Month: September 2015

3,000th Comet Spotted by Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)

The latest from NASA! http://ift.tt/1KQmXA3 On Sept. 13, 2015, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory – a joint project of the European Space Agency and NASA — discovered its 3,000th comet, cementing its standing as the greatest comet finder of all time. Prior to the 1995 launch of the observatory, commonly known as SOHO, only a dozen or so comets had ever even been discovered from space.http://ift.tt/1LeIwbW

11 Great Fitness Apps

Maria Haymandou’s latest blog post is here!

With all of the fitness apps that are out there these days, finding the right app is essential.  Now that fitness and nutrition are literally at your fingertips, finding the right apps can feel overwhelming.  I recently came across an article that listed 11 of the best and most effective health and fitness apps out there, listed below:

Cody Logo blue

1. Cody: Like a Facebook for fitness, Cody offers users inside connections to a fitness community that allows them to share and complete workouts by following friends.  It allows people to track their own progress through a timeline, and other users are able to like and comment on your daily workout activity.

Maria Haymandou Hot5

2. Hot5 Fitness: This app offers high-quality step-by-step workouts led by some of the tops trainers in the industry.  It contains pages upon pages of 5-minute video workouts of every variety and difficulty level, whether you’re looking for a quick 5-minute core workout or a 45-minute yoga session.  It’s super easy to use, with a beautifully designed, user-friendly interface.  The best part is that there’s no WiFi necessary for using it!

Pact fitness app

3. Pact: While it might be difficult to get up and go to the gym, nothing can incentivize you like money.  This is where Pact comes in: users pledge a set number of days they plan on workout out that week, along with an amount of money they put up.  Users pay for each day they miss, but get paid every time they complete a workout.  There’s even a nutritional option for the app.

CarrotFit app

4. Carrot Fit: Working like a mean-spirited drill sergeant, Carrot fit dishes out harsh criticisms for those looking to drop pounds through thick sarcasm and motivational smack talk.  If they want to learn new workout tips, then users need to drop a pound.

Human fitness app

5. Human: On the opposite spectrum of the biting that comes from Carrot Fit, Human has a more casual approach to fitness, simply encouraging you to reach your “Daily 30” minutes of physical activity.  Regardless of what activity that is, all that matters is that you’re being active for 30 consecutive minutes.  Human will track your movement and let you know when you’ve achieved your goal for the day.

Moves app

6. Moves: This pedometer tracks your day, minute by minute, giving you a summary of all your movements, steps, stairs and even pedals.  It calculates calories burned and shows it as an easy-to-read timeline.

LoseIt app

7. LoseIt: This app creates a specific weight loss plan custom for you and your busy life, more-or-less a personal trainer and nutritionist at your disposal at all times.  Just plug in your weight loss and general health goals, and this app will track your calories and even give you a barcode scanner to get more specific with what you’re consuming!  To make it extra handy, LoseIt even connects to other apps and devices.

Noom Weight Loss Coach

8. Noom Weight Loss Coach: Noom is a pedometer and nutritional coach combined into one tiny app, that allows the user to log meals and workouts while simultaneously counting your steps throughout the day.  It offers positive encouragement, wellness articles and nutritional recipes to help keep you on track.  The food is all color coded and teaches the user which foods are healthy.

Healthy Out app

9. Healthy Out: Healthy Out allows you to enjoy a night out without any of the guilt, with nutritional labels and healthy options at restaurants.  Find your restaurant, then specify your restriction or nutritional need.  The app can also suggest modifications to dishes or break down the calories, carbs, fats, etc.

Zipongo app

10. Zipongo: For those wanting to eat healthy on a budget, this is a great app, that alerts the user of digital coupons and weekly in-store items on sale to maintain a healthy diet and wallet.  It even has a database of “GO foods” that are recommended for their vitamins and nutrients.

Mindshift app
11. Mindshift: This app offers teens and adults who are struggling with anxiety to cope in both social and professional situations, aiming to change the way that users think about anxiety.

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10 NYC Craft Breweries You Need to Visit

The phenomenon of craft beer continues to sweep the nation, and New York city is no exception to this, as more and more local breweries start popping up to serve bolder and richer brews.  Beer has become much more than just bland lages, as drinkers show an increased interest in who makes their beers.  Many breweries in New York City have become just as widely-visited as the bars where their beers can be found.  I recently came across an article that features 10 of the craft breweries in New York City for you to visit, listed below:

Finback Brewery

1. Finback Brewery: If you’re looking for a brewery with exotic flavors and great names, then this Woodside spot may very well be the place for you: beers here taste like everything from jalapeños to plums.  Yet there are also plenty of easy drinking options.  Along with tours, Finback offers free popcorn.

Bronx Pale ale cans

2. Bronx Brewery: As the Bronx gradually becomes a more popular place to hang out, this Port Morris spot remains first on the list of reasons to venture there.  While their Bronx Pale Ale is becoming more popular every year, the brewers here offer a diverse list of seasonal and year-round brews.  They’ll soon be relocating to an 8,500 square foot space that will allow a tasting room and even a dog run!

Other half brewery logo

3. Other Half: This Gowanus brewery is a well-loved spot, and for good reason: even as they’ve become mainstream, the operation has retained its approachable feel while keeping the building’s industrial, grungy feel.  The warehouse is unmarked, giving the added bonus of feeling like you’ve stumbled on a hidden gem.  

ABC Beer Co store

4. Alphabet City Brewing: Since its founding in 2012, Alphabet City Brewing has established itself as one of the finest DIY breweries out there.  In their East Village kitchen, the brewers have concocted recipes for such signature brews as the “Easy” Blonde Ale, the “Dizzy Brewnette” Brown Ale and the “Alpha Male” IPA.  

Rich Castagna Bridge and Tunnel Brewery

5. Bridge and Tunnel Brewery: As a one-man operation, Maspeth’s own Bridge and Tunnel really puts the “micro” in “microbrewery”.  When asked what the name of his brewery means, owner Rich Castagna says that the bridges and tunnels “unite this city-not divide it”.  

Brooklyn Brewery warehouse

6. Brooklyn Brewery: There’s hardly a bar in the five boroughs that doesn’t feature Brooklyn Lager on tap, as countless beer drinkers have fallen in love with this brewery’s ability to create a renaissance of both micro brewing and industry in a former Williamsburg warehouse.  The queues for its tasting room’s free tours (every half-hour from 1-5PM on the weekends) stretch around the block as locals and tourists alike come in to sample what it is that’s made Brooklyn Brewery the undisputed king of New York City brewing.

Sixpoint Brewery

7. Sixpoint Craft Ales: From its humble origins in a Red Hook garage, Sixpoint Brewery has grown into something truly great, due in part to their ability to collaborate with other organizations.  Keep an eye out for their “Wheatball” at the Meatball Shop and Three Beans, a blend of brewed coffee beans from Stumptown and cocoas from Mast Brothers.  The iconic six-point star is a major part of the brewery’s image, combining the brewer’s star of alchemy with the nautical star.

Flagship brewing glasses 

8. Flagship Brewery: While Staten Island is often overlooked, it’s got its own craft brewery making ales in the American, Belgian and British styles.  It’s run by three native Staten Islanders, proud of their borough but still self-aware, as evidenced through their motto: “Unforgettable Beer Brewed in the Forgotten Borough”.  

Kelso brewing company

9. KelSo Brewery: From their laboratory off Waverly Avenue in Clinton Hill, this husband-and-wife-owned brewery will try anything and everything when it comes to beer.  Its surprises are what help make KelSo so well-loved, as evidenced by exciting lagers brewed with beets and licorice.

SingleCut Beersmiths bar
10. SingleCut Beersmiths: While relatively isolated in Astoria, SingleCut is able to put themselves on the map with their unique and distinctive style.  If you’re interested in making a trip out to the brewery then you’ll be rewarded with a free tour, offered every weekend day at 4PM with no prior reservation required.