Hot babes, breaking news.
http://www.craveonline.com/lifestyle/article/babe-news-3-105443
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
ApptiTude: iFitness
Somehow one of my favorite apps currently on my iPhone is iFitness. I say “somehow” because the truth is that I haven’t been to the gym in months, but iFitness is so good that I’m really looking forward to the day when I put down the donuts, pick up the dumbbells, and actually get to use this app again.
At $1.99 the iFitness app is one of the best values around. It’s full of helpful content and definitely easier to use than the elliptical machine. (I hate that thing. Besides, any piece of gym equipment that you can use while simultaneously talking on your phone isn’t working.)
iFitness not only records your daily exercise routine, it helps enhance your workout with a diverse and thorough exercise guide. Finding new exercises is a breeze. On the first screen, iFitness presents a list of the body parts you’ll want to work on (you can also list by specific muscle or equipment). So let’s say you want to work on your tiny spaghetti arms. You tap “arms” and up pops a list of more than 50 exercises for your biceps and triceps. Each exercise comes with pictures, a description, and even videos that show you how to perform each exercise properly. (Hint: the sit-up is exactly what it sounds like.)
The "angled prone curl" just sounds painfull.
From each particular exercise screen, you can also keep track of your daily progress. Just tap the pencil icon, which takes you to a new screen where you record reps and weight amount used. Once you’ve done the deed, you simply hit the “record” button and record each set, which is automatically sent to your exercise logs.
Log those reps!
You can also plan your own personalized workouts ahead of time under “my workouts.” Not that creative? There’s also a routine section that gives you specific kinds of workouts, like “weight loss,” “strength building,” beginner,” etc. There are also programs designed to get you in shape for specific sports like hockey and baseball. None of these routines seem very detailed, however, and are probably no replacement for a trainer or coach.
This is how you do... this thing.
Of course, it’s important to keep track of your progress, and iFitness lets you measure and record your BMI, weight, and body measurements. You can even take a picture of yourself when you begin your quest for a six pack. Just to remember the old you.
I don’t have a lot of complaints about this app. Sometimes it is hard to find a specific exercise so you can record it. For example, I couldn’t find a simple pull-up anywhere. But since you can customize your own exercises within the lists, this isn’t much of a problem. It can also be a pain to bring your iPhone to the gym and carry it around everywhere since iFitness is too awkward to use when your phone is strapped to your arm.
Otherwise, iFitness is a must-have app for the athletically inclined. Now if they can only invent an app that will deal with procrastination…
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Babe News #1
Welcome to Babe News. The title pretty much speaks for itself, as we take a look at what’s going on in the world of, well, the hot ladies.
ApptiTude: IXpenseIt
Most of us don’t really want to know how much money we’re spending. Sometimes it’s just better to be in denial. Besides, keeping track of your expenses can be monotonous and time consuming. However, with the economy in shambles, it’s a great time to learn to be more conscientious about spending habits.
Luckily the iXpenseIt (3.0.1, full version) application for the iPhone makes life a bit easier for those of us responsibly inclined. Designed with an easy-to-use interface and a ton of options, iXpenseIt makes it fairly easy to keep track of purchases. You simply touch the “new” icon on your phone and enter your expenses on a calculator. Then you are given the option label each transaction by category, which includes everything from “food” to “auto” to “household.” You can further label by subcategory. For example, under “auto” you have “gas,” “insurance,” “repair,” etc. You can also label with the date, how you paid for the purchase, and vendor. The app also saves all of your previous entries so you don’t have to keep typing in “Pizza Hut” every time you go on a date. The categories and subcategories are customizable as well, so if you spend a lot of money on prostitutes, let’s say, you can create a “prostitutes” category. Just be careful they don’t steal your iPhone.
iXpenseIt breaks everything down into categories. Nifty, eh?
While extensive labeling of each and every purchase may sound tedious, I find that I only really use the category and subcategory sections. (Also, when you go to Target and buy a bunch of different items, it’s a pain to go through and figure out individual totals so you can enter them in the right categories.) However, the categories and subcategories are important because the coolest thing about the app is that it breaks down your monthly expenditures by both amount of money spent on specific categories and the percentage of your spending on each category. For instance, last month 6.6% of the money I spent was for gambling losses, and I'm never betting on the Cubs again. You can look at your reports in bar graphs, pie charts, or just a simple list, as seen below.
Who doesn't love a good bar chart?
IXpenseIt lets you set your own budget and gives you a running tally of your monthly expenses, letting you know exactly how much you have left to spend that month. There’s even a graphic that turns red when you’re almost over you allotted amount.
The app also updates frequently, so the developers are really on top of it. Recently, they finally added the capability to record and categorize income as well, so you can look at some good news as you lament the $40 you spent on Furry Vengeance tickets.
Ultimately, the iXpenseIt app is a great tool that, if used consistently, gives you perspective on where your money is going and exactly how much you are spending. The catch is that you have to be the kind of person who obsessively enters your spending info, even on little purchases (which seem to have a way of adding up). This app isn’t for everyone, but if you’re willing to commit, it’s extremely helpful and is a solid buy for five bucks.
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