Taking a dip in the water can help re-fresh you on a hot day, but you need

to protect yourself and your family from bacteria and parasites that can lurk in water, an infectious disease expert says. So, next time you ‘Jump In, Just Don’t Swallow The Water’!

There are few things more stressful than flight delays — whether you’re the one traveling or the one picking some-one up from the airport. We’ve all got-ten used to plugging and chugging info into an airline’s website to find the most up-to-date status on a flight, but that doesn’t really give you an accurate pic-ture of exactly what is going on in the skies. But now, you can actually track planes with our favourite apps for flight stalking that actually make travel much more efficient and sometimes even more fun.

Faced with an eerie or intimidating situation, most of us would have felt that uncomfortable feeling in our stom-ach. Such a ‘gut feeling’ or ‘gut instinct’, often forewarns about a fearful situation we are to face. This intuitive feeling has been the subject of study by a group of researchers at ETH Zurich, who proved for the first time that our ‘gut instinct’ has a significant impact on how we react to fear. To know more, turn to our Sci-ence page.

Meanwhile, you can browse through our Ask Martha section where Martha answers queries on storing fabric, choos-ing a cutting board & more.

Drop us a word at bloom@qimqatar.com. Your feedback is always welcome. So be it science, technology, lifestyle or fashion take your pick right away. And Facebook users keep liking our page!

Miscellaneous

I first explored this idea while re-porting an article about happiness in 2010, the same year that a psy-

chological study about the connection between anticipation and happiness was published online in a journal called Applied Research in Quality of Life. The authors of the study, re-searchers from the Netherlands, in-terviewed more than 1,500 people, including 974 vacationers, and found that the vacationers felt most happy before their trips.

As anyone who has taken a vaca-tion knows, they can be rife with com-plications: flight delays, illness, family squabbles. And when you get home you have to catch up on all the work you missed. That’s not to suggest that vacations don’t bring us joy, but social scientists have been saying for years that we get an extra happiness boost if we consciously delay any type of pleasure - be it booking a trip to Bali months in advance or eating that sliv-er of chocolate cake tomorrow instead of today. Doing this allows us to build up positive expectations, to relish how enjoyable the experience might be.

But what I really wanted to know was whether the pleasure derived from anticipation is something that just magically happens after you book an airline ticket. Or can it be con-sciously increased by, for example, talking with friends about the trip, making an iTunes playlist or learning the local language?

Turns out, there is an art to an-ticipation. Savouring, said Elizabeth Dunn, an associate professor of psy-chology at the University of British Columbia and a leading happiness re-searcher, is an active, not passive, pro-cess. “It’s better to immerse yourself,” she said. Reading novels and poetry,

watching films and television pro-grams, browsing blogs that are either from or about the place you plan to visit encourages you not only to learn about your destination, but to dream, providing some concrete details for your mind to latch on to. It may sound counterintuitive, but this building up of positive expectations and excite-ment actually helps our minds smooth over any minor discrepancies if reality doesn’t quite measure up to the fanta-sy. “We’re less likely to be bothered by these little holes if we build up our ex-pectations ahead of time,” Dunn said. “So go ahead and assume it’s going to be wonderful.”

This advice is problematic only if there is a chasm between expectations and reality. But even then, anticipa-tion is still important - because that’s the part of the vacation that you were free to see however you wanted.

Another advantage to delving into relevant books and photos before a trip is that it provides novelty as an antidote to everyday routines. Not only do we build anticipation for the trip, but we also learn something new. We humans adapt quickly to our cir-cumstances, but that also means we get bored easily too. Counteracting adaptation increases happiness, ac-cording to research by scholars includ-ing Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychology professor at the University of Califor-nia, Riverside.

Before a recent trip to Paris I watched classic films and online vid-eos. I reread French history, philoso-phy, fiction and poetry while also combing through fashion, food and technology blogs like Paris by Mouth and Rude Baguette.

Among the most effective meth-ods for increasing happiness is talk-ing with friends about your coming

What A Great Trip! And I’m Not Even There Yet

travels. As happiness scholars attest, being social is a fundamental way to feel happier. I asked friends who lived in, or regularly travelled to, Par-is about the places that had meaning for them. And, as it happens, simply chatting about travel can boost hap-piness. “People like each other better when they talk about experiential purchases,” Dunn said, as opposed to talking about material things.

But what about the joy of remi-niscing? Doesn’t that also create happiness? Researchers say yes, but anticipating the future delivers more happiness than reflecting on the past. One study, by Leaf Van Boven of the University of Colorado at Boulder and Laurence Ashworth of Queen’s University published in The Journal of Experimental Psychology in 2007, found that students felt happier while anticipating a vacation than while reminiscing about the vacation.

Certainly I enjoy reflecting on my time in Paris. But was my pre-trip im-mersion - books, blogs, movies, con-versations - even more pleasurable than looking back over my shoulder?

Oui.

(Stephanie Rosenbloom)

Wish you were on vacation right now? Don’t. Taking a vacation won’t necessarily make you happier. But anticipating it will.

Issue No. 130 Thursday, 29 May 2014 JUMP IN, JUST DON'T

SWALLOW THE WATER'GUT FEELING' THAT FOMENT FEAR

ANA TORRES - CATWALK COLLECTION 2015

2 4 8

A QIM SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT WITH

Bacteria Found In

Healthy Placentas

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, p ywater, an infectious disease expert says.“One of the worst offenders is the kiddie wading

pool,” Dr. Christopher Ohl, professor of infectious diseases at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, saidin a medical centre news release.

“Warm, shallow water and kids in swim diapers(which don’t do a good job of containing faeces) can create a perfect breeding ground for water-borne in-fections even though the water is chlorinated. The best way to prevent young children from getting sick is to keep them from swallowing that water,” he ex-plained.

IfIfIf yyour hhch lililddd hhhas any y tyypep offf gag strointestin llal illllllness,,yoyoy uu shshououldld kkeeeepp p ththee yoyoy unungsgsg teterr ououtt ofof pppoooolsls oorr wawateterr pap krks ffor severall ddaysy , , saidid OOhlhl, , hwho iis allso medidicall

ydirector of communicable diseases for the Forsyth County Health Department in North Carolina.

Here are his other tips for cooling off safely:Try to avoid swallowing water when you’re in pools

or at water parks. Never drink untreated water from springs and streams. It may look clean, but you needto remember that wild animals drink from thosesources and relieve themselves at the same time.

Freshwater streams and lakes can contain lepto-spirosis, a type of bacteria found in mammals’ urine.This infection can cause fever, headache and muscleaches in people, but is usually treatable, Ohl said.

AAAnothhher hhthreat is a rare bbbut dddeadldldly y bbbrain-eatinggamamoeoebaba ccalalleledd NaNaegeggleleririaa fofowlwlererii. IInn orordederr toto rrededucuceeyoyourur rrisisk,k, ddonon’tt jjumumpp fefeetet-fifirsrstt inintoto wwararm,m, sstatagngnanantt ponds. Doing so can push water into the top of yourponds Doing so can push water into the top of yournose, which gives the amoeba an opportunity to getinto your brain.

Infections from bacteria and parasites are less of a problem in salt water, but you should stay out of the ocean if you have a cut or wound that could get infected. You also need to be alert for jellyfish.

“Most people don’t realise that the tentacles of some jellyfish, especially Portuguese man-of-war, canbe 10 to 15 feet long, so keep a safe distance to keepfrom being stung,” Ohl said.

Smoking, decorative contact lenses and laser pointers all pose a threat to your eyes, but sitting too close to the television or computer screen doesn’t, the U.S. Food and

Drug Administration says.

As part of Healthy Vision month in May, the FDA separates fact from fiction when it comes to protecting your eyes.

Many people believe it’s legal to sell decorative contact lens-es without a prescription. However, businesses that adver-tise these contact lenses as cosmetics or sell them without a prescription are breaking the law, the FDA warns.

You need to have an eye doctor assess your eyes and fit all contact lenses, because a poor fit can cause serious eye damage.

You also need to be aware that laser pointers and toys with lasers can cause permanent eye damage.

“A beam shone directly into a person’s eye can injure it in an instant, especially if the laser is a powerful one,” Dan Hewett, health promotion officer at FDA’s Cen-tre for Devices and Radiological Health, said in an agency news release.

Smoking is another threat. It is a major risk factor for a disease called macular degeneration, which destroys sharp, central vision. Other risk factors for macular degeneration include genetics, diet, exposure to bright sunlight, heart disease and high blood pressure.

Using over-the-counter redness-reducing eye drops every day can also put your vision at risk. These drops may initially alleviate eye redness, but continued use may actually cause redness in your eyes, according to the FDA’s Dr. Wiley Chambers. Limit the use of these eye drops to one or two days, he recommended.

The good news is that sitting too close to the television, computer monitor or movie the-atre screen won’t cause eye damage. Your eyes may feel tired after spending a lot of time in front of the TV or computer, but that can be remedied by giving your eyes a rest.

The FDA also says that eating lots of carrots is good for your eyes. The same is true for other dark-coloured fruits and vegetables, such as peas and broc-coli. And eating a healthy diet reduces your risk of type 2 diabetes, the lead-ing cause of blindness in American adults.

(HealthDay News)

The am-n i o t i c sac in

which a foetus grows is a sterile environment,

but the placenta - an or-gan the foetus shares with the

mother - is home to a bacterial community.

The placenta, long thought to be ster-ile, is home to a bacterial community similar

to the one found in the mouth, researchers re-port today. The microbes are generally non-path-

ogenic, but according to the authors of the study, variations in their composition could be at the root of

common but poorly understood pregnancy disorders such as preterm birth, which occurs in one out of every ten pregnan-

cies.In 2012, Kjersti Aagaard, an obstetrician at Baylor College of Medi-

cine in Houston, and her collaborators found that the most abundant microbes in an expectant mother’s vagina were different from those in a non-pregnant woman, but were not generally representative of those that were most common in the stool of an infant in its first week of life. To investigate where these microbes were coming from, the team decided to examine the placenta.

In the new study, the researchers took samples of placental tissue from 320 women just after delivery, extracted DNA from the tissue

and sequenced it. They found that the weight of

the mother or whether she gave birth by caesarean or vaginally did

not seem to change the makeup of the placental microbiome. But, Aagaard says,

the bacterial community “was different among women who either experienced a preterm birth or

had a much earlier infection, such as a urinary tract infection - even if that infection was treated and cured many months or weeks previously”. Their find-ings were published recently in Science Translational Medicine.

The researchers also compared the placental microbi-omes to those found in the vagina, gut, mouth and on the skin of non-pregnant women. They found that the placental microbiome was most similar to that of the mouth. The authors speculate that the microbes travel to the placenta from the mouth via the blood. The results re-inforce data suggesting a link between periodontal disease in the mother and the risk of preterm birth, says Aagaard.

“This is the first study to show that even in normal preg-nancy there is a specific microbiome associated with normal placentation,” says George Saade, an obstetrician at the Uni-versity of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, who was not involved in the work.

Roberto Romero, who is program director for perinatal re-search and obstetrics at the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, says that the bacteria the team identified could be from maternal blood rather than being part of a microbial community that lives in the placenta. How-ever Antonio Frias, an obstetrician at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland who was not involved in the study, says the researchers collected the samples “in a fashion that minimised the risk of potential contamination”.

The team is now studying how women’s microbial communities change during pregnancy. The aim is to identify women at risk of preterm birth, and develop ways to prevent it or deal with its compli-cations in newborns - possibly by using dietary changes to enhance the healthy microbes in the placenta, vagina or the mouth and gut.

Guard Your Good Vision, Experts Say

Jump In, Just Don’t Swallow The Water

2 Thursday, 29 May 2014

AskMartha

Fine Living

Handmade Fabric Jewellery

Storing FabricQ: How should I store fabric?

A: First, be certain that the cloth is clean before storing it. Then, wrap it around cardboard tubes that have been covered with acid-free tissue paper or muslin. (Find the tubes at fabric stores, or save those that come with wrapping paper.) Wrap another layer of tissue paper or muslin around the top of the cloth. Folding fabric and placing it in acid-free boxes is another option, though this will create creases that will have to be ironed later. Tape swatches to rolls or boxes so that you can find what you’re looking for easily. Never keep fabric in plastic bags or containers, and do not let cloth come in direct contact with wooden shelves. Choose a ventilated spot with a consistent temperature; avoid the attic, basement, and garage, where extreme temperatures, humidity, dirt, and dust can affect the quality of fabric.

Choosing The Right Cutting BoardQ: What type of cutting board do you recommend?

A: Ideally, you should have more than one type of board, since different uses call for different materials. Sturdy hardwood and bamboo boards are tough, don’t knife-scar easily and are great for daily use. But they can hold in odours and bacteria, so designate a few plastic boards for foods like onions and garlic,

and ingredients that may contain bacteria, such as raw meat and fish. (Wash the boards with dish soap thoroughly after using them.) Avoid glasslike plastic, which can dull your knife.

Keeping Fido From Digging Up Your GardenQ: How can I stop my dog from digging up plants in the garden?

A: If your pet is eating plants, it could be a sign of a nutrient imbalance, so schedule a visit to the vet. Most likely, though, this mischievous behaviour is a sign of boredom. Redirect your dog to another activity, like a game of fetch, says Kirsten Theisen,

director of pet-care issues at the Humane Society of the United States. And make the garden a less desirable spot to dig in by placing flat rocks around plants and spraying the area with a mix of water and lemon juice (most dogs dislike citrus scents).

Preserving Flowers and LeavesQ: What method do you prefer for pressing flowers and leaves? What types of plants do you recommend I use?

A: Position the flowers on top of a piece of acid-free blotting paper in a store-bought flower press. Put a piece of paper and the cardboard on top, close the press and tighten the belts around it. If you don’t have a press, put the clippings between two pieces of acid-free newsprint inside a heavy book, with more books stacked on top. Dry for at least a few

days. Flowers or leaves that aren’t too thick, such as daisies or lavender, work best.

Kitchen Tip: For perfectly golden-brown pancakes, rub only a thin coat of oil, not butter, on a hot griddle so they don’t stick. (Too much and the cakes will fry.) They are ready to flip when you see bubbles form and the edges have set.

You can easily make these stunning pieces of jewellery with silk, felt, cotton, and leather.

Braided Dupioni Silk Necklace

Make a beautiful fringed necklace by braiding soft dupioni silk in sherbet shades.

Dupioni silk in sherbet shades has a lovely lustre. When you tear the fabric into strips, it frays, giving this braided necklace a soft, fringed look.

Materials:

• Dupioni silk

Steps:

1. Rip dupioni silk into 1-inch-wide strips; 1/2 yard makes 3 necklaces.

2. Knot ends of 3 strips, and braid. When you get to the end, hand-stitch additional fabric strips onto the first 3 (stagger the new additions if possible to disguise the seams).

3. Continue braiding to the desired length (our necklaces are as long as 60 inches), and knot. Knot ends together to make a loop.

Blooming RingsThese easy-to-make fabric flower bands are always in season. Materials:

• Fabric flowers

• Ribbon

• Hot-glue gun

Steps:

1. Start by snipping fabric flowers, such as the vintage ones shown here, from their stems.

2. Wrap ribbon around your finger to determine the approximate length you’ll need; cut ribbon to size, adding about 1/4 inch for overlap.

3. Use a hot-glue gun to join ends together,

forming a loop, and to add flowers to ribbon bands.

T-Shirt NecklaceTurn an old cotton T-shirt into a piece of wearable art using just a ruler and scissors.Materials:

• Soft cotton T-shirt

• Ruler

• Scissors or rotary cutter

Steps:

1. Lay the shirt on a flat surface; cut off the hem and discard. Then cut the body of the shirt horizontally into strips approximately 3/4 of an inch long. (They will actually be loops.)

2. One at a time, pull the loops open and stretch until the fabric starts to curl. Stack the loops on top of one another so that all the T-shirt side seams are in the same spot.

3. Once you have the thickness you desire, wrap the seams with a scrap piece of fabric (about 6 inches long) from the same shirt. Tuck the end of the scrap under itself.

Curios Cluster Necklace

The carefree cool of this anything-goes necklace extends to how you wear it. Tie the bow in the back or off to the side for a funkier finish.

Stitching on all the elements isn’t difficult, but it takes a little patience.

Materials:

• large crescent template

• Small crescent template

• Lightweight gauzy linen

• Heavyweight linen

• Embellishments, such as beads

• Digital camera

• Beading needle, sewing needle, and polyester thread

• Magna-Tac glue

• Two 20-inch ribbons for ties

Steps:

1. For the backing, print the two crescent templates. Use larger template to cut a crescent of lightweight linen.

2. Use smaller template to cut a crescent of heavyweight linen.

3. Starting with bigger items, arrange embellishments as desired on smaller linen crescent. When pleased with the placement, take photos to record the sequence. With the photos as a guide, use beading needle to stitch the larger pieces in place on the fabric. Next, layer in the smaller pieces, filling in crevices.

4. When all elements are stitched on, glue 1 ribbon to the back of each end of the fabric for ties. Glue plain, larger linen crescent to the adorned one as a backing. Let dry. Secure the base of the ribbon ties with a few stitches. Place completed piece, backing-side down, on a scratch-proof surface; use sewing needle to gently fray the edges of both fabrics for a softly fringed effect.

Storing Fabric, Choosing A Cutting Board & More

3Thursday, 29 May 2014

'Gut feeling' that foment fear

The magic of a gentle touch

| Vinodh K.Pisharom |

Faced with an eerie or intimidating situation, most of us would have felt that uncomfortable feeling in

our stomach. Such a ‘gut feeling’ or ‘gut instinct’, often forewarns about a fearful situation we are to face. This intuitive feel-ing has been the subject of study by a group

of researchers at ETH Zurich, who proved for the first time that our ‘gut instinct’ has a significant impact on how we react to fear.

Our heart beats faster and the stomach ties itself in knots while walking through an

unlit, deserted car park at night, or hearing footsteps in the gloom. While the brain has been viewed as the centre of all emotions, we often feel the threat in our stomachs. These researchers were trying to get to the bottom of this proverbial gut instinct.

It’s true that the brain controls the processes in our abdominal cavity, but the stomach also sends back signals back to the brain through the ‘Vagus’ nerve, which establishes a two-way dialogue. Brain communicates with the internal organs through the ‘efferent’ nerves and the stomach communicates with the brain through the ‘afferent’ nerves.

Urs Meyer, a member of staff in the Laboratory of Physiology & Behaviour at ETH Zurich cut the afferent nerve fibres in rats and turned this two-way communication into a one-way street, enabling the researchers to get to the bottom of the role played by gut instinct. They found that the brain was still able to control processes in the abdomen of the rats, but no longer received any signals from the other direction.

Less fear without gut instinctThese rats, with the communication from the gut to the brain cut, were

found less wary of open spaces and bright lights compared with controlled rats with an intact vagus nerve. “The innate response to fear appears to be influ-enced significantly by signals sent from the stomach to the brain,” says Meyer. Nevertheless, the loss of their gut instinct did not make the rats completely fearless: the situation for learned fear behaviour just looked different.

Continuing with the experiments, the researchers taught the rats to link a neutral acoustic stimulus to an unpleasant experience. In this case, the im-paired signal path between the stomach and the brain seemed to play no role

at all. The test rats and normal rats behaved the same to such a stimulus. However, when the re-searchers switched the negative stimulus with a neutral stimulus, the test rats without the gut instinct took longer to associate the new sound to a neutral situation. This finding also fits with the results of a recently published study con-ducted by other researchers, which found that stimulation of the vagus nerve facilitates re-learning.

Incidentally, these findings are of interest to the field of psychiatry. The post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), for example, is linked to the association of neutral stimuli with fear trig-gered by extreme experiences. People with PSTD could be helped by stimulating their vagus nerve to associate the triggering stimuli with neutral experiences instead of fearful ones. Vagus nerve stimulation is already used today to treat epilepsy and, in some cases, depression.

Stomach influences signalling in the brain

“A lower level of innate fear, but a longer retention of learned fear -- this may sound contradictory,” says Meyer. However, innate and conditioned fear are two different be-havioural domains in which different signalling systems in the brain are involved. On closer investigation of the rats’ brains, the researchers found that the loss of signals from the abdomen changes the production of certain signalling sub-stances, so called neurotransmitters, in the brain.

Through their experiments, the researchers were able to show for the first time that the selective interruption of the signal path from the stomach to the brain changed complex be-havioural patterns, which traditionally have been attributed to the brain alone. The study shows clearly that the stomach also has a say in how we respond to fear; however, what it says, i.e. precisely what it signals, is not yet clear. The researchers hope, however, that they will be able to further clarify the role of the vagus nerve and the dialogue between brain and body in future studies.

We often undermine the magic of a gentle touch or caress while communicating with others and remain uninformed about the fundamental role they play in our lives as a social being.

| Vinodh K.Pisharom |

A touch sure invokes a sensation or awareness, but at times it also involves an emotion. While picking a spoon or something you have dropped, you may not

feel any real emotion. But when you feel a gentle caress it may often involve an emotion.

A set of slow conducting nerves in the skin is said to re-spond to such a gentle touch and evoke emotions. Research-ers, using scientific techniques, are beginning to character-ise these nerves and describe the fundamental role they play in our lives as a social being – from a nurturing touch to an infant to a reassuring pat on the back. Their work also suggests that this soft touch wiring may go awry in disor-ders such as autism.

C-tactile afferents (CTs) are the nerves that respond to a gentle touch. They are similar to the nerves that detect pain, but serve opposite functions: they relay events that are neither threatening nor tissue-damaging but are instead rewarding and pleasant.

“The evolutionary significance of such a system for a so-cial species is yet to be fully determined,” says first author Francis McGlone, PhD, of Liverpool John Moores Univer-sity in England. “But recent research is finding that people on the autistic spectrum do not process emotional touch normally, leading us to hypothesize that a failure of the CT system during neurodevelopment may impact adversely on the functioning of the social brain and the sense of self.”

It has been observed that for some individuals with au-tism, the light touch of certain fabrics in clothing can cause

distress. Temple Grandin, an activist and assistant profes-sor of animal sciences at Colorado State University, as an individual with autism, has written extensively on her experiences. She attributes her lack of empathy in social situations partially to the lack of “comforting tactual input.

Deficits in nurturing touch during early life could have negative effects on a range of behaviors and psychological states later in life, says professor McGlone.

Autistic patients and individuals, who lacked adequate nurturing touch as children, may ben-efit from therapies to be developed by the re-searchers in the near future. Also, a better un-derstanding of how nerves that relay rewarding sensations interact with those that signal pain could provide insights into new treatments for certain types of pain.

It is very important to possess an emotion-al touch system in the skin for our well-being and survival along with a system of nerves that protect us from harm. “In a world where human touch is becoming more and more of a rarity with the ubiquitous increase in social media leading to non-touch-based commu-nication, and the decreasing opportunity for infants to experience enough nurturing touch from a care-giver or parent due to the eco-nomic pressures of modern living, it is becom-ing more important to recognize just how vital emotional touch is to all humankind.”

Fear• The only thing you have to fear is fear

itself.

• Fears are not caused by one, big, scary event. Fears develop through a complex mix of genetics and environ-ment.

• Certain fears are universal across cultures. Early in childhood, fear of strangers and fear of separation are common. The next stage is fears of

In adolescence, fears center on social experiences, such as humiliation in front of peers. Adults have more ab-

• Individuals with anxiety disorders ex-perience normal fear responses to scary situations.

• By avoiding fear, it gets stronger. Whatever you resist will persist.

• Without fear you couldn’t survive a sin-

off buildings, touch electric wires, -

there’s a real threat.

• Fear can be learned and unlearned. No matter if your fear is archaic or learned, your brain is able to unlearn it. That’s why behavioural therapy can be so powerful to overcome fear.

4 Thursday, 29 May 2014

There are few things more stressful

delays - whether you’re the one traveling or the one picking someone up from the airport. We’ve all gotten used to plugging and chugging info into an airline’s

most up-to-date

that doesn’t really give you an accurate picture of exactly what is going on in the skies.Here are some of our

stalking that actually make

sometimes even more fun.

Technology

Never Miss Your

Flight Again:

The 4 Best Apps

to Track Planes

Trip Tracker (iOS /

Android)

(Cost: Free)

What it does: We love that this app has

an “automagic” option. Just enter your fre-

quent-flyer number and it will “know” when

you are traveling and start tracking the flight

for you. This functionality is perfect for the

lazy traveller. Like most tracker apps, it deliv-

ers up-to-the-minute itinerary push alerts. It

will also “automagically” and manually help

you search for the best rates on hotel and car

rentals nearby.

GateGuru

(Cost: Free)

What it does: GateGuru has all the flight-tracker basics

(sweet and simple), but once you input your itinerary it con-

nects all the dots — telling you where to check in, what the

weather is like, estimated security wait times, and what ameni-

ties are available for your specific terminal, along with a help-

ful starred ratings system. Beware: Some of the crowd sourced

user comments are helpful and some are just noise, but it’s still

better than nothing. (Jo Piazza-yahoo.com/tech)

FlightAware

(Cost: Free)

What it does: Want a bare-bones flight tracker, free of bells and

whistles? FlightAware is your app. Tell it an aircraft number, and it

tracks it for you. Easy peasy. It also provides push notifications for

flight departure/arrival info, as well as cancellations, gate changes,

delays, and diversions. You want basic; this is it. Fair warning, the ads

can become a little distracting.

FlightRadar24

(Cost: $2.99)

What it does: This is, hands down, the best tracker for flight nerds.

This app actually turns your phone into an air-traffic radar system

that lets you see planes as they move in real time on a detailed map.

The app allows you to identify planes flying overhead just by pointing

your phone at the sky (with GPS enabled on your phone this works

about two-thirds of the time … which feels like a win). It is also easy

to search for individual flights using flight number, airport, or airline.

A motorised skateboard—an idea so bone-headed-ly simple, it makes you wonder why these things aren’t everywhere already.

Turns out, the design problems involved in mount-ing an adequately powerful motor and its battery onto a slim slab of wood are not easily solved. It took the crew at Boosted Boards several years of experimenta-tion with a series of decreasingly dangerous prototypes to get this particular board rolling.

And roll it does. Twin brushless motors sit at the back, where they spin the rear wheels by means of dual carbon belts—the same kind used in motorcycles and e-bikes. The motors get their juice from a 40-volt lithi-

um ion phosphate battery mounted beneath the front of the board just behind the front trucks. The battery at front is connected to the motor in the back by means of a flat cable that runs the length of the bamboo deck. This makes for a cool visual detail—you can just barely make out a series of longitudinal ridges under the grip tape.

Speed is controlled with a hand-held remote. It has a dead-man trigger under your index finger and a back-to-front, spring-loaded throttle rocker under your thumb. Push the throttle forward to go. Push backwards to slow down and stop. Another neat detail: When you’re slowing down, the motor regeneratively charges the battery.

It’ll carry at least 250 pounds. I weigh 240, and I felt like the acceleration was pretty good when I tested it. I also had no problems going up and down modest hills. Anyway, it’s the deceleration that really takes some getting used to—you learn to bend your knees and lower your centre of gravity before engaging the reverse drive. Otherwise, you’ll tip off of it. Top speed is 20 mph. There’s a governor on it, so it can prob-ably go much faster, but 20 feels pretty damn fast. In most situations, I was comfortable cruising at closer

to half that speed. It’s not as manoeuvrable as a regu-lar street-style skateboard—there’s no kick tail, so you can’t kick-turn. It takes some practice, but it sure is a blast.

The range is roughly six miles, depending on hills and how much of a fat-ass you are. Of course, you can always just push it like a regular longboard, so you can’t get stranded when the motor runs out. In all, it’s a very fun, freeing vehicle and an excellent way of getting around town if you’ve got to go a few miles and you’re not a bike per-son (or a Segway person).

It’s also pricey. Each board costs $2,000. And that’s the other big reason you don’t see motorised skateboards everywhere: The good old non-motorised version of the same thing costs about 20 times less. But if you want to roll into the battery-powered future, you can pre-order one on the company’s website.

(Michael Calore- wired.com)

Google ‘Poised To

Produce 3D Imaging Tablet’

The Electric Skate-board of the Future Has Finally Arrived

A tablet computer capable of taking

3D images is set to be put into

production by Google,

according to

reports.

The Wall Street Journal quoted sources close to the company as saying a run of 4,000 devices will be man-ufactured next month.

The tablet will have two rear-facing cameras and ad-vanced imaging software - and will be shown off at the firm’s forthcoming developers’ conference.

Google has said it will not comment on “rumour and speculation”.

But in March, Google showed off Project Tango, an effort to bring 3D technology to its handheld devices. A prototype smartphone had been given out to 200 developers to try out.

The technology makes use of infrared sensors to measure depth of surroundings.

While the ability to create 3D images with small devices is by no means a new technological feat, Google’s strategy will be to harness the hardware to contribute to, among other things, its mapping effort.

For instance, the devices could be used to create quickly a 3D map of indoor environments.

Virtual reality raceAccording to the Wall Street Journal, the 3D tablet will

be shown off at Google’s annual developers’ conference at the end of June.

As it did with the Google Glass eyewear product, it is ex-pected the firm will allow a select number of developers and engineers to experiment with the technology before a con-sumer launch is planned.

Although still a relatively minor industry, the race to cre-ate the “killer app” for building and viewing virtual reality environments is building apace.

In March, Facebook swooped in on a $2bn (£1.2bn) deal for Oculus VR, a company making a virtual reality headset.

A mini-site for Project Tango has highlighted a few of the firm’s plans in the area.

“Project Tango is an attempt to create a mobile de-vice unlike like any other,” the site explains.

“A mobile device that shares our sense of space and movement, that understands and perceives

the world the same way we do.”

In the past few years, devices able to view and create 3D images have made it to market,

but suffered heavily from a lack of consumer interest, said Jack Kent, an analyst at IHS.

“If Google really pushes it, that might change the dynamics of the market,” he

told the BBC.

(Courtesy: bbc.com)

5Thursday, 29 May 2014

Fresh Orange and Yogurt Tart

IIngredients:• 1 quart homemade yogurt or store-

bought plain low-fat yogurt• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh

chives• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf

parsley leaves• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground white

pepper, or more to taste• Carrots and endive, trimmed, for

crudités• Baguette slices, for serving

Cook’s NoteParty Trick: Turn yogurt into a soft,Boursin like spread by draining it to Boursin-like spread by draining it to

thicken and then adding garlic and freshherbs.

Directions:• Fold a large piece of cheesecloth twice

to form a 4-layer, roughly 18-inchsquare. Place in a sieve set over a large

bowl, and spoon yogurt into centre.Gathering the 4 corners, tie a piece of kitchen twine just above yogurt to

form a tight bundle. Let yogurt (still insieve over bowl) drain in refrigerator at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.

• Cut open cheesecloth. Transfer yogurtcheese to a bowl; set whey aside for

another use. Stir chives, parsley,garlic, salt, and pepper into yogurtcheese. Serve with crudités and bread.cheese. Serve with crudités and bread.

Ingredients:• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room

temperature• 1 cup granulated sugar• 3 large eggs, room temperature• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract• 2 cups all-purpose flour• 2 teaspoons baking powder• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt• 1 cup fat-free Greek yogurt• 1/4 cup honey• Orange supremes, for garnish• Toasted walnuts, for garnish

Directions:• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack

in middle position. Butter andflour a 9-by-3-inch springformpan. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle

attachment, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Beat in vanilla extract.

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, bakingpowder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl,stir together yogurt and honey. Alternately addflour mixture and yogurt to stand mixer bowl in three additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

• Transfer batter to prepared pan, smooth top, and bake until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into centre of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.

• Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes. Transfer cake to wire rack to cool

completely. Slice and serve with orange

supremes andwalnuts.

Ingredients:• 2 cups plain low-fat Greek yogurt• 2/3 cup heavy cream• 2 tablespoons honey• 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest• 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh pineapple• Sliced dried fruits, such as papayas, plums,

and strawberries, for serving• Shaved coconut or unsweetened shredded

coconut, toasted, for serving• Freshly grated nutmeg, for serving

(optional)

Cook’s Note:To toast the shaved coconut, spread it on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer andbake at 350 degrees until golden, about 5 minutes. Keep a watchful eye on it, as coconut burns easily.

Directions:• Whisk together yogurt, cream, honey, and

zest in a bowl until mixture thickens andholds soft peaks.

• Divide half of pineapple evenly among 8serving bowls. Top with yogurt mixture, then remaining pineapple, dividing evenly.Sprinkle with dried fruits, coconut, andnutmeg and serve.

Ingredients:• 1 1/2 cups Easy Strawberry Jam• 2 cups low-fat Greek yogurt

Directions:• Fold jam into yogurt. Fill ice-pop moulds and freeze

until firm, at least 6 hours; store for up to 3 days.

Ingredients:• 1/2 cup raw

almonds• 1/4 cup granulated sugar• Coarse salt• 1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and

levelled)• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted

butter• 2 teaspoons powdered gelatine (from

a 1/4-ounce packet)• 1/2 cup half-and-half• 1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt (2

percent)• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar• 3 medium navel oranges

Directions:• In a food processor, pulse almonds,

granulated sugar, and 1/2 teaspoonsalt until finely ground. Add flour;pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture is crumbly and holds together when squeezed. Press crumbs in bottom and up sideof an 8-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Freeze 15

minutes. (To store, cover and freeze, up to 1 month.)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place tart pan on a

rimmed baking sheet and bake untilcrust is golden brown and set, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack 10 minutes, then remove tart ring and let cool completely.

• In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatine over 2 tablespoons cold water and let stand 5 minutes. In a small saucepan,warm half-and-half over medium.When it begins to steam, add gelatine mixture and stir until dissolved,about 1 minute. In a medium bowl,whisk together yogurt, brown sugar,and pinch of salt. Stir warm half-and-half mixture into yogurt mixture. Pour filling into cooled tart shell andrefrigerate until set, 2 hours (or up to 1 day).

• With a sharp paring knife, slice off ends of oranges. Following curveof fruit, cut away peel, removing as much white pith as possible. Sliceoranges into 1/4-inch-thick rounds and remove any seeds. Just before serving, arrange orange slices on top of tart.

EverydayFood:DELICIOUS IDEAS FOR PLAIN YOGURT

Life Style

You probably already know plain yogurt topped with fruit and honey is delicious. But did you know the dairy staple also tastes delightful with garlic-herb as a dip or when used as a filling for a tart, or that it can be added to cake batter? Here, 5 ways to gussy up your plain yogurt.

Greek Yogurt Cake

Frozen Yogurt Pops

Whipped Yogurt with Pineapple and Dried Fruit

Garlic-Herb Yogurt Cheese

6 Thursday, 29 May 2014

Beauty

2014 Bridal Collection from Essie

Bobbi Brown Surf & Sand Collection – Summer 2014

Laura Mercier Bonne Mine Face Stick Colours and Body Bronzer

Get ready for some fabulous fun in the sun as L’Oreal Professionnel rolls out

its IT LOOKS for Spring Summer 2014! The latest in

the brand’s “IT” concept that was established last year, every

season “IT LOOKs” acquires its inspiration from the most recent

and important fashion shows, the world’s most snapped celebrities and

street style ambassadors. IT Looks are the hottest total looks of the moment that perfectly complement your IT bag

charming trendsetters who have been selected to model the diverse

aspects of the latest collection – fun and playful fashionista

Poppy Delevingne, iconic singer Pixie Geldof,

enticing Spanish model Malena Costa and

chic rock Chinese actress and style

icon, Chen Ran!

perfect nail colour is essential for thehappy occasion. From the prettiest blue, to the most delicate sheer –

radiant shades. Refreshing bridal colours are not only perfect for the wedding day itself.

Bobbi Brown Surf & Sand Summer 2014 Collection makes you think of an instant holiday. This new makeup line features the ultimate summer beauty essentials

The collection includes: Surf Eye Palette, which is perfect for a day look at the pool, Sand Eye Palette, that can be used for an evening look or for the party that

Beach Rollerball Fragrance and Brightening Blush.

The shades are: Bronze Glow, Peach Glow, Coral Glow and Pink Glow. According to Laura Mercier, these should give

look, just a beautiful glowing skin. And who doesn’t want that?

1 Million Has been charming, fascinating and provoking since 2008. A cocktail of insolence and elegance, its life is a fantasy. The secrets of its success? It’s devastating charisma, irresistible sense of humor, and

becomes reality.This collector’s edition exalts 1 Million Eau de Toilette’s legendary fragrance. This fresh spicy leather scent combines top notes of grapefruit, mint and blood mandarin to create a sparking and luminous cocktail. Rose absolute and cinnamon deliver intensity and virility at the heart. Last but

blond leather, white wood, amber and patchouli makes this fragrance a sensual and irresistible blend.

Paco Rabanne1 Million $

yy

L'oreal Professionnel's Spring Summer 2014 IT LOOKS

NEW BEAUTY PRODUCTS TO TRYRevamping your beauty routine has never been easier with a cool new class of fresh products on the shelves.

Try out some of the best new products this summer, listed below:

Volume 1 Seconde MascaraMaxi Volume From Every Angle

With Volume 1 seconde mascara, the range of exceptional Bourjois mascaras continues: more innovative and more impressive than ever.Volume in an instant! • IMMEDIATE COATING • 16 HOUR HOLD• EASY TO REMOVE

MAKE UP TIP… Firstly, apply to the top lashes and then the lower ones: the “blow dry” brush on Volume 1 seconde mascara lends itself particularly well

7Thursday, 29 May 2014

ANA TORRESCATWALK COLLECTION 2015

Send your feedback and suggestions to bloom@qimqatar.com • Tel : 40002155, Fax : 40002235

The chromatic symbiosis between the sky and the earth are the inspiration behind the new collection by Cordoban designer Ana Torres for Spring-Summer 2015 at Barcelona Bridal Week 2014.

Ana Torres Semi Stitched Ana Torres bridal Collection is fab-ricated with printed designs as well as embroidery work. Each design is unique and extraor-dinarily beautiful. Beautiful colour scheme is utilised to en-hance the beauty of this Ana Torres bridal collection. All colors are pretty and unique.

Ana Torres’ collections are aimed at the modern woman. Her designs are devised to make women feel comfortable in a stylish, sophisticated look, always using the highest qual-ity materials; all to ensure that the wearer stands out for her beauty and distinction.

8 Thursday, 29 May 2014