| How to Stay Safe While Riding with Uber Posted: 22 Dec 2016 04:00 PM PST As the world's most popular ride-sharing service, Uber offers a platform that many people use for both one-off and recurring journeys. While Uber's safety standards are set very high and unwanted incidents are rare, being aware of the extra precautions available can reinforce your confidence that your journey with Uber will be as comfortable and secure of an experience as can be. If you are in urgent danger, call emergency services immediately. EditBefore Your Ride - Consider taking an UberPOOL. Ride-sharing can be made safer by doing just that: sharing your ride. UberPOOL is a service that seeks to find riders traveling in the same direction who are willing to share their journey with other riders. To take an UberPOOL:
- Open the Uber app.
- Drag the sliding button at the bottom of your screen to the word POOL.
- Proceed to request an Uber as you normally would.
- Conserve your battery. Some Uber riders are familiar with the experience of ordering an Uber and having their phone die before the car arrives, thus canceling the Uber request and leaving the rider unable to order another. To reduce your risk of draining your phone battery before your Uber arrives:
- Close the app as you are waiting for your car. You will receive an automatic notification when your driver is arriving.
- Turn down the brightness on your phone's screen.
- Turn off Bluetooth.
- Close any apps you are not using.
- Wait inside for your Uber. As Uber can take up to 20 minutes to arrive at your pickup location, it's worth trying to try to find somewhere to hang out while you wait for your car. The Uber will proceed to the location you originally set when booking the trip, so you don't need to worry about the car not being able to find you.
- Identify your driver and their car. After your Uber request is accepted, you will see a circle just below your app's map that cycles between an image of your driver and their car. Tap on this icon to see both displayed at once. Take note of the driver's face, the model of their car and the car's license plate. This will help ensure that the car you get into is the one that you ordered.
- Check your driver's rating. On the screen that displays your driver's name and their car, you will also see a star rating underneath their face. This is the rating given to them by other riders, and can be used to gauge the experience that other riders have had with this driver.
- Although Uber's standards for driver quality are much higher than the bar that most of us would set as "safe", it is worth noting that drivers whose average rating drops below 4.6 stars are at risk of being suspended until they complete a re-training program.[1]
EditDuring and After Your Ride - Check in with a friend or personal contact. Send a text to somebody who you trust in order to keep them in the loop about your whereabouts. Commit to letting them know when you have arrived safely at your destination.
- Know how to cancel your trip. If you find that your safety has been compromised before your driver arrives, you can cancel your trip:
- Tap on the circular image of your driver's car and face to bring up more information.
- Tap the "Cancel" button on the bottom-right corner of the screen.
- Ask your driver to end the trip. If you are concerned that your driver is driving unsafely, tell them you would like to end the trip early and you will only be charged for the distance you have travelled.
- Call emergency services. If your driver does not pull over when you ask them to, call emergency services immediately.
- Report your concerns to Uber. If you take a trip that makes you feel unsafe, be sure to hold your driver accountable for the experience. After your trip is complete:
- Open the Uber app, where you will be asked to give your ride a number of stars.
- After giving a star rating of less than 4, you will be asked what was lacking in your experience. Tap on the option that corresponds to your concern and type in a description of your journey to send to Uber support.
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| How to Improve Speed Reading Skills Posted: 22 Dec 2016 08:00 AM PST Speed reading is one of many skills that can improve your reading comprehension and shorten your study time. Many scholars consider speed reading to be the same as skimming, pointing out that you cannot speed read a text and expect the same amount of comprehension that you would get if you read it at a normal pace.[1][2] However, skimming is a helpful tool in pre-reading and in reviewing texts, as well as in quickly gathering targeted information. EditImproving Your Speed Reading Techniques - Look at groups of words, not single words. If you read a text one word at a time, then this will slow your reading speed way down. However, if you can get into the habit of reading groups or chunks of words at one time, then you can read much faster.[3]
- Start by trying to look at a group of three or four words at once, then work up to looking at an entire line of words.
- Focus on words that give the sentence meaning, such as the nouns and verbs and pay less attention to the filler words, such as "A, the, and, etc."
- To see the biggest improvement in your speed reading skills, combine this technique with other speed reading techniques.
- Read with your hands. Use your finger to push yourself through the page. As you read, move your hand left to right under the text as if underlining it. Move your hand at the speed which you would like to read. You may start by moving at a slightly faster pace than your ordinary reading, and speed up on subsequent readings.[4]
- While it used to be claimed that this use of the hand or finger "guided" the eye, it now appears that the finger sets the pace of reading rather than guiding its path. This is because it is difficult to pace the movements of your eyes, but easy to pace the movements of your hands.[5]
- You can also use a pen or other object to pace yourself.
- Scan for keywords. Scanning is a highly effective way of extracting answers from a text without really reading it. If you know exactly what you are looking for—a name, a date, a statistic, or a specific word—you can find it quickly by skipping over large chunks of the text. To scan, first visualize the word, number, or phrase you would like to find. Then, run your eyes rapidly over the text. The information you are looking for should pop out at you.[6]
- Try scanning with your hands or a pen, preferably a blue or black pen. Experiment with shapes to see which gets you the quickest results.
- Chunk the material. One of the reasons you read slowly is that you have to pause sometimes to understand what a passage is saying. You might also have to go back and reread things you have already read. To improve your speed reading, try to pause for reflection only at the end of a reading session (i.e. after about 15 to 20 minutes) or after finishing a section, such as chapter.[7]
- To check for comprehension at the end of every speed reading session, write down keywords, or just summarize what you read in a few sentences or by explaining it to someone. This will help you keep to improve your comprehension, and it will also help you to retain information better.
- Race the clock. You can train yourself to read faster by timing yourself as you go. Start by getting your base time. Set a timer for fifteen minutes, and speed read as you normally do. When the timer goes off, check to see how far you got. Do not count the words, just the pages or paragraphs. Record your figures: for instance, you might write "15min/6.5 pages."[8]
- Check your comprehension. Say what you learned out loud—you don't need to write it down, just check to see that you took in the information you were reading.
- The next day, set the alarm for 15 minutes again and try to read faster. Record your times again ("15 min/7 pages," for instance), and check for comprehension.
- Do this every day or 5 days a week to improve your skills. Try to beat your last time every session.
- If you notice your comprehension is dropping, you may have reached your peak, or you may need to aim for a more moderate improvement in speed.
EditTrying the SQR3 method - Survey the text. Before you read, read all titles, chapter and section headings, subheadings, and any charts, graphs, diagrams, questions, and summaries you can find.[9]
- If you are reading a text without these things, you might consider reading the first and last sentence of every paragraph or chapter to get an idea of the material the text is covering.
- Write questions. Write down any questions you hope your reading will answer. You will comprehend more if you go into the text knowing what you want to learn. If you are not sure what you want to learn, go through and turn every chapter heading, section title, etc. into a question. Try to guess what the text will teach you: ask yourself the question you think the text might answer.[10]
- If you like, add further questions while you read.
- Read or skim the text. Review your questions, then read the text. You may skim or scan, or you may just read at your current fastest pace.[11]
- Depending on the length of the text, you may choose to read it all, or you may choose to read it in sections.
- For maximum comprehension, pause at the end of every section and think about what you have read. Answer the question if you can.
- For maximum speed, answer the questions once you have read the entire text.
- Recite the answers. Now that you've read, you should be able to answer the questions you asked yourself. Answer all the questions you have read. You do not have to write them down (unless that is your assignment), just recite them aloud.[12]
- If you are pausing after each section, make sure you can recite the answer to that section before you move on to the next. If you cannot, go back and skim it again.
- If you feel you made an error in the framing of one of your questions, reframe it so that you can answer it.
- Review the text. The final "R" in SQR3 is "review," which will help you retain the information you have comprehended. Go back over the questions you have answered and see if you can still answer them from memory.[13]
- If you cannot, skim the section again until you can.
EditSetting Yourself Up for Success - Expand your vocabulary. Running into words you don't know is one of the great bogs of speed reading.[14] You're likely to get stuck on words with meanings you don't know, and likely to miss key information. To expand your vocabulary, read more. When you don't know a word, look it up.
- If you are reading a certain genre of text, such as a medical textbook, it will help to study basic medical jargon before you start reading.
- Reading broadly in the fields that interest you will expand your vocabulary.
- Choose strategic texts. Because you'll always be trading some of your comprehension when reading at breakneck speed, you might want to save speed reading for texts that are somewhat easy or that you won't be tested on. For instance, you might choose to speed read a book that is written for young adults. Or, you might speed read a book that you need to read for a class, but that will not be on any exams or tests. Another good choice for speed reading would be a text you have read before that you would like to review.
- Avoid speed reading texts that you really need to know, such as material you will be tested on.
- Avoid speed reading texts that require you to subvocalize or analyze while you read, such as poetry or fiction. You will miss out on the most important information.[15]
- Take notes. If comprehension is your goal, then processing what you just wrote is your best tool. After you've completed your speed reading of a text, take some time to reflect on it. Write down key ideas, discuss them with a friend, or just free-write about your impressions.
- Don't make marks or highlight the text—this will interfere with your speed reading, and it may distract you from the information you are trying to absorb.
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| How to Make Your Nail Polish Matte Posted: 22 Dec 2016 12:00 AM PST Most nail polishes will give your nails a glossy finish. It is very fashionable these days to have a matte or non-shiny nail color. Some nail polish companies make products with a matte finish, but these can be expensive. There are other methods you can use at home to create a matte finish cheaply, such as using steam or cornstarch. EditUsing Cornstarch to Create a Matte Finish - Apply a bottom coat of polish to your nails. [1]
- Apply this coat as a very thin coat.
- Remember to buff and file your nails before applying any polish.
- Clean each nail with a cotton pad wetted with nail polish remover to clean the nail.
- Allow your bottom coat to dry.
- Get a piece of foil or wax paper. Put a few drops of nail polish on it.[2]
- Obtain a toothpick and a box of cornstarch.
- Take a very small amount of cornstarch and mix it into the nail polish.
- Do this quickly, as the nail polish will dry out.
- The nail polish will be thicker than normal but this is ok.
- Make sure the polish isn't too thick or it won't spread on the nail properly.
- Use a clean nail brush to paint your nails with the mixed polish. Do this as you normally would.[3]
- Remember to start at your cuticle.
- Paint your nails in three stripes: one in the center and one on each side.
- Leave a small gap around the nail for a professional finish.
- Allow the polish to dry completely. Once the polish is dry, you will end up with a matte, non-glossy finish.[4]
- Remember not to blow on your nail polish or move your hands.
- Dry your polish with your hand flat and fingers spread.
- You shouldn't put a top coat on this polish, as it will give your nails a glossy look.
EditUsing A Matte Finish Polish - Buy a matte nail polish. These are more expensive than regular nail polishes. [5]
- Brands like OPI, Essie, and Revlon make nail polishes with a matte finish.
- If you can't find these, Sally Hansen offers a matte topcoat that you can use over regular polish to achieve this look.
- Try shopping at a beauty store like Ulta or Sephora to find the most variety in colors and brands in matte nail polish.
- Use a nail buffer and file before you paint your nails. This will even out the surface and shape your nails for the best look. [6]
- Hold the nail file at a 45 degree angle as you shape the top edge of your nails.
- Mirror the shape of your cuticles for a natural curved shape to your nails.
- Buff the surface of your nails to get rid of any imperfects and to even out the surface.
- Any ridges or dents in your nail will show when you put matte polish on them.
- Swipe a cotton ball wetted with removed over your nail. Wipe this over your entire nail.[7]
- Push this into the cuticle area and side walls of the nail.
- This will remove any dirt and debris that are on the nail.
- This also will remove natural oils from your nail that can serve as barrier for polish to stick.
- Let your nails dry. This should only take a couple of seconds.
- Paint your nails with a clear bottom coat. Many nail polishes have a bottom coat built in. [8]
- Check the label of your nail polish to see if this is the case.
- If not, apply a thin bottom coat to each nail.
- Do your dominant hand with your non-dominant hand, starting at the pinky and working towards the thumb. This allows you to paint your nails without risk of touching and smudging.
- Paint the color. Start by wiping off any excess polish on the brush off on the lip of the nail polish bottle.[9]
- Place the brush close to the cuticle, then push back further without touching the skin.
- Paint each nail in three strokes: one in the middle, one on each side.
- Leave a small gap around the edges of your nail for a professional finish.
- Clean up your paint job. Dip a Q-tip into nail polish remover.[10]
- Correct any mistakes, wiping the wetted Q-tip over any messy areas.
- Give your nails a last look to make sure you have cleaned up all mistakes.
- Let the polish dry for at least 2 minutes.
- Apply a topcoat. If you are using matte nail paint, you might not need a topcoat.[11]
- If you are using regular nail polish, try a matte top coat such as Sally Hansen.
- Apply this in the same way you did the color.
- Let the topcoat dry completely.
- Don't blow on the nail polish or flap your hands. Allow the polish to dry with your hands flat and fingers spread out.
EditUsing Steam to Create A Matte Finish - Paint your nails with regular nail polish. Start by filing and buffing your nails then cleaning each nail.[12]
- Apply a bottom coat and allow this to dry.
- Apply the color coat, taking care not to put the color on too thick.
- Correct any mistakes with a Q-tip wetted with nail polish remover.
- Let your nails dry completely.
- Pour some water into a pan. Put this on the stove over high heat. [13]
- Bring the pan to a full boil.
- Make sure the pan is creating a lot of steam.
- The steam will help to make the finish of your nail polish look matte.
- Place your hand above the steam. You will need to expose all parts of each nail to the steam. [14]
- Usually you need to just hold each hand over the steam for 3-5 seconds.
- Be careful not to hold your hand too close to the pot or you can get steam burns.
- Move your hand through the steam slowly to make sure all parts of your nails are hit by the steam.
- Check your polish. If should look matte. If there are parts which are still glossy, hold your hand over the steam for another 3-5 seconds.
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