Health agency looks to app for help with litter cleanup

Officials at the Gallatin City-County Health Department in Montana are using an app to document cigarette butt litter to push for new policies related to tobacco use.

Using Litterati, two Health Department staff members, employees at other departments and members of the community at large are documenting litter related to tobacco use. In eight and a half hours of work, app users documented almost 4,000 pieces of cigarette butt litter -- 1,515 pieces in five city parks and 2,400 in a five-block area of Main Street in downtown Bozeman.

See more at gcn.com

Technology is changing home workouts for the better

It used to be that working out at home meant donning leg warmers and popping a Jane Fonda or Richard Simmons tape into the VCR. These days, though, technology has made the at-home exercise options seem endless.

There are big-box gyms that bring personal trainers to you through apps. For instance, Gold’s Gym launched Gold’s AMP in October as a “digital personal trainer” that coaches users through workouts, including walking, running, biking and rowing, for $9.99 per month.

See more at washingtonpost.com

Making friends as a new parent is hard. These apps can help.

When Erika Bugaj Petrova became a mom five years ago, she had to flex her “friend-making muscle” to connect with other mothers. Despite having a new baby in tow, she felt alone. Some days it was just easier to stay home.

“It was just me and the baby at home, and that can be very isolating,” said Petrova, a clinical social worker and the director of Dandelion Psychotherapy in the District. “You have to make a conscious and determined effort to get out into the community and attend activities that will help you connect with other people.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2017/12/22/making-friends-as-a-new-parent-is-hard-these-apps-can-help