travel & leisure: Super Camping Suggestions For Making A Great Trip

Going camping? Stay tuned for some information about a few of the challenges you may encounter. Although in general camping is pretty simple and safe, it is still important to take some time to prepare yourself for such an adventure. Keep reading for smart tips.

You should be sure you have survival and first aid kits. These can be useful for any situation and can extend your trip. Your kit can also prevent situations from becoming worse and make it easier to get an individual in need to safety. Always make sure that your cell phone is with you when you get to your campsite, and it should be fully charged. You might want to bring an extra battery as well just in case your original runs low. A cell phone will be your best friend in the event of an emergency, so keep it charged and available.

Bring some entertaining items for your trip. Of course, if you bring too many electronics, you may defeat the purpose of the trip, but there is nothing better than sitting beside a lake reading, or listening to music beside a camp fire at night. Bring duct tape with you since it can help you in many situations. This can help to seal and protect your tent and even protect your body.

Duct tape is a valuable item to carry for many different situations. You can use to help seal leaks and rips and hold together important things that break. It can hold your shoes together if they fall apart, and you can even use it in case of emergencies for a temporary bandage or sling. Be certain you are prepared for any event when you're camping. While it's crucial to plan ahead for things, sometimes things don't go according to plan. Weather can change, situations can arise, injuries or illness can strike. Try not to take unnecessary risks that can yield injury or illness. Remember that you, your possessions and your family members are inevitably going to get dirty. Don't stress out when it inevitably happens. Enjoy your time and don't afraid to be messy. You can go back to normal when you go home.

Take some preventative steps in order to avoid inadvertently draining the batteries in your flashlights during your next camping adventure. You can easily press the "on" switch on a flashlight when digging in your camping bag. To prevent draining the batteries, place them in your flashlight backwards. That way, the flashlight cannot possibly drain the batteries if the ON button is bumped. Carry a handkerchief or bandanna while camping. This single fabric piece can be used as a carrying bag, hand towel, paper towel, potholder, and blotter. As you can see, a handkerchief can serve many different purposes on a camping trip.

Before you head out on a long camping expedition, pack and then unpack your bags a few times first. This way, you can find the way that all of your gear fits into the bags and help reduce the chances that you have forgotten to pack anything. Bring along an emergency survival kit, and keep it on you for the duration of your camping trip. A survival kit should include items like a flare gun, matches that are waterproof, a knife and other items you think you may need. For any life threatening situation, these items may be the only thing standing between you and disaster. Your kit should not be left behind at the camp site, but should be carried with you wherever you go.

Consult your physician if you plan to go camping with a significant medical issue. There could be issues that you aren't aware of. You may need to take some extra precautions that you didn't consider. Duct tape is an interesting item to be included in your inventory while camping. It is nearly as useful while camping as it is around the house. You can slap a piece of it on a leaking air mattress. Also, it can help to seal any tears, which can make your item usable for the duration of your trip. If you plan to take a long hike, be sure to place some on feet to avoid developing blisters. In a pinch, it can even serve as a bandage for injuries. Figure out how to use a compass and read a map in advance. Even if you are familiar with your intended campsite, you could still get lost because many areas look the same. This skill can potentially save your life.

A utility knife can serve you well on your camping trip. The versatility of a utility knife makes it priceless when you are out camping. Bring one to slip into your pocket and throw a backup knife into your bag. You never know when your utility knife will come in handy!

Though you should already understand this, you are a visitor to natural surroundings. Do not leave your campsite filthy or throw trash around. When you're done camping, leave your campsite looking as it did before you got there. If you respect nature, it will last for years. When you go camping, check to be sure there are restrooms available. There might not be a portable toilet. All you need is a secluded area to relieve yourself. Always pack enough toilet paper, or you may learn about leaves the hard way.

An orange peel can help to avoid insect bites. Don't worry if you forget the bug spray. Seasoned campers suggest that you can rub your skin with the inside of an ripe orange peel. Mosquitoes hate the smell and will fly away for a few good hours; and you will be free of the nuisance. Camping is a timeless pastime, popular with people of all ages. You can make your next camping trip pleasurable for all who participate when you have the right knowledge. After reading this article, you now have insights for how to make the most of your next camping trip.

Source: http://bidding-travel.blogspot.com/2012/12/super-camping-suggestions-for-making.html

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Source: http://jurassic-snippy.blogspot.com/2012/12/travel-leisure-super-camping.html

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Former President Bush moved out of intensive care

HOUSTON (AP) ? Former President George H.W. Bush's condition continued to improve Saturday, prompting doctors to move him out of intensive care, a spokesman said.

"President Bush's condition has improved, so he has been moved today from the intensive care unit to a regular patient room at The Methodist Hospital to continue his recovery," family spokesman Jim McGrath said Saturday. "The Bushes thank everyone for their prayers and good wishes."

Bush was hospitalized Nov. 23 for treatment of a bronchitis-related cough. He was moved to intensive care at the Houston hospital on Dec. 23 after he developed a fever.

On Friday, McGrath said Bush had improved since arriving in the ICU. He said he was alert and in good spirits and was even doing some singing.

McGrath said Saturday morning that future updates on Bush's condition would be made as warranted.

Bush, the 41st president, is the country's oldest living former president by a few months.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/former-president-bush-moved-intensive-care-210408456.html

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Samsung offers free flip covers and TecTiles for GS III and Note II device registrations

If you just received a Galaxy S III or a Note II this holiday season, you could do yourself a favor and register it on Samsung's Facebook page to get even more goodies from Santa Sammy. What do you get in exchange for handing over some personal details and giving the Korean company access to your timeline? Why, a free flip cover and six TecTiles, which usually go for about $15 for a pack of five. We haven't heard much about wide adoption of these programmable NFC tags, but maybe it'll gain some traction after a recent 3.0 app update and this promotional giveaway. We're not sure why the offer doesn't extend to other Samsung phones, but maybe they just don't have enough of those pastel covers to go around.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

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Via: Android Central

Source: Facebook (Samsung)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/JxxlflCl5Es/

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Like math? Thank your motivation, not IQ

Looks like Tiger Mom had it half-right: Motivation to work hard and good study techniques, not IQ, lead to better math skills, a new study shows.?

But there's a catch: The findings, published this month in the journal Child Development, show that keeping children's heads in the math books by force probably won't help.

The analysis of more than 3,500 German children found those who started out solidly in the middle of the pack in the fifth grade could jump to the 63rd percentile by eighth grade if they were very motivated and used effective learning strategies, said lead author Kou Murayama, a psychology researcher at the University of California at Los Angeles.

"The growth in math achievement was predicted by motivation and learning strategies," Murayama told LiveScience. "Given that IQ did not show this kind of effect, we think this is impressive."

Math on the brain
Just how innate math skills are is a controversial question. Some studies show that math skills emerge in babies, while others show that culture plays a huge role in shaping those skills.

For instance, men consistently outperform women on standardized math tests. But those differences may be due to math anxiety, or cultural influences, other studies have shown.

And in opinion surveys, people in Eastern countries often rate effort as most important to math ability, while Westerners typically say math ability is inborn.

To find out which factor was more important, Murayama's team tracked about 3,500 children from Bavaria as they completed an IQ test and an assessment of their algebraic and geometric know-how from 5th grade to 10th grade.

The researchers also gave students surveys that measured intrinsic motivation to work at math by asking them to rate, on a scale of 1 to 5, how much they agreed with statements like, "I invest a lot of effort in math, because I am interested in the subject." They also reported how motivated they were by outside factors like getting good grades.

The survey also asked students how much they relied on rote memorization versus "deep-learning" strategies that had them tie their math knowledge to other areas of their life.

Tiger Moms vindicated
Not surprisingly, at the start of the study, kids with high IQs performed the best at math.

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But in a vindication of exacting Tiger Moms everywhere, effective studying techniques and motivation, not IQ, predicted who had most improved their math skills by 10th grade. Kids who started out with average math abilities but were in the top 10 percent in terms of learning strategies and motivation jumped up by about 13 percentage points over the course of the study in their math abilities, Murayama said. Apathetic kids with high IQs showed no such jump.

Unfortunately, forcing kids to hit the books every night won't create math prodigies. External factors such as parental pressure or grades didn't produce a lasting boost in math ability.

"It is not a good idea to force students to learn mathematics," Murayama said.

Instead, people who were driven by their own interest improved the most. So rather than keeping Junior's nose to the grindstone, it may be more helpful for parents or teachers to show him how math ties to real life (for instance, understanding that two $3 candy bars cost $6 rather than just memorizing times tables), Murayama said.

Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook and Google+.

? 2012 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50315642/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Woz Totally Loves Cycloramic

Cycloramic is the new app which uses your iPhone's vibration and sensors to rotate itself and take a 360-degree video. It's amazing to see in action—and Woz loves it so much that a video he shot using it has appeared on Facebook. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Vl07Ok1oIrc/woz-totally-loves-cycloramic

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Leigh Steinberg: Snail's Pace NFL Pacing Results From Replays

The National Football League is America's passion. Dominating the top 10 of Nielsen television ratings, estimates are that 180 million people watched part of a game last week, packed stadia, fantasy fanatics, betters, our collective obsession. This was the marriage made in heaven for contemporary appetites for quick bursts of action in tightly contained segments, made for television and every platform of content supply. But this pacing and immediacy are being severely impacted by endless instant replays and late calls. And the sport is starting to drag.

Scoring plays carry a thrilling ending. There is a buildup and development to a long pass play, a dramatic return, or a brutal struggle by a runner to score. The player dives over a pilon or breaks free into the endzone and the in-stadium crowd and television viewers erupt in exultation or frustration. It is a moment of extreme excitement that separates the sport from others. But, not anymore. Every touchdown is reviewed by a team of supervisors upstairs in the stadium. None of the process is visible on the screen or in person. There is an endless and boring delay. The excitement is replaced by uncertainty. And then comes the announcement: "upon further review," disconnected to the play and anti-climatic. This destroys the immediacy inherent in every scoring play.

Zzzzzzzzzzz.

These delays give defenses a subtle an edge over offenses. They can break the rhythm of a quarterback's play and destroy momentum while giving the defense extra time to rest.

Turnovers are impactful moments in NFL games. A frenetic scramble for a fumbled football is untangled to reveal which player and which team has recovered.

Since turnovers can completely alter momentum and the course of a game, they lead to collective reaction. A key interception is exciting. Not any more. The play is reviewed. Young men turn old, autumn turns to winter, and still there is no decision. Boring. And virtually every pass reception or incompletion seems to engender an interference call. On pass play after pass play either the wide receiver or the defensive back seems unable to conform to the standard of legal conduct and flag after flag after flag ensues. This destroys the immediacy and flow of most pass plays. It is impossible for a fan to display emotion without the referee altering the result. There is no certainty.

Zzzzzzzzzzz.

The action on a NFL field is largely subject to head coach prerogative to challenge a play. Second after second, minute after minute the replay process slugs along and most calls on the field end up being confirmed. Why do we have highly-trained, experienced officials on the field to make calls on the field at all?

If their judgments are going to be reviewed non-stop, what was all the controversy about the ineptitude of replacement referees? If play after play is subject to review we can have fans volunteer as officials, no matter how many times they blow a call it will not matter since boring reviews have replaced real football action and pacing. Who ever guaranteed that football would resemble slide rule or adding machine exactitude. A certain number of questionable calls occur in every team sport. It is desirable to minimize these officiating errors, especially if they alter a game result, but even replays produce debatable decisions. This will always occur as long as fallible humans are evaluating film through imperfect human perception. Every behavioral experiment in observation of identical events shows that honest people have different perceptions of what they see.Fans and players have always complained about but tolerated occasional bad calls as "part of the game". When the urgency and immediacy of fan experience becomes replaced with uncertainty, doubt and enervating delay -- it is time to take a new look at these rules changes.

The games are becoming longer, and the additional time adds nothing to the fan experience. Week 3 in 2011 saw an average game time of 3 hrs and 11 minutes. Week 3 in 2012 had games that averaged 3 hrs and 23 minutes. The longer games are not a one season aberration. Games in 2011 were longer than games in 2010, and 2012 was slower. The NFL adjusted half-time length and time between plays some years ago because it feared the games were running too long. Replays have resulted in slower game times and pacing. Fans accept the commercial breaks and use them as a time to visit the bathroom or kitchen or debate past plays. When thrilling action is replaced by interminable delays and the NFL pacing is replacing by snores, it is time for an instant "review" of the use of instant replay.

?

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leigh-steinberg/snails-pace-nfl-pacing-re_b_2373312.html

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US consumers lose confidence as fiscal cliff nears

In this Friday, Dec. 21, 2012, photo, shoppers walk past a store at a mall in Salem, N.H. U.S. consumer confidence tumbled in December, driven lower by fears of sharp tax increases and government spending cuts set to take effect next week. The Conference Board said Thursday that its consumer confidence index fell this month to 65.1, down from 71.5 in November. That's second straight decline and the lowest level since August. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

In this Friday, Dec. 21, 2012, photo, shoppers walk past a store at a mall in Salem, N.H. U.S. consumer confidence tumbled in December, driven lower by fears of sharp tax increases and government spending cuts set to take effect next week. The Conference Board said Thursday that its consumer confidence index fell this month to 65.1, down from 71.5 in November. That's second straight decline and the lowest level since August. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

In this Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012, photo, a couple descend an escalator while shopping at an H& M store, in Atlanta. U.S. consumer confidence tumbled in December, driven lower by fears of sharp tax increases and government spending cuts set to take effect next week. The Conference Board said Thursday that its consumer confidence index fell this month to 65.1, down from 71.5 in November. That's second straight decline and the lowest level since August. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? U.S. consumers peering over the "fiscal cliff" don't like what they see.

Fears of sharp tax increases and government spending cuts set to take effect next week sent consumer confidence tumbling in December to its lowest level since August.

The Conference Board said Thursday that its consumer confidence index fell for the second straight month in December to 65.1, down from 71.5 in November.

The survey showed consumers' outlook for the next six months deteriorated to its lowest level since 2011 ? a signal to Lynn Franco, the board's director of economic indicators, that consumers are worried about the tax hikes and spending cuts that take effect Jan. 1 if the White House and Congress can't reach a budget deal.

Earlier this week a report showed consumers held back shopping this holiday season, another indication of their concerns about possible tax increases.

The December drop in confidence "is obvious confirmation that a sudden and serious deterioration in hopes for the future took place in December ? presumably reflecting concern about imminent 'fiscal cliff' tax increases," said Pierre Ellis, an economist with Decision Economics.

The decline in confidence comes at a critical time when the economy is showing signs of improvement elsewhere.

A recovery in housing market is looking more sustainable. On Thursday, the government said new-home sales increased in November at the fastest seasonally adjusted annual pace in 2? years.

And the job market has made slow but steady gains in recent months. The average number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits over the past month fell to the lowest level since March 2008.

But the political wrangling in Washington threatens the economy's slow, steady progress. President Barack Obama and House returned to Washington Thursday to resume talks with just days to go before the deadline.

Mixed signals over those negotiations led to a rocky day on Wall Street.

Stocks plunged early after the weak consumer confidence report and a warning from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that the government appeared to be headed over the "fiscal cliff." At one point, the Dow Jones industrial average fell as much as 150 points.

But the market came back in the final hour of trading on a potential sign of movement in the talks: Republican leaders announced they would bring the House back into session on Sunday evening. The Dow recouped nearly all of its losses to close down just 18 points at 13,096.

A short fall over the cliff won't push the economy into recession. But most economists expect some tax increases to take effect next year. That could slow economic growth.

While consumers are more worried about where the economy is headed, they were upbeat about present conditions, according to the latest survey. Their assessment of current economic conditions rose this month to the highest level since August 2008.

A key reason for that is gas prices hit a 2012 low of $3.21 a gallon last week. Normally, that would prompt consumers to spend more on holiday shopping.

But the opposite has happened. A report from MasterCard Advisors Spending pulse indicated sales grew in the two months before Christmas at the weakest rate since 2008, when the country was in a deep recession.

There were other distractions this holiday season. In late October, Superstorm Sandy battered the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states, which account for 24 percent of U.S. retail sales. That coupled with the presidential election, hurt sales during the first half of November.

Shopping picked up in the second half of November. But "fiscal cliff" worries dampened sales in December.

The National Retail Federation, the nation's largest retail trade group, remains optimistic that sales won't be quite as bad as earlier reports have suggested. It is sticking to its forecast for total sales for November and December to be up 4.1 percent to $586.1 billion this year. That's more than a percentage point lower than the growth in each of the past two years, and the smallest increase since 2009 when sales were up just 0.3 percent.

___

AP Retail Writer Anne D'Innocenzio contributed from New York to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-12-27-Consumer%20Confidence/id-9b107017556f4bb08cffdc809e1a3780

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