Sitting Through a Movie in Comfort

Everyone loves a great movie. Whether it’s watching Tom Cruise hang from a building or a new rom-com, movies are a nice diversion from the daily grind (if only for a couple of hours), a place to stay cool on hot summer days, and usually provide pure, unadulterated enjoyment.

To make the experience even more pleasant, theaters are now boasting reserved seating, fancier fare than your standard tub of popcorn and soda, and best of all, beer, wine and cocktails—all for a high-end price.

The rise of “dine-in” theaters aims to put the traditional dinner-and-a-movie all in the same place, instead of rushing from one venue to another.

“It’s a way for theater owners to capture that revenue and keep it there instead of seeing it go down the mall,” Patrick Corcoran, vice president and chief communications officer for the National Association of Theatre Owners, told USA Today in an interview.

However, even with all the bells and whistles that are part and parcel of many movie theaters, there are still things you may want to bring to ensure your experience is that much more pleasurable while you watch your favorite flick.

    • Dress in layers. Movie theaters tend to get cold (which is why they’re a great place to go in the summer), so bringing a long-sleeve shirt, or light sweater or jacket, is never a bad idea. You can also forgo it if the theater temperature suits you.

    • Silence your phone. Out of respect to those around you, set your phone to vibrate, or better yet, turn it off completely. This way, you won’t be tempted to see if anyone has texted or called you.

    • Shush. While you may have your thoughts on any given movie or scene, or want to opine with your date about whodunit, keep the chit-chat to a minimum. Even over the superior sound systems used in movie theaters today, voices still carry.

#Cinema #CreativeArts #ArtsampEntertainment #Movies #TheatreArts

Protect Your Family With Encryption

It is one of those items on your perpetual to-do list that never seems to quite get done. You mean to, but encrypting your personal information to keep it safe, seems to fall hopelessly into that chasm between, “I’ll do it later,” and “Surely, it’ll never happen to me.”

And yet, if statistics are to be believed, the need to protect your data has never been more paramount.

Think about it: how many times do you swipe your card at a counter, fill out an online form or proffer your e-mail address, or even enter your user name and password on any given website? Each time you do, you are opening yourself up to the opportunity of having your information stolen.

Among veterans of the cyber security wars, it is widely assumed that “100 percent” of Fortune 500 companies have been hacked at some point, Robert E. Lee, a security business partner at Intuit told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution in an interview.

The good news is that there is something you can do to keep your and your family’s information safe and secure that is relatively simple and cost-efficient at the same time.

The Gabriel app, available at the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, was designed and built with personal privacy and security as its foundation by VirnetX, an Internet security software and technology company.

For only $50 per year per five users, family members are assured that their communications — when they talk, video, chat, text, email, or share photos or documents — are safe and secure.

No one will be able to see, hear, or intercept your communications other than the party you are in contact with because Gabriel does not transmit or store its data with any third party — not even VirnetX. It is person-to-person, end-to-end encryption that all but eliminates opportunities for hackers.

Other benefits include: * Making free voice or video calls or sending IMs (instant messages) to other Gabriel members. * Receiving spamless email. * Sharing pictures or files that are immune to interception.

For more information, or to download Gabriel, visit www.gabrielsecure.com.

#CreativeHomeRemedies #Home #HomeSolutions

Seek to Know More: How Your Smartphone Can Save You Money

It seems as if there is nothing a smartphone can’t do these days. It can get you where you want to go (most of the time), you can make reservations at your favorite restaurant, and now you can use it to detect whether your home is leaking energy or water.

Thermal imaging, a once-costly technology, available only to the military and police or firefighters, is now just a finger-swipe away with the right attachment to your smartphone, thanks to Seek Thermal, a California-based technology company.

The way it works is this: the Seek Compact Camera (which is smaller than a credit card swiper for your phone) attaches to your smartphone, turning it into a thermal imager that can then identify hot and cold spots in your house.

After downloading a free app, the camera begins working in seconds and homeowners can then easily spot energy loss in the home caused by air leaks, missing or damaged insulation, insufficient HVAC or poor construction. In addition, the thermal imaging camera can also find water in roofs, walls, doors, and window frames.

According to one user who tested the Seek camera at the end of winter in his own home, the results were “stunning.”

“Within minutes, I was able to detect sources of heat leaking out of my house,” he says. “Some of these places are easy to fix, while others would be quite difficult.”

For professional contractors, the Seek CompactPRO is a must-have because the camera has enough sensitivity to locate radiant heating pipes under concrete slabs, identify unsealed insulation gaps in roofs, walls, and door and window frames, and find out how far water has spread in the case of a leak.

Thinking of buying a home? This little jewel could save you all kinds of unexpected surprises in the form of water leaks in the basement and behind finished walls, and roof leaks that may have been painted over by a homeowner trying to disguise a problem.

To protect your investment (both the camera and your phone), the Seek Compact has a compatible module for the OtterBox uniVERSE Case System.

The smartphone attachment is designed to work with both iPhone and Android top models.

#CreativeHomeRemedies #InnovativeSolutions #TheRemedyRoom