Weilos Wants To Pair You With An Online Weight Loss Coach Who ...

A new startup currently participating in the Summer 2013 cohort of Y Combinator called Weilos wants to make weight loss attempts more sticky and more accountable by pairing those with weight loss goals with coaches who have already achieved theirs for personalized, one-on-one training. It?s yet another example of the crowdsourced services economy at work, and one that also hits the current hot spot of health, diet and fitness.

Weilos is the product of a union between co-founders Ray Wu, an MD from Cornell, and Alex Perelman, a former Activision employee with an MBA and a degree in Computer Science from Berkeley. Both wanted to effect change in the world to address the growing concern of obesity in the U.S., in a way that would actually work; it?s an oft-repeated refrain, but the fact that obesity levels continue to rise proves that no one yet has come up with a good solution.

Where Wu and Perelman?s concept differs from most is that it recognizes 1) there?s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution to well-being and weight loss, and 2) the best way to promote continued use of a program is to build in some kind of direct personal interaction, and personal accountability, rather than just trust users to follow a program on their own.

?The reason we?re really excited about it is because obesity, weight loss, is one of the biggest health issues we?re facing today, and we just wanted to create an effective solution that really works by empowering passionate people who have succeeded themselves and allowing them to help others,? Wu explained in an interview. ?The one unique thing that we?re doing is that our coaches are people who themselves have lost weight, and the most exciting thing for me is actually meeting people and seeing how knowledgeable they are and how excited they are to help others.?

Wu and his team carefully screen all coaches signing up to provide their services on the platform, and have received over 100 applications so far but approved only around less than half that to actively participate. Making sure that coaches on the platform have demonstrated their own success, and are trustworthy individuals is key to Weilos? ability to attract users, and pre-screening, as well as coach ratings are in place to help ensure that happens.

I asked Wu about the legal implications of providing a platform where amateurs provide health advice to the general populace. He says that Weilos itself is just connecting people, not providing advice itself, and that the company is very careful to advise coaches not to provide any actual medical advice to their clients. There are also tools in place to help both coaches and users report activity that might be detrimental to user health, like if someone were to use the platform to seek out or promote pro-anorexia or pro-bulimia behaviour, for instance.

It?s very early days yet for Weilos, which is still tinkering with its revenue model according to Wu (?we?re 100 percent focused on making sure this truly works?) but currently allows coaches to choose to either take a monthly subscription fee from their clients or do it for free, depending on their personal preference.

Asked why Weilos has an advantage over things like the quantified self device movement, that focuses on activity trackers like the Fitbit Flex or apps like RunKeeper to motivate healthy behaviour, Wu said it?s all about the social interaction.

?With quantified self app, the responsibility is on you, and that can work for a small percentage of people,? he said. ?But I think that more of a structured social component, where someone else is taking responsibility for your success in losing weight adds a lot, and being on your own is where a lot of people fall off with other solutions.?

Weilos has had nearly 1,000 users signed up so far, and those active on the network are losing at a rate of around 1 to 2 pounds per week, which is above the averages reported for programs like Weight Watchers. The use of crowdsourced services is infiltrating everything from transport to project management, so weight loss, a massive potential market, is a good target for someone like Weilos, provided they get the mix right and can scale while keeping the quality of coaches high.

Weilos connects you with a coach ?like you? who has successfully lost weight. Your coach will teach you the secrets to his/her success, and support you to achieve your own goals

? Learn more

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/07/weilos-wants-to-pair-you-with-an-online-weight-loss-coach-who-has-shed-pounds-themselves/

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Jennifer Aniston & Justin Theroux Planning A Surprise Weekend Wedding!?

We've been placing bets on the wedding since their engagement!

Could this be the weekend for Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux's pending nuptials!?

We're uhhh, a tad bit skeptical on this matter!

Jen was on CBS's The Talk this week, while promoting We're The Millers, and totally admitted to the ladies that there's no rush to wed anytime soon!

BUT?

It IS Justin?s 42nd birthday on August 10 and the couple has reportedly invited pals to their Bel Air mansion to celebrate something!

The 10th is a special time for the pair because it's Justy's birthday, and the day he prosed to his beautiful lady!

It'd be the perfect wedding anniversary because he'd never forget the date, no?!

Jen and Justin have allegedly ordered imported flowers, catered cuisine, and formal invites, so this has guests apparently thinking a ceremony is in the works!

We think it just sounds like a lavish Hollywood party!

Ha!

An insider revealed the couple is trying to keep the event as "low key" as possible:

Another Byzantine Church Becomes Mosque in Turkey

ICC Note:
Trabzon?s Hagia Sophia church is the latest victim in the efforts to reassert the place of Islam in public square. The church which is located on Turkey?s northeastern Black Sea coast is not as famous as its sister church in Istanbul but is amazing in its own right. The battle over how the building is to be used has been ongoing for decades, but the latest court decision has sealed its fate, at least for now. The most concerning aspect is this debate is being framed in the language of ?conquest? and the triumph of Islam over Christianity which raises major concerns over the democratic and secular nature of the Turkish republic.

8/07/2013 Turkey (Al-Monitor) - Perched on a grassy hill overlooking the Black Sea, the Hagia Sophia church in the northeastern port city of Trabzon is hailed as one of the finest, and pitifully rare, examples of late Byzantine architecture still standing in Turkey. As The Economist?s Bruce Clark put it in Twice a Stranger, his much acclaimed history of the population exchange between Turkey and Greece in the early 1920s, ?the frescoed biblical scenes in the church of Hagia Sophia ? are evidence that the Greek spirit flowered with particular brilliance in the 13th century.?

Today, the Greek spirit at Hagia Sophia has been all but extinguished, its frescoes determinedly concealed by tenting stretched under its central dome, and its magnificent tiled floors obscured by crimson carpeting. A Turkish flag hoisted by a newly erected preacher?s pulpit drove the message home: Hagia Sophia is ours. What had happened?

Sadly, it came as no surprise that Hagia Sophia had been converted into a mosque. Built in in the mid-13th century, the church had been at the heart of a long-running dispute between Turkey?s secularists and its Islamists. Its outcome has dramatic implications for the world-famous Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and flies in the face of the ruling Islam-based Justice and Development Party?s (AKP) moves to restore various Christian monuments across the country.

Mosque or museum?

The debate over Hagia Sophia is cloaked in historical legalese, but its essence is political. The Islamists claim that Mehmet II, the Ottoman sultan who wrested Istanbul from the Byzantines in 1453, converted the church to a mosque in 1462 following the conquest of Trabzon. Therefore, the Islamists argue, Hagia Sophia in Trabzon must remain open to Muslims for worship, otherwise the sultan?s legacy would be breached. The secularist argue that Hagia Sophia did not become a mosque until a century later and contest the claim that it belongs to the sultan, asserting there are no documents to prove this.

In fact, for the past 50 years Hagia Sophia in Trabzon was neither a church nor a mosque. After being rescued from dereliction by a team of archeologists from Edinburgh University between 1958 and 1962, the church reopened its doors to the public as a museum. This stemmed from a practical formula devised to get around the dispute and one that was successfully tested at the Istanbul Hagia Sophia, which has been a museum since 1935.

In December 2012, however, a local court ruled in favor of the General Directorate of Pious Foundations, or Vakiflar, the government body responsible for the country?s ancient mosques, declaring that the mosque was an ?inalienable? part of the foundation of Mehmet II. The Ministry of Culture, the court held, had been ?illegally occupying? the building. The government swiftly embarked on the conversion, and it was declared complete on July 5, when the mufti of Trabzon and other citizens gathered there for the first Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan.

The move provoked an outcry in the academic world. ?The conversion into a mosque is nothing but tragic. It will inevitably lead to damage in the structure and its priceless decoration, both sculpted and painted,? Veronica Kalas, a Byzantine historian told Al-Monitor.

Antony Eastmond of London?s Courtauld Institute has closely studied the church and agrees. ?The paintings at the Hagia Sophia are important as the best surviving imperially sponsored paintings in Turkey. They are vitally important in understanding the nature and development of the empire of Trebizond, the offshoot of the Byzantine Empire that was established in the city in 1204 and outlasted Constantinople, only to fall in 1461,? he told Al-Monitor.

?What I find most alarming in the recent changes is the fact that most of the discussion is done through a discourse of 'conquest' [fetih]. It does fit with the AKP?s neo-Ottoman ambitions and pretentions,? said Tugba Tanyeri Erdemir, a Turkish art historian.

?

[Full Story]

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 8th, 2013 at 10:39 am and is filed under Countries, Middle East, News, Turkey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.persecution.org/2013/08/08/another-byzantine-church-becomes-mosque-in-turkey/

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Painful Marriage Proposal Rejection at Minor League Baseball Game

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Source: http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6907403/painful-marriage-proposal-rejection-at-minor-league-baseball-game

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Taste test: Lab-grown hamburger short on flavor

A new Cultured Beef Burger made from cultured beef grown in a laboratory from stem cells of cattle, is held by the man who developed the burger, Professor Mark Post of Netherland's Maastricht University, during a the world's first public tasting event for the food product in London, Monday Aug. 5, 2013. The Cultured Beef could help solve the coming food crisis and combat climate change according to the producers of the burger which cost some 250,000 euros (US dlrs 332,000) to produce. (AP Photo / David Parry, PA) UNITED KINGDOM OUT - NO SALES - NO ARCHIVES

A new Cultured Beef Burger made from cultured beef grown in a laboratory from stem cells of cattle, is held by the man who developed the burger, Professor Mark Post of Netherland's Maastricht University, during a the world's first public tasting event for the food product in London, Monday Aug. 5, 2013. The Cultured Beef could help solve the coming food crisis and combat climate change according to the producers of the burger which cost some 250,000 euros (US dlrs 332,000) to produce. (AP Photo / David Parry, PA) UNITED KINGDOM OUT - NO SALES - NO ARCHIVES

Mark Post, developer of the stem cell burger, poses before the first public tasting, in London, Monday, Aug. 5, 2013. For hamburgers that cost more than $300,000 to produce, you might expect fries and a shake too. But this is no ordinary burger being served to two volunteer taste-testers in London on Monday. This meat was grown in a laboratory from stem cells of cattle. Mark Post, whose team at Maastricht University in the Netherlands developed the burger after five years of research, hopes that making meat in labs could eventually help solve the food crisis and fight climate change. (AP Photo/Bogdan Maran)

American author and journalist Josh Schonwald, tastes a burger made from cultured beef grown in a laboratory from stem cells of cattle during the world's first public tasting event for the new food product in London, Monday Aug. 5, 2013. The cultured beef burger has been developed by Professor Mark Post of Netherlands Maastricht University, not pictured. The Cultured Beef could eventually help solve the coming food crisis and combat climate change according to the producers of the burger which cost some 250,000 euros (US dlrs 332,000) to produce. (AP Photo / David Parry, PA) UNITED KINGDOM OUT - NO SALES - NO ARCHIVES

Food Scientist Hanni Rutzler inspects a burger made from cultured beef grown in a laboratory from stem cells of cattle, which has been developed by Professor Mark Post of Maastricht University in the Netherlands, not pictured, during a the world's first public tasting event for the food product in London, Monday Aug. 5, 2013. The Cultured Beef could help solve the coming food crisis and combat climate change according to the producers of the burger which cost some 250,000 euros (US dlrs 332,000) to produce. (AP Photo / David Parry, PA) UNITED KINGDOM OUT - NO SALES - NO ARCHIVES

A new Cultured Beef Burger made from cultured beef grown in a laboratory from stem cells of cattle, is held by the man who developed the burger, Professor Mark Post of Netherland's Maastricht University, during a the world's first public tasting event for the food product in London, Monday Aug. 5, 2013. The Cultured Beef could help solve the coming food crisis and combat climate change according to the producers of the burger which cost some 250,000 euros (US dlrs 332,000) to produce. (AP Photo / David Parry, PA) UNITED KINGDOM OUT - NO SALES - NO ARCHIVES

LONDON (AP) ? The food of the future could do with a pinch of seasoning ? and maybe some cheese.

Two volunteers who took the first public bites of hamburger grown in a laboratory gave it good marks for texture but agreed there was something missing.

"I miss the salt and pepper," said Austrian nutritionist Hanni Ruetzler. U.S. journalist Josh Schonwald confessed to a difficulty in judging a burger "without ketchup or onions or jalapenos or bacon." Both tasters shunned the bun, lettuce and sliced tomatoes offered to them to concentrate on the flavor of the meat itself.

Mark Post, the Dutch scientist who led the team that grew the meat from cattle stem cells, regretted having served the patty without his favorite topping: aged gouda cheese.

"That would have enhanced the whole experience tremendously," he told The Associated Press. He said he was pleased with the reviews: "It's not perfect, but it's a good start."

Post, whose team at Maastricht University in the Netherlands developed the burger over five years, hopes that making meat in labs could eventually help feed the world and fight climate change ? although that goal is probably a decade or two away, at best.

"The first (lab-made) meat products are going to be very exclusive," said Isha Datar, director of New Harvest, an international nonprofit that promotes meat alternatives. "These burgers won't be in Happy Meals before someone rich and famous is eating them."

Sergey Brin, a co-founder of Google, announced that he funded the 250,000-euro ($330,000) project, saying he was motivated by a concern for animal welfare.

"We're trying to create the first cultured beef hamburger," he said in a videotaped message. "From there, I'm optimistic we can really scale up by leaps and bounds."

Scientists agreed that improving the flavor probably won't be hard.

"Taste is the least (important) problem since this could be controlled by letting some of the stem cells develop into fat cells," said Stig Omholt, director of biotechnology at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.

Adding fat to the burgers this way would probably be healthier than getting it from naturally chunky cows, said Omholt, who was not involved in the project. He called Monday's tasting a publicity stunt ? but not in a bad way. He said it was a smart way to draw public attention, and possibly investor funds, to efforts to develop lab-grown meat.

Post's team made the meat from shoulder muscle cells of two organically raised cows. The cells were put into a nutrient solution to help them develop into muscle tissue, and they grew into small strands of meat.

It took nearly 20,000 strands to make a single 140-gram (5-ounce) patty, which for Monday's event was seasoned with salt, egg powder and breadcrumbs. Red beet juice and saffron were added to help the burger look more meat-like; Post said the lab-made patty had a yellowish tinge.

"I'm a vegetarian, but I would be first in line to try this," said Jonathan Garlick, a stem cell researcher at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston. He has used similar techniques to make human skin but wasn't involved in the burger research.

Experts say new ways of producing meat are needed to satisfy growing carnivorous appetites without exhausting resources. By 2050, the Food and Agriculture Organization predicts global meat consumption will double as more people in developing countries can afford it. Raising animals destined for the dinner table takes up about 70 percent of all agricultural land.

The animal rights group PETA has thrown its support behind the lab-meat initiative.

"As long as there's anybody who's willing to kill a chicken, a cow or a pig to make their meal, we are all for this," said Ingrid Newkirk, PETA's president and co-founder. "Instead of the millions and billions (of animals) being slaughtered now, we could just clone a few cells to make burgers or chops," she said.

If the product is ever ready for market, national food authorities will likely require data proving the lab meat is safe; there is no precedent. Some experts said officials might regulate the process used to make such meat, similar to how they monitor beer and wine production.

Only one patty was cooked Monday, and the testers each took less than half of it. Post said he would take the leftovers home so his kids can have a taste.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2013-08-05-EU-Stem-Cell-Burger/id-c425ad799f7042e888519ccfa7840a85

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John Wallace Baird: The First Canadian president of the American Psychological Association.

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Source: psycnet.apa.org --- Sunday, August 04, 2013
John Wallace Baird (1869-1919) was born and raised in southwestern Ontario, earning his undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto in 1897. He would ultimately rise to become the first Canadian-born President of the American Psychological Association at a critical turning point in the discipline's history, during World War I. He was also the director of the laboratory in the famed Clark University psychology department, led by G. Stanley Hall, and died just months before succeeding Hall into the presidency of Clark. Baird studied briefly with Wilhelm Wundt, earned his PhD from E. B. Titchener, and taught at Johns Hopkins and the University of Illinois. When he was stricken with what would be his fatal illness, he was serving as Vice-Chair of the Psychology Committee of the U. S. National Research Council. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved) ...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/apa-journals-cap/~3/Lv8WYMrrj2A/124

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Egypt warns pro-Morsi protesters to leave sit-in

A supporter of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi holds a banner with Morsi's image, during a march against Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Aug. 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)

A supporter of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi holds a banner with Morsi's image, during a march against Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Aug. 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)

Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi sit in a tent they set up during a protest near Cairo airport in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Aug. 2, 2013. Authorities outlined plans Friday to break up two sit-ins by supporters of deposed President Morsi, saying they would set up a cordon around the protest sites, and riot police used tear gas to disperse demonstrators threatening a TV complex. Morsi backers also showed their defiance by briefly setting up a third camp near the airport, but later folded their tents and left. Arabic writing on Morsi poster reads: "Yes for the legality, no for the coup." (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Egypt's Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy speaks during a meeting with foreign media in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013. Fahmy said Saturday that the Egypt's foreign ministry focuses during this transition period on "re-correcting" its foreign policy to Egypt's national interests, from an ideologically driven one last year. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Egypt's Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy speaks during a meeting with foreign media in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013. Fahmy said Saturday that the Egypt's foreign ministry focuses during this transition period on "re-correcting" its foreign policy to Egypt's national interests, from an ideologically driven one last year. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's Interior Ministry warned supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi on Saturday for a second time to abandon their protest encampments as a senior U.S. diplomat was meeting with officials on both sides of the political divide to try to find a peaceful resolution to the standoff.

Egyptian authorities have outlined plans in recent days to break up the two main sit-ins by Morsi's supporters as they seek to end the political stalemate that has paralyzed the country since the military overthrew the Islamist leader on July 3. Morsi's backers say they will not disperse until he is returned to power, setting the stage for a potential bloody showdown if security forces move in on the two main sites that are home to tens of thousands of protesters.

In a bid to avoid more bloodshed, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns held talks Saturday with interim Egyptian President Adly Mansour as well as Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei. Burns, the No. 2 American diplomat, was also scheduled to meet with Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and their Islamist allies. The Europeans Union's special envoy, Bernardino Leon, was also involved in the talks.

Amr Darag, one of the Brotherhood representatives who was expected to meet with Burns, told The Associated Press that the group and its allies are looking for "confidence-building measures" before they will come to the table for talks with their rivals. Such measures could include releasing detained Brotherhood leaders, unfreezing the group's assets, lifting the ban on its TV stations and ending violence against its protests.

Ahead of his visit, the State Department said Burns would be discussing "the importance of avoiding violence and helping to facilitate a peaceful and inclusive political process."

The trip by Burns, his second to Cairo since the military overthrew Morsi, comes amid heighted fears of more bloodshed after more than 80 Morsi supporters were killed in clashes with police a week ago near their main Cairo sit-in. In total, more than 280 people have been killed nationwide in political violence since Morsi's removal.

The ousted president's supporters have vowed to continue their protests until he is reinstated. They have held several mass rallies across the country and daily protests outside security buildings, demanding that the crackdown on Islamists stop. They have also kept up their vigils at two main sites: one outside the Rabaah al-Adawiya Mosque in eastern Cairo and another in a large square outside Cairo University's main campus.

But a month after Morsi's ouster, many Egyptians have grown weary of the protests, complaining that they snarl traffic, prolong the nation's instability and are calling for the authorities to put an end to the sit-ins.

On Friday, authorities outlined plans to break up the encampments, saying they would set up a cordon around the protest sites while at the same time offering "safe passage" to those willing to leave.

In nationally televised remarks Saturday, Interior Ministry spokesman Hany Abdel-Latif again urged Morsi's supporters to end their protests, saying it would pave the way for the Brotherhood's return to an official role in the political process. He repeated the offer from the ministry, which is charge of police, to protect those who abandon the demonstrations.

The Brotherhood's role in Egypt's post-Morsi politics is one of the most pressing questions in the country.

In his first visit to Cairo last month, Burns signaled that while Washington was calling for an inclusive transition, it had moved on from Morsi and his Brotherhood group. But he also stressed that Egypt's "second chance" at democracy could not happen without the Brotherhood's participation.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy, who met Burns on Saturday, said Egyptian officials have made clear to their Western counterparts "that there is no moving back" and that the roadmap adopted by the country's military-backed interim leaders, which calls for elections next year, is open to the Brotherhood for participation.

"The roadmap adopted is the roadmap for this country for the upcoming period," he told reporters after meeting Burns. "Ceasing incitement and violence is, I believe, an extremely important step to take if we have any chance at achieving reconciliation in the short-term."

While Egypt's interim leaders have voiced an interest in reconciliation, they have simultaneously pursued a crackdown on the Brotherhood and its allies, arresting its senior leadership and shuttering their television stations.

In remarks published in the state-run Ahram newspaper Saturday, interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi said the United States is mostly focused on how to restore stability to Egypt.

"I don't think the United States was fond of the Muslim Brotherhood or wanted them to come (to power), and I don't think it is happy either to see them out of the picture now" he was quoted as saying "All that is asked now is that the situation stabilizes."

Morsi's supporters say their sit-ins are peaceful protests. The Interior Ministry alleges that some of the protests' participants are involved in "killings, torture and abductions." Last weekend, the ministry said 11 bodies were found near both protest sites, with some showing signs of torture. It is not clear who was behind the killings.

The London-based rights group Amnesty International also said it had testimony of alleged killings and torture at the hands of Morsi supporters inside the sit-ins, including a witness who said he saw one man stabbed and another have his throat cut.

In a new allegation, Egypt's state news agency reported Saturday that a 25 year-old worker was detained and violently beaten at one of the sit-ins. It quoted a security official as saying that the young man, identified Ahmed Abdel-Aaty Mahmoud, was found late Friday near a military factory south of Cairo with severe bruises and injuries. He told police he was abducted two days ago by pro-Morsi protesters who were participating in a march after he criticized them.

___

Associated Press writers Tony G. Gabriel and Mariam Rizk contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-08-03-ML-Egypt/id-270a250f87bb4e0382b927db0e277939

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