Travel tips from Canadian 'the world's most travelled man'

Mike Spencer Bown has been backpacking virtually non-stop since 1990, and has visited all 195 of the world's countries on all seven continents.

His grand adventure started 23 years ago, while he was looking down from a mountain in British Columbia. He told CTV Your Morning he had always been fascinated by ecosystems and was inspired to explore new ones.

“I’d seen what I could see across Canada and the States, but I was really curious about jungles, maybe the Himalaya Mountains and things like that,” said Bown, who says he first began his vagabond lifestyle to see different kinds of animals. “But then I found out that people, if anything, were actually more interesting.”

Through his travels Bown picked up a trick or two. For example, a khaki shirt with a lot of pockets is helpful for impersonating officials.

Victim of Facebook Love

According to Mozart ‘Love is the soul of the genius’. As Homo sapiens we were conceived from a love conjunction of two individuals that we call ‘birth parents’. We were made in love and live for love. We crave for love and had to share love ourselves. Love keeps the human race orbiting. The genius in us is being called out when we are arrested by the divinity of love.

Since we are birth by love, we daily seek love. Before the age of social media, we seek to satisfy this crave for love by being vocal about it and making our intentions known by different cues in popular culture.  In recent, the advent of technology has made the onerous task seem invincible where you can easily drive love by the number of text characters, type of emoticons and smileys in a person’s status update on a social media tool.

Social media has offered the current generation one of the most unique platform to connect with family and friends seamlessly real-time. Facebook is the colossus giant ruling this space and have at least 2 out of every 7 person connected on the social networking triangle. You can easily share photos, videos, send messages and update personal status. The first thing Facebook ask you is to update your status, it goes like ‘what’s on your mind?’ You know deeply down your answer – you crave for attention and love. In the real sense, Facebook can connect you with people and at most give you ‘likes’ but it is not capable of giving love. You seemly cannot judge the quality of life by the number of Facebook likes.

Read full on ablethoughts

Ten parenting mistakes and how to prevent them

Sally Anscombe/Getty Images

Tara Kennedy-Kline | Yahoo!
We hear it over and over again; every book, article and TV show confirms it: parenting is the hardest job on the planet. But is it really? Is raising a happy, healthy, well-behaved child truly more difficult than rocket science? Should it truly require a Ph.D or are we—as parents—looking to get off the hook for being judged for our mistakes? I tend to believe it’s more about the latter

10. You decide on a parenting “style” before your child is born and tell everyone how perfectly you will execute it. Talk about being destined to fail! Making a decision that huge before getting to know your child’s patterns will undoubtedly sabotage your every plan. The mother who intends to breastfeed exclusively will have a child with an allergy to nipples and the mom who is confident that corporal punishment is the only way, will give birth to a child who is hypersensitive to touch. Learn your child before you choose your lessons. And, if necessary, decide to adopt a parenting “mindset” rather than a style.

9. You don’t allow your children to play and explore. Children learn through play, and play includes struggling, making mistakes and even getting some bumps and bruises along the way. If we are constantly guarding, guiding and correcting their playtime, they will be afraid to try new things and, more importantly, they will not learn how to correct or soothe themselves.

Watch Run The Jewels Duo - Killer Mike and El-P Offer Dating Tips To Teen Girls

Killer Mike and El-P, a.k.a. Run the Jewels, took part in Rookie’s Ask a Grown Man series, where teen girls ask adult fellas questions about love and life, and it’s amazingly not as creepy as it sounds. But the duo responds to teenage girls on how run a successful love life. Watch video after cut

MenTalk! Three Food To Eat To Make Your Manhood Grow Bigger

1. Bananas – Studies have suggested that men who successfully gain inches usually have healthy hearts. It has also shown that the potassium found in bananas aids in the health of the heart health and also helps one with proper blood circulation. With this good circulation of blood and a healthy heart, it makes p*nis growth achievable. Eating bananas will also help keep the body’s sodium level low which aids in the prevention of heart diseases and other related heart problems.

2. Salmon – This fish is rich in essential fatty oils such as omega and helps in developing the p*nis fast. These healthy fatty oils helps in the thinning of the blood (lower viscosity), which in turn aids in the circulation of blood around the body. Research has shown having a healthy blood flow is one of the main factors in achieving stronger, stiffer erections.

3. Onions – Well, many do not know but many of today’s top researchers believe that onions are also an essential food for healthy circulation of the blood. It also aids in the prevention of blood clots. This carries a great advantage to increasing the circulation of blood to the heart as well as the p*nis.

Q&A On How To Survive Canadian Flu Season

 In this Nov. 27, 2014 file photo, Walgreens pharmacist Chris Nguyen gives a free flu shot to Sandra Bazaldua in Houston, Texas

Helen Branswell, The Canadian Press

It's official — flu season is in full swing in many parts of Canada.

Health authorities were warning all fall that this could be a bad flu season, because of the type of virus that is most commonly infecting people and the fact that this year's flu vaccine doesn't offer optimum protection against it.

Other viruses are circulating too, adding to the general confusion about what influenza actually is and how much of the illness being seen at the moment is due to flu viruses.

We asked some experts to explain what they are seeing this flu season:

Question: Is this year worse than other recent years?

This seems to be shaping up to be a pretty active influenza season.

It started early, with a lot of virus around in December.

Flu seasons that start to pick up before Christmas can take off, because the multi-generational mixing at family gatherings is a perfect way for influenza to transmit from toddlers and tykes to grandmas and grandpas — and mums and dads as well.

Six Relationship Rules Every Couple Should Break In 2015

Be a happy couple this year (REX)

We’re suckers when it comes to rules, especially any that apply to our relationships.

Rules appear to offer a one-size-fits-all magic formula. Follow them and everything will be OK.

Why suffer the guilt and pressure of personal decision-taking when it comes to enhancing your love life when you can open up the rule book and put a few well-tried adages into practise instead?

But are our relationships really so simple and straightforward that a few corny old sayings will sort out every dilemma?

Surely rules are made to be broken? Here are a few famous clichés just begging to be smashed in the New Year...

1.    NEVER GO TO SLEEP ON AN ARGUMENT
Yes, why spoil the fun of a row by taking time out to nap? Surely the only point of always making up before bedtime is in case the love of your life croaks in the night before you got a chance to say ‘sorry’ for bitching about his/her habit of leaving toenail cuttings on the bread board?

New Study Shows The Power of Hugs To Ward Off Stress And Infections

AFP
It may sound strange, but hugs can protect stressed individuals from getting sick, according to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University who say hugging represents a close relationship and a source of social support.

“We know that people experiencing ongoing conflicts with others are less able to fight off cold viruses,” says lead study author Sheldon Cohen. “We also know that people who report having social support are partly protected from the effects of stress on psychological states, such as depression and anxiety.”

Working with 404 healthy adults, the researchers determined each participant’s perception of social support by means of a questionnaire.

Over the course of two weeks, they held nightly telephone interviews with each participant to assess the frequencies of interpersonal conflicts in their lives and how often they received hugs.

Amazing Benefits Of Bananas

Toronto beer professor shares holiday secrets

Mike Donachie MetroIt’s time to take another look at beer, Toronto’s professor of beer has said, and there’s never been a better time to do it.

Roger Mittag, who really is a professor of beer at Humber College, said the credibility of the drink deserves more attention, especially during the holidays when people are thinking about what to take to parties.

“The big thing for me is to help people to understand and appreciate it,” said Mittag, founder of beer education company Thirst for Knowledge.

“That means to slow down and look at the beer, and smell the beer, and taste the beer. Get it out of the can and get it into a glass so you can appreciate everything the brewer has put into it.

“Think about having it with food.”

There’s been a resurgence of respect for the humble beer, Mittag said, after 15 to 20 years of what he sees as a focus on wine.

Find Out What Ronda Rousey Is Looking For In A Man

Ontario shoplifters used fake pregnancy belly to hide electronics

Shoppers search for a bargain at an electronics store on Boxing Day in Montreal, Thursday, December 26, 2013. Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press 

The Canadian Press
Police say a pair of thieves used a fake pregnancy belly to steal numerous items from an electronics store in central Ontario.

Barrie police say the thefts happened Saturday when a man and a woman entered the store in the city’s south end, both of them communicating on cellphones as they looked around.

It’s alleged the man took several items out of their packages and that the woman then stuffed the items into the side of the fake pregnancy belly she was wearing.

Police say the pair, who were captured on security video, left the store and were seen leaving in a silver Dodge Caravan before store security could stop them.

Man Advises Against Drinking Soda After 30days Experiment

An American man, George Prior wanted to highlight the alarming amount of sugar in the average American's daily diet and decided to take 10 cans of coke each day for 30days. The average can of Coke Classic contains 25g of sugar and that was George's focus. He believes that the average American eats that amount of sugar per day.

George put on a lot of weight during his one month trial, which has now put his health at risk. He went from 168 lbs to a chubbier 191 lbs. Now doctors now say he risks having diabetes and dementia. He has been advised to start exercising and eating healthy. 

Nutrition Tips! The Seven Benefits Of Walnuts

Walnuts belong to the tree nut family, along with Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, and pistachios. Each has its own unique nutritional profile.

According to Dr Mercola One-quarter cup of walnuts, for instance, provides more than 100 percent of the daily recommended value of plant-based omega-3 fats, along with high amounts of copper, manganese, molybdenum, and biotin. Some of the most exciting research about walnuts includes:

1. Cancer-Fighting Properties
Walnuts may help reduce not only the risk of prostate cancer, but breast cancer as well. In one study, mice that ate the human equivalent of 2.4 ounces of whole walnuts for 18 weeks had significantly smaller and slower-growing prostate tumors compared to the control group that consumed the same amount of fat but from other sources. Overall the whole walnut diet reduced prostate cancer growth by 30 to 40 percent. According to another study on mice, the human equivalent of just two handfuls of walnuts a day cut breast cancer risk in half, and slowed tumor growth by 50 percent as well.

2. Heart Health
Walnuts contain the amino acid l-arginine, which offers multiple vascular benefits to people with heart disease, or those who have increased risk for heart disease due to multiple cardiac risk factors.
If you struggle with herpes, you may want to avoid or limit walnuts, as high levels of arginine can deplete the amino acid lysine, which can trigger herpes recurrences.

Walnuts also contain the plant-based omega-3 fat alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is anti-inflammatory and may prevent the formation of pathological blood clots. Research shows that people who eat a diet high in ALA are less likely to have a fatal heart attack and have a nearly 50 percent lower risk of sudden cardiac death.

Eating just four walnuts a day has been shown to significantly raise blood levels of heart-healthy ALA, and walnut consumption supports healthful cholesterol levels.

Separate research showed that eating just one ounce of walnuts a day may decrease cardiovascular risk, and among those at high cardiovascular risk, increased frequency of nut consumption significantly lowers the risk of death.

Tips | How To Survive Black Friday

Culture Of Haters

Ablethoughts
The power you give to an opinion can become a stumbling block or stepping stone for your progress. In this piece I want to consider when an opinion is aimed at bring down rather than building up. No one has ever existed without the ‘haters club’ or escape the backlash of the disciples of conspiracy. In front of many; people like Pope, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi, even Jesus can do no good. Yet they went on to fulfill their assignment. Sometimes we give spine to the thoughts of those who don’t pay the bill.

Where are these haters? They are everywhere. Not just that random guy who messes up your tweets or that old friend who disses you on Instagram. They are everywhere. They are in workplace, community and even family members. To move ahead, you do not need not look for them but past them. When they attack you, just ignore and move on. Don’t focus on them, focus on your focus.

Wow! Mary J Blige Marriage And Career Tips

Mary J  Blige and Husband @ leBET

American singer, songwriter, record producer and actress Mary J. Blige has been in the music industry for over 20 years and is a nine time Grammy award winner.

The 43-year-old diva has also been married for 11 years to record producer (and her manager) Kendu Isaacs, so she has quite some experience on music and marriage – which are the two things that she focuses on in her interview with Telegraph’s Stella Magazine.

She talks to Stella Magazine about why she no longer has a diva behavior, her new album being clean and sober plus finding love.

Mary J. Blige also opens up to the magazine about the fact that there is a rule for both her and her husband to make their marriage work – no female friends for him and no male friends for her.

Read excerpts from her interview below!

On overcoming alcohol and drug addiction: “I guess my own voice – or God – spoke to me and said, ‘Haven’t you learnt anything? This is the moment where you see what you’re made of – get up.’ And I did. I got up. That was definitely the learning moment, the choice between life and death. I felt like it was over, and everybody was just running away. People I thought were friends were just dispersing. I could feel myself slipping away too. And I thought, ‘I don’t want to slip away because of alcohol and drugs and loneliness.’ I thought, ‘Don’t let people see you fold right now. You have to survive this because the world is watching.’”

Seven Dangerous Acts After Meal

1. Don’t smoke —- Experiments from experts proves that smoking a cigarette after meal is comparable to smoking 10 cigarettes (chances of cancer is higher)

2. Don’t eat fruits immediately — Immediately eating fruits after meals will cause stomach to be bloated with air. Thre fore take fruits 1 -2 hours after meal or 1 hour before meal.

3. Don’t drink tea—— Because tea leaves contain a high content of acid. This substance will cause the protein content in the food we consume to be hundred thus difficult to digest.

4. Don’t loosen your belt———- Loosening the belt after meal will easily cause the intestine to be twisted and blocked.

Drop Test: How Durable Is Your New iPhone 6?

Oops! Bank of Canada governor urges jobless young Canadians to work for free

Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz had some advice that is not going over well with struggling young Canadians. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

Andy Blatchford

The Canadian Press
Advocates for young workers took Stephen Poloz to task Tuesday after the Bank of Canada governor recommended that jobless university graduates beef up their resumes by working for free.

Speaking to a House of Commons committee, Poloz suggested young Canadians and others struggling to find work should acquire more experience through unpaid internships or volunteering until the country’s hobbled job market picks up. He predicted it would improve over the next two years.

Poloz told the committee that when a young person asks for advice on getting through the tough times, he says, “‘Volunteer to do something which is at least somewhere related to your expertise so that it’s clear that you are gaining some learning experience during that period.'”

The central banker made the remarks a day after he told a Toronto business audience that 200,000 young Canadians are out of work, underemployed or back in school trying to improve their job prospects.