Yahoo! Answers

With Halloween fast approaching do you guys know what you’ll be for Halloween? The Halloween Category has plenty of users asking for costume ideas. If you’re still stumped, here are 10 ideas for last minute costumes that don’t include the bed sheet ghost, and will make an impression at your work, school or house Halloween party!

1. Biker: Black leather, white tee, bandana, sunglasses.
2. Where’s Waldo: Red and white striped tee, beanie, eye glasses, jeans.
3. Pageant Contestant: Formal dress, tiara, sash.
4. Jellyfish: A clear umbrella, party streamers or ribbons.
5. Highway: Black clothes, yellow electrical tape down your torso, toy cars.
6. Cowboy: Cowboy hat, boots, corduroy, plaid shirt.
7. Snooki or Amy Winehouse: Tight mini dress, black wig, dramatic makeup.
8. Danny Zuko (Grease): Old black leather jacket, hair gel, jeans, t-shirt.
9. Men in Black: Black jacket and black pants, white collared shirt, dark glasses.
10. Charlie Sheen:  Khaki shorts, bowling shirt, high socks, loafers, carry a bottle of “Tiger Blood” and say “Winning!” a lot.

Do you have any last minute costume ideas? Share them with the community!

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Here’s something we all do – sleep.  But have you ever wondered if you could be awake while your body sleeps?  After spotting this question: Can you be awake while your body sleeps? on Yahoo! Answers and researching further, it turns out that such a phenomenon does exist.

The following are two versions of this condition:

Sleep paralysis, which according to MedicineNet.com, is “when a person suddenly finds himself or herself unable to move for a few minutes, most often upon falling asleep or waking up.”

And Lucid dreaming, which according to Dutch author and psychiatrist Frederik van Eeden in his 1913 article A Study of Dreams, “is a dream in which one is aware that one is dreaming.”

There are pills, sound machines, pillows, mattresses, etc that are supposed to make our sleeps deeper and more restful.  We know that sleep is an important part of the body’s natural recovery process and when a person lacks sleep it can affect memory, cognition, concentration, reflexes, and weight.

Sleep has become a precious commodity and more and more people are trying to get by on less.  So, what are your night time rituals? What prevents you from falling asleep?  Are you one of those lucky people that can fall asleep anywhere? Please leave a comment below.

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Hey Guys,

Halloween is almost here. You may be wondering why people choose October 31 as a day to dress up as monsters and demand candy from strangers. How did this awesome tradition get started?

Turns out, we all owe a debt of gratitude to the Celts. The origin of the holiday can be linked to the “ancient Celtic festival of Samhain.” Long story short — about 2,000 years ago, the Celts lived in what we now call modern day France, England, and Ireland. The Celts began their New Year on November 1, which meant that, for them, October 31 was like New Year’s Eve. Costumes made of animal skins were commonly worn, according to The History Channel.

Many years later, after Christianity grew in popularity, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 as “All Saints Day” or “All-Hallows,” a time to honor saints. History.com writes that “in 1000 A.D., the church would make November 2 All Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead. All Souls Day was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils.” October 31 turned into “All-Hallows Eve” and then, eventually, Halloween. Some of the traditions (costumes and trickery) stuck around.

Got any good ideas for Halloween costumes this year? Share ‘em in the comments below.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

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(Photo by Dr. Stephen from Flickr, available under a Creative Commons Attribution license)

AMC’s zombie drama “The Walking Dead” returned for its second season on Sunday. And it’s definitely bringing new life to the zombie genre.

The TV show, which premiered in October 2010, is about a bunch of survivors running around Atlanta after a zombie apocalypse. The city is now roaming with “walkers.” The Season 2 premiere pulled in an impressive 7.3 million viewers.

So this got us thinking about all the classic zombie movies out there. No one can forget “Dawn of the Dead” (1978), “Night of the Living Dead” (1968), and “28 Days Later.” Whether it features blood eaters or mindless human beings, what is your favorite zombie movie?

And in honor of the season premiere of “The Walking Dead,” we want to know from you: Do you think you could survive a zombie attack? We know our community has quite an imagination and plenty of creativity! Share with everyone what you would do — what’s your plan? What’s on your must-have list for making it through a zombie apocalypse?  I’m sure we’ll read some interesting stories!

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Hey Guys,

The death of technological giant Steve Jobs came as a shock to many. Almost immediately after the news hit, Web searches on the Apple co-founder surged into the stratosphere. Jobs may have been one of the most innovative and brilliant minds in recent times, but it’s also worth remembering that he was also just a human being. And like any human being, he had a few slipups.

Make no mistake, Jobs was one of the greats. Almost everything the guy touched turned to gold. But even he got a few calls wrong over the course of his career. One of the biggest misfires was Apple’s Lisa computer (named after Jobs’ daughter). The Lisa was released in 1983 at a cost of nearly $10,000. While many aspects of the computer could be considered a success, its high price made it a tough sell. Add to that the fact that the superior (and less expensive) Macintosh computer came out a short time later. The Lisa was quickly obsolete.

It’s easy to forget that Jobs was forced out of Apple for a time in the late ’80s. During that period, he worked on a new company, NeXT Computer. If you’ve never heard of it, you’re not alone. The computers were full of cool features, but were priced far too high to catch on. Apple went on to buy NeXT in 1996, using its technology in the Apple operating system. I’m not sure if that’s irony, but it’s something.

Finally, there’s the Apple TV. I know, I know. It’s not really a failure. People who have it, love it. But I think most people would agree that this never lived up to its potential as a living room game changer. The original version was seen as too complicated, with too few features. Jobs famously referred to the product as “a hobby.”

Now, if I was going to list all the things Jobs got right, we’d be here all day. The many different iPods, the iPhone, the Macintosh, the mouse, the graphical interface, tablet computers, and, and, and… How did Steve Jobs’ vision affect your life? Is your life noticeably different thanks to him and his creations? Please leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

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