For quite some time, this was my personal blog.

Now go to dascontentmedia.com

Thanks!

Doug

What Are The Differences Between In-ground Hot Tubs and Portable Hot Tubs?

When considering the benefits of owning a hot tub, many homeowners start by deciding whether to choose an in-ground spa or a portable hot tub. While both types of hot tubs offer wellness benefits, premium portable hot tubs may prove to be a better choice when evaluating placement, massage and energy use.

What are the design benefits of in-ground hot tubs and portable hot tubs?

Portable hot tubs can fit in a variety of settings in your yard. If you live in colder weather, a portable hot tub can be placed very close to your house. Portable hot tubs can be built into a deck or above ground, and portable hot tub equipment is built into the hot tub exterior. Portability is an advantage -- you can, with some effort, take your hot tub with you when you move.

In-ground hot tubs can be designed in different shapes and sizes, and are often attached to a pool or part of a pool setup. In-ground hot tubs can also be worked into a yard or landscape. Equipment is not built-in and is usually in a separate location and can be bulky and noisy.

Do portable hot tubs or In-ground hot tubs have better massage options?

Portable hot tubs offer many more jets and configurations, and the jets are differently sized depending on location and hydro-massage options, and adjustable. Portable hot tubs offer multiple types of ergonomic seating options, as well as varied seating sizes to fit bodies of all sizes and types.

In-ground jets are usually one size with bench seating that is not as conducive to hydro-massage. Sometimes, it can be a challenge to align your body to a jet to hit just that right spot on your back, and forget about a neck massage –that requires submerging your head below the waterline!

Are in-ground hot tubs and portable hot tubs energy efficient?

Portable hot tub filters and water care options are very advanced making water care easy, and owners can often care for their own tubs. Portable hot tubs are energy efficient and designed to run all the time. So, there’s no heat up period. They work with covers and cover lifters so can maintain temperatures and stay cleaner. Many portable hot tubs are made of acrylic, which is easier to clean and not as abrasive as materials used in in-ground hot tubs like concrete, textured surfaces, tile, and fiberglass. In-ground hot tub surfaces can also be rough on the skin and on swimsuits. Perhaps most important to consider is that in-ground hot tubs have to be heated prior to use, and don’t run all the time so are not as energy efficient, and cost more to run overall.  

See more at: http://www.calderaspas.com/health-wellness/20-minute-renewal/what-are-differences-between-ground-hot-tubs-and-portable-hot-tubs#sthash.SWntk610.dpuf

Meditate In Your Own Headspace

A post for Caldera Spas' 20 Minute Renewal blog...

With the Caldera 20-Minute renewal blog, we help inspire people to realize the value of taking 20 minutes to renew, re-connect, relax and de-stress.  How do we do this? By providing resources and tips on the small things you can do each day to improve self-care, such as meditation.

Why is meditation good for us?

Meditation can help manage stress and reduce blood pressure, improve your focus, help with sleep, and help you learn to live more in the moment.  According to prominent wellness expert and blogger Dr. Andrew Weil, “meditation for healing is about establishing a different relationship with your thoughts, just for a little while. Instead of attention being drawn off by whatever thought happens to present itself, in meditation, you watch your thoughts from a different, more stabilized perspective.”

Is there an app to help you meditate?  Many of us are more connected than ever in terms of technology and social media. For the hyper-connected crowd, there’s actually now an app to help you meditate so you don’t have to unplug.  It’s calledHeadspace and here’s how it works:…

What is the Headspace meditation app?

• Headspace is a meditation app, designed to be a “gym membership for your mind.” You can sign up for free, and use the “take 10 program” to learn the basics of meditation in just 10 minutes a day.
• If you don’t have 10 minutes a day to spare, you can also work with shorter sessions, depending on your schedule.
• With your mobile device you can listen to sessions and meditate anywhere, and even download sessions if you’re going to be offline.
• With a subscription, you can gain access to guided meditation tied into topics like addiction, relationships, creativity and more, based on your moods and lifestyle.
• Your Headspace profile can map your journey, show and track progress, you can get rewards, and work with friends using the app so you can motivate each other along the way.
• Headspace has other great resources as well. A good starting point is learning about the science of meditation, where you can learn about how meditation techniques can help with stress, creativity, focus, anxiety, and relationships with cool and fun little animations and videos.
• The Orange Dot is Headspace’s blog offering a myriad selection of posts on topics including meditation, mind, body, relationships, skillful living, and birth and death.
• Radio Headspace offers podcasts from experts discussing meditation and Headspace related topics. 

See more at: http://www.calderaspas.com/health-wellness/20-minute-renewal/meditate-your-own-headspace#sthash.U1zKLEQV.dpuf

David Bowie is Dead, Long Live David Bowie

David Bowie died this month, unexpectedly to most of us. A lot of us took it hard, including me. Like the Glass Spider in one of his songs, I shed tears. Apparently he knew he was going, and even in death managed to handle it artfully, with great image, and flair. Two days before he died, he had a birthday, released an album, and did a photoshoot.

Listening to his final album posthumously, it’s obviously an artist saying “goodbye” the only way he knows how - artistically. He was so much more than an innovator. He was a ground breaker that took music, art, style and performance where it hadn’t been, and helped peers he believed in along the way like Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Mott the Hoople. This doesn’t even go near the ranks of musicians he influenced, directly or indirectly, immediate, or years later.

Being from the MTV generation, Bowie’s video for “Let’s Dance” was the introduction I remembered. I loved that song from the first time I heard it, and seeing the video, I wondered who that suave talented dude was. It’s still one of my favorite songs to this day, and one of a handful of songs I can’t turn off when it’s on. Soon after “Let’s Dance” was released, I was living in a small desert town in California, called Barstow. I used to call the local radio station every afternoon and request “Let’s Dance,” and sometimes they’d play it.

At that time in the early 80s, Duran Duran were my favorite band. They always cited Bowie as an influence, and the influence was obvious. Duran Duran wore their influences on their sleeves. They even covered “Fame” as a b-side. In saw the correlation - catchy danceable music, great performance, artsy aire, impeccable style. They were imitators, but didn’t come close to Bowie.

One night I babysat a neighbor’s kids. Basically I went over to the house and sat around while the kids slept. I looked through the father’s cassette collection, and found a Bowie cassette I’d never heard of. It was called ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.” I popped it in a slid some headphones on. The album and sound were amazing. “Let’s Dance” was great, but this was so much more. Every track on the album was wonderful.

Local radio kept me exposed to Bowie’s hits, and I picked up albums like “Tonight” and “Never Let Me Down.” I loved “Blue Jean” from the “Tonight” album, as well as “Loving the Alien.” I remember seeing a TV broadcast of the “Glass Spider Tour” for that album. I still have it on VHS.

I finally got to see Bowie live in the early 90s on the “Sound and Vision” tour, which was touted as the last time he would play “the hits.” Around this time was when I started to dig deeper into Bowie, beyond the hits. The show was great, with Adrian Belew on guitar. As usual, the stage show was a spectacle in and of itself, with scrims, lighting, projections and more.

In fact, Bowie’s stage production on the “Sound and Vision” had a long lasting effect on me. I still babble about scrims, backlighting and gobos. When I worked in the golf industry, I worked on a redesign of the art for Ashworth Golf’s 2001 PGA booth. Heavily Bowie influenced, with a little Depeche Mode thrown in! Fabric art, backlighting, and gobos.

Many people don’t realize what a tech innovator Bowie was as well. In 97 or 98 he ran a web venture that offered digital access to his catalog, and even online access like a service provider. Definitely a precursor to internet service providers as well as sites like Napster and Limewire.

Throughout the 90s I kept up with Bowie as he continued to put out a solid body of work with albums like “Outside,” “Black Tie, White Noise,” “Heathen,” and “Earthling.”

With the advent of file-sharing and the Internet, I was able to collect hours of Bowie live shows, which I still listen to regularly. My favorites and the gems of my collection remain a “Serious Moonlight” tour show, and a late 90s New Years/ birthday show thrown for Bowie. But, the gem in my Bowie bootleg crown are the “Serious Moonlight” tour rehearsals with Stevie Ray Vaughn on guitar recorded right before their fallout over pay for the US Festival.

Bowie is a true icon, truly one of a kind. Only a handful of artists belong in the same breath - Elvis, The Beatles, The Stones...few others, if even all of them. Bowie was unarguably the most influential music, performance, and style icon.

A comment I read this week referred to Bowie as the gateway drug. If you’re the innovator and influencer, how can you be the gateway drug? Other bands were the gateway drug, and Bowie was the heroin. Bowie was the epitome of art, talent, style, innovation, a chameleon of chameleons. Bands I was into like Duran Duran, The Smiths, and so many more were the gateway drugs to Bowie.

Bowie showed us what music, style, performance and art could be. Bowie is known for his personas, changing through the years, and the eras. From his early tenures in the 60s with various brands, to glam rock and blue eyed soul of the 70s, through new wave in the 80s, to house and industrial experimentation in the 90s to his final jazz fusion experiments on his final album.

Bowie did it all.

Bowie was a beautiful boy.

The Blackfish Show Needs To Go

Sea World has always been under the watchful eyes of animal rights groups like the ASPCA and PETA for their treatment of the animals in their parks. The heat has been turned up over the last few months following the release of the documentary “Blackfish” which gained notice at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and has been shown on CNN.

“Blackfish” tells the story of a killer whale named Tilikum, a captive performing whale at one of Sea World’s parks. Tilikum was captured of the coast of Iceland in 1983, and has been involved in the deaths of three trainers. The film brings into focus the dangers of keeping these animals in captivity and featuring them in performances with humans.

I live close to the Sea World park in San Diego and I’ve seen the Shamu show. I don’t like the Shamu show at Sea World. I don’t like the dolphin show or the seal shows at Sea World. I really don’t like the Cirque De Soleil show, but that’s because it’s creepy. Basically I don’t like to see beautiful sea animals in pools forced to perform stupid tricks for peoples. The last time I sat through the Shamu show with my parents, my Mother told me I didn’t appreciate the show for what it was. You’re supposed to love Shamu. Worship the mighty Shamu like the whale God that he is, not feel badly for him.

Read more: http://www.thecontentbrand.com/dev5/culture/the-blackfish-show-needs-to-go/

TEDxSanDiego 2013 An Inspiring Experience

TEDxSanDiego 2013 was held Saturday December 14, 2013 in beautiful La Jolla, California, on the UCSD campus in partnership with Calit2 and the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination. The event featured 20 speakers and performers from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives, as well as a number of Calit2 experiences.

What…or who..is TED, and what is TEDx? Well from the TEDxSanDiego itself, “TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives.”

Now, TEDx events are independently organized TED events held around the world. “TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.”

The theme of TEDxSanDiego 2013 was re:Think, and the theme was well represented amongst the speakers and performers in the main hall. Besides rethinking, an obvious sub-theme was the pushing of boundaries, and innovation. Examples of rethinking music, art, tech, science and much more were on display throughout the presentations. Four sessions were featured–Possibilities, Makers, Art Makers, Peacemakers, New Perspectives, and What’s next?

Read more: http://www.thecontentbrand.com/dev5/technology/tedxsandiego-2013-an-inspiring-experience-2/

The Road Leading to Self Driving Cars

The worst part about driving to work is the commute, and the worst part of the commute is the traffic. Sitting there, stop and go, stop and go, hoping not to get rear ended or cut off. It’s wasted time. We try to multi-task—talk on the phone (hands-free, of course), listen to music or books on tape. We all can’t afford to have a driver…or maybe someday we could! Our cars could soon drive us to and fro, and we could do whatever we wanted---even sleep on the way to work. You’re practically dozing off anyway as it is!

A recent article and infographic from Mashable predicts self-driving cars in showrooms by 2017. Some vehicles can already park themselves, or stop themselves in the event of an emergency, so the rest can’t be that far off, right? Mashable does ask, however, “will drivers be willing to trust it enough to sit and read their iPads or put on makeup on their way to work instead of driving? (Wait, aren't they doing that now?).”

Widespread acceptance is going to depend on how good and accessible the technology is. Once we see more and more self-driving cars on the road, the acceptance will increase, but it’s going to be an uphill battle. What’s it going to take to get drivers to get their hands of the wheel?

Eventually these cars will interact with the roads and highways, and even police and emergency vehicles, but most importantly with each other. For instance, some higher end brands like Audi, BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes Benz already have cars with an adaptive cruise control feature. Lasers or radar are used to maintain safe distances from other vehicles.

By 2014 some of the bigger automakers will be offering embedded 4G internet access in-vehicle. General Motors has already partnered with AT&T, and Apple is working on an OS for cars that will integrate with iOS7 in-dash.

Japanese automakers are banking on hydrogen power to run our cars of the future. Hydrogen powered cars built by the biggest Japanese automakers are expected to be on Japanese roads by 2015, backed up with the insurance that there will be plenty of hydrogen filling stations near all of Japan’s largest cities and surrounding areas. By 2016, the U.S. is expected to comprise 90% of the hybrid vehicle market, with a sharp rise in smart car batteries that run electric vehicles and other hybrids.

- See more at: http://www.geeks.com/techtips/community/the-road-leading-to-self-driving-cars.html#sthash.2vngj3Q4.dpuf

Anti-Virus Options for your Smartphone

At this point most of us have smartphones attached to our hips or at least our hands. They’re our go to devices for just about everything, and have changed the way we communicate, compute, socialize, and use and share data. I always go to my smartphone instead of my desktop, laptop or tablet, as it’s the fastest device in the house! But as with our computers, we’ve got to protect our smartphones from viruses and other issues. Let’s take a look at some of the options…

Image courtesy of McAfee

Hopefully, most of us have some sort of anti-virus protection on our desktop or laptop computers, and we’re used to planning on virus protection. We’ve had personal computers for years. Smartphones are still a relatively new phenomenon. We run multiple apps that are constantly connected, potentially putting personal information at risk. We’re still adapting to the use and protection of these devices, and those that want our information are adapting their strategies for how to get to the information on our phones.

Are the threats to Android phones and the iPhone similar? Between the two, the biggest risk is losing your information, or getting your accounts compromised, including your bank account, app store account, or credit card information. Apple has always had stricter requirements in the app store, and isn’t as open an environment as the Google/Android app market. As the Android market is getting better at tightening up app requirements, we're seeing more and more app viruses in the Apple app store.

- See more at: http://www.geeks.com/techtips/community/anti-virus-options-for-your-smartphone.html#sthash.2uzvS6Mu.dpuf

The Future of Robotics

When we think of robots, a lot of us geeks first think of C-3PO and R2-D2 from “Star Wars.” Technically robots and robotics have been in use since the Industrial Revolution. They're what made it industrial, and a...revolution. Robotics and related tech are getting more and more commonplace, and changing and improving our lives, in many different facets ranging from medicine to warfare.
In the medical field, robotics have led to stunning enhancements in the field of prosthetics. Due to recent conflicts in the Middle East, there have been a larger number of amputees coming back from war than ever before. Technology has needed to keep in stride with the demand for better and better artificial limb options.

Bluetooth technology has been included in opposing limbs for multiple amputees. For instance, an Iraq war vet was fitted with two artificial legs after losing his own legs in combat. Bluetooth devices were built into each leg, effectively allowing the legs to “communicate” to coordinate stride, pressure, and speed between the two prosthetic limbs.

Robot prosthetics, image courtesy of News.Discovery.com

- See more at: http://www.geeks.com/techtips/community/the-future-of-robotics.html#sthash.D6MKS0ZK.dpuf

When we think of robots, a lot of us geeks first think of C-3PO and R2-D2 from “Star Wars.” Technically robots and robotics have been in use since the Indu

Read More - See more at: http://www.geeks.com/techtips/community/home.html#sthash.l0z4Vvs9.dpuf

Big Brother is Definitely Watching

The more connected and interconnected we are with our tech, our mobile devices, computers, Web usage and email, the more the government apparently wants to know about what we’re doing and saying with all this connectivity, who we’re talking to, when we’re talking and what we’re talking about..  It sounds like a scary conspiracy theory, but unfortunately more and more evidence is piling up detailing the far reaching eye of the government.

We’ve recently seen stories on CISPA and big data, and the government watching our Web browsing, as well as the state of internet surveillance overall.  But no recent “Big Brother” stories are as big as the stories that truly belong in the movies. Companies like Verizon have been forced to hand over phone records to the U.S. government under a top secret court order. We’ve also learned that the National Security Agency (NSA) and FBI have been pulling data on Americans from companies like Google and Facebook.

Image courtesy of Morguefile.com

- See more at: http://www.geeks.com/techtips/community/big-brother-is-definitely-watching.html#sthash.V720rLYJ.dpuf

Zotac GeForce GTX560TI 1GB Video Card

By Doug Smith

Here’s a nice little video card for you PC gamers—the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB video card. We’ve currently got it at a great price, and have plenty in stock. ZOTAC is one of the largest producers of NVIDIA VGA and motherboard solutions worldwide. The ZOTAC GeForce 560 Ti is designed to deliver high performance at an affordable price.

Powered by the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti GPU, the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1 GB GDDR5 PCI Express video is a high-end video card featuring 384 unified shaders.1 GB of GDDR5 memory is included with clock rate of 4000 MHz for those high-resolution displays. The card also features a PCI Express x16 2.0 interface with a high-bandwidth interface for your GPU and CPU interaction.

This ZOTAC GeForce GTX 560 Ti features exclusive NVIDIA technologies like PhysX, CUDA, and PureVideo HD for realistic physics effects, parallel computing support, and high definition video optimization.

- See more at: http://www.geeks.com/techtips/community/zotac-geforce-gtx-560-ti-1gb-video-card.html#sthash.m0CsaXXd.dpuf

Tech Design of the Future

We’ve talked a lot lately about the tech of the future and integration—wearable and micro technology, 3D printing, smart TVs and integrated homes.  The future continues to arrive, but what’s still to come? What’s the tech and what are the designs that will change the future?

Under Armour is designing a touchscreen t-shirt which measures your athletic performance

CNN recently ran a piece on designs that will define the future, attempting to predict the shape of things to come.  The predictions run the gamut from manufacturing and wearable tech, to digital displays, to minimalist designs that stress function over form, to digital tattoos, and headphones that read minds. Key advances will be in wearable tech and 3D printing, with innovative designs blending technology, science and manufacturing.

- See more at: http://www.geeks.com/techtips/community/tech-design-of-the-future.html#sthash.In6TCohb.dpuf

Get the Power of Intel Innovation

Intel Core is Intel’s line of microprocessors for business and consumer computers. Geeks.com carries a full range of Intel Core processors and we wanted to take some time to look at some of the quality Intel Core processors we carry.

The i3 Processor is great for common tasks like listening to music. This processor comes equipped with Intel HD graphics, an advanced video engine that delivers smooth, high-quality HD video playback, and advanced 3D capabilities, providing an ideal graphics solution for everyday computing. The i3 is the first level of the Core processor family, and an affordable option for your everyday computing tasks. With Intel’s Hyper-Threading technology, you’ll see effortless multitasking.

i3 Processor image courtesy of Intel

- See more at: http://www.geeks.com/techtips/community/get-the-power-of-intel-innovation.html#sthash.HrxpHDrv.dpuf

Classrooms of the Future will Teach Individuals

If you’ve got kids in the public school system, it’s likely that they are in overcrowded classes, with overworked and burned out teachers. Budgets are tight. Teachers are teaching the same way they’ve taught for years—new kids, same material. Standardized teaching and standardized testing--teaching all of the kids the same material the same way.

The challenge is that we all learn differently, and so do kids.  Some of us are better at math, some of us are better at English, some of us are better at science. We learn different things at different paces. Many parents are choosing to pull their kids from the struggling archaic public school system and put them into charter schools and even home schooling programs. Home schooled and charter school students get more individual attention and more individualized learning. Leaders in technology like Bill Gates are saying that individualized learning, and technology, will build the classrooms of the future.

inBloom offers help to teachers looking to tailor lessons to students

- See more at: http://www.geeks.com/techtips/community/classrooms-of-the-future-will-teach-individuals.html#sthash.Mt3M9tkX.dpuf

Geeks.com Serves Up Deals on Servers

Need a server? Geeks.com is serving up great deals on rack and tower servers!

Geeks.com rack and tower server savings!

For those of you new to servers, let’s do a brief server overview.  A server is basically a system comprised of software and computer hardware that responds to requests across computer networks, and provides network services. Servers can be on a dedicated computer, which would be referred to as "a server." A number of network computers can also act as a server. Servers operate within a server-client infrastructure.  Servers process requests from and deliver data to other computers, or the "clients."


- See more at: http://www.geeks.com/techtips/community/geeks-com-serves-up-deals-on-servers.html#sthash.GniOgUW5.dpuf

Get Some Education Online

The future is mobile, and mobile tech is the future. Education, however, has been mobile for years. Online education has been changing the way we learn since the late 80s and its launch at the University of Phoenix, and has progressed slowly but surely from there.

The University of Phoenix is the largest university in the U.S., with more than 500,000 students. Image courtesy of phoenix.edu

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- See more at: http://www.geeks.com/techtips/community/home.html#sthash.ci6EjhZi.dpuf

Emergence of Digital Film Projection

Some of us had that friend, or knew someone that had that friend that worked at the movie theater. That usually meant you could get in for free. If you were really lucky your friend was the projectionist, and maybe you’d get to sit up in the projection booth. At certain points, depending on how long the movie was, the projectionist would jump up to change the reels ad try to time the reel change just right.

Image courtesy of Morguefile.com

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- See more at: http://www.geeks.com/techtips/community/home.html#sthash.ci6EjhZi.dpuf

Choosing the Right Video Game Console

I don’t play as many video games as I used to when I was a bachelor, but I think console gaming is ingrained in me. I was a little kid when my dad brought home a console system with pong, and pong variations. From there we upgraded to an Atari 2600. Hours spent playing “Space Invaders,” “Pitfall,” and so many others. Years later I got back into gaming and picked up a Nintendo Entertainment System. I was blown away at the improvement in graphics. More hours on games like “Mario Brothers,” “Metroid,” “Contra,” and so many other Nintendo greats. Eventually I moved on to the Playstation and Playstation 2, and pretty much just played “Madden.”

A lot of gamers prefer console gaming to PC gaming for affordability, convenience, portability, and ease of control.  Sure you’re sacrificing great graphics, upgradeability, mods, choice of games, and Cloud gaming with services like Steam, but if you choose to go the console route, how do you pick the right console to game on?

Xbox One image, courtesy of xboxlive.com

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- See more at: http://www.geeks.com/techtips/community/home.html#sthash.ci6EjhZi.dpuf

Acer Monitors from Geeks.com

Acer is a well known name in the computer monitor market, known for making quality and affordable monitors. Acer monitors are popular sellers for Geeks.com, and if you’re in the market for a new, extra, or back-up monitor, take a look at the Acer selection of monitors offered by Geeks.com.

The Acer S230HL Abd widescreen monitor features a fast 5 ms response time for crystal-clear, blur-free video, text and graphics. The Acer S230HL also features a 23-inch LED-Backlit display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, 250 cd/m² brightness and a high 100,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. The fast 5 ms response time ensures crystal-clear, blur-free video, text and graphics. Included is a 90 day warranty from Geeks.com.

Acer S230HL Abd widescreen monitor from Geeks.com

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How to Protect Your Privacy Online

There’s been so much talk lately about what the government can and can’t see and hear about our phone records, email, web browsing and online activities. But what can you do to protect your online privacy? What can anybody out there see? How do you protect yourself and your information?

Let’s take a look at how you can protect yourself online, and not just from the government.

Image courtesy of Morguefile.com

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