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ASK CHAD
Business Marketing Q&A Dear Chad, I just opened a small restaurant in a popular area and we have mostly walk-in traffic. Is it important for me to have a website? From, John Hello John, In 2021, especially after being in a pandemic, decision makers of this generation look at the web to determine their choices for every industry, and every service, even if it’s just down the street. So yes, it is critical to have a website presence. Having a website makes your company look professional, serious and informative. Not having one puts you at a disadvantage when it comes to your competitors. With the growth in opportunities for meal delivery service, a website is critical to your continued growth and success now more than ever. Dear Chad, Is creating a unique app for a business worth the money? If so, how would I find a reputable person or business to build the app? I’m also concerned about the person or company having the data that the app collects from my customers, that could potentially be used or sold. From, Vance Hello Vance, You need to have a clear expectation of what you want the app to do and if you believe it will streamline your businesses service or product. Apps can be very expensive to create, and often end up costing you more than you intended. Make sure you have clear parameters and expectations so your app does exactly what you need it to do. Make the company you hire sign an NDA (nondisclosure agreement) for the data and customer information to ensure nothing is taken or used without your permission. Do your research, because like flipping a house … it might seem like a great idea, until you find out the foundation is cracked. Don’t set yourself up for failure or assume everything you are told is the truth.
Dear Chad, I work for a customer service business that has good reviews on yelp. A few times we have received a bad review from difficult customer and our boss wasn’t too happy about it. My first question is, how important are yelp reviews? My second question is, what do you do when you get a bad review, especially if it’s unwarranted? From, Laura Hello Laura, Depending on the type of industry you’re in, Yelp can have a huge impact on a company’s traffic. No matter the platform, it is important to work towards having as many positive reviews as possible. Unfortunately, you can’t please everyone. It can be hard to verify the review as either unwarranted or defamatory with Yelp or Google, although both have gotten better. The best thing to do is to respond to the negative review and make it right. This shows you are engaged and willing to take on the problem head-first. This also allows other potential clients to see that you are doing whatever you can to improve the situation. Work to get more good reviews, which will eventually outweigh the 1-2 bad reviews you receive. Consumers are intelligent enough to determine if you are a legitimately bad business, or maybe just had an off day which is bound to happen in any business. Chad Brittian is an experienced industry professional and CEO of NVS Design, Inc. To consult Chad for any of your business needs, call 877-578-2045 (Ext. 700) or email him at chad@nvsdesigns.com. www.2nvs.com To submit your question to Ask Chad, email him at: AskChad@boiMAG.com
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OUT OF THIS WORLD Travel To Mars
Robots aren’t the only ones getting a ticket to Mars. A workshop group of scientists from government agencies, academia and industry have determined that a NASA-led manned mission to Mars should be possible by the 2030s. However, in late 2017, the Trump administration directed NASA to send people back to the moon before going to Mars. NASA is now more focused on a concept called the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway that would be a moonbased space station and headquarters for further space exploration. Robotic missions to the Red Planet have seen much success in the past few decades, but it remains a considerable challenge to get people to Mars. With current rocket technology, it would take several months for people to travel to Mars, and that means they would live for several months in micro-gravity, which has devastating effects on the human body. Performing activities in the moderate gravity on Mars could prove extremely difficult after many months in micro-gravity. Research on the effects of micro-gravity continues on the International Space Station. NASA isn’t the only one with Martian astronaut hopefuls. Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, has outlined multiple concepts to bring people to Mars. In November 2018, Musk rebranded SpaceX’s future “Big Falcon Rocket” to “Starship”. Other nations, including China and Russia, have also announced their goals for sending humans to Mars. Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. Befitting the Red Planet’s bloody color, the Romans named it after their god of war. In truth, the Romans copied the ancient Greeks, who also named the planet after their god of war, Ares. Other civilizations also typically gave the planet names based on its color, for example, the Egyptians named it “Her Desher,” meaning “the red one,” while ancient Chinese astronomers dubbed it “the fire star.”
The bright rust color Mars is known for is due to iron-rich minerals in its regolith, the loose dust and rock covering its surface. The soil of Earth is a kind of regolith, too, albeit one loaded with organic content. According to NASA, the iron minerals oxidize, or rust, causing the soil to look red.
The cold, thin atmosphere means liquid water likely cannot exist on the Martian surface for any length of time. Features called recurring slope lineae may have spurts of briny water flowing on the surface, but this evidence is disputed; some scientists argue the hydrogen spotted from orbit in this region may instead indicate briny salts. This means that although this desert planet is just half the diameter of Earth, it has the same amount of dry land. The Red Planet is home to both the highest mountain and the deepest, longest valley in the solar system. Olympus Mons is roughly 17 miles (27 kilometers) high, about three times as tall as Mount Everest, while the Valles Marineris system of valleys named after the Mariner 9 probe that discovered it in 1971, reaches as deep as 6 miles (10 km) and runs east-west for roughly 2,500 miles (4,000 km), about one-fifth of the distance around Mars and close to the width of Australia. Scientists think the Valles Marineris formed mostly by rifting of the crust as it got stretched. Individual canyons within the (continued on a following page)
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2018 suggested that salty water below the Martian surface could hold a considerable amount of oxygen, which would support microbial life. However, the amount of oxygen depends on temperature and pressure; temperature changes on Mars from time to time as the tilt of its rotation axis shifts.
system are as much as 60 miles (100 km) wide. The canyons merge in the central part of the Valles Marineris in a region as much as 370 miles (600 km) wide. Large channels emerging from the ends of some canyons and layered sediments within suggest the canyons might once have been filled with liquid water. Mars also has the largest volcanoes in the solar system, Olympus Mons being one of them. The massive volcano, which is about 370 miles (600 km) in diameter, is wide enough to cover the state of New Mexico. Olympus Mons is a shield volcano, with slopes that rise gradually like those of Hawaiian volcanoes, and was created by eruptions of lavas that flowed for long distances before solidifying. Mars also has many other kinds of volcanic landforms, from small, steep-sided cones to enormous plains coated in hardened lava. Some minor eruptions might still occur on the planet. The solar system’s largest volcano Olympus Mons on Mars, channels, valleys and gullies are found all over Mars, and suggest that liquid water might have flowed across the planet’s surface in recent times. Some channels can be 60 miles (100 km) wide and 1,200 miles (2,000 km) long. Water may still lie in cracks and pores in underground rock. A study by scientists in
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Many regions of Mars are flat, low-lying plains. The lowest of the northern plains are among the flattest, smoothest places in the solar system, potentially created by water that once flowed across the Martian surface. The northern hemisphere mostly lies at a lower elevation than the southern hemisphere, suggesting the crust may be thinner in the north than in the south. This difference between the north and south might be due to a very large impact shortly after the birth of Mars. The number of craters on Mars varies dramatically from place to place, depending on how old the surface is. Much of the surface of the southern hemisphere is extremely old, and so has many craters, including the planet’s largest, 1,400-mile-wide (2,300 km) Hellas Planitia, while that of northern hemisphere is younger and so has fewer craters. Some volcanoes also have a few craters, which suggests they erupted recently, with the resulting lava covering up any old craters. Some craters have unusual-looking deposits of debris around them resembling solidified mudflows, potentially indicating that the impactor hit underground water or ice. In 2018, the European Space Agency’s Mars Express spacecraft detected what could be a slurry of water and grains underneath icy Planum Australe. (Some reports describe it as a “lake,” but it’s unclear how much regolith is inside the water.) This body of water is said to be about 12.4 miles (20 km) across. Its underground location is reminiscent of similar underground lakes in Antarctica, which have been found to host microbes. Late in the year, Mars Express also spied a huge, icy zone in the Red Planet’s Korolev Crater.
HEALTH & WELLBEING Mental Health Awareness Month
By Dr. Charla Waxman BS, MBA, EdD Community Liaison
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and has been observed since 1949! One in 5 adults experience mental illness in any given year in the United States; most often including disorders such as depression and anxiety. This statistic is repeated often in this section of BOI magazine and also in programs and articles across our country; but we cannot remind ourselves enough that mental health disorders are common. Mental illness is so common; you might even say that mental illness is just part of what it means to be human. Mental illness is a disorder of our brain, the most important organ in the human body. With every body, everybody being so different, the causes are many. Some causes are oriented to genetics, some are linked to social, cultural or biological factors and some causes are situational and recurrent or a one-time experience leading to a lifetime of trauma-related thoughts and behaviors. Regardless of cause, mental illnesses are not an issue of fault. Although treatable through talk therapies and sometimes medication, there is a barrier, overall, for improved mental health. It is actually one word that stands in the way of positive mental health: STIGMA. How people view mental illness has, historically, meant that not everyone will receive the mental health support that they need. Out of fear and anxiety for perception in the workforce, with family and in school settings, many of us will not seek help. According to the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI), only 40% of adults and 50% of our youth will get the necessary help they need to be productive
and satisfied with their lives. People will sometimes wait up to 10 years to seek assistance. Stigma is what creates reluctance to get help and shame for contracting an illness that you simply cannot “catch” like the common cold. During mental health month, let’s take a look at some common illnesses: Anxiety disorders: Age of onset in the United States for anxiety disorders, according to the National Council for Behavioral Health is 11 years old. This disorder is characterized by difficulty in certain situations and responding with panic or fear. People can be affected both physically and mentally by anxiety disorders and, in panic attack situations, the signs and symptoms can mimic a heart attack. If the anxiety response lasts for more than a couple of weeks and affects work or school, relationships, and daily activities, then it is definitely time to take a closer look at what is happening and find some support.. Mood disorders: Mood disorders are just that: disorders related to how one is feeling. This can include depression at all levels. Some mood disorders are extreme in nature and can fluctuate rapidly or keep one hyperactively “up” or depressingly “down” for extended periods of time. Bipolar disorder is often the best known and often most misunderstood disorder. People inappropriately say things like, “You are so bipolar”, when really all is meant is “moody” or having an “off” day. Mood disorders can be debilitating and the impulsivity and potential lows can create dangerous and self-injurious behaviors. Suicide is a frequent risk of mood disorders. Diagnosis and medication are important with mood disorders and seeking help is a must to move toward recovery. boiMAG.com 21
HEALTH & WELLBEING (continued)
Addiction Disorders: Alcohol and drugs are among the most common addictionrelated disorders, but these can include things like compulsive gambling and other impulse control disorders. Addictions without treatment can last a lifetime and cause severe isolation and a retreat from health into the dangers of use and abuse of a physically and mentally damaging substance or behavior. Eating Disorders: Eating Disorders: Food, exercise and weight are at the focus of this sometimes life-threatening disorder for men, women and youth. Common among these conditions are binging behaviors, anorexia and bulimia and any unhealthy preoccupation with any combination of food exercise and weight. The physiological impact of eating disorders is of grave concern to the treatment professional. Due to this, many specialized programs are needed to help those living with eating disorders find a path to recovery and positive physical and mental health. Psychosis: Psychosis: Distortions in thinking and how one’s environment is perceived is the basis for psychotic disorders. Psychotic disorders are the most puzzling and are often misunderstood mental health conditions. People often fear these disorders and it is misconstrued that people with psychosis are dangerous. In most cases, people with this form of mental illness are more likely to be victims, rather than perpetrators of crime and assault (NAMI). When these disorders are discussed the words “hallucinations” and “delusions” come to mind. Hallucinations involve an experience that is real only to the person having the change in perception and may involve alterations in hearing, sight, sound, touch or smell; any of our 5 sensory experiences. Delusions are distortions in thinking.
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Dual Diagnosis: A person with this disorder has both a mental health disorder and an alcohol or drug problem. It is not unusual for these conditions to occur together. According to Medline, nearly “half of people who have a mental disorder will also have a substance use disorder at some point in their lives and vice versa”. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: PostTraumatic Stress Disorder: Trauma is at the core of many mental health conditions and PTSD is recognized as a disorder characterized by frightening and worrisome memories or thoughts about an event(s) which has occurred in someone’s life. All in all, positive mental health is essential. Being emotionally and mentally healthy is more than just being absent of the disorders listed above. It involves attention to selfcare and self-monitoring of one’s moods and thoughts. The goal, of course, is to “live, laugh and love”; have good relationships, manage school and work well and to attend to daily living activities. Resilience in stressfilled situations is key and resilience is a developed skill driven by a sense of purpose for staying healthy and happy. Tell your story; this often helps both the teller and listener and reminds both that no one is alone when it comes to mental health. Be empathic: be a good listener and work to understand others. Confront stigma; don’t be silent! As you go day by day through the month of May, work at being adaptable and flexible, nurture relationships, and pay attention and prioritize your mental health! Need Help? A free assessment at Lake Behavioral Hospital will help you understand the best level of care for what you are experiencing. Walk-ins or appointments 24/7/365 assure you of support and assistance right when you need it. One call to 855 990 1900 or a walk-in to our hospital may be just the start you need toward feeling better and doing better.
ALTERNATIVES to BETTER CHOICES by: Joe Salvador
Beverages And Foods
In this article, healthy alternatives are mentioned whenever possible. Here are foods that are unhealthy, although most people can eat them in moderation on special occasions without any permanent damage to their health. Sugary drinks Added sugar is one of the worst ingredients in the modern diet. However, some sources of sugar are worse than others, and sugary drinks are particularly harmful. When you drink liquid calories, your brain doesn’t appear to register them as food. Thus, you may end up drastically increasing your total calorie intake. When consumed in large amounts, sugar can drive insulin resistance and is strongly linked to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. It’s also associated with various serious conditions, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Some people believe that sugary drinks are the most fattening aspect of the modern diet, and drinking them in large amounts can drive fat gain and obesity. Alternatives Drink water, soda water, coffee, or tea instead. Adding a slice of lemon to water or soda water can provide a burst of flavor. White bread Most commercial breads are unhealthy if eaten in large amounts, as they’re made from refined wheat, which is low in fiber and essential nutrients and may lead to rapid spikes in blood sugar. Alternatives For people who can tolerate gluten, Ezekiel bread is an excellent choice. Whole-grain bread is also healthier than white bread.
Most pizzas Pizza is one of the world’s most popular junk foods. Most commercial pizzas are made with unhealthy ingredients, including highly refined dough and heavily processed meat. Pizza also tends to be extremely high in calories. Alternatives Some restaurants offer healthier ingredients. Homemade pizzas can also be very healthy, as long as you choose wholesome ingredients. If you have problems with gluten or carbs, then seek out breads that are both gluten-free and low in carbs. Most fruit juices Fruit juice is often assumed to be healthy. While juice contains some antioxidants and vitamin C, it also packs high amounts of liquid sugar. In fact, fruit juice harbors just as much sugar as sugary drinks like Coke or Pepsi. and sometimes even more. Alternatives Some fruit juices have been shown to have health benefits despite their sugar content, such as pomegranate and blueberry juices. However, these should be considered occasional supplements, not an everyday part of your diet. Sweetened breakfast cereals Breakfast cereals are processed cereal grains, such as wheat, oats, rice, and corn. To make them more palatable, the grains are roasted, shredded, pulped, rolled, or flaked. They’re generally high in added sugar. The main downside of most breakfast cereals is their high added sugar content. Some are so sweet that they could even be compared to candy. Alternatives Choose breakfast cereals that are high in fiber and low in added sugar. Even better, make your own oat porridge from scratch. boiMAG.com 25
by Jack Santo
Future Technology Internet for everyone
We can’t seem to live without the internet (how else would you read sciencefocus. com?), but still only around half the world’s population is connected. There are many reasons for this, including economic and social reasons, but for some the internet just isn’t accessible because they have no connection. Google is slowly trying to solve the problem using helium balloons to beam the internet to inaccessible areas, while Facebook has abandoned plans to do the same using drones, which means companies like Hiber are stealing a march. They have taken a different approach by launching their own network of shoebox-sized microsatellites into low Earth orbit, which wake up a modem plugged into your computer or device when it flies over and delivers your data. Their satellites orbit the Earth 16 times a day and are already being used by organisations like The British Antarctic Survey to provide internet access to very extreme of our planet.
Heart monitoring T-shirt
Wearable sports bands that measure your heart rate are nothing new, but as numerous studies have shown, the accuracy can vary wildly (especially if you rely on them to count calories). In general, that’s fine if you just want an idea of how hard you’re working out, but for professionals, accuracy is everything. Using a single lead ECG printed into the fabric, this new t-shirt from smart materials
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company KYMIRA will accurately measure heart beats and upload them to the cloud via Bluetooth. Once there, algorithms process the data to accurately detect irregular heartbeats such as arrhythmia heart beats, which could prove life saving. And it’s not just athletes who could benefit. “The possibilities this product offers both sportspeople and the general public is astonishing,” says Tim Brownstone, CEO and founder of KYMIRA. “We envisage developing this product to be used for clinical applications to allow those who may already suffer with heart conditions enough warning of a heart attack.”
Coffee power
London’s coffee industry creates over 200,000 tonnes of waste every year, so what do we do with it? Entrepreneur Arthur Kay’s big idea is to use his company, bio-bean, to turn 85 per cent of coffee waste into biofuels for heating buildings and powering transport.
Drown forest fires in sound
Forest fires could one day be dealt with by drones that would direct loud noises at the trees below. Since sound is made up of pressure waves, it can be used to disrupt the air surrounding a fire, essentially cutting off the supply of oxygen to the fuel. At the right frequency, the fire simply dies out, as researchers at George Mason University in Virginia recently demonstrated with their sonic extinguisher. Apparently, bass frequencies work best.
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Lady Gaga Poker Face
Poker Face was released on September 26, 2008 and charted rankings in the US, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100, Dance Club Songs, Dance/Mix Show Airplay and the Mainstream Top 40 charts. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified Diamond for sales over 7.5 million copies... but there's more to the story.
I wanna hold ‘em like they do in Texas, please Fold ‘em, let ‘em, hit me, raise it, baby, stay with me (I love it) LoveGame intuition play the cards with spades to start And after he’s been hooked I’ll play the one that’s on his heart
Bisexuality is the main idea behind this song the song’s lyrics feature various sexual innuendos! It was a tribute by Gaga to her rock and roll boyfriends. During a birthday concert at Palm Springs Convention Center, Gaga talked about the meaning behind this song to an enthusiastic crowd mostly made up of gay men, she suggested that it is about her personal experience with bisexuality and about being with a man but fantasizing about a woman; hence, the man must read her “Poker Face” to understand what is going through her mind. In an interview with the Daily Star, Gaga said: “It’s about a lot of different things. I gamble but I’ve also dated a lot of guys who are really into sex and booze and gambling, so I wanted to write a record my boyfriends would like too.” In another interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Gaga was asked about the meaning of the line “bluffin’ with my muffin”, she explained: “Obviously, it’s my pussy’s poker face! I took that line from another song I wrote but never released, called ‘Blueberry Kisses.’ It was about a girl singing to her boyfriend about how she wants him to go down on her, and I used the lyric. {singing} ‘Blueberry kisses, the muffin man misses them kisses’.” Gaga went on explaining more about ‘Poker face’ to Fashionista101, she explained that the song is about her playing with guys as if she was a poker player. She said: “The song speaks in reference to the poker game, ‘Texas Hold Em.’ So I said, ‘I wanna hold him like they do in Texas, please.’ So its basically saying like, I wanna hold that guy, I wanna be close to him.”
Can’t read my, Can’t read my, No he can’t read my poker face (She’s got me like nobody) Can’t read my, Can’t read my, No he can’t read my poker face (She’s got me like nobody)
When Lady Gaga was playing at iHeartRadio Wango Tango in 2009, an annual day-long concert held by KIIS FM, she admitted the radio station, one of the only ones to censor her lyrics for the song, was correct. She said: “KIIS FM is the smartest radio station in the whole world and I’ll tell you why. Because this song, it got played all over the world on tens of thousands of radio stations, but KIIS FM was the only one that said I had to censor my lyric because they thought I might be saying something bad.” And out of all the radio stations in the world that played this record over and over, KIIS FM was the only one that was right and caught on.”
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh-oh-e-oh-oh-oh I’ll get him hot, show him what I’ve got
P-p-p-poker face, f-f-fuck her face (Mum mum mum mah) P-p-p-poker face, f-f-fuck her face (Mum mum mum mah) I wanna roll with him a hard pair we will be A little gambling is fun when you’re with me (I love it) Russian Roulette is not the same without a gun And baby when it’s love if it’s not rough it isn’t fun, fun
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh-oh-e-oh-oh-oh I’ll get him hot, show him what I’ve got I won’t tell you that I love you, Kiss or hug you ‘Cause I’m bluffin’ with my muffin I’m not lying, I’m just stunnin’ with my love-glue-gunning Just like a chick in the casino Take your bank before I pay you out I promise this, promise this Check this hand ‘cause I’m marvelous Can’t read my, Can’t read my No he can’t read my poker face (She’s got me like nobody) Can’t read my, Can’t read my No he can’t read my poker face (She’s got me like nobody) P-p-p-poker face, f-f-fuck her face (Mum mum mum mah) P-p-p-poker face, f-f-fuck her face (Mum mum mum mah)
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