all lines of work go on "power trips"— even janitors.

Considering I was slightly embarrassed to have to wear a bright orange janitor uniform in the first few days of my employment, I was surprised at the competitive race for managerial positions that I sometimes observed at work.

Then, once someone received a promotion, they often went overboard with discipline and micromanagement.

I finally understood the word "power trip," or the phenomenon of people in higher up positions making their subordinates' lives difficult just because they can. And I learned that you can't make a power trip go away — you just have to accept it and choose your battles wisely.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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10 amazing facts about New York City's rats

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subway rat

The internet went wild last week over a video of a rat dragging a slice of pizza down the steps of a New York City subway. But "pizza rat" is just the tip of the iceberg.

Rats are some of the most resilient creatures in the world. They eat just about anything. They multiply incredibly fast, and they might be one of the few creatures that survive the next mass extinction. They even have their own Wikipedia page.

Here are some amazing facts about everyone's least favorite rodent vermin.

CHECK OUT: This city came up with a brilliantly simple solution to its rat infestation problem

NOW READ: Spend A Night With The Rat-Hunting Dogs Of NYC

It's an urban myth that there are as many rats as people in New York. In fact, the real number of rats is closer to one-quarter of the number of people (or about 2 million rodents).

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All New York City rats today are the same species: the Norwegian rat (Rattus norvegicus). This is the same kind as pet rats and lab rats. It's also known as the brown rat, the sewer rat, and the alley rat.

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The average adult brown rat is 16 inches long and weighs 1 pound, but some have been reported to be as long as 20 inches and weigh up to 2 pounds.

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I tried the McDonald's answer to Chick-fil-A next to the real thing — and the winner is obvious

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McDonald's Chicken vs Chick-fil-A

In parts of the country, you can't mention a chicken sandwich without invoking praise for Chick-fil-A.

Its chicken sandwich has reigned supreme for a while, and McDonald's is taking notice.

The iconic fast-food burger chain recently overhauled its chicken sandwich with a new buttermilk recipe that is receiving some positive feedback.

I grew up in New Hampshire and went to college in Boston — which has famously banned Chick-fil-A — so I've never truly tried a Chick-fil-A sandwich.

Luckily, the much-anticipated new location in New York City sent us a sample ahead of the opening October 3, so I decided to put the two chicken-sandwich rivals to the ultimate test.

SEE ALSO: Why Chick-fil-A is the best fast-food chain in America

McDonald's fan? This health-conscious fast-food chain is challenging McDonald's to be healthier

So here they are safe, sound, and steaming hot in their respective packages.



McDonald's clearly pushes the descriptions of the food a bit more, while Chick-fil-A relies simply on its name to get the idea of tender crispy chicken across.



Let the chicken championship commence!



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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8 TED talks that can help you become insanely productive

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email, laptop, work, officeTapping your productivity in ways you never have before takes unconventional thinking.

Reaching optimal productivity is about working smarter, not harder, and making the most of each day.

The following TED talks offer valuable lessons in doing just that. 

SEE ALSO: 8 TED talks that will help you save your relationships

Shawn Achor's "The happy secret to better work."

As the CEO of Good Think Inc., a psychologist, and author of "The Happiness Advantage," Achor has spent a lot of time researching where human potential, success, and happiness intersect.

He suggests the common belief that we should work to be happy is misguided, and instead happiness inspires productivity.

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Nilofer Merchant's "Got a meeting? Take a walk."

The business consultant and author of "The New How: Creating Business Solutions Through Collaborative Strategy Paperback" shares with TED audiences how she's helped numerous major companies develop successful new ideas: walking meetings.

She recommends forgoing coffee meetings or fluorescent-lit conference room meetings in favor of walking and talking 20 to 30 miles a week.

"You'll be surprised at how fresh air drives fresh thinking, and in the way that you do, you'll bring into your life an entirely new set of ideas," she says.

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Jason Fried's "Why work doesn't happen at work."

According to the "Rework" author, thanks to modern offices, we're constantly getting distracted by our boss checking in on us, pointless meetings, or coworkers with urgent requests.

"You don't have a work day anymore," Fried says in his talk. "You have work moments. It's like the front door of the office is like a Cuisinart, and you walk in and your day is shredded to bits, because you have 15 minutes here, 30 minutes there."

One of his proposed solutions goes against common convention, but Fried says implementing half-days (or more) of complete silence will help employees work uninterupted for longer periods of time.

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Inside Dolby's new San Francisco headquarters, where mad scientists make movie magic (DLB)

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r2-d2 selfie

If you're an audiophile, you probably recognize the name Dolby Laboratories — the same Dolby that provides the cinematic sound and screen systems at movie theaters all over the world.

This week, Dolby Laboratories opened up its new San Francisco office, where over 750 employees will design, build, and test the next generation of movie magic in more than 100 working audiovisual science laboratories. 

The new headquarters, encompassing 63,000 square feet of space, was designed from the ground up to celebrate Dolby's 50-year history of combining science with design. 

I was invited to take a grand tour of the new Dolby offices. Take a look and judge for yourself if it meets that goal.

SEE ALSO: I spent the weekend playing Minecraft with a 9-year-old, and now I get why Microsoft paid $2.5 billion for it

Dolby is imagining this new office as a "vertical village," meaning that it incorporates everything its employees might need, from a recording studio to mock living rooms to test sound. There's even a fitness center and a yoga room.



The first thing you see as you enter is the first of 36 art pieces on display throughout the building. This is the "Ribbon Wall," a 60-foot-long video wall that shows a continually-changing landscape that shifts based on the composition that's playing on the powerful speakers hidden in the ceiling. It has a nice, deep, soothing hum.



Dolby had two "Star Wars" droids to greet us at the door. Apparently, they were built as a hobby by a Dolby employee in Burbank, but they were brought up to San Francisco for the occasion of the grand opening.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Scientists discovered a bunch of incredible creatures in the deep ocean

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squid 0818 hires

From July through the end of September, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's ship Okeanos Explorer is researching the deep ocean off the western coast of Hawaii.

These areas are protected waters, part of national marine sanctuaries and monuments.

The team of scientists is sending rovers up to 3 miles under the sea to explore sea life, some of which has never seen before.

There's still a lot we don't know about the deep oceans, but hopefully the Okeanos Explorer will help us find out more.

"These areas represent some of the last relatively pristine marine ecosystems on the planet," said Holly Bamford, assistant NOAA administrator for the National Ocean Service, in a press release about the venture. "NOAA explores these regions because the data and information we gather helps scientists and resource managers better understand and protect these biological, geological, and cultural resources that we are already aware of and those we will discover in the future."

You can even watch the expedition in real time — when they're actually out to sea — here.

RELATED: A giant ocean observatory has captured thousands of hours of video revealing some crazy natural phenomena

NEXT: Mind-blowing facts about the alien-looking creature that's one of the hardest to study in the wild

The Okeanos Explorer set out from Pearl Harbor July 31 on the second leg of this research journey.



This expedition explored the deep waters around the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Throughout this summer and fall, the scientists plan to map 21,622 square miles of the seafloor that has never been looked at in such detail.



Deep Discoverer, a remotely operated vehicle, went on 18 dives during this trip for a total of 95 hours at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, discovering countless marine creatures along the way.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

13 Vines that prove Logan Paul is the most athletic Vine star in the world

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Logan Paul

Vine star Logan Paul has ridden bulls, sprinted into oncoming traffic, and even wowed crowds in New York City by doing the splits all over town. 

And all of this in six seconds or less. 

The 20-year-old college dropout turned internet sensation has racked up over 8 million followers on Vine, thanks in no small part to his athletic prowess, which includes crazy back flips and some well-defined abs. 

When Tech Insider selected our list of the top 50 people on the internet right now, Paul was among our top ten picks.   

Check out 13 of our favorite physical feats from Vine star Logan Paul. 

 

This summer, Paul made headlines with this insane Vine of him doing the splits.

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He's also got some great dance moves.

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This Vine of Logan dashing and rolling over speeding cars to save a cat has been looped more than 35 million times.

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The 10 games you need to play in your lifetime

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video games

People tend to age-out of video games. "I played games growing up," is a common refrain among my generation. "And at some point I fell off." 

Can you imagine someone saying, "I read books growing up, and at some point I fell off."? That would be ridiculous. The same applies to television or film or any other artistic medium. "What can I say? I just stopped watching all movies around college." What?! Let's fix this sorry state of affairs.

Whether you used to play games or haven't ever, you should play all 10 games on this list.

'Gone Home'

"Gone Home" is a testament to the versatility of video games. It's a narrative-focused game that tells the very personal story of a family in the American Pacific Northwest. There are no enemies, no timers, no points. It's a perfect Saturday morning game, playable on most modern computers (Mac and PC), that can be completed in time for a delicious lunch. "Gone Home" is like a great short story, but it's more interactive and visually engaging.



'Portal'

While "Gone Home" is a testament to the versatility of games, "Portal" is a criticism of the tropes of the medium. It takes simple, widely accepted game concepts (like a reliable narrator, or distinct "levels") and blows them apart. It's a game full of surprises. It's also mercifully brief — another game that can be played easily on a free weekend morning or broken up among several after-work evenings.



'The Last of Us'

"The Last of Us" is to the medium of video games as "The Walking Dead" is to the medium of television. It's a heart-wrenching tale of humanity that plays out in a post-apocalyptic United States, focused more on what becomes of human society than what caused the downfall of civilization.

WARNING: "The Last of Us" is complex to control and requires a PlayStation 3 or PlayStation 4 to play. 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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People weighed in on the most common regrets in life, and some of their answers will make you cry

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businesswoman upset

Hindsight is 20/20, as they say, and oftentimes it can lead to regret.

Some people have the philosophy that everything happens for a reason, and there is no point in having regrets.

But for so many of us, looking back on our lives can lead us to linger on one poignant moment or period when we wish we had done things differently, and that nagging question, "What if ...?," plays on repeat in our heads.

"This may sound a little melodramatic, but no matter how happy you are, at my age your regrets are countless,"writes Quora user Gary Teal in response to the question, "When people look back on their lives, what are common regrets they have?""You have made decades' worth of little miscalculations you can't completely erase from your memory, as well as a number of big mistakes that made life permanently harder."

Quora user Bradley Voytek points to a national survey about the regrets of a typical American, which found 13 common sources for regret. They are, in order: romance, family, education, career, finance, parenting, health, "other," friends, spirituality, community, leisure, and self.

Vaughn Bell at Mind Hacks notes that there are two ways people frame their regrets: The things they did that they wish they hadn't, and the things they wish they had done but didn't.

"The difference between the two is often a psychological one, because we can frame the same regret either way — as regret about an action: 'If only I had not dropped out of school;' or as a regret about an inaction: 'If only I had stayed in school.'

"Despite the fact that they are practically equivalent, regrets framed as laments about actions were more common and more intense than regrets about inactions, although inaction regrets tended to be longer lasting," Bell writes.

Here are some of the most common regrets as chronicled by Quora users (answers have been edited for clarity): 

SEE ALSO: The guy whose wife famously said women can't have it all tells his side of the story

Romance

"I regret that I never fell in love with someone who was in love with me, when that would have been easy for me to do.

"I regret being like an old song sung by Buffy Sainte-Marie: 'Must I go bound and you so free, Must I love one who doesn't love me, Must I be born with so little art, As to love the one who would break my heart?'"—David Kahana



Children

"For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to have kids. But in my younger years, I foolishly assumed that unlike certain accomplishments like a career, the marriage and kids thing would just happen.

"Well, they didn't. I dated plenty of people but never even thought about making family a priority. Then, in my late 30s, a bout with ovarian cancer left me permanently infertile.

"I think about the kids I never had every day, several times a day. I have a great relationship with my nieces and nephews, and volunteer at a children's hospital on a regular basis, but it's just not the same to be around other people's kids. I would love to adopt or be a foster mother, and hopefully be in a financial and domestic situation that would make this feasible one day.

"But again, not the same. And it pisses me off when people say, "You're lucky you don't have kids, they're so much work, blah blah blah." Yes, but a lot of things in life that are worthwhile are also so much work.

"I think the mothering instinct is so strong in some women that the knowledge that one will never get a chance to give birth and raise their own child goes beyond regret. One that a bar chart cannot capture. I can deal with most of my other regrets in life but am having a hard time dealing with this one."—Caroline Zelonka



Parents

"I regret not choosing to spend more time with my parents in my twenties. I lost my mother in 2000, and I feel the loss of the friendship we never had.

"She was very demanding, very strict, and from the perspective of a young man, very unreasonable. It turned out, as I live through middle age, that most of the ideals I have today ended up being the ones she put on me.

"Sometimes, after a setback, I feel the impulse to call her, and in the second or so that it takes for me to realize she isn't alive to speak to any longer, I realize how much I still need her.

"You cannot negotiate with death. It is final, often sudden, and personal. The last night I had with her, at a hospice in Chicago, I was exhausted and asked her if she minded if I went home. She immediately whispered that absolutely, I should rest, and to be careful driving home. I curled her fingers around the nurses call button, and kissed her on the forehead. I remember I felt some relief that I was leaving.

"I know it didn't make a difference, leaving at that time, or leaving a few hours later. She was going to die either way. But reflecting on that moment today I know then that I didn't understand how precious those minutes were, and how a door was being closed that would never open again."—Jim Wagner



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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The incredible life of Karren Brady, the multimillionaire 'First Lady of Football'

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Karren Brady is the British multimillionaire known as the "First Lady of Football," after a three-decade career in the industry.

She ditched her formal education at the age of 18 and quickly rose up in the world of advertising and sport, to become one of the few — and, therefore, also prominent — women in football.

She became a director of a major publishing company, Sport Newspapers Ltd., at 20, and a managing director of Birmingham City Football Club before she hit 30. She made an estimated £82 million ($125 million) by the time she turned 40.

After overcoming a potentially fatal cerebral aneurysm and a police arrest over allegations of corruption in English football, she was awarded a CBE for services to Women in Business and Entrepreneurship. 

By the end of last year, she was granted the title Baroness Brady of Knightsbridge.

Karren Rita Brady was born on April 4, 1969, in Edmonton, London. Her family house was near to the Tottenham Hotspur football ground - White Hart Lane.



Her father Terry Brady made an undisclosed fortune in printing and property development while her mother was a stay-at-home wife. Brady has an older brother, Darren.



Until 11 years old, she attended Salcombe Preparatory School in Southgate.



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The weirdest admission interview questions you get asked at Oxford University

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university of oxford

At Oxford University, one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the world, admission interview questions often move past the norm.

"Interviews are not about reciting what you already know,"Samina Khan, director of undergraduate admissions said in statement. "They are designed to give candidates a chance to show their real ability and potential, which means candidates will be encouraged to use their knowledge and apply their thinking to new problems in ways that will both challenge them and allow them to shine."

In answering them, it's not about what's "right", Khan explains, but "responding to new ideas." There are loads of example questions — many of them straight-lined — but we selected some of the wackier ones for you to test yourselves on. Remember, there's no perfect response. 

Question: Is it easier for organisms to live in the sea or on land?

Subject: Biological Sciences



Q: What makes a short story different from a novel?

Subject: Modern Languages 



Q: Imagine we had no records about the past at all, except everything to do with sport – how much of the past could we find out about?

Subject: History



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Take a tour of the ultra-modern estate of 'Simpsons' co-creator Sam Simon, which you can buy for $18 million

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A sprawling Los Angeles estate that formerly belonged to Sam Simon, the late co-creator of "The Simpsons," has hit the market for $18 million.  

With a property that totals about 1.5 acres, the residence actually includes two homes: a chic modern residence and a second, more historic home designed by architect Richard Neutra in 1948. The house was part of Arts & Architecture magazine's postwar Case Study House Program, which commissioned architects to build affordable and modern homes.

Simon died in March 2015, after a battle with colon cancer. According to the Wall Street Journal, the property is being sold by Simon's estate, and the proceeds will be donated to charity.

SEE ALSO: The most expensive home for sale in every state

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Both the home designed by Neutra (right) and the contemporary main house (left) sit in stunningly green surroundings in Pacific Palisades, California.

 

 

 



Neutra's 2,000-square-foot 1948 home was one of 34 designed as part of the Case Study House Program. Today, only 21 of the original homes remain standing.



At the time, Neutra built the residence for Stuart and Lucia Bailey, creating a clean and crisp living room that includes floor-to-ceiling glass.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Here's how America's most secret, elite warrior units operate

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Army Rangers Mortar Training

The US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) oversees roughly 70,000 operators, support units, and civilians from each of the military's sister service branches.

America's elite soldiers, work under a shroud of secrecy to carry out high-risk missions with swift precision, laser focus and firm perseverance.

Operators work in up to 80 countries with sometimes less than 48 hours notice to accomplish assignments in counterterrorism, unconventional warfare, capture and assassinations of wanted peoples, and training of foreign forces.

Working with the military's most advanced technology and weapons, the projected FY2015 budget for US Special Ops forces is approximately $9.9 billion. 

In honor of Special Operations Appreciation Month, we explained the strengths of each unit and how these elite warriors combine their skills to serve the interests of global security.

SEE ALSO: America's secret elite warriors explained in one simple infographic

Army Special Forces aka Green Berets

These soldiers are trained in a variety of climates and terrains and are expert skiers, mountaineers, and divers. They are the only group tasked with training ally foreign forces in combat tactics and specialize in multiple languages.

Source: Special Newsweek Issue: Special Ops, 2014



75th Ranger Regiment aka Army Rangers

The familiar command "Rangers lead the way" is exemplary of what Army Rangers do best. This company goes into special-operations missions first, clearing the way for other service forces behind them. Can be deployed anywhere in the world within 18 hours. 

Source: Special Newsweek Issue: Special Ops, 2014



1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta aka Delta Force

The most clandestine of the special-operations units, Delta Force, aka The Unit, specializes in high-risk air, land, and sea missions. Each member of Delta Force is capable of carrying out solo missions, and they are considered the best in close-quarter combat.

Source: Special Newsweek Issue: Special Ops, 2014



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This broken-down van is a dream come true for every Nintendo 64 fan

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Super Mario 64

The 1990s were quite a time.

Somewhere between "Space Jam," the Backstreet Boys and Rock the Vote!, Nintendo released its Nintendo 64 game console.

Despite its many, many shortcomings, the Nintendo 64 is home to some Nintendo's most beloved games: "Super Mario 64,""GoldenEye 007,""The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time," and many more (like "Blast Corps!"— the first "Super Smash Bros." game!).

Having spent many of my formative years with the Nintendo 64, I have a lifelong affinity for the console.

The owner of this highly-customized Chevy 1500 van, however, is clearly a much bigger fan. This isn't your parents' old Dodge Grand Caravan with a flip-down TV screen.

Take a tour of the custom Nintendo 64 van, straight from our mid-'90s dreams.

The van's not a looker.



It's even got a sun-beaten roof.



But inside, it's a whole other world. The world of September 1996, almost.

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21 incredible restaurants everyone should eat at in France

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Alain Ducasse au Plaza AthénéeIn France, wine is acceptable pretty much any time of day, everything is made with butter, and food is an important part of the culture. 

So it's only natural that the country has long been a gastronomic powerhouse. France is home to five restaurants topping the World's 50 Best Restaurants list and a whopping 609 Michelin-starred restaurants.

We decided to see what other culinary delights France has to offer by putting together our own catalog of the country's crème de la crème.

Here are 21 restaurants everyone should eat at in France.

SEE ALSO: 50 incredible bars you should drink at in your lifetime

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Mirazur features Mediterranean-inspired food with an Argentine twist, thanks to its Argentine-born chef, Mauro Colagreco. Located in Menton, on the French Riviera, the restaurant boasts views as revelatory as its dishes, and was awarded two Michelin stars as well as the No. 11 spot on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list.

Learn more about Mirazur »



Chef Alain Passard was ahead of his time when he opened a biodynamic farm outside of Paris to supply his restaurant years ago (veggies are picked fresh daily, transported to the city by high speed train), shocking diners when he wrote off red meat and seafood in favor of vegetables in 2001. Today, Paris' L'Arpège is rated number 12 in the world by World's 50 Best Restaurants, with simple dishes like an egg becoming world famous, and emulated globally.

Learn more about L'Arpège »



La Bouitte, meaning "little house" in the local dialect, was once just that, in the middle of a potato field in Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, purchased by a French couple in 1976. Over the years, remaining in the family, it has turned into a luxury chalet, surrounded by the Saint-Marcel ski slopes and boasting a restaurant with three Michelin stars, helmed by a father and son duo. The food, like the chalet, manages to be both modern and rustic — think haute comfort food — and is inspired by the surrounding mountains and lakes, with ingredients like lake trout and chanterelles from the forest.

Learn more about La Bouitte »



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Taco Bell is trying to reach a customer most fast food companies see as an afterthought

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Taco Bell

Today, Taco Bell launched a vegetarian menu that is certified by the American Vegetarian Association.

“At Taco Bell, vegetarians are not an afterthought. We sell more than 350 million vegetarian menu items each year, but until now haven’t been vocal about it,” said Brian Niccol, CEO of Taco Bell Corp in its press release.

The vegetarian menu offers 13 different AVA certified items, as well as 35 AVA certified vegetarian ingredient for customizing orders. 

Here's a list of each item on the vegetation menu.

 

 

The 7-Layer Burrito. Refried beans, rice, guacamole, lettuce, diced tomatoes, 3 cheese blend, and sour cream create this vegetarian masterpiece.



Bean burrito. Warm refried beans, cheddar cheese, onions, and red sauce complete this meatless burrito.



Black bean burrito. Rice, 3-cheese blend, red sauce and black beans creates this classic vegetarian dish.



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We can finally peek inside the home of the world's second-richest man

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Carlos Slim Townhouse 80 million

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's 20,000-square-foot mansion became one of the most expensive public listings in New York City when it hit the market this spring. 

At that time, the landmarked, Beaux-Arts masterpiece was listed with facade photos only. Now, interior photos of the home owned by the world's second-richest man have finally surfaced. 

Listing agency Sotheby's International Real Estate has recently uploaded pictures of the house, giving us a better look at what a 25-room, $80 million townhouse looks like. 

The house was originally built in 1901 and is officially named the Benjamin N. and Sarah Duke House.

Keep scrolling for a tour of the townhouse that's neighbors with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

SEE ALSO: The 10 most expensive homes you can buy in New York City right now

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Slim's Fifth Avenue palace holds court on the Upper East's Side's "Gold Coast."



It sits at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street, directly across the street from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.



The corner location ensures that plenty of sun hits its historic, limestone and brick facade.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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The stylish actors of the James Bond films, ranked

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All the actors who've played James Bond left a stylish footprint on the franchise.

Dressed in the prevailing fashions of their day, they set the benchmark for sharp style in their respective decades.

It's nearly impossible to judge which Bond has the most sartorial swagger.

But we did it anyway.

We decided to rank the most stylish Bonds in a modern context, to see which 007 stands up to fashion's tricky test of time.

Automatically, this 21st-century approach is supremely unfair to George Lazenby's ruffled dress shirt. But here we go ...

SEE ALSO: You can finally own the same watch as James Bond — here's what it'll cost you

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6. Roger Moore

By putting Roger Moore in sixth place, we're by no means saying his Bond had no style. Again, all Bonds are stylish — and products of their time.

Unfortunately, Moore's 1970s style is a bit grandfatherly. Wide, patterned ties and gray, patterned sport coats do not make a very debonair James Bond.



5. Timothy Dalton

Timothy Dalton's Bond wore all the right clothes, from tuxedos to high-collared suits. But he didn't wear them convincingly.

He looked out of place in every suited-up scene, as if he much preferred combat gear. Dalton treated formal threads like a uniform he couldn't wait to take off. 



4. Pierce Brosnan

Pierce Brosnan's Bond knew how to rock a suit. Unfortunately, they made him look more like an international mogul than a slightly unhinged British secret agent.

He was a bit more convincing in a tuxedo — but he still looked like an executive at a charity gala, rather than an undercover spy.



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These 8 pairs are redefining the term 'power couple'

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power couples"Power couple" used to be shorthand for the kind of wealth and influence that came with buttoned-up business expertise or massive success in show biz.

But for millennials, priorities have shifted.

Despite the young tech billionaires in their cohort, studies show that this generation prizes work-life balance and finding their true passion. Not to mention, getting rich is harder than it once was — becoming part of a rich and formidable pairing without family money or a pedigreed education can feel impossible.

For that reason, the couples attracting the envy of their peers aren't the ones building glitzy, mass-market empires, but the ones living life the way they want. They're not billionaires (yet), but they're bootstrapping their own passion-project startups. They're not high-powered corporate media brass, but freelancers who work just as many hours, but from their iPhones in remote locales. 

As one person on this list said, the key change has been a shift from power to empowerment. The people on this list are creating their own definition of success, living exactly the way they want to live.

Tiq Milan and Kim Katrin Milan are fighting for LGBT interests to be promoted online and in mainstream media.

Tiq Milan and Kim Katrin Milan had each already made a career of LGBT advocacy before they met through Facebook and quickly fell in love. 

Tiq is transgender while Kim identifies as queer. Both were working hard at their careers in LGBT youth advocacy when he caught site of her profile.

"I was sending her a message once a month until, about six months in, she finally responded," he said. "When she did respond, we talked for about three days — and had 3,000 messages between us."

Things continued at this pace, Tiq said: "Two weeks later, I proposed on Valentine's Day. I bought a ring on March 9 and we got married May 5. That's how we met and fell in love."

They got married this past May at Manhattan's City Hall and invited some friends, including another transgender woman who acted as their flower girl, and two women who were at the Stonewall Riots.

Now, they divide their time between New York City and Kim's native Toronto. But if you follow them on Instagram, you'll see they spend a lot of time traveling — they say working remotely enables them to jet down to Costa Rica and other warmer climes often.

Of course, this also means they are sometimes on the clock all day. They have an assistant but they're constantly responding to emails and reading the news.

For work, Kim runs an LGBT bookstore in Toronto and also travels the world for speaking engagements. Tiq is also on the speaking circuit and has been doing more and more TV appearances to advocate for the transgender community. 

"It's important as a black transgender man to be on these large platforms and [for other people to] see that it's possible," Tiq said. "To have me do it says, 'You can.'" 

In addition to Tiq's growing media presence, Kim and Tiq have audiences in the hundreds of thousands online, despite not being household names — but their underground status doesn't bother them.

"We're not waiting for another platform to decide our stories are relevant and valuable," Kim said. "We have a direct line to our community to produce content that's relevant to the people we serve. We know mainstream media takes a long time to catch up."



Nicole Shariat Farb and Michael Farb are juggling twin babies and a life of adventure with their careers as startup founders.

Nicole and Michael Farb are probably two of the busiest people in San Francisco. But with each of them running their own startup, plus twin boys to raise at home, they've become adept jugglers — they seem to make more weekend trips with their twins than most single travelers do.

"Within a month of them being born, they were on a mountain in Tahoe," Mike said. "They go everywhere [with us] and they're troopers."

Nicole and Mike are both startup founders who met in business school, although they come from very different backgrounds.

Nicole is from "a big Iranian family with 13 cousins" in Orange County, Calif., she said. She had a pact with her strict dad that if she finished high school a year later, she could try her hand at an acting career. She regrettably found she "had zero talent," she said, and switched focus to study journalism. Then, after short gigs in PR and teaching, she ended up going back to business school.

Meanwhile, Mike grew up on the East Coast in a small Jewish family, and went to the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a computer science degree. He then worked for Accenture, doing systems development for big banks all over the world.

The pair finally met attending the University of Chicago's business school. There, they worked in the same group — starting CaptainU — the startup Mike still runs, as friends and colleagues. Mike says he selected Nicole to work on the CaptainU team because he was "very impressed" with her.

They finally started dating at the end of the first year and have been together ever since, Nicole said.

In the time since they started dating, Mike bootstrapped CaptainU into a bustling business using no venture capital. It helps high school athletes navigate the college recruitment process, and is huge in the scholastic sports community with one million monthly members. CaptainU turns a profit by charging participating colleges to use the service, while athletes can access the site for free or pay for added features.

Meanwhile, Nicole worked at Goldman Sachs after graduation and then, after leaving, only took a month to raise a seed round for her startup, Darby Smart, a DIY marketplace that sells high-end designer craft kits, tools, and artisanal goods. 

Now, they also have their twins, who aren't identical — "one looks Persian and one looks Jewish," Nicole said.

To fit it all in, Nicole and Mike stagger their wake-up times in the morning. One watches and feeds the kids while the other is getting ready, then they switch.

But they still find time for fun.

"One of our big themes is not letting [childcare] slow us down at all, so we take the kids wherever we go," Mike said. "We try not to get cooped up in the house."



Prince Chenoa and Jacob Dekat are crowning tomorrow's fashion 'it' girls while redefining the publishing business model.

Fashion magazines have been in trouble for a while as print media copes with the digital landscape and its accompanying plunge in print-ad buys.

Plenty have speculated that a shakeup in the business model was needed — and Prince Chenoa, 29, and Jacob Dekat, 26, a couple since 2008, have stumbled upon a new way of doing things.

Prince grew up in Michigan and always dreamed of living in New York City, aspiring to work in radio or TV journalism. After meeting Marc Ecko in college, he got an internship at Complex. That, combined with his prolific nightlife presence, set him up to be a major taste maker in years to come.

Meanwhile, Jacob hails from Medellin, Colombia, and moved to New York City to model. The two met at a casting call for Complex — Jacob was looking for a modeling gig while Prince was the casting director. 

"We just kind of talked and connected and hit it off and went for a dinner one night and found out we had so many cool things in common," Prince said. "It was just really cool to meet someone who you can vibe with and be friends with. I think that's why, even for us being together for seven years, it's a reason why we've been able to last. We're friends first and everything else moves into whatever that will be."

They discovered a mutual obsession with the aesthetic and attitude of the '90s supermodels: Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell. They've been basically inseparable ever since and quickly accrued an entourage of up-and-coming models, who they often feature in Galore.

After several false starts on the business front, they hooked up with some other partners and are now the creative brains behind Galore, a monthly fashion publication that anointed the likes of Gigi Hadid back when she was too new to nab spots in high-profile ads yet. Now, she's the current It Girl of fashion.

Their skill set is in attracting cool people and presenting them in the best light possible. They featured Kylie Jenner and Zendaya on the dual covers of a recent issue and plus-size model Tess Holiday inside the book. They also shot 18-year-old model Josie Cansecoin a mock tabloid spread this month. Expect to see Josie on billboards all around you in about a year.

The magazine's bottom line isn't supplemented through traditional ads, but through an influencer network of bold, stylish "Instagram influencers" with massive followings. They're paid to promote products on their Instagram feeds, and Galore's agency, Kitten, organizes the deals.

"We're working 24/7," Prince said. "We eat, sleep, and breathe Kitten and Galore."

Prince says Jacob is the quiet creative mastermind, while Jacob says Prince is amazing at making social connections.

The magazine's aesthetic is retro '80s and '90s sexy — big hair, big curves, and big style. But Galore could never be accused of objectifying the models — they're one of the only magazines that also runs full profiles on the models in addition to their scantily-clad pics.

They recently moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles and are loving it on the West Coast. Prince and Jacob still aren't driving; they raved about the comparatively bargain-basement Uber prices in LA. 

"We see LA as the new mecca for creatives," Prince said. "New York is amazing but it's very much a business city. It's really hard for artists who don't have a ton of money to create there. In LA you can really be an artist and create there."



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6 classic computer games any 90s kid will recognize

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Freddi Fish

I have to be honest, I never really got that into video games growing up.

I think it was because my brother always beat me in any Nintendo 64 game we ever owned (except I dominated him on the Moo Moo Farm level on Mario Kart. Let the record show).

But computer games — the kind you you inserted into giant Windows computer towers back in the '90s — were my jam.

So in true Throwback Thursday fashion, I've compiled a short list of some of the best computer games from the '90s. These aren't in any particular order, but I'm pretty partial to Freddi Fish.

 

"Freddi Fish" is arguably one of the most successful '90s computer games, having sold over 2.5 million copies.

"Freddi Fish" is the inspiring tale of a small yellow fish who acts as a detective to solve cases. The version I played was "Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds" (the OG Freddi Fish, released in 1994): a harrowing premise where Grandma Grouper gets her treasure chest of kelp seeds stolen (that means no food!).

Freddi, being the awesome fish that he is, decides to solve the case with the assistance of Luther, an even smaller green fish.

For those looking to relive their childhood, you can download Freddi Fish games on iOS.

 



"Treasure Mountain!" was actually a fun way to learn basic math and logic skills.

The objective of "Treasure Mountain!" was to collect the hidden treasures and to put them in a treasure chest at the top of a mountain. To do so, players first had to answer a series of riddles delivered by elves. The riddles became increasingly more difficult as you got to certain levels.



"Pajama Sam" knows there's no need to hide when it's dark outside.

I'm honestly torn when it comes to Pajama Sam. On one hand, "Pajama Sam in: There's no Need to Hide when it's Dark Outside" is the original, classic version of Pajama Sam. And the part where he navigates through the mines is super fun. But Humongous Entertainment did do a stellar job on the second version, "Pajama Sam in: Thunder and Lightning Aren't so Frightening." Mostly because it is fairly difficult to figure out as a kid, so you can stretch it out over a long period of time.

The game is centered on our blue protagonist, pictured above, who dresses to emulate his comic book hero Pajama Man. In each game, Pajama Sam is trying to conquer his fears, from the dark to thunder, by completing a series of tasks and obstacles.

You can download the aforementioned Pajama Sam games on iOS.



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