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Food and Cooking, Health, Health and Diet, Lifestyle

Cookbooks for Bread and Comfort Foods to Enjoy During Winter Holidays

Enjoy the season and learn to bake around the hearth and home

As follows some wonderful books for baking bread and other delights from scratch in our own kitchen to savor and enjoy. 

Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza

There are few things more satisfying than biting into a freshly made, crispy-on-the-outside, soft-and-supple-on-the-inside slice of perfectly baked bread. For Portland-based baker Ken Forkish, well-made bread is more than just a pleasure–it is a passion that has led him to create some of the best and most critically lauded breads and pizzas in the country. 

In Flour Water Salt Yeast, Forkish translates his obsessively honed craft into scores of recipes for rustic boules and Neapolitan-style pizzas, all suited for the home baker. Forkish developed and tested all of the recipes in his home oven, and his impeccable formulas and clear instructions result in top-quality artisan breads and pizzas that stand up against those sold in the best bakeries anywhere. Click here to see “Flour Water Salt Yeast” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.

Tartine Bread

 It comes from Chad Robertson, a man many consider to be the best bread baker in the United States, and co-owner with Elizabeth Prueitt of San Francisco’s Tartine Bakery. At 5 P.M., Chad Robertson’s rugged, magnificent Tartine loaves are drawn from the oven. The bread at San Francisco’s legendary Tartine Bakery sells out within an hour almost every day. 

Only a handful of bakers have learned the bread science techniques Chad Robertson has developed: To Chad Robertson, bread is the foundation of a meal, the center of daily life, and each loaf tells the story of the baker who shaped it. Chad Robertson developed his unique bread over two decades of apprenticeship with the finest artisan bakers in France and the United States, as well as experimentation in his own ovens. Readers will be astonished at how elemental it is. Click here to see “Tartine Bread” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.

The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, 15th Anniversary Edition: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread

Co-founder of the legendary Brother Juniper’s Bakery, author of ten landmark bread books, and distinguished instructor at the world’s largest culinary academy, Peter Reinhart has been a leader in America’s artisanal bread movement for more than thirty years. Never one to be content with yesterday’s baking triumph, however, Peter continues to refine his recipes and techniques in his never-ending quest for extraordinary bread. 

In this updated edition of the bestselling The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, Peter shares bread breakthroughs arising from his study in France’s famed boulangeries and the always-enlightening time spent in the culinary college kitchen with his students. Peer over Peter’s shoulder as he learns from Paris’s most esteemed bakers, like Lionel Poilâne and Phillippe Gosselin, whose pain à l’ancienne has revolutionized the art of baguette making. Then stand alongside his students in the kitchen as Peter teaches the classic twelve stages of building bread, his clear instructions accompanied by more than 100 step-by-step photographs. Click here to see “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.

Bread on the Table: Recipes for Making and Enjoying Europe’s Most Beloved Breads 

In this highly anticipated cookbook, culinary instructor and baker David Norman explores the European breadmaking traditions that inspire him most–from the rye breads of France to the saltless ciabattas of Italy to the traditional Christmas loaves of Scandinavia.

Norman also offers recipes for traditional foods to accompany these regional specialties, so home bakers can showcase their freshly made breads alongside a traditional Swedish breakfast spread, oysters with mignonette, or country pâté, to name a few examples. With rigorous, detailed instructions plus showstopping photography, this book will surprise and delight bakers of all stripes.

The debut cookbook from cult favorite Austin bakery and beer garden Easy Tiger, featuring recipes from author David Norman’s time spent exploring bread traditions throughout Europe and North America, plus menu ideas for incorporating homemade bread into everyday meals. Click here to see “Bread on the Table” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.

Bread Illustrated: A Step-By-Step Guide to Achieving Bakery-Quality Results at Home

Many home cooks find bread baking rewarding but intimidating. In Bread Illustrated, America’s Test Kitchen shows bakers of all levels how to make foolproof breads, rolls, flatbreads, and more at home. Each master recipe is presented as a hands-on and reassuring tutorial illustrated with six to 16 full-color step-by-step photos.

Organized by level of difficulty to make bread baking less daunting, the book progresses from the simplest recipes for the novice baker to artisan-style loaves, breads that use starters, and more complex project recipes. The recipes cover a wide and exciting range of breads from basics and classics like Easy Sandwich Bread and Fluffy Dinner Rolls to interesting breads from around the world including Lahmacun, Panettone, and Fig and Fennel Bread. Click here to see “Bread Illustrated” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.

Poilâne: The Secrets of the World-Famous Bread Bakery

To food lovers the world over, a trip to Paris is not complete without a visit to Poil ne. Ina Garten raves about the bread’s “extraordinary quality.” Martha Stewart says the P in Poil ne stands for “perfect.” For the first time, Poil ne provides detailed instructions so bakers can reproduce its unique “hug-sized” sourdough loaves at home, as well as the bakery’s other much-loved breads and pastries. 

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It tells the story of how Apollonia Poil ne, the third-generation baker and owner, took over the global business at age eighteen and steered it into the future as a Harvard University freshman after her parents were killed in a helicopter crash.  Beyond bread, Apollonia includes recipes for pastries such as the bakery’s exquisite but unfussy tarts and butter cookies. In recipes that use bread as an ingredient, she shows how to make the most from a loaf, from crust to crumb. Click here to see “Poilâne” and help Independent Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.

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Books

Burnout Rescue: Books to help figure out what is Draining you in Life

Above: Photo Collage / Publishers

The time is now to start listening – to your body that is

It’s not uncommon lately, at one point or another, to start asking ourselves some of the following questions: Working too hard ? Life ever feel as if you can’t keep up? Always stressed or tired? If you answered yes, it’s possible you are one of many experiencing burnout. But what is burnout? 

Burnout can look like different things to different people, yet it is almost always is characterized by an overwhelming feeling of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion. Burnout is often the result of prolonged exposure to stress, but there is a nuanced difference. 

Being stressed out means there is too much going on, but being burned out means not enough positive input causing a feeling of emptiness (such as; no motivation, not caring or ability to see hope or potential for positive change). Usually burnout is associated with work, but there are definitely other factors that can contribute outside your job, including  personal lifestyle (e.g. too much responsibility and not enough support) or even personality traits (e.g. type A or need for perfection).  

Below are a few books that can help you recognize and take action to help better cope with the omnipresent burnout in our world, learn to listen to your body, and find methods to deal in healthier ways the many stressors and demands that today’s life can hold. 

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle

This book focuses on helping women identify and explain burnout and how  we experience it very different than our male counterparts. 

A best-seller that relies on science-based finding also lays out realistic ways in which women can recover from burnout to  live a more joyful life by minimizing stress and managing emotions.

Also comes with worksheets and exercises that makes self-care and wellness within the realm of the possible. Click to see “Burnout“.

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

This hugely popular best-selling book delves into traumatic stress and how it impacts our body. Using scientific data, Van Der Kolk breaks down how trauma literally reshapes both the brain and body.

In addition he explores ways to retrain the brain by activating parts of the brain that can help including: sports, yoga, meditation, and much more.

Discover “The Body Keeps the Score” at LynxoticBooks.

Winning the War in your Mind: Change your Thinking, Change your Life

Bad habits and unhealthy ways of thinking are part of what it is to be human. Author Groeschel understands that battle with negative thinking and helps you identify such “false thinking” and rewire your thought processes.

He also incorporates faith, allowing you to bring in a higher power to enable a life that brings more peace and joy. to Click for more on “Winning the War“.

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Food and Cooking, Health and Diet

Turmeric is more than just Spice: it’s really the Curcumin that holds All the Health Benefits

Above: Photo Credit / Collage / Lynxotic / Unsplash

Is the Yellow-Orange Spice – helpful or all hype?

Curcumin, Curcuma, Haldi, Yellow Saffron, Yellow Root, the Golden Spice, all these names are associated with Turmeric. Not familiar with the spice? Walking past Indian restaurants, grocery stores, vitamin shops or even juiceries, you have probably come across products that contain the product turmeric.

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Nowadays it comes in many different forms:  raw (produce department), powdered, in capsules, creams or even in teas.  Turmeric, the yellow spice and the plant in the ginger family that has a long history throughout Asia, particularly in curries, however there are also a whole host of other ways in which its utilized (cooking, dying fabric, skin care/cosmetics).

According to NIH (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health) Historically Indian and Eastern Asian areas have used in medicinal healing for a plethora of disorders ranging from skin disorders, respiratory issues, joints and for digestion.   Below are just a few of the known health benefits turmeric touts besides being one of the main ingredients in delicious curry. 

If you aren’t familiar with turmeric, a spice plant, grown for its root. What makes the yellow color pigment is one of the primary compounds (curcuminoids) specifically Curcumin, that besides the vibrant color also contains a wide range of health benefits that include: anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-microbial effects.   

Turmeric, a natural compound, can block the action of inflammatory molecules found in the body and has become popular as a remedy for a number of conditions including: arthritis, joint pain, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), heartburn, kidney issues and colitis to name a few. 

In addition to its anti-inflammatory properties, the spice has also been used to ease pain. Studies in 2016 have found that 1,000 mg of curcumin can reduce pain/inflammation just as well as other over the counter anti-inflammatory bursts (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen. 

Its powerful antioxidant properties which has been shown to protect us from free radicals which cause damage to the body’s cells. 

Potential Risks / Adverse Effects

Turmeric and Curcumin have been found both safe and helpful to consume, however its noteworthy to include, that there are potential risks for large doses of turmeric. Since turmeric is an antioxidant, large doses may increase levels of urinary oxalate which could cause the formation of kidney stones. Also turmeric can thin the blood and should be avoided if you have a bleeding disorder. Other mild side effects can include headaches, upset stomach/diarrhea, dizziness and acid reflux. 

As always, its best to speak to a doctor/medical professional if you have health issues prior to starting to incorporate any supplements like turmeric into your diet. 

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D.I.Y., Tech

How QR codes work and what makes them dangerous – a computer scientist explains

QR codes are visual patterns that store data smartphones can read. Photo- Adobe Stock

Scott Ruoti, University of Tennessee

Among the many changes brought about by the pandemic is the widespread use of QR codes, graphical representations of digital data that can be printed and later scanned by a smartphone or other device.

QR codes have a wide range of uses that help people avoid contact with objects and close interactions with other people, including for sharing restaurant menus, email list sign-ups, car and home sales information, and checking in and out of medical and professional appointments.

QR codes are a close cousin of the bar codes on product packaging that cashiers scan with infrared scanners to let the checkout computer know what products are being purchased.

Bar codes store information along one axis, horizontally. QR codes store information in both vertical and horizontal axes, which allows them to hold significantly more data. That extra amount of data is what makes QR codes so versatile.

Anatomy of a QR code

While it is easy for people to read Arabic numerals, it is hard for a computer. Bar codes encode alphanumeric data as a series of black and white lines of various widths. At the store, bar codes record the set of numbers that specify a product’s ID. Critically, data stored in bar codes is redundant. Even if part of the bar code is destroyed or obscured, it is still possible for a device to read the product ID.

QR codes are designed to be scanned using a camera, such as those found on your smartphone. QR code scanning is built into many camera apps for Android and iOS. QR codes are most often used to store web links; however, they can store arbitrary data, such as text or images.

When you scan a QR code, the QR reader in your phone’s camera deciphers the code, and the resulting information triggers an action on your phone. If the QR code holds a URL, your phone will present you with the URL. Tap it, and your phone’s default browser will open the webpage.

QR codes are composed of several parts: data, position markers, quiet zone and optional logos.

The QR code anatomy: data (1), position markers (2), quiet zone (3) and optional logos (4). Scott Ruoti, CC BY-ND

The data in a QR code is a series of dots in a square grid. Each dot represents a one and each blank a zero in binary code, and the patterns encode sets of numbers, letters or both, including URLs. At its smallest this grid is 21 rows by 21 columns, and at its largest it is 177 rows by 177 columns. In most cases, QR codes use black squares on a white background, making the dots easy to distinguish. However, this is not a strict requirement, and QR codes can use any color or shape for the dots and background.

Position markers are squares placed in a QR code’s top-left, top-right, and bottom-left corners. These markers let a smartphone camera or other device orient the QR code when scanning it. QR codes are surrounded by blank space, the quiet zone, to help the computer determine where the QR code begins and ends. QR codes can include an optional logo in the middle.

Like barcodes, QR codes are designed with data redundancy. Even if as much as 30% of the QR code is destroyed or difficult to read, the data can still be recovered. In fact, logos are not actually part of the QR code; they cover up some of the QR code’s data. However, due to the QR code’s redundancy, the data represented by these missing dots can be recovered by looking at the remaining visible dots.

Are QR codes dangerous?

QR codes are not inherently dangerous. They are simply a way to store data. However, just as it can be hazardous to click links in emails, visiting URLs stored in QR codes can also be risky in several ways.

The QR code’s URL can take you to a phishing website that tries to trick you into entering your username or password for another website. The URL could take you to a legitimate website and trick that website into doing something harmful, such as giving an attacker access to your account. While such an attack requires a flaw in the website you are visiting, such vulnerabilities are common on the internet. The URL can take you to a malicious website that tricks another website you are logged into on the same device to take an unauthorized action.

A malicious URL could open an application on your device and cause it to take some action. Maybe you’ve seen this behavior when you clicked a Zoom link, and the Zoom application opened and automatically joined a meeting. While such behavior is ordinarily benign, an attacker could use this to trick some apps into revealing your data.

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It is critical that when you open a link in a QR code, you ensure that the URL is safe and comes from a trusted source. Just because the QR code has a logo you recognize doesn’t mean you should click on the URL it contains.

There is also a slight chance that the app used to scan the QR code could contain a vulnerability that allows malicious QR codes to take over your device. This attack would succeed by just scanning the QR code, even if you don’t click the link stored in it. To avoid this threat, you should use trusted apps provided by the device manufacturer to scan QR codes and avoid downloading custom QR code apps.

Scott Ruoti, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, University of Tennessee

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Books, Food and Cooking, Health, Health and Diet, Lifestyle

Dukan Diet Attack Phase food list and the various Keto Alternatives

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Deconstructing “Ketogenic”, “Keto” and “Ketosis”…

The Ketogenic Diet, popularly referred to as simply “Keto”, is on top of the list of many well-known ways in which people have lost weight by eating food low in carbs. The ketogenic diet isn’t actually anything new and has been utilized for centuries, most commonly used to help diabetes. The diet was also introduced in the 1920’s as treatment for epilepsy in children, as well as tested with people who have cancer, polycystic ovary syndrome (POS) and Alzheimer’s. 

Yet, as a popular way to lose weight, Keto can’t take all the credit, since the rise in stature can be largely attributed to The Atkins Diet, which started around the 1970’s and commercialized the low-carb/high protein diet structure. Due to the initial success of The Atkins Diet, many other low carb diets and variations have been put on the map – such as Keto, Paleo, South Beach and The Dukan Diet to name just a few.

The four phases of the Dukan diet:

  1. Attack Phase (1–7 days): You start the diet by eating unlimited lean protein plus 1.5 tablespoons of oat bran per day.
  2. Cruise Phase (1–12 months): Alternate lean protein one day with lean protein and non-starchy veggies the next, plus 2 tablespoons of oat bran every day.
  3. Consolidation Phase (5 days for every pound lost in phases 1 and 2): Unlimited lean protein and veggies, some carbs and fats, one day of lean protein weekly, 2.5 tablespoons of oat bran daily.
  4. Stabilization Phase (indefinite): Follow the Consolidation Phase guidelines but loosen the rules as long as your weight remains stable. Oat bran is increased to 3 tablespoons per day.

The Attack Phase is primarily based on high-protein foods, as well as a few extras that provide low calorie options:

  • Lean beef, veal, venison, bison, and other game
  • Lean pork
  • Poultry without skin
  • Liver, kidney, and tongue
  • Fish and shellfish (all types)
  • Eggs
  • Non-fat dairy products (restricted to 32 ounces or 1 kg per day), such as milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, and ricotta
  • Tofu and tempeh
  • Seitan, a meat substitute made from wheat gluten
  • At least 6.3 cups (1.5 liters) of water per day (mandatory)
  • 1.5 tablespoons (9 grams) of oat bran daily (mandatory)
  • Unlimited artificial sweeteners, shirataki noodles, and diet gelatin
  • Small amounts of lemon juice and pickles
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of oil daily for greasing pans

So what makes Keto different? The Keto diet stands out from the other low-carb diets because you eat a much higher fat content, which accounts for as much as 70-80% of your food intake and usually, in contrast to other low carb diets, involves also eating only a moderate amount of protein.

The general idea is for your eating plan to include more calories derived from proteins and fat and less from carbohydrates.  With a low-carb diet, your body will eventually run out of fuel, usually taken from blood sugar (glucose), which will result in your body starting to break down proteins and fat for energy instead and that will result in weight loss.  This metabolic process, described here in a nut-shell, is called ketosis.  

Whether you want to just dip your feet in the pooland try out some Keto recipes, or go full hog (pun intended), we have provided some book titles on the most popular books relating to Keto.

What to Eat

  • Meat (Fish, Beef, Poultry)
  • Leafy Green Vegetables (Spinach, Kale)
  • Eggs and Diary (Cheese, Cream, Butter)
  • Oils
  • Nuts and Seeds
  • Avocados
  • Broccoli and Cauliflower
  • Berries
  • Water

What NOT to Eat

  • Bread (Flour, Wheat, Rice, Cereal)
  • Pasta
  • Starches (like Potatoes and Yams)
  • Sugar
  • high Fructose Corn Syrup
  • Corn
  • Legumes and Beans
  • Fruit (exception is Berries)
  • Soda
  • Milk (has milk sugar)

Being on a ketogenic diet is meant for the short term, rather than permanent, with the main focus being on losing weight and should not be done as a long-term lifestyle diet. This is because there have been some noted and potentially unhealthy takeaways from the diet; one that the diet heavily relies on red meat and other fat-rich processed, high-salt foods that are not optimum for daily consumption.  In addition, there have not been enough long term studies to conclude if the the short-term results of weight loss will last or if, after resuming carb intake, the pound will be put right back on again. 

As always, whenever choosing a specific elating plan, diet, or weight loss approach, keep in mind that everyone’s body is different and results will vary.  Consulting an expert on the matter, like a registered dietitian or general practitioner, is highly recommended for the best guidance on what is best for you. 

Keto-Evolution: Non Meat Options

Since The Keto Diet has been around for a long time, there’s no shortage of books and cookbooks on the topic. However there are now many new and different ways to incorporate Keto, with an offshoot of systems for non-meat eaters, including vegan and vegetarian options.

This is surprising, since when Keto comes to mind, it is normal first to picture high-protein animal products like meat, eggs and cheese at the forefront of what can be eaten on the diet. Knowing that you can have plant-based alternatives to choose from and incorporate for Keto is refreshing, and just might remove some of the biggest potential drawbacks mentioned above.

Ketotarian includes more than 75 recipes that are vegetarian, vegan, or pescatarian, offering a range of delicious and healthy choices for achieving weight loss, renewed health, robust energy, and better brain function. Dr. Will Cole comes to the rescue with Ketotarian, which has all the fat-burning benefits without the antibiotics and hormones that are packed into most keto diets.

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Food and Cooking, Lifestyle

How to Make Bubble Tea Tapioca Balls (Boba Pearls)

Boba tea by any other name…

Pearl Milk Tea, Bubble Tea, Tapioca Tea, Boba Tea, or in Taiwan, which is said to be the home country the drink originates from, they call it zhenzhu naicha – all these are different names that are essentially interchangeable for the same delicious drink.

Although Taiwan undoubtedly wins top slot for the boba capital of the world (with Hong Kong a close second), these cold beverages are a go-to option for millions across the globe; it’s enjoyed all over Asia, North America and Europe. Located in the United States myself, I’ve seen the growing popularity over recent years, with many new bubble tea shops often strategically placed near college campuses!

The recent history of bubble tea, and when boba really started to make a name in the beverage world, dates back to the early 1980’s, however, Milk tea had been known and enjoyed in Taiwan and East Asia long before that.

Bubble tea (in Chinese: boba nai cha) comes in a vast array of flavors (there are hundreds of different variations to how the tea is made up), but the foundation for the popular drink pretty much sticks to the basics. The main ingredients are : tea, milk, sweetener, and tapioca balls, also known as boba. The name Bubble Tea and Pearl Tea all stem from the star ingredient; the black tapioca pearls, or boba balls, that are small spheres and circular in shape, with a taste some say is reminiscent of tapioca pudding, only chewy and with tea!

And I guess saying black tapioca pearls is better than referring to the black pearl tapioca bubbles as ‘chewy balls’.

Where can you get your hands on this luscious Taiwanese Drink? The short answer is that you can either purchase some at one of many tea house chain shops (boba cafe), or you can make it, actually quite easily, at home.

The main ingredients are: tea, milk (or milk alternative) and a sweetener of your choice. And of course we cannot forget the star ingredient that makes it all worth while; the tapioca pearls or boba.

Are there any health benefits to Boba Tea?

There’s no definitive research that Bubble or Boba Tea has special or particular added health benefits. However the core ingredient, tea, particularly green tea, has been found to have health benefits, including lowering your blood pressure. The Black and Green teas which are popular teas for the cold drink also have caffeine which can boost your energy levels and potentially even aid with weight loss.

One popular topping for Bubble Tea is aloe vera grass jelly. Aloe vera has associations with healing, mainly with skin irritations and sunburns, however when ingested it’s also been linked to lowered blood glucose levels.

What exactly are those Pearls in Boba Tea?

The defining feature of the tea, for most aficionados, is all about what is at the bottom of the cup, those chewy tapioca balls. Simply defined, tapioca is a starch that is extracted from the cassava root. When the tapioca starch is ground up into tapioca flour, the tapioca dough is rolled into smaller sized balls that, once cooked, create the chewy texture that is the signature feature of Boba Tea.

The compounds in tapioca used for food flavoring, which are sometimes found in boba, are approved for consumption and use by the food and drug administration.

According to Liu han-chieh, who many say was the originator of the creative milk-tea recipe, people started calling the drink “bubble tea” because of the thick layer of foam that formed at top of the drink after it is shaken, not because of the black pearls. The eventual addition of tapioca balls or “boba”, according to Liu han-chieh, dates back to 1987, when a competition was held to come up with a new version of the creative concoction.

Below is a breakdown for common bubble teas, including the most well-known kind of tea as well as how to make the best bubble tea at home, whether it be for the first time, or if you are a seasoned pro:

Let’s Start with the Base: Tea

Since the drink is typically served cold, with ice cubes, having a strong and robust flavored tea will make for the best outcome, when making at home.

The stronger tea helps to retain the flavor even after the drink becomes slightly watered down from the melting ice. This is the reason cold teas are best steeped using a stronger variety of tea.

Of course, the flavor of the tea used can also vary based on your personal taste preference. Some of the more common choices used are black tea, jasmine tea and green tea.

There is no right or wrong choice for a tea base to use, and there are many, many different flavors available: white tea, red tea, fruit tea, oolong tea, fruit teas, the list goes on and on.

The first step if you want to make boba drinks at home is to prepare the tea of your choosing, see above for all the different teas to choose from. Steep your tea bags or tea leaves in a couple of cups of water. Let your boiling water and tea cool until it reaches room temperature.

Next comes the Milk – Or Not

You don’t want to add any milk into the hot water, so it’s best for it to cool before you move onto next step. Usually, milk or heavy creams is next step. Some people prefer half-and-half as the milk element in their bubble milk tea .

If milk is not in your diet but you still want to add the creamy component to your delicious bubble tea, some non-dairy creamer options could include anything from coconut milk, nut milks (almond milk, for example) or soy milk.

Although the more traditional bubble tea drink consists of dairy (boba milk tea) there are definitely people that like fresh fruit based boba drinks. These are also among the more popular types of bubble tea recipe beverages available. Fruit juice in cold water and ice accompany the boba; mango, lemon, watermelon, passionfruit and lychee are just a few flavors to mention.

Pour some Sugar on Me: Sweetener

The kind of sweetener goes along the same line of the thinking above related to the tea, it is up to your taste buds how much sugar to add.

Base this on the the level of sweetness you want your iced tea to have. Popular choices for sweetener are good ‘ole granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, sugar syrup, simple syrup, honey, and even, believe it or not, ice cream. In the case of adding ice cream – maybe a smaller size is best (since with all sweet treats, everything is good in moderation). If you just want a hint of sweetness, just use a small amount of your favor sweetener and remember, a little goes a long way.

Surprisingly people even add red beans (sweet red bean paste) which is a very commonly accompaniment to Japanese deserts (compliments well with dairy).

Finally the Star of the Show: Tapioca Pearls (Boba)

You have a few options on where to acquire your tapioca balls (pearls) a.k.a. boba when making tea at home. Boba can be found in specialty supermarkets, or more conveniently as with most items, also available on the web, like Amazon for example.

There are variations on the type of tapioca pearl and boba options out there – usually revolving around the amount of time needed to cook. Starting with raw tapioca pearls the cooking process will turn them into wonderful, chewy tapioca pearls for glorious boba tea.

Some options to purchase can take as little as 5 minutes and others could take up to an hour to cook, probably longer if you are up to the challenge of making homemade boba pearls.

Word to the wise; only cook as many boba as you want to use for your drink since, unfortunately, the cooked pearls do not keep well overnight. The Pearls stiffen quickly once cooled, so best practice is to not completely drain your pearls from the hot water until you are ready to drink your tea.

Traditional Boba is made, as mentioned above, from tapioca flour. There are also other alternatives for tapioca boba including: corn starch boba pearls, boba made from sweet potato and even taro balls.

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Food and Cooking, Health, Health and Diet, Lifestyle

German Bread History, Culture and Traditions

Video

There is a natural human tendency to crave comfort food during a time of stress, the feelings of baking and having the ability to feed and care for oneself was probably a very strong motivator. And what is more comforting than freshly baked, nay, home baked bread with a little butter and jam to beautify an afternoon spent at home. Even if the reason for being inside is not an ideal one.

Oddly, in the US and some other nations, bread and wheat products have been cast in the role of villain due to gluten intolerance and related illnesses. In the UK alone, in 2017, there were a reported 10% of the population suffering from some form of intolerance. Such a percentage would translate into tens of millions in the US.

Above: Photo / Adobe Stock

Is bread really the culprit or is there something else going on?

As a disclaimer, let it be stated up-front that there are certainly many people who suffer from conditions such as Celiac Disease who have a very real, hereditary response to gluten which is very serious. Many of the rest of us, however, who are not in that category, may have a situation brought on by a completely different set of circumstances.

Regardless of exact statistics, intolerance to gluten is clearly a “thing”, particularly in the US. Many theories are out there as to the cause, including industrial bread manufacturing methods, suspect ingredients such as emulsifiers used in baking and pesticides on wheat farms. Some have even reported that when intolerant individuals travel to Europe, symptoms disappear, although they eat bread and other gluten containing foods.

An entirely different culture producing a drastically different result: German baking tradition

While American Style bread is also available in Germany, it is rare and not commonly sold in Bakeries but rather only in SuperMarkets. They call it “Toast-Bread” as it’s primary advantage is being square and machine cut, therefore a better fit for a common toaster than the various shapes and sizes of slices cut from what they consider “normal” loaves.

What is considered normal bread is, for example, never sold more than eight hours after baking (except at “day old” scavenger prices). The number of real bakeries, ones that take very seriously the task of making “the daily bread”, per capita is large compared to any US city. This can be dug up in statistics, but is easier to realize by just walking down any street in a German city. Literally every other shop is a small bakery with a dozen different types of bread that was baked that same morning.

Bakers up at 4am all across every town and city

Another factor is the wide range of fresh ingredients included. A short list of the types of bread and various ingredients is vast, and varies from region to region. Six hundred main bread types are well known and this does not include many specialty breads and rolls.

In addition to wheat, bread is often made with rye, barley, potato, oat, spelt, soy and other lesser known grains. Added seeds, nuts and fruit often include one or more of the following (partial list):

  • sunflower seeds
  • pumpkin seeds
  • poppy seeds
  • fled seeds
  • walnuts
  • raisins
  • currants
  • sesame seeds
  • olives
  • linseed
  • hazelnuts
  • almonds
  • oat flakes
  • whole gain groats
  • whey

In Germany, at any common bakery on the street, most, if not all of the items described above would be available on any given day. No need to go to a special, overpriced “organic” or “gourmet” bakery in some high end neighborhood. Just any average bakery will do.

Oddly, these same ingredients are often touted in online health advice articles – implying that there are health benefits to adding these “special” ingredients to one’s diet, all while other countries have had them as daily menu items for centuries if not thousands of years.

Taking all of the above into account, it should come as little surprise that, in the US, obscure health issues due to the lack or misuse of heretofore standard food items would be on the rise. In the case of gluten intolerance, it rises to practically epidemic proportions. Fixing this for any individual, short of taking residence outside the US, would require extra efforts and involve a possible increase in the cost of nourishment. However, considering the alternatives (suffering with a condition without a cure), it might be well worth it.

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Entertainment, Movies, Netflix, Streaming, Videos

Sandra Bullock is ex-convict for ‘The Unforgivable’ in Dramatic Turn

Video

You can see the new trailer starring Sandra Bullock in new role for “The Unforgivable” below. The film will be the first turn for the actress since 2018 when she played in the strange post-apocalyptic thriller “Bird Box” for Netflix, which was met with wild success. Bullock will both star and act as producer in this, her 2nd project with the streaming service.

Based on a viewing of the snippet from the trailer, this film looks to be on track as a top contender among the growing lineup of new fall and winter movies rolling out, which also include Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Power of the Dog” and Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence in “Don’t Look Up”.

The official synopsis from Netflix:

“Released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime, Ruth Slater (Bullock) re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past. Facing severe judgment from the place she once called home, her only hope for redemption is finding the estranged younger sister she was forced to leave behind.”

The upcoming drama is scheduled for release in select U.S. theaters on Nov. 24 and drops to stream on the Netflix on Dec. 10th.

Check out the official trailer:

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Climate Solutions, D.I.Y., Lifestyle, Observation

How to Implement small yet Meaningful Changes towards Zero Waste

Above: Image by RikaC from Pixabay 

Cause and Effect of Convenience

We have all experienced how, in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it can be very challenging to break away from convenience. When it comes to products and services, many large companies utilize fast, cheap, and easily disposable single-use containers made from plastic.

Sodas bottles are plastic, baristas serve coffee in plastic cups with plastic caps and straws, fast food restaurants prepare orders in single use wrappers with plastic containers for condiments, and the list can go on and on. These products are used and then discarded.

Single use plastic items, as the name indicates, are used only once, yet plastic breaks down extremely slow, with some forms taking hundreds of years to degrade as shown in the tweet below from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF):

Read More: Sustainable Energy is Now Essential to Rescue Economy and Planet: Earth Day 2020

Zero Waste Defined

Zero Waste as explained by Waste Management, is a philosophy that aims for resources to be reused, recycled or composted, in order to allow for very little to “zero” trash to be sent to landfills or spill into the ocean.

Clearly this issue is important, and getting more so, therefore should be considered a high priority – the reality is that huge amounts of plastic garbage does end up in the ocean and dumped in landfills. This dire state of affairs continues to jeopardize ocean and wildlife as well as our own health.

The organization Eco-Cycle Solutions urges the need for a complete change to our current system. With dwindling natural resources, a compromised ecosystem, and major changes in climate already evident today and with likely more on the way, there is no way the Earth can sustain for much longer and survive for future generations. 

The obvious need for large-scale changes at the corporate level, regarding plastic usage, is clear, but we also need to ask ourselves: what can be done on an individual scale?

Read More: “The Uninhabitable Earth”: an Apocalyptic Climate Study that Just might Shock you into Action

Small steps can lead to Big Change

Here are a few products that can be swapped-out and used instead of single and disposable use options:

  • Bamboo Toothbrush – both brush and bristles can be composted when time to replace
  • Lunchbox – making meals at home instead of eating out eliminates containers and can also be an opportunity to eat healthier
  • Water and Coffee Bottles (aluminum, glass or BPA free bottle) – can be refilled endlessly
  • Metal or Glass Straws – sturdier than the plastic counterpart and can be used over and over
  • Shopping Bags (canvas or other fabric) – can be used to carry groceries or any purchases
  • Cloth Napkins – for drying hands or wiping up around the house

“Using more sustainable products offers many benefits: saving money, eating healthier, all while creating a smaller ecological footprint in the world. While all are positive steps, most importantly, these small individual acts can ultimately help in the fight for the survival of future generations.”

While it may be impossible to free us of all waste, with effort and change, not necessarily perfection (decades of waste cannot be eliminated by a short term solution), small steps can lead to a better tomorrow.

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Climate Solutions, News, Observation, Science

Scientists, here’s how to use less plastic

Above: Photo / Unsplash

Meet the researchers making science more sustainable.

The lab is quietly bustling with scientists intent on their work. One gestures to an item on her bench – a yellow container, about the size of a novel. It’s almost full to the brim with used plastic pipette tips – the disposable attachments that stop pipettes being cross-contaminated. She stares down at it, despondently. “And this is just from today.”

We’re at the Francis Crick Institute, a towering biomedical research facility in the heart of London. The scientist in question is Marta Rodriguez Martinez, a Postdoctoral Training Fellow. Every day in her lab, pipette tips, petri dishes, bottles and more are used and discarded. The scale of the waste is immense – research by the University of Exeter estimates that labs worldwide generate 5.5 million tonnes of plastic waste each year.

Newsletter: 

Alongside her research, Rodriguez Martinez doubles as a sustainability rep, tirelessly working to reduce the plastic waste her lab produces. The Crick’s sustainability team consult her about the unique behaviours of scientists. In return, she encourages colleagues to stop using unnecessary plastic and teaches them about sustainable alternatives.

It’s a difficult task, but one she feels passionate about. “We have in our heads that plastic is a one-use material, but it is not. Plastic can be autoclaved, it can be washed. Most plastics we use in the lab could be re-used as efficiently as glass.”

The Crick is taking behaviour change seriously. Alongside reps like Rodriguez Martinez, it offers sustainability workshops and waste training to employees. A pipette-tip audit is underway, which will show which products come with the lowest excess plastic. It’s also developing an interactive dashboard for teams to see how their waste compares to other labs’.

But behaviour change is only the beginning. Rodrigo Ponce-Ortuño oversees the Crick’s contract with an eco-friendly waste-management company. He points out that the journey of plastic lab equipment stretches far beyond its short service on the workbench.

Take media bottles – the plastic containers that hold nutrients to grow cells and bacteria. “It’s just glucose that goes into the bottles,” Ponce-Ortuño explains. The liquid is non-hazardous, but in his experience, recycling companies are wary of the scientific jargon on the labelling.

“If it just said sugar, it would be fine,” he says. Instead, many companies reject the waste because they don’t understand the chemistry. But, by using contractors with the right expertise, the Crick now sends all its media bottles for recycling.

For Rodriguez Martinez, this is a milestone. “I use maybe four media bottles a week, and there are 1,200 scientists here. That we can rinse them and have a contractor recycle them is a big success.”

This tactic – of building companies’ confidence in handling lab equipment – has led to other successes, too. Cooling gel packs, polystyrene boxes and the bulky pallets used to transport products are all collected for re-use. Boxes for pipette tips are also collected – after they’ve been stacked and re-used in the labs themselves.

In fact, the Crick’s labs send no waste at all to landfill. Hazardous waste is safely incinerated, but anything else that can’t be recycled goes through a process called energy-from-waste, where electricity, heat or fuel is harvested from the material as it’s disposed of.

And they’re just as keen to reduce the amount of plastic coming in. The institute recently held a green procurement fair, where suppliers had to meet a set of sustainability criteria to attend. “Normally when you buy a product, you look at the quality and the price,” says Rodriguez Martinez. “We want to add sustainability to that equation.”

The team know that change won’t happen overnight. They need to win people over with practical measures to reduce plastics – without reducing the quality of science. So the institute is discussing best practice with other laboratories, to grow the movement for low-plastic research.

“We’re trying to educate people into a more sustainable science,” says Rodriguez Martinez.

Wellcome, which publishes Mosaic, is one of the six founding partners of the Francis Crick Institute.

The lab is quietly bustling with scientists intent on their work. One gestures to an item on her bench – a yellow container, about the size of a novel. It’s almost full to the brim with used plastic pipette tips – the disposable attachments that stop pipettes being cross-contaminated. She stares down at it, despondently. “And this is just from today.”

We’re at the Francis Crick Institute, a towering biomedical research facility in the heart of London. The scientist in question is Marta Rodriguez Martinez, a Postdoctoral Training Fellow. Every day in her lab, pipette tips, petri dishes, bottles and more are used and discarded. The scale of the waste is immense – research by the University of Exeter estimates that labs worldwide generate 5.5 million tonnes of plastic waste each year. Newsletter: 

Alongside her research, Rodriguez Martinez doubles as a sustainability rep, tirelessly working to reduce the plastic waste her lab produces. The Crick’s sustainability team consult her about the unique behaviours of scientists. In return, she encourages colleagues to stop using unnecessary plastic and teaches them about sustainable alternatives.

It’s a difficult task, but one she feels passionate about. “We have in our heads that plastic is a one-use material, but it is not. Plastic can be autoclaved, it can be washed. Most plastics we use in the lab could be re-used as efficiently as glass.”

The Crick is taking behaviour change seriously. Alongside reps like Rodriguez Martinez, it offers sustainability workshops and waste training to employees. A pipette-tip audit is underway, which will show which products come with the lowest excess plastic. It’s also developing an interactive dashboard for teams to see how their waste compares to other labs’.

But behaviour change is only the beginning. Rodrigo Ponce-Ortuño oversees the Crick’s contract with an eco-friendly waste-management company. He points out that the journey of plastic lab equipment stretches far beyond its short service on the workbench.

Take media bottles – the plastic containers that hold nutrients to grow cells and bacteria. “It’s just glucose that goes into the bottles,” Ponce-Ortuño explains. The liquid is non-hazardous, but in his experience, recycling companies are wary of the scientific jargon on the labelling.

“If it just said sugar, it would be fine,” he says. Instead, many companies reject the waste because they don’t understand the chemistry. But, by using contractors with the right expertise, the Crick now sends all its media bottles for recycling.

For Rodriguez Martinez, this is a milestone. “I use maybe four media bottles a week, and there are 1,200 scientists here. That we can rinse them and have a contractor recycle them is a big success.”

This tactic – of building companies’ confidence in handling lab equipment – has led to other successes, too. Cooling gel packs, polystyrene boxes and the bulky pallets used to transport products are all collected for re-use. Boxes for pipette tips are also collected – after they’ve been stacked and re-used in the labs themselves.

In fact, the Crick’s labs send no waste at all to landfill. Hazardous waste is safely incinerated, but anything else that can’t be recycled goes through a process called energy-from-waste, where electricity, heat or fuel is harvested from the material as it’s disposed of.

And they’re just as keen to reduce the amount of plastic coming in. The institute recently held a green procurement fair, where suppliers had to meet a set of sustainability criteria to attend. “Normally when you buy a product, you look at the quality and the price,” says Rodriguez Martinez. “We want to add sustainability to that equation.”

The team know that change won’t happen overnight. They need to win people over with practical measures to reduce plastics – without reducing the quality of science. So the institute is discussing best practice with other laboratories, to grow the movement for low-plastic research.

“We’re trying to educate people into a more sustainable science,” says Rodriguez Martinez.

Wellcome, which publishes Mosaic, is one of the six founding partners of the Francis Crick Institute.

This article first appeared on Mosaic and is republished here under a Creative Commons licence (CC BY 4.0).

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AI, Apps, Photography, Software, Tech

PhotoShop is Maxxed NFT with “NFT Prep” feature on the way from Adobe

Above: Photo Collage / Lynxotic

The Verge interview with Adobe’s CPO, has mega details

In a new, extensive, Verge interview podcast with Adobe’s CPO, Scott Belsky, a a ‘Prepare as NFT’ system launch for Photoshop was confirmed for the end of the month. 

The idea is to maintain a kind of proof of originality system to help prevent fake NFTs (minting non-fungible tokens) from being minted and sold by imposters. The final choice is in the buyers hands at this stage, but having a way for creators to prove authenticity would be a big step.

Since this week Adobe is also holding its annual conference, called Adobe Max, there are also a bunch of new features arriving for Creative Cloud and a slew of app including Photoshop. 

Intersecting worlds collide with Adobe in them all…

Adobe has been around, amazingly, since 1982, and millions of digital creatives and content creators use their products.

Photoshop is so entrenched that it has long achieved verb status: if you want to enhance a photo, for example to enlarge your backside or smooth out your skin, just “photoshop it”. And over use is derided as a “photoshopped” persona or image. 

Premiere Pro and After Effects, especially the latter, get a lot of pro and semi-pro use for video production. Many, many Pro photographers use Lightroom. The upgrade system for Adobe products and the creative cloud, such as the recent AI and neural engine assisted effects drive change and upgrades at a furious pace. 

With the entire content, image and video creation industry becoming more and more vital to networked human communications, tracing and verifying authorship and authenticity are becoming more and more crucial. 

Adobe is moving, with caution due to the issues that could arise, into the area on multiple fronts. As per the Verge article;

“With what Adobe is calling Content Credentials, creators will be able to link their Adobe ID with their crypto wallet and mint their work with participating NFT marketplaces. The software company says the feature should be compatible with popular NFT marketplaces including OpenSea, KnownOrigin, SuperRare, and Rarible. A ‘verified certificate’ that comes with minting an NFT with Photoshop’s Content Credentials will prove that the source of the art is authentic.”

Read More at:

The Verge

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Apple, Entertainment, iOS 15, iPhone, Tech

Apple Video showcases creative simplicity to capture incredible portraits using an iPhone 12

Video

Above:Photo / Apple / Mark Clennon

How to take an iPhone camera and make the most of it using taste and talent

Apple offers “Today at Apple” to inspire and educate iPhone users to help them learn and be creative with their devices. The online videos range from music to photography and are centered around Apple’s latest technologies.

This most recent video teaches users how to get the most out of the iPhone in portrait mode, but really using all to the various power features that are already in the iPhone 12 and even 11.

For example, 3 lenses allow ultra-wide, X1 and X2 (tele) shots at any time just by flipping between each preset. And once a group of photos exists, simple creative cropping and framing has a huge potential to bring out the most attractive and interesting features of each shot, and can be immediately saves as a separate image.

Of course, with such a high resolution image capture in the first place, cropping retains enough image-data that even an ultra-close crop can retain beautiful depth and detail.

Learning how to use all the tools, and most of all a photographer’s eye

The five minute video features self-taught New York City photographer Mark Clennon. In the clip he shows and explains how he sets up, shoots and edits his images, mainly in-camera (that is to say “in-iphone-camera”) to capture his most powerful portraits.

With iOS 15 (released in public beta) and soon with the iPhone 13 (or what the actual name turns out to be) both expected to be revealed in early September, the potential for portrait mode will be added also, potentially, to video in addition to photos and many other upgrades and improvements are on deck.

Free and extensive software upgrades, along with the not free and not inexpensive new hardware are a yearly ritual with Apple since the very first iPhone was released in 2007. Recently, with Apple Silicon and the gradual merging of the functionality to MacOS, iOS and iPad OS the upgrades seem to be in overdrive.

We have cataloged some of the more interesting changes in stand alone articles but still have more to come as this years upgrades and changes are particularly extensive.

This video is an example of how it’s possible to take even one feature, designed to assist in one form of photographic expression, and dig deeper into it with talent and intelligent use of experience and take the resulting images to a whole other level:

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Apple, Apple Services, iOS 15, iPad, iPhone, Mac, macOS 12 Monterey, OS Software, WWDC2021

New iPhone Separation Alerts will warn you if you’re about to lose your AirPods Pro

Above: Photo Credit / Apple

This is a feel-good story if it works and then it’s Hallelujah!

Ok, other than to be a benign stalker or to monitor your girlfriends actual ETA, do you even use the Apple “Find My” network? Were you aware that it applies to people, devices and now “items” using air tags? And that you can also find yourself, in case you don’t know where you are?

Well, all that has been expanded into a new realm, at least for those that want to hang onto expensive audio gadgets as long as possible. You guessed it, Apple has now added AirPods Pro and AirPods Max to the devices list.

This was announced at WWDC2021 but it is not, I repeat, not, something that you need to wait for a software upgrade to make use of. It’s live now if you have iOS 14.

Above: Photo Credit / Apple

Why the jubilation? I think because so many of us suffer from extended anxiety, even early symptoms of PTSD from the thought of losing those $250 or yikes(!) $549 babies.

Losing both or even one of these could be a life changing event, triggering depression and doubt and sadness. And Apple appears to understand this, indeed, they assure us that, not only is the Find My network supposed to geolocate your AirPods, they even have a new feature called “Separation Alerts”.

They specifically describe this feature thusly: “Separation Alerts notify a user if they leave an AirTag, Apple device, or Find My network accessory behind in an unfamiliar location…”

“Separation Alerts”, admittedly, sounds like a term for childhood trauma but, again, if you walk out of a Starbucks on 5th Ave. in NYC and you get a notification that you are sans your AirPod Pros, hallelujah, all is not lost, instead, you are running back in to grab those babies, STAT! (From the Latin word statim, meaning “immediately.”)

These subtle, free and unheralded improvements are seemingly the wave of the future, if you are an inhabitant of the Apple ecosystem, which is on the verge of turning into a kind of pre-metaverse training ground for future digital life pioneers.

Hardware Schwardware updates, who needs ’em?

WWDC2021 was, perhaps cleverly, devoid of hardware news or release announcements. This trick worked like a charm. Various top and sub-top media outlets spent the weeks ahead of the show and keynote, touting leaks, speculation and sources regarding, mostly, what turned out to be non-existent hardware updates.

Those will no doubt still be forthcoming, just not at the WWDC2021 keynote, as that ship has sailed.

Instead, and this is a good thing, we can all begin the journey to learn more about what is in store for the annual pilgrimage to the next generation of software enhancements for the Apple ecosystem, meaning macOS 12 Monterey, iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and all the rest too numerous to name here.

See our latest posts from the show for more details.

As per Apple release:

”Find My introduces new capabilities to help locate a device that has been turned off or erased, as well as live-streaming locations for family and friends who choose to share their location. Separation Alerts notify a user if they leave an AirTag, Apple device, or Find My network accessory behind in an unfamiliar location, and the Find My network now supports AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. A new Find My widget offers an at-a-glance view directly from the Home Screen.”

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Apple, FaceTime, iOS 15, OS Software, WWDC2021

FaceTime gets Portrait Mode in iOS 15 to give the look of DSLR prime lens systems

Video

The “Pro-Vlogger” look popularized on YouTube now available to all…

Above: The stunning Portrait mode from the Camera app is now optimized for video calls in FaceTime.
Photo Credit / Apple

If you are a prolific FaceTime user or if you don’t use it as much as you would if the aesthetics were a bit better (read: more flattering selfie styles) you are in luck. In a twist which takes advantage of tech that was initially created to make portrait mode a reality in the iPhone camera app is now coming to FaceTime on iPhone and also on iPad.

The maturation of features across platforms is paying big dividends

Portrait mode was added to the camera app as a way to get a DSLR style “prime lens” look with “bokeh” which is a Japanese term for the beautiful background out of focus blur that a long lens focused on the subject in the foreground will produce.

The computational fireworks required to produce this effect are nothing short of…. well check out Apple’s description:

” It’s a depth-guided, people-focused segmentation mask generated from a proprietary Apple neural network trained to detect people. It separates an individual in the foreground from whatever is in the background, with greater detail and clarity than with the depth map alone. It achieves this clarity in part because the matte image has higher resolution than the depth map.”


So this effect, which has been in the iPhone camera app since iOS 12 is now, likely due to the ever beefier potentials of the proprietary Apple neural network can now, starting with iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 be applied to video. Live.

New features in FaceTime help users look and sound their best. – credit: Apple

This, like so many other upgrades revealed today at the WWDC2021, is a great idea. High end YouTube videographers know it’s a great idea which is why they buy special DSLR camera with prime lenses just to get the very beautiful and flattering effect of a sharp subject in the foreground and a compressed, blurred “bokeh” effect in the background.

New features in FaceTime help users look and sound their best.

Not only visual but also audio upgrades are coming

They are also adding another obviously useful feature “spatial audio”, which creates the effect of having the perceived source location of each speaker match where they appear on the screen.

This is combined with “new microphone modes” which can reduce background noises and audio interference when in a chaotic sound environment and, alternatively when appropriate pickup an entire soundscape all at once.

All in all these improvements to both the visual experience, and the audio are a much needed change from the often ugly reality of bad-webcam zoom style meetings we all endured during 2020.

And with the front facing camera, lighting and software beautifications constantly getting better, we can, at least those with great internet and high end devices, look forward to a much more sensually pleasing level of FaceTime interactions.

Additional new upgraded features for FaceTime include, but are not limited to:

A new grid view that makes it possible to do a “zoom” like stack of equal size boxes.

SharePlay which is a somewhat odd sounding option to share “Apple Music, watching a TV show or movie in sync, or sharing their screen to view apps together”. Additionally, sharing can include anyone using an iPhone, iPad or Mac and if shared playback controls are active any of the parties that are sharing can play, pause or jump ahead.

Users can now share experiences with SharePlay while connecting with friends on FaceTime, including listening to songs together with Apple Music, watching a TV show or movie in sync, or sharing their screen to view apps together. SharePlay works across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and with shared playback controls, anyone in a SharePlay session can play, pause, or jump ahead.

There’s an expanding list of sources that can be used, including, of course, Apple TV, but also third party services that opt in, and currently, according to Apple the list already includes: Disney+, ESPN+, HBO Max, Hulu, MasterClass, Paramount+, Pluto TV, TikTok, Twitch, and many others

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/videos/apple-ios15-shareplay-music/large_2x.mp4

FaceTime calls that use all of these new features will continue to be end-to-end encrypted, so privacy is not compromised.

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Celebrities, Entertainment, Movies, Videos

New Cringeworthy Robinhood Super Bowl Ad, plus 16 New Spots to check out before game-time

Video

Looking like a slowdown and shift to new sponsors for 2021

Super Bowl LV airs live on CBS and CBS All Access on Sunday, February 7th kicking off at 6:30 p.m.  Before you see one of the biggest sporting events of the year when the Chiefs and Buccaneers (with Tom Brady) take the field, below are sneak peaks of some of the ads set to air during the big game. 

With a few exceptions many of the usual sponsors are back. Tide, Pringles, Amazon, Cheetos, Doritos, Frito Lay, M & M’s and, of course, Bud Light. But a few notable newcomers include Square Space, Rockstar Energy and the ad that already has people cringing, Robinhood.

After the incredible backlash against the app restricting trading in GameStop, AMC, BlackBerry and others, for many the ad falls flat, crashes you might say. Probably a great test of the theory that any publicity is good publicity. They have seen a surge in signups. Go figure. Check the ad below and then take a look at the 16 we collected as a preview to the big day.

Robinhood App:

https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1356949431602475012/pu/vid/1280x720/gCKX2z6ONPokYhF6.mp4?tag=10

Wayne’s World:

https://youtu.be/MdMTTQ9SBgk

Tide with Jason Alexander :

https://youtu.be/YvjuL6Bci6M

SquareSpace with Dolly Parton :

https://youtu.be/LWs5eq1B34Y

Defy Logic with Lil Nas X :

https://youtu.be/3dBl1iwqqbw

Pringles: 

https://youtu.be/Meuc2d3SICM

Amazon with Michael B Jordan:

Cheetos with Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Shaggy:

https://youtu.be/o7yvrDTtsHw

Scotts including John Travolta and Martha Stewart :

https://youtu.be/-QKt8GtRUOA

Michelob Ultra:

Doritos 3D – Matthew McConaughey:

https://youtu.be/BLuqtTn4610

Hellman’s Mayonnaise with Amy Schumer: 

https://youtu.be/162JYL7de1A

Bud Light  – Avengers:

https://youtu.be/X9jkvq4-tCU

Rockstar Energy  with Lil Baby:

https://youtu.be/0TSSlB2AZxA

Frito Lay with Peyton and Eli Manning:

Stella Artois with Lenny Kravitz:

M & M’s with Dan Levy:

https://youtu.be/lKUcHcizEMc
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Breaking News, Business, Stock Market

Picking up Quarters in front of a steam roller: Robinhood, GameStop and the Innocence of Ignorance

Tilting at Windmills as misnomers rule

Lots of confusion on all sides. There’s an internet storm brewing over the “injustice” of various entities – a ridiculous “free” trading app called, of all things “Robinhood”, the hedge funds who shorted an obviously overvalued stock. The army of short-squeezers who are screaming bloody murder that they were not able to cash in at the top (or commit Hari-kari by buying more the higher it goes).

Read more: Elon Musk, AOC, GameStop, Robinhood, Short Selling Hedge Funds

And then every pundit in the world sounding off – all the outrage and chaos with Ted Cruz & AOC & Elon Musk & Chris Cuomo & Mark Cuban and probably every celebrity in the world going nuts all at once by tomorrow and all sounding off like crazy over the “injustice”. Shake it up and shake in down.

Read more: Stonk Traders vs. Wall Street”: Heroes, Victims and Hogwash

The sheer volume of confusion over the “Robinhood Revolution” is staggering. Just wait it will be much, much worse. The depth of the ignorance is truly monumental.

Are there bad guys on “Wall Street”? Plenty. Are the google guys day traders that bid up a worthless stock to “burn” hedge funds and get rich quick heroes? Please.

https://twitter.com/RileyTaugor/status/1355005283622383617?s=20

And an App hilariously named “Robinhood” that charge phantom fees rather than stated charges (low, high or whatever) does no “stealing from the rich” and sure as hell no “giving to the poor”.

The good guys? Wanna buy the Brooklyn Bridge? I’ll sell you whichever one you want.

Traders and “Wall Street Insiders” know that danger is real. The idea of protecting “retail traders” from risk? As they tap into credit cards to buy worthless stocks that they believe they have a right to pump & dump?

And are they good guys cause they should be able to push the price of a stock endlessly higher for no reason whatsoever except that they get off on the letters from the ticker symbols that happen to sound similar to the ticker for a stock that Elon Musk did a two word tweet about (Signal, etc)?

Collusion and getting rich for doing basically nothing should be something that is available to everyone because criminals have gotten away with it left right and center?

That’s the solution? Solution to what problem exactly? And the big heroes are those who coin slogans such as “stocks only go up!”

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Tech

Netflix on Android devices will have ‘studio-quality’ sound, now in new update

Above: Photo Collage / Lynxotic / Netflix

Welcome audio upgrade in store for Android Netflix viewers

If you use the Netflix app on android, you will soon have a vastly improved audio experience after an update incorporating the xHE-AAC format. The new updated app’s audio (Extended HE-AAC with MPEG-D DRC) will offer Android viewers watching films ‘studio quality’ sound.

A prime additional feature of the upgrade will be a form of automatic switching, depending on the speed of your cellular network and reception. The studio-quality audio will be triggered in the best “optimal” network situations while minimized rebuffers will kick-in as needed when you have sub-par reception or a congested network.

“With its capability to improve intelligibility in noisy environments, adapt to variable cellular connections, and scale to studio-quality, xHE-AAC will be a sonic delight to members who stream on these devices.”

–Netflix Tech Blog
  • Thanks to xHE-AAC codec in the new update (Extended HE-AAC with MPEG-D DRC) Android viewers will have ‘studio quality’ sound.
  • Utilizes the technology ‘dynamic range control’ to reduce any difference between loud and quiet parts of a movie or TV show.
  • In addition with ‘loud management’ support, it will allow viewers to watch titles at a consistent volume
  • compatible for Android mobile devices 9 and above
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Celebrities, Entertainment, Music

Taylor Swift’s first ‘Evermore’ video: ‘Willow’, plus her trio of Cats

Video

Above: Photo Collage / Lynxotic

And may it continue, evermore.

Taylor Swift is serving fans holiday gifts left and right.  First, Swift announces a surprise album, “Evermore”, the second one this year and drops it within mere hours and just two days shy of her 31st birthday.  This upcoming album will be Taylor’s 9th album and regarded by singer as “folklore’s sister”.  Followed up with the music video for her first song off the track, “Willow” simultaneously with release. 

Read More: Taylor Swift to release “Evermore” album: Pre-birthday celebration for fans

It’s already obvious Taylor Swift is mega pop star that has garnered multiple Grammy, Billboard, MTV awards and more.  Yet, Taylor being such an animal lover and proclaimed cat lady should also be equally recognized.

December 2020 will be newsworthy for the artist and her holiday card this year puts a proverbial cherry on top. A journalist revealed Taylor’s card and yes it includes the artist’s trio of adorable cats, inspired and named from TV and movie characters: Olivia Benson, Meredith Grey and Benjamin Button.

 As if we need a reason to explain why our pets are held in such high regard, sometimes, more so than our fellow humans.  Especially during the nearly year long pandemic filled with social isolation, our pet(s) appreciate everything we do for them, provide emotional support (even if they don’t know it) and ultimately provide unconditional love. It’s clear why Taylor so proudly put them on display.

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Accessories, Apple, Cutting Edge, Lifestyle, Tech

AirPods Max Out: Journey Into Sound

Video

Video by Apple Showcases Product experience

Released to fanfare just in time for last minute holiday shopping, the AirPods Max headphones are getting attention, not all positive, but one thing’s for certain, they are beautiful to behold. If they sound nearly as sleek and smooth apple may have something going on. Check out the video for more.

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Accessories, Apple, Cutting Edge, Lifestyle, Tech

New Apple AirPods Max achieve Beauty sans Noise for a Price

Video
https://youtu.be/FXI_-OesT3A

Bose and Sony have a new competitor in the Noise Cancelling over-the-ear category

In 2020, Apple has released and announced new products and features at an unprecedented rate. In a continuation of that trend, today they added the AirPods Max which feature: “wireless over-ear design with high-fidelity audio, Active Noise Cancellation, spatial audio, and more” according to the official press release. 

As of the day before the announcements the leaks began to be confirmed and speculation of other products faded, as it was clear that December 8th would be the launch announcement for AirPods Max.

Availability begins on December 15th (shipping) and the price is an admittedly hefty $549 (US). 

A big year winds down with many new product details still to be revealed

Although some outlets speculated that other products, or news about upcoming releases would be forthcoming, for that it appears we will still have to wait. The December 15th availability to ship date coincides with last-minute shipping deadlines for Christmas this year which for services such as USPS Priority mail in December 16th.

For that reason it is unlikely that other news, not including unofficial leaks, would will be added. 

With only a single button to adjust the noise cancelling and a Digital Crown (with a nod to the one found on Apple Watch) that controls volume and playback, there is a minimal beauty to the design, which is no surprise considering the price and that these are from Apple. 

There are an assortment of carefully curated colors, and special attention has clearly been paid to the fashion value and aesthetics. At first blush there is even a kind of retro throw-back vibe, as to to envision a 60s socialite boarding PanAm and ready to settle in to the first class cabin.

AirPods Max require Apple devices running iOS 14.3 or later, iPadOS 14.3 or later, macOS Big Sur 11.1 or later, watchOS 7.2 or later, or tvOS 14.3 or later.

Though typically Sleek and doubtlessly Luxurious, some questionable issues have been identified 

The new headphones, the first over-the-ear model by Apple (other than Beats) weigh 13.6 ounces (384 grams), which sounds acceptable, but  compared to other over-ear noise cancelling headphones on the market, it is at the higher end of the range.

Next question: what if you want to use with a cable, rather than wirelessly via bluetooth? On a plane there if seldom, if ever, any way to use with a film via bluetooth, for that reason an input jack or other way to connect with a standard airline connector would be useful. Naturally a third-party adaptor is possible but that not an elegant solution. For example Sony, Bose, and others have solutions for this, but AirPods Max would require a work-around.

If your battery charge is depleted, an alternate way to still at least listen to music is something that may be useful. Of course, the noise cancelling system would require power so this is not something that would be idea anyway, but for those “emergency” situations where you want to use your AirPods Max as basic headphones in a pinch, that would also be a reason to wish for the alternate cabled option. 

If all this sounds a bit nit-picky, that’s what happens with a beautiful and expensive product and lots of scribes out searching for pros and cons to discuss.

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Accessories, Apple, Cutting Edge, Lifestyle, Tech

Apple’s Design and Features Video for AirPods Max

Video

A big year winds down with many new product details still to be revealed

Although some outlets speculated that other products releases, or news about upcoming releases would be forthcoming, however, for that it appears we will still have to wait. The December 15th availability to ship date coincides with last-minute shipping deadlines for Christmas this year which for services such as USPS Priority mail in December 16th.

For that reason it is unlikely that other news, not including unofficial leaks, would will be added. 

With only a single button to adjust the noise cancelling and a Digital Crown (with a nod to the one found on Apple Watch) that controls volume and playback, there is a minimal beauty to the design, which is no surprise considering the price and that these are from Apple. 

There are an assortment of carefully curated colors, and special attention has clearly been paid to the fashion value and aesthetics. At first blush there is even a kind of retro throw-back vibe, as to to envision a 60s socialite boarding PanAm and ready to settle in to the first class cabin.

AirPods Max require Apple devices running iOS 14.3 or later, iPadOS 14.3 or later, macOS Big Sur 11.1 or later, watchOS 7.2 or later, or tvOS 14.3 or later.

Subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest updates directly to your inBox.

Find books on  Big Tech,  Politics, and many other topics at our sister site: Cherrybooks on Bookshop.org

Enjoy Lynxotic at Apple News on your iPhone, iPad or Mac.

Lynxotic may receive a small commission based on any purchases made by following links from this page.

Entertainment, Lifestyle, Movies

DISCOVERY+ Streaming Launch & wide Roll-out of Hulu Watch Party Feature

Above: Photo / Discovery

New and interesting options for streaming entertainment coming 2021

Discovery is behind a handful of networks including: Discovery Channel, Food Network, HGTV, ID, OWN, TLC and Animal Planet.  The company will be joining as a new contender in the so-called streaming wars with the big hitters like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+ and Peacock. This year, the only new streaming platform, Quibi, launched and within the same year, rather tragically called in quits. 

The service will be available among all the major device platforms that will include smart TV’s, web based, phones and tablets.  There was no mention to specific platforms, more information will likely be disclosed closer to the start date. Those that are customers of Verizon unlimited wireless will be able to opt for 12 free months of Discovery. 

Discovery+ is set to launch its new streaming platform at the beginning of next year on Jan 4, 2021.  The monthly price will have the option of $4.99 with ads, or $2 extra for $6.99 a month without adds. Discovery+ launched last month in UK and Ireland, with plans to expand to more than 25 additional international markets, including the US next year. 

The new streaming service will have over 55,000 episodes of TV in its arsenal.  Discovery will provide of entertainment with a wide mixture of shows in its library, as well as movies and new and exclusive original content.   There are reports of plans for shows including the likes of Chip and Goanna Gaines (Fixer Upper), David Attenborough, comedian Kevin Hart, and big name chefs like Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiss. 

“We’ll see, but people love our channels… We’ve never been stronger to the cable bundle.” he continued to say about the networks are “effectively like the NFL times five right now for women.”

-CEO David Zaslav

Haven’t joined in on a Watch Party? 

Amazon Prime Video and Netflix have had watch party features for a while now.  Hulu and Disney+ are now rolling out its own versions, to allow for friends and family to share some entertainment connectedness. 

Hulu started testing the new feature back in May for select users that allowed for a group up to eight people to watch TV shows and movies together.  Through the website, the party can chat with one another throughout the videos, commenting in real time, even allowing their own playback feature (in case you have to grab a snack).  

The then limited feature is now fully functional and available for all on-demand Hulu subscribers (those that have ad-free or ad-supported options).  There should now be a “Watch Party” icon on Hulu’s main page, once in, you will be provided a link that can be shared to up to seven other Hulu subscribers. When all members have joined, the initiator (the host) starts the show or movie.  The feature is only supported on Hulu.com, so it will not be accessible through the app.

Disney+ also recently rolled out its own version of a watch party, called “GroupWatch”. The main difference, however is group members are limited to reacting through emojis, with no options yet for written communication.

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