10 small steps for better heart health

Change is an important part of living with heart disease or trying to prevent it. A jump in blood pressure or cholesterol earns you a lecture on healthy lifestyle changes. Heart attack and stroke survivors are often told to alter a lifetime of habits.

Some people manage to overhaul their exercise pattern, diet, and unhealthy habits with ease. The rest of us try to make changes, but don’t always succeed. Instead of undertaking a huge makeover, you might be able to improve your heart’s health with a series of small changes. Once you get going, you may find that change isn’t so hard. This approach may take longer, but it could also motivate you to make some big changes.

Here are 10 small steps to get you on the road to better health in 2010.

1. Take a 10-minute walk. If you don’t exercise at all, a brief walk is a great way to start. If you do, it’s a good way to add more exercise to your day.

2. Give yourself a lift. Lifting a hardcover book or a two-pound weight a few times a day can help tone your arm muscles. When that becomes a breeze, move on to heavier items or join a gym.

3. Eat one extra fruit or vegetable a day. Fruits and vegetables are inexpensive, taste good, and are good for everything from your brain to your bowels.

4. Make breakfast count. Start the day with some fruit and a serving of whole grains, like oatmeal, bran flakes, or whole-wheat toast.

5. Stop drinking your calories. Cutting out just one sugar-sweetened soda or calorie-laden latte can easily save you 100 or more calories a day. Over a year, that can translate into a 10-pound weight loss.

6. Have a handful of nuts. Walnuts, almonds, peanuts, and other nuts are good for your heart. Try grabbing some instead of chips or cookies when you need a snack, adding them to salads for a healthful and tasty crunch, or using them in place of meat in pasta and other dishes.

7. Sample the fruits of the sea. Eat fish or other types of seafood instead of red meat once a week. It’s good for the heart, the brain, and the waistline.

8. Breathe deeply. Try breathing slowly and deeply for a few minutes a day. It can help you relax. Slow, deep breathing may also help lower blood pressure.

9. Wash your hands often. Scrubbing up with soap and water often during the day is a great way to protect your heart and health. The flu, pneumonia, and other infections can be very hard on the heart.

10. Count your blessings. Taking a moment each day to acknowledge the blessings in your life is one way to start tapping into other positive emotions. These have been linked with better health, longer life, and greater well-being, just as their opposites — chronic anger, worry, and hostility — contribute to high blood pressure and heart disease.

King of pop

Sources have confirmed to Billboard that a deal between the Michael Jackson Estate, AEG Live and Sony for a theatrical release of the Michael Jackson rehearsal footage from the ill-fated This Is It concerts could close today, though there are still some “unsettled terms” that are being negotiated. In fact, the deal is in such flux that it could shift to another studio by the end of the day. According to the source, Sony Music may co-invest with one of the film studios on this release, including Sony Pictures.

The source also says that Michael Jackson’s father Joe Jackson’s efforts in conjunction with promoter Leonard Rowe have “muddied the waters” in the Michael Jackson Estate and AEG’s attempt to close a TV network deal for the presentation of the original This Is It production, created by Jackson and Kenny Ortega.

The This Is It special has been conceived as a tribute to MJ featuring Janet, the Jackson 5, and other major performers. The source says Joe Jackson has been shopping his own Jackson Family special on MJ’s birthday on Aug. 29, which neither Janet Jackson nor the Jackson brothers have agreed to.

Reasons not to get iPad

Big, Ugly Bezel

Have you seen the bezel on this thing?! It's huge! I know you don't want to accidentally input a command when your thumb is holding it, but come on.

No Multitasking
This is a backbreaker. If this is supposed to be a replacement for netbooks, how can it possibly not have multitasking? Are you saying I can't listen to Pandora while writing a document? I can't have my Twitter app open at the same time as my browser? I can't have AIM open at the same time as my email? Are you kidding me? This alone guarantees that I will not buy this product.

No Cameras
No front facing camera is one thing. But no back facing camera either? Why the hell not? I can't imagine what the downside was for including at least one camera. Could this thing not handle video iChat?

Touch Keyboard
So much for Apple revolutionizing tablet inputs; this is the same big, ugly touchscreen keyboard we've seen on other tablets, and unless you're lying on the couch with your knees propping it up, it'll be awkward to use.

No HDMI Out
Want to watch those nice HD videos you downloaded from iTunes on your TV? Too damned bad! If you were truly loyal, you'd just buy an AppleTV already.

The Name iPad
Get ready for Maxi pad jokes, and lots of 'em!

No Flash
No Flash is annoying but not a dealbreaker on the iPhone and iPod Touch. On something that's supposed to be closer to a netbook or laptop? It will leave huge, gaping holes in websites. I hope you don't care about streaming video! God knows not many casual internet users do. Oh wait, nevermind, they all do.

Adapters, Adapters, Adapters
So much for those smooth lines. If you want to plug anything into this, such as a digital camera, you need all sorts of ugly adapters. You need an adapter for USB for god's sake.

It's Not Widescreen
Widescreen movies look lousy on this thing thanks to its 4:3 screen, according to Blam, who checked out some of Star Trek on one. It's like owning a 4:3 TV all over again!

Doesn't Support T-Mobile 3G
Sure, it's "unlocked." But it won't work on T-Mobile, and it uses microSIMs that literally no one else uses.

A Closed App Ecosystem
The iPad only runs apps from the App Store. The same App Store that is notorious for banning apps for no real reason, such as Google Voice. Sure, netbooks might not have touchscreens, but you can install whatever software you'd like on them. Want to run a different browser on your iPad? Too bad!

Apple iPad

Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage in San Francisco today and unveiled the iPad. The tablet device is “more intimate than a laptop, and it’s so much more capable than a smartphone,” according to Jobs. What it looks like is enlarged iPhone.

Jobs dandled the hardcover novel sized device in his hands, looking very close to the 10 inch screen many had predicted.

The device is .5 inches thick with a 9.7 inch screen. It weighs only 1.5 lbs and holds 10 hours of battery life.

It will hold either 16, 32 or 64 gigabytes of flash storage. It is wireless and Bluetooth equipped.

On the all-important application side, the iPad can run apps from Apple’s store in one of two ways: You can see it at the original size in middle of the iPad and with black around it or the iPad can double the pixels to run it full screen.

Six types of IT learners

A new study from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario that looks at how people learn technology in organizations finds formal methods are least common. Hands-on and peer-based forms of informal and incidental learning occur most often.

The study also identified six types of learners: purposive planners, explorers, visionaries, problem solvers, reluctant learners and pinballs. The January 2010 issue of Impact published by the Ivey Business School defines the categories as follows:


“Purposive planners are very structured and self-disciplined in their approach. They plan carefully and with a lot of attention to detail, and once they’ve made their plan they act on it.”

“Explorers find time to learn on their own because they find it fun or useful. They might for example, stop in the middle of a task and spend some time looking at menu choices or drilling down into new areas.”

“Visionaries are people who find out about new technologies and think about what these could do for them personally and in their organizations. Visionaries are sometimes explorers. They tend to be lateral thinkers, and look at technology from a very strategic perspective.”

“Problem solvers are not necessarily interested in technology, but are very interested in mastering their workplace tasks. They tend to have a strong task-oriented mindset.”

“Pinballs are people who don’t think about learning, but simply bounce around between technologies, picking up knowledge while they’re being buffeted about. They tend to do a lot of incidental learning, and some actually become quite capable users of technology.

”Reluctant learners “are people who don’t really see the value of technology in their jobs. They simple focus on what they have to learn to survive in the organization.”

Individuals don’t necessarily fit into only one category. The interesting thing about the categories is that they tend to overlap. Some categories may relate to what someone does, while other categories might relate to how that person thinks.

Solar eclipse

In last week's solar eclipse, the moon didn't quite blot out the entire sun. That's what made it such a beautiful sight.

Called an annular eclipse (annular means ring-shaped), the moon blocked all but the sun's outer edge, creating a fiery hoop in the sky. Canadian astronomy fans didn't get a chance to see it. It was only visible along a 300 km-wide strip stretching from Central Africa to China.

The Mail Online's excellent coverage includes a video of the eclipse in progress in various spots including Kenya and India.

Penguins vs Hurricanes

Both teams, who will square off in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series starting Monday night (7:30 p.m. ET) at Mellon Arena, made coaching changes during the regular season that helped spark a turnaround and avoid an early summer.

By the time the Stanley Cup playoffs began, Pittsburgh and Carolina were two of the hottest clubs entering the post-season.

The parallels don't end there.

The teams split the regular-season series 2-2. While the Penguins are known as a fast-break hockey squad, the Hurricanes have been applying the same up-tempo offence through the first two rounds.

And in Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, who shares the top playoff spot with 21 points, and Hurricanes centre Eric Staal (nine goals), this series features two players who can take over a game in an instant.

"You're going to see fast hockey," said Sidney Crosby, who also leads the NHL's playoffs with 12 goals.

"Both teams really play similar styles. I've watched them play. Their D is in the play, they're quick up front, they attack [and] they don't sit back. I think that's similar to the way we like to play as well."

Windows 7 release this year

Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) disclosed more details on its timetable for finishing up work on the Windows 7 operating system. An official at the software maker said the company hopes to release the OS to its manufacturing division by about mid-August.

"We expect to hit RTM in about 3 months or so," said Brandon LeBlanc, Microsoft's in-house Windows blogger, in a post Monday. LeBlanc said a mid-August release to manufacturing (RTM) would be contingent on Microsoft receiving feedback from Windows 7 Release Candidate users that "meets our expectations in terms of quality."

Microsoft Windows senior VP Bill Veghte on Monday confirmed what many in the computer industry have come to suspect -- that Microsoft intends to ship a final version of Windows 7 to stores and PC makers sometime later in 2009.

"With early RC testing and extensive partner feedback we've received, Windows 7 is tracking well for holiday availability," said Veghte, in a statement. The RTM process includes disc mastering and reproduction, as well as other manufacturing tasks, and generally takes about three months.

LeBlanc, in his blog, further emphasized that Microsoft won't take shortcuts in order to get Windows 7 out the door before the calendar turns. "I want to underscore that our top priority remains QUALITY. This guidance does not alter that principle," said LeBlanc.

Microsoft has good reason to be wary of shipping Windows 7 until it's ready for prime time. Windows Vista, the company's current OS, experienced a number of setbacks almost from the moment it debuted in January 2007. Problems included incompatible applications and device drivers, and user complaints about Vista's hefty hardware requirements and intrusive security measures that sought manual approval for even the most routine tasks.

Microsoft rival Apple wasted no time in lampooning Vista's foibles through a series of commercials, featuring the cool Mac guy and nerdy PC guy, that became instant classics in the ad and tech industries. Dissatisfaction with Vista also caused most major enterprises to shun the OS and hang on to predecessor Windows XP well past its intended shelf life.

Microsoft, which saw Windows sales fall 16% in the most recent quarter, is hoping Windows 7's early favorable reviews, as well as new features such as built-in touch screen support, will help it overcome the Vista debacle.

DIY photo lighting

My friend told me he is working on his DIY softbox and light box for taking photo in his basement. That sounded like a good idea since photo lighting usually cost a lot, so I was looking to help him find something easier and affordable. The other day I saw some work light on sales at our local hardware store so I thought that might work, but after some study I found that the normal halogen light blub is too hot and color is not good for photography.

Then I came across this DIY online and it seems to work well, so hope others will find it useful. Link here...

The math of a happy marriage

The eternal question: What makes a marriage last?

Now, thanks to a survey of 3,000 Brits, there's not just a pat schmaltzy answer, but a by-the-numbers recipe.

You need to say "I love you" daily, share two hobbies, and have sex three times a week.

And that's not all. You're supposed to communicate – phone, text or email – three times a day during work hours, enjoy two romantic meals a month and exchange four kisses and three cuddles daily.

In other words, you have to work at it.

Researchers interviewed people who had been happily married for 10 years or longer about their opinions and experiences. The survey was done for confetti.co.uk, a wedding website.

"People here are most surprised by the need for daily kisses and cuddles. Everyone seems amazed by that," says Confetti spokesperson Carol Richardson.

Brits need to relax that stiff upper lip? They're not smooching and snuggling enough?

"That's probably the case," says Richardson. "It's free, easy and we all should be doing it."

Researchers determined that the ideal couple in a good marriage likely met through friends and dated for three-and-a-half years before getting married. At the wedding, the groom was 31 and the bride was 29.

They waited two years and two months to have kids.

Somehow they manage to get away together three times a year for holidays and they spend three nights a week nestled together on the couch watching television. Presumably, to save time, this could be the same three nights a week they have sex.

But it's not all kissy-face. The ideal formula includes two separate outings a month – girls' nights and boys' nights.

"You need time apart to pursue your interests," says Richardson, "and bring something fresh back to the relationship."

by Nancy J. White

Canadian scientists develop new "mind-reading" technology

Finally they come up with this machine that can read mind. All husband or boy friend should get one, or better yet all wives should get one for their spouse.

See Detail here.

A Wikipedia Love Story

In a classic case of mixing business with displeasure, Wikipedia cofounder Jimmy Wales dumped his girlfriend, ex-Fox commentator babe Rachel Marsden, and posted the news on Wikipedia. In retaliation, Marsden put some of Wales's clothing (left at her apartment in New York) up for auction on eBay and said some snarky things about Wales in the process. Anyway, Valleywag, the tech industry's equivalent of the National Enquirer - broke the whole story and even unearthed some of the steamy IM conversations between Wales and Marsden.

Here's our favorite line from the Valleywag coverage: "Marsden subsequently told friends that Wales gave her feedback on her website design - is that what kids are calling it these days? - for 24 hours straight in a D.C. hotel." It took me about an hour to figure out what actually happened in the tragicomic affair, and I felt about 10 IQ points lighter afterward.

Audi RS6 gets stupid fast treatment

It seems Audi was getting tired of having sand kicked in its face by the 500 hp V10 BMW M5 and the 507 hp V8 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, so they slapped a couple of turbos on the Lamborghini-derived 5.0 L V10 in the S6 Avant, et voilà: 580 horsepower and 479 lb.-ft of thundering torque available from 1500 to 6250 rpm. In a wagon. Pure insanity.

For 2009, the sedan gets the RS6 treatment.

The Europe-only package is completed by dark-finish 19-inch alloys lurking within blistered bodywork, three-stage electronic damping, a six-speed paddle-shiftable auto-box, and Quattro all-wheel-drive with a 60 per cent rear bias.

Inside you'll find highly bolstered sport seats and a flat-bottomed steering wheel (all real suede in this tester that costs the equivalent of about $150,000) that signal things to come.

Press the start button on the console and the V10 barks to life and settles into a somewhat off-beat, flatulent idle. Not pretty but ominous as a pea-green sky.

Rumbling down the dirt road from Schloss Dyck Castle, the ride was firm but not harsh. Once on a straight stretch of tarmac, the hammer went down and the RS6 exploded towards the horizon. The blown V10 bellows like a moose in heat, the wastegates wuffle between shifts and your corneas come perilously close to meeting your retinas. On the autobahn, it was pulling with this ferocity at 225 km/h.

The RS6 does not drive like the lithe 420 hp V8 RS4. It's big, it's front heavy, the steering is a bit numb but it does have more grip than you'll ever use on public roads. Most of all, it's just stupid, laughably fast.

And they say the Germans don't have a sense of humour.

Magic missing in Criss Angel Cirque show

Not all marriages, alas, are made in heaven.

Despite the fact that both partners have great appeal on their own, the partnership of a Long Island Goth and a Montreal sophisticate that was unveiled at the Luxor Hotel on Halloween night is going to need a lot of work if it's to emerge as the successful union that everyone hoped for.

The show is called Criss Angel BeLIEve and it combines the wildly popular illusionist with the even more beloved Cirque du Soleil, marking the sixth show that Cirque has on display in Sin City, with the longest running one, Mystere, about to celebrate its 15th anniversary next month.

But ever since BeLIEve started previews in September and postponed its opening, the word on the Strip was that the show was in trouble.

A lot of changes have supposedly been made to it in the interim and what's finally onstage is certainly not a disgrace.

In fact, large sections of it work very well, redeeming Guy Laliberté's initial impulse to match up Criss Angel with Cirque. But there are problems still to be solved.

It all begins almost as if Angel was doing one of his typical shows, only in a Cirque setting. Then a near-death experience during one of the illusions sends Angel into a dark fantasyland, kind of like The Wizard of Oz with Alice Cooper replacing Judy Garland.

Surrealistic rabbits run rampant, Angel levitates and director Serge Denoncourt weaves visual magic within a world of lush red velvet drapes and spectral black presences.

By the time we reach a nightmarish wedding sequence where two sides of femininity fight for possession of Angel and he literally rips himself in half, it's all working in a way that fulfills whatever dreams you may have had for the show.

It's just that it takes a long while to get there.

Part of the trouble is that Angel loves to talk to his fans; it's part of his charm. But Cirque shows are usually wordless. This causes a curious disconnect off the very top that we never really recover from.

Angel is all openness, sharing his thoughts and feelings freely; Cirque is about leaving things opaque and making us stare with added intensity to discover their true nature.

This isn't to say that either party is really at fault here. Some of the illusions that Angel comes up with are indeed spectacular and they're given added resonance by being part of the ebony-hued fable that Cirque is spinning.

And a lot of the images Denoncourt has designed for the surrounding performers are breathtaking in their depth. It's just that they don't always go together.

Many of the newspaper critics have been unduly harsh to the show, almost as if they were taking out a personal vendetta against Angel for his past successes, or on Cirque for working with an established star. The public doesn't seem to care about that, however, and the advance sales are among the strongest in Cirque's Vegas history.

There is also a history of Cirque shows that stumbled when they first opened (like Zumanity) righting themselves after a few months in front of an audience.

One feels that will be the destiny of BeLIEve. Angel is too canny a showman and the Cirque team too skilful to leave something up that doesn't dazzle. My advice is to wait and let the Angel fans fill the theatre while the show works out its problems. Then go see it.When BeLIEve works, even now, it's impressive enough that you wait in anticipation for it to reach its final form.

Is Canon EOS 50D better than 40D?

The EOS 50D is the latest incarnation of a product line that has always reliably delivered on image quality and you won't find any nasty surprises in this review either. The 50D delivers a lot of detail and clean images with well balanced contrast and colors that leave some latitude for 'customization' in post processing. Canon's standard-across-the-range Picture Style tone and color combination also produce consistent performance between models, which is useful if you're moving up from a 'smaller' model.

Having said that, in terms of detail the 50D is not quite the step up from the 40D that we would have expected. After all the new model's nominal resolution has increased by approximately 22% in both dimensions. There is only a very small amount of extra detail in the 50D output though (in fact even at 100%, if you scale the 40D's output up to match the 50D the results are almost indistinguishable). While the new sensor makes the 50D the highest megapixel APS-C DSLR currently on the market it also makes it the one with the highest pixel density and it appears that Canon has reached the limit of what is sensible, in terms of megapixels, on an APS-C sensor (using current technology). At a pixel density of 4.5 MP/cm² (40D: 3.1 MP/cm², 1Ds MkIII: 2.4 MP/cm²) the lens becomes the limiting factor. Even the sharpest primes at optimal apertures cannot (at least on the edges of the frame) satisfy the 15.1 megapixel sensor's hunger for resolution. The result is images that look comparatively soft at a pixel level and only show marginally more detail than images from a good ten or twelve megapixel DSLR. If all you end up with is a larger image (and file) one starts to wonder what the whole point of pushing the resolution up to these dizzying heights is.

Considering the disadvantages that come with higher pixel densities such as diffraction issues, increased sensitivity towards camera shake, reduced high ISO performance and the need to store, move and process larger amounts of data, one could be forgiven for coming to the conclusion that at this point the megapixel race should probably stop.

Just to make it clear, the 50D's image quality is (at identical viewing size) and by no means worse than the competition's but it's also not significantly better than the 40D's (Dynamic range and high ISO performance are even slightly worse) and that simply makes one wonder if the EOS 50D would have been an (even) better camera if its sensor had a slightly more moderate resolution.

Playstation 3 losing $$$

PlayStation 3 console cost so much to develop and make that the company will find it difficult to recoup its losses.

After retailers and distributors have taken their cut, Sony is likely to make anything from 40 to 75 per cent margin on these sales.

At this rate, the PS3 may never be anywhere near as profitable as earlier PlayStation models.

However, with every console sold Sony is also seeding homes with Blu-ray players for which it can sell Blu-ray DVD movie titles at much higher margins.

Under $100 notebook

The revamped machine created by the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project looks like an e-book and has had its price slashed to $75 per device.

OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte gave a glimpse of the "book like" device at an unveiling event at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The first XO2 machines should be ready to deliver to children in 2010.

At the MIT event, Prof Negroponte announced the resumption of the Get-One-Give-One programme to allow people in wealthy nations to buy two XO laptops and donate one to a child in a developing country.

The programme will be open to people in North America and Europe and start in August or September.

Want to see how this will help children in Africa click here...

New invented words

Found some interesting words that are not on modern dictionary.

FLABBERGASP,
v.: your reaction after looking in the mirror and seeing how much weight you've gained. (From Glenn Purchase, Cambridge)

VIDIOT SAVANT,
n.: a person (usually a child) who innately can locate all the hidden cues within any video game and ultimately reach its highest level. (From Linda Cole, Cobourg)

CEWEBRITY,
n.: someone whose fame is confined to the Internet.

LUKEWARMER,
n.: someone who thinks the world is warmer due to human-made greenhouse gases but doubts the impact will be extreme.

OFFICE GHOST,
n.: "an employee who maintains a position at a company even though all his duties have been reassigned to other employees."

MARATHONITIS,
n.: the litany of gruesome and painful injuries affecting long-distance runners. (From The Telegraph)

OPTORTIONIST,
n.: the one kid in every school who can turn his eyelids inside out.

$500 Million Game

Grand Theft Auto IV was released on April 29 and was reported to have sold around 6 million units globally.

The game was already on a good start since day one of its release. According to reports, GTA IV sold approximately 3.6 million units on its debut, thus making an estimated $310 million.

As of now, Grand Theft Auto IV holds the records for both all-time entertainment for day one and week one sales by dollar value.

The game was developed by series creator Rockstar North and was released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. And speaking of PlayStation 3, Rockstar announced the release of an updated version of Grand Theft Auto IV, available for download via the PlayStation Network.

The developer claims that the patch will prevent Gamespy's servers from being overloaded and that players will be prompted to install it when starting the game.

13 genius gizmos that will keep your family happy, healthy and safe

There's nothing like a vacation to help everyone recharge — but there's nothing like a bout of traveler's diarrhea to put a crimp in your trip. Or a bad sunburn. Or wanting a doctor... but not being able to find one. To the rescue: the travel essentials worth toting to keep your trip easy — and fun.

1. A HAT THAT SHIELDS YOU IN STYLE
Channel your inner fashionista with this Coolibar packable wide-brim hat। Unlike the average hat, which offers an SPF of 6 to 10, this version protects you with an SPF of 50 — and it springs back into shape after being stuffed in a suitcase or tote.

2. A TOOTHBRUSH THAT HAS IT ALL
Forget grubby, hard-to-clean toothbrush cases। Just turn the dial on fresh&go's toothbrush to dispense the paste — the handle holds 2 weeks' worth — then snap the cap back on to keep contaminants at bay.

3. A PILL CASE THAT REMINDS YOU
If someone in your family is packing meds, help her stay on schedule with E-pill 7-Day Organizer and Reminder, a case that sorts medicine by time and day. It includes an alarm that beeps when a dose is due or missed. Program up to 37 alerts; they'll reset automatically at midnight.

4. TOILETRIES THAT LIGHTEN YOUR LOAD
Leave bulky bottles at home: Travelon toiletry sheets won't weigh down your bags. Simply add water to a paper-thin sheet, which dissolves into hand soap, shampoo — even laundry detergent! The cases are smaller than a deck of cards.

5. A NECKLACE THAT STORES EMERGENCY INFO
This password-protected "thumb drive" holds electronic versions of medical histories, prescriptions, emergency contact info, and more. Use the Portable Travel Profile to print out copies — or have a doctor plug it into any computer if you're hospitalized.

6. HEADWEAR THAT KEEPS YOU COOL AND BURN FREE
The High UV Protection Buff headpiece is a seamless, moisture-wicking tube of fabric that can be worn at least 12 different ways and offers 95% UV protection. Dip it into cold water and loop it around your neck to keep from overheating on a hike, or fold it into a sweatband for yoga — the CoolMax fabric dries in less than an hour.

7. PILLS THAT BANISH BLOAT
Everything from harried airport eating to changes in altitude can make you bloated while flying. For insurance against painful gas, take two Charco-Caps before takeoff. Unlike other products that break down gas bubbles, studies show that the charcoal in these pills attracts and traps gas, which makes the remedy an even better way to head off an embarrassing problem.

8. EARPLUGS THAT EASE PRESSURE
Flying is painful if you're congested or have sensitive ears, so pop in a pair of EarPlanes before your plane leaves the runway. Filters inside the silicon plugs regulate air pressure to keep you comfy during ascent and descent. A pair of the disposable plugs is good for a round-trip flight.

9. SOCKS THAT WARD OFF BLOOD CLOTS
If your legs swell during long flights, these circulation-enhancing socks can help. They're tight in the right places to increase blood flow, reducing your risk of deep-vein thrombosis, a dangerous blood clot more likely to occur during periods of immobility. Your odds of DVT go up if you recently had surgery, have a family history of the condition or a genetic predisposition to clots — or, simply, if you've had your 60th birthday.

10. A PATCH TO PREVENT SUNBURN
Before you go hiking or lounge on the beach, apply a SunSignal sticker. The bandagelike patch turns from yellow to dark orange when you've hit your limit on UVB, so you won't get a dose that raises the risk of skin cancer.

11. A BRACELET THAT REPELS BUGS
The geraniol in BugBand bracelets, towelettes, and sprays is the strongest plant-based bug repellent out there. Independent studies show that the spray is as effective as DEET against mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, and gnats. Use the bracelet when the bugs aren't as thick; it provides less coverage.

12. A PORTABLE WAY TO PURIFY WATER
It's hard to enjoy the wonders of a new place if you're worried about drinking the water. The lightweight Steripen Traveler water purifier kills more than 99% of illness-causing bacteria, viruses, and parasites with no chemical aftertaste: Just swish the ultraviolet wand in your glass.

13. A GPS THAT FINDS HELP FASTER
Save precious minutes in case of emergency: A few taps on the TomTom One 3rd Edition Global Positioning System is all it takes to get directions to the nearest hospital or police station. (With other GPS devices, you have to manually search for nearby hospitals and such.) Lost? Press "Where Am I?" and your coordinates appear.