While privately owned ones remain illegal to use on public roads, cycle lanes and pavements due to an ancient law dating back to the 1800s, trials of rental e-scooters are taking place in more than 30 areas across England.

They were brought forward to support a ‘green’ restart of socially-distanced travel and help mitigate reduced public transport capacity amid the pandemic.

While a little late to the party compared to other cities, London launched its hire scheme in June, offering up 1,200 through operators Lime, Dott and Tier. According to Lime, its e-scooters have already been ridden 7,500 times across the capital.

But despite e-scooters offering a more environmentally-friendly way to get around, there have been concerns over how safe they are as a means of transport. Six people are believed to have died in the UK to date – the first being YouTuber Emily Hartridge in July 2019 – with others suffering serious injuries in road accidents.

Figures show the number of riders harmed in collisions in London alone leapt from 27 in 2019 to 181 between January and November 2020. The number of pedestrians hurt by e-scooters doubled over the same period, from 13 to 26, according to data released under Freedom of Information legislation.

Some campaigners are even calling on the government to stop the e-scooter hire trials and ban retailers from selling them until further safety reviews have taken place, claiming they’ve made towns and cities ‘no go zones’ for blind people. There are also concerns about people riding them illegally on pavements and while intoxicated.

It paints a pretty bleak picture, but the use of motorised scooters has been permitted in many European cities including Germany, Denmark, France and Sweden for years, and their popularity has skyrocketed.

With speeds limited to 15.5mph in the UK (12.5mph in London), helmets encouraged (but not mandatory – the same rule that applies to London’s cycle hire scheme) and mandatory ‘in-app training’ before your first ride, there are some safety precautions in place – so just how practical are they as a means of commuting? Here FEMAIL writer Hayley Richardson took one for a spin in Kensington.

Having seen various headlines about people getting hurt – and worse – while riding e-scooters I was somewhat anxious about the prospect of riding one around central London.

For a start, balance isn’t my strong point, and my only previous encounter with a motorised vehicle that wasn’t a car saw me hurtle my school pal’s scooter into the back of a parked car because I couldn’t locate the brake.

I’ve only ever cycled through the capital once – on a weekend – and a relatively close-encounter with a double decker bus was enough to send me running for the Tube.

Therefore I thought it’d be a wise idea to practice on an e-scooter off-road first. As I live outside of the trial zones, I whizzed around my cul-de-sac onboard a Micro Explorer from Micro Scooters, which boasts an 18-mile range and a 15mph top speed. It also weighs just 13.5kg (considerably less than the rental e-scooters), comes with a free helmet and folds up, making it a good option should privately-owned ones become legal on UK roads.

Feeling distinctly more confident, I headed to the nearest e-scooter rank to our office, where I was met by a colourful collection of at least 20 vehicles. Having downloaded all three hire apps to my phone – Lime, Tier and Dott – I was spoilt for choice.

Despite registering beforehand I did spend a good 10 minutes faffing around on the apps – thankfully it wasn’t raining for a change – which wouldn’t have been ideal if I was in a rush on my way into work, but like anything, once you’ve done it once it’s a pretty quick and easy process.

After scanning the e-scooter’s QR code I was ready to roll and cautiously made my way to the road. It was a quiet street, ideal for getting to grips with the accelerator lever and testing out the hand brakes, which were reassuringly responsive.

Much to my relief, the e-scooter felt very sturdy; it was much heavier than the Micro scooter and glided smoothly around corners. Within a few minutes I felt quite comfortable and ready to take on the busy high street.

One of the (very few) perks of the pandemic for cyclists was the introduction of more designated bike lanes and improvements to the cycling infrastructure in the city.

These have also benefitted e-scooter riders – though I did feel my presence wasn’t particularly welcome at times. Several cyclists whizzed past me even as I hit top speed, which I couldn’t help but think put them more at risk of having an accident than me.

Equally while the majority of car drivers gave me a wide berth like they would a cyclist, others accelerated past me a little too close for comfort.

HOW TO BE A SAFE E-SCOOTER RIDER

Naturists are not the same as exhibitionists – the latter being motivated by titillation, a desire to be seen; whereas the former simply feel inhibited by clothing and in discarding it bring themselves closer to nature. With decades of exposure to sun, wind and rain, older naturists are sometimes identifiable by their leathery complexion and golden brown colour (sans tan line) – as I discovered when I took a tour of the National Gallery of Australia last week, completely nude, along with 49 other art lovers.

It is easy to write off a nude art tour as gimmicky; in fact, the experience was quite profound. To illustrate, though our skin does not see, would your experience in an art gallery be different if you were to wear a ski mask? There is some constriction there. And to remove the ski mask, to remove one’s clothing, is a physical form of liberation.

I am not a natural nudist. My mother taught me to always cover up my body. I’m now 31 and she still, on occasion, chastises me for clothing she believes is too sheer. But over time, I began to see how illogical bodily modesty was, and made a casual commitment to exercising my nudity muscle. I grew accustomed to changing in front of close friends, then in change rooms of public pools. Once I went topless on a beach. I remember my breasts feeling weirdly heavy, like sacks of flour. And having walked through the halls of one of Australia’s most prestigious galleries, naked as the day I was born, surely I have now completed “expert level” nudism.

It’s funny when you shed inhibition. You can no longer remember what it was like to care. And so I was baffled by the response from friends and colleagues after I published my story. “You’re so brave,” they said, as if I had returned from a month-long tour of war-torn Iraq. During an interview with the BBC on the topic, a listener sent in a two-word text: “no way”. That seemed to be how everyone felt, even those who I had otherwise considered open-minded. No way. No thanks.

All they see is terror, and multiple levels of it.

Everyone will look at me, people claim. Of course, we looked at each other’s bodies, but not with any real scrutiny. With so much visible flesh, it becomes as ordinary as an uncovered face.

As for those afraid of criticism – who is in any place to judge? Nudity enlightens us to the fact that human beings, truly, come in all shapes and sizes, and bodies that adhere to conventional beauty standards are as rare as Jennifer Lawrence. (And that there can be more beauty to a rotund bottom than a flat stomach.)

And the final terror of being naked in public is the fear of being turned on by it.But being naked taught me that a partially clothed form is infinitely sexier than a nude one. Clothing is what denotes our bodies as illicit. Consider this: which sentence is more sexual? 1) The man and woman were naked. 2) The man unbuttoned his shirt and slid it over his smooth back. The woman slipped her panties down to her knees.

Isn’t nudity, at heart, just a matter of personal preference and cultural norms? One woman wears a hijab, another a bikini on the beach, the last would prefer to go nude. And yet nudity (and wearing a hijab, for that matter) attracts undue vitriol. “Exhibitionists at an exhibition,” sneered one commenter. As if a group of consenting adults in a state of natural undress is somehow offensive. Allow me to fetch the smelling salts, should you be hit with a case of the vapours.

The UK is known for its prudishness – blame the Puritans, or Queen Victoria – but across the channel, continental Europe has a more relaxed attitude towards nudity. Even Catholic Spain is less offended by boobs on the beach than Britain. And just try entering a sauna in Austria or Germany wearing clothes. In Australia, public nudity is deemed illegal with the exception of a select few beaches and your local nudist club, usually located out of town in the bush (aptly enough).

If bodily shame began with Christianity’s formation of the doctrine of original sin, religion’s waning influence on our naked pursuits has given way to consumer society. As well as preaching bodily anxiety, the market promises the answers to any search for salvation (credit card fees apply): makeovers, protein shakes, gym membership, yoga class, nip and tuck surgery, fake tan, hair implants, fast fashion. I say, no way. No thanks.

I considered posting a nude photo of myself for this piece. Put my money (and my boobs) where my mouth is, and all. “I’m doing it!” I told my friends triumphantly. #FreeTheNipple and more. Let everyone see my little tyre belly and unkempt bush – these are bits and bobs of human body and nothing more.

But now I have cold feet. My attitude towards nudity is not shared by the general populace in Australia, what do I risk in future unintended consequences? Anything published on the internet is there forever, about as easy to clean up as an oil spill in the ocean. Instead, I compromised. Last week I allowed photos of myself to be taken: silly nude selfies that now sit in the phones of new friends, not a single non-disclosure agreement signed. It felt like a provocative act, more so than getting nude in the first place, and required accepting I may one day find them floating about the “nsfw” reddit thread, probably tagged “OK-looking Asian, with average-sized melons”.

Nudity, and nude photos, is the ultimate test of self-acceptance. Do you love yourself enough that you can give it all away? I want to believe my answer is “yes”.
Source:The Guardian

But if this sci-fi dream were to ever become reality, what would it be like to actually live on Mars?

In 1965, NASA’s Mariner 4 spacecraft completed the first Martian flyby, and six years later, the Soviet Union’s Mars 3 lander became the first spacecraft to land softly on Mars. Since then, there have been numerous successful missions to the Red Planet, including the deployment of four Mars rovers — the now-defunct Sojourner and Spirit, and the still-active Opportunity and Curiosity — and NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft, which produced a map of the entire planet. [How Living on Mars Would Be Challenging

Continue: http://www.space.com/28557-how-to-live-on-mars.html

• Couponing – The best way to use coupons is to make a list of what you need first and THEN look for coupons. Discipline yourself to only clip coupons for items on your list. The worst way to approach couponing is to just flip through the weekend circulars to see what appeals to you. Looking at all those glossy pictures and deals can trigger a perceived “need” in your brain that didn’t exist before. As a result, you can end up buying more than you truly need.

• Bulk purchases – Unless you are super organized, you can easily end up buying things on sale that go stale (in the case of food products) or buying more than you need (because you forget what you already have at home). Worst of all, by tying up your money in excess bulk purchases, you may not be using that money to enhance your financial freedom by taking actions such as paying-off high interest credit card debt. The best way to buy in bulk is with a careful, well-though out pre-shopping game plan.

• Inexpensive clothes – My grandfather always said “Buy few, but buy the best you can afford at the time.” The problem with disposable fashion (think cheap tee shirts and bargain priced accessories) is that because the price point is so low, you may be tempted to buy many more than you need (“Heck, since they are only $9.99, I should buy three”). As such, your total cost could be higher than buying just one great item. Also, since these items often don’t last as long, you may have to replace your wardrobe more often than if you bought one high quality piece to begin with.

• Store credit cards – You think you are simply making a smart move by saving 10% off of your initial purchase, but now you are on a mailing list for all sorts of promotions. Looking through those incoming catalogs or eMags can once again trigger demand where there wasn’t any originally. Also, if you are late on a payment, interest and penalty rates can often be much higher on store cards than traditional bank cards.

• Vacation specials – When you take advantage of an attractively priced vacation package, you may feel so great about it (“WhoooHooo, what a deal!”) and end up splurging in so many other areas that you end up spending more than if you hadn’t had a deal.

Source: Huffington Post

Some of  low-fat dairy products are rich in calcium and vitamin D, these help preserve and build muscle mass—essential for maintaining a robust metabolism.

Source: Health.com

Keyboard Shortcuts (Microsoft Windows)

Dialog Box – Keyboard Shortcuts
1. CTRL+TAB (Move forward through the tabs)
2. CTRL+SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the tabs)
3. TAB (Move forward through the options)
4. SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the options)
5. ALT+Underlined letter (Perform the corresponding command or select the corresponding option)
6. ENTER (Perform the command for the active option or button)
7. SPACEBAR (Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box)
8. Arrow keys (Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons)
9. F1 key (Display Help)
10. F4 key (Display the items in the active list)
11. BACKSPACE (Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box)

Microsoft Natural Keyboard Shortcuts
1. Windows Logo (Display or hide the Start menu)
2. Windows Logo+BREAK (Display the System Properties dialog box)
3. Windows Logo+D (Display the desktop)
4. Windows Logo+M (Minimize all of the windows)
5. Windows Logo+SHIFT+M (Restore the minimized windows)
6. Windows Logo+E (Open My Computer)
7. Windows Logo+F (Search for a file or a folder)
8. CTRL+Windows Logo+F (Search for computers)
9. Windows Logo+F1 (Display Windows Help)
10. Windows Logo+ L (Lock the keyboard)
11. Windows Logo+R (Open the Run dialog box)
12. Windows Logo+U (Open Utility Manager)

Accessibility Keyboard Shortcuts
1. Right SHIFT for eight seconds (Switch Filter Keys either on or off)
2. Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN (Switch High Contrast either on or off)
3. Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK (Switch the Mouse Keys either on or off)
4. SHIFT five times (Switch the Sticky Keys either on or off)
5. NUM LOCK for five seconds (Switch the Toggle Keys either on or off)
6. Windows Logo +U (Open Utility Manager)
7. Windows Explorer Keyboard Shortcuts
8. END (Display the bottom of the active window)
9. HOME (Display the top of the active window)
10. NUM LOCK+Asterisk sign (*) (Display all of the sub folders that are under the selected folder)
11. NUM LOCK+Plus sign (+) (Display the contents of the selected folder)
12. NUM LOCK+Minus sign (-) (Collapse the selected folder)
12. LEFT ARROW (Collapse the current selection if it is expanded, or select the parent folder)
14. RIGHT ARROW (Display the current selection if it is collapsed, or select the first sub folder)

Shortcut Keys for Character Map
After you double-click a character on the grid of characters, you can move through the grid by using the keyboard shortcuts:
1. RIGHT ARROW (Move to the right or to the beginning of the next line)
2. LEFT ARROW (Move to the left or to the end of the previous line)
3. UP ARROW (Move up one row)
4. DOWN ARROW (Move down one row)
5. PAGE UP (Move up one screen at a time)
6. PAGE DOWN (Move down one screen at a time)
7. HOME (Move to the beginning of the line)
8. END (Move to the end of the line)
9. CTRL+HOME (Move to the first character)
10. CTRL+END (Move to the last character)
11. SPACEBAR (Switch between Enlarged and Normal mode when a character is selected)

Microsoft Management Console (MMC)
Main Window Keyboard Shortcuts
1. CTRL+O (Open a saved console)
2. CTRL+N (Open a new console)
3. CTRL+S (Save the open console)
4. CTRL+M (Add or remove a console item)
5. CTRL+W (Open a new window)
6. F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)
7. ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the MMC window menu)
8. ALT+F4 (Close the console)
9. ALT+A (Display the Action menu)
10. ALT+V (Display the View menu)
11. ALT+F (Display the File menu)
12. ALT+O (Display the Favorites menu)

MMC Console Window Keyboard Shortcuts
1. CTRL+P (Print the current page or active pane)
2. ALT+Minus sign (-) (Display the window menu for the active console window)
3. SHIFT+F10 (Display the Action shortcut menu for the selected item)
4. F1 key (Open the Help topic, if any, for the selected item)
5. F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)
6. CTRL+F10 (Maximize the active console window)
7. CTRL+F5 (Restore the active console window)
8. ALT+ENTER (Display the Properties dialog box, if any, for the selected item)
9. F2 key (Rename the selected item)
10. CTRL+F4 (Close the active console window. When a console has only one console window, this shortcut closes the console)

Remote Desktop Connection Navigation
1. CTRL+ALT+END (Open the Microsoft Windows NT Security dialog box)
2. ALT+PAGE UP (Switch between programs from left to right)
3. ALT+PAGE DOWN (Switch between programs from right to left)
4. ALT+INSERT (Cycle through the programs in most recently used order)
5. ALT+HOME (Display the Start menu)
6. CTRL+ALT+BREAK (Switch the client computer between a window and a full screen)
7. ALT+DELETE (Display the Windows menu)
8. CTRL+ALT+Minus sign (-) (Place a snapshot of the active window in the client on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)
9. CTRL+ALT+Plus sign (+) (Place a snapshot of the entire client window area on the Terminal server clip board and provide the same functionality as pressing ALT+PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)

Microsoft Internet Explorer Keyboard Shortcuts
1. CTRL+B (Open the Organize Favorites dialog box)
2. CTRL+E (Open the Search bar)
3. CTRL+F (Start the Find utility)
4. CTRL+H (Open the History bar)
5. CTRL+I (Open the Favorites bar)
6. CTRL+L (Open the Open dialog box)
7. CTRL+N (Start another instance of the browser with the same Web address)
8. CTRL+O (Open the Open dialog box,the same as CTRL+L)
9. CTRL+P (Open the Print dialog box)
10. CTRL+R (Update the current Web)

Source:Brightsourceit

Don’t worry if you’re concerned about your heart health. There is a much more effective way to improve your cardiovascular health, which I’ll cover in just a minute. And here’s the best part: it takes only 1/3 the time of a conventional cardio workout AND it also triggers your youth enhancing hormones instead of those nasty free radicals that age you faster!

Source: Maxworkouts