Netflix Continues To Crush Cable TV

Netflix is a train that can't be stopped, and it's starting to flatten cable.

Forty percent of all U.S. households with TV and/or broadband Internet use a subscription video on-demand service like Netflix, Amazon Prime or Hulu Plus, according to new data released by Nielsen on Wednesday. This is up from 36 percent of households that reported having on-demand subscription video over the same period of time in 2013. Among the households subscribing to these services, 36 percent have Netflix, 13 percent have Amazon Prime and 6.5 percent have Hulu Plus, Nielsen reports.

As the number of homes with streaming video subscriptions rises, an increasing number of American homes are Internet-only, subscribing to broadband Internet and not TV.

The number of U.S. households that have broadband Internet but don’t subscribe to TVgrew to more than 10.5 million in the third quarter of 2014, up 16 percent over the same period in 2012, research firm SNL Kagan told The Huffington Post earlier this year.

By comparison, there are 95.2 million people in the U.S. who subscribe to the top 13 pay-TV providers, according to Leichtman Research Group. The number of video subscriptions to the top nine cable companies fell around 1.2 million over the course of 2014.

TV ratings are also falling as streaming subscriptions climb, and there's probably a connection.

Around 40 percent of the decline in TV ratings during the third and fourth quarters of 2014 is due to people are spending more time watching streaming TV online, sources who attended a talk by the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau last week told the Wall Street Journal. The “biggest contributor to the drop is SVOD [streaming video on demand],” Jon Steinlauf, president of national ad sales and marketing for media company Scripps, told WSJ.

Since streaming is potentially eating into TV viewership, TV networks are getting into the streaming game. CBS has a streaming servicefor a subscription of $5.99 a month; NBC is working on one; Showtime will release a streaming service "in the not-too-distant future,” CBS CEO Les Moonves said at the Deutsche Bank Securities 2015 Media, Internet & Telecom Conference on Wednesday.

HBO's new streaming service, HBO Now,premieres on Apple devices in April. This will be the first time HBO will be available for those without a cable subscription.

8 Common Cat-Feeding Mistakes to Avoid

As pets go, cats are pretty user-friendly: Give them a clean litter box, a sunny windowsill and a scratching post and they’re (mostly) happy. But feeding a feline can be a bit more complicated. Cat owners often make mistakes that can put a kitty’s health at risk, according to Bruce Kornreich, D.V.M., associate director for education and outreach at Cornell University'sFeline Health Center. Here are the big ones:

1. Overfeeding. Most cats need just 250 to 300 calories per day. Give your mouser two daily meals instead of leaving a bowl of food out. Either canned or dry food (or a combination) is fine, Kornreich says, as long as the overall diet is nutritionally balanced. Offer treats only occasionally.

2. Letting your cat get fat. According to the American Animal Hospital Association, up to 59 percent of cats (and dogs) are overweight. But if you’re like many pet owners, you may not realize yours is. A chubby kitty can have trouble cleaning herself and may be at risk for problems ranging from diabetes to skin disorders. Your vet will check her weight at her annual check-up. If Tabby tips the scale, the vet can help you develop a feeding plan to lighten her load. Exercise will help too — at least 15 minutes of play each day with a feathered toy, laser pointer or whatever she loves to chase.

3. Offering milk and tuna. We think cats love them, but their bodies don’t. Cats are lactose intolerant, making dairy a bad idea. Canned tuna presents even more concerns, including high mercury content. Plus, it's not a nutritionally complete food source, and if your kitty gets hooked on it, she may refuse to eat the food that is. An occasional morsel is fine as a treat, but leave it at that.

4. Forgetting to freshen the water bowl. Cats are less likely to lap up water that’s been sitting around or has something in it. Without proper hydration, they can develop urinary problems such as crystals, stones and blockages. Make it a habit to wash and refill the water bowl when you feed your kitty breakfast. 

5. Letting dry food go bad. Dry food is convenient, but when it sits around it can lose some of its nutrients and can even go bad. Store kitty kibble in an airtight container away from light. Dump it once it’s past the expiration date.

6. Ignoring signs of food allergies. Cats can develop sensitivities to proteins, carbohydrates and even fillers in food. If your cat seems uncomfortable and is scratching herself raw, especially around the head and neck, see your vet. She may suggest trying a new protein source (duck! venison!). If that doesn’t help, you may need to see a veterinary dermatologist.

7. Serving raw foods. These can expose cats to parasites and bacteria, Kornreich says. Even commercial raw pet foods are more likely to contain bacteria like salmonella and listeria than other types of pet food. If you're set on a raw diet, check out the FDA's advice for safe handling of raw pet food. If you want to feed your cat home-cooked meals, talk with your vet — or ideally, a veterinary nutritionist — to make sure the meals offer the nutrition your pet needs.

8. Making your cat go vegan. Cute as he is, Mittens is a carnivore. Meat provides nutrients that are vital for cats, including vitamins A and B12, taurine and arachidonic acid. If you insist on a meat-free diet for your little tiger, it's crucial to work with your vet to make sure he's getting the nutrients he needs from food and/or supplements. Even commercial vegetarian and vegan cat foods are often nutritionally deficient. 

Burger King admits it has been selling beef burgers and Whoppers containing horsemeat

Burger King has tonight admitted that it has been selling burgers and Whoppers containing horsemeat despite two weeks of denials.

The fast food chain, which has more than 500 UK outlets, had earlier given a series of ‘absolute assurances’ that its products were not involved.

However, new tests have revealed these guarantees were incorrect in a revelation that threatens to destroy the trust of customers.

It also raises serious questions about whether the food company, which sells around one million burgers a week in the UK, has any good idea about what goes into its products.

The contaminated burgers were made by the Irish-based processing company, Silvercrest, which is part the ABP Foods Group.

The same company also made tainted burgers for Tesco, Asda and the Co-op, among others.

Burger King has faced allegations of orchestrating a cover-up of its links to the horsemeat scandal in order to give it time to find an alternative supplier.

It is currently shipping in tens of thousands of burgers from suppliers in Germany and Italy in order to meet demand at its UK outlets.

It is known that the management at Silvercrest has been using a series of non-approved ingredients in their burgers for a range of household name brands.

These included meat off-cuts, including horse, that were imported in large frozen blocks from Poland.

The contamination has been going on since at least last May and potentially for up to one year, according to evidence presented to MPs earlier this week.

Tonight Burger King abandoned its earlier denials, saying: ‘Four samples recently taken from the Silvercrest plant have shown the presence of very small trace levels of equine DNA.

Within the last 36 hours, we have established that Silvercrest used a small percentage of beef imported from a non-approved supplier in Poland.

‘They promised to deliver 100per cent British & Irish beef patties and have not done so. This is a clear violation of our specifications, and we have terminated our relationship with them. 

‘Through our investigation, we have confirmed that this non-approved Polish supplier is the same company identified by the Irish Department of Agriculture as the source of Silvercrest’s contamination issue.’

'We are deeply troubled by the findings of our investigation and apologise to our guests, who trust us to source only the highest quality 100per cent beef burgers.'

- Burger King vice president

The contamination scandal was first triggered two weeks ago, with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland revealed it had found horse meat in burgers sold in Ireland and the UK.

When the news first emerged, Burger King said it had been given an ‘absolute assurance’ by its supplier that its products were not involved.

Yesterday, Burger King vice president, Diego Beamonte, said: ‘We are deeply troubled by the findings of our investigation and apologise to our guests, who trust us to source only the highest quality 100per cent beef burgers.

‘Our supplier has failed us and in turn we have failed you. We are committed to ensuring that this does not happen again.’

He added: ‘We will dedicate ourselves to determining what lessons can be learned and what additional measures, including DNA testing and enhanced traceability controls, can be taken to ensure that we continue to provide you with the quality products you expect from us.’

Jeanette Longfield, of the campaigning food and health group, Sustain, has condemned Burger King’s handling of the problem.

Dalepak also makes burgers for Waitrose and Sainsbury’s, which both insist that their burgers are clear of contamination.

The processing company is a subsidiary of the Irish company, ABP Food Group, which also owns a second burger manufacturing business, which is Silvercrest, in southern Ireland.

Aldi said a sample of its frozen Oakhurst Beefburgers showed up positive for 0.1per cent horse DNA, while its Oakhurst Beef Quarter Pounders were 0.1per cent equine and 0.1per cent pork.

The company withdrew all of its frozen burgers from UK stores when the scandal first erupted two weeks ago as a precaution.

A spokesman said: ‘Customers are our absolute priority. This is why we immediately withdrew these products until such a time that we could verify that there was no risk to our customers.

‘We are deeply angry and feel let down by our supplier and we are pursuing more tests until we are certain that we understand how the production line was contaminated.

‘Aldi requires rigorous verification and quality control procedures and we cannot allow our quality commitment to our customers to be compromised.

‘We will continue to maintain active scrutiny across our supply lines, and we assure our customers their health and safety is our number one priority.’

12 Cancer Symptoms That Most People Ignore

Unexplained Weight Loss

While most people would be ecstatic to discover that they have lost weight, it should be a red flag. Losing ten pounds in a month without changing your diet or exercise routine should cause you to contact your doctor. Unexplained weight loss could also be related to your thyroid, but either way a doctor should run tests.

Blood In the Wrong Place

Blood in the stool or urine can be signs of cancer. Most people may assume that the blood in their stool is from a hemorrhoid, but it could be related to colon cancer.

Having blood in your urine outside of your menstruation could be a sign of kidney or bladder cancer.

Skin Changes

Many popular magazines warn people to check for abnormal moles, but there are other skin changes that can signal early cancer.

Pigmentation changes are one sign to consider. If you develop severe scaling or bleeding on your skin, then this could also be a sign of cancer.

Unusual Bleeding

Abnormal bleeding can be a sign of endometrial cancer or could be bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract, which is a sign of colorectal cancer.

Difficulty Swallowing

Don't just assume that your difficulty swallowing is just a nuisance. Having difficulty swallowing can be a sure sign of gastrointestinal cancer. A doctor will need to do chest X-rays and take a closer look at your family medical history to know for sure.

Bloating

Don't be so quick to write off your constant bloating as normal. While people do struggle with bloating during their time of the month, it can also be a sign of ovarian cancer. This is especially true if it comes with abdominal or pelvic pain. If you become full quicker than you used to without eating a lot of food, then you should contact your doctor.

Mouth Changes

If you begin to notice white patches inside your mouth or on your tongue, it is time to see a doctor. This is a precancerous sign that can progress to oral cancer if not treated. These white patches are more common in smokers, so be sure to check your mouth frequently if you do smoke.

Changing Lymph Nodes

Your lymph nodes are located on your neck and in your armpits. It is best to check them occasionally for any swelling or changes. If you notice enlarged lymph nodes, be sure to watch them and contact your doctor if they get bigger or if the swelling lasts longer than a month.

Fatigue

Fatigue is a very common usymptom that most people have experienced in their life. However, leukemia and stomach cancer show themselves early as fatigue.

If you are struggling with constant tiredness, it is best to talk with your doctor to find a solution. While cancer is unlikely to be the cause, your fatigue could be a sign of a different health issue.

Persistent Cough

Nagging coughs are common during cold season, but if you develop a cough outside of being sick or have a cough that lasts more than three or four weeks, then talk with your doctor. A doctor can rule out cancer by checking your throat and lungs.

Indigestion

Most people will experience some degree of indigestion after a heavy meal or while pregnant. Frequent indigestion while following a healthy diet could be a sign of esophagus, stomach, or throat cancer.

Ask your doctor to check it out. If it is not cancer, then your doctor can treat your indigestion to prevent future damage.

Fevers and Infections

If you consider yourself a healthy gal and you find that you're getting sick or feverish frequently, this could be an early sign of leukemia. Keep an eye out for flu-like symptoms that come frequently and are hard to get rid of.

Say Goodbye to Privacy

You’re probably about to lose something precious. Something you can’t see. Something you can’t touch, taste, or smell and probably don’t think about regularly. And yet when it’s gone, which I believe it will be soon, you may spend the rest of your life longing for it.

What you’re about to lose is your privacy.

Actually, it’s worse than that. You aren’t just going to lose your privacy, you’re going to have to watch the very concept of privacy be rewritten under your nose. That’s because while the Internet of Things (IoT) is going to add a lot to our lives, it’s probably going to take our privacy in payment, whether you want it to or not.

We shouldn’t be surprised that the IoT will change things, nor that the full impact is difficult to predict. Big changes brought on by technology are something we’ve seen plenty of times before. When the steam engine was first introduced in the 1800’s, no one could have foreseen the impact it would have on the way we think about everything from transportation, city design, even need for a standard “time” across the country.

Other changes have followed, driven by new technology – the internal combustion engine, flight, the integrated circuit, the Internet. All of these technological changes forced us to redefine how we think about our lives, what technology means to us. Over the years, these changes have created, and killed, entire industries. At each step, the impact of our technology arrived faster, and was more deeply felt.

Yet the Internet of Things won’t just change some particular aspects of our lives; it won’t affect say commerce, or industry, or politics. It will affect, shape, even redefine them all. At once. And, if the past is anything to go by, the changes will happen even more quickly than ever before.

Why? What makes the IoT so unique in the long history of technological change?

1. It is the aggregation of a large number of already disruptive technologies, and it combines the disruptive elements of those technologies in new ways, magnifying their effects. Smart tech, the Internet, social identity, big data, cloud, mobility, all these are affected by, and contribute to, the emerging IoT. It’s like putting gun powder, dynamite, nitroglycerine, and a bunch of road flares into a box and shaking them up. Something’s going to happen, and happen fast.

2. The IoT is pervasive in a way that nothing else has been, except possibly pottery and agriculture, and those two technologies *defined* human existence. The IoT will be *everywhere* which means that when the changes occur (and they will) those changes will impact everything, and everyone – there’s no ‘offline’ no ‘standby’ for the IoT. No one will be able to escape its impact, because you won’t *use* the IoT, you’ll live inside it – all day, every day.

3. As a society we’re addicted to tech in a way that no generation ever has been before and we already have the mindset – the Pavlovian response – to readily embrace this next generation of technology that IoT represents in an unquestioning manner. We rely on it for everything and we’ve been trained to expect technology to answer our every need, because no matter what the question – there’s an app for that. Yet, the most profound effect of all the ways in which the IoT changes our lives is that it will blur, to the point of invisibility, the concept of privacy. When we live in a world in which there are countless sensors and smart objects around us, all the time; when the clothes we wear, even things inside our bodies, are smart and connected, then the concept of “private” becomes far more ephemeral. What’s private? From whom? When?

As more and more information is gathered about us, constantly, so the concept of being offline, of being unavailable, or simply being alone, will recede. And as it goes, so will our control over the information gathered about us. Big data, especially, is going to make it hard to keep anything private – as more and more things gather increasing contextual information about our behavior, so the capability to analyze and predict, to seek out the identity of the people behind every action, will open very public windows into all our lives.

We may well be living in the last era of privacy – and standing on the brink of a post-privacy society. It’s not easy to imagine what that will be like. Perhaps in the end it will force us to face the deeper truths about human nature, that we are all much the same. Perhaps it will be an Orwellian nightmare in which governments spy on us constantly. Most probably, it will be a little of both.

The good news, however, is that we almost certainly won’t have to wait long to find out.

RadioShack files for bankruptcy, plans deal with Sprint

 A diminished RadioShack will live on, but its future may lie with Sprint.

Struggling consumer electronics chain RadioShack, founded nearly a century ago, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late Thursday. It plans to sell 1,500 to 2,400 stores to its largest shareholder, investment firmStandard General, and has filed a motion to proceed with closing the remainder of its 4,000 U.S. stores.

Wireless carrier Sprint Corp. has a deal with Standard General to open mini-shops in as many as 1,750 of the RadioShack stores Standard General is buying. Sprint would take up about one-third of the retail space in each RadioShack store, and Sprint employees would sell mobile devices and Sprint plans.

And Sprint would be the primary brand on those RadioShack storefronts and marketing materials.

Sprint, which is based in Overland Park, Kansas, has more than 1,100 company-owned retail stores, which would more than double if the transaction is approved. It is expected to be finalized in the coming months. But other parties could bid for RadioShack's stores in the bankruptcy process.

Fort Worth, Texas-based RadioShack is also in talks about selling all of its remaining overseas assets.

RadioShack Corp. introduced one of the first mass-market personal computers and used to be the go-to stop for consumers' home electronics needs. But it struggled as shoppers increasingly moved online and growth in its wireless business slowed. It has suffered years of losses.

Google is developing a wristband to detect cancer cells and using HUMAN SKIN to do it

Google is making a wristband that detects cancer cells, and using human skin to do it.

Scientists in the life sciences division of Google X laboratories are working on a proactive, preventative approach to one of the world's deadliest diseases, according to The Independent.

The wristband would work in tandem with a pill that would send nanoparticles through the body to latch on to markers of different conditions and diseases including cancer, Andrew Conrad, head of Google Life Sciences, told The Atlantic.

'We have (the nanoparticles) circulate around your whole body looking for those cells and we collect them using a magnet and basically ask them what they saw,' Conrad said. 

The nanoparticles would cause the cancer cells to light up, allowing the wristband to record whether there are dangerous cells in the body, Conrad explained. 

The system relies on light emitted from the cells as a result of the nanoparticles, so scientists must understand how light passes through skin, according to the Independent. 

So Google started making skin.

To assist with their research, the scientists have made molds of human arms using both synthetic and real human skin from donors.

While using skin in the research, scientists have to account for people of different ethnicity, resulting in different skin pigmentation, and thickness of skin, The Atlantic reports. 

As the wearable is still in the early stages of development, Google X is working to determine what defines a 'healthy' person.

They are monitoring 175 healthy volunteers to frequently collect physiological information.

Conrad admitted that people may find it 'weird' having particles constantly tracking the cells in their body.

'It’s way weirder to have cancer cells floating through your body that are constantly trying to kill you,' Conrad continued. 

Conrad told the Atlantic that the Google X team is trying to change medicine from being episodic and reactive to being proactive and preventive.  

'We're making good progress but the journey is long and hard, he said. 'So I think we will get there and I hope it's years, not decades.'

3 Facts About Satellite Internet That Businesses Need To Know

Sometimes it can be a bit difficult deciding which Internet plan option suits the needs of a company. Although we're a long way in to the future from the dial-up days, executives in high-end businesses still have some important decisions to make regarding their internet connectivity in terms of effective business practices.

Since many people aren't familiar with all of the features of satellite internet with businesses, here's a short breakdown that might expand their horizons and assist in making an educated decision.

How It Works

First of all, it's important to understand on a basic level what exactly your satellite internet provider is doing. Satellite internet is a service offered through many different satellites and Earth stations (also known as teleports.) The customer premise equipment, called VSAT--Very Small Aperture Terminal--this requires professional installation to ascertain long term trouble-free operation.

A relatively small satellite dish located on Earth communicates and connects with a satellite that's orbiting Earth thousands of miles away. Once the signal is transmitted to the geostationary satellite, the signal is sent back to the satellite dish which is installed outside your office.

Availability

Availability is a rather large factor when deciding which ISP you're going to select for your business. It's important to consider your location, and surroundings when assessing the best option for you. Satellite internet is available nearly everywhere, especially if you're located in a rural location with no cable providers this may be the only option for you.

Satellite internet also has the capabilities to make connectivity and business operations available to everyone involved in your company. With the internationalBusinessCom, for example, it enables all of your locations--no matter how remote--to be connected to the corporate network at all times. Using a TDMA technology (time division multiple access) users are able to share the same frequency channel by dividing the signal into different time slots.

Especially today with the ongoing debate about net neutrality, Satellite Internet providers are in favor of Internet being available for everyone everywhere via satellite. Whereas terrestrial providers are able to select Internet resources and limit access to them acting as a gatekeeper to the net, the nature of satellite Internet is that it is provided to all without restrictions.

Security

The security of your internet is dependent upon a series of processes that take place once your signal reaches your modem or after it leaves the modem. When using satellite in your business practice imagine a giant beam being sent when you click send on an email up to your provider's satellite. The email is broken down into digital pieces that only the satellite can piece back together. Since this beam is super specific only you receive the data transmitted to and from your business.

Most security issues are concerned with the ability of hackers to break into your business system and retrieve data. While many companies today employ tools likeAVG's Internet Security to protect their file servers and emails, it's still important that your ISP is secure as well. With a satellite connection beaming up to some random and unknown spot in the sky from your office it's quite difficult to imagine some hacker being able to intercept this laser beam.

Now that you're more educated and have a well-rounded approach to the benefits of satellite internet for your business you can do the additional research and make the decision for yourself. What Internet Provider are you using for your business? How do you keep all of your confidential business data secure?

6 Supermaterials That Could Change Our World

Graphene isn't the only game-changing material to come out of a lab. From aerogels nearly as light as air to metamaterials that manipulate light, here are six supermaterials that have the potential to transform the world of the future.

Self-healing Materials — Bioinspired Plastics

The human body is very good at fixing itself. The built environment is not. Scott White at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champlain has been engineering bioinspired plastics that can self-heal. Last year, White's lab created a new polymer that oozes to repair a visible hole. The polymer is embedded with a vascular system of liquids that when broken and combined, clot just like blood. While other materials have been able to heal microscopic cracks, this new one repaired a hole 4 millimeter wide with cracks radiating all around it. Not big deal for a human skin, but a pretty big deal for plastic.

Engineers have also been envisioning concrete, asphalt, and metal that can heal themselves. (Imagine a city with no more potholes!) The rub, of course, lies in making them cheap enough to actually use, which is why the first applications for self-healing materials are most likely to be in space or in remote areas on Earth. 

Thermoelectric Materials — Heat Scavengers

If you've ever had a laptop burn up in your lap or touched the hot hood of car, then you've felt evidence of waste. Waste heat is the inevitable effect of running any that device that uses power. One estimate puts the amount of waste heat astwo-thirds of all energy used. But what if there was a way to capture all that wasted energy? The answer to that "what if" is thermoelectric materials, which makes electricity from a temperature gradient.

Last year, California-based Alphabet Energy introduced athermoelectric generator that plugs right into the exhaust pipe of ordinary generator, turning waste heat back into useful electricity. Alphabet Energy's generator uses a relatively cheap and naturally occurring thermoelectric material called tetrahedrite. Alphabet Energy says tetrahedrite can reach 5 to 10 percent efficiency.

Back in the lab, scientists have also been tinkering with another promising and possibly even more efficient thermoelectric material called skutterudite, which is a type of mineral that contains cobalt. Thermoelectric materials have already had niche applications—like on spacecraft—but skutterudite could get cheap and efficient enough to be wrapped around the exhaust pipes of cars or fridges or any other power-hogging machine you can think of.

Perovskites — Cheap Solar Cells

The biggest hurdle in moving toward renewable energy is, as these things always are, money. Solar power is getting ever cheaper, but making a plant's worth of solar cells from crystalline silicon is still an expensive, energy-intensive process. There's an alternative material that has the solar world buzzing though, and that's perovskites.

Perovskites were first discovered over a century ago, but scientists are only just realizing its potential.In 2009, solar cells made from perovskites had a solar energy conversion efficiency of a measly 3.8 percent. In 2014, the number had leapt to 19.3 percent. That may not seem like much compared to traditional crystalline silicon cells with efficiencies hovering around 20 percent, but there's two other crucial points to consider: 1) perovskites have made such leaps and bounds in efficiency in just a few years that scientist think it can get even better and 2) perovskites are much, much cheaper.

Perovskites are a class of materials defined by a particular crystalline structure. They can contain any number of elements, usually lead and tin for perovskites used in solar cells. These raw materials are cheap compared to crystalline silicon, and they can be sprayed onto glass rather than meticulouslyassembled in clean rooms. Oxford Photovoltaics is one of the leading companies trying to commercialize perovskites, which as wonderful as they have been in the lab, still do need to hold up in the real world.

Aerogels — Superlight and Strong

Aerogels look like they should not be real. Although ghostly and ethereal, they can easily withstand the heat of a blowtorch and the weight of a car. The material is almost what exactly the name implies: gels where where the liquid has been replaced entirely by air. But you can see why it's also been called "frozen smoke" or "blue smoke." The actual matrix of an aerogel can be made of any number of substances, including silica, metal oxides, and, yes, also graphene. But the fact that aerogel is actually mostly made of air means that it's an excellent insulator (see: blowtorch). Its structure also makes it incredibly strong (see: car).

Aerogels do have one fatal flaw though: brittleness, especially when made from silica. But NASA scientists have been experimenting with flexible aerogels made of polymers to use insulators for spacecraft burning through the atmosphere. Mixing other compounds into even silica-based aerogels could make them more flexible. Add that to aerogel's lightness, strength, and insulating qualities, and that's one incredible material.

Metamaterials — Light Manipulators

If you've heard of metamaterials, you likely heard about it in a sentence that also mentioned "Harry Potter" and "invisibility cloak." And indeed, metamaterials, whose nanostructures are design to scatter light in specific ways, could possibly one day be used to render objects invisible—though it still probably wouldn't be as magical as Harry Potter's invisibility cloak.

What's more interesting about metamaterials is that they don't just redirect visible light. Depending on how and what a particular metamaterial is made of, it can also scatter microwaves, radiowaves, or the little-known T-rays, which are between microwaves and infrared light on the electromagnetic spectrum. Any piece of electromagnetic spectrum could be manipulated by metamaterials.

That could be, for example, new T-ray scanners in medicine or security or a compact radio antennae made of metamaterials whose properties change on the fly. Metamaterials are at the promising but frustrating cusp where the theoretical possibilities are endless, but commercialization is still a long, hard road. 

Stanene — 100 percent efficient conductor

Like the much better known graphene, stanene is also made of a single layer of atoms. But instead of carbon, stanene is made of tin, and this makes all the difference in allowing stanene to possibly do what even wondermaterial extraordinaire graphene cannot: conduct electricity with 100 percent efficiency.

Stanene was first theorized in 2013 by Stanford professor Shoucheng Zhang, whose lab specializes in, along other things, predicting the electronic properties of materials like stanene. According to their models, stanene is a topological insulator, which means its edges are a conductor and its inside is an insulator. (Think of a chocolate-covered ice cream bar. Chocolate conductor, ice cream insulator.)

This means stanene could conduct electricity with zero resistance even, crucially, at room temperature. Stanene's properties have yet to been tested experimentally—making a single-atom sheet tin is no easy task—but several of Zhang's predictions about other topological insulators have proven correct.

If the predictions about stanene bear out, it could revolutionize the microchips inside all your devices. Namely, the chips could get a lot more powerful. Silicon chips are limited by the heat created by electrons zipping around—work 'em too fast and they'll simply get too hot. Stanene, which conducts electricity 100 percent efficiency, would have no such problem.

Could Depression Be Caused By Inflammation In The Brain?

There are a number of factors that may play a role in the development of depression, including genetic, environmental, emotional, psychological and biological influences. According to one integrative neuroscientist, depression could even be a  form of infectious disease.

Some research suggests that inflammation can play a large role in the development of depression. This research has tended to focus on inflammatory markers in the blood, and on depression co-occurring with physical ailments that cause an immune reaction.

But according to new research, brain inflammation that occurs  independently of physical illness may be highly correlated with clinical depression.

Depression patients display a 30 percent increase in certain markers of brain inflammation when compared with a control group without depression, according to a study from the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) at the University of Toronto.

"This finding provides the most compelling evidence to date of brain inflammation during a major depressive episode," the study's senior author Dr. Jeffrey Meyer said in a statement. "This is the first definitive evidence found in the brain."

The research team conducted brain scans on 20 study participants who had depression (but were otherwise healthy), and 20 healthy control participants. Using positron emission tomography (PET), they were able to measure the activation of immune cells (micoglia) that play a key role in activating the brain's inflammatory response.

The researchers found significantly elevated levels of brain inflammation among those with depression, with the highest rates of inflammation occurring among those with the most severe depression.

"Depression is a complex illness and we know that it takes more than one biological change to tip someone into an episode," says Dr. Meyer. "But we now believe that inflammation in the brain is one of these changes and that's an important step forward."

They explained that while inflammation is a response that the brain uses to protect itself, too much inflammation can cause damage, leading to symptoms like poor mood and inability to sleep.

Previous research has linked inflammation resulting from physical health conditions such as cancer and autoimmune disease to the development of depressive symptoms, but the new research is the first to show that inflammation can play a role in depression -- even in the absence of a physical illness.

Current treatments for depression do not target inflammation. Separately, an  estimated 10 percent of those on antidepressants do not respond to the treatment, and 20 to 30 percent do not respond to the first antidepressant treatment.

"This discovery has important implications for developing new treatments for a significant group of people who suffer from depression," says Dr. Meyer, who also holds a Canada Research Chair in the neurochemistry of major depression. "It provides a potential new target to either reverse the brain inflammation or shift to a more positive repair role, with the idea that it would alleviate symptoms."

HOW TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BLACK MAN AND NIGGA

Let’s be clear:  There are millions of black people who’ve been taught to believe that they are n*ggers.  If you don’t believe me, just listen to the radio and count the number of times you hear statements like “I’m a thug n*gga,” “I’m a rich n*gga,” “I’m a n*gga in Paris.”   Of course we can make the distinction beween the ending with an “a” and the ending with “er,” and that distinction does matter, to a point.  But what is also true is that even ending the word with an “a” still means that you may have been tempted to adopt specific, self-destructive behavioral patterns consistent with your “Badge of N*gga Honor.” For the purposes of this article, I’ll use the “er” ending, since that’s how I wrote it in the original piece.  We can debate the “a” vs. “er” ending at a later date. I am going to focus this article on men, but here’s another thing to remember: To be a full fledge n*gger, (or n*gga) gender is irrelevant.  You can be male, female or even transgender.  The key is that you are fully indoctrinated into every type of brainwashing that the white man has made available to you.  You can get n*gger-training from your friends, your family or even your local radio station.  America’s Army of N*ggers is growing daily, and they’re always looking for a few good coons. So, if you are wondering what a black man looks like when he has not yet been transformed into a n*gger, here are some differences you’ll want to keep in mind: 1)      A black man prides himself on seeking knowledge and education, even if he doesn’t have much to begin with.  A n*gger just loves being ignorant and might think it’s OK to be illiterate since he knows how to dribble a basketball. 2)      A black man saves and invests money to build wealth for his family, he might even start his own business.  A n*gger will brag to you about how he spent $1,000 at the club last night and will often be seen throwing money in the air.  He also makes fun of the black man with his own business because the big white corporation has given him a fancy job with a big office so he can live paycheck-to-paycheck until he cries racism after being downsized. 3)      A black man supports black – owned companies so they can create jobs for other black people.  A n*gger thinks black businesses are second-rate and would much rather spend his money on a $200 pair of Air Jordans at Foot Locker. 4)      A black man takes care of his children, providing them with the love, guidance and support they need.  A n*gger doesn’t know his kids’ middle names, doesn’t plan for their future and doesn’t even know who is taking care of his offspring.  When he dies, he has no life insurance, even though he just took a picture on Facebook in front of a stack of cash.  A niggerette doesn’t want the child’s father in his life, and lets any old man into her house so he can molest her kids when she’s not looking.  She also might remind her kids of how they don’t need their daddies, since she doesn’t need a man either. 5)      A black man tries to live a productive lifestyle and avoid incarceration if possible.  If he is incarcerated, he uses this experience to gain a chance for redemption and an opportunity to help other young men learn from his mistakes.  A n*gger thinks that going to jail is a badge of honor, never learns from his mistakes and is happy to see his mama go broke bailing him out every time he does something stupid.  When he violates his parole, it might be over something silly and unnecessary, like dirty pee in a cup from smoking weed every day, or carrying a gun to the strip club so he can imitate his favorite rapper and “keep it real.” 6)      A black man is somewhat disciplined about his sexual choices.  If he likes the ladies, he at least tries to respect the women he interacts with and tries to be responsible about his health.  A n*gger just wants to have a “flock of hoes” and hasn’t been tested for an STD in the last 14 years.   His p*enis is like a water gun, spraying fire at any working v@gina within a 100 mile radius.  If any kids are born as a result of his sexual conquests, he has no interest in paying child support, even if he’s got the money.  After all, his baby mamas don’t need no man, so why should they need him to send money? 7)      A black man, despite his mistakes, seeks to grow as a person and become more responsible. A n*gger has no concern about living in his mama’s basement and assumes that somebody else is going to take care of the kids he’s making every year.  Condoms don’t exist in the mind of a true n*gger.  There’s also nothing wrong with playing Xbox in his drawz on the living room couch till he’s 39 years old.   How else will he be able to keep working to get that record deal? 8)      A black man might start off as a rebellious teenager.  But in adulthood, he eventually pulls up his pants and at least tries to live a life of dignity, even if he is dead broke.  A n*gger is forever sagging, even at the age of 35.  In the n*gger’s mind, he’s going to be 19-years old forever. 9)      A black man is willing to take up arms to defend his community and protect his children.  A n*gger will take up arms to go kill another n*gger.  The murder might even be over something stupid, like a man stepping on his shoes at the club or giving him a funny look.   Some real n*ggers have killed more black men than the entire Ferguson Police Department. 10)   A black man will recite hip-hop lyrics that speak on how brilliant, proud, powerful, strong and intelligent he is, as well as the richness of black history.  A n*gger will recite lyrics bragging about how he’s high and sloppy drunk all the time and glad to get behind the wheel while he does it. 11) The black man may want to study at Howard University or Morehouse College and learn about the greatness of his people.  The n*gger presumes he’s far better off at Harvard or Yale, since everything white is better.  He also thinks everything good was invented by a white man and that acceptance by white people is the Holy Grail of Negro Achievement. 12) Although he may sometimes date outside his race, the black man exalts and appreciates the beauty of black women.  The n*gger explains to you why he only wants to date white women because they will give him pretty kids with good hair. 13)   A black man is, quite simply, a MAN:  He stands up against racism, protects those that he loves, and is a block of power on which you build strong communities.  A n*gger is both a little boy and the one who thinks that the black man I’ve just described is “acting white.”  He cares nothing for the black collective, and doesn’t feel that he, nor any black celebrity, has any obligation to give back to his community.  He also is the one who will read this article and say that I’m being “uppity” for even mentioning the ideas of black self-reliance and personal responsibility.   On a serious note:  The truth is that we’re not perfect.  Most of us have been infected with the N*gger-virus on some level, myself included.  It’s all rooted in slavery, which affects us till this day.  But we’d be idiots not to realize how this flawed and destructive thinking is ruining our communities and keeping us enslaved.  Also, as much as people might want to read a polite, politically-correct article that makes everyone feel good, the truth is that times are too serious for us to bullsh*t one another.

Police Use African-American Mug Shots For Target Practice

Officers from a South Florida police department are drawing fire after getting caught using photos of real-life suspects for target practice.

Critics told NBC South Florida, which first reported the controversy, that the North Miami Beach cops are racially insensitive because the six mug shots used at the firing range feature only African-American suspects.

A Florida National Guard sergeant arrived at the shooting range on a Saturday last month for training and recognized her brother's 15-year-old booking photo among the bullet-riddled targets left behind by North Miami Beach police officers, the station said.

Major Kathy Katerman told HuffPost that the department has multiple lineups for target practice. Some feature only white men, others are all Latino and one features photos of only women.

"The public thinks there should be one woman and one white man and one black, but that's not really what test is about," Katerman said. "We have targets of all races."

Police Chief Scott Dennis told NBC South Florida that officers used poor judgment. No one would be punished, however, Dennis said.

The misstep was reminiscent of a flap in 2013 over a Port Canaveral, Florida police sergeant who was fired for distributing targets of Trayvon Martin for shooting practice. Martin was the 17-year-old unarmed teenager who was followed and fatally shot by George Zimmerman in February 2012.

Walmart quietly launches its low-cost streaming video stick

Do you like the idea of a streaming media stick for your TV, but find that even Google's Chromecast or Amazon's Fire TV Stick costs more than you're willing to pay? You'll want to visit your local Walmart, then. The big-box retailer tells GigaOM that its Vudu Spark dongle, teased at the FCC back in November, is already available at 2,400 stores for $25 -- that's at least $10 less than its big rivals, and as much as the upcoming Matchstick. More stores are coming soon, Walmart adds. It's a tempting offering, but there's a good reason why it's so affordable. As hinted earlier, the Spark is only useful for watching Vudu purchases and rentals. That's fine if you're not picky about how you get your movies and TV shows, but you may have to shell out more if you're determined to use Hulu, Netflix or any other online video service.

Speed of light slowed down by changing its shape

Nothing can travel faster than light in vacuum, per Einstein, but in the real world light travels at variable speed as it passes through a medium, be it air, water or glass. Physicists at  University of Glasgow now demonstrate that its not only the medium that can slow down light, but also shape after they performed an experiment where light traveled through a ”mask”. The findings could prove important in astronomy where even the slightest change in the velocity of light can change everything.

How shape collective pulls down photos to slowdown light

The team built what they call a racetrack, where photons (the packets that make up light) are sent and detected on a dual path. On the first path, light was fired in a normal way unaltered by nothing but the medium (air). On the second path, however, the light was fired  through a filter to shape it into either a Gaussian or Bessel beam. The photons from both groups were launched at the same time but the unshaped photons beat the shape-altered photons to the finish line by approximately 0.001 percent.

Of course, the filter itself slowed down the light because it passed through a medium, but this was only one half of reason the light was slowed down. After passing through a medium, light is said to revert back to its constant speed yet the speed of the photons was slower than normal after leaving the filter. The mask, the researchers explain, caused some of the photons in the group to move at a slight angle to the other’s causing a slowdown for the group as a whole.

 

The study published in Science highlights that, even in free space, the invariance of the speed of light only applies to plane waves. Astronomers might have to keep this in mind when studying objects thousands or even millions of light-years away to make sure their observations aren’t affected by the shape of light.

Hacking Wi-Fi is child's play

The great Groucho Marx, in character, was reading a report and remarked that a 4-year-old child could understand it. So, he said, "run out and find me a 4-year-old child."

Betsy Davis isn't 4. She's 7, but it's still pretty impressive that a computer-savvy 7 year old could Google the information she needed in order to hack into a public Wi-Fi system in a little under 11 minutes. Fortunately, Betsy is not a criminal hacker, but was enlisted as a part of a security experiment to show how easy it is to hack into such network and steal information from unwary people.

Whether you're at an airport, hotel, mall, coffee shop or almost anywhere else, you will usually find free Wi-Fi service that conveniently connects you to the Internet. However, with this convenience comes danger.

Many people assume that the Wi-Fi that they're using is secure, but this isn't always the case. In fact, identity thieves often go the same coffee shop or other venue where free Wi-Fi is provided to set up their own Wi-Fi, which is what you may unwittingly be tapping into. .

Technologically, it's easy to set up a phony Wi-Fi that can capture all of the information contained in your smartphone, laptop or tablet and use it to make you a victim of identity theft. Furthermore, even if you're not using an identity thief's Wi-Fi, you may be using an insecure system susceptible to being hacked..

Not long ago, security company Kaspersky Lab exposed a targeted threat against high-level government and business leaders staying in upscale hotels.

The attack starts with a breach of the particular hotel's Wi-Fi network and the installation of malware even before the targeted guest arrives at the hotel. When the hotel guest connects to the hotel's Wi-Fi system by logging in using his last name and room number, the hackers are alerted. They then send a pop-up alert regarding a necessary software update that needs to clicked on and downloaded.

 The pop-up looks legitimate.

In this particular group of targeted attacks, which Kaspersky labeled "Darkhotel," the pop-up was an update to Adobe Flash player, although it could be an update for any other program. When the unwary victim clicks on the link, he or she downloads malware that enables the hacker to steal information from the victim's laptop or other device. In this case, the information sought was for corporate espionage, but others using the same tactic could just as well use it to gather personal information for purposes of identity theft.

So what can you do?

You can never be sure of the security of Wi-Fi regardless of where it is. It's important to be skeptical

When an update is offered by way of a pop-up, you're better off accessing the update through the website of the company after you confirm that it's legitimate.

Basic safety precautions you should take before using public Wi-Fi also include equipping whatever device you're using with an updated Firewall, anti-virus and anti-malware security software and a program to encrypt your data. Also, go to your settings before using public Wi-Fi and turn off sharing.

Finally, you may wish to consider using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), which enables you to send your communications through a separate and secure private network, totally encrypted, while you're on a public network. There are a number of good, free VPNs, including CyberGhost (www.cyberghostvpn.com/en_us).

9 WAYS SCIENCE JUSTIFIES YOUR COFFEE ADDICTION

Knocking back a daily cup of joe (or several) delivers more than a jolt of energy. That morning brew comes with a host of health benefits, according to research. Here's how coffee can benefit your body and your brain.

1. Coffee may decrease your risk of depression.

 Drinking four or more cups per day could decrease the risk of depression in women, according to a study from the Harvard School of Public Health. The study examined the coffee habits and depression rates of 50,739 women over 10 years. Coffee drinkers had a 20 percent lower chance of developing depression later in life. Drinking two to four cups daily also appears to lower the risk of suicide by 50%, according to another Harvard study.

2. Coffee might help prevent skin cancer. 

Drinking four or more cups of coffee daily may lower your risk of cutaneous melanoma, the leading cause of skin-cancer death in the U.S., by 20 percent, according to a new study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Researchers followed nearly 450,000 cancer-free participants over 10 years. Overall, those who drank more saw less cutaneous melanoma. Four daily cups of coffee can also reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s, according to previous studies.

3. Smelling coffee can bust stress. 

When rats smelled coffee beans, genes connected with healthful antioxidants and stress-reduction were activated, according to researchers from Seoul National University in South Korea. No, you’re not a rat—even if you’re in the rat race—but the stress-busting benefits may be one reason your morning latte smells so delicious.

4. Coffee might help fight obesity.

 A compound found in coffee, chlorogenic acid (CGA), could help ward off obesity-related diseases, according to researchers at the University of Georgia. In a study of mice, CGA prevented weight gain, reduced inflammation, helped maintain normal blood-sugar levels, and kept livers healthy. Gradually increasing your coffee consumption can also lead to a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes, according to previous research.

5. Coffee may prevent Parkinson's disease. 

Men who did not drink coffee were two to three times more likely to develop the disease than men who drank four ounces to four cups per day, according to a study published in Journal of the American Medical Association. Though there are treatments to slow the progression of Parkinson's, which targets the body's nervous system and causes tremors, there’s no cure, so prevention is key.

6. Coffee could boost your workout.

 Caffeine increases the number of fatty acids in the bloodstream, which raises overall endurance, because your body doesn’t have to burn carbs so fast, The New York Times reports. Weightlifters who drank caffeine before their workouts stayed energized longer than those who did not, according to another small study.

7. Coffee may help your hearing.

 Regularly consuming caffeine may help prevent tinnitus, a persistent ringing in the ear. Women who drank one and a half cups of coffee a day were 15% more likely to develop tinnitus than those who drank four to six cups, according to a study of 65,000 women published in the American Journal of Medicine.

8. Coffee could lead to a healthier liver. 

Drinking both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee may lower liver enzymes associated with inflammation, according to a 28,000-person study conducted by researchers at the National Cancer Institute. Participants who drank at least three cups of coffee per day showed lower levels of the potentially harmful enzymes than those who did not drink coffee.

9. Coffee might help you live longer. 

Drinking two to six (or more) cups of coffee per day could lower the risk of dying by 10 percent for men and 15 percent for women, according to a study of over 200,000 men and 170,000 women (ages 50 to 71) in The New England Journal of Medicine. (The data was adjusted to discount the effects of unhealthy habits, such as smoking, since regular coffee drinkers also tended to be regular drinkers and meat-eaters.)

9 Ways Cats Are Beneficial To Your Health

Other than our endless love for cats, we’re constantly looking for reasons to justify living with them. So many people don’t like cats so we’re forced to try and reason with said individuals about the benefits of our feline friends. But did you know that having a cat is actually beneficial to your health? Read more to find out how!

1 – Heart Health

Owning any pet has been found to reduce stress in our lives, but owning a cat in particular seems to be the top pet for stress reduction. The reduced anxiety and stress proves to be beneficial to our heart health. In fact, a study done by the University of Minnesota’s Stroke Institute in Minneapolis followed 4,000 Americans over 10 years to find that cat owners are 30% less likely to die of a stroke or heart attack than others.

2 – Reduced Risk of Child Allergies

A study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found that children exposed to cats before one year of age were less likely to develop allergies later in life than those who lived in much cleaner environments. So parents, fear not! Let your felines hang out with your babies.

3 – Purring Heals Muscles & Bones

This might sound crazy, but it’s true. Vibration therapy is often used to strengthen bones and muscles that have been injured or are failing in health. A cat’s purring creates vibrations around 20-140 Hz, which is the ideal range for strengthening bones and muscles.

4 – They’ll Make You Some Friends

A French study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that cat ownership increased oxytocin production in the brain. Not only does this hormone lower stress, it allowed children and adults suffering from mild autism to feel calmer and socialize more easily.

5 – They Help You Through Loss

A study done in the United Kingdom found that those who suffered the loss of a loved one had less symptoms of grief if they owned a pet. The presence of a pet offers emotional support and comfort not only by petting, but simply by being around. Plus, we all know that cats are constantly doing silly things to make us laugh and lighten the mood.

6 – Lower Your Blood Pressure

High blood pressure often comes with stress and anxiety, so it’s no wonder that owning a cat can help keep you healthy. The reduced stress that been shown numerous times to lower blood pressure and in turn promote heart health.

7 – A Cat a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Even if specific health issues aren’t being discussed, studies have shown that people who own cats are 12% less likely to visit the doctor every year. This means that they’re healthier and happier than the rest of society overall.

8 – Animal-Assisted Therapy Works

A study published in 2000 called Animal assisted therapy: Magic or Medicine? found that even visits by pets can greatly improve the well-being of those suffering from illness. Alzheimer’s patients were found to be less angry and depressed and children with ADHD showed improved attention spans.

9 – Seizure Alerts

While the science behind cats detecting seizures is not understood, the studies are growing every day. Not all cats will alert to oncoming seizures, but there seem to be more and more reports of felines notifying their owners that something is about to happen.

5 Ways You Can Say Thank You To Guide Dogs

January 29, 1929 was an important day in the history of service dogs. On that date Seeing Eye Inc., was born. They were the pioneer and innovator of dog guide services. This year, as they turn 85, you can help celebrate by giving any of these “gifts” to guide dog organizations that help guide dogs fulfill their potential.

1 - Volunteer

Many guide dog organizations are dependent on volunteers to keep costs down. Whether you help feed, clean bedding, drive graduates to speaking engagements, or any other number tasks, you couldn’t give a better gift than your time.

2 – Be a Puppy Raiser

One of the best jobs in the world might be raising a puppy to be a guide dog. If you have the heart, time, and commitment, you can make a difference in the lives of others. Just think, there would be no guide dogs if it weren’t for amazing puppy raisers.

3 –  Money

Most guide dog organizations charge little to nothing to receive a service dog. Some of them are even non-profits. Donating money towards the care and training of these life-changing dogs is an amazing way to celebrate.

4 - Pennies for Puppies

Want to donate to Seeing Eye directly but just have a few cents to share? You can still make a big difference through Seeing Eye’s programs, Pennies for Puppies or Dollars for Dogs®. They help anyone, from individual adults to children in classrooms, organize fundraising activities. Why not have a fundraising day on Jan. 29 in your classroom or office?

5 - Shop

Yup, that’s right, shopping can help out the guide dogs too! Most guide dog organizations have merchandise you can purchase to help support them or you can shop with their partners. For example, Seeing Eye is partnered with Amazon Smile and Guide Dogs for the Blind has a Visa credit card that gives them a percentage of every purchase.

4 Ways to Curb Cat Scratching

Because cats have scent glands under their paw pads, they like to spread the love around and make sure that other cats know that this part of the house is theirs — in other words, they are marking their territory.

Cats also scratch because it feels good, and it’s their way of naturally wearing down their nails or ripping them off in the process. Scratching also feels great — it stretches their front limbs and is the equivalent of our getting a hand massage.

1. Curb Your Cat Away from Furniture

There are a few things you can do to prevent your cat from scratching your favorite piece of furniture. 

Keep your cat’s nails short by trimming them regularly as it’ll cause less damage and will hopefully minimize the urge to scratch.

Try making your furniture less appealing to the touch. You can do this by applying double-sided tape or aluminum foil to the scratched area — just make sure the tape doesn’t damage your furniture any worse (tip: don’t apply duct tape to antique wood).

Another way of curbing your cat’s couch habits is to use negative feedback. With this technique, you have to actually catch your cat in the act. If you do, a quick blast of water from a water gun will quickly teach him not to scratch in front of you.

Of course, when it comes to negative feedback, keep in mind that your cat may scratch all day long while you’re at work. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely your cat will learn to restrain himself in your absence, and unless you plan on quitting your job to protect your sofa, you may need to resort to other options.

2. Quality Scratching Posts Make a Difference

Most importantly, train your cat to use the right kind of scratching posts. If your cheap $2 scratching post is hidden in the dark, dank corner of the basement where nobody wants to go, it’s not going to be effective.

If the material doesn’t feel good to scratch (i.e., cheap cardboard), your cat won’t use it. Only the best for your cat! Try twine, coarse rope, carpet, or sisal (a type of material that looks like carpet).

3. Location, Location, Location

Make sure the scratching post is well placed and well constructed (if it falls on top of your cat while he’s scratching, I can guarantee you he’ll never use it again).

Although it may affect your feng shui, keep the scratching post in the center of the room or next to the vertical or horizontal surface your cat scratches, as cats always prefer to be the center of attention.

I have one of my scratching posts under the coffee table; it’s not glaringly offensive to those interior decorator friends who visit, but it’s in a central enough location where my cats will use it.

4. Entice Your Cat to the Scratching Post

Finally, try bribery.

Entice your cat to play around the post by placing treats or toys there. You can always sprinkle catnip on the surface of the scratching posts, as chemical persuasion is OK under certain circumstances, right?

If all else fails, you can consult a veterinary behaviorist, or worst-case scenario, consider declawing. Be sure to discuss options with your family veterinarian to determine the best course of treatment for your feline companion.

7 Things Men Want In A Relationship

Men are often reluctant to talk about their needs in intimate relationships.

Whether social conditioning or an inability to communicate our needs are to blame, men (who tend to be the less communicative partners in intimate relationships) are prone to silently suffering when their emotional needs aren’t being met by their partners.

Whether you are a man or a woman reading this article, this will give you greater clarity into yourself/partner and what your/their needs are in your intimate relationship.

Let’s put an end to the needless fighting due to miscommunication, the unnecessary sex-less nights, and the verbal shut-downs.

Read through these tips and I promise you’ll never see your relationship through the same lens again.

Here are seven things men want in a relationship.

1. Praise And Approval

Men have infamously tender egos.

We need frequent reassurance about ourselves, our career paths, our efficacy as partners, our sexual prowess, and our attractiveness (among other things).

I have countless male clients telling me every month that their partners rarely let them know what they like about them.

While it may be true that men need relatively less frequent verbal praise than their female counterparts, this isn’t the kind of gesture that requires keeping score. Why not just have more of a good thing?

So ladies, let your praise loose. Tell your man exactly what you find attractive about him. Let him know what physical features of his are your favourites. Tell him how attractive you find it when he says something a certain way, when he accomplishes something, or when he takes you on a date. Your praise won’t make him cocky; it will help him feel loved.

And (bonus) the more you praise his positives, the more you will see them.

2. Respect

Men feel respect as love.

If he feels like you disapprove of him, his career, or the things that he believes to be integral to who he is as a person, he will have a hard time trusting and loving you.

The thought process behind that being “If she doesn’t respect who I am at my core, then how can she really want what is best for me?”

If a man’s partner doesn’t respect his path or mission in life, then he will find it very difficult to feel anything other than an anxious need to distance himself from her.

3. A Sense Of Sexual Connection

Men and women both connect through sex and communication, but generally, women connect better through communication and men connect better through sex.

Does this mean that men need to have sex with their intimate partners every day in order to feel connected? Not necessarily.

Men, more often than not, connect through indicators of sexuality just as much as they do through sex.

Allow me to explain…

Often, a man will initiate sex just to make sure that you are still sexually available to him. So, to my man-loving readers out there, if he reaches across the bed for you, even showing the willingness to embrace him, to kiss him deeply, and to engage him could be enough to make him feel loved (not that the follow through isn’t enjoyable).

This lack of awareness around women needing to connect through words and men needing to connect through sex can sometimes turn into an unfortunate and rapid downward spiral. She doesn’t feel like opening sexually until she feels connected to him, but he finds it difficult to communicate with her because they haven’t been physical with each other in days.

Talk with your partner and ask what specifically helps them feel the most loved so you can avoid these unintentional standoffs.

4. Emotional Intimacy

From a very young age, men are taught to avoid appearing weak at all costs. Perceived “weakness” includes things like complaining, divulging fears or concerns, and expressing self-doubt or worry.

A man’s partner is his safe space to fall. He can expose the cracks in his armour and allow his partner to help him heal.

Just as women need to slowly open up sexually within a relationship, men open up over time emotionally.

He needs to make sure that when he first cries in front of you, you won’t be repelled or handle it poorly. If you push him away or are unable to be nurturing when he needs it the most, he will no longer trust you with his emotions. He will remove himself somewhat from the relationship.

In this instance, both partners lose- he goes on silently suffering and believing that he is flawed in his imperfection, and she is held at arm’s length emotionally.

5. Space

Author Deborah Tannen has written brilliantly on the masculine and feminine divide between independence and intimacy (masculine being primarily drawn towards independence and the feminine toward intimacy).

Within all of my relationships and the vast majority of my clients, I consistently see that it is the feminine-associated female partner that wants more time spent together and the masculine-associated male partner wanting more time apart. There is no perfect balance to be found here. This will always be a balancing act of closeness and separateness.

But rest assured, suffocating a man (either by failing to allow him free time or with overly jealous behaviour) is the fastest way to end a relationship. Men need breathing room in a relationship. We need time for our hobbies, time with our friends, and time to toil away on our projects to feel fulfilled.

Traditionally, when women (or the feminine associated partner) needed to solve a problem, they would go further into the tribe – connecting with close friends and family and discussing their issues. Conversely, when men have a problem to solve, they would leave the tribe to be alone with their thoughts.

So let him roam. Let him breathe. Leave him to his own devices. A man will be that much happier for you to receive him when he returns, knowing that you trust both him and the strength of your bond enough to let him have his space.

6. Physical Touch

Men need frequent non-sexual touch as well as a sense of sexual connection.

If a man’s partner comes up behind him and touches his neck and hair in a loving way while he sits absorbed in a task, he could feel just as loved as if they had just had penetrative sex (even more so, depending on his mood).

This touch is interpreted as physical love- the message of which registering as “I love you, and I want you to feel happy all the time. Know that I’m always here for you and I care for you deeply.”

7. Security

Men and women are both attracted to certainty in a relationship. The more a man feels like his partner is in it for the long haul, the more ready and able he is to be able to open up to her (assuming he is equally invested in her).

But security goes deeper than just the fact that you won’t leave him. The security that he feels ties back in to several of these points. He feels secure in knowing that you approve of him and where he is in his career. He feels secure and loved when you touch him non-sexually throughout the day. He feels secure when he is allowed to have his guys’ nights away from you and you don’t feel the need to call or text him every half hour to check in.

And he feels secure with a partner who takes steps to love him in the way that he most needs.

How To Give Him What He Needs

So how do you stack up in your relationship?

If you are a man reading this, do you feel like all of your needs are being met? Could you ask for your partner to do something differently? (Maybe send her this article?)

If you are someone who is in a relationship with a man and you are reading this, how could you love him more fully? Which of these can you incorporate more of into your relationship?

Let this article (and the female equivalent) be the catalyst that gets this conversation started between the two of you. Even if you don’t agree with every point made, let these articles begin a dialogue about both of your needs in your relationship.

Wrap Up

The overwhelming response to this article on the female side had several mentions of the word blame. Defensive and angered cries shot out around the interwebz (“It’s not all men’s fault!”).

This isn’t about blame, or fault-finding, or anybody doing anything wrong. This is about loving people in the best way that they could possibly be loved and opening up a dialogue about emotional needs in relationships.

11 Habits of People With Concealed Depression

There will be two main types of people reading this blog: those finding themselves better equipped to understand some of the people they love and those who see their own reflections in these habits.

Depression often goes unseen, unrecognized, and undiagnosed. A person with concealed depression is someone who is conditioned to deal with their inner demons in a way that doesn't make them clearly visible. They may or may not be diagnosed, and this may or may not be something they've shared with even their closest of companions. The problem is that the world becomes darkest when we all stop being able to understand each other. We tend to believe that hardship is worn openly upon one's chest like a battle scar, but many of these wounds do not easily reveal themselves to those that do not take the time to look.

1. They may intentionally make efforts to appear OK and maybe even seem exponentially happy and upbeat. 

The idea that those with depression all have one similarly dreary personality is false. Depression is more than just a mood. Those who live with depression have learned to alter their apparent moods, and may even be some of the most seemingly "happy" people that you know. Personalities can vary. Often those with depression try to stick with the positive and public parts of their demeanor regardless of what they're going through on the inside. No one wants to bring others down, even if that means hiding how he or she is truly feeling.

2. They may have habitual remedies.

There are serious ways to treat depression, including therapy and medication. However, in addition to these remedies, there are lifestyle habits that those with depression use to treat their everyday state-of-mind. This can be in the form of music, exercise, driving, walks, or basically anything they know can get themselves out of a sinking set of emotions. Concealed depression has a lot to do with the ways people try to personally conquer their own demons.

3.They may have trouble with abandonment. 

Anyone who has experienced depression understands the burden it can be. It can also be a burden for those closest to them. Sometimes when you let someone in enough to see the struggles you have, they walk the other way. Though it's hard to blame these people for leaving, it creates a serious feeling of abandonment for those with depression. It forges a need for secrecy, out of fear of the recession of those they love. There is nothing more heartbreaking than finding out your ugliest layer of self is too ugly for someone you love to handle.

4. They can be pros at "cover-up" stories.

This can be for anything from the cuts on their arms to the reason they skipped dinner. People who live with different forms of depression experience various hardships that can at times impede the normalcy of their daily lives. In these low instances, they know what to say to avoid attention from others to those displays of pain. Often they don't want to recognize that they are hitting a low point either, so they know how to hide it.

5. They may have abnormal sleeping and eating habits. 

This may seem like a small sign or factor, but it has a grave effect. Those who live with depression in an unrevealing way can sometimes only let the little signs show. Sleeping too much or too little are textbook examples. The same goes goes for eating too little or too much. Sleep and nutrition are two critical elements to health. They are also two elements that the human mind can attempt to control. Depression creates a suffocating lack of control, and being able to control at least something, can be all a person has. Sleep can be nearly impossible, or it can be the only escape. The same goes for eating.

6. They may understand substances differently.

A person who handles their depression also knows how to monitor what they put into their body. They know alcohol is a depressant, and drinking it over an extended period of time can create a mental state of low that they are less equipped to handle than the average person. They know that caffeine and sugar are uppers for their moods. They know what medications do what. They know what doesn't mix well. They know all of this because altering their state of mind in any way is much more of a responsibility than it may be for other people.

7. They may exhibit a very involved perception of life and death. 

Not every person with depression has felt suicidal. However, depression often invokes a unique and complex thought process about life in general. Facing one's mortality often comes at moments of desperation. It happens when you are furiously seeking answers to all of life's questions. Being dragged in and out of horrible mindsets can cause these kind of thoughts to be more frequent.

8. They are often uniquely talented and expressive. 

Many of the most inspired and life-changing artists, musicians, and leaders of this world were also plagued by mental illness. I use the word "plagued" in a contradicting fashion, because having a serious depth of emotions can also lead to profound greatness. People who live with depression that may not be visible to the naked-eye, often express themselves in incredible ways. They are in touch with the good and bad pieces of their souls. They are able to formulate and illustrate beauty through the shadows of the emotions they carry.

9. They are often searching for a purpose.

Everyone wants a purpose in life. We want to know that what we are doing is worthwhile. We want to know that we are moving in the right direction. Those who live with unseen depression want this as well, and in a way that attempts to satisfy something inside of them that may always be hungry for more. Feelings of inadequacy and fear are no stranger to the depressed mind. People with hidden depression are almost always trying to compensate in their life for the frailties that they have inside. They may change directions often. They may become incredibly involved in the pursuit of true happiness. They are also striving and searching for more.

10. They at some times will release subtle cries for help. 

Even a person who knows how to live with the burden of their own mind can need help. Outcries from people you aren't expecting are easily overlooked. Sometimes it isn't safe for people to be on their own with their depression; as much as they say differently. Sometimes they will reach out. Sometimes they will open up. These moments are the most crucial, because they are especially powerful. They are what builds a bridge between people who have different levels of emotions and mindsets. They are what creates a closeness and trust among friends and lovers that isn't always easy if some feel they have to camouflage their true selves.

11. They seek love and acceptance, as every person does.

Shielding the world from one's personal demons is not done so for the sake of dishonesty. People who live with depression in a private and undisclosed way do so for protection. This is for the protection of their hearts. This is for the protection of the people around them. This is for the protection of the success of their dreams. Some of those reading this may have felt an eerie connection to these habits. Whether you have been treated for depression, or you simply have treated yourself, you know how easy it is to feel alone. I entitled this article about those with unseen depression, but the truth is that most depression goes unseen by our human nature. We live in a world that encourages us to hide what is dark and unpleasant. We don't have to.