Health

Photo: Malikov Aleksandr (Shutterstock)Exercise is so weird. We have to block off time, put on special clothes, and invest in expensive equipment or a gym membership just so we can possibly live long enough to see a colony on Mars. But the benefits of regular exercise are compelling, so most of us make at least some effort to stay fit, and with so many of us still working from home at least some of the time, the home gym remains a pretty popular option.All that effort results in a healthier you, so it’s not wasted time—and yet your workout could be a more efficient experience. For one thing, you could be reading or even doing your job while pedaling an exercise bike. For another, you could make your home gym a more sustainable one by generating electricity while you work out.Power-generati...

Photo: Chendongshan (Shutterstock)Amazon’s fall Prime Day isn’t just for people; your dog and cat friends can enjoy bargain prices, as well. Whether you want to hook Mittens up with a self-cleaning litter box or find out about Bandit’s distant ancestors, there’s a consumer product for you, available at a low(er) price, for a limited time.Photo: AmazonThis highly rated Amazon automatic electronic pet feeder can change your pet’s life—and yours. It helps prevent gorging and gluttony by timing each portion to your specifications, dispensing dry and semi-moist food six times a day. The precise timer guarantees that lunch will be served right on time, every time. All that for only $32.48 (was $39.99). Photo: AmazonYour purring pal will feel like the queen of the house when you gift them this Ca...

When you have a lot of work to do, a short attention span can be disastrous to your productivity. So instead of fighting it, you can use it to your advantage by working in “sprints” rather than trying for a marathon session. Like the Pomodoro technique, the sprints method has you work in a series of shorter bursts, so you can get your tasks done without your attention or productivity lagging. Here’s how to try it out..When using the sprints method, you’ll be doing short bursts of work with breaks in between. That’s really all it is, but since taking breaks is fundamental to being truly productive, it’s effective. Though, as noted, the sprints method has some elements in common with the popular Pomodoro method—which sees you work in tightly timed bursts interspersed with breaks that are als...

When looking into buying a new laptop, it’s isn’t just about Mac vs. PC. Consider the Chromebook: It’s a great option for anyone looking for an inexpensive and light notebook. They’re already much cheaper than comparable Windows laptops, and then there’s the October Prime Day sales to make the deals even more compelling. You’ll find many different styles of Chromebooks on sale today and tomorrow—some with spinning screens and some with Qualcomm AMR processors. I’ve listed some interesting deals below, but I want to highlight the Asus C425 Chromebook in particular.The Chromebook retails for $329.99, but after a 32% discount, you can get it for just $224.99. With it, you get an Intel Core m3 processor, 128GB eMMC drive, 4GB RAM, a 14-inch Full-HD touchscreen display, two USB-C ports, one USB...

The streets in my neighborhood are dotted with piles of wood chips every few houses, as everyone prepares for “the wintering.” Me, too—I always try to make sure I get a Chip Drop this time of year; four yards of fresh maple were dropped last week in a giant pile in front of my house. Now is the perfect time to get a wood chip delivery, and understanding how wood chips work as mulch will help you understand why.Wood chips break down into rich, well-aerated compost over time, full of worms and mycellium, and improve any soil they are added to once they’ve composted. Before they break down, they make an excellent base for a walkway, and as such, are what I use between all my beds. Unlike grass or clover, chips are still highly walkable even in the wettest of weather, and you don’t really dama...

Photo: Jason Finn (Shutterstock)Existence is precarious. There are so many ways the universe can ruin your day that it’s actually incredible any of us make it from morning to bedtime in one piece. At least we have agency and sentience, the ability to identify threats and take steps to avoid problems. Our houses, being inanimate collections of lumber, nails, and tasteful decorations, have no such ability.That means it’s up to us. You can’t go through your days assuming that if nothing is actively burning your house is doing just fine; threats to your well-being and your pocketbook often brew for a long time in silence and darkness, waiting to ruin your day at the precise moment when it can do the most harm. Your best defense is to go on offense and inspect crucial aspects of your house on a...

Image: SeagateAmazon’s Prime Big Deal Days don’t have a lot to offer gamers, but Xbox players will want to take advantage of this one: Right now, you can get $90 off a 1TB Xbox expansion SSD from Seagate. This external hard drive typically costs $219.99, but Amazon currently has it for around $130.If you play video games on your Xbox, then you’ve likely had to delete some of your favorite games to make room for others in the past. With this storage expansion card, you’ll be able to store up to 1TB more of games, apps, videos, and photos on your device, built to fit into the memory expansion slot in the back of the Xbox Series X|S console. It’s plug-and-play, so you won’t need to worry about a lengthy installation process, and it works with the Xbox’s Quick Resume feature.This isn’t the o...

If you’ve been looking for a treadmill, two of NordicTrack’s T series treadmills are on sale for Amazon’s Prime Big Deals Days at 15% off. Their iSelect dumbbells are also more than half off, at $199 for the set.The T series 7.5S, with a seven-inch touchscreen, is on sale for $1,100 (down from $1,299). It can run at speeds up to 12 miles per hour (that’s a five-minute mile) and can incline up to 12%. So if you’d like to do the 12-3-30 incline walking workout, you’re all set. The 7.5S also has cushioning under the surface, a 300-pound weight limit, and can fold up for a reduced footprint for storage. The 8.5S has all the features above, plus Bluetooth connectivity for audio. It also has a 10" instead of a 7" screen. Both treadmills come with a one-year iFit membership, which includes workou...

Are you in need of new headphones? Why not save some money while you stock up? Amazon has plenty of headphones on sale during their October Prime Day event.One of the best is the Sony WH-1000XM4, which you can get for $100 off, bringing the price of the headphones to just $248. The WH-1000XM4 is one of Sony’s flagship headphones. They offer 40mm drivers with active noise cancellation (ANC) to help block out the noise around you, and a folding design for better portability. The headphones also have a feature called Speak-to-chat that automatically pauses your music when you speak. In addition, you can talk to Google Assistant or Alexa hands-free.Battery life is up to 30 hours with ANC on and 38 hours with ANC off. The headphones also have quick charging over its USB-C port to get you five ...

Like most carbs, rice freezes extremely well. When stored correctly and reheated with care, it’s as if you just steamed a fresh batch in a fraction of the time. But if you’ve been smashing all of your leftover rice into a storage container, you may have noticed that reheating is a struggle. You’ve been making life hard for yourself, but I’m happy to tell you, there’s an easy fix. Here’s the best way to freeze and reheat rice.Rice comes in a variety of grain sizes, with varying levels of stickiness, but one thing all types of rice have in common is starch. When you cook rice, the grains absorb water, and the starches gelatinize; but when the rice cools down, the starches harden. Leftover rice often gets packed down into a storage container, and those grains end up very, very close to each ...