New device allows parents to feed babies while using smartphones

Virginia, USA, native Tim Causa  found out the hard way that feeding a baby can be quite a handful, especially for parents who are always glued in on their smartphones.

His tough conundrum led him to design a device called Swipe & Feed— a simple clip that is attached to a smartphone at one end, with a perfectly angled baby’s bottle at the other.

“Swipe and Feed is a unique solution to a problem every parent experiences–doing anything while feeding a baby. Now you can catch up on those important work emails, share photos of your baby with loved ones, read the news and even buy diapers and wipes–the possibilities are limitless,” Causa wrote on the product’s website.

According to a Telegraph report, the 34-year-old father came up with the idea after struggling to feed his newborn son, Jack, for 25 minutes every hour, due to an acid reflux problem.

“For 25 minutes at a time, I was in a dark, quiet room feeding my son. It dawned on me that I could do some catch-up work while he fed, but I needed something to help me hold a bottle and my smartphone,” Causa described his frustrations on the website.

“I searched online for solutions, but nothing was on the market.  That’s when I decided to seize the opportunity and solve the problem myself,” he said.

Aside from its unique take at modern parenting, his invention is also dishwasher-safe and is available to fit in various bottle and phone designs.

As expected, his device has already attracted mixed reactions from parents’ groups.

One Facebook user wrote, ”I was just feeding my son and was trying to use my phone when I stumbled across your invention. What a great idea!”

Others, however, were not amused and expressed their disgust on the product’s views on parent-child feeding time.

“This is a very sick project. If a mother or a father are so self absorbed that they can’t spend 5 minutes to bond with their child while feeding then Child Protective Services should remove the child immediately,” one user commented. “Only a bunch of opportunists would even think this is appropriate and only narcissists would buy it.”

As of this writing, Causa is still awaiting donations from the crowdfunding site Kickstarter to be able to release his product to the mass market. It remains unclear how much Swipe & Feed will retail for.  Khristian Ibarrola

source: technology.inquirer.net

UK’s Prince William to appear in gay mag; first in family

United Kingdom’s Prince William will be the next face of a gay magazine, the first in the British Royal Family to do so.

According to reports by the Telegraph and Daily Mail, The Duke of Cambridge revealed to a staff member at the United States Embassy in London on Tuesday that he would be interviewed in UK’s leading gay magazine, Attitude. It is noted that even his mother, the late Princess Diana, a well-respected advocate of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) rights, never granted any interviews to a gay magazine or publication.

After signing the condolence book TRH spoke to reps from the US embassy’s LGBT network GLIFAA pic.twitter.com/8ZSIQJ9p8J

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) June 14, 2016

Craig Petty, president of LGBT association Glifaa, affirmed the Duke’s appearance at Attitude.

“I told him what I do and he said he’s going to be in Attitude magazine,” he detailed to the British press. “I was really nervous about meeting the royal couple, but they are both great at putting you at ease.”

He, together with the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, were present for a book signing in memory of the 49 people massacred at Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. He will utilize his magazine spread exposure as an integral tool to campaign against LGBT bullying, which is one of his main platforms.

Other high-profile cover stars of the gay mag, which was established in 1994, include Gary Barlow, Daniel Radcliffe, David Beckham, and Liam Payne. Most of the magazine’s articles tackle contemporary LGBT issues such as male rape and discrimination.

The issue featuring the Duke will be released on June 22. Gianna Francesca Catolico

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Eric Clapton struggles to play guitar due to nerve damage

One of the most iconic guitarists of all time, Eric Clapton, now can hardly play the instrument that launched his rise to superstardom.

The 71-year old “Tears in Heaven” singer has been diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy, a type of nerve damage that can cause muscle weakness, tingling and numbness in a person’s arms and legs.

Clapton detailed his ongoing battle with the nervous system ailment, which has reportedly made it difficult  for him to even hold a guitar.

“I’ve had quite a lot of pain over the last year. It started with lower back pain, and turned into what they call peripheral neuropathy–which is where you feel like you have electric shocks going down your leg,” he was quoted as saying in an article in the Telegraph. “And I’ve had to figure out how to deal with some other things from getting old.’’

Despite being hampered by health concerns, Clapton released his 23rd studio album entitled “Still Do” last month, but has quit touring since it “has become quite unbearable.”

“[It’s] hard work to play the guitar and I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that it will not improve,” he said.

“What I’ll allow myself to do, within reason, is carry on recording in the studio. I don’t want to go off the boil to the point where I’m embarrassing myself.”

Clapton, whose career started alongside John Mayall, Cream and the first “super-group” Blind Faith, admitted living the typical rock star life during his heyday until it has taken a toll on his body.

“Because I’m in recovery from alcoholism and addiction to substances, I consider it a great thing to be alive at all. By rights I should have kicked the bucket a long time ago,” he was quoted as saying.

“For some reason I was plucked from the jaws of hell and given another chance,” he added.

Clapton ranked second in Rolling Stone magazine’s greatest guitarists of all time and is the only person to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times.

His most notable songs include “Tears in Heaven,” which was written after the death of his son in 1991, while “Layla” was recorded in 1970 with his band Derek and the Dominos. Khristian Ibarrola

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Too much ice? Customer fumes over coffee shop’s cold drink

Not even an ice cold frappé can ‘cool down’ a customer of Starbucks after she filed a $5-million (PhP 235 million) lawsuit at the Northern Illinois Federal Court, Chicago, United States, against the coffee shop company last week.

According to The Telegraph, the case was filed by Stacy Pincus, wherein she lamented that the chilled drinks served by the company only had accurate fluid ounces once ice cubes were dunked.
The 29-page complaint, obtained by Courthouse News Service, stated that “Starbucks is advertising the size of its Cold Drink cups on its menu, rather than the amount of fluid a customer will receive when they purchase a Cold Drink — and deceiving its customers in the process.”

“A Venti cold drink, for example, is advertised as having 24 fluid ounces, but only includes 14 ounces of the actual liquid, the rest is ice.”

Jamie Riley, a spokesperson for Starbucks, said the company is aware of Pincus’ grudges but finds the lawsuit ‘absurd’.

In an interview with American show TMZ, Riley defended, “Our customers understand and expect that ice is an essential component of any ‘iced’ beverage. If a customer is not satisfied with their beverage preparation, we will gladly remake it,” she noted. Gianna Francesca Catolico

source: business.inquirer.net