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Monday, September 30, 2013

Lifestyle: 3 Reasons YOU should be taking a fish oil



School of Fish
Fish Oil or more specifically the Omega 3’s in fish oil, have a whole host of benefits.  What we know about fish oil is substantial.  What we do not know could be even better. Here are a few of the many reasons you should be taking a fish oil.  Check it out and do not forget to comment.


Diving In
Heart Health - From heart disease to cholesterol to blood pressure fish oil has many benefits for the heart.(S) Fish Oil helps reduce blockages and prevent new ones from happening. Heart health is not something you want to try and catch up on. It is best to regulate and control heart health to avoid falling over dead from a life of neglect. It is best to start fish oil while you are healthy.  


Joint Inflammation - Active people or people with joint pain and /or morning stiffness could benefit from the effects of fish oil.(S) Runners have been taking fish oil to treat low level joint inflammation for years. Runners put a lot of impact strain on their joints.  Be sure to check out Tech Times essential piece of running equipment.
Circulation - Fish Oil is reported to help circulation.  Fish oil contains DHA and EPA which are Omega 3’s.  These Omegas are antioxidants which improve the elasticity of the vessel walls.  Increased elasticity reduces hemorrhages in the vessel wall.  These hemorrhages are directly linked to heart attacks and strokes in the form of hemorrhagic strokes.


Reeling it in  
These are just a few of the more commonly accepted reasons.  There are a whole myriad of auxiliary benefits.  Studies have shown that fish oil can even be used to treat ADHD in children(S).  It may seem like a haughty claim, but it will only work in certain cases where the subject is lacking DHA, and is retarding the development of their brains.  We know there is rarely a single silver bullet that will cure anything.  A full spectrum approach is suggested to achieve a healthy lifestyle.  Such as, taking a multivitamin along with fish oil and various other supplements as needed can help you live a more healthy fulfilled life.


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Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Tech Time: Kingdoms of Camelot - Overview

KOC is a game created by Kabam and is available through Facebook or the Kabam website.  It is a strategy MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) style gameplay set in medieval times with knights, castles and magic.  The game does not have any visible action you can see on the screen. The game has evolved over many years, and Kabam continues to incorporate new features.  The following information will be a high level overview of the game.

Gameplay
Kabam has created many domains (server) for players and players have the ability to play on multiple domains.  Each domain is it’s own universe and does not connect to other domains.  Within a domain, players must build castles which contain many buildings (cottages, barracks, rally point, watch tower, etc.).  

The castles are the central point for training troops, attacking, obtaining resources and much more.  To date, players are able to have 8 castles.  Castles can be built when a player obtains “deeds” by attacking wilds (non-player controlled locations - lakes, grasslands, mountains, woods, hills, plains) or purchasing the deeds using gems (you use your real money to buy gems).




Along with building your own cities, you can create or join alliances with other members on the domain.  Alliances can be used to gather players and attack other alliances.  How much you want to fight is dependent on you, or the people who attack you. There are some people who are more social on the game (using alliance chat and messaging in the game, see screen shot of chat feature below) and some people who prefer more fighting.  This creates a mix of players and personalities within the game.


The game has many more detailed aspects requiring you to think about how your castles and troops are set-up to enhance your fighting style.  Too many details for this article (Throne Room, city types, crafting, troop types, etc.), but to learn more about all of the details refer to the links in the “Resources to Help Gameplay” section below.



Cost
The game is completely free, but you can also spend money to help obtain an advantage much faster.  Playing free takes more time to build up, but you can still be competitive as a free player (I do not pay to play).  Paying for gems can help to gain advantages by buying upgrades, chests (can include troops, helpful items, etc.), and much more.


Resources to Help Gameplay
There are sites available to help you learn more details about the game and become a better player.  Below are a few of the sites available:
  • KOC Forums - players discuss many aspects of the game here
  • Kocmon - great site to help look up player’s stats, alliances, etc.  It’s good to research who you are attacking.
  • KOC Wikia - site with many helpful details about the game
  • Many players use “scripts” to run the more monotonous aspects of the game.  These scripts can be easily found and installed on browsers such as Firefox and Pale Moon.  Examples of scripts can be found here - Power Tools and Power Bot (there are other scripts available)
  • A few others helpful sites can be found by searching the internet


Conclusion
The game can consume as much of your time as you are willing to put into it.  The type of player you want to be is dependent on how you want to play (more fighting or more social).  You can play for free or play and pay, it’s all up to you.

This article is a very high level overview of the game.  If you have any questions or would like more specific information on any of the details within the game, please respond back with comments stating what you would like to learn about.  Provide comments on the Facebook page or G+.

-Jeff

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This game is not available on the Wii U, PS4 or Xbox One

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Tech Time: 5 Reasons why gamers need a tablet


Technology is ever changing. Recognizing those changes can be difficult. Tablets are constantly finding new ways to maintain their relevance. Here are a few reasons you gamers might want to get a tablet, or maybe dust off the one you have laying around.


Current
Guides -  I am sure we have all been stuck in a game somewhere and been unable figure out how to advance.  You could run to your desktop, pull up a guide or grab the laptop, find a place to plug it up near the TV (We all know those batteries on most laptops are almost worthless after six months), OR just reach over, grab your tablet and pull up a text or video walkthrough.  I did the latter many times while playing Skyrim.
Stats - Sites like Battlefield’s Battlelog give you the ability to track progress and view data  in immense detail while you play.  Battlefield has its Battlelog site and Call of Duty has a similar setup.  This is primarily the extent of current tablet integration.
Mobile Gaming - A tablet can be used to make documents, spreadsheets, scan documents and many other things.  Aside from that tedious stuff you also have access to millions of mobile gaming options.  Between tablets and phones it is becoming more and more difficult for dedicated gaming handhelds to remain relevant.  You can read more about that in the 2DS article. Or, take it from the Atari founder who said Nintendo, the dedicated handheld leader, was facing a  path to irrelevance. Who knows though, he also thinks motion sickness is a large hurdle for virtual reality style gaming.
Price - Google has been subsidizing amazing tablets in its Nexus brand.  You can get a “Ipad killer” Nexus 10 or “Ipad Mini killer” Nexus 7 for a fraction (ALMOST HALF) of the price of their Apple counterparts.  With the Nexus brand you do not have to worry about getting the up-to-date models.  Nexus only has the 7 inch (Nexus 7) and the 10 inch (Nexus 10), and they are constantly updated if you buy from Google.


Future
Smartglass - Console gaming is now attempting to incorporate them into what seems to be a desirable fashion. Consoles are having tablets play certain roles in games and perform menu tasks.  As the technology develops, I am sure tablets will get more and more integration into the console world.
Games
*
Battlefield 4 has "Commander Mode" played entirely, along with regular console players on the tablet and the ability to move the map to your tablet with PS4 and Xbox One.  
*
Tom Clancys: The Division has a UAV role that is played completely on the tablet, along with regular console players.  
*XBox One has also committed to its SmartGlass idea of being able to control the Xbox, buy/download content and perform matchmaking during a game all on a tablet or #smone (I am starting “smone” because a “smartphone” is pretty much every phone out there).  


Notice there is no mention of the Wii U.


Questions about a topic within this article?
Was there anything I missed?  Or an insight that you would like to add?  
Leave a comment on
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Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Who was behind the Virginia Navy Yard shooter?



With news reports ranging from a “fully automatic weapon” to a “shotgun”, it was unclear what was used in the Navy Yard mass shooting in Virginia until now.  It seems that information would be easily conveyed to reporters in the press conference after the gunman was killed.  Or at a minimum, a listing of the guns that were found on his body at the time of being killed or captured.
Reports are now coming forward talking about his mental history and his ability to maintain his security clearance while having multiple weapon charges and mental illness indicators.  


Biden comments
“If you want to protect yourself get a double barreled shotgun” “Buy a shotgun. Buy a shotgun."





Summary
The Vice President says at the end of an interview “Buy a shotgun. Buy a shotgun.” After encouraging people to commit felonies with firearms. If the VP were to give you advice that was posted on whitehouse.gov would you assume that it was credible? People are constantly blaming music, movies, video games and even religion for others’ actions.  Would it be viable to blame VP Biden for his involvement?
You can vilify or ban any inanimate object and bad people will find a way to commit crimes.  No level of gun control will stop violent crime.  I can prove it in one word: PRISON.  


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Thursday, September 12, 2013

Tech Time: SmartWatches the best to date.

There are a myriad of fitness devices on the market. They range from simple bands to full on watches with gps and mp3 players. What is the best role for a smartwatch? It is not feasible for it to be an all-in-one phone. It can supplement your phone. But how can you incorporate that while making it useful as a standalone product as well?
It seems that semi smartwatches are very popular at incorporating GPS and being used by runners. There is usually a significant following among runners. Today there are few smartwatches that do anything well and are at a reasonable price point.


Sony has a smartwatch, but I would not really call it that because it basically just allows you to read text messages and see who is calling. Effectively, making it a phone companion. It also had a very limited compatibility with Sony phones which made it unattractive for most. Sony is releasing a 2nd version Sony Smartwatch 2(SW2) that will work with just about any phone.

Samsung has just released one(Galaxy Gear) that can run apps and has a pedometer. I didnt see a size rating or headphone out. So this is just a watch that allows you to do limited actions swiping your finger on its tiny screen. Its app selection is limited to 10 on the watch at once. The screen on the watch has me wondering about its battery life.

ImWatch has a viable contender in the smartwatch arena. It can do everything your phone does to include answering the phone. In doing so much I can only wonder how long the battery lasts. The big problem with ImWatch is the price. They can easily be more than the phone itself!

Pebble finally arrived not too long ago, but when it did was still missing apps and functionality. It was a grand idea with the e-ink display, but the button navigation left much to be desired. On release Pebble has been having some battery issues. It was supposed to last 5-7 days, but people are barely getting 1 out of it. This should be able to be fixed in updates or new models. Slightly better than a phone companion, but lacking in apps to make it more than that.


After much research about a year ago I picked up the Motoactv. I was going to wait for the Pebble, but I still had to wait for the ship date and then I had to wait for them to be in stock. THe ImWatch Tech was over $1200! And the Sony may or may not have worked with my phone and was just a phone companion. The Motoactv could do everything the phone companion could do plus it was a standalone mp3 player, GPS for running, had the ability to interface with bluetooth heart rate monitors and be used with bluetooth headphones. The motoactv goes a few days before needing to be recharged even if I take it on a run while listening to music and with the GPS on. The best part about it was they were selling for under $200. The Motoactv had been discontinued. Nevertheless, it fulfilled all the needs and filled multiple roles thus increasing its value. It is an amazing watch and I hope Google uses its design to make an additional watch with all the other watches coming out now.




You can still get Motoactv for under $200. The SW2 will be around $200 as well. If SW2 can keep battery life it will give you plenty of options. If you are not into running, the next best thing would be the new SW2 when it decides to come out.




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Monday, September 9, 2013

LifeStyle: 5 essentials for any move




            Do you have a move coming up? If you have moved a few times you know there are a few key things you need. If you have not then you probably will just grab some boxes and hope for the best. Bookmark this page or favorite this article because we are about to reveal to you the most crucial things you will need for any type of move.

5) Tape: Tape may seem obvious but having enough can oftentimes be a huge timesaver.  Tape comes in many forms, but make sure you get the clear packing tape. Never use duct tape.
Pro tip - Getting a tape gun can make your work much easier if you have a lot of taping to do. -The quality of packing tape is rarely a hindrance.
- Be sure to fold the end of the tape over after each use. It will save you time searching for it later and help to prevent a partial pull


4) Boxes: Not only having boxes is essential, but also having the right types of boxes can be a huge time save and help save your stuff.  Consider where you are moving to. If you are moving items into a storage unit or some other sort of long term storage, then sorting these items and placing them into durable plastic containers can save the contents from moisture and bugs.
Pro tip
- If buying those Rubbermaid or Sterilite containers gets too expensive consider looking on
Craigslist in the farm section or searching "drum" for 55 gallon drums farmers get that contained feed.  You can usually grab those for about $5 a piece.


3) Rope: Rope can be used to secure items along the wall of a moving truck and/ or supporting walls at intervals within a truck. (If you want an article describing loading strategies then comment on the XcerptShow Facebook page).  
Pro tip- Twine is cheap and considering you will be cutting it to size and cutting out your tie downs, it is probably your most economical option.
- A sturdy rope can also be used to make a noose if moving becomes too difficult.


2) Tools: This is not referring to someone who is incompetent and completely worthless to have around. I was just going to say a knife, but having a knife and a few different sized screwdrivers a drill with heads to take apart furniture, remove window covering hardware and to tackle any other problems that may arise.
Pro tip- Keep this in the cab of the moving truck or main moving vehicle


1) Pizza: The most important thing to have is pizza. Pizza not only has plenty of carbs to keep you energized, but it also can be eaten by hand and is cheap.  Because if you were smart you recruited some companions to help you move and if they get hungry they are not going to stick around.  
Leave a comment on Facebook about something that you think was left out or if you think this is helpful.




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