Feb 3, 2010
The Day the Music Died
Feb 3 1959, Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Richie Valens had their swan song in Clear Lake, Iowa. Been there and it is a beautiful lake in the middle of miles of cornfields. There is a super steak joint at the edge of the lake with pick-your-own and they grill each to order.
A long, long time ago…
I can still remember
How that music used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And, maybe, they’d be happy for a while.
But February made me shiver
With every paper I’d deliver.
Bad news on the doorstep;
I couldn’t take one more step.
I can’t remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride,
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died. Don McLean
A long, long time ago…
I can still remember
How that music used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And, maybe, they’d be happy for a while.
But February made me shiver
With every paper I’d deliver.
Bad news on the doorstep;
I couldn’t take one more step.
I can’t remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride,
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died. Don McLean
Feb 2, 2010
Happy Palindrome Day
Feb 1, 2010 is officially a palindrome day.
A palindrome is a word, phrase, number, or other sequence of units that can be read the same way in either direction. The word "palindrome" was coined from Greek roots palin "again" and dromos "way, direction") by English writer Ben Jonson in the 1600s. Huh!
A palindrome is a word, phrase, number, or other sequence of units that can be read the same way in either direction. The word "palindrome" was coined from Greek roots palin "again" and dromos "way, direction") by English writer Ben Jonson in the 1600s. Huh!
Feb 1, 2010
How many Faces?
How perceptive are you? How many faces can you see in this tree?
There are 10 faces.
English Genealogy
Do you have ancestors from England, Scotland, or Wales? If so, there is a site that allows you to look them up by simply entering their last name. It shows births and marriages. You can find the records for free, but there is a subscription if you want more details. It also has a free 14 day trial to get all the info you want. LINK
Jan 29, 2010
Web Viewing Tip
Here is a tip that I use all the time. When viewing a web page that has small print, hold down the CTRL (control) key and move your scroll button on your mouse forward. It increases the size of print for easier viewing. It is temporary and only lasts for the page you are viewing. Moving your scroll button back reduces the size of print. It works in Internet Explorer and Firefox.
Robot Maids
South Korean scientists have developed a walking robot maid which can recognize people, turn on microwave ovens, washing machines, and toasters, and also pick up sandwiches, cups, and whatever else it senses as objects.
Mahru-Z has a human-like body including a rotating head, arms, legs and six fingers plus three-dimensional vision to recognize chores that need to be tackled. Below is a picture of the old and new models.
"The most distinctive strength of Mahru-Z is its visual ability to observe objects, recognize the tasks needed to be completed, and execute them," said You Bum-Jae, head of the cognitive robot center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology.
The institute took two years to develop Mahru-Z, which is 4.3 feet tall and weighs 121 pounds.
It could also work with an earlier maid robot called Marhu-M which moves on wheels, since both can be remotely controlled through a computer server. Don't look for this in the mail order catalogs soon.
Mahru-Z has a human-like body including a rotating head, arms, legs and six fingers plus three-dimensional vision to recognize chores that need to be tackled. Below is a picture of the old and new models.
"The most distinctive strength of Mahru-Z is its visual ability to observe objects, recognize the tasks needed to be completed, and execute them," said You Bum-Jae, head of the cognitive robot center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology.
The institute took two years to develop Mahru-Z, which is 4.3 feet tall and weighs 121 pounds.
It could also work with an earlier maid robot called Marhu-M which moves on wheels, since both can be remotely controlled through a computer server. Don't look for this in the mail order catalogs soon.
Older Brains and Remembering
A new study has found promising evidence that the older brain's weakened ability to filter out irrelevant information may actually give aging adults a memory advantage over their younger counterparts.
Other research has already shown that aging is associated with a decreased ability to tune out irrelevant information. The current study showed that older brains are less likely to suppress irrelevant information than younger brains and can link the relevant and irrelevant pieces of information together to use this knowledge for subsequent memory tasks.
The older adults showed a 30% advantage over younger adults in their memory. Because this type of knowledge is thought to play a critical role in real world decision-making, older adults may be the wiser decision-makers compared to younger adults because they picked up so much more information. I knew that.
Other research has already shown that aging is associated with a decreased ability to tune out irrelevant information. The current study showed that older brains are less likely to suppress irrelevant information than younger brains and can link the relevant and irrelevant pieces of information together to use this knowledge for subsequent memory tasks.
The older adults showed a 30% advantage over younger adults in their memory. Because this type of knowledge is thought to play a critical role in real world decision-making, older adults may be the wiser decision-makers compared to younger adults because they picked up so much more information. I knew that.
World Record No Sleep
The world record for time without sleep is 264 hours (11 days) by Randy Gardner in 1965.
John J. Ross, who monitored his health, reported serious cognitive and behavioral changes. These included moodiness, problems with concentration and short term memory, paranoia, and hallucinations. On the fourth day he had a delusion that he was Paul Lowe winning the Rose Bowl, and that a street sign was a person. On the eleventh day, when he was asked to subtract seven repeatedly, starting with 100, he stopped at 65. When asked why he had stopped, he replied that he had forgotten what he was doing.
On his final day, Gardner presided over a press conference where he spoke without slurring or stumbling his words and in general appeared to be in excellent health. "I wanted to prove that bad things didn't happen if you went without sleep."
After completing his record, Gardner slept 14 hours and 40 minutes, woke naturally, stayed awake 24 hours, then slept a normal eight hours. Makes me tired just thinking about it.
John J. Ross, who monitored his health, reported serious cognitive and behavioral changes. These included moodiness, problems with concentration and short term memory, paranoia, and hallucinations. On the fourth day he had a delusion that he was Paul Lowe winning the Rose Bowl, and that a street sign was a person. On the eleventh day, when he was asked to subtract seven repeatedly, starting with 100, he stopped at 65. When asked why he had stopped, he replied that he had forgotten what he was doing.
On his final day, Gardner presided over a press conference where he spoke without slurring or stumbling his words and in general appeared to be in excellent health. "I wanted to prove that bad things didn't happen if you went without sleep."
After completing his record, Gardner slept 14 hours and 40 minutes, woke naturally, stayed awake 24 hours, then slept a normal eight hours. Makes me tired just thinking about it.
Jan 27, 2010
Jan 26, 2010
Integrity
If you have integrity, nothing else matters.
If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.
If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.
See Through Refrigerator
The idea is to save energy by keeping the door closed until you want to take something out.
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