Techfast - cell phone Archives tag:blog.tmcnet.com,2011-11-01:/techfast//163 2011-11-08T17:01:46Z The latest tech trends, and unique industry insight, coupled with savory breakfast recipes to get you through each morning. Dating and Doughnuts tag:blog.tmcnet.com,2011:/techfast//163.47854 2011-11-08T16:36:03Z 2011-11-08T17:01:46Z With a headline to this blog post that could instill fear and love simultaneously, we say 'Happy Tuesday!' What better way to celebrate being alive than to eat some doughnuts and talk about online dating? Can't think of another right... Juliana Kenny
The explosion of online dating is affecting entire generations of humans, albeit ones that live in first world countries, but, according to this awesome article by Tracey Schelmetic, online dating has progressed so rapidly that  it is now being surpassed by "mobile dating." 

It took a while for us to get past the notion of it being "OK" or less taboo to meet a potential romantic partner through a computer. Now we've got to face up to the idea that it's happening over smartphones. "Turns out that 61 percent of those surveyed say they are more likely to hook up on a mobile dating app than on a traditional dating site, according to the graphic, which was reproduced on All Things Facebook," writes Schelmetic. 

While you're digesting that bit of news, why not digest a homemade doughnut as well? These particular doughnuts happen to be vegan and gluten-free!

What the heck could possibly be in a vegan, gluten-free doughnut, you ask? Don't ask me, ask those magicians over at Babycakes. It's their recipe, and it is delicious. 

donut2.JPGThese doughnuts are not the empty, airy, overly-glazed tires of Dunkin' Donuts. No, they are pillowy, textured, ever-so-sweet disks of perfection. Can't believe they don't include any animal products or wheat flour? Yeah, neither can this baker.

You know what else we can't believe? The fact that wireless carriers still force customers to sign up for two year contracts.  In this day and age, two years is a long time. Why, look at what has happened in the last two years alone: Stephen Hawking proved that God and time do not exist, and Kim Kardashian announced her marriage and divorce!

Anyway, read Stefanie Mosca's informative article to ponder this heavy question of whether or not us wireless users really should be bound to two-year contracts or not. Doughnut get too worked up over it though. smiley-wink

 ]]> Today's Techfast: Texting or Testing? tag:blog.tmcnet.com,2011:/techfast//163.47829 2011-11-03T14:28:46Z 2011-11-03T16:00:57Z Juliana Kenny There are few things that separate us from the "lower forms," those being animals, plants, protozoa, etc. One is cigarette-smoking, which is stupid. Another is cooking, which is awesome. (Raw vegans will disagree with me.) I hesitate to use “the invention of technology” as a distinguishing characteristic of humans vs. beasts because certain members of the animal kingdom have been known to create unique tools to simplify their lives and communication.

For example, orangutans chew leaves to make sponges to soak up water in tree cavities when other sources of water dry up or are difficult to locate. The next time someone tries to tell me that we’re more creative than animals, I’m going to ask him if he can claim he invented the sponge.

I also hesitate to say that we, as humans, are smarter than those “below” us. I just found out that mushrooms are geniuses and can save the planet.

So, assuming we’re not going to be saving the planet any time soon, we will probably continue our smoking habits, and the sponge has already been invented, we have no choice but to relish in our ability to cook things. While we’re at it, let’s eat the smartest thing possible: mushrooms!

Today’s issue of Techfast featured a Breakfast Strata from Ellie Krieger, renowned chef on The Food Network. A satisfying, stick-to-your-ribs strata has the effect of making one feel as though it’s Christmas morning all morning long. (Or whichever wintry holiday you celebrate post-solstice, pre-new year.) And this broccoli and mushroom strata is no different. Plus, you’ll be ingesting the brains of the planet, and will thus glean wisdom and understanding, perhaps even enough to get your kid to let go of his cell phone for a hot second.

TMCnet’s Carrie Schmelkin wrote about this rising problem of the cell phone inhibiting our children’s social, and possibly educational, growth as “HackCollege found the following key statistics: 25 percent of students whip out their cell phone every single class period; 94 percent of students text every day; 73 percent make calls every day; 60 percent state that they sometimes feel too ‘addicted’ to their phone; and 75 percent of students sleep next to their phones.”

Regardless of whether or not this growing dependency calls for a national “Yikes!” moment, we can all consciously take a step back, acknowledge that we should be aware of this bodily dependence on our technology, and just check out the beautiful fall foliage for a second. After all, self-reflection might be another divergence in our existences versus that of orangutans’.

 

fall.jpg

Yes, I am fully aware of the irony surrounding the fact that I took this picture with my cell phone.

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