The remarkable heist of a Best Buy store in New Jersey almost seemed to be from the Mission Impossible movie, as thieves made off with $26,000 worth of Apple notebooks without leaving a trace in the store.
Best Buy employees discovered a hole in the roof, while not a single motion sensor was set off, and no evidence captured on the security cameras. The thieves employed a “high degree of sophistication. They never touched the floor. They rappelled in and rappelled out” according to a police department spokesman.
They scaled a gas pipe located on the side of the building onto the roof, where they cut a 3-ft wide hole, used some kind of suction to lift the piece out, lowered themselves 16 feet into the store (10 feet off the ground, so motion sensors would not go off). Everything was planned so store banners would obscure the security cameras. They absconded with the laptops off metal racks, while hanging from the ceiling, Tom Cruise style.
Apr 27, 2010
Vegan Dental Floss
Yes, that's correct. Dental floss with "no mint and has a natural Cinnamon Flavor and it is completely free of all animal source ingredients" is being pushed by at least one company.
Use of dental floss with waxed silken thread came about in about 1819, but the use of dental floss was not common because silken thread was too expensive. During World War II, Dupont began using nylon and it replaced silk as the new material for many products, including dental floss. Of course, there are resin-coated nylon and teflon coated floss, but they do not use animal parts either. Not sure what kind of "animal source ingredients" are found in synthetic materials..
Use of dental floss with waxed silken thread came about in about 1819, but the use of dental floss was not common because silken thread was too expensive. During World War II, Dupont began using nylon and it replaced silk as the new material for many products, including dental floss. Of course, there are resin-coated nylon and teflon coated floss, but they do not use animal parts either. Not sure what kind of "animal source ingredients" are found in synthetic materials..
Apr 23, 2010
Thinner LCD TV
Researchers at Japanese chemical company Teijin and Yamaguchi University claimed that they’ve come up a new production method to reduce the weight of LCD displays. Compared with conventional LCD displays with silicon solid-state devices placed on glass substrates, the new technology features a thin layer of heat-resistant silicon dioxide on plastic.
The improvement results in less heat will be generated and TVs that are 50% lighter. According to the researchers, the new tech also leads to clearer images. The LCD TVs should be on the market in 2013.
The improvement results in less heat will be generated and TVs that are 50% lighter. According to the researchers, the new tech also leads to clearer images. The LCD TVs should be on the market in 2013.
Reduplication
Adding new words and phrases into English has been greatly enhanced by the pleasure we get from playing with words. There are numerous alliterative and rhyming idioms which are a significant feature of our language. We start in the nursery with choo-choos, move on in adult life to hanky-panky and end up in the nursing home having a sing-song.
The repeating of parts of words to make new forms is called reduplication. There are various categories of this: rhyming, exact and ablaut (vowel substitution). Examples, are respectively, okey-dokey, wee-wee, and zig-zag. The words that make up these reduplicated idioms often have little meaning in themselves and only appear as part of a pair. In other cases, one word will allude to some existing meaning and the other half of the pair is added for effect or emphasis. Is there anything other than a spider that is eency-weency? Is there anything other than a dance that is hokey-pokey?
During the 1920s, following the First World War, when many nonsense word pairs were coined, such as the bee's knees, heebie-jeebies etc. Willy-nilly is over a thousand years old. Riff-raff dates from the 1400s and helter-skelter, arsy-versy ( a form of vice-versa), and hocus-pocus all date from the 16th century. Now we have bling-bling, boob-tube and hip-hop. Just thought I would razzle-dazzle you with this one.
The repeating of parts of words to make new forms is called reduplication. There are various categories of this: rhyming, exact and ablaut (vowel substitution). Examples, are respectively, okey-dokey, wee-wee, and zig-zag. The words that make up these reduplicated idioms often have little meaning in themselves and only appear as part of a pair. In other cases, one word will allude to some existing meaning and the other half of the pair is added for effect or emphasis. Is there anything other than a spider that is eency-weency? Is there anything other than a dance that is hokey-pokey?
During the 1920s, following the First World War, when many nonsense word pairs were coined, such as the bee's knees, heebie-jeebies etc. Willy-nilly is over a thousand years old. Riff-raff dates from the 1400s and helter-skelter, arsy-versy ( a form of vice-versa), and hocus-pocus all date from the 16th century. Now we have bling-bling, boob-tube and hip-hop. Just thought I would razzle-dazzle you with this one.
LED Lights
The U.S. Department of Energy expects to phase out common tungsten bulbs in four years and compact-fluorescent bulbs in 10 years. That will leave LEDs with virtually 100 percent of the market.
LED lights use less energy, contain no mercury as fluorescent use, and produce much less heat than normal bulbs.
LED lights use less energy, contain no mercury as fluorescent use, and produce much less heat than normal bulbs.
Tall Presidents
Did you know that in the past 27 US presidential elections, the shorter candidate has won only six times? Handlers for Jimmy Carter (5' 9") went to great lengths to prevent him from having to stand next to the taller Gerald Ford (6 foot+). It worked, Carter won. Eighteen presidents have been 6 foot or taller. James Madison was the shortest at 5 foot 4.
Did you also know that Napoleon was 4 foot 11 or (5 foot 6, depending on what you read), Paul Simon and Dudley Moore 5 foot 2. Tom Cruise 5 foot 8 (Thomas Cruise Mapother IV)
Michigan is the only state that has a statute prohibiting height discrimination.
Did you also know that Napoleon was 4 foot 11 or (5 foot 6, depending on what you read), Paul Simon and Dudley Moore 5 foot 2. Tom Cruise 5 foot 8 (Thomas Cruise Mapother IV)
Michigan is the only state that has a statute prohibiting height discrimination.
Flying Penguins
I forgot to add this one to my April 1 posting. 90 second video hosted by Terry Jones, from Monty Python fame. LINK
Recycling Mattresses
With increasing concern over our throw-away culture, many have asked what happens to those old mattresses and if there is any way to keep them from being in a landfill or incinerated with toxic consequences.
A mattress is one of the most difficult products to recycle due to its complex multi-material structure. One company is Massachusetts developed a minute-and-a-half process, which involves feeding a mattress through a large-scale shredder to break it apart and allow it to be magnetically separated into its individual parts, (foam, cotton, wood, and steel) for resale as raw materials.
A typical mattress is a 23 cubic foot assembly of steel, wood, cotton and polyurethane foam. They have typically been difficult to recycle, and most municipal recycling facilities won't offer to do it for you.
St. Vincent de Paul Society has spearheaded one of the nation's most successful mattress recycling initiatives via its DR3 ("Divert, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle") program.
A mattress is one of the most difficult products to recycle due to its complex multi-material structure. One company is Massachusetts developed a minute-and-a-half process, which involves feeding a mattress through a large-scale shredder to break it apart and allow it to be magnetically separated into its individual parts, (foam, cotton, wood, and steel) for resale as raw materials.
A typical mattress is a 23 cubic foot assembly of steel, wood, cotton and polyurethane foam. They have typically been difficult to recycle, and most municipal recycling facilities won't offer to do it for you.
St. Vincent de Paul Society has spearheaded one of the nation's most successful mattress recycling initiatives via its DR3 ("Divert, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle") program.
Food From the Seventies
1970: Orville Redenbacher's Gourmet Popping Corn, Hamburger Helper, Morton's salt substitute
1971: Starbucks founded, McCormick's "Roast in a Bag Kit"
1972: Celestial Seasonings Herbal Teas, Snapple, Quaker Oates granola
1973: Egg McMuffins, Cup O'Noodles, Stove Top Stuffing, Promise (margarine), Brim (caffeine-free instant coffee)
1974: Yoplait yogurt, Miller Lite, Mrs. Field's Cookies, Mr. Coffee
1975: Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies, Country Time lemonade
1976: Pop Rocks, Burger King launches its "Have it Your Way", Starburst Fruit Chews, Oodles of Noodles, Puritan Oil, Perrier Water introduced to U.S. markets
1977: Twix Cookie Bars, Denny's Grand Slam Breakfast, recyclable soda bottles, plastic grocery bags
1978: McCormick's Lite Gravy, Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream, Reggie Bar (candy), Reese's Pieces, Arby's Beef'n'Cheddar Sandwich
1971: Starbucks founded, McCormick's "Roast in a Bag Kit"
1972: Celestial Seasonings Herbal Teas, Snapple, Quaker Oates granola
1973: Egg McMuffins, Cup O'Noodles, Stove Top Stuffing, Promise (margarine), Brim (caffeine-free instant coffee)
1974: Yoplait yogurt, Miller Lite, Mrs. Field's Cookies, Mr. Coffee
1975: Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies, Country Time lemonade
1976: Pop Rocks, Burger King launches its "Have it Your Way", Starburst Fruit Chews, Oodles of Noodles, Puritan Oil, Perrier Water introduced to U.S. markets
1977: Twix Cookie Bars, Denny's Grand Slam Breakfast, recyclable soda bottles, plastic grocery bags
1978: McCormick's Lite Gravy, Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream, Reggie Bar (candy), Reese's Pieces, Arby's Beef'n'Cheddar Sandwich
Apr 20, 2010
Wrap up the Leftovers
Saran wrap (polyvinylidene chloride) In 1933, Ralph Wiley, a Dow Chemical lab worker, accidentally discovered polyvinylidene chloride or Saran.
Bacon Suckers
Lolliphile packs plenty of pucker into their lollipops. They make absinthe, white Russian, and wasabi-ginger to name a few. In addition, they offer a bacon lollipop with a kick of caffeine.
According to Lolliphile, “We invented the Maple Bacon Lollipop, and now we’ve improved it: we’ve made it the bacon-y equivalent of an energy drink, adding two cups worth of caffeine to the already time-tested wonder of organic, sustainably farmed bacon and delicious Vermont maple syrup.” A pack of 5 costs less than $4. Yumm!
According to Lolliphile, “We invented the Maple Bacon Lollipop, and now we’ve improved it: we’ve made it the bacon-y equivalent of an energy drink, adding two cups worth of caffeine to the already time-tested wonder of organic, sustainably farmed bacon and delicious Vermont maple syrup.” A pack of 5 costs less than $4. Yumm!
Gigabytes, Terabytes, and Petabytes
One gigabyte of storage cost $228 in 1998 and costs about 88 cents today. A gigabyte holds about 7 minutes of a HD TV movie.
A terabyte is 1,024 gigabytes. The first terabyte hard drive came out in 2007. In May 2009, Yahoo! Groups had 40 terabytes of data to index.
There is an even larger scale these days, petabytes. One petabyte is 1,024 terabytes. A petabyte holds 13.3 years of HD TV movies. To provide more perspective, Google processes an average of about 20 petabytes of data per day. Finally, 50 petabytes is equal to the entire written history of mankind from the beginning of recorded history. What's next? An exabyte is 1024 petabytes.
A terabyte is 1,024 gigabytes. The first terabyte hard drive came out in 2007. In May 2009, Yahoo! Groups had 40 terabytes of data to index.
There is an even larger scale these days, petabytes. One petabyte is 1,024 terabytes. A petabyte holds 13.3 years of HD TV movies. To provide more perspective, Google processes an average of about 20 petabytes of data per day. Finally, 50 petabytes is equal to the entire written history of mankind from the beginning of recorded history. What's next? An exabyte is 1024 petabytes.
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