Absorb life like a sponge and squeeze out every drop of joy you can.
I always squeeze hard enough to have a swimmingly Happy Friday!
Mar 27, 2015
DNA
DNA is DeoxyriboNucleic Acid. The blueprint of every
living thing on the planet is encoded in DNA. It can hold a lot of
information. We could theoretically encode all the world's data
(emails, movies, books, pictures, etc.) on just a few grams of DNA.
According to New Scientist, a gram of DNA could theoretically store 455 exabytes of data. The world has about 1.8 zettabytes of data, according to a 2011 estimate. All the world's information would fit on a four-gram DNA hard drive the size of a teaspoon. Also, given the right conditions, DNA can survive for thousands of years. Long past the time traditional hard drives have degraded.
Scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich encapsulated DNA in tiny, dry glass spheres. The researchers say that DNA kept at a temperature of 10 °C would remain uncorrupted and readable for 2,000 years. At even lower temperatures the data could last two million years.
However, preserving data in DNA is currently very expensive. Swiss researchers spent $1,500 to encode 83-kilobytes, which is smaller than the size a picture taken on a smartphone uses. There are a nearly two quintillion kilobytes in the world's 1.8 zettabytes.
According to New Scientist, a gram of DNA could theoretically store 455 exabytes of data. The world has about 1.8 zettabytes of data, according to a 2011 estimate. All the world's information would fit on a four-gram DNA hard drive the size of a teaspoon. Also, given the right conditions, DNA can survive for thousands of years. Long past the time traditional hard drives have degraded.
Scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich encapsulated DNA in tiny, dry glass spheres. The researchers say that DNA kept at a temperature of 10 °C would remain uncorrupted and readable for 2,000 years. At even lower temperatures the data could last two million years.
However, preserving data in DNA is currently very expensive. Swiss researchers spent $1,500 to encode 83-kilobytes, which is smaller than the size a picture taken on a smartphone uses. There are a nearly two quintillion kilobytes in the world's 1.8 zettabytes.
Top Ten Sports
These are the top ten sports in the world
from the lowest to highest, according to number of fans. Seems it is
not the age of the sport, but the sport itself that makes it
popular.
- American Football, # of fans: 400 million (began 1800s)
- Basketball, # of fans: 400 million (began late 1800s)
- Golf, # of fans: 450 million (began 1400s)
- Baseball, # of fans: 500 million (began late 1800s)
- Table Tennis, # of fans: 850 million (began 1900s)
- Volleyball, # of fans: 900 million (began late 1800s)
- Tennis, # of fans: 1 billion (began in 1300s)
- Field Hockey, # of fans: 2 billion (began 3rd century BC)
- Cricket, # of fans: 2.5 billion (began 1600s)
- Soccer, # of fans: 3.5 billion (began 200s BC)
Baseball Season Opens
Abner Doubleday is routinely touted
as the inventor of baseball, but there is little, if any historical
evidence to back that claim. Much like Betsy Ross and the flag,
Doubleday had a good story which circumvented the truth. When
baseball started getting really popular, there was actually a
committee called the Mills Commission organized with the purpose of
tracking down the origins of the sport.
One of the men on that commission, Albert Spalding, did not like the fact that baseball was seen as a variation on the English game of rounders. He wanted this new beloved pastime to be 100% American and Doubleday’s story fit the bill perfectly. He had a decorated Civil War general who created the sport in his youth living in a small town in New York. And so the legend began. . .
One of the men on that commission, Albert Spalding, did not like the fact that baseball was seen as a variation on the English game of rounders. He wanted this new beloved pastime to be 100% American and Doubleday’s story fit the bill perfectly. He had a decorated Civil War general who created the sport in his youth living in a small town in New York. And so the legend began. . .
White and Black
The Proto-Indo-European word bhel evolved
into many modern words meaning "white," including Spanish blanco,
French blanc, Italian bianco, and Portuguese branco, as well as
white-related words such as bleach and blank. Bhel also referred to
anything bright, like fire, and the result of fire is blackened,
charred remains. Hence, black. Symbols and sayings about white and
black:
White
A white flag is the universal symbol for truce.
White means mourning in China and Japan.
Angels are usually depicted wearing white robes.
The ancient Greeks wore white to bed to ensure pleasant dreams.
The Egyptian pharaohs wore white crowns.
The ancient Persians believed all gods wore white.
A “white elephant” is a rare, pale elephant considered sacred to the people of India, Thailand, Burma, and in Sri Lanka it is either a possession that costs more than it is worth to keep or an item that the owner does not want, but cannot get rid of.
It's considered good luck to be married in a white garment.
White heat is a state of intense enthusiasm, anger, devotion, or passion.
To whitewash is to gloss over defects or make something seem presentable that is not.
A white knight is a rescuer.
A white list contains favored items (as opposed to a blacklist).
A whiteout occurs when there is zero visibility during a blizzard.
A white sale is a sale of sheets, towels, and other bed and bath items.
A whited sepulcher is a person who is evil inside, but appears good on the outside.
White lightning is slang for moonshine, a home brewed alcohol.
A white room is a clean room as well as a temperature-controlled, dust-free room for precision instruments.
White water is the foamy, frothy water in rapids and waterfalls.
Black
The ancient Egyptians and Romans used black for mourning, as do most Europeans and Americans today.
The Blackshirts were the security troops in Hitler's German army, also known as the S.S.
Black humor is morbid or unhealthy and gloomy humor.
A blackhearted person is evil.
If a business is “in the black,” it is making money.
A “blacklist” is a list of persons or organizations to be boycotted or punished.
Black is associated with sophistication and elegance. A “black tie” event is formal.
A black belt in karate identifies an expert.
A black flag in a car race is the signal for a driver to go to the pits.
A blackguard is a scoundrel.
The ancient Egyptians believed that black cats had divine powers.
Black lung is a coal miner's disease caused by the frequent inhaling of coal dust.
Blackmail is getting things by threat.
Black market is illegal trade in goods or money.
A black sheep is an outcast.
A blackout is a period of darkness from the loss of electricity, for protection against nighttime air raids, or, in the theater, to separate scenes in a play.
When you “black out,” you temporarily lose consciousness.
White
A white flag is the universal symbol for truce.
White means mourning in China and Japan.
Angels are usually depicted wearing white robes.
The ancient Greeks wore white to bed to ensure pleasant dreams.
The Egyptian pharaohs wore white crowns.
The ancient Persians believed all gods wore white.
A “white elephant” is a rare, pale elephant considered sacred to the people of India, Thailand, Burma, and in Sri Lanka it is either a possession that costs more than it is worth to keep or an item that the owner does not want, but cannot get rid of.
It's considered good luck to be married in a white garment.
White heat is a state of intense enthusiasm, anger, devotion, or passion.
To whitewash is to gloss over defects or make something seem presentable that is not.
A white knight is a rescuer.
A white list contains favored items (as opposed to a blacklist).
A whiteout occurs when there is zero visibility during a blizzard.
A white sale is a sale of sheets, towels, and other bed and bath items.
A whited sepulcher is a person who is evil inside, but appears good on the outside.
White lightning is slang for moonshine, a home brewed alcohol.
A white room is a clean room as well as a temperature-controlled, dust-free room for precision instruments.
White water is the foamy, frothy water in rapids and waterfalls.
Black
The ancient Egyptians and Romans used black for mourning, as do most Europeans and Americans today.
The Blackshirts were the security troops in Hitler's German army, also known as the S.S.
Black humor is morbid or unhealthy and gloomy humor.
A blackhearted person is evil.
If a business is “in the black,” it is making money.
A “blacklist” is a list of persons or organizations to be boycotted or punished.
Black is associated with sophistication and elegance. A “black tie” event is formal.
A black belt in karate identifies an expert.
A black flag in a car race is the signal for a driver to go to the pits.
A blackguard is a scoundrel.
The ancient Egyptians believed that black cats had divine powers.
Black lung is a coal miner's disease caused by the frequent inhaling of coal dust.
Blackmail is getting things by threat.
Black market is illegal trade in goods or money.
A black sheep is an outcast.
A blackout is a period of darkness from the loss of electricity, for protection against nighttime air raids, or, in the theater, to separate scenes in a play.
When you “black out,” you temporarily lose consciousness.
Roller Skate Dancing
Received this from my cousin and
thought I would share this little skating, tap dancing, musical
interlude. Four minutes long with amazing Gene Kelly. Enjoy! LINK
Internet, IP, Web, and URL
The Internet is a collection of
computers and cables that form a communications network.
The Web (World Wide Web) is a collection of HTML (web) pages on the Internet. The Web is the user part of the Internet.
The term Interweb is a combination of the words Internet and Web. It is most often used in the context of joking or sarcasm.
A URL (universal resource locator) is synonymous with Internet address. A URL is usually a combination of code and text, such as 'http://www.google.com', but numbers are also allowed. A URL always starts with a protocol prefix like http://, but most browsers will type those characters for you. URLs are internally converted to IP addresses
IP address (Internet Protocol address), is a unique identifying number given to every device on the Internet. Like a car license plate, an IP address is a special serial number used for identification, such as 208.185.127.40 = www.about.com.
Bottom line, all URLs have an IP address, but not all IP addresses have a URL.
The Web (World Wide Web) is a collection of HTML (web) pages on the Internet. The Web is the user part of the Internet.
The term Interweb is a combination of the words Internet and Web. It is most often used in the context of joking or sarcasm.
A URL (universal resource locator) is synonymous with Internet address. A URL is usually a combination of code and text, such as 'http://www.google.com', but numbers are also allowed. A URL always starts with a protocol prefix like http://, but most browsers will type those characters for you. URLs are internally converted to IP addresses
IP address (Internet Protocol address), is a unique identifying number given to every device on the Internet. Like a car license plate, an IP address is a special serial number used for identification, such as 208.185.127.40 = www.about.com.
Bottom line, all URLs have an IP address, but not all IP addresses have a URL.
Google News is Cool
Why read twenty newspapers to
get a glimpse of what is going on around the world? Google News
watches more than 4,500 news sources worldwide and you can search
about 200 years of articles. You can personalize news to your
specific taste if you have a Google account and you can get alerts
of topics that interest you. It also works on your smartphone. Type
google news in Google and it will take you to the site.
Computer on a Stick
Intel is coming out with a 'Compute
Stick' that is a full personal computer. It is about the size of a
USB memory stick. On one end, the device has a full-size HDMI plug
which attaches to your TV or monitor. On its side is a microUSB port
which plugs into the wall for power using a standard USB cable. A
second, full-size USB port allows you to attach peripherals and a
microSD card slot provides for memory expansion.
Not to get too technical, but it is a quad-core Atom-powered mini PC with 2GB of RAM, 32GB eMMC storage, running Windows 8.1. The price when it comes out later this spring should be about US $150.
It also has a power button, and in addition to its USB port, it can pair with a keyboard and mouse using Bluetooth. Since Bluetooth sends a signal to about 30 feet, you can sit in your easy chair and have the best of TV and PC on one device, with no extra wires or gadgets. It also supports 802.11n Wi-Fi for connecting to the Internet and your home network. Now you can have a real PC TV with a keyboard, etc. No longer necessary to send YouTube videos from your PC as they are already on the screen. Am very sure I need one of these and hope by the time it is available I will be able to explain/justify to myself why.
Not to get too technical, but it is a quad-core Atom-powered mini PC with 2GB of RAM, 32GB eMMC storage, running Windows 8.1. The price when it comes out later this spring should be about US $150.
It also has a power button, and in addition to its USB port, it can pair with a keyboard and mouse using Bluetooth. Since Bluetooth sends a signal to about 30 feet, you can sit in your easy chair and have the best of TV and PC on one device, with no extra wires or gadgets. It also supports 802.11n Wi-Fi for connecting to the Internet and your home network. Now you can have a real PC TV with a keyboard, etc. No longer necessary to send YouTube videos from your PC as they are already on the screen. Am very sure I need one of these and hope by the time it is available I will be able to explain/justify to myself why.
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