CES 2017: Amazon's virtual aide Alexa shouts above rivals

Virtual assistants are everywhere at CES this year - but one speaks louder than the rest. Amazon's Alexa has popped up in a bewildering list of devices including fridges, cars and robots.

Manufacturers are clearly interested in making their appliances voice-operable, and many see Alexa as a great way to do this.

Highly-rated teenager Ademola Lookman achieved his ‘dream move’ on Thursday signing for Premier League Everton from third tier Charlton Athletic for a fee reported to be £11million ($13.5m, 12.8m euros). The 19-year-old forward — who broke into the Charlton first team midway through last season scoring five goals when they were in the Championship before being relegated — signed a four-and-a-half year contract. 

10 Financial Resolutions for the New Year

 A Practical Guide to Putting Your Life on Track for Success

The New Year is a great time to overhaul your financial life for the better, and one excellent place to start is by making good financial resolutions that can help get you closer to your money goals. Here are a few you might consider adding to your own personal agenda.

1. Know What You Want

Have a clear, concise financial goal for the year. It isn’t good enough to say, “I want to have my credit card paid down and more money in the bank.” Instead, you should write a financial resolution that is clear and actionable like, “I have the balance on my credit card paid down to $0, over $5,000 in my savings account, and a fully funded IRA.”

2. Prioritize Your Debts

Not all debt is equal. Make a list of your liabilities and organize them by the annual interest rate. Those with the highest rates (most likely your credit card debt) should be paid off immediately. It does no good to invest money while you are paying 19 percent or more in interest each year. In a lot of cases, the wisest course of action is to sell any certificate of deposits, savings bonds or other cash holdings and use them to pay the balance. Why? If you owe $10,000 on your credit card and pay 19 percent interest annually ($1,900 per year), while at the same time, own a $10,000 certificate of deposit at a bank, paying you 4 percent interest ($400 a year), you would actually save yourself $1,500 a year by making a resolution to paid the debt!

3. Open an IRA

If you haven't done so already, open and begin contributing to an individual retirement account. Your financial planner or accountant should be able to tell you whether a Traditional or Roth IRA is better for you.

Both offer important tax advantages that can add up to a significant amount money by retirement.

DISC HERNIATION

Several words are used to describe the extent of a disc herniation seen on MRI examination. A disc herniation occurs when the soft cushion between the spinal bone ruptures. A portion of that disc can herniate, or push outwards, against the spinal cord or the spinal nerves. The pressure on the nerves causes the symptoms typical of a disc herniation.

TYPES 

The types of disc herniation that occur include:

• Disc Protrusion
  Commonly called a disc bulge, a disc protrusion occurs with the spinal disc and the associated ligaments remain in tact, but form an outpouching that can press against the nerves.

• Disc Extrusion
  A disc extrusion occurs when the outer part of the spinal disc ruptures, allowing the inner, gelatinous part of the disc to squeeze out. Disc extrusions can occur with the ligaments in tact, or damaged.
  

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Earth lost its atmosphere? Actually, the planet is slowly losing its atmosphere, bit by bit, bleeding it off into space. But, I'm talking about instantly losing the atmosphere, all at once. Just how bad would it be? Would people die? Would everything die? Could the planet recover? Here's a breakdown of what could be expected:

1. It would be silent. Sound requires a medium to transmit waves. You could feel vibrations from the ground, but you wouldn't hear anything.
2. Birds and planes would fall from the sky. Although we can't see air (except clouds), it has mass that supports flying objects.

Drowning in Freshwater versus Saltwater  

Why More People Drown in Freshwater

Drowning in freshwater is different from drowning in saltwater. In fact, more people drown in freshwater than saltwater. Around 90% of drownings occur in fresh water, such as swimming pools, bath tubs and rivers. This is partly because of the chemistry of the water and how it relates to osmosis. Here's how it works.

It's much harder to survive drowning in freshwater because osmosis of fresh water into cells damages them.

Drowning in Saltwater

Drowning involves suffocating while in water. You don't even need to breathe in the water for this occur, but if you do inhale salt water, the high salt concentration prevents the water from crossing into lung tissue.

NIGERIANS! WATCH OUT: A KILLER IN YOUR FRIDGE

SWEET POISON..A MUST READ !!!

In October of 2001, my sister started getting very sick. She had stomach spasms and she was having a hard time getting around. Walking was a major chore. It took everything she had just to get out of bed; she was in so much pain.

By March 2002, she had undergone several tissue and muscle biopsies and was on 24 various prescription medications. The doctors could not determine what was wrong with her. She was in so much pain, and so sick; she just knew she was dying.

She put her house, bank accounts, life insurance, etc., in her oldest daughter's name, and made sure that her younger children were to be taken care of. She also wanted her last hooray; so she planned a trip to Florida (basically in a wheelchair) for March 22nd.