GeekSugar

Website of the Day: Test My Speed

GeekSugar — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 13:00:11 PST

Internet Service Providers throw around broadband speed stats like they're going out of style, so if you want to test the actual speed of your Internet you better seek outside sources.

A website called Test My Speed offers a directory of websites that can check how fast your computer connects to the Internet via modem speed tests from all over the world.

All you have to do is select your location from a map and Test My Speed will offer a link to a local website that can check your speed for free. Want to share your favorite website of the day with us?

First of all, join the Website of the Day group
Click the pink "Share" menu on the top left side of the page
Choose "Blog" and “Regular Post”
Give your story a “Title”
Fill in the “Body” with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it
Click “Next"
Choose the audience for your story to “Website of the Day” in the drop down menu
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Website of the Day")
Change channel to “Technology and Gadgets”
Fill in tag field with relevant tags
Click “I’m done” to submit content

So join the Website of the Day group and share information about all your favorite sites! Yours just might end up on the geeksugar homepage!

Check Out the Top Contenders For Best Cookbook of the Year

Susannah Chen — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:30:54 PST

Thousands of cookbooks were published in the last year, but which ones are really worth buying? The International Association of Culinary Professionals, or IACP, tackled the question as it announced its cookbook award finalists for 2012 today.

Among them: plenty of cookbooks from top restaurant chefs, like Jean-Georges Vongerichten, John Besh, and Andrew Carmellini, as well as new books from reputed publications such as Fine Cooking and Cook's Illustrated.

Cookbook winners will be announced on April 2 in an award ceremony hosted by Mo Rocca, where the honor of best cookbook of 2012 will also be announced. To see the entire list of award winners, keep reading.

No Headphones? 5 Ways to Entertain Yourself on the Treadmill

Leta Shy — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:44:44 PST

I love running on the treadmill, but let's be honest: it's not the most entertaining workout. I usually distract myself from counting down the minutes with a good playlist, audiobook, or tuning in to the gym's TVs. When I forget to take my running headphones, however, I have to entertain myself in an entirely different way. Here are some ways to keep yourself entertained (not to mention motivated!) when you can't do your normal headphones-on, tune-everything-out routine.

Change up your intervals: You should be doing this anyway once you've mastered your current workout, but if you're used to going through the motions, now's the time to change your intervals or the speed of your high-intensity runs.
Take a fit test: See how fast you can run in a set period - say, five minutes - without stopping (make sure you don't overdo it, though - stay at a level where you don't feel short of breath, lightheaded, or dizzy). Doing a fit test regularly is a good way to gauge your progress if you've been running regularly and if it's time to pick up the pace. Plus you may be surprised by just how fast you can really go!

Read on for more.

Gear Review: Motorola's MotoACTV Fitness Tracker

Leta Shy — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:55:36 PST

Is getting fit one of your New Year's resolutions for the coming year? Whether you're just diving into a new regimen or need a better way to track your workouts, you'll love the new MotoACTV fitness tracker from Motorola.

Released in November, the MotoACTV promises to be your constant fitness companion, and with good reason. It can track calories burned, pace, speed, steps taken, and GPS route out of the box, and holds up to 16 GB of music and workout data. All features that will make anyone's workouts better, so I was happy to test out the 8 GB version that Motorola recently sent over ($250; the 16 GB version goes for $300).

The MotoACTV is slightly bigger than the iPod Nano, and like the Apple product, it has a simple interface making it completely intuitive as soon as you power it on. You can use it as a pedometer, and the home screen shows the time, steps taken, and calories burned for the day. By swiping left and right you can navigate to four more screens with different options. Five tactile buttons and one designated back button on the touch screen work all the main functions, which I appreciated since having easy-to-feel buttons made pausing music or finding my way back to my workout screen much faster than if I were fumbling my way through touch screens. And after entering your height and weight stats, the MotoACTV tracks the amount of calories you burn throughout the day, including your basal metabolic rate. When on the workout screen, you can choose between five styles - running, cycling, walking, elliptical, and step machine - and what type of workout you want (like racing against a previous personal best or setting a time and distance goal). During a workout a pleasant voice keeps you updated on certain milestones and how long you have left in your workout.

Keep reading for more on how the MotoACTV performs.

Ways to Ramp Up Workouts For Holiday Indulging

Michele Foley — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 03:35:54 PST

Confession: I've thrown in the towel when it comes to healthy holiday eating. Between the cocktail parties, office treats, and elaborate dinners, it seems near impossible! To compensate for my indulgences, I am ramping up my fitness regimen. (Recent studies confirm that regular exercise minimizes weight gain that comes from a fatty, high-calorie diet.) If holiday indulgences also have the best of you, see which kind of calorie-torching workouts will give you the most bang for your buck during this season of indulgence.

Intense cardio: If you're looking to melt away fat, walking mindlessly on the treadmill isn't the most effective way to go. New research says that intense workouts are the key to weight loss and speeding up metabolism. Skip the recumbent bike and choose a spin class, cardio kickboxing or dance class, or run continuously on the treadmill at a challenging speed. The idea is to keep the heart rate up and feel so out of breath that you wouldn't be able to carry on a conversation. Need guidance? Use the talk test to gauge the intensity of your workout.
Interval training: If going at a fast pace for an entire workout seems daunting, opt for interval training instead. Whether you're running, biking, or on the elliptical, alternate back and forth between moderate and beyond-fast speeds. A recent study in the International Journal of Obesity confirms that interval training is key when it comes to getting rid of belly fat. Interval training also increases the after-burn effect. This means that post-exercise, your body burns more calories, even at rest or sleep, after doing intervals than after doing a steady paced workout. Check these examples of interval workouts to do on the elliptical, treadmill, and more.
Circuit training: Circuit training is the best of both worlds: a workout that mixes strength training with cardio. (This also makes it an effective workout to do when time is short.) Even though it may not seem like it, building muscle is key to losing weight. Since muscle tissue requires more energy to exist than other tissues (like fat), it burns more calories overall. Mixing it in with cardio keeps the heart rate up, meaning you kill two birds with one stone. Check out this 30-minute circuit workout.

James Beard Awards Kick off With Book, Broadcast, & Journalism Awards

Katie Sweeney — Mon, 09 May 2011 09:38:53 PDT

The best of the best of the nation's food world glitterati are in New York this weekend for the industry's Oscars, the James Beard Awards. Although the main ceremony doesn't take place until later this evening, the events kicked off on Friday with the announcement of the book, broadcast, and journalism awards.

A huge congratulations is in order for our friends at the San Francisco Chronicle; they took home the prize for best food section of a general interest publication. To check out the full list of winners, which includes Alton Brown and Top Chef: All-Stars, keep reading.

The Low Down on Epsom Salts

Heather Dale — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 13:53:58 PDT

Epsom salts, my favorite soothing bath crystals, are getting quite the bad rap lately. Are they no longer delivering their promised soothing, sleep inducing, muscle relaxing benefits? Um, not exactly.

The "bath salts" that have been tested positive for having a similar molecular makeup as ecstasy and methamphetamine are not actual Epsom salts. What's happening is that these fake bath salts are being marketed as Epsom salt-like concoctions so that they are harder for the legal authorities to track down. People who are ingesting these salts are experiencing psychological symptoms like paranoia, delusions, and panic attacks, while the physical symptoms include chest pains, sweating, nausea, nosebleeds, and vomiting. Make sure if you buy bath salts that the packaging is legitimately labeled with "Epsom salts" or "bath salts" and is from a reputable bath, body, or drug store.

Epsom salts, however, are amazing. Find out what the miracle ingredient in Epsom salts is that make them so powerful, and learn to create the perfect Epsom salts bath.

Bike On: The Escape 1 W by Giant

FitSugar — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 07:00:01 PDT

Flipping through the latest issue of Bicycling Magazine, you learn the cyclists suffering through the Tour de France are riding some seriously pricey bikes. Just the frame and fork of the fancy Giant road bike for team Rabobank prices out to around $3000. But you don't have to drop so much dough to get a sweet ride by Giant. The company loaned me its new Escape 1-W ($500) for tooling about town, and I dig it.

New to Giant's line of bikes, the Escape is a hybrid bike: a little road bike, a little mountain bike, and a little cruiser all pleasantly rolled into one. Like most cruisers, the bike has upright positioning so your line of sight is more forward than down making this a great bike for commuting. The handlebar stem is reversible, so you can choose how high or low you want the handles to be. Add to the upright positioning a total of 24 gears - an eight-speed cassette (the little gears in back) and three chainrings (the big gears, or cogs, in front). All these gears mean you can ride the Escape up some hills - another reason I would choose this bike over a classic cruiser. The shifters, mounted on the handlebars, are easy to manipulate, and the handles themselves are super comfy. Nice and wide, they're made out of supple rubber. The seat, however, is pretty stiff, which is actually better for riding (a too squishy saddle is bad for the back). The pedals are nice and big, making biking when wearing fashionable shoes, totally doable - sometimes a gal needs to bike in her heels.

What I like most is the detailing. There are small mint green accents on the silver bike. Even the underside of the seat has a bit of green, as well as the handles, head tube, and wheels. It's cute. My only complaint is that even though the frame is lightweight (made out of aluminum) the back end is a little on the heavy side, which isn't a problem unless you have to carry the bike up several flights of stairs. This is a great around town bike that would also work for light fitness on paved trails.

You can find the full specs on the bike here. Take one for a test drive by finding your local dealer.

DrSugar Answers: Petroleum Products Safe Around the Eyes?

DrSugar — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:30:12 PST

DrSugar is in the house! This week she's answering a question about treating wrinkles.

Dear DrSugar,
I have noticed the fine lines around my eyes becoming not so fine. I know it is just basic aging, but I would like to slow the process down. My sister said to put petroleum jelly (she uses Aquaphor) around my eyes at night. I've never used an eye cream before and am not really a fan of petroleum jelly - it just doesn't seem like a good idea to put a petroleum product on my skin, especially by my eyes. Is it safe? Will my body absorb dangerous chemicals?
- Concerned About Chemicals

I’m going to admit that I had to do some reconnaissance in my local drugstore to research this question. This research involved reading the labels of both regular petroleum jelly and Aquaphor (a Eucerin product). I also did the inevitable Google search for "Aquaphor" and for "fine lines and wrinkles." As a woman in her early 30s, this question interested me a bit personally as, like the reader, I am definitely noticing some little lines and crevices on my face! To learn more about the aging process and if you should be treating it with Vaseline, keep on reading.