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LastPass Can Now Automatically Change Your Passwords

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LastPass Can Now Automatically Change Your Passwords

LastPass just announced a new feature for the password manager that automatically changes your password for sites when a hack is reported.

All you need to do to use the new feature is log into your LastPass account, head to the site you want to set up Auto-Password change for, click Edit, and then click the "Change Password Automatically" button. Right now, around 75 popular sites are supported, including Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Home Depot, and more. Once it's set up, LastPass will automatically change your password for you. It does this locally on your machine by opening up a new tab, logging in, creating a new password, then submitting that change to the site in question.

Introducing Auto-Password Changing with LastPass | LastPass Blog


Apple's released iOS 8.1.2, which fixes problems with ringtones being removed from devices.

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Apple's released iOS 8.1.2, which fixes problems with ringtones being removed from devices. That seems to be the only change in the update. You can snag it from Software Update right now.

Replace a Lost Apple ID Recovery Key Before You're Locked Out

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Replace a Lost Apple ID Recovery Key Before You're Locked Out

Apple's two-factor authentication is great, but like other services, it relies on a Recovery Key when you get locked out. Without that key, you can't access your account if it's hacked. The Next Web learned this the hard way.

The Next Web's Owen Williams was locked out of his Apple ID and didn't have his Recovery Key. If you're using two-factor authentication, this is almost as bad as losing your phone. The Recovery Key is your safeguard to prove that you're you—if someone attempts and fails to get into your Apple account, the only way back in is with the Recovery Key. Without your Recovery Key, you're locked out of your Apple ID for good and all your purchases are gone. Apple makes this abundantly clear when you sign up for two-factor authentication, but if you somehow missed this memo, you can get a new Recovery Key pretty easily:

  1. Go to the Apple ID page and log in.
  2. Click "Password and Security"
  3. Click "Replace Lost Key" and click Next
  4. Make sure you actually print or save your key somewhere safe this time

You can only generate a new Recovery Key if you have access to your account, so do it now while you still can. Head over to The Next Web for William's whole story.

The dark side of Apple's two-factor authentication | The Next Web

Career Spotlight: What I Do as an ER Doctor

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Career Spotlight: What I Do as an ER Doctor

Chances are you'll wind up in the emergency room at some point—if only for some stitches after an unsuccessful attempt at slicing a bagel, perhaps. But the highly trained medical professionals who work in emergency medicine are prepared to attend to any urgent situation that arises.

Career Spotlight: What I Do as an ER Doctor

Joshua L. Harris, M.D. is an emergency medicine physician in Vermont who is working hard everyday to keep his patients comfortable and healthy, and takes special care to educate his patients about their likely diagnoses so that they can make informed decisions. We spoke with Joshua to learn how he came to his profession, what his day to day workload is like, and more.

What drove you to choose your career path?

A love of people and a love of science.

How did you go about getting your job? What kind of education and experience did you need?

Four years of undergraduate training, four years of medical school, and three years of residency in emergency medicine.

Did you need any licenses or certifications?

You need a state medical license and a board certification in your specialty.

What sorts of things do you do beyond what the average person might expect? What do you actually spend the majority of your time doing?

I spend about 1/3 of my time in face-to-face patient encounters. The remaining 1/3 is reviewing past notes, labs, X-ray, CT, and Ultrasound images, and making phone calls to other doctors, and the other 1/3 is documentation time.

When I'm calling other doctors, it's the patient's primary care doctor or a consulting specialist regarding their care. Regarding documentation, it takes a large amount of time to document the care I provide. I document what the patient tells me, their exam, my decision making process, their labs, X-rays, or results, and their discharge or admission information plus discharge instructions. For more complex cases, I may be documenting procedures, critical care (frequently in the room because someone is very sick), re-examinations, etc.

What misconceptions do people often have about your job?

This is the main one: The ER is designed to provide emergent care to make sure you are safe, healthy, and comfortable. It is not an in-and-out clinic or a primary care office. If you come for something minor, you are likely going to wait. I'm 100% happy to take care of you, but the people who are very sick will always be cared for first.

What are your average work hours?

The industry average is 8-12 hours a day, 3-5 days per week. It varies significantly week to week. There is no such thing as a regular schedule in emergency medicine.

Are there any special techniques or habits you have for making it through a long day?

Other than being well-rested, well-fed, and well-exercised before coming into work, not particularly. It takes an enormous amount of physical and mental energy to make it through a full day. My shifts are only 9 hours though, which helps.

What do you do differently from your coworkers or peers in the same profession? What do they do instead?

All ER doctors try to provide a "standard of care," meaning that you should get the same workup to make sure you are safe and treated effectively regardless of where or when you go to the ER. Personally, I'm big on patient education and shared decision making between the physician and patient. I will often educate my patients on the situation, the data we have, what I think are the potential dangerous diagnoses and their likelihood, and if there are two or more potential courses of action. Then I ask my patients for their input. I will certainly provide recommendations to the extent that they are backed by research and accepted practice, but if the course of action is not clear, I educate my patients on what I know then as for their input.

What do you learn when specializing in emergency medicine that doctors in other fields might have less experience with? How would you describe your particular expertise?

I'm going to refer to the definition provided by one of our major governing bodies, the American College of Emergency Physicians which defines us as follows:

"Emergency medicine is the medical specialty dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of unforeseen illness or injury. It encompasses a unique body of knowledge …. The practice of emergency medicine includes the initial evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and disposition of any patient requiring expeditious medical, surgical, or psychiatric care. Emergency medicine may be practiced in a hospital-based or freestanding emergency department (ED), in an urgent care clinic, in an emergency medical response vehicle or at a disaster site."

Basically, we have to be ready to handle any emergency condition that occurs. This encompasses every body system. However, our knowledge base is focused on the emergent and immediate steps necessary to make sure a patient is safe, comfortable, and as healthy as possible. We are not focused on chronic or longitudinal care and we do not see patients on a chronic basis.

What's the worst part of the job and how do you deal with it?

Patient satisfaction. I would like 100% of my patients to be happy with their care. Nationally, satisfaction of an ER visit is in the 80-85% range. Unfortunately, I feel that most of the time the unhappy 15-20% are unhappy about factors I can't control. Wait times, workup times, and people who want chronic medical problems solved in the ER are top players. Trust me, this is equally frustrating for me too.

Do you have any advice for people who need to enlist your services—that is, your patients?

I think ERs need to come with a user manual! What I need to hear is a concise, descriptive explanation of why you are in the ER, without tangents. Telling me that you have abdominal pain and having no other description or history is not helpful. Stating that "it should be in my chart" is also not helpful as its not always the most up-to-date or accurate. Please also bring a list of your medications, allergies, health problems, and prior surgeries. Finally, everyone should know what their own and their loved ones' final wishes are. Specifically, would you or your loved ones want CPR or a breathing tube? These are decisions that often need to be made in a seconds, and you should know the answer ahead of time. If you don't know, ask your primary doctor for help deciding.

One more thing: the ER is always going to take care of the most sick patients first. This is frequently what accounts for how long you do (or do not) have to wait. If you have something that might not be an emergency, please call your primary care provider first and see if it is something they can help you deal with. You are likely to get more prompt care and they can help you follow up on the issue, whereas we cannot. The silver lining: if you are waiting, you are not dying. Feel sorry for the people who get rushed back.

What's an average starting salary in your line of work?

This is very variable. I will refer to publicly available data here. There is a significant cost to be considered—the average new physician has acquired $170,000 in debt just from medical school. Our loans are often high interest, even consolidated—most of my friends are in the 6% + range.

How do you move up in your field?

The only "move up" is into administration or medical politics. There are few other advances.

Entertain my ignorance: specializing in emergency medicine means that you'll always be working in that field, correct?

Correct. To become another type of physician, I'd have to do another residency. It is done occasionally, but is the exception rather than the rule. So once you are an ER doctor, you are always an ER doctor without significant effort via another few years of training. I'd have to stop being an attending physician while I did another residency which entails a significant pay cut and going back to an 80 hour work week.

What advice would you give to those aspiring to join your profession?

Be absolutely certain that you want to do it. It takes 7-15 years after undergraduate school to get into practice, with most new physicians already being in their thirties, and as above, with a significant amount of private debt. With that said, it's a very rewarding career and if you love it, do it

This interview has been edited for clarity.


Career Spotlight is a new interview series on Lifehacker that focuses on regular people and the jobs you might not hear much about—from doctors to plumbers to aerospace engineers and everything in between. If you'd like to share your career, email us at submissions+career@lifehacker.com.

Photo by spotmatik (Shutterstock).

Make OS X Tags Easily Accessible from the Dock as a Stack

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Make OS X Tags Easily Accessible from the Dock as a Stack

Apple introduced document tagging in Mavericks, and while it's a handy feature, you can usually only access those tags through Finder. Macgasm points out that while it's a little clunky, you can add those tags to the Dock.

All you need to do is click and drag a tag from Finder to the right-hand side of the divider in the Dock. It'll generate a stack just like you'd get with a folder, albeit with an awkward TAGO file extension. Still, if you use tags, it's a handy way to access your them.

Show Tags as Stacks in The Dock | Macgasm

The Science Behind What Happens in Your Body When You Start Running

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The Science Behind What Happens in Your Body When You Start Running

Exercise does all kinds of stuff to your body when you first start out, and beginning a running routine is no different. Wired decided to take a close look at all the wonderful, horrible things that happen to your body when you start running for the first time, and get the science behind it.

Speaking with Steven Magness, the author of The Science of Running, Wired got to the bottom of a few of the more uncomfortable truths of starting up a running routine. Here are a couple of the lesser known oddities your body goes through:

The first came from my skin. I hadn't made it to the end of my block before my chest started itching. It was like someone had stuffed my shirt full of wood chips. What's actually happening, says Magness, is blood flowing into tiny unused capillaries in my skin. In non-runners like me, these capillaries are dormant. When they get flooded with blood irregularly, they swell. This irritates nearby nerve endings, which sends itchy sensations to the brain...

[M]y tummy started burbling before I was close to the first sloping street. I ended up speed walking the last few blocks home. "This is pretty common," Magness graciously told me. Many runners also get gassy because their bodies are breaking down energy (in the form of sugary carbohydrates, solid proteins, or rich fats), causing muscles cells to release gas. A lot of this gas ends up not making it to the lungs, where it can be expired without embarrassment. As Magness tactfully put it: "Gas gets stuck in places where it shouldn't be, and you gotta get it out some way." Also, he says, the mechanical jarring of running helps along the digestion process.

Of course, you can also expect side stitches, burning muscles, and plenty other creaks and groans from your body as you get started. The good news is that it's all probably normal, so while it's a bit uncomfortable at first, know that it goes away over time.

What's Up With That: Why Running Hurts Every part of Your Body | Wired

Photo by Kevin Dooley.

Chop an Onion Super Finely (and Keep Your Fingers Intact)

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You might already know how to cut up an onion like a pro, but chef and restauranteur Marco Pierre White demonstrates how to really finely chop an onion. By finely, we mean super small bits that will add even more flavor to dishes without bigger chunks of onion in them.

The key is to chop only a few layers of the onion at a time, rather than chopping half of the onion as is taught in classical cooking schools. Even if you're not as adept with a knife as Chef Pierre White, just going slowly—as he demonstrates at the end of the video—will produce the same very fine results.

Marco Pierre White - How to finely chop onions | YouTube via Boing Boing

Four Common Mistakes That Can Derail Any Negotiation

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Four Common Mistakes That Can Derail Any Negotiation

Whether you're haggling for a deal on a car or trying to get your desired salary, there are variety of situations in which you find yourself negotiating for what you want—or what you don't want to give. And if you keep these common mistakes in mind, you can improve your negotiation skills and come out on top.

I've spent the majority of my career negotiating and training people to negotiate. Along the way I've made plenty of mistakes and learned that negotiation can often be improved by actually doing the opposite of what I'd originally think to do. Here are some common mistakes.

Mistake #1: Providing Too Many Options

You might think from conventional wisdom that you shouldoffer as many options as possible when negotiating. The other guy is bound to agree with one, right? The more choice you provide, the better. But that's not necessarily the case.

Instead, limit options to two or three. The paradox of choice dictates that the more choices you provide to someone, the more they like aspects of each option. Therefore, they over-think and believe they can find the perfect solution. If you go to the store and see 20 t-shirts in your size, you are likely to be more frustrated than if you just see three, as you'd have to spend more time and energy deciding which shirt is what you need. People like easy, quick solutions. They are less likely to second guess and will make a decision more quickly if you restrict the available options.

Mistake #2: Falling for the Bluff

When someone gets passionate and appears overly confident, you generally believe them. When they vehemently protest that your price is too high and they are going to walk, you take their confidence at face value and cave. Of course, they might be bluffing.

But people who bluff generally overcompensate. In my experience, the people who screamed and yelled and made the biggest fuss about walking out on the deal, actually didn't mean it. They were just trying to intimidate me. And it worked, until I noticed the pattern. Rather it was the guy who was not confident and was actually hesitant who walked. When a person is actually closing the door, they generally regret that it has come to this, and do not feel the need to scream. They are done. The more someone protests that the price is too high and makes a fuss, generally the more wiggle room you have. What you should fear is the quiet negotiator who isn't concerned with how he appears. The more someone is trying to impress you with their confidence and with how serious they are, the more likely they are bluffing.

Mistake #3: Playing Games and Bluffing Yourself

It's a common conception that negotiation is always adversarial, and the more you let the other guy know what you want, the more he's going to use it to his advantage to exploit you.

But making your goals unclear probably won't help. If you are not clear about what you want, you are unlikely to get it. I've found that focusing on the outcome, and not on how you appear with adversarial posturing, leads to successful outcomes. State what you want and focus only on your intended goal and not on your ego. Relay your position in a simple, straight-forward, and confident way. You'd be surprised how many people respond. Most people don't react well to distracting, ambiguous game-playing, and once you've been discovered, it's hard to regain your footing.

Mistake #4: Dwelling on Sunk Costs and Time Spent

You probably feel like the more time and money you've spent on a deal, the closer you are to closing it and the better deal it's going to be. All that work has to pay off eventually, right?

Not really. Most of my best deals were quick because they were simple. Sadly, the deals I spent the most time on, agonized over, and lost sleep about, died. They died because they were too complicated. Generally, the more complicated a deal is, the less likely you are to close it. Focus on deals that make sense, as time is your most valuable asset. Do not spend time dwelling on the time and money you have already spent. It is gone. Opportunity costs are too high to continue beating a dead horse.

Keep these mistakes in mind and you'll have the upper hand when you're sparring over a negotiation.

"What should everyone know about negotiation?" originally appeared on Quora. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

This answer has been edited for grammar and clarity.


Image adapted from Pan JJ (Shutterstock).

Want to see your work on Lifehacker? Email Andy.


Deadspin Wait, Did Clowntroll Blogger Chuck Johnson Shit On The Floor One Time?

Prevent Car Windows From Fogging Up with Cat Litter-Filled Socks

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Foggy windows can be dangerous, especially when it's more common in the winter time. A well-placed pair of socks filled with some kitty litter can absorb moisture and prevent the fog from ever happening.

YouTuber DaveHax explains how and why kitty litter can help with your fog problem in this video. He uses silica cat litter because it's super absorbent, sucks up damp odor, and doesn't smell like the chalky stuff. Fill one sock with the kitty litter and then wrap the other sock around it all to keep it nice and secure. Now place the sock anywhere you like and some moisture will get absorbed overnight. It probably works best right on top of your dashboard, and it doesn't hurt to crack and close the windows a little before you head in for the night.

How to Stop Car Windows Steaming Up | YouTube

Have Better One-on-One Meetings by Splitting Personal and Work Time

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Have Better One-on-One Meetings by Splitting Personal and Work Time

A one-on-one meeting is a great way to give someone feedback, see what direction they're headed, and get honest feedback yourself. Splitting the meeting time into personal and work can help you build rapport while getting the information you want.

Building rapport and morale is one of the best ways to get good work out of others. Whether you're a manager, or just a coworker, Kate Stull at the Popforms blog suggests using meeting time to get to know each other, as well as hit main work topics:

...as simple as it may seem, it's great to start out with a general, "How are you?" People don't get asked very often how things are going by someone who is really listening. So simply giving your full attention to someone when they are telling you about their week is a great way to kick off your 1:1s on the right foot. Make notes of people's spouses' and kids' names when they mention them, so you can ask about them later as well. When you ask about people's loved ones it means a lot because, well, they love them! So the more you remember and acknowledge that your team members all have lives outside of the office, the deeper your relationships with your people will go, and the more trust you'll build. Finding out you both saw the same movie this weekend is just as effective a way to build rapport as talking about what you're both working on this week.

It doesn't have to be overly personal, but bonding can happen at work during productive hours. What might feel like wasted time is really a chance to boost productivity a different way. Sometimes getting to know the people you work with is more important from a morale standpoint than just focusing on tasks. You can read the whole article at the link below.

The Best 30 Minutes You'll Spend This Week | Popforms via 99U

Photo by University of Exeter.

The Best Way to Freeze Leftover Mashed Potatoes

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Mashed potatoes are a tasty addition to any meal, but it can be hard to gauge how much you need to make. There's nothing wrong with saving some leftover spuds if need be and this method makes it easy to store and reheat for later.

This video from the America's Test Kitchen YouTube channel explains the best way to individually store the leftover deliciousness. Lay some parchment paper on a baking sheet and scoop out some one-cup sized portions on there. Stick that baking sheet in the freezer, let the potatoes harden up, and then store each portion in individual bags. When you're ready to reheat some, just stick a portion in a microwaveable bowl, covered, and heat until the consistency is back to normal.

What Smart Cooks Do on Thanksgiving: A Clever Way to Save Leftover Mashed Potatoes | YouTube

Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014

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Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014

The Mac saw a new (free!) operating system this year alongside all kinds of great other apps. Let's take a look back at our biggest and best Mac posts of the last year.

The Always Up-to-Date Guide to Building a Hackintosh (OS X 10.10)

Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014

Building a hackintosh—that is, installing Mac OS X on non-Apple hardware—used to require extremely restricted hardware choices and quite a bit of know-how. Now your options are vast and the installation process is fairly simple. With that in mind, here is our always up-to-date guide to building a hackintosh that will walk you through purchasing compatible parts, building your machine, and installing OS X all on your own.

Lifehacker Pack for Mac: Our List of the Essential Mac Apps

Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014

There's no shortage of useful, interesting apps for the Mac, but some of them you just can't live without. In this year's annual Lifehacker Pack for Mac, we're highlighting the best downloads for better productivity, communication, media management, and more.

Should I Upgrade to Mac OS X Yosemite?

Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014

Dear Lifehacker,
So Yosemite is coming out today. It looks like it has some great features, but it's still an upgrade, and any upgrade has a chance of going bad. You guys have been using it; what do you think? Is it ready for prime time, or should I wait for the next patch to fix the bugs people will inevitably find?


Everything Apple Announced Today That Actually Matters

Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014

Apple had their big event today and a lot of new hardware was announced. We watched the whole event so you don't have to, so from the new iPhone to a Apple Watch, here's everything you need to know.

Top 10 Hidden Features of OS X Yosemite

Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014

Yosemite is here with a bunch of new features, but a few of the best things are hidden away. Here are 10 hidden features you might not have noticed yet.


How To Check If Your Mac or Linux Machine Is Vulnerable to Shellshock

Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014

Shellshock, the newly discovered vulnerability that allows attackers to inject code into your machine, puts your Mac or Linux at a serious risk for malicious attacks. Here's how to test if your machine is vulnerable.

How to Fix OS X Yosemite's Biggest Annoyances

Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014

Yosemite's here today and as seems to always be the case with Apple's new operating systems, it comes with a handful of annoyances alongside its new features. Don't worry though, most of the common annoyances can get fixed up with a few clicks.

How to Set Up and Use Handoff in Yosemite and iOS 8

Handoff is Apple's new feature that integrates Yosemite and your iOS 8 device so you can start working on one device and then continue it on another. For example, you can start writing an email on your phone, then flip it over to your Mac when you realize you'd prefer a keyboard. Here's how to set it up and use it.

Seven Unsung Built-In Gems of Mac OS X

Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014

OS X has all kinds of great little features, but so many of them don't make the back of the box. Whether you've been an OS X user for a long time or you're new to the operating system, here are a few of the best built-in tools you might not know about (or you've just forgotten).

All the New Stuff in OS X 10.10 "Yosemite"

Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014

Apple took the wraps off of OS X at the WorldWide Developer's Conference today, dubbed "Yosemite." It'll feature a new interface with elements of iOS 7's "flat" design and color scheme, new interface, updates to iCloud and Mail, features to sync iOS and OS X devices, and more.

Build a Cheaper, Customizable Alternative to Apple's Mac Pro

Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014

Apple's Mac Pro, the sleek and shiny trash can from outer space, is certainly a feat of engineering. It also costs $3,000. If you want to build a comparable machine yourself, you can save a lot of money by going with a Hackintosh

The Best Apps for Any Kind of Writing

Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014

Writing is a very personal practice, and as a result you have a million writing-focused apps to choose from. From distraction-free apps that take up your whole screen to feature-packed mainstays like Microsoft Word, we've put together a guide to help you choose the writing software that's right for you.

Five Apps to Make Your iPhone and Mac Work Together Even Better

Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014

Apple is always playing up how your Mac and iPhone work great together, but that goes well beyond boring old uses like iCloud syncing or AirDrop. A few apps have come up with clever ways to make your iPhone and Mac work together for tasks like sharing clipboards, typing in passwords, and more. Here are some of our favorites.

How to Burn OS X Yosemite to a USB Flash Drive

Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014

You can upgrade to OS X Yosemite from the App Store, but that isn't ideal for installing on multiple Macs, doing a clean install, or building a Hackintosh. Here's how to burn Yosemite to a USB drive instead.

Find Out if Your Mac Will Support Handoff in OS X Yosemite

Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014

Handoff is a great new feature of Apple's forthcoming operating system, Yosemite. Not all Macs will support it, though. Here's how to check if yours will.

Eight Terminal Utilities Every OS X Command Line User Should Know

Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014The OS X Terminal opens up a world of powerful UNIX utilities and scripts. If you're migrating from Linux, you'll find many familiar commands work the way you expect. But power users often aren't aware that OS X comes with a number of its own text-based utilities not found on any other operating system.

Your Mac Logs Everything You Download, Here's How to Clear It Out

Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014

OS X keeps a running log of every file you download, likely so it can help you troubleshoot later on if you download something you weren't supposed to. If you're not a fan of this behavior, Macgasm shows you how to clear out that log.

Popcorn Time Streams Movie Torrents from a Huge Library

Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014

Windows/OS X/Linux: Popcorn Time is a free, open-source tool for browsing, downloading, and watching movies. Browse the app's huge collection of movies and documentaries, pick one, and click play. The app torrents the movie, starts playing it immediately, and streams it while the download finishes in the background

How Scrivener Helped Me Organize All My Writing

Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014

Scrivener is a name that gets tossed around a lot in writing circles, but it's not immediately clear how it's useful. Subsequently, I've avoided it for years. Then, on a whim recently, I checked it out, and now I can't imagine writing anything without it. Here's what I've learned in my time.

A Beginner's Guide to Effortless, Mouseless Computing with Alfred

Most Popular Mac Downloads and Posts of 2014

Ever wanted to take control of your Mac without taking your hands off your keyboard? Alfred's an app launcher and utility that makes that possible. With just a little bit of setup and know-how, you'll be able to use Alfred to search for anything, anywhere, move around files, control software, and more without ever lifting your hands off your keyboard.

How to Effectively Layer Up and Stay Warm This Winter

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How to Effectively Layer Up and Stay Warm This Winter

Although winter is filled with festive holiday occasions, it can also be cold to a point of cruelty. You don't need a big, heavy, puffy coat to stay warm and toasty though. Here's how to layer up for comfortable, effective (and stylish) warmth.

Supplement Peacoats with A Packable Vest or Jacket

How to Effectively Layer Up and Stay Warm This Winter

Peacoats may be fashionable (I have a bizarre passion for them), but they're often not warm enough to get you through the entire winter. That doesn't mean you can't wear them, though. Just layer up with a lightweight, packable, down jacket or vest underneath the peacoat to stay warm while retaining the sleek, formal, shape and material of a peacoat or overcoat. (Here's an example.)

Down jackets are better insulated and easier to compress than synthetically-insulated jackets, but also wilts when it's damp. This should be less of a problem if you layer your peacoat over it.

Vests are good for you if you want to keep your torso toasty, but don't want to get too bulky in the sleeves (and retain elbow flexibility). I wear a sweater under my down vest and wear a peacoat. That's kept me pretty warm in Toronto for the past few years, although I'll wear my big bulky jacket in anything colder than -20°F weather.

Try a Set of Runner's Tights

How to Effectively Layer Up and Stay Warm This Winter

If you're wearing long underwear, you already know that adding a layer under your clothes could be just as effective as adding another one over it. To keep as warm as possible, try wearing runner's tights under your sweaters and pants.

You could also wear thermal underwear, but retired law enforcement officer Tim Dees writes in this Quora thread that runner's tights will keep you warmer than most varieties of lower-half thermal underwear, and still fit neatly under your clothes.

Protect Your Ears with Slim Earmuffs

How to Effectively Layer Up and Stay Warm This Winter

Winter headgear can be laughable (for all the wrong reasons). While scarves can safely protect your neck (and face on occasion), many of us don't protect our ears properly. You don't have to mess up your hair with a toque or big winter hat. Instead, keep your ears warm with slim earmuffs (i.e., wrap-around headband or ear wrap).

To minimize the bulk, look for a pair of earmuffs that fits behind your head and one that you can fold up and leave in your briefcase or bag. I'm very pleased with these wraparound earmuffs, which I carry around in my bag and use whenever it gets too cold or windy.

Keep Your Hands and Feet Warm

How to Effectively Layer Up and Stay Warm This Winter

Our bodies prioritize keeping our organs warm, which means our hands and feet are typically the first to feel the brunt of the cold. Protect these extremities by adding a layer or two. While mittens may suffice in mild temperatures, you'll need full out winter gloves (e.g., insulated with wool) to keep your hands warm if you're walking in the freezing cold. You can also keep your hands warm with heat warmers.

Your boots should be insulated as well. Ideally, when they should also have some extra space so you can comfortably fit in them with thick wool socks. Some of you may think desert boots are a good idea for winter, but they lack the waterproof and traction that proper winter boots have.

If you're required to wear shoes at work or certain formal occasions, you can wear galoshes or other shoe protectors so you don't have to carry two pairs of footwear around.

Cover Your Face

How to Effectively Layer Up and Stay Warm This Winter

You can lose heat from any uncovered part of your skin. Even when you've covered everything else, leaving your face exposed can make the cold difficult to endure. Fortunately, you don't have to wear a clunky ski mask to cover your face.

Jezebel's Erin Gloria Ryan recommends using a face mask like this one. It may look a little strange, but on days when the wind chill is merciless, you'll appreciate the extra protection it offers. Best case, it can prevent frostbitten noses or ears.

Start Off Warm

How to Effectively Layer Up and Stay Warm This Winter

Most of us warm up before our workouts and jogs (or we know we should!). Quora user David Mongan suggests a similar technique to weather the cold:

TK It helps tremendously to start off warm, both for comfort and injury prevention (provided you don't hurt yourself jumping around like an idiot).

Mongan does a few pushups, jumps, lunges, and squats to get the blood flowing before stepping out the door. If your clothes don't allow you to move around (especially in your business suit or formalwear), wear your jacket or vest for a few minutes inside the house to get warm before stepping out.

As Wes Siler writes on Indefinitely Wild, insulation doesn't increase your temperature - it simply maintains it. It works much more effectively when you start off warm.

Layer Up Like an Onion

How to Effectively Layer Up and Stay Warm This Winter

You don't have to be a sartorial wiz or a fashionista to stay warm in winter without the heaviness or puffiness of a standard winter coat. Layer up like hikers do. Wear vests or jackets under your peacoat, wear tights under your clothes, cover up your extremities, protect your ears with slim earmuffs, keep your face warm with a face mask, and warm up before you leave the house.

Photos by Heather Snow, SuperFantastic, Elvert Barnes,Benson Kua, Max Khokhlov, otfrom, DVIDSHUB, and darwin Bell.

Stick to a Lazy, Low-Risk Investing Strategy to Avoid Losses

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Stick to a Lazy, Low-Risk Investing Strategy to Avoid Losses

Investing always involves a bit of risk. However, on a broad scale, the markets tend upwards. For that reason, sticking to a low-risk, hands-off strategy can be better than trying to micro-manage your portfolio.

As personal finance blog Eyes on the Dollar explains, most actively-managed mutual funds (more on how those work in our guide here) don't beat the average gains that the market as a whole makes. Unmanaged index funds—investments designed to follow the market without human input—typically do far better than the majority of funds and investment portfolios that try to beat it:

Anywhere from 65%-80% of funds cannot beat by the market. A dismally low 20%-35% of professionals beat the market year over year. In fact, over the 15 years ended 2011 a full 46% of actively managed funds closed due to poor performance. 7% of all actively managed funds failed every year. The professionals are not smarter than the market. Neither are you.

The simple solution is to invest your money in a wide range of funds to mitigate risk. While some might go down, ideally others go up to compensate. And, as we suggested in our previous guide, unmanaged ETFs and index funds ultimately provide the safest route to increasing your money year over year. They won't turn you into a millionaire, but as long as companies continue to make money, you can get a return on your investment.

Lazy. . . Useless . . . Good for Nothing . . . That's Not a Bad Investing Strategy | Eyes on the Dollar via Rockstar Finance

Photo by Insider Monkey.


Hangouts Adds Intelligent Location Sharing, Video Call Filters, More

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Hangouts Adds Intelligent Location Sharing, Video Call Filters, More

Android/iOS: Today, Google added the ability to quickly share your location to Hangouts. When someone asks "Where are you?" you will now be prompted to share your location. Which is better than keeping location sharing on all the time.

The update also brings several new features, including a "last seen" timestamp to let you know when a user was last active. There are also some cosmetic changes, including sticker packs and filters for video calls . The updated app is rolling out to Android and iOS today, while the "last seen" timestamp will be rolling out in a server-side update over the next few weeks.

Hangouts | Google Play Store via Google+

Hangouts | iTunes App Store

Ask for a “Sibling Discount” to Save Money on Children's Expenses

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Ask for a “Sibling Discount” to Save Money on Children's Expenses

Parenting is expensive. But if you have more than one child, you might qualify for a "sibling discount" in some circumstances.

According to Bargaineering, some places offer a discount if you're paying for the expenses of more than one child. Probably the most impressive use of the sibling discount is on tuition:

Sibling discounts usually apply to tuition only and vary widely depending on the university. But they can be significant, especially at private colleges. George Washington University, for example, offers 50% off tuition for a second child attending at the same time.

"Most sibling discounts fall within the 10% to 15% range and typically apply to siblings who attend the same college simultaneously," advises higher education consultant Luisa Rabe of Pruett Rabe Associates in Haverford, Pennsylvania.

They also point out that you may be able to get discounts on braces, tutoring and summer camp. All you have to do? Ask. Check out their full post for more detail.

5 sibling discounts you simply have to ask for | Bargaineering

Photo by Yogesh Kumar Jaiswal.


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This Method Wraps Gifts with Fewer Folds and Two Pieces of Tape

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As the holidays get closer, it's about time for another tradition: frustratingly wrapping gifts. As the above YouTube video demonstrates, though, there's an easier way.

This method involves placing your gift at an angle on a pre-cut piece of paper (as opposed to an entire roll). You then follow it up by folding two corners into the center of a broad side of the package, placing one piece of tape on it to hold it down. Flip the package over, folding the rest of the paper along with it, and then fold the remaining two corners onto the center of the opposing broad side of the box. One final piece of tape seals the deal. If describing folding strategies via text isn't terribly helpful, check out the video above to see it in action.

Gift Wrapping Hack | YouTube via BuzzFeed

Your "Ten Buck" Decisions Add Up to Make Major Differences

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Your "Ten Buck" Decisions Add Up to Make Major Differences

Saving is important, but it can be difficult to walk the thin line between cheap and frugal. If you don't like nickel and diming on everything, think of your expenses as "Ten Buck" decisions. They quickly add up to produce savings or, at the very least, more cash for you to work with.

Mr. Money Mustache writes at his blog:

Ten dollars will still buy about 9 pounds of delicious, kickass, nutritious, muscle-building rolled oats – still one of my favorite foods today despite being able to afford fancier things. Or two gallons of organic milk. Or enough gasoline to drive over 100 miles in a good car. WEEKS worth of regular driving. Or enough natural gas to provide hot water for showers and dishwashing for a family for several weeks.

Ten Bucks is a lot of money. So you need to respect it. Ten dollar bills are not just food stamps or amusement park coupons that you fork over by the dozen to get restaurant meals, smokes, strippers, drinks, tourist attraction admission, and assorted domestic services. Each Ten is a critical brick in the Early Retirement castle you are building.

Although the examples he uses in the article are really high (he suggests trying to cut 40 Ten Buck decisions per week to save $400 per week), the idea of saving in small increments is still critical to accumulating cash and possibly building a retirement fund. Identify your Ten Buck habits (e.g., an extra pint at the bar, Starbucks coffee instead of the coffee at work, watching a movie at the theater instead of on Netflix) and eradicate some of them.

A Millionaire is Made Ten Bucks at a Time | Mr. Money Mustache

Photo by Images Money.

Learn When to Use JPEG, GIF, or PNG with This Graphic

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When working with images, certain file formats may be better than others, depending on what your goals are. This infographic showcases the best uses for JPEG, GIF, and PNG file formats.

The graphic comes from Who Is Hosting This and is meant to help us choose the right file type when saving an image. JPEG's ability to reduce file size up to 15% without losing quality makes it useful for web pages (faster uploads and less storage space usage)—especially for colorful photos. GIF files alows for transparency and animation; they're best for simple images with few colors. PNG is great for logos and might be more attractive than JPEG and GIF, depending on if file size is an issue or not.

Learn When to Use JPEG, GIF, or PNG with This Graphic

Know Your File Types: When to Use JPEG, GIF, & PNG | Who Is Hosting This via DesignTAXI

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