Sleep like a penguin, disappearing monitors, and sneaky hydration

Culture

10,000 Naps and Zero Time Lost

Who is the king of the nap world, perfecting the skill and consistency? My dad is a great contender because he suddenly naps even while holding the remote during sports games and sometimes during family functions. However, against his wishes, he isn't the king. It turns out that penguins take the gold with over 10,000 tiny zzzz's every day.  Our power nap may be twenty minutes but they perfect the power nap game with each nap lasting about four seconds at a time and then wake up totally refreshed. 

How it tends to work is while one penguin is out on a mission to find food, another penguin stays behind to guard the nest. Hard to have a long, luxurious nap fest when you have to guard full-time as a gig, so that's why the penguins evolved to take rapid-fire naps that keep them sharp enough to fend off predators and protect their nesting materials. 

Next time you are in a meeting or an unfortunate conversation, think penguin and squeeze in a four-second nap. Results may vary, so proceed with caution. I'll suggest it to my dad. 

What We’re Testing

Several people have asked for updates on the items we are testing out. It seems they want faster updates on cool new stuff. Here you go.

Technology

Hey, Where did My Laptop Screen Go?

Let's walk down memory lane for a smidge. Remember dial-up internet? Kids these days would laugh at such a notion. Well, enter what could be the next big thing for laptops - screen free. You're probably thinking how would that even work because I need to see what I'm typing and navigating to. Grab a snack and ponder the below. 

• AR glasses - With Augmented Reality glasses, your screen is where you are because it enables a virtual screen or workspace floating in front of you. Don't worry, this virtual workspace is supposed to be just visible to you. Now you might be more inclined to get some tasks done while you are on a bus, riding as a passenger in the car, in the park, or in a coffee shop. 

• VR headsets - With Virtual Reality headsets, step into a 3D environment with your virtual monitors. If only visible to me, how does work know that I'm focusing on work instead of taking a play break? 

• Holograms - Forget flat. Crank it up a notch and project holograms. You don't need to look for a remote control because your fingers in the air by hand gestures are the remote control. I guess this saves on batteries too.

• Projectors - Feel the magic as you use nearly any surface like a wall or table to project on. Not just touch or gestures but use voice commands if you want to control it. 

• Voice - I selfishly love this one. Instead of my wrists hurting each week from typing, throw the notion of typing in the trash because you can just tell your virtual laptop what to do. Send an  e-mail, make a presentation, find a file or folder, or check in on that holiday spreadsheet to ensure you are on track. And something will actually do what I tell it to daily, imagine that.

• Gestures - Have a sore throat? Lost your voice? Or in a room with others and don't want to disturb? No problem. Use your gestures to control it. 

• Wearable - Many people really get into their smartwatches or their fitness trackers and are used to wearing those daily. Here, you could wear something similar to tap into the virtual laptop work wherever and whenever you go. Think of a smartwatch or a band for your wrist that connects to AR glasses. Get some fashionable cases for your glasses - it might be the only thing you need to travel because, remember, you can project onto nearly anything. 

• BCIs - Brain-computer interfaces can take your brainwaves and turn them into digital commands. Woah. Maybe I can do more things from bed or spend more time outside! 

I used to watch a popular cartoon that featured a vacuum that worked on its own. I thought that was wishful thinking but we have that today. So while the virtual laptop idea may be a wild concept, it may be the future. If so, perhaps you travel with a small powerhouse that is roughly the size of a deck of cards so you can connect wirelessly to whatever you want to display your tech. Small enough for the pocket and convenient enough for the purse. Sit back, kick your feet up, and beam me up, lappy! 

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Make your serve ware, be inspired by architecture, and get some help in the kitchen

Pottery genius: How many tries would it take you?
Residential building is incredible: Convenient to go to another house.
Support system: Where is my Sous Chef?

Environment

Bottoms Up, Pooch!

Yeah, yeah... eight glasses minimum of water a day. We read it every time we read something for health and wellness or go to the doctor. Which makes me think - My dog should probably drink a bit more water but how do I get him to do that? I can't just say drink 4oz more water before dinner. So I researched some tips on how to encourage the furry ones to drink more water. Some days my dog is so active that he drinks more water. Other days he drinks more water because it is hot. But in the winter, more sedentary at times, he prefers sleeping over water intake. Some tips I've found are below.

• Cue the cubes - Add some ice cubes to your dog's water bowl. Sure, cool water, but he just might see it as a game or challenge to keep drinking until he can get the ice cubes. 

• Add flavor - Just like us, dogs can get bored with plain water. Chicken, anyone? Consider adding a splash of low-sodium chicken broth or bone brother to their water. Your dog may prioritize the water when it smells and tastes like a smidge of chicken. (As with everything, read the ingredients to be sure there are no onions, garlic, or other things that may be harmful to your babe.)

• New serveware - You can change his water dish to a new one. While that alone won't necessarily grab my dog's interest, he may find a pet fountain with continuous flow of water more interesting. I guess it's a dog's form of a waterfall faucet for us. 

• Chewable water - Some fruits and veggies have higher water content. If your dog is able to have any of these, some ideas are cucumber slices, watermelon, or celery. Variety to keep it interesting and hydration. 

• Portable water - For outside adventures, bring collapsible water bowls or portable water bottles to keep your dog hydrated. 

• Habit - If you are able to get your dog to form a habit by encouraging water after meals, playtime, and walks. 

• Tricky tactic - Personally, I drop a portion of my dog's food in his water dish throughout the day so he has to drink some amount of water to get his food. He clearly doesn't mind dripping water on me after from his dunk session! 

• Association - Positive reinforcement is great. When your dog empties his water bowl (and not by flipping it over like my dog!), celebrate! Instant rah rah! But more importantly for him, instant treat. He may come to associate the two. Just be ready to quickly give a treat immediately after. 

So let's work on getting that water bowl closer to empty. Sip sip, away! Then sip, sip hooray! 

We LOVE Halloween!

The costumes, special treats, and of course everything that glows in the dark make fabulous parties in the evening.

Pumpkin spice lattes, caramel apples, and cider make the days equally fun. This is the time of year when we test our dogs’ patience with those costumes and photos so treats and toys are included for motivation.

We spent the past few weeks evaluating over 10,000 items on Amazon to find the coolest Halloween stuff this year. To save you from having to spend that much time, we compiled our absolute favorites in a free Halloween eCatalog.

It’s crazy that some items are already selling out of inventory so if you love Halloween as much as we do, now is a good time to browse for something new.

Happy Halloween 

Chuckle

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The fib is A. The human heart beats about 100,000 times a day.

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