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How I juggle a full-time internship with running 55 miles a week

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briar running

Moving to New York City can be a hard adjustment for anybody — learning to navigate the subway, managing not to spend your whole paycheck on food or concert tickets, and living an enjoyable life in the city that can have a reputation for being "lonely."

I know — I just did it.

As a cross-country runner, I'm only one of many collegiate athletes who must balance their New York City intern schedule with a summer of training that sets them up to have a successful athletic season in the fall

Here's a glimpse into one of my days as I try to balance working, having fun ... and running 55 miles a week.

SEE ALSO: 25 life hacks to help you survive your NYC internship

8:00 a.m. 

If I'm not already awake from the light that seeps into my room or noise from the street, I wake up around 8:00 every morning. I don't give myself more than 25 minutes between the time I get up and leave for work, because every minute of sleep feels valuable.

I live in a student housing facility in Manhattan that feels like a college dorm. It felt funny at first to move back into this type of setting, because I moved off campus at school immediately following my freshman year.



8:20 a.m.

The 25 minutes that I allot myself to get ready include eating yogurt and (approximately three servings) of granola at the desk in my room.



8:25 a.m.

My building is about a mile away from work. The average commute for a New Yorker is 40 minutes, so I definitely lucked out with my mere 30.

I usually opt to walk instead of taking the subway because it's nice to get moving before I sit down for so much of the day. 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

FOOD WARS: We tried 7 different delivery services to see who would bring us the best lunch

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food delivery wide

No one likes to pick up the phone and call for delivery or take-out anymore. Instead, more and more food delivery is shifting to online, where you can order from just a few taps in an app.

The question is: Which app do you choose?

Business Insider decided to put seven different apps to the test to see who could bring us our lunch the freshest, fastest, and cheapest. 

There's a lot of options out there, but after trying seven head-to-head, we've ranked the ones we're most likely to use again. 

 

SEE ALSO: Google used this woman's name on all its Docs templates, and she's spent the last 2 years dealing with confused and angry messages

In the US, analysts estimate that only 10% of restaurants take online orders. That 90% of the market left to conquer has caused a gold rush of companies trying to cash in. Right now, GrubHub is the market leader in terms of ordering share. But is it really the best service?



San Francisco is a test bed for the biggest market leaders in food delivery, so we decided to try to find out. We ordered from seven different services — GrubHub, Eat24, Caviar, DoorDash, Postmates, UberEats, and Amazon Prime Now — in the ultimate delivery show-down.



Who are all these contenders? You've probably heard of GrubHub, which operates in more than 900 cities and owns Seamless as well as a few other smaller delivery companies.

Depending on the restaurant and city, a restaurant will either send its own delivery staff after receiving a GrubHub order or the company will supply its own pick-up people.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

How to master Ana, the newest character in 'Overwatch'

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"Overwatch," the supremely addictive online multiplayer shooter from Blizzard Entertainment, just received its first brand-new hero since the game's initial release!

Ana in Overwatch

Her name is Ana. She wields a giant sniper rifle that can heal her allies as well as damage her enemies, she looks like a character from "Mad Max: Fury Road," and she is a total badass.

In terms of the game's story, she's also the battle-hardened mama of Pharah, the offensive character with a giant rocket launcher.

Right now, Ana is only playable on the PC version of "Overwatch," but she should be available on consoles within the next few weeks — for free!

Here's everything you need to know about how to master her character.

Biotic Rifle

Ana's primary weapon is a Biotic Rifle, which has a unique quality that no other character has: Depending on who the shots hit, they will have different effects. If you shoot an ally, it will heal them; if you shoot an enemy, you'll deal damage. 

Therefore, Ana is not purely a support character like Mercy, but she also doesn't pack quite as much of a punch as Zenyatta. She falls somewhere in the middle.

You can fire her Biotic Rifle with or without zooming in through the scope and the shots will do the exact same amount of healing and damage. The only difference between those two modes of shooting is how the projectiles travel — when you fire without zooming in, the shots will take time to travel through the air, like Hanzo's arrows. Therefore, you might have to anticipate where your target is moving so that by the time your shot gets there, it hits.

When you fire while looking through the scope, however, your shots will instantaneously hit their targets, so you don't have to worry about anticipating movement as much.

Lastly, unlike Widowmaker, landing a headshot with Ana's rifle will not deal any additional damage or healing, so don't worry about where you hit your targets. Hitting them in the first place is the most important thing.



Biotic Grenade

One of Ana's secondary abilities is the Biotic Grenade, which can hit several targets within a small area.

Much like the Biotic Rifle, the Biotic Grenade will have different effects based on who it hits.

When you hit friendly targets, it will heal them a small amount and also increase the amount of healing they receive from other abilities for about five or six seconds. This means if you hit a friendly target with the grenade and then shoot them with your Biotic Rifle, they will be healed for a much higher amount than they would normally.

This increased healing effect carries over to other abilities, too. If you hit a friendly Roadhog with a Biotic Grenade and then he uses his self-healing ability, it will be much more effective than it would be normally. This particular effect is really potent when combined with other Support characters, like Lucio and Mercy.

When your Biotic Grenade hits enemy targets, it will deal a small amount of damage and completely nullify any healing they receive for about five or six seconds.

This effect will make any healing from any source entirely ineffective, which makes it a great way to shut down characters like Soldier 76 and Roadhog from healing themselves, but it will also completely negate Zenyatta's ultimate ability, which heals everyone around him.

So, if you throw it into a giant crowd made up of both allies and enemies, it can completely shift the tide of battle.

 



Sleep Dart

When you hear the signal that McCree is about to fire his Ultimate ("It's high noon...") you should know by now to take cover. If you're playing Ana, however, you have a second option: Nail him with a Sleep Dart and stop him in his tracks.

When an enemy is hit with a Sleep Dart, their current action will be completely interrupted, and they will remain asleep for about five or six seconds. The most important thing to note is that this effect will instantaneously be stopped if the enemy takes any damage.

That means you might want to avoid firing it at enemies who are in chokepoints where lots of bullets are flying through the air. Instead, reserve it for shutting down enemies who are firing from a distance, like Widowmaker, Hanzo, or Bastion.

And, of course, it's an invaluable tool for stopping enemies from using their Ultimate abilities. 

Keep in mind, this effect will only apply to certain Ultimates: You'll be able to stop Roadhog from unleashing his hail of bullets, but if Mei throws her Blizzard down, the effect will continue even if she's asleep. 

Unlike Ana's other abilities, Sleep Dart has no effect on friendly targets.



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7 surprising diets of some of the world's best athletes

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ryan lochte

Most of us think we know what it means to "eat well." Technically, the rules are simple: You should eat a lot of vegetables and fruits; you need enough protein and carbohydrates; and you're better off steering clear of too much sugar.

For the average person, the total caloric number will most likely be in the 2,000 calorie range.

But when you look at professional athletes, a new level of diet weirdness starts to appear. Sure, those athletes need to hit a certain calorie number, but the way they get there can vary greatly. 

Here are the surprising diets of seven elite athletes.

Ultramarathoner Scott Jurek fueled hundred-mile runs (and more) eating nothing but plants.

It's totally possible for the average vegan to get enough protein in their diet. But can an ultramarathoner really survive on plants alone?

In Scott Jurek's case, the answer is yes — definitively. The recently-retired 42-year-old set a new record for the fastest traversal of the 2,160-mile Appalachian Trail last summer, finishing in 46 days, 8 hours, and 7 minutes. 

But that's not all Jurek has done. He's won the 153-mile Spartathlon, the Hardrock 100, the Badwater 135-mile Ultramarathon, the Miwok 100K, and (for seven years in a row) the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, all while eating nothing but a purely plant-based vegetarian diet, which he credits for his endurance, strength, and ability to recover from the physical stresses of running.

One sample meal that Jurek cooked up for Mark Bittman included: "a Greek salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, loads of olives and seaweed; a stir-fry of vegetables with tofu and a miso and cashew sauce; and a mound of quinoa."



Ryan Lochte won four medals (including a gold!) at the 2008 Olympics while famously eating McDonald's for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

During the Beijing Summer Games, Lochte chowed down on McMuffins, Big Macs, McNuggets, double-cheeseburgers with fries, and more — nothing that would fit what's normally recommended as part of a "balanced diet." To boot, he estimates that he was consuming 8,000 to 10,000 calories a day.

No nutritionist would recommend eating like that for the long term, and Lochte has changed course. He still consumes what he claims could be thousands of calories more than the average person each day to make up for what he burns off in the pool, though these days it's more likely to be comprised of chicken, asparagus, and salads (though he's still a fan of pizza and wings).



Wimbledon winner Serena Williams avoids wheat and tries to a eat a raw diet, though she'll treat herself to Southern food from time to time.

One of the most dominant tennis players of all time, Williams just won her 22nd Grand Slam title at Wimbledon on July 9. Back in 2012, the superstar altered her diet after discovering that her sister Venus suffered from an autoimmune disorder. At the time she said she'd cut back on chicken and fish in favor of more raw foods.

Still, she doesn't completely limit herself. In 2014, Williams told Fitness Magazine that while playing in South Carolina, she'll still treat herself to shrimp and grits, fried chicken, and hush puppies — and really, who could blame her?



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

I went on a 'Pokémon GO' safari with dozens of people in Central Park — here's what it was like

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Pokemon Go Central Park48.JPG

New York City's Central Park is one the best places in the world to play "Pokémon GO."

The park's sprawling 843 acres of trails, woods, lakes, fountains, and statues make it a gold mine for finding just about every kind of Pokémon imaginable.

Last weekend, I went on the first-ever "Pokémon GO" safari in Central Park with about 60 other people. Our tour guide, a level 21 "Pokémon GO" trainer named Adam Wennick, had mapped out the areas of the park where the best Pokémon appear in the game.

Unfortunately the game's servers were down for the first half of the tour, but they eventually came back online to save the day.

Here's what the experience was like:

The safari began at the southeast corner of Central Park by Grand Army Plaza on a pleasant (but very hot) Sunday afternoon.



The corner was a fitting place to start because it's one of the best spots to catch Pokémon in the entire city. There are several closely positioned Pokéstops with lures going constantly. Rare Pokémon, like Vaporeon, have been known to spawn there.



Our guide and "Pokémon GO" expert, Adam Wennick, had posted on Reddit that he was hosting a free safari a few days earlier. The tour was fully booked in a matter of minutes.



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35 vintage photos of Disneyland that will make you want to be a kid again

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fantasyland, disneyland, 1955

The "Happiest Place on Earth" just turned another year older.

July 17, 1955, Walt Disney and President Richard Nixon led the opening ceremonies in Anaheim, California. The park held just 18 attractions, and Sleeping Beauty's Castle wasn't even open to the public yet.

Today, the park hosts more than 16 million visitors annually.

To celebrate its recent birthday, we're taking a look back at how Disneyland came to be.

 

Walt Disney, pictured in 1950, wanted to build a family-friendly theme park across from his studios in Burbank, California, but local officials turned it down because they feared the carnival atmosphere would bring crime to the area.

Source: USA Today



Disney settled for 160 acres of orange groves in beautiful Anaheim, California. Construction began in 1954, just 12 months before the park's official opening.

Source: USA Today



The park cost $17.5 million to build. In order to finance the project, Disney partnered with ABC to produce a weekly one-hour program, titled "Disneyland."

It featured classic characters and fairy tales, documentary shorts on science and technology, and progress reports on the park's construction.

Source: The Walt Disney Family Museum



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

MORGAN STANLEY: 5 stocks that are in for a nasty surprise (GILD, JWN, RAX, RLYP, UNFI)

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Double Dare Slime

It's earnings season, folks.

Every quarter, as companies announce how they did over the past three months, stock analysts compare the announced results with their predictions.

If a company performs worse than predicted, it's not good news.

Morgan Stanley has a team of analysts making these types of predictions, and it released a list of the companies it feels will disappoint the most this earnings season.

The stocks listed below have a chance for a near-term event, or catalyst, that would negatively affect the company.

"For each of these stocks, our analyst has high conviction in a view that diverges from the Street's, and expects a near-term event to drive the stock as the market’s view moves closer to ours," Morgan Stanley wrote in a note to clients.

So if they are right, you might want to stay away from these companies:

Gilead Sciences (GILD)

Current price: $85.44

Target price: $100

Potential catalyst: Gilead Sciences is a biotech company that relies on sales of hepatitis C and HIV treatment sales. Morgan Stanley believes sales of hepatitis C treatments would be about $200 million below consensus because of a falling European market share and pricing pressures.

Data provided by Morgan Stanley.



Nordstrom (JWN)

Current price: $40.46

Target price: $34

Potential catalyst: E-commerce is pulling customers out of retail stores across the country, and Nordstrom may be hit in the process. It is doing well compared with its competitors, according to Morgan Stanley, but its already high earnings per share and weak consumer sentiment may add to the downside for Nordstrom.

Data provided by Morgan Stanley.



Rackspace Hosting (RAX)

Current price: $23.57

Target price: $26

Potential catalyst: Brexit has its hands in Rackspace, as the company has a 25% exposure to the falling pound. It also has been seeing revenue growth slowing as the company transitions to service-only offerings for third-party public clouds, according to Morgan Stanley.

The company is not at a complete loss though, as it is a pure-play company in the growing cloud-computing industry, and it differentiates itself from the competition with superior customer support.

Data provided by Morgan Stanley.



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RANKED: The 10 best albums we've heard so far this year

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Kanye West

At just past the halfway point of 2016, it's safe to say this has already been an exceptional year in music.

Surprise album releases from Beyoncé and Radiohead electrified the industry this spring, and Drake's "Views" has been a massive hit on the charts since its release in April. 

As I scrolled through my own music library, though, revisiting which albums grabbed me the most in the first half of 2016, none of those three acts actually made it on to my list of favorite LPs.  

Read on to see which albums made my top 10: 

SEE ALSO: Here's the most popular music artist in every state, according to Pandora

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 10 best movies we've seen so far this year

10. Kendrick Lamar — "untitled unmastered"

Despite being a collection of throwaway tracks from his 2015 masterpiece “To Pimp a Butterfly,” Kendrick Lamar’s “untitled unmastered” plays remarkably well as one cohesive body of work. The album came into being after fans (most notably LeBron James) clamored for studio versions of Lamar's outstanding series of “Untitled” performances on late night television — tracks which now rank among the rapper’s best work. Perfectly imperfect in its execution, this project further demonstrates the singular vision and artistic genius of Kendrick Lamar. 

Standout Tracks:  "untitled 03,""untitled 06,""untitled 08"



9. Andrew Bird — "Are You Serious"

Andrew Bird, a virtuoso multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, released his most accessible album to date with this year's "Are You Serious." Focusing his eccentric lyrics and eclectic sounds into traditional pop-song structures, Bird produced some of his strongest melodic work to date on this album. Simultaneously inviting, challenging and altogether well-wrought, "Are You Serious" is an elegant addition to Bird’s accomplished and prolific catalog of music.

Standout tracks:"Capsized,""Roma Fade"



8. dvsn — "Sept. 5th"

The debut album from an alternative R&B group that consists of Paul Jeffries (aka Nineteen85, the producer of Drake's mega-hits "One Dance" and "Hotline Bling") and singer Daniel Delay, dvsn's "Sept. 5th" is a refreshing and sonically compelling body of work. Delay's falsetto and melodic sensibilities flow seamlessly with Nineteen85's diverse soundscapes of guitars, synthesizers and heavy bass. Following in the footsteps of The Weeknd, Drake, and other successful Canadian pop acts, dvsn manages to incorporate and transcend its influences on this wholly original debut. 

Standout tracks: "Try/Effortless,""With Me"



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Here's how much it actually costs to launch things on a SpaceX rocket

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astronaut scott kelly lemons fruit space station nasa

Early Wednesday morning, astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) welcomed a Dragon capsule, SpaceX's uncrewed spacecraft, and the 5,000 lbs. of fresh cargo it carried.

The mission marks part of a new era for NASA, which stopped flying its space shuttles in 2011 — and has since turned to the private sector for help in shipping crucial supplies to and from the ISS, and ideally at a lower cost than ever before.

But have space shipping costs since fallen?

To find out, we spoke to payload specialist and space station engineer Ravi Margasahayam and crunched some numbers.

In 2008, NASA signed contracts with SpaceX and its rival aerospace company Orbital Sciences, to the tune of $1.6 billion for 12 launches and $1.9 billion for eight rocket launches, respectively.

While these new missions cost hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars less than a space shuttle launch, the price of sending cargo into space didn't go down.

"My cost per pound went up with these rockets," Margasahayam told Tech Insider. "On the shuttle, it would be much less." (Margasahayam spoke to Tech Insider as a private citizen and engineer, rather than as a representative of NASA.)

Margasahayam points out that, while the space shuttles were more expensive — a whopping $500 million per launch (or possibly $1.5 billion, according to one analysis we've seen) — each mission carried about 50,000 lbs. That means each pound of cargo used to cost about $10,000 to ship on a shuttle.

For SpaceX, the cheapest of NASA's new carriers, dividing the cost of each launch ($133 million) by the cargo weight of its most recent resupply mission (5,000 lbs.) gives you about $27,000 per pound.

But that's a higher estimate. SpaceX told Tech Insider that its Dragon cargo spacecraft launched on a Falcon 9 rocket can carry up to 7,300 lbs — and that you could bring just as much cargo back to Earth, too. So if a Dragon is full of supplies at launch and on landing, the cost dips to $9,100 per pound.

So what does it actually cost to send things into space today? We've estimated the shipping costs of a few experiments, care packages, and necessities of life that have made it to the space station below.

Dave Mosher contributed to this post.

SEE ALSO: Scientists just launched fungi from the radioactive wasteland of Chernobyl into space, and it could change the way we treat cancer

Bottle of water: $9,100 to $27,000

Water is necessary for life — but crazy expensive in space. A 16-ounce bottle of water weighs about a pound, so it's a good baseline for how much stuff costs to send to the space station: between $9,100 to $27,000.

NASA decided long ago that it was silly to send new water up there all the time, especially since there's so much of it in the human body. So astronauts on board the ISS now drink some water recycled from their condensation, sweat, and urine.



70 mice: at least $470,000

Mice are pretty light, weighing in at about 3/4 of a pound each. That's between $6,825 and $20,250 per mouse!

But, of course, you can't send a single mouse up there, she'll get lonely. Add in 69 friends and you'll looking at a travel bill of about $470,925 to $1.4 million.

Of course, we're kidding. The mice are definitely not up there to keep each other company. They're there for research. They're there to study the biological effects of space, including muscle atrophy. And that has important implications for medicine down here on Earth, including learning more about disease and aging.



Set of bagpipes: as much as $162,000

Plus a ton of other instruments, including harmonicas, guitars, and at least one saxophone.

The weight of the bagpipes is can be highly variable depending on materials and design. As far as we can tell, it seems that astronaut Kjell Lindgren, shown here, is a pretty serious piper, and strong enough to support a full-sized set of bagpipes.

Let's say he was weight-conscious and went with a relatively light set-up — so 6 pounds, or 2 pounds less than your average 8-pound bagpipe.

That's in the ballpark of $54,600 to $162,000, but it means a lot to astronauts who are far from home and miss life on Earth. Also, the YouTube video of Lindgren playing in space is so worth it.



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Go inside the chic Brooklyn loft owned by an entrepreneur who wants to make it easier to buy art

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uprise art

Tze Chun is making it easier to buy art. Her company, Uprise Art, is an online gallery that features the work of emerging contemporary artists, matching customers with a personal art advisor who can help them find the perfect match for their blank walls.

According to Chun, there's no such thing as too much art on a wall — and her new Brooklyn loft, designed by the interiors startup Homepolish, is proof of that.

"My rule of thumb for curating is to only buy pieces you love," Chun recently told Business Insider. Ahead, see her new loft space and learn the thought process behind the design by Homepolish's Casey DeBois.

SEE ALSO: 10 beautiful photos that will make you want to hop on a plane to France

DON'T MISS: Follow Business Insider's lifestyle page on Facebook!

This wasn't Chun's first collaboration with DeBois. "I've had the pleasure of working with [Chun] and Uprise Art on many client projects, and I was super excited when she reached out for her new place," DeBois told Business Insider.



"[Chun's] existing collection of accessories and art were on point, and her openness to vintage and one-of-a-kind items helped create her own kind of flawless living space," DeBois said.



"I envisioned a retro tropical style, like 1960s Hong Kong and Singapore, the two places where my family is from," Chun said.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

14 simple ways to make your Mac run faster (AAPL)

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macbook air

No matter how much you loved your Mac when you bought it, chances are it doesn't perform the same way it once did.

And if you are currently trying to hang on for the next refresh of the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, you might find yourself in need of a little performance boost. A few years can take a noticeable toll on any computer, but luckily there are some tips and tricks that can help bring it back up to speed.

Here are a few things to look out for that can make your overall Mac experience more smooth and efficient — without having to upgrade the hardware.

Reduce the number of apps that launch when you boot up.

If you have a bunch of different programs set to launch when you turn on your computer, it's going to take a while for your Mac to boot up. You can see exactly which apps are programmed to launch on start by clicking the Apple icon and navigating to System Preferences> Users and Groups> Login Items. In this list, you'll see all the items that start up with your computer. Check the boxes next to each app and click the minus button at the bottom of the window to remove them. 



Check for software updates.

Often, software updates fix bugs and glitches that could be slowing your computer down. Check for any software updates that may be available for the version of OS X your computer is running on. You can do this by clicking the Apple icon in the upper-left side and selecting App Store from the drop-down menu. In most cases, your Mac will probably issue a desktop notification to alert you when an update is available. 



Try restarting your computer.

It sounds obvious, but sometimes your laptop or desktop just needs a good restart to get back up to speed. Try restarting your computer before jumping ahead to other options. 



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Meet the engineer who sold his company for almost $200 million and used the money to open a chocolate factory

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dandelion chocolate

When Todd Masonis and his partner sold their startup to Comcast in 2008 for a rumored sum between $150 and $170 million, he took a "fun year." Masonis excavated a Roman fort in England, biked across Scotland, and toured family-run chocolate factories in France.

It was in France where something clicked for the serial entrepreneur. He returned to the US and cofounded Dandelion Chocolate, a small-batch, bean-to-bar chocolate maker in — where else — a garage.

Step inside Dandelion Chocolate to see how Masonis and his team are disrupting the sweets industry.

SEE ALSO: Take a tour of the New York City subscription startup where you'll find swings, sneakers, and gnomes

The smell of freshly shelled cacao nibs hits you upon entering Dandelion Chocolate — part café, part chocolate factory in San Francisco’s Mission District. It's hard to imagine cofounder Todd Masonis can get anything done here.



"I eat chocolate every day," Masonis told me when we first met in fall 2014. He's a modern-day Willy Wonka who dreams of disrupting the chocolate industry through small-batch production and simple ingredients.



Masonis is no stranger to startups. After graduating from Stanford in 2001, he and friend Cameron Ring set out to make something new. They launched Plaxo, an online address-book service, with help from serial entrepreneur Sean Parker.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Everything you need to know before visiting the 7 Wonders of the World

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colosseum

Forgotten cities, ancient relics, and gigantic monuments are just a few ways to describe the Seven New Wonders of the World. Set in the jungles, mountains, and large cities, each are wondrous in their own way and attract millions of visitors each year. That being said, although these attractions might be on the top of your travel bucket list, there are some essential things to consider (think political atmosphere, health and public safety warnings, and accessibility) before booking your trip. Here, we break it all down.

1. Christ the Redeemer

Christ the Redeemer, a 125-foot statue of Jesus that stands atop the Corcovado Mountain, overlooks the city of Rio de Janiero. Completed in 1930, it's the most modern of all the wonders of the world. The structure, which attracts hordes of tourists every day, can be reached by taxi, van, or train followed by an extra 220 steps or elevator ride. But wait, there's more.

Ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics, the Brazilian government has already issued a financial crisis statement. To top things off, there have been reports of multiple Zika virus cases, an economic recession, and President Dilma Rousseff's looming impeachment trial. Beyond the economic crisis, a super bacteria, which may cause skin infections, was also found in some of the beaches. Lastly, Rio de Janeiro is plagued with high crime rates, including assault and robbery, so be sure to take necessary safety precautions when visiting this beauty.



2. Great Wall of China

Stretching over 13,000 miles from east to west in northern China, the Great Wall of China is a spectacular sight to see. Each day, over 70,000 visitors seek out the wall, which was constructed from 476 B.C. to 1644. Although travelers can visit the wall from many major cities, the sad reality is that 30 percent of it has disappeared due to erosion and human interaction. A portion of the wall was even underwater -- a result of manmade flooding -- and only recently reappeared due to a drought. In an attempt to maintain the structure, China has created laws and regulations that make it illegal to take rock or rubble from the wall, damage it with graffiti, or drive on it with a motorized vehicle. 

And while there have been 13 confirmed Zika virus cases, they were reported in the Guangdong Province, which is fairly far south of the Great Wall of China. For now, travelers shouldn’t be extremely worried about it -- though it never hurts to use insect repellant.



3. Machu Picchu

Set in a valley in the Andes, Machu Picchu is famously known as the Lost City of the Incas. Interestingly, archeologists aren’t sure why it was built there, what it was built for, or why the Incans abandoned it in the 1500s. The complex, which wasn't rediscovered by the Western world until 1911, was made with large pieces of stone that fit tightly together without the use of mortar. 

To reach Machu Picchu, visitors can take a train from Cusco or Ollantaytambo to the small town of Aguas Calientes. From there, they can hop on a bus to the ancient city. It might be easiest to spend the night in Aguas Calientes instead of taking the train and bus in one day. Travelers can also opt for the tackling the Inca Trail, a four-day trek that includes campsites along the way. There's also a shorter two-day trek and another one that lasts up to five hours. No matter which option you choose, prepare for the high elevation (not to mention, endurance needed for such a trip). Make sure to buy tickets ahead of time, as only a limited number of tourists are allowed to visit each day.

In other news, the region was recently hit with bouts of the Oropouche fever. Although no deaths have been associated with the illness, symptoms include high fever, headaches, vomiting, and joint pain. And while there have been cases reported on the Zika virus in Peru, mosquitoes that spread the virus don’t typically live in high elevations like Cusco. That being said, Machu Picchu is set in a valley of the mountains -- at a lower elevation level -- so it’s probably best to be cautious and use mosquito repellent. 



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8 of the world's coolest telescopes that are changing the way that we look at the universe

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alma jfs 2010 101

Astronomy has come a long way over the past few millennia.

We went from believing that Earth was the center of a star speckled universe, to being able to observe a seemingly endless number of galaxies full of trillions of stars and planets that stretch back in time billions of years.

And as astronomy evolves, so do the instruments we use to peer deeper and deeper into the cosmos.

Since the invention of the first telescope in the 1600s, we have developed much more impressive and advanced telescopes to look at the universe.

Here are a few of the most powerful telescopes operating right now.

SEE ALSO: This space telescope just uncovered more than 100 new planets, many of which might harbor alien life

DON'T MISS: 12 of the world's most beautiful spots to stargaze

The Hubble Space Telescope

The Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, has captured iconic images such as the deep field, Crab Nebula, and Eagle Nebula. Because the Hubble orbits the Earth, free from distortion caused by Earth's atmosphere, it can take extremely high-resolution images allowing astronomers to peer deep into space and time.



The W.M. Keck Observatory

The W.M. Keck observatory, which has been operating since 1993, sits on top of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano in Hawaii. Keck's twin telescopes, each about 33 feet in diameter, are the largest optical and infrared telescopes in the world.



The Chandra X-ray Observatory

The Chandra X-ray Observatory, launched in 1999, is designed to pick up X-rays emitted from extremely hot regions in the universe, such as exploding stars, galaxy clusters, and black holes. Because Earth's atmosphere absorbs most of these X-rays, the Chandra needs to make its observations from space.



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8 American islands you may not have heard of but should definitely visit

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Is it your dream to find a hidden little island that's virtually unknown to everyone else?

Well, you don't have to fly to some remote part of the world to live that dream. There are plenty of secret islands here in the U.S. that you've probably never heard of. (And I'm about to expose them!)

SEE ALSO: The 10 cheapest US destinations to visit this summer

Great Diamond Island, Maine

Tourists flock to Portland, Maine but the majority miss out on a nearby gem — Great Diamond Island, less than an hour away by ferry.

Book a room at the Inn at Diamond Cove, located in a gated community on the north side of the island. Only hotel guests and residents are allowed to explore this section of the island, and you could spend a whole afternoon on one of its tiny beaches without seeing anyone else.

Adding to the peaceful feel: Cars aren't allowed on this part of the island.



Rabbit Island, Michigan

You could have had Rabbit Island on Lake Superior all to yourself if you were browsing Craigslist a few years ago.

Rob Gorski, an ER doctor living in Manhattan, stumbled across a listing for the 91-acre island in 2000 and purchased it for a mere $140,000. Gorski renamed the former Traverse Island and has since turned it into an artists' colony that welcomes visitors.

RELATED:10 Romantic Islands You’ll Fall in Love With



Cuttyhunk, Massachusetts

Let the masses go to the Cape or Nantucket. You'll be soaking in the solitude on Cuttyhunk, an island between the Southeastern Massachusetts coast and Martha's Vineyard.

Cuttyhunk certainly feels miles away from the frenetic scenes of the Vineyard and Nantucket. There are no cars and few amenities or stores, but that's a good thing if you're seeking the solitude of a secret island getaway.



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Ivanka Trump is speaking at the GOP convention — here are 12 things you might not know about her

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Unlike Donald Trump's wife, Melania, Ivanka Trump has been at the forefront of her father's campaign from the onset — gracing numerous news networks and voicing her opinion in editorial pieces.

If Trump is elected president, Ivanka would be placed in a unique position. As a former model, philanthropist, business mogul, and a mother of three, she would assume numerous roles — in addition to her one in the first family.

Raised under her father's spotlight, she has founded various organizations, spreading her influence beyond the high-profile real-estate acquisitions that The Trump Organization is known for.

Here's how she go to where she is now:

SEE ALSO: 19 photos of Donald Trump's incredible life on his 70th birthday

Born in 1981, Ivanka Trump is the daughter of former model and Donald's first wife, Ivana Trump.



Ivanka went to the exclusive Chapin School in Manhattan. She eventually went on to Georgetown and the University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated summa cum laude with a degree in economics.



Ivanka has two immediate siblings, Donald Jr. and Eric. Here they pose after a wedding ceremony at the Mar-a-Lago Club on November 12, 2005, in Palm Beach, Florida.



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7 smart questions you should ask at your next job interview

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There are standard questions to ask during a job interview, and then you've got the ones you really should avoid.

It's obviously important to ask your potential future employer the basics, but don't bore them with the same old lines without throwing in a few things they actually really want to be asked.

Here are some ideas for shaking up the interview and keeping both you and your interviewer on your toes. These will help you stand out and get remembered the next time you're job searching.

 

SEE ALSO: The 29 smartest questions to ask at the end of every job interview

1. What's the one quality you hope for your employees to have?

This simple question begs a concise, definitive answer from your interviewer. It also is a great way to really get a feel for what the company you're interviewing with is looking for — and to see if it's the right fit for you.

For instance, if you're a people person and love working with a team, and the "one thing" your interviewer is looking for is someone who is self-directed and can work well alone, then that may already mean the position isn't what you're looking for.



2. How does the company define and measure success?

Future employers like it when you know your professional goals and are impressed when you can be assertive about personal and team success within the company.

By asking for more information about how the company measures success and recognizes accomplishments, you're subtly saying that you already plan on being a model of success in your role.



3. What is the company culture like?

Company culture is crucial. It can make or break a job for many people, so getting a feel for what the people are like at your potential place of work is must-know information. Interviewers will see that you understand the importance of office relationships and company culture by asking this question in your interview in anticipation of being hired.

It's also an indicator that getting along with co-workers is important to you, and this implies that you're a team player.



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28 weird names we have for full moons, from Buck Moons to Strawberry Moons

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The Native Americans marked their calendars by full moons. Each one had its own name, and its own action.

You've probably heard of a Harvest Moon, one of the more commonly heard names. That was the time to finish harvesting the crops for the winter, sometimes aided by the light of the full moon in September (or October — the moon's not always that precise).

But there are more names for full moons — a lot more, especially if you include contemporary and scientific names.

Here are 28 we found for full moons, starting with the one you might have seen in the sky last night, July 19: the Buck Moon.

SEE ALSO: Here's what would happen if the moon was actually made of cheese

DON'T MISS: What would happen if the moon suddenly blew up

July: Buck Moon, Thunder Moon, or Hay Moon

Deer start to grow their antlers this month, and there are often lots of thunderstorms.

The next one:July 9, 2017



August: Sturgeon Moon, Red Moon

Tribes in the Great Lakes knew this was the best time to catch sturgeon, an ugly (but hearty) fish. Some people think the moon looks reddish this month in the heat.

The next one: August 18, 2016



September: Harvest Moon, Corn Moon

It's time to harvest the corn and other crops for the winter!

The next one: September 16, 2016



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9 apps and websites to make the most out of your next vacation

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It's peak summer, which means people are going on vacation or hastily making last-minute travel plans. Luckily, there's a trove of tools you can use to make the most out of your trip by saving money, finding better places to stay, or by finding great things to do without breaking the bank.

Here are some of the best.

 

SEE ALSO: This $800 million startup just launched an app to make buying a home easier

Use all these flight search engines. Seriously.

Flight search engines help by aggregating multiple airlines' flight prices based off the dates you choose.

So instead of going to your regular airliner's website and booking it directly, you can use any of these sites — preferably all of them — to shop around for the best deal.

Here are the sites I always check:

ITA Matrix, Google Flights, Momondo, Hipmunk, JetRadar, SkyScanner.

 



Can't get the right price for it? Get notified with Airfare Watchdog.

If you can't find the right price for your flight out, you can get notified when a flight hits historical lows. If you've planned your trip dates out months in advance, Airfare Watchdog will notify you when your fares dip.

Google Flights also does the same thing — when you select your dates and destination, you can "save" the flight and track it in a graph. You'll receive an email if the price dips.

How far in advance should you book? 54 days is the average, but that's not always the case. Avoid booking too much earlier, and absolutely don't book at the last minute.



Wikivoyage helps you find ways to get around, things to do, places to see, and things to eat — even in the most obscure places.

Wikivoyage is a trove of information on how to get around and what to see. If you're looking for things to do beyond the most obvious tourist attractions, this Wiki will have plenty of suggestions on things to see, eat, and do.

 



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Most whales don't know how bad they smell

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It's impossible to gaze at a magnificent underwater creature, like a dolphin or a trout, without pondering how it feels—to swim so fast, to dive so deep, to feel so comfortable in such as strange environment.

But have you ever wondered, as they go about their watery lives, what they're smelling?

Because all vertebrates come from the sea, smelling actually evolved there, too, says Dr. Keith Tierney, a fish olfaction expert at the University of Alberta. (Indeed, he points out, all olfaction arguably occurs underwater, as it requires the mucus in your nose.)

But ever since the first proto-mammal crawled onto the shore, our smellvolution has diverged, leaving underwater creatures with adaptations that seem curious, and occasionally mysterious, to us landlubbers.

Here's how some of our aquatic friends sniff around, and what they find when they do.

Fish

If you look closely at your goldfish's face, you might notice two tiny holes in his snout, not unlike the nostrils in your own.

Instead of heading down the throat like ours, though, these pinpricks, called "nares," lead into a small chamber padded with olfactory receptors. When water flows into these nares, it brings all the scents of the underwater world along with it.

While your average fish doesn't have too many different receptors (about 100, compared to a mouse's 1300), each of these receptors can detect many unique odors. As a result, Tierney says, fish can really read the room—not only figuring out who is predator and who is prey, but noting when other fish are stressed or ready to mate, and using scent cues to find their way back home.

They can also recognize all the new, smelly stuff we've been pumping into waterways. "Sometimes fish will avoid toxic chemicals," says Tierney, "but sometimes they appear to be attracted to them." The nose doesn't always know.



Crustaceans

When a lobster in a tank waves his appendages in your direction, he's not beckoning you over — he's probably trying to sniff you out.

Rather than bringing odors all the way into their faces, crustaceans have external organs called antennules — moustache-looking mini-antennae draped with fine hairs.

To smell, lobsters and crabs use these antennule like chemosensitive whips, grabbing smell samples during the downward snap and investigating them during the slower upstroke, explains marine biologist Dr. Mimi Koehl in a 2010 paper. In other words, Koehl writes, "each antennule flick is a 'sniff.'"

Once they've figured out what they're smelling, crustaceans can do a lot with the info: choose a mate, navigate in the dark, and establishurine-based dominance hierarchies. Smelling is so important, lobsters walk far more slowly when they're doing it, like deliberate detectives on the odor beat.



Whales, dolphins, and manatees

For a long time, scientists thought whales couldn't smell at all. The Inupiat, though, knew differently. Twice each year, as they hunted bowheads off the coast of Alaska, they were careful not to light fires on the ice and to build latrines upwind, for fear the smell of smoke or sewage would drive the whales away.

In 2008, anatomist Dr. Hans Thewissen tagged along on a bowhead hunt and came back with four whole whale brains.

Dissection revealed a distinct olfactory bulb, connected to the nostrils by a nerve several feet long, and DNA analysis showed plenty of genes that code for smell sensors. While bowheads still have no way of smelling underwater—they would choke—these structures indicates that when they come up for air, they get a whiff of the world.

This goes for manatees as well, although no behavioral studies have been conducted to see how they react to smells, says Nicola Erdsack of the Mote Marine Laboratory Manatee Research Program.

Meanwhile, most toothed whales, including dolphins, lack this olfactory structure entirely, suggesting that they're smell-blind in and out of the water. This is probably good, as whale breath smells,in the words of one observer, like "an unholy mingling of fart and fishiness."



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