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Here’s how a new AI tool may predict early signs of Parkinson’s disease

<p>In 1991, the world was shocked to learn actor <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/jan/31/still-a-michael-j-fox-movie-parkinsons-back-to-the-future">Michael J. Fox</a> had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. </p> <p>He was just 29 years old and at the height of Hollywood fame, a year after the release of the blockbuster <em>Back to the Future III</em>. This week, documentary <em><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19853258/">Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie</a></em> will be released. It features interviews with Fox, his friends, family and experts. </p> <p>Parkinson’s is a debilitating neurological disease characterised by <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/parkinsons-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20376055">motor symptoms</a> including slow movement, body tremors, muscle stiffness, and reduced balance. Fox has already <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/michael-j-fox-on-parkinsons-and-maintaining-optimism">broken</a> his arms, elbows, face and hand from multiple falls. </p> <p>It is not genetic, has no specific test and cannot be accurately diagnosed before motor symptoms appear. Its cause is still <a href="https://www.apdaparkinson.org/what-is-parkinsons/causes/">unknown</a>, although Fox is among those who thinks <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/michael-j-fox-on-parkinsons-and-maintaining-optimism">chemical exposure may play a central role</a>, speculating that “genetics loads the gun and environment pulls the trigger”.</p> <p>In research published today in <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acscentsci.2c01468">ACS Central Science</a>, we built an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can predict Parkinson’s disease with up to 96% accuracy and up to 15 years before a clinical diagnosis based on the analysis of chemicals in blood. </p> <p>While this AI tool showed promise for accurate early diagnosis, it also revealed chemicals that were strongly linked to a correct prediction.</p> <h2>More common than ever</h2> <p>Parkinson’s is the world’s <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/parkinson-disease">fastest growing neurological disease</a> with <a href="https://shakeitup.org.au/understanding-parkinsons/">38 Australians</a>diagnosed every day.</p> <p>For people over 50, the chance of developing Parkinson’s is <a href="https://www.parkinsonsact.org.au/statistics-about-parkinsons/">higher than many cancers</a> including breast, colorectal, ovarian and pancreatic cancer.</p> <p>Symptoms such as <a href="https://www.apdaparkinson.org/what-is-parkinsons/symptoms/#nonmotor">depression, loss of smell and sleep problems</a> can predate clinical movement or cognitive symptoms by decades. </p> <p>However, the prevalence of such symptoms in many other medical conditions means early signs of Parkinson’s disease can be overlooked and the condition may be mismanaged, contributing to increased hospitalisation rates and ineffective treatment strategies.</p> <h2>Our research</h2> <p>At UNSW we collaborated with experts from Boston University to build an AI tool that can analyse mass spectrometry datasets (a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/mass-spectrometry">technique</a> that detects chemicals) from blood samples.</p> <p>For this study, we looked at the Spanish <a href="https://epic.iarc.fr/">European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition</a> (EPIC) study which involved over 41,000 participants. About 90 of them developed Parkinson’s within 15 years. </p> <p>To train the AI model we used a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41531-021-00216-4">subset of data</a> consisting of a random selection of 39 participants who later developed Parkinson’s. They were matched to 39 control participants who did not. The AI tool was given blood data from participants, all of whom were healthy at the time of blood donation. This meant the blood could provide early signs of the disease. </p> <p>Drawing on blood data from the EPIC study, the AI tool was then used to conduct 100 “experiments” and we assessed the accuracy of 100 different models for predicting Parkinson’s. </p> <p>Overall, AI could detect Parkinson’s disease with up to 96% accuracy. The AI tool was also used to help us identify which chemicals or metabolites were likely linked to those who later developed the disease.</p> <h2>Key metabolites</h2> <p>Metabolites are chemicals produced or used as the body digests and breaks down things like food, drugs, and other substances from environmental exposure. </p> <p>Our bodies can contain thousands of metabolites and their concentrations can differ significantly between healthy people and those affected by disease.</p> <p>Our research identified a chemical, likely a triterpenoid, as a key metabolite that could prevent Parkinson’s disease. It was found the abundance of triterpenoid was lower in the blood of those who developed Parkinson’s compared to those who did not.</p> <p>Triterpenoids are known <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/neuroprotection">neuroprotectants</a> that can regulate <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ana.10483">oxidative stress</a> – a leading factor implicated in Parkinson’s disease – and prevent cell death in the brain. Many foods such as <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11101-012-9241-9#Sec3">apples and tomatoes</a> are rich sources of triterpenoids.</p> <p>A synthetic chemical (a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/PFAS_FactSheet.html">polyfluorinated alkyl substance</a>) was also linked as something that might increase the risk of the disease. This chemical was found in higher abundances in those who later developed Parkinson’s. </p> <p>More research using different methods and looking at larger populations is needed to further validate these results.</p> <h2>A high financial and personal burden</h2> <p>Every year in Australia, the average person with Parkinson’s spends over <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/pd/2017/5932675/">A$14,000</a>in out-of-pocket medical costs.</p> <p>The burden of living with the disease can be intolerable.</p> <p>Fox acknowledges the disease can be a “nightmare” and a “living hell”, but he has also found that “<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/michael-j-fox-on-parkinsons-and-maintaining-optimism">with gratitude, optimism is sustainable</a>”. </p> <p>As researchers, we find hope in the potential use of AI technologies to improve patient quality of life and reduce health-care costs by accurately detecting diseases early.</p> <p>We are excited for the research community to try our AI tool, which is <a href="https://github.com/CRANK-MS/CRANK-MS">publicly available</a>.</p> <p><em>This research was performed with Mr Chonghua Xue and A/Prof Vijaya Kolachalama (Boston University).</em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-a-new-ai-tool-may-predict-early-signs-of-parkinsons-disease-205221" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Mind

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AI recruitment tools are “automated pseudoscience” says Cambridge researchers

<p>AI is set to bring in a whole new world in a huge range of industries. Everything from art to medicine is being overhauled by machine learning.</p> <p>But researchers from the University of Cambridge have published a paper in <a href="https://link.springer.com/journal/13347" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Philosophy &amp; Technology</em></a> to call out AI used to recruit people for jobs and boost workplace diversity – going so far as to call them an “automated pseudoscience”.</p> <p>“We are concerned that some vendors are wrapping ‘snake oil’ products in a shiny package and selling them to unsuspecting customers,” said co-author Dr Eleanor Drage, a researcher in AI ethics.</p> <p>“By claiming that racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination can be stripped away from the hiring process using artificial intelligence, these companies reduce race and gender down to insignificant data points, rather than systems of power that shape how we move through the world.”</p> <p>Recent years have seen the emergence of AI tools marketed as an answer to lack of diversity in the workforce. This can be anything from use of chatbots and resume scrapers, to line up prospective candidates, through to analysis software for video interviews.</p> <p>Those behind the technology claim it cancels out human biases against gender and ethnicity during recruitment, instead using algorithms that read vocabulary, speech patterns, and even facial micro-expressions, to assess huge pools of job applicants for the right personality type and ‘culture fit’.</p> <p>But AI isn’t very good at removing human biases. To train a machine-learning algorithm, you have to first put in lots and lots of past data. In the past for example, AI tools have discounted women all together in fields where more men were traditionally hired. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/oct/10/amazon-hiring-ai-gender-bias-recruiting-engine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In a system created by Amazon</a>, resumes were discounted if they included the word ‘women’s’ – like in a “women’s debating team” and downgraded graduates of two all-women colleges. Similar problems occur with race.</p> <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p218666-o1" class="wpcf7" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> </div> </div> <p>The Cambridge researchers suggest that even if you remove ‘gender’ or ‘race’ as distinct categories, the use of AI may ultimately increase uniformity in the workforce. This is because the technology is calibrated to search for the employer’s fantasy ‘ideal candidate’, which is likely based on demographically exclusive past results.</p> <p>The researchers actually went a step further, and worked with a team of Cambridge computer science undergraduates, to build an AI tool modelled on the technology. You can check it out <a href="https://personal-ambiguator-frontend.vercel.app/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.</p> <p>The tool demonstrates how arbitrary changes in facial expression, clothing, lighting and background can give radically different personality readings – and so could make the difference between rejection and progression.</p> <p>“While companies may not be acting in bad faith, there is little accountability for how these products are built or tested,” said Drage.</p> <p>“As such, this technology, and the way it is marketed, could end up as dangerous sources of misinformation about how recruitment can be ‘de-biased’ and made fairer.”</p> <p>The researchers suggest that these programs are a dangerous example of ‘technosolutionism’: turning to technology to provide quick fixes for deep-rooted discrimination issues that require investment and changes to company culture.</p> <p>“Industry practitioners developing hiring AI technologies must shift from trying to correct individualized instances of ’bias’ to considering the broader inequalities that shape recruitment processes,” <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13347-022-00543-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the team write in their paper.</a></p> <p>“This requires abandoning the ‘veneer of objectivity’ that is grafted onto AI systems, so that technologists can better understand their implication — and that of the corporations within which they work — in the hiring process.”</p> <p><img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=218666&amp;title=AI+recruitment+tools+are+%E2%80%9Cautomated+pseudoscience%E2%80%9D+says+Cambridge+researchers" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em>Written by Jacinta Bowler. Republished with permission of <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/ai-recruitment-tools-diversity-cambridge-automated-pseudoscience/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Cambridge University</em></p>

Technology

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Artificial intelligence tool learns “song of the reef” to determine ecosystem health

<p class="spai-bg-prepared">Coral reefs are among Earth’s most stunning and biodiverse ecosystems. Yet, due to human-induced climate change resulting in warmer oceans, we are seeing growing numbers of these living habitats dying.</p> <p class="spai-bg-prepared">The urgency of the crisis facing coral reefs around the world was highlighted in a recent <a class="spai-bg-prepared" href="https://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/the-reef/reef-health" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> that showed that 91% of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef had experienced coral bleaching in the summer of 2021–22 due to heat stress from rising water temperatures.</p> <p class="spai-bg-prepared">Determining reef health is key to gauging the extent of the problem and developing ways of intervening to save these ecosystems, and a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool has been developed to measure reef health using… sound.</p> <p class="spai-bg-prepared">Research coming out of the UK is using AI to study the soundscape of Indonesian reefs to determine the health of the ecosystems. The results, <a class="spai-bg-prepared" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22004575?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> in <em class="spai-bg-prepared">Ecological Indicators</em>, shows that the AI tool could learn the “song of the reef” and determine reef health with 92% accuracy.</p> <p class="spai-bg-prepared">The findings are being used to track the progress of reef restoration.</p> <p class="spai-bg-prepared">“Coral reefs are facing multiple threats, including climate change, so monitoring their health and the success of conservation projects is vital,” says lead author Ben Williams of the UK’s University of Exeter.</p> <div class="newsletter-box spai-bg-prepared"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p193163-o1" class="wpcf7 spai-bg-prepared" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> </div> </div> <p class="spai-bg-prepared">“One major difficulty is that visual and acoustic surveys of reefs usually rely on labour-intensive methods. Visual surveys are also limited by the fact that many reef creatures conceal themselves, or are active at night, while the complexity of reef sounds has made it difficult to identify reef health using individual recordings.</p> <p class="spai-bg-prepared">“Our approach to that problem was to use machine learning – to see whether a computer could learn the song of the reef. Our findings show that a computer can pick up patterns that are undetectable to the human ear. It can tell us faster, and more accurately, how the reef is doing.”</p> <p class="spai-bg-prepared">Fish and other creatures make a variety of sounds in coral reefs. While the meaning of many of these calls remains a mystery, the new machine-learning algorithm can distinguish overall between healthy and unhealthy reefs.</p> <p class="spai-bg-prepared">Recordings used in the study were taken at the <a class="spai-bg-prepared" href="http://www.buildingcoral.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mars Coral Reef Restoration Project</a>, which is restoring heavily damaged reefs in Indonesia.</p> <p class="spai-bg-prepared">The study’s co-author Dr Tim Lamont, a marine biologist at Lancaster University, said the AI method provides advantages in monitoring coral reefs.</p> <p class="spai-bg-prepared">“This is a really exciting development,” says Lamont. “Sound recorders and AI could be used around the world to monitor the health of reefs, and discover whether attempts to protect and restore them are working.</p> <p class="spai-bg-prepared">“In many cases it’s easier and cheaper to deploy an underwater hydrophone on a reef and leave it there than to have expert divers visiting the reef repeatedly to survey it, especially in remote locations.”</p> <p><img id="cosmos-post-tracker" class="spai-bg-prepared" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=193163&amp;title=Artificial+intelligence+tool+learns+%E2%80%9Csong+of+the+reef%E2%80%9D+to+determine+ecosystem+health" width="1" height="1" /></p> <div id="contributors"> <p><em><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/artificial-intelligence-reef-song/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/evrim-yazgin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Evrim Yazgin</a>. Evrim Yazgin has a Bachelor of Science majoring in mathematical physics and a Master of Science in physics, both from the University of Melbourne.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p> </div>

Technology

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Video shows Rowan Baxter purchasing killing tools

<p dir="ltr">A video showing Rowan Baxter purchasing the tools he would use to kill Hannah Clarke and their three children has played in court.</p> <p dir="ltr">CCTV showed Baxter at a local Brisbane Bunnings store buying zip ties, cleaning fluid and fuel at about 6 pm on February 17, 2020, just two days before the horrific murder.</p> <p dir="ltr">Wearing a black singlet and shorts, Baxter also appeared to wander around before paying for the items.</p> <p dir="ltr">Later that afternoon, Baxter called a men’s support helpline where he said he was the victim.</p> <p dir="ltr">"My wife, to be honest, it's almost like a game to put her in a better position for family court," he was heard saying, <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/inquest-into-hannah-clarkes-death-tracks-killers-movements-in-days-before-murder-brisbane-queensland/d882dce1-d321-4cd6-9791-0f37d4892e91" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nine News</a> reported.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I'm not the one who has the problem. I'm just doing what I'm told.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I never even thought my wife was capable of doing anything like this."</p> <p dir="ltr">On 19 February, 2020, before Baxter set alight to the family car with Ms Clarke and their three children - Aaliyah, Laianah, and Trey - he was seen at a Caltex petrol station purchasing 4.6L of fuel and three Kinder Surprises.</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Clarke was taking her three children to school when Baxter doused them with fuel.</p> <p dir="ltr">The three children died at the scene while Ms Clarke was taken to hospital. Baxter later stabbed himself with a knife and died.</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Clarke suffered burns to 97 per cent of her body and, despite her injuries, was able to give police three statements about what happened.</p> <p dir="ltr">The inquest continues.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: CCTV footage</em></p>

Legal

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"A tool": Nick Kyrgios slams Novak Djokovic over Aus Open demands

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p>Nick Kyrgios has slammed Novak Djokovic after Djokovic made a list of demands to the Australian Open organisers demanding better conditions for players in quarantine.</p> <p>There are currently 72 tennis players in hard quarantine, which means they're unable to train outside their hotel rooms for 14 days despite being told upon arrival they would have 5-hour exemptions to train.</p> <p>The hard lockdown is due to positive coronavirus tests on tournament charter flights.</p> <p>Djokovic sent Australian Open boss Craig Tiley a list of demands that he wanted to be actioned for players currently in lockdown, which Kyrgios has slammed.</p> <p>“Djokovic is a tool,” Kyrgios wrote while sharing a news report.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Djokovic is a tool. I don’t mind Bernie but his Mrs obviously has no perspective, ridiculous scenes 🤦🏽‍♂️ <a href="https://t.co/MMgeriH2GJ">https://t.co/MMgeriH2GJ</a></p> — Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickKyrgios/status/1351131106993725443?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2021</a></blockquote> <p>He also slammed Bernard Tomic's girlfriend for complaining about the food served in quarantine, saying that she's had to wash her own hair.</p> <p>“This is the worst part of quarantine,” Sierra said on her YouTube channel.</p> <p>“I don’t wash my own hair. I’ve never washed my own hair. It’s just not something that I do. I normally have hairdressers that do it twice a week for me.</p> <p>“This is the situation that we’re dealing with. I can’t wait to get out of quarantine just so I can get my hair done.”</p> <p>“I don’t mind Bernie but his Mrs obviously has no perspective, ridiculous scenes,” Kyrgios wrote.</p> <p>This isn't the first time Kyrgios has slammed Djokovic, with Kyrgios criticising him for organising the Adria Tour exhibition event in the Balkans, where multiple people including Djokovic got coronavirus from the event.</p> </div> </div> </div>

News

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Stone tools reveal epic trek of nomadic Neanderthals

<p>Neanderthal (<em>Homo neanderthalensis</em>) fossils were first discovered in western Europe in the mid nineteenth century. That was just the first in a long line of surprises thrown up by our closest evolutionary cousins.</p> <p>We reveal another in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/01/21/1918047117">our new study</a> of the Neanderthals who lived in Chagyrskaya Cave in southern Siberia around 54,000 years ago. Their distinctive stone tools are dead ringers for those found thousands of kilometres away in eastern and central Europe.</p> <p>The intercontinental journey made by these intrepid Neanderthals is equivalent to walking from Sydney to Perth, or from New York to Los Angeles, and is a rare example of long-distance migration by Palaeolithic people.</p> <p><strong>Knuckleheads no more</strong></p> <p>For a long time Neanderthals were seen as intellectual lightweights. However, <a href="https://theconversation.com/neanderthals-were-no-brutes-research-reveals-they-may-have-been-precision-workers-103858">several recent finds</a> have forced a rethink of their cognitive and creative abilities.</p> <p>Neanderthals are now believed to have created 176,000 year-old enigmatic structures made from broken stalactites in a <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/05/neanderthals-caves-rings-building-france-archaeology/">cave in France</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-we-discovered-that-neanderthals-could-make-art-92127">cave art in Spain</a>that dates back more than 65,000 years.</p> <p>They also used <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0045927">bird feathers</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aar5255">pierced shells</a> bearing traces of red and yellow ochre, possibly as personal ornaments. It seems likely Neanderthals had cognitive capabilities and symbolic behaviours similar to those of modern humans (<em>Homo sapiens</em>).</p> <p>Our knowledge of their geographical range and the nature of their encounters with other groups of humans has also expanded greatly in recent years.</p> <p>We now know that Neanderthals ventured beyond Europe and western Asia, reaching at least as far east as the Altai Mountains. Here, they interbred with another group of archaic humans dubbed the <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/scientists-recreate-face-denisovan-using-dna-180973177/">Denisovans</a>.</p> <p>Traces of Neanderthal interactions with our own ancestors also persist in the DNA of all living people of Eurasian descent. However, we can still only speculate why the Neanderthals vanished around 40,000 years ago.</p> <p><strong>Banished to Siberia</strong></p> <p>Other questions also remain unresolved. When did Neanderthals first arrive in the Altai? Were there later migration events? Where did these trailblazers begin their trek? And what routes did they take across Asia?</p> <p><a href="https://www.antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/derevyanko345">Chagyrskaya Cave</a> is nestled in the foothills of the Altai Mountains. The cave deposits were first excavated in 2007 and have yielded almost 90,000 stone tools and numerous bone tools.</p> <p>The excavations have also found 74 Neanderthal fossils – the richest trove of any Altai site – and a range of animal and plant remains, including the abundant bones of bison hunted and butchered by the Neanderthals.</p> <p>We used <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/520438a">optical dating</a> to determine when the cave sediments, artefacts and fossils were deposited, and conducted a detailed study of more than 3,000 stone tools recovered from the deepest archaeological levels. Microscopy analysis revealed that these have remained intact and undisturbed since accumulating during a period of cold and dry climate about 54,000 years ago.</p> <p>Using a variety of statistical techniques, we show that these artefacts bear a striking similarity to so-called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micoquien">Micoquian</a> artefacts from central and eastern Europe. This type of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Paleolithic">Middle Palaeolithic</a> assemblage is readily identified by the distinctive appearance of the bifaces – tools made by removing flakes from both sides – which were used to cut meat.</p> <p>Micoquian-like tools have only been found at one other site in the Altai. All other archaeological assemblages in the Altai and central Asia lack these distinctive artefacts.</p> <p>Neanderthals carrying Micoquian tools may never have reached <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00353-0">Denisova Cave</a>, as there is no fossil or sedimentary DNA evidence of Neanderthals there after 100,000 years ago.</p> <p><strong>Going the distance</strong></p> <p>The presence of Micoquian artefacts at Chagyrskaya Cave suggests at least two separate dispersals of Neanderthals into southern Siberia. Sites such as Denisova Cave were occupied by Neanderthals who entered the region before 100,000 years ago, while the Chagyrskaya Neanderthals arrived later.</p> <p>The Chagyrskaya artefacts most closely resemble those found at sites located 3,000–4,000 km to the west, between the Crimea and northern Caucasus in eastern Europe.</p> <p>Comparison of genetic data supports these geographical links, with the <a href="https://www.eva.mpg.de/genetics/genome-projects/chagyrskaya-neandertal/home.html">Chagyrskaya Neanderthal</a> sharing closer affinities with several European Neanderthals than with a Neanderthal from Denisova Cave.</p> <p>When the Chagyrskaya toolmakers (or their ancestors) left their Neanderthal homeland in eastern Europe for central Asia around 60,000 years ago, they could have headed north and east around the land-locked <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Caspian-Sea">Caspian Sea</a>, which was much reduced in size under the prevailing cold and arid conditions.</p> <p>Their intercontinental odyssey over thousands of kilometres is a rarely observed case of long-distance dispersal in the Palaeolithic, and highlights the value of stone tools as culturally informative markers of ancient population movements.</p> <p>Environmental reconstructions from the animal and plant remains at Chagyrskaya Cave suggest that the Neanderthal inhabitants survived in the cold, dry and treeless environment by hunting bison and horses on the steppe or tundra-steppe landscape.</p> <p>Our discoveries reinforce the emerging view of Neanderthals as creative and intelligent people who were skilled survivors. If this was the case, it makes their extinction across Eurasia even more mysterious. Did modern humans deal the fatal blow? The enigma endures, for now.</p> <p><em>Written by Kseniya Kolobova, Maciej T. Krajcarz and Richard 'Bert' Roberts. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/stone-tools-reveal-epic-trek-of-nomadic-neanderthals-129886">The Conversation.</a></em></p>

Travel Tips

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How to make your hand tools look as good as new

<p>Giving timber-handled tools a bit of TLC to helps them last longer.</p> <p>Check the tools over and replace any with handles that are suffering from rot or severe cracks, especially tools that are used under pressure such as spades and mattocks. </p> <p>For those that pass the test, sand the handles to remove any rough spots and flaking finish, then coat them in boiled linseed oil to inject some moisture and prevent cracking. </p> <p>When you have oiled the handles, clean and sharpen the blades. Use a whetstone for secateurs and clippers, and a file or grinding wheel for spades, mattocks and hoes. </p> <p>Store your tools and wheelbarrow under cover over winter and they’ll be ready to go when the garden bursts into action in spring.</p> <p><strong>Using linseed oil </strong></p> <p>Linseed oil is a natural product that is extracted from flaxseed. </p> <p>It has a wide variety of uses, including as a preservative for wood and an ingredient in paints, varnishes, stains, soaps and inks.</p> <p>Despite the name, most linseed oil isn’t actually boiled. </p> <p>Instead solvents such as turps are added to speed up the drying process, just as boiling does. </p> <p>Without this addition linseed oil would take a long time to dry.</p> <p><strong>TIP:</strong> The oil is very combustible, so dry used cloths outside in a single layer, as a pile can catch fire.</p> <p><strong>Step 1: Sand the timber </strong></p> <p>Sand the timber handles with a random orbital sander and 120 grit sanding pads, then sand lightly by hand using abrasive paper to get into the areas the sander didn’t reach.</p> <p><strong>Step 2: Oil the handles</strong></p> <p>Oil the handles by dipping a cloth into a container of boiled linseed oil and wiping it onto the timber. Let the oil penetrate for a few minutes then wipe off any excess.</p> <p><em>Republished with permission of </em><a href="http://www.handyman.net.au/renew-hand-tools"><em>Handyman Australia</em></a><em>.</em></p>

Home & Garden

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Discover who is following your profile on Facebook

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Did you know people are able to “follow” your personal or professional Facebook page without sending you a friend request? </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s important to know who is following you on Facebook, as this means that your posts are appearing in their News Feed without your knowledge and will appear more regularly than you think.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, people are only able to follow your personal Facebook account if your profile is public instead of private.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It can be a bit tricky to see how someone is following your Facebook page, so here are a few tips to work out how.</span></p> <p><strong>How to see if someone is following your Facebook page</strong></p> <ol> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Go to your “Friends” tab and click on the “More” section.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Click on “Following”.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Scroll through who is following your Facebook page.</span></li> </ol> <p><strong>How to unfollow people on Facebook</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re tired of seeing someone’s specific posts in your News Feed, but don’t want to unfriend them, you’re able to “unfollow” them.</span></p> <p><strong>Unfollow them via their Facebook profile</strong></p> <ol> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Go to their Facebook profile.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Click the “Following” button so it doesn’t have the tick with “Following” any longer.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Done! You’ve unfollowed them on Facebook.</span></li> </ol> <p><strong>Unfollow them via your News Feed</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Have you just been reminded why you don’t like seeing this person’s posts? Unfollowing them from your News Feed is pretty simple.</span></p> <ol> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Find a status update or post from the friend you want to unfollow.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Click on the down arrow in the upper right corner of the post.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Scroll down until you find the “Unfollow” option.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Click on the “Unfollow” option.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">There! You have successfully unfollowed your friend.</span></li> </ol> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This means that their posts will no longer appear in your News Feed on Facebook but you’re still friends with them.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Did you know about the “Unfollow” option on Facebook? Let us know in the comments.</span></p>

Technology

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Need to capture part of your screen? This free snipping tool will change your life

<p><em><strong>Lisa Du is director of <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://readytechgo.com.au/" target="_blank">ReadyTechGo</a></span>, a service that helps people gain the confidence and skills to embrace modern technology. </strong></em></p> <p>The other day a client asked me how they could save some information from a PDF document. The information they wanted to save contained text and images, and they wanted to save this, and use it in a report they were creating using Microsoft Word.</p> <p>What's the quickest way to capture part of your screen?</p> <p><strong>Introducing the Windows Snipping Tool</strong></p> <p>Using the tool, you can capture any of the following types of snips:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Free-form snip</strong> - Where you can draw a free-form shape around an object. For example, if I wanted to snip a basketball from a picture, and paste it into another file</li> <li><strong>Rectangular snip</strong> - Where you drag the cursor around an object to form a rectangle (the type of snip I use most)</li> <li><strong>Window snip</strong> - Where you can select a window, or a window of a internet page you are viewing, and capture that window</li> <li><strong>Full-screen snip</strong> - Capture your entire screen</li> </ul> <p>Once you have captured your snip, it is automatically captured into the Snipping Tool window, where you can annotate (draw on the snip), save it or share the snip.</p> <p><strong>How to use the snipping tool:</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="500" height="NaN" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/e785dd9ba906ed79fad48bd7e/images/a8891076-ce96-4a03-8d22-99ec65127555.png" class="mcnImage" style="max-width: 1366px; line-height: 100%; outline: none; vertical-align: bottom; height: auto !important;"/></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">WINDOWS 10 USERS:</span></p> <p>1. Click the Start button (bottom left corner of your screen)</p> <p>2. Type snipping tool in the search box on the taskbar, and then select Snipping Tool from the list of results</p> <p><strong>SAVE IT</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="500" height="NaN" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/e785dd9ba906ed79fad48bd7e/images/417aa0da-3fe2-4fdd-91ed-7307f59d923b.png" class="mcnImage" style="max-width: 869px; line-height: 100%; outline: none; vertical-align: bottom; height: auto !important;"/></p> <p>Once you have your snip, you will be able to save the snip as a file.</p> <p>1. Click File</p> <p>2. Choose Save As...</p> <p>3. Pick a location to save the file in, give it a name, and click Save.</p> <p>The snipping tool is very handy. I use it to snip information I found on the internet, or to snip information from PDFs.</p> <p>Try it, and let us know what you think!</p>

Technology

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A beginner’s guide to gardening tools

<p class="first-para">It’s difficult enough finding time to maintain your garden, but having the right tools goes a long way to achieving great results. Here, our gardening experts share the gardening toolkit essentials you’ll need to make your garden flourish.</p> <p>A woman, let’s call her Jane, is standing below a tree, neck strained to face the mess of branches above. With pole-pruner in hand, she raises the extension tool through the canopy and anchors the secateurs on a branch.</p> <p>Pulling the tool’s string, the blades carve the wood like a knife through a baguette, sending the offcut tumbling to earth. Jane repeats the process on a bunch of limbs destined for compost. Standing back to admire her work, she spies one more branch that, if removed, will even the canopy perfectly.</p> <p>The pole ascends and lands one final time but as Jane pulls the string, the blades don’t budge. She yanks it again and, suddenly, the secateurs snap and hurtle south hitting Jane on the head and knocking her out cold.</p> <p>This is a true story as told by award-winning garden designer Ian Barker about a friend of his – whose real name isn’t Jane. And the point of the story is there was a better tool for the job. A decent motorised pruner, for example.</p> <p>“Unless you know what the right tool is,” Barker says, “don’t do the job.”</p> <p>Rookie blunders aside, homeowners can rest easy knowing their gardens will flourish under their amateur, time-poor hands if they heed expert advice and invest in reliable, job-appropriate garden tools. Hello weekends!</p> <p>Barker’s must-have tools include, “a really good pair of secateurs” for pruning shrubs, a rake, a hand-cultivator (a claw that loosens the earth), a quality hedge trimmer for neat hedges and a “really good” mower.</p> <p>“I don’t actually like gardening,” Barker confesses. “I love designing gardens and I love building them, but I don’t like maintaining them.”</p> <p>His efficient weekend repertoire, therefore, involves tending to the perimeter of his garden first, pruning plants and cultivating the ground. Cuttings are thrown on the lawn in the middle. “You don’t have to be too thorough picking up the rubbish from the grass, because then you finish with the mower,” he says. Job done.</p> <p>Barker advises against investing in low-grade equipment.</p> <p>“Power tool-wise, buy a quality mower,” he says. “Don’t buy a cheap mower. If you get the mower out and you can’t start it, you just get fed up and you usually stop and go do something else. Same goes for a really good hedge trimmer. The better the hedge trimmer, the sharper [the blades] and you get nice clean cuts, and it’s fast.”</p> <p>Jim’s mowing gardening contractor and Honda ambassador, George Labbad, says he uses Honda equipment because, “they start first time, every time. It’s as simple as that.”</p> <p>The result of any gardener’s efforts is always indicated by the quality of machinery used.</p> <p>“From a home gardener’s perspective, with Honda, you take your equipment out and you’re into it straight away,” Labbad says. “The other beauty of using Honda is it’s all four-stroke. You’re not having to remember the right mix of fuel. You just fill a tin with unleaded fuel and you’re ready to go.”</p> <p>Labbad’s list of gardening tool essentials includes a first-rate brush cutter, hedgecutter, blower and big plastic hands for picking up green waste.</p> <p>The Honda VersaTool is also a mainstay in Labbad’s kit. Attachments such as the blower and hedgecutter work from the one power-head, making storage and cartage easy. The extension pole eradicates the perilous ladder, saving time and putting welfare first. High branches can be trimmed with the power of a four-stroke engine, neatly, quickly and safely.</p> <p>Peter Shaw of Ocean Road Landscaping says there are two types of gardening: the repetitive jobs that don’t need planning, like mowing and edging, and the creative jobs, like heavy pruning and planting.</p> <p>“Get the repetitive stuff done first,” he says, “then the fun can begin doing more creative things.” A decent stainless steel shovel and wire metal rake is in Peter’s must-have toolkit.</p> <p>Barker adds beginner gardeners should take on the “little stuff” until they’re more experienced.</p> <p>“As soon as you think it’s starting to get a bit beyond you, it is,” he says. “Get someone else in. There’s the right tool for every job and unless you know what the right tool is, don’t do it.”</p> <p>Labbad adds: “I truly believe if you invest in good equipment, you’re not continually having to re-buy, you’re not continually having to repair it and, if it’s quality, you’ll use it more and get enjoyment out of using it as opposed to it being a chore.” </p> <p><em>Written by Kristie Hayden. Republished with permission of <a href="http://www.domain.com.au" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Domain.com.au.</span></strong></a> </em></p>

Home & Garden

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New online tool lets you find out if your password has been hacked

<p>A new online tool lets you find out if your password has been hacked and published online, as well as the steps to take if you have been caught out.</p> <p>Digital security expert Troy Hunt, founder of Have I Been Pwned, said users enter their details into a search box on his website, which is then cross-referenced with a database of leaked passwords online.</p> <p>The website will tell if your account details have been hacked and how to protect yourself.</p> <p>“Pwned Passwords are hundreds of millions of real world passwords exposed in data breaches. This exposure makes them unsuitable for ongoing use as they're at much greater risk of being used to take over other accounts. They're searchable online below as well as being downloadable for use in other online system. Do not send any password you actively use to a third-party service - even this one!” the website reads.</p> <p>Mr Hunt wrote on his blog, “If the password alone comes back with a hit on this service, that’s a very good reason to no longer use it regardless of whose account it originally appeared against.</p> <p>“As well as people checking passwords they themselves may have used, I’m envisaging more tech-savvy people using this service to demonstrate a point to friends, relatives and co-workers: ‘you see, this password has been breached before, don’t use it’.”</p> <p>While the service is doing a public good, Mr Hunt warns against sharing your current passwords on any third-party website.</p> <p> “It goes without saying (although I say it anyway on that page), but don’t enter a password you currently use into any third-party service like this!</p> <p>“I don’t explicitly log them and I’m a trustworthy guy but yeah, don’t.</p> <p>“The point of the web-based service is so that people who have been guilty of using sloppy passwords have a means of independent verification that it’s not one they should be using any more.</p> <p>“Mind you, someone could actually have an exceptionally good password but if the website stored it in plain text then leaked it, that password has still been ‘burned’.”</p> <p><strong><em>To test old passwords, visit <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://haveibeenpwned.com/Passwords">Have I Been Pwned.</a> </span></em></strong></p>

Technology

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Online tool tells you if you’re really hungry

<p>Are you feeling hungry right now? Are you sure? You might actually be thirsty, or maybe just bored. Knowing when we’re really ready for food or if something else is triggering a craving is the key to not overeating. But how can you know for sure?</p> <p>Introducing the Hunger Quotient (HQ). Dietitian Keri Glassman, who developed the tool, describes it as one of the “greatest nutrition tools in your knowledge base (regardless of the food you eat),” claiming it will “get you closer to the healthy eater you were meant to be.”</p> <p>Your HQ is measured on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being “stuffed” (not hungry at all) to 10 being “famished” (so hungry you feel faint).</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="500" height="450" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/38288/online-hunger-tool_500x450.jpg" alt="Online Hunger Tool"/></p> <p>According to Glassman, your goal should be to always be between 4 and 6 on the HQ scale at any given time. This way, you’ll never feel stuffed, but you’ll never feel like you’re starving, either.</p> <p>“Every opportunity to eat is an opportunity to eat just enough to be comfortable — what I call slightly satisfied,” Glassman <a href="http://nutritiouslife.com/much-eat-questions-answered/?inf_contact_key=a7e2e897ce7dbfa1b2efc3167831ffb2a1ba2f58ec82205024409cee1dd2e23c" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">writes</span></strong></a>. “When you are at a 4, slightly satisfied, you are “just right” because you have eaten just enough to feel content without needing to loosen your belt or take a nap.”</p> <p>So, the next time you think you’re hungry, give the HQ a go – you might be surprised to learn just how “hungry” you really are. Try it now and tell us in the comments below, what number are you at right now on the HQ scale?</p> <p><em>Credit: Keri Glassman/Nutritiouslife.com.</em></p>

Body

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5 household items you can repurpose as travel tools

<p>Packing for an overseas trip is important, and while a lot of travel tools make life on the road easier, we often end up spending a mint on items we don’t actually need.</p> <p>But as it so turns out, some of the most useful travel tools are actually already found around the house. <a href="http://www.independenttraveler.com/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Independent Traveller</span></strong></a> has put together a list containing five household items that can actually be repurposed as useful travel tools.</p> <p><strong>1. Old prescription bottles</strong></p> <p>With resealable, easy pop-off lids, old prescription bottles can take on a new life when you’re holidays as the perfect way to store travel-friendly quantities of your favourite shampoo, conditioner, shower gel or facial wash.</p> <p><strong>2. Eyeglasses cases</strong></p> <p>While your old eyeglasses case might be gathering dust in your bottom drawer, it can be a useful, reliable way to carry tiny electronic items like phone chargers or any other smaller items that could easily get lost in a bigger bag when travelling.</p> <p><strong>3. Garbage bag</strong></p> <p>It might not be the best fashion statement around, but a creatively repurposed garbage bag can save you from a soaking when travelling in a warm, tropical destination where your warmer coat or rain jacket wouldn’t be quite as comfortable.</p> <p><strong>4. Dental floss container</strong></p> <p>Don’t discard your dental floss container when they’re done. Instead, use it to stow away any spare cash you might have on hand when you’re travelling. Not only will this be a water-tight container, it’s also the last place a burglar would look.</p> <p><strong>5. Duct tape</strong></p> <p>When it comes to running repairs while you’re on the road, there are few items that are quite as useful as duct tape. From a broken strap on a backpack to a hole in your shoes and everything in between, duct tape is your best friend on the road.</p> <p>Do you have any household items you like to repurpose as travel tools? Are there any items you think we should add to our list?</p> <p>Let us know in the comments section below.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/travel/travel-tips/2016/09/10-items-people-should-pack/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>10 items people don’t pack but should</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/travel-tips/2016/08/12-travel-gadgets-you-must-take-on-every-holiday/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>12 travel gadgets you must take on every holiday</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/travel-tips/2016/09/9-innovations-changing-the-world-of-travel/"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>9 innovations changing the world of travel</strong></span></em></a></p>

Travel Tips

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New online tool calculates your fitness age

<p>We all have those moments when we forget how old we really are until we look in the mirror, only to find what looks back at us doesn’t reflect how we feel on the inside. Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology understand this, and have developed an exciting new tool to help us figure out how old our bodies really are.</p> <p>Simply by entering your gender, height, weight, waist circumference and answering a few lifestyle questions, this smart calculator can determine your VO2max – that is, how much oxygen the body can take in – and tell you how fit you actually are. The Body Mass Indicator (BMI) system has long been questioned for its accuracy, as it doesn’t take into account body fat, muscle mass and waist circumference. The tool’s developers say VO2max is “the most precise measure of overall cardiovascular fitness,” giving an indication of your body’s ability to take in and distribute oxygen.</p> <p>The calculator then measures your VO2max score against others in your age group, revealing your true fitness age.</p> <p>Researchers hope that those who receive a fitness age older than their biological age will be inspired to change their lifestyle habits and decrease their risk of death from lifestyle-related diseases. In fact, studies have shown that 20 minutes of intense exercise three to five times a week can help improve VO2max scores.</p> <p>To find out your fitness age, <a href="https://www.worldfitnesslevel.org" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">click here</span></strong></a>, and share your results with us in the comments below.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/health/body/2016/07/stay-motivated-to-exercise-during-winter/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>5 ways to stay motivated to exercise during winter</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/health/body/2016/07/do-we-gain-weight-in-winter/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Do we really put on weight over the winter months?</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/health/body/2016/07/doctors-tips-on-living-a-long-and-healthy-life/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Doctor’s tips on living a long and healthy life</strong></em></span></a></p>

Body

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The simple yet powerful tool to plan your retirement

<p><em><strong>Rowan Rafferty and Jan Wild are a couple of baby boomers who describe themselves as rewired rather than retired; determined to grab this time of life with both hands. They blog at <a href="http://www.retirement-planning.info" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Retiring Not Shy</span></a> to inspire and encourage you to live your best possible retirement.</strong></em></p> <p><img width="219" height="170" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/22600/jan-and-rowan-retiring-not-shy_219x170.jpg" alt="Jan And Rowan Retiring Not Shy" style="float: left;"/>Many years ago my lovely and gifted friend Suzie St George from <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.reachpotential.com.au/" target="_blank">Reach Potential</a></strong></span> introduced me to a simple yet powerful tool: The Wheel of Life.</p> <p>The Wheel is a great tool for both evaluating your current level of satisfaction with life and for visioning how you wish your life to be. Perfect when contemplating retirement or re-evaluating it!</p> <p>The Wheel is a circle divided into eight segments, as per the chart below:</p> <p><img width="568" height="341" src="http://retirement-planning.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Wheel-of-Life.jpg" alt="Wheel of Life" class="alignright size-full wp-image-233"/></p> <p>Each segment represents an area of life, as follows:</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Physical</span> – The physical segment refers to your physical health but also to your location and type of home, that is, your physical surroundings.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Financial</span> – Your financial situation and how you manage your finances.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Relationships</span> – Not just intimate and family relationships, but all your relationships including friends and colleagues.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Daily management</span> – Even in retirement a little time management goes a long way, in fact it might be even more important to ensure you feel a sense of satisfaction at the end of each day. Oh, and your daily management list might include making time to finish that fabulous novel!</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Work</span> – You may or may not still participate in paid work during retirement but this segment is always valid; for example do you volunteer, do you have investments to manage etc.? You may have a project, some research, perhaps the family tree.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Recreation</span> – This might also be described as play. How do you spend your leisure time, do you have hobbies, creative pursuits, do you allow yourself to just stop, or to be spontaneous?</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Spiritual</span> – Your spiritual practice; this may be based on religion, a non-religious spiritual philosophy, meditation. It may be something like music or art that takes you into another space.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Mental</span> – Your mental health, in every sense; do you deliberately engage in activities to keep your brain productively active, do you feel yourself to be in good mental health?</p> <p>So, what’s this all got to do with planning and enjoying your retirement? You simply can’t get to where you want to be without knowing where you are currently. This is a tool for assessing your current level of satisfaction with life.</p> <p>This is not a process to be obsessive about, but rather a step towards actually documenting your life map, every so often, when you feel a little reflection may be productive. It is one process to open the way to further thinking, not an end in itself. Could life could be better or are you satisfied with where your life is heading?</p> <p>How about starting now to assess your current level of satisfaction in life, it’s easy and it won’t take long.</p> <p>1. Get a piece of paper and draw the wheel of life (it doesn’t have to be perfect, just a circle with eight roughly equal segments).<br /> 2. Label each segment as above.<br /> 3. Give yourself a score out of 10 for each segment – closest to the centre being low and the outside being high (remember: these are your personal feelings about life, not your idea of what others think your life should be like). Be honest with yourself, how do you really feel about your financial situation, your relationships. Mark the score within the segment.<br /> 4. Join up the dots (see below).<br /> 5. Review your wheel, see where there are imbalances and decide what you would like to change.</p> <p><img width="573" height="322" src="http://retirement-planning.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Wheel-of-Life-sample.jpg" alt="Wheel of Life sample" class="alignright size-full wp-image-234" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>So, in my example above, I might be very happy with my scores for Work and for Relationships but not happy with my score for Financial. It might be that I have financial difficulties or just that I know I am not spending enough time looking at or understanding my finances (maybe I don’t know what my financial status really is). Similarly, my Physical sector isn’t looking too flash.</p> <p>From here I can develop plans to improve one or more of the segments. It might not be the segment with the lowest score; I might decide to focus on the Spiritual segment. Perhaps working there, or on my physical health, will give me more clarity and energy so I can more easily deal with the Financial segment.</p> <p>A positive change means a re-balancing rather than striving for a perfect 10 in every segment. The key is to take action but not overwhelm yourself with too much to do. Note too, that a positive change does not necessarily mean more effort in every segment. It may be that in the wheel above the emphasis on Work is taking up too much time at the expense of the other segments. Perhaps it is time to take the foot off that particular pedal.</p> <p>If Financial is a focus for you, you might like to read our post on getting started with <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://retirement-planning.info/financial-planning-getting-started/" target="_blank">Financial Planning</a>.</strong></span></p> <p>Have you used a tool like this for evaluation and planning? Have you found it useful? Do you think there are missing segments? How would you use this tool for planning or fine tuning your retirement?</p> <p><em>This article first appeared on <strong><a href="http://www.retirement-planning.info" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Retiring Not Shy</span></a></strong>. Follow Rowan and Jan on <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/retiringnotshy/" target="_blank">Facebook here.</a></span></strong></em></p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/lifestyle/retirement-life/2016/05/are-you-having-a-late-life-crisis/">Are you having a “late-life” crisis?</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/lifestyle/retirement-life/2016/06/not-getting-older-just-more-complex/">You’re not getting older, you’re getting more complex</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/lifestyle/retirement-life/2016/04/why-everyone-should-share-their-life-story/">Why everyone should share their life story</a></strong></em></span></p>

Retirement Life

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How to use Instagram as a travel tool

<p>At the end of 2014 more than 300 million people were on Instagram, handing out around 1.2 billion likes each day. It’s the fastest growing social media platform around the world as everyone busily uploads photos of their lunch, their outfit and their pets. And the #travel hashtag is one of the most popular out there. So how can you use Instagram as a travel tool?</p> <p><strong>Planning</strong></p> <p>First and foremost, Insty will provide some unbeatable inspiration for your next journey. Looking for a new beach break destination? Search hashtags like #beach, #ocean, #sand, #waves or #sea to bring up the most snappable stretches of water on the planet. If you’re looking for something more specific, try a niche tag like #londoncoffee, #melbournestreetart or #berlinbynight to see what the cool kids are photographing. Your favourite travel blogger will also most likely have an Instagram account, so you can scroll through images of all their top destinations with ease.</p> <p><strong>Discovering</strong></p> <p>Instagram has a handy location feature that can put you on to other sights, activities, restaurants or bars around you. When you add a photo you have the option to name a location, let’s say Place de la Concorde, Paris. Once your photo is up you can click on the location to see other photos taken recently at the same location. Et voila!</p> <p><strong>Connecting</strong></p> <p>They don’t call it a “social” network for nothing. Instagram is a great platform for connecting with local bloggers or Instagram users, hotels, tourist boards or local celebrities. Follow their accounts before you go to get an idea of what you can expect at your destination. Then you can start interacting with their pictures, liking, commenting and asking questions, to get some insider feedback. Don’t forget to use local hashtags (like #ilovesydney for Sydney or #shangrilasydney if you’re staying at the Shangri-La Hotel) to get noticed – you might even get a repost!</p> <p><strong>Bragging</strong></p> <p>No one likes to admit to this one, but isn’t that really what social media is all about? It’s the modern equivalent of dragging all the neighbours over to your house for a slideshow after your trip to Europe. Get a great shot, add a filter (or two) and add as many hashtags as you can think of. Instagram is a great way to show your family and friends what you’re up to, and it provides a nice visual record for you to go over when you get home.</p> <p> </p>

Travel Tips

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Tech tools worth mastering

<p>If you want to keep your mind active with an online course or if you’re thinking about going back to studying, you’re probably a bit wary of all the technology tools you need to know. Don’t fret – today’s tech tools actually make studying easier, not harder! From creating virtual study groups to getting help on the internet, you’ll soon find today’s study necessities will make your life much easier. Here’s our guide to mastering them all to give those Gen Ys a run for their money.</p> <p><strong>Google+ Hangout</strong></p> <p>Think of Google+ Hangout as the digital version of “hanging out” with friends or classmates. Instead of meeting up at the library, though, you meet up online and it’s never been easier to do. This is the perfect gizmo for group study or group projects. It’s even great outside of the classroom as you can organise a social group and chat online – a good way to connect if everyone lives in different states.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Why it’s great</span>: Hangout is perfect for engaging with people in your class. You can create a Hangout to discuss lectures, courses and ask questions. It’s like one big virtual classroom but it’s all in the comfort of your own home. It’s available on all computers and android and Apple devices too so nobody misses out.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Features</span>: You can add as many people as you like to the virtual conversation. You can just chat or share pictures, videos and emojis. You can even turn the conversation into a video chat with up to 10 friends.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">How to use it:</span></p> <ol> <li>To use Google Hangout, you will need a Google account. If you already have a Gmail account, you can use that one to access Hangout. If you don’t have one, you don’t need to create one. You can sign up for a Google account with any email address (Yahoo, Hotmail etc).</li> <li>Access Google Hangout <a href="https://plus.google.com/hangouts" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>here</strong></span></a> or download the Google Hangout app to your smartphone or tablet <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/app/hangouts/id643496868?mt=8&amp;ign-mpt=uo%3D4" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>here</strong></span></a>.</li> <li>Create a new Hangout and select the people you want to include on it. You can create as many “hangouts” with as many different people as you want.</li> </ol> <p><strong>YouTube</strong></p> <p>YouTube is the largest and most popular video sharing website in the world. There’s videos on every imaginable topic from music videos to funny cat videos. There’s also plenty of educational videos to help you with your studies. If you are stuck on a particular concept or topic, just search it up on YouTube. Not only will you be able to watch somebody explain the problem to you, you can also pause it if they’re going too fast. Or if they aren’t explaining things to your understanding, just find another video to help you.</p> <p>YouTube has a wealth of material for everyone on everything. Best of all, it is completely free.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Features:</span> Searching up videos is absolutely free and does not require an account. However, if you want to use some of the features on YouTube you will need a Google account to register.</p> <ul> <li>Sharing – Once you have found some videos you like, you can share them with friends. Simply click on the share button below the video and you will have the option to share via email, Twitter, Facebook or you can simply copy the link.</li> <li>Following a channel – Channels are collections of videos about the same topic. You can find channels on many things and it’s a great way to stay up-to-date whenever a new video is uploaded to the channel.</li> <li>Favourites – If you have a YouTube account, you will be able to “favourite” certain videos which will automatically save to your Favourites List. This is an easy way to keep track of videos you may want to watch again.</li> </ul> <p><strong>iMovie</strong></p> <p>Technology has changed the face of studying and learning – there’s no longer a need for expensive or bulky video recording equipment – iMovie is an easy way to edit videos and create your own movie. Now you can use digital tools like iMovie to create presentations, projects and movies and easily share the finished product on Facebook and YouTube.</p> <p>iMovie is only available for ISO devices like Mac computers and laptops, iPads and iPhones.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">How to use it: </span></p> <ul> <li>Shoot a video (or multiple) on your smartphone. Upload the video to your iPad or Mac computer or laptop.</li> <li>Click on the iMovie app and create a new project.</li> <li>The editing screen will open up. Your videos will be to the right and a preview monitor will be to the left. Running across the bottom is the timeline, which will be blank. This is where you create your movie.</li> <li>Edit your videos by dragging the left or right edges to trim the clip. You might want to get rid of any bloopers at the beginning or unnecessary scenery at the end.</li> <li>Drag your clip to the timeline.</li> <li>Continue to add desired clips to the timeline in the order you want them to be in.</li> <li>Add special effects like transitions and titles. You can also change the volume on the audio or add background songs.</li> <li>Once your movie is completed, click on export movie (located under the share drop tab) which will save your movie.  </li> </ul>

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