This New Year, Instead of giving something up, consider taking on one of these healthy habits (Based on an article from our friends at MTV)

   Hit the gym (or some place similar)

Working out is one of the best things anyone can do for themselves, but the challenge is being consistent. Even if you’re only working out for 10 minutes, if you’re doing it five days a week it totally counts as a healthy habit. The options are endlessly easy from joining gym, taking a class, downloading a workout app or just following a fitness-based Instagram account. Pick something you can stick to and the only thing you’ll be giving up is inches.

Try meditating

You don’t have to be a monk to meditate or experience the anxiety- and stress-reducing benefits of meditation. There are a variety of different ways to meditate, which can make it easy to get overwhelmed. Rest assured, it’s just as easy to practice. Meditation apps like Headspace will guide you through short exercises and teach you gradually how to turn off your brain for your benefit.

Eat more vegetables and drink more water

So much of New Year’s resolutions are about keeping food out of your mouth, we frequently forget about putting good stuff in it. Research shows that nearly half of Americans don’t drink enough water, and don’t even get us started on vegetables. So before you give up carbs or chocolate, consider diluting it with eight glasses of water and some spinach.

Start volunteering

While giving up something in the New Year can make you feel crazy, giving something back will make you feel great. Donating money, food and clothing are all awesome contributions, but those feel-good moments don’t always stick with you. Volunteering for a cause you’re passionate about allows you to feel that for as long as you can commit to it, while giving you a chance to become a part of a larger community. Those experiences could lead to new friendships, career opportunities and more in the coming year. One thing is for sure — taking action will get you further than deprivation ever did, no matter where you end up.

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A History of the New Year

Ever wonder the history of the New Year?

Well i did.....

Here's an interesting article to review.

A move from March to January

by Borgna Brunner

The celebration of the new year on January 1st is a relatively new phenomenon. The earliest recording of a new year celebration is believed to have been in Mesopotamia, c. 2000 B.C. and was celebrated around the time of the vernal equinox, in mid-March. A variety of other dates tied to the seasons were also used by various ancient cultures. The Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Persians began their new year with the fall equinox, and the Greeks celebrated it on the winter solstice.

Early Roman Calendar: March 1st Rings in the New Year

The early Roman calendar designated March 1 as the new year. The calendar had just ten months, beginning with March. That the new year once began with the month of March is still reflected in some of the names of the months. September through December, our ninth through twelfth months, were originally positioned as the seventh through tenth months (septem is Latin for "seven," octo is "eight," novem is "nine," and decem is "ten."

 January Joins the Calendar

The first time the new year was celebrated on January 1st was in Rome in 153 B.C. (In fact, the month of January did not even exist until around 700 B.C., when the second king of Rome, Numa Pontilius, added the months of January and February.) The new year was moved from March to January because that was the beginning of the civil year, the month that the two newly elected Roman consuls—the highest officials in the Roman republic—began their one-year tenure. But this new year date was not always strictly and widely observed, and the new year was still sometimes celebrated on March 1.

Julian Calendar: January 1st Officially Instituted as the New Year

In 46 B.C. Julius Caesar introduced a new, solar-based calendar that was a vast improvement on the ancient Roman calendar, which was a lunar system that had become wildly inaccurate over the years. The Julian calendar decreed that the new year would occur with January 1, and within the Roman world, January 1 became the consistently observed start of the new year.

Middle Ages: January 1st Abolished

In medieval Europe, however, the celebrations accompanying the new year were considered pagan and unchristian like, and in 567 the Council of Tours abolished January 1 as the beginning of the year. At various times and in various places throughout medieval Christian Europe, the new year was celebrated on Dec. 25, the birth of Jesus; March 1; March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation; and Easter.

Gregorian Calendar: January 1st Restored

In 1582, the Gregorian calendar reform restored January 1 as new year's day. Although most Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar almost immediately, it was only gradually adopted among Protestant countries. The British, for example, did not adopt the reformed calendar until 1752. Until then, the British Empire —and their American colonies— still celebrated the new year in March.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas
(or A Visit from St. Nicholas)
by Clement Clarke Moore

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads.
And Mama in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap.

When out on the roof there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
tore open the shutter, and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
gave the lustre of midday to objects below,
when, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles, his coursers they came,
and he whistled and shouted and called them by name:

"Now Dasher! Now Dancer!
Now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid!
On, Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch!
To the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away!
Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky
so up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
with the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
the prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head and was turning around,
down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes--how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
and the beard on his chin was as white as the snow.
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
and the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
and I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
and filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
and giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

Christmas Trees

In 16th-century Germany fir trees were decorated, both indoors and out, with apples, roses, gilded candies, and colored paper. In the Middle Ages, a popular religious play depicted the story of Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

A fir tree hung with apples was used to symbolize the Garden of Eden — the Paradise Tree. The play ended with the prophecy of a saviour coming, and so was often performed during the Advent season.

It is held that Protestant reformer Martin Luther first adorned trees with light. While coming home one December evening, the beauty of the stars shining through the branches of a fir inspired him to recreate the effect by placing candles on the branches of a small fir tree inside his home

The Christmas Tree was brought to England by Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert from his native Germany. The famous Illustrated News etching in 1848, featuring the Royal Family of Victoria, Albert and their children gathered around a Christmas tree in Windsor Castle, popularized the tree throughout Victorian England. Brought to America by the Pennsylvania Germans, the Christmas tree became by the late 19th century.

A New Nasa study finds Antarctic ice growing, countering earlier studies

Snow that began piling up 10,000 years ago in Antarctica is adding enough ice to offset the increased losses due to thinning glaciers, according to a NASA study

The latest findings appear to challenge other studies including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2013 report, which found that Antarctica is overall losing 

“We’re essentially in agreement with other studies that show an increase in ice discharge in the Antarctic Peninsula and the Thwaites and Pine Island region of West Antarctica,” Jay Zwally, a glaciologist with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and lead author of the study, which was published on Oct. 30 in the Journal of Glaciology, said in a statement.

“Our main disagreement is for East Antarctica and the interior of West Antarctica – there, we see an ice gain that exceeds the losses in the other areas.”  Zwally said, adding that his team “measured small height changes over large areas, as well as the large changes observed over smaller areas.”

Ever think about making Daylight Saving Time Year-Round?

I heard of this option this weekend, what do you think of it?

This option is growing in popularity it seems. Just think of all the advantages of eliminating Daylight Savings Time, but allow us to have some sunlight after work instead of before—when we would probably just use it to sleep.

Advantages: More people would get more sleep, which could prevent the workplace accidents and auto collisions which result from tired and weary people operating their machinery after a work shift. And since cars tend to injure more people after dark, having DST all the time would mean that people would enjoy more light for evening drives, which could lead to a decrease in accidents, and save an estimated 366 lives every year. Farmers wouldn’t have to subject cows to an arbitrary change in milking schedule. We’d get more light at a time when we’d more likely use it for something other than sleep.

Disadvantages: Of course students would have to go to school in the dark (assuming school hours stay the same), and farmers would have to get up really early to get the milk and eggs collected in time for the next steps of the supply chain. “Morning people” (whoever they are) might not like the change all that much.

Finding the Right Surveyor

To finance or insure a boat, you’ll need a current survey. But how can you find a reputable marine surveyor whose advice you’d trust with your investment and your family’s safety? Complicating matters, your yacht broker can’t ethically recommend a surveyor to you; doing so could invite collusion.

You can of course just google your local talent, or try this.

Where to look?

Two organizations are a good place to start — the Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors and the American Boat & Yacht Council— They can help you find the expert you need. Compile a short list of surveyors to interview. While your broker can’t give you a single name, he or she can provide a list of half a dozen names. Alternatively, go to the SAMS or ABYC website and enter the boat’s location for a list of certified local surveyors. SAMS accredited marine surveyors have demonstrated basic knowledge, including an exam. SAMS surveyor associates haven’t yet qualified as an accredited marine surveyor, but they’ve agreed to abide by SAMS ethics and standards. Membership in NAMS or SAMS doesn’t tell you about a surveyor’s knowledge of boat systems and construction. But the ABYC does, in eight areas: marine electricity, diesel engines, gasoline engines, marine systems, composite boatbuilding, marine A/C and refrigeration, marine corrosion, and general standards.

A Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City hoisted two distressed mariners to safety and transported them to Coast Guard Station Fire Island on Friday, Oct. 9, 2015. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, both mariners were wearing lifejackets and no injuries were reported. (Credit: U.S. Coast Guard)

Coast Guard arrived at the right time

This story reported by NEWSDAY

One of two distressed mariners the Coast Guard rescued from swirling seas near the Fire Island Inlet on Friday, said he knew there was trouble when the boat's transmission failed and they were stranded in the surf, in the inlet's roughest part.

"The first 10 minutes was pretty rough," said Dan Zecchini, 45, of Oakdale.

Zecchini said he and his father, Daniel Zecchini, 66, of East Islip were returning from a fishing trip when problems started with the father's 18-year-old boat.

"Before we got the anchor out, I thought the boat was going to flip," he said