Skip to main content

Posts

Top tips for first-timers

Top tips for first-timers What follows is not a set of rules. Rules about sex are impossible- what should matter is that what you do makes you feel good. And "feeling good" should last past the sex itself - you should not feel anxious afterwards about getting her pregnant or catching some horrible disease, so planning ahead about contraception and  safe sex  is part of the idea. What time should we have sex? When you have sex doesn't really matter. What should matter instead is that you and your partner have sex when you are both comfortable. Some people prefer to make love at the break of dawn, some in the afternoon sun, some in the darkness of night. More important than time of day is the time you have to spend. Give yourself a lot of time to  have sex the first time . A weekend is ideal, but at least the whole day, including sleep time. Should we eat or drink anything before sex? Avoid eating a heavy meal, since that'll just make you sleepy. Eat light, do...

Five big things that have made Apple

Five big things that have made Apple It's been called the most successful company in history. And it's just become the world's first public company  to be worth $1 trillion (£767bn). So how's it done it? Here's a quick look at five of the biggest things that have helped make Apple the gigantic success story it is today. 1. Steve Jobs - a brand unto himself As the co-founder of one of the world's most successful companies, his is one of the most recognised names in the world of tech. He put Apple at the forefront of the personal computing revolution, and was behind a suite of revolutionary, highly desirable products - from the iPod to the iPad. But he was also recognised as one of the modern world's first auteur chief executives - and became a brand unto himself. From the time he founded the company with Steve Wozniak in 1976 in Silicon Valley, California, Apple was seen as a firm that was set to achieve great things. Apple shares were ...

Amazon’s kid-friendly storytelling app is now free, and works with Alexa

Amazon’s chat-style fiction app,  Amazon Rapids , is now free, giving parents and kids unlimited access to the hundreds of stories in its catalog. Previously, the company charged $2.99 monthly for that privilege. Some of these stories will also be available to listen to through Alexa’s Storytime mode, which was launched last summer. Rapids  made its debut in 2016 . The then-subscription based service was meant to get children interested in reading, by presenting short stories in the style of text message conversations between characters. The idea was that these types of stories might be easier for a young reader to handle — according to Amazon, the app is aimed at  five- to 12-year-olds . Rapids also offered an age-appropriate, PG alternative to some of the competing chatty fiction apps  aimed at a more PG-13 audience , like Hooked and Yarn. The app can also read stories aloud, and offers young users a built-in glossary, to look words up as needed. These feat...

Caponata Flatbread-Vegan

Caponata Flatbread-Vegan INGREDIENTS Flour, for the surface  1 lb.   pizza dough, thawed if frozen 2 tbsp.   red wine vinegar 1 tsp.   honey 2 1/2 tbsp.   olive oil  2  plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise 1  small eggplant (about 12 oz), halved lengthwise 1  red pepper, quarteredred pepper, quartered Kosher salt  Pepper 1 tbsp.   capers, chopped 1/4 c.   flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped 1 c.   part-skim ricotta DIRECTIONS Heat oven to 425°F and heat grill to medium-high. On a lightly floured surface, shape pizza dough into large rectangle, transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven, then increase heat to 475°F.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together vinegar, honey, and 1 tablespoon oil. Brush tomatoes, eggplant, and red pepper with 1 tablespoon oil and season with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and...

My son, Osama: The al-Qaida leader’s mother speaks for the first time

On the corner couch of a spacious room, a woman wearing a brightly patterned robe sits expectantly. The red hijab that covers her hair is reflected in a glass-fronted cabinet; inside, a framed photograph of her firstborn son takes pride of place between family heirlooms and valuables. A smiling, bearded figure wearing a military jacket, he features in photographs around the room: propped against the wall at her feet, resting on a mantlepiece. A supper of Saudi meze and a lemon cheesecake has been spread out on a large wooden dining table. Alia Ghanem is Osama bin Laden’s mother, and she commands the attention of everyone in the room. On chairs nearby sit two of her surviving sons, Ahmad and Hassan, and her second husband, Mohammed al-Attas, the man who raised all three brothers. Everyone in the family has their own story to tell about the man linked to the rise of global terrorism; but it is Ghanem who holds court today, describing a man who is, to her, still a beloved son who so...

Apple’s 2018 iPhones are rumored to not include headphone dongle in the box

We all knew this day would come eventually, but apparently 2018 is the year: Apple will reportedly no longer bundle its  3.5mm to Lightning port headphone dongle  with this year’s iPhone models, according to a research note from Barclays  that was seen by  MacRumors . And while you can take Barclays’ note with a grain of salt, the sourcing does seem at least somewhat legitimate. The research note claims that Cirrus Logic, a supplier for the dongle has “confirmed” that it won’t be included in the box alongside the new iPhones. The wireless era could be fast approaching Apple has been trying to transition away from wired headphones entirely with its AirPods and lineup of wireless Beats headphones, so the move isn’t entirely surprising. The dongle was always meant as a stopgap while customers adjusted to the new, headphone jack-less reality that Apple imposed on the world. Apple will almost certainly continue to sell the dongle — which costs $9 — separately...

Record temperatures could hit Spain, Portugal amid European heat wave

London (CNN) Forecasters have warned of potentially record-breaking temperatures in Spain and Portugal this week as much of Europe swelters in a heat wave that has left some farmers suffering drought conditions. The UK Met Office said parts of the Iberian peninsula could beat the all-time continental European record of 48 degrees Celsius (118.4 degrees Fahrenheit) this week, with inland areas likely to be hotter than the coast. A child pours water over himself in Braga, northern Portugal, on Wednesday. That record was set in the Greek capital, Athens, in July 1977. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the record for Spain is currently 47.3 Celsius, while for Portugal it's 47.4 Celsius. The Portuguese capital, Lisbon, could see a high of 41 Celsius on Saturday, according to CNN forecasters. Its average temperature is 28 Celsius for this time of year. A heat wave warning was in place across much of southern and eastern France on Thursday. The n...