Kristin van Ogtrop's Blog, page 354
April 1, 2011
Do I need a SuperHero to backup my iPhone?
As someone who is a bit compulsive about backing up her data (I've learned from my father/office IT guy to take a belt & suspenders approach) I was intrigued by Iomega's SuperHero ($69.99), a charger that could also back up the data on my iPhone.
At first glance the SuperHero looks very similar to the charging base that came with my first iPhone, except with a shiny metallic finish. Looking at it more closely I noticed it was a bit heavier, a bit thicker and had a 4GB SD card sticking in the back.
The SuperHero works by backing up the photos and contacts on your phone using the SuperHero App, available free through iTunes. It took me less than 30 minutes to set up the charger, install the app and complete my first backup. Using the app you can also set reminders to back up (the app needs to be open for the backup to be completed), and what items you'd like backed up and restored. It also allows you to back up multiple iDevices.
There is no question that this is a very convenient way to back up the data on your iPhone, iPod Touch or 4th generation iPod, but it is definitely not designed for someone like me who regularly syncs her phone to her computer.
I would also like to see added functionality in future generations of the App, specifically the ability to back up installed apps – I know several parents who would appreciate not having to remember all the free games they've installed on their kids' iPod Touches. Backing up songs and movies would also be helpful.
Do you back up your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPod? Do you need a SuperHero?
March 31, 2011
Have People Stopped Holding the Door for Each Other?
Yesterday I had two situations where I was walking through the door behind a stranger, and rather than the stranger holding the door open for the next person, she let it close in my face. Now, I realize I work in New York City, which some people consider to be the I Don't Care About You capital of the world. And so I wasn't surprised the first time it happened, as I was exiting the train station, everyone was in a rush, and I had absolutely no connection to the person in front of me. But when a work colleague let the door close in my face after a presentation later in the day, I began to wonder if this is a trend.
Where I come from, when you walk through a door, you look behind you to make sure there is no one coming along whom you can hold the door for. That's just how it's done, just like you don't put your napkin on the table until the meal is over, because no one around you wants to look at your dirty linens. And when you pay for something at the grocery store, you say "Thank you" to the cashier as she hands you your change and she says "Thank you" to you in return. (This, I hasten to add, rarely happens anymore. In my large-grocery-store experience, most cashiers could not care less whether I have given their employers their business and certainly are not going to thank me for anything.)
Am I cranky today because it's still winter in the capital of I Don't Care About You, or am I just sad that civilized society seems to be an increasingly quaint notion? Probably a bit of both, but more the latter. My middle son is someone who frequently forgets to hold the door for the next person, and if I want to accomplish anything in life, it's to get him to learn otherwise. As of now, each time he forgets I have this little motherhood panic, thinking "Am I forgetting to teach him the things that matter!?!?!" Sigh. Apparently I am not alone.
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How to Save a Cracked Piecrust
When you're making a pie from scratch, few things are more frustrating than a cracked crust that won't seem to mend. But you can still save your piecrust, and all it takes is a little bit of water and sugar.
It's likely that your piecrust cracked because it was too dry. To repair the tear, lightly brush the crust with ice water, then sprinkle it generously with granulated sugar, and press the crust together until it adheres.
Click here to find out how to prevent tears from happening in the first place.
What's your favorite pie recipe?
Related:
26 Delicious Pie and Tart Recipes
How to Shape a Double Piecrust
Pies with No-Sweat, No-Roll Piecrusts
Henrietta Lacks, Part 1: Life
Hello, Bookies:
I am fascinated by the scope of this book. Rebecca Skloot is telling three distinct but intersecting stories: the gripping personal history of Henrietta Lacks; the scientific importance of HeLa; and Skloot's relationship with the Lacks family. This structure really worked for me. Before reading, I was nervous that I would have a hard time getting a toehold in the scientific aspect of this book. Despite its medicinal importance, I'm not sure that I would have found HeLa as interesting were I not intrigued by Henrietta and her family. By switching between the three veins, the science was contextualized by Henrietta's life and became infinitely more meaningful to me. What did you think? Did this structure work for you?
I'll start with the human aspect of Henrietta Lacks rather than the scientific, since that is what drew me in. Henrietta's life was far from easy, even well before she got sick: She was abandoned by her father, became a mother at the age of 14, and then moved to Turner Station with her unfaithful husband, where she was faced with poverty and segregation. Still, Henrietta had a spirit that couldn't be broken. All of her friends described her as being quick to laugh and having a sunny disposition.
Though I loved the story about going out dancing with her cousin Sadie, the scenes of Henrietta as a mother were the most powerful for me. Sadie suspected that Henrietta waited to seek medical care for as long as she did because she was afraid her treatment would prevent her from having more children. It was heartbreaking when Henrietta realized, while recovering from her hysterectomy, that the surgery had made her infertile—how could her doctors have neglected to explain the nature of the operation to her? As her condition worsened, Henrietta's doctors forbade her husband, Day, from bringing their children to visit her in the hospital. The image of Day and the children picnicking on the grass underneath Henrietta's window so she could watch them was poignant and bittersweet. What parts of the book made Henrietta come alive for you?
The importance of HeLa, Henrietta's immortal cancer cells, can't be overstated: They have played a vital role in the research of a diverse list of medical conditions. HeLa has been responsible for saving countless lives. As the birth of HeLa unfolds, I was struck by how casually the scientific community handled medical research. Dr. Richard TeLinde, a cervical cancer expert at Johns Hopkins Hospital, needed to grow cervical tissue for an experiment that he hoped would ultimately save lives and prevent unnecessary hysterectomies. George Guy, the head of the tissue culture research at the same hospital, was collecting whatever cells he could in an attempt to create the first immortal human cells. TeLinde and Guy agreed to work together: TeLinde would supply Guy with human tissue, and Guy would try to grow the human cells that both men needed for their research. They reached this decision as easily as if they were trading baseball cards rather than human cells. Did this surprise you? Did you find that the doctors were too nonchalant with their research, or did you think that their attitude was a product of the times? After all, Skloot points out that this was a very common practice. Unable to afford health insurance, many blacks in the Turner Station region used the public wards of Johns Hopkins for medical care. Some doctors felt that harvesting cells for research was a form of payment for their (otherwise free) medical services. What do you think of that argument, and would you feel differently if the doctors had the informed consent of their patients?
I'd really like to hear your feedback about any of these issues, as well as your general response to this first section. Let's meet back here next Thursday to discuss Part Two: Death.
—Erin
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Son, Meet Grandma. She's Actually an Interesting Person...
This week's etiquette dilemma comes from a reader named Jessica Bloom, who wrote, "My in-laws rarely call or invite us and our kids over to events, but when they do, our kids never want to go and get very upset if we end up going. What is a polite way to not accept their invites?"
The trickiest part of trying to solve other people's etiquette dilemmas is what you don't know about a particular situation. While some things are universal—in-laws, for example, come with the wedding—every in-law is different. Why do Jessica's in-laws rarely call or invite her family over? Have they been rebuffed in the past? Or do they have health problems that interfere? Or...are they just not that into their grandchildren?
Instead of rejecting the invitations, I think you should accept them with enthusiasm (even if you're faking it) as a first step toward making your kids think that spending time together is a positive thing. Then, your bigger challenge will be to turn the get-togethers into something your kids actually enjoy. I have an idea about how to do this. But first, why bother? Two reasons:
1. Some day you are going to be an in-law. And you will want your (grown) children to believe it is important to spend time with you and to encourage your grandchildren to feel the same way. Lay the groundwork for tomorrow by setting an example today.
2. For your kids' sakes. In the long run, it will benefit them to feel connected to their grandparents. They share genes. And ancestors. Years from now, after your in-laws are dead, all your adult children will have left is memories. Ideally, they'll be pleasant.
OK, so how exactly do you transform these dreaded get-togethers into something all the generations in your family enjoy? By turning your in-laws into people who are interesting to your children. And vice versa. Suggest a family history project. Tell the children and the in-laws it's time to make a scrapbook—or a family Facebook page, or a documentary video (have the kids choose whatever medium they most enjoy).
Next, lay out ground rules. Children will ask lots of questions. Grandparents will answer by telling stories. The questions will focus on the old days—what was it like growing up without television, and is it true your mother was born on a ship that was crossing an ocean to get to America, and how did you and grandpa meet?
This is valuable information. Your in-laws are probably the only people who know it. That makes them important. And it makes them feel important to be asked. One question will lead to another. Once the two generations start talking, they may even discover they like each other.
Any other suggestions? Do you have to encourage your children and your in-laws to like each other? If so, what are your strategies?
(image courtesy of Realsimple.com)
Do You Trash Talk in the Mirror?
It's no secret that many women—sadly, sometimes it seems like almost ALL women—have complicated relationships with their bodies and weight. And that's putting it mildly. If you've ever heard a group of women in a dressing room or locker room bemoaning the size of their thighs or hips or any other body part, or if you've been that person doing the bemoaning—it can be downright depressing.
(To be honest, I can't say I haven't sometimes been one of those women. To wit: I just recently ordered a new bathing suit from a catalog and when it arrived, I had some, um, choice words to say about my rear view. The swimsuit went back faster than you can say Free Shipping.)
And some new research sheds light on some of the nuances to this sort of body snark. In a study from Ohio University, psychologists found that a woman's "appreciation" of her body (or lack thereof) is more related to what other people think of her figure—not her actual weight. Researchers there note that the most powerful influence on what a woman thinks about their body it how they believe it's perceived by the people around them. On a more positive note—and something to takeaway from this—women who are more able to focus in on how their bodies function and feel have more positive attitudes about their physical selves. These women tend to eat healthier and more according to what their bodies need and crave.
And speaking of the locker room trash talk.... Another new study, this one published in Psychology of Women Quarterly, finds that people who engage in that chatter feel worse about their bodies than those who don't. While on one hand this seems like a "no-duh" finding to me—of COURSE they feel worse! They're aiming insults at their abs, after all!—on the other hand I wonder if it's not one of those self-fulfilling prophecy things.
As in: If you pipe up about your paunch, you're in fact digging a deeper hole of dissatisfaction. Funny thing is, the women in the study actually claim that venting their body blues makes them feel better—that it's somewhat of a coping strategy! And even crazier, the prevalence of fat talk seems to be unrelated to whether or not a woman actually is carrying extra poundage.
Bottom line: Sometimes our bodies are all in our head.
March 30, 2011
Race the Clock to Make Yourself More Productive
If you have to tackle a task that you are dreading, use the old trick of racing the clock to boost your motivation and be more productive.
Everyone is a bit more motivated when they can see some kind of end in sight. So the next time you're dreading a task you have to complete, set a timer for 10 minutes, and work at a frantic pace to get as much done as you can in those 10 minutes. It's a long enough amount of time that you can get something done, but it still feels managable.
Once the timer is up, take a look at what you've accomplished. That sense of getting something done will likely keep you motivated to continue on the task, and you'll be finished with it in no time.
Read more tips and tricks for how to stop procrastinating.
What are your strategies for getting all those things done that you don't want to do?
Related:
The Science Behind Procrastination
3 Quick Ways to Relieve Stress
Tackle Your Taxes & Win Cash in a Tax Preparer Contest
Tax season got you down? Here are some tips to help get that return in by the April 18 deadline, as well as an opportunity from a tax preparation service to win some cash. First the tips:
-If you earn $58,000 or less and have a relatively simple return, file for free online at www.irs.gov/freefile.The Internal Revenue Service paired up with software makers to create the site. It asks simple questions and then fills in the answers on the tax form for you. If you file the return electronically and qualify for a refund, you'll receive it in as little as 10 days. (If you owe money, you have until April 18 to send it in.) If you owe state taxes, use the tool called "Help Me Find A Free File Company" to find a firm that may offer Free File for your state.
-If you need to speak to a real person, call the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program at 1-800-TAX-1040, which has chapters in many communities. The AARP also offers free assistance at 6,500 sites nationwide to people with low and moderate incomes and seniors over age 60. Visit aarp.org or call 888-227-7669.
-Consider tax software. It's fast and relatively easy, and will boost the chances of an accurate return, as well as the odds of getting all the deductions and credits for which you qualify. The biggest names are TurboTax from Intuit and Tax Cut by H&R Block but others include TaxBrain, Complete Tax and TaxActOnline.com. Most people will pay $50 to $100 for the cost of federal and state preparation, and federal and state e-filing.
-If you want to delegate the task to a store-front preparer such as H&R Block or Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, the cost will run $100 to $500 depending on the complexity of your return. (These firms basically fill in the tax software program for you.) See the company websites (here and here) for cost estimators.
And now for the chance to win some dough: Jackson Hewitt launched two social media initiatives to celebrate the season. From now through April 15 you can enter to win $1,000 in a sweepstakes by taking your photo in front of any non-Walmart-based Jackson Hewitt location around the country. Upload that image to Jackson Hewitt's Facebook page; tweet it to Jackson Hewitt on Twitter; or upload the image here. Weekly winners will be randomly chosen (one entry per week from all valid entries) to win a $1,000 cash prize.
A separate contest offers entrants a chance to win $10,000 for yourself and a friend for creating a video. Contestants print out a downloadable "Win Win" image (found at Jackson Hewitt's "Big Check" Facebook page), and then videotape themselves creatively passing that image along to another person.
Once contestants upload their videos, site visitors vote on their favorite submission based on creativity and originality. The 20 most popular videos will be reviewed by a panel of Jackson Hewitt employee-judges, who will select a winner to receive $10,000 for the winning video, and $10,000 for an additional person designated by the winning video entrant.
Good luck!
Reader Question: How Do I Organize All My Tights?
Last week, a reader (and a friend of mine) Kari, tweeted in asking for help organizing her growing collection of tights and hoisery. Admittedly this made me scratch my head for a second because my collection is in shambles as well.
But after a little pondering, I think the best solution is probably to categorize the tights and store them accordingly. I'd vote for honeycomb storage like this from the Real Simple Solutions product line:
Roll the tights and label each row with the categories: solid black tights, patterned black tights, black leggings, colored tights, or the categories that make sense for your collection. If you don't have room for the honeycomb or another drawer organizer, try using zippered plastic bags that you label with the color/category and stack neatly in your drawer.
I'd love to know how you organize your tights and hoisery. Do you have a different strategy?
Real Simple Honeycomb Drawer Organizer, $9 at bedbathbeyond.com
Can You Truly Multitask?
Last week I attended a conference with my 8-year-old son's teacher. The meeting was everything I expected it to be: A rehash of my son's academic potential combined with analysis of his inability to work to his full potential. His teacher told me point blank, "If he's interested in the topic, he'll apply himself. If not, he rushes through his work to get on to the next thing."
Well, I thought, isn't that what we all do?
The problem with being an 8-year-old boy is you don't get to choose what to work on and when. You have to follow someone else's schedule and rules, usually not your own. In thinking about my son, I started to analyze my own work habits and how I compensate for boredom by multitasking.
I watch TV while folding laundry. I listen to audiobooks on long drives in the car. I talk on the phone when cooking dinner or washing dishes. I choose to read email or Twitter feeds anytime I stumble upon a bit of writer's block. And more often than I care to admit, I'll move back and forth between two or more work projects rather than finishing one completely and then starting the next.
In my work, the ability to multitask is often touted as an enviable skill. At home, I see this as a huge advantage. I get stuff done whereas my husband can only do one task at a time. Last night I asked him to change two light bulbs in the kitchen ceiling as he was heading upstairs for bed. He looked at me like I had five heads. "I'm going to bed now," he said. "I will do that tomorrow."
According to a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, humans can't truly multitask, so we should all stop trying. Truth is our brain chooses which information to process as any given time. The article points out, for example, that when you listen to speech, your visual cortex becomes less active. So when you talk on the phone to a client and work on your computer at the same time, you literally hear less of what the client is saying.
The fix? To slow down and focus on one thing at a time and give it your full and undivided attention for as long as you can. Then move on to the next task. Good advice whether you're 8 or 38.
Do you consider yourself an expert at multitasking?
