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The Culture Guide: 5 Things You Should Not Do When Visiting Germany

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“When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” is a popular adage that applies to wherever in the world you travel. However, the converse is ALSO true. When you venture to a new part of the world, it’s just as important to be aware of what NOT to do.

This is especially true in Germany, where being orderly is a way of life. In fact, Germans have an expression of their own: “Ordnung muss sein,” which means, “There must be order.”

If you’re venturing to Deutschland, it’s important to honor its social etiquette—starting with these five critical “don’ts.”

1. Jaywalk

When you’re crossing the road, do you usually look left and right to confirm that the coast is clear, and then go for it? While you may be able to get away with this at home, jaywalking is a big no-no in Germany.

Even if there isn’t another car or person around, wait until the traffic signal is green. Crossing on red will earn  you a steep fine and the disapproval of anyone who happens to see you.

While you’re at it, steer clear of bicycle lanes unless you’re riding. Walking in the bike lane is also a traffic violation—and dangerous, too.

2. Ignore recycling requirements

Germany has long held the distinction of being the world’s recycling leader. It doesn’t take this reputation lightly. You shouldn’t either. The vast majority of homes in Germany have different recycling bins for pretty much everything, and glass is even sorted by color.

Speaking of bottles, Germany also has a rigorous bottle return system. When you buy certain types of glass bottles, cans, and containers, you pay a deposit (“pfand”). When you return the empty container to any store that sells drinks (not necessarily the one you purchased from), you get your money back.

3. Drive in the Autobahn’s middle lane

The Autobahn may be famous for its lack of speed limits. However, this doesn’t mean it’s a free-for-all. In fact, one of the reasons people can drive at higher speeds on this world-famous highway is because driving is strictly regulated.

Unless you’re looking to experience some international road rage, steer clear of the middle and left lanes, which are reserved entirely for passing. And make sure to maintain a safe distance between your car and the car in front of you.

4. Be late

“Fashionably late” is not a thing in Germany. Germans are relentlessly punctual, and expect others to be punctual, too. Lateness is viewed as wasting other people’s time, which is viewed as rude and unacceptable.

If you have reservations, an appointment, or are expected at someone’s home, leave yourself some wiggle room in case you encounter traffic or issues with public transportation.

5. Ignore “Quiet Hours”

Certain times of day are designated as “quiet hours” in Germany, and Germans are very invested in keeping the peace during these times. This means refraining from doing anything that could potentially disturb your neighbors—from talking loudly to mowing your lawn. Have a loud washing machine? Even that may get you in trouble.

While “quiet hours” are held at specific times, Germans are generally restrained in their daily lives, as well. Oktoberfest revelry aside, if you behave raucously in Germany, you’ll almost certainly get some serious side-eye.

Top 5 Celebrities With Hidden Qualities

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When you think of celebrities, you probably think of the TV shows and movies that they’ve made. But many of the world’s favorite celebrities have hidden qualities. Sometimes these qualities are even more impressive than their acting abilities. The next five celebrities are inspiring for their real life personal qualities, not just for the roles they’ve played.

1. Chrissy Teigen is a Generous Tipper

Chrissy Teigen is known for her generosity when it comes to leaving tips. While visiting an Outback Steakhouse in Oho with her daughter, Teigen rewarded her waiter with a $1,000 tip on a food bill that was less than $200. Teigen knows what it’s like to work hard for every dollar, and she shows her appreciation for good service.

2. Tippi Hedren Started an Entire Industry

Have you ever wondered why the majority of nail salons in the U.S. are run by Asian women? You can thank Tippi Hedren. Remember the actress from Pyscho who met her demise in the famous shower scene? Tipi Hedren once visited a refugee camp in California when  was younger. The young Vietnamese women were dazzled by Tippi’s gorgeous, long nails. Tippi’s heart was touched. She flew in her personal manicurist to teach the 20 refuges the art of doing manicures. They went on to start their own small businesses in the U.S. They also taught the skill to their daughters, and the rest is history.

3. Keanu Reeves is a Nice Guy

Number three on our list is Keanu Reeves. Keanu is known wherever he goes for being a down-to-earth nice guy. He’s even been seen sitting down next to homeless people on the street in Hollywood. On a trip where the plane had to make an emergency landing, Keanu stuck around with the rest of the passengers. Instead of hightailing it out of there in a private limo, Keanu took the bus with everyone else. He “secretly” donates millions to children’s hospitals. He routinely gives up his seat on the bus for female and older passengers. Keanu Reeves is an all-around nice guy!

4. Kiefer Sutherland the Musician

Kiefer Sutherland is well-known for his roles in major movies and popular television series. But he’s also an accomplished musician with his own band. The name of Kiefer Sutherland’s band is the Kiefer Sutherland band. He plays the harmonica and the guitar, and sings lead vocals. There’s a lot to love about Kiefer and his music talent is yet another awesome quality.

5. Dolly Parton Helps Those Less Fortunate

Dolly Parton’s voice is widely-recognized. What is little known about Dolly is that she works hard to help those less fortunate. Dolly Parton was raised in poverty. Maybe that’s why she goes out of her way to help the poor. She created the Dollywood Foundation to help Appalachian kids to succeed in school. This is just one more reason to admire “The Queen of Nashville.”

These five celebrities are much more than what they appear to be on-screen. They have hidden qualities that make us proud of them for brand new reasons!

 

 

 

Top 5 Tips To Code More Effectively

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Programmers often look at the code they’ve written and wonder if they could have made it better. Quality code should do what you expect it to and provide evidence of that success. You should also be able to understand what it’s trying to do. In addition, good code should have minimal bugs and follow the standards for the language it’s written in. The following five tips will show you how to write more effective code.

Legibility

It’s essential that programmers unfamiliar with the code be able to determine what it’s trying to do, even if they don’t immediately understand how accomplishing its goal. Writing legible code includes the proper selection of names for classes, functions and variables. These names should be long enough to indicate what the entity is used for, but not overly cumbersome. Each language has its own naming conventions that can provide you with additional guidance in this area. For example, Python uses title case for classes, and snake case for functions and variables.

Linters

A code linter reads code and notifies the programmer when the code fails to comply with the standards of that language. These warnings often seem individually insignificant, but they can result in cumulative errors. You should use a linter regularly by including it as part of a continuous integration (CI) pipeline for your software development. Linting should be the first step in this process to ensure the code passes this test before it’s built, tested or released.

Comments

Comments are another area of programming where it’s important to strike the right balance between two extremes. While failing to comment code at all leaves a future developer unclear about what the code does, too many comments make it harder to read. Developers can include comments in many locations within the code, including the top of the file, at the class and function level, and inside the code itself. All files should have comments at the beginning, but inline comments should be quite rare.

Testing

Testing a program must be sufficient to show an outside developer that it works as intended, including expected cases, edge cases and failure cases. Test-driven development ensures that you think about test cases before writing code, giving you a better idea of the inputs and outputs the code will require. It also forces you to write the test cases first, preventing you from opting out of this task later.

Reviews

A review of your code by someone else is the ultimate measure of how easy it will be to maintain. Development teams often perform the first code review after they write a significant amount, but well before the software’s release is imminent. You should also build time in the schedule to make changes based on the review. Even if you’re writing the code by yourself, you should still find a colleague to review it.

How Many Ingredients Are Actually Scientifically Proven To Help Your Skin?

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There are so many skincare products on the market that it can be hard to choose between them. Did you know that very few skincare components are scientifically proven to benefit your skin? Most products sell promises instead of dermatologically-tested ingredients. Here are ten science-backed skincare ingredients to look for. 

1. Retinol 

Retinol is a concentrated derivative of Vitamin A that helps to promote cell turnover and renewal. It works like an antioxidant to reduce free-radical cell damage. Retinol is best used once or twice a week at night. 

2. Alpha-Hydroxy Acids 

Alpha-Hydroxy Acids are naturally occurring acids in fruits, vegetables, and milk. In particular, glycolic acid and lactic acid are proven to help moisturize the skin by acting as a humectant. These acids draw moisture from the environment to your skin, which helps to prevent dryness. 

3. Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid is often considered the "holy grail" of skincare ingredients. It’s a naturally produced substance in the body and helps the skin to retain moisture. This powerful ingredient can hold as much as a thousand times its weight in water! It also works for both dry and oily skin. 

4. Vitamin E 

Vitamin E is a group of fat-soluble antioxidants and is inexpensive and plentiful. This makes it a popular ingredient for many skincare products. Vitamin E works as a powerful anti-inflammatory to reduce redness and puffiness in the facial area. However, it shouldn’t be used for people with heavy acne or very oily skin as it may exacerbate these issues. 

5. Vitamin C 

Ascorbic acid is a type of Vitamin C that is commonly found in skincare products. It has been scientifically proven to help the body generate more of its own natural collagen, making it an extremely popular ingredient for anti-aging products. When used in conjunction with Vitamin E, both vitamins become significantly more effective. 

6. Algae 

Algae are found in many high-end skincare formulas due to their powerful antioxidants. Red algae specifically work to boost the skin’s moisture by more than 100%! Green and blue algae work to brighten and cleanse the skin. Astaxanthin is a type of red microalgae that works similarly to Vitamins E and C to improve the elasticity of the skin. 

7.  Ceramides 

Ceramides are a type of long-chain lipids that works as a barrier to help protect cells from bacteria and other foreign matter outside cell walls. Ceramides are components that occur naturally in the body but deteriorate over time. Skincare products that contain ceramides can help replace these lost lipids, resulting in a 100% or greater boost in moisture retention.

8. Vitamin B3 

Vitamin B3 has been shown to help reduce inflammation and even skin tone, creating a smoother and more consistent appearance. It’s also an effective acne-fighting ingredient that works by preventing outbreaks in the first stage of development before blemishes even arise. Studies show that this ingredient markedly reduces the appearance of sun spots, age spots, and other forms of hyperpigmentation after just four weeks of consistent use. 

The Great Outdoors: Five Things You Should Want From Your Hiking Shoes

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Whether you are a day hiker looking to tackle a few miles on a local trail or a more serious multiple-day backcountry type of hiker, taking care of your feet is key. 

 

Hikers tend to carry quite a bit of weight on their back regardless if it’s a day pack full of water, snacks, and extra layers or a larger backpack that’s 20% your body weight. In addition, hiking trails vary across multiple terrains, elevations, and difficulty levels, so having solid foot support is necessary. 

 

To help you think through this a little more, here are five things you should want from your hiking shoes:

 

Support & Stability

 

Having a hiking shoe that fits correctly is extremely important. You want a shoe to be snug and support your foot and/or ankle from twists, but you also want to pay attention to hot spot areas. 

 

Hiking involves a lot of ups and downs, uneven ground, slippery sections, and things like roots, rocks, streams, etc. that all cause a hiker to make more athletic movements. This is not a walk around the neighborhood track. 

 

Your feet should feel comfortable but protected. 

 

Pay attention to the arch, and the width of the toe box, and take into consideration the natural swelling that will occur after a few hours on a trail (this is a natural body reaction to exertion, but it can cause issues if your hiking shoes are too tight). 

 

Quality

 

In our opinion, hiking shoes are definitely one area where we do NOT recommend going the cheap route. There is a lot of technology, research, and seriously intentional design that goes into creating a high-quality hiking shoe, so you get what you pay for. 

 

Something worth researching when it comes to quality is the technology used to create lighter hiking shoes without compromising support and stability. 

 

Traction

 

Hiking shoes, even the lighter-weight ones, are different from gym shoes or tennis shoes in terms of traction. When you’re hiking, you are in the elements and not in a controlled gym environment. There is weather to deal with, mud, water crossings, rock faces, and just uneven terrain to trek through, so not slipping is a big deal. 

 

According to CamoTrek “[t]he two most frequent reasons for injuries on the trail (even in cold environments) are slipping and falling.”

 

Breathability

 

Hiking is a strenuous workout and exercise activity, and your feet get hot. 

 

Hot feet get sweaty, and that is a ripe environment for blisters to thrive if you’re not careful. Hiking also exposes people to rain, snow, mud, and water, so the more a hiking shoe can repel liquid and moisture and actually dry out quickly, the better. 

 

Flexibility 

 

Due to the varying terrain that is the natural outdoors, a hiker’s foot needs to be able to move around a little when it lands on the ground. Our feet and ankles are designed to help us balance as humans, so your hiking shoe should not take that away. 

 

It’s also worth noting that many outdoor stores that sell hiking shoes, like REI, have hiking experts on their staff that can talk to you and give you options. You can try on the shoes, see how they feel, and, ultimately, you can always return them and get a new pair if they are just not comfortable or right for your needs. 

 

You can also view a wide range of hiking shoes online, taking note of reviews, pros and cons, highlighted features, etc. This list is enough to get you on the right track, but you’re going to have to spend time looking at and trying specific shoes.

 

5 Hassle-free Ways to Engage Your Kids in the Outdoors, Even if You’re Not an Expert

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Let’s face it, every aspect of being a parent can be challenging – even when it comes to taking a much-needed break! So if the thought of taking your family to the beach or camping is overwhelming because of the planning and packing, then check out these 5 secrets to make the experience hassle-free.

If you’ve ever been at a theme park around 3 in the afternoon, you’ve probably seen tempers flare, meltdowns ensue, and things get ugly, even at the happiest place on earth. Why? Because kids get tired and hit their wall, especially on day 4 of a 7-day adventure. Frustrated parents balance managing the moment and getting the most value out of their vacation expenditure. It’s just one example of the many "overs" that we parents battle while trying to create the best life ever for our kids:

  • Overscheduling activities
  • Overbuying everything from snacks to souvenirs
  • Overpacking for every possible situation

Unfortunately, the overs can overwhelm some parents to opt-out of activities altogether, especially if the activity is an outdoor adventure where the parent has no prior experience or knowledge.

Time with your children is short, so make the most of it by mindfully exploring the world around you. Here are 5 hassle-free strategies to engage with the outdoors with minimal stress.

1. Think in half-day increments

If you’re within an hour of a beach, plan to go for a half day. Feed your kids before you leave, and only take essentials for an afternoon away from home. You don’t need a whole day to create memories to last a lifetime.

2. Adopt a carry-on luggage mentality

Those living near a beach (or lake) don’t go nearly enough. Often it’s because we pack like we will be stranded on a desert island for a month. Rethink your packing only to include essentials:

  • Sunscreen
  • Towel
  • Chair (optional)
  • Water
  • Snack for desperation (energy bar, fruit)
  • Toys your kids can carry (beachball, shovel and pail, or kite)

Embrace the beach’s options: collecting shells, exploring tide pools, digging for sand crabs, playing in the waves, body surfing, and sandcastle building.

3. Baby step into nature

Throw on sneakers, grab water, and spend an hour or two on a nature walk at the nearest park or nature preserve. Check out the area online and create an objective for your children in advance:

  • Collect leaves, twigs, rocks, or cones for a craft project
  • See how many different birds you can spot
  • Identify animals through tracks or scat

4. Sleep in your car

Did you know most minivans make excellent campers? With the seats folded down, a typical minivan provides as much room as a double bed. You can make a local overnight trip simple with:

  • Sleeping bags
  • A light source
  • Sweats as pajamas
  • Toothbrush, comb, and hand soap
  • Simple campsite dinner over a fire (local wood available at the campground)
  • S’mores for fun

Plan similar activities to your nature hike, adding stargazing at night. If you’re in cell phone range, apps will help you identify the constellations like a boss. Stop for breakfast or lunch on your way home.

5. Expand what you like

If you and the kids love specific adventures, do more of those. Try simple activities like fishing or geocaching. Add equipment as needed or when you lengthen outings, not before.

Simplify your adventures, especially in the outdoors. You just need to show up with your kids and let nature provide the entertainment.

5 Awesome Games That Inspire Empathy

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Some video games have stories that affect us deeply, whether it’s because the characters feel the same way you do or they give you a strong dose of nostalgia. The following five games inspire empathy through their carefully written tales and thought-provoking choices of the characters. This video includes spoilers for these games.

Gone Home

Gone Home explores the theme of returning to your childhood home as an adult. The main character is Katie Greenbriar, who is unable to find her family when she comes back home after spending time overseas. At first, it seems that this game is a supernatural horror, but it soon becomes clear that her family’s absence has a natural explanation. Katie’s sister Sam started dating another girl and ran away after her parents refused to accept their relationship. This game will draw you in with its story about the emotional strain of being unaccepted by your family, while providing some home that the characters will find happiness in the end.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

This game probably evokes the strongest emotions of all the ones on this list. It’s about two brothers with a father who has fallen ill. They must adventure together to find a cure for his illness, while developing a strong bond between them. The brother of the main character dies when the pair fight the final boss, which players may find to be an unbearable loss. This ending isn’t a complete surprise, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a bittersweet story that will many players will find heart-wrenching.

Papers Please

Other games on this list allow you to passively empathize with the characters, but Papers Please forces you to take a more active role in their fate. The player’s character is an immigration officer who decides whether to allow visitors to enter the fictional country of Arstotzka. On its surface, Papers Please is a simple puzzle game in which the player makes admittance decisions based on an increasingly complex set of rules. However, it’s really more about the moral dilemma of whether to allow desperate people to enter the country illegally or get bonuses to your paycheck by enforcing the rules.

Night in the Woods

Night in the Woods is about Mae, who has dropped out of college due to her deteriorating mental health. She returns home to discover that her hometown has changed, leaving you with a melancholy feeling that deepens as the story progresses. The narrative-focused gameplay will deeply affect you long after the game ends.

Celeste

Celeste is about Madeline’s attempt to climb Mount Celeste as a means of escaping the pressures of her life. During this journey, Madeline’s feelings of insecurity and depression begin to manifest as a darker version of herself. Celeste provides a powerful perspective on the struggles of mental health.

Nutrition tips to improve your appearance

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Working to develop a healthy glow? Beauty comes from the inside out, and there are plenty of ways that you can change what you put into your body to help improve your appearance. 

First, drink up. It’s key to take in plenty of water each day to help your skin stay soft and healthy. Aim for about half of your body weight in ounces. If you weigh 150 pounds, for example, drink at least 75 oz. of water each day. If you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, participating in strenuous exercise, or live in a hot climate, be sure to boost your water intake even more. In addition to working wonders for your skin, drinking plenty of water can also help you with sugar and caffeine cravings, both of which can negatively impact your overall look. 

Try adding sweet potatoes to your diet to up your vitamin A levels. Doing so can give your skin a nice glow, and can help fight dry, dull skin. Use sweet potatoes in place of standard potatoes as a side dish or in soups. Not a fan of sweet potatoes? Adding carrots and other orange vegetables can have the same effect. 

Amp up the fats. Healthy fats can help your skin stay plump and soft, and can help to fight off rough and dry skin. Having enough healthy fats in your diet doesn’t just help your skin stay moisturized and healthy–it can also reduce inflammation, helping you to get rid of any puffiness in your body. There are plenty of delicious ways to add healthy fats to your diet. Adding in fatty seafood like salmon (or taking a fish oil supplement), tossing your lunchtime salad with a dash of olive oil, and snacking on walnuts can all help you get the healthy fat you need to look good and feel full. 

Put down the sugar. We know, we know–sugar is delicious, and if you’re used to reaching for something sweet to get you going, it can be tough to break the candy habit. Getting rid of added sugars is one of the best things you can do for your health, both inside and out. When you cut out added sugars, you’ll likely notice that your skin appears more clear and vibrant, and that you have a consistent sense of energy throughout your day. 

Need a moment of zen in your day? Try a cup of green tea. Research shows that drinking green tea can help protect the skin from sun damage. Many people who drink green tea regularly notice a positive difference in their skin, including improvements in texture and elasticity. If you’re drinking green tea late in the day, be sure to choose a decaffinated version. 

What you don’t know about clean beauty

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The term “clean beauty” gets thrown about a lot these days. However, there’s not much agreement on what it means, other than that it has to do with cosmetics and the ingredients that go into them. That has led to a lot of confusion and misinformation around the topic.

Here are some facts about clean beauty that you may not be aware of. 

There’s No Definitive Standard for Clean Beauty

A food producer can’t label something “organic” unless it meets specific criteria. There’s nothing like that for clean beauty. Any beauty product manufacturer can define for itself what clean beauty is. There’s no governing body that enforces labeling standards.

Most people agree that clean beauty products must not contain any toxic ingredients and that the label should honestly declare everything that’s in the products. Many manufacturers of clean beauty products adhere to these principles, but there’s nothing that forces them to. A consumer must rely on the reputation of the specific manufacturer to be ensured of a product that’s truly clean.

Clean Beauty Is Not the Same as Green Beauty

While neither clean nor green beauty has a formal definition, there are differences in their characteristics that most experts agree on. Green beauty, like green anything, is expected to be eco-friendly. Products that present themselves as green beauty are usually plant-based, sustainably sourced and don’t involve any cruelty to animals.

These may sound like admirable characteristics, but a beauty product can be green and still contain natural ingredients that are toxic. Conversely, a beauty product can be completely safe and not be green because it contains animal products such as honey, beeswax and silk.

Clean Beauty Doesn’t Have To Be 100 Percent Natural

People tend to think that natural is good and synthetic is bad, but that’s not necessarily the case. After all, poison ivy and nightshade mushrooms are natural, but you don’t want to find them in your beauty products. On the other hand, modern science has developed a multitude of beauty products that are perfectly safe.

Even preservatives can be safe. In fact, cosmetics need some preservatives. Without them the products are unstable.

Clean beauty products must be non-toxic, but they’re not called on to be all natural.

Clean Beauty Products Are Not Necessarily More Gentle

Just as some people react to synthetic ingredients, others don’t get along with some natural ingredients. There are common clean beauty components that can cause skin irritation and set off allergies. Examples are citrus extracts, essential oils and some natural fragrances.

Conversely, plenty of synthetic ingredients are hypoallergenic and just fine for sensitive skin. Because they’re synthetic, scientists are always improving them to eliminate allergens and irritants.

Choosing Natural Beauty Products

Despite the confusion, the trend toward natural beauty is largely a positive one. There are plenty of manufacturers who are serious about making products that are safe and non-toxic. The keys for consumers are to know the manufacturers and to read the labels.

Are gaming laptops a good idea?

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Gaming laptops are designed to be powerful. They have fast CPUs, lots of RAM, advanced graphics processing and a high screen resolution. They also multitask well. However, you may be wondering if they’re a good idea and if you should purchase one. Thankfully, there are some questions you can ask yourself to determine if you need a gaming laptop or possibly a desktop computer.

1. Where do you game?

If you primarily game at home, you may not need a gaming laptop. Instead, you could purchase a high-end desktop for nearly the same price as the laptop, and it may even have more power. However, if you like being able to change rooms while you game or you travel and game, a gaming laptop may be a better choice.

2. Do you want your laptop to have style?

Older gaming laptops didn’t have much style. The powerful processors, RAM and internal components often meant they were clunky and heavy. However, those problems no longer exist. Modern gaming laptops are sleek. They often contain keyboards that light up in different colors, making the keys easier to see, and they’re just as thin as a regular laptop. If you want a laptop with style, choosing a gaming laptop may be the answer.

3. Do you multitask?

Gaming laptops aren’t just built for gaming. They’re built for power users. Gaming laptops have the ability to multitask several resource-intensive apps at the same time. This means that if you wanted to watch a movie, check your email, create graphics and browse the web, you could do all of that simultaneously.

4. Do you need a powerful computer for work?

If you don’t game, but have a resource-intensive job or work from home, you may want to consider a gaming laptop. Due to a gaming laptop’s power, it’s great for people with work-from-home jobs that require lots of video conferences. They’re also great if your company requires you to install and use lots of software simultaneously. If you happen to work in graphics, video or sound production, gaming laptops have enough power for you to successfully use high-end photo and graphics creation software, CAD programs and video and sound creation and editing tools.

5. Do you need computing versatility?

If you need the ability to stay or go, a gaming laptop can provide it. Gaming laptops are dockable. Meaning that you can buy a docking station and connect peripherals, like extra monitors, keyboards and mice to the station. While you’re at home, you can dock the laptop. This allows you to enjoy an experience similar to working on a desktop. If you have to leave suddenly, you can quickly unplug your laptop and take it with you.

Whether or not you need a gaming laptop depends on your computing needs. If you like high computing power in a portable design, a gaming laptop may be for you. However, if you don’t take your work or games with you on the go, you may be better served with a desktop, which can be cheaper and more powerful than a gaming laptop.