Modern Healthcare

According to the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, one of every three people who died in the U.S. in 2007 died in a hospital. The leading principal diagnosis for patients who died while receiving inpatient care was septicemia, or infection of the bloodstream. That does not speak well for modern medicine.

Electric Nose Lift

For those who might feel probiscisally challenged, here is the answer. You need only three minutes with the Beauty Lift High Nose and the handy gadget will give you a beautiful nose.

Slip the gadget onto your nose, turn on the switch and you can feel gentle electric vibrations coming from the bottom and thus lifting your nose up and up. I tried one and it was too small. Hmmm!

What's in a Name

US soldiers in World War 1 were called doughboys. The name is believed to have originated in reference to large round brass buttons worn by American infantrymen which looked like little round doughnuts called doughboys. The term was first used to describe the buttons and then became the common slang for the infantrymen themselves and was especially popular during World War I.

'Sieg Heil' means 'Hail to Victory.'

Also D-Day comes from 'Designated Day' for Operation Overlord, the code name for the Allied invasion of Northern France on June 6, 1944, during World War II.

Historic Photos

Historypin is a very interesting website that is a global project in partnership with Google. The site allows people to view and share historic places pictures online. It’s an open community, which means everyone can upload an old photo, locate the place on a Google Map and Google Street View and pin it.

When uploading a photo you’ll need to enter date and location. The site then pins the historic picture to a current picture in an overlay, to show past and present. There is a timeline across the top so you can look for pictures during various years. Great for history buffs, or those interested in genealogy. it also allows you to add a story to the picture. LINK It only has about 32,000 pictures so far, but this is the type of site that gets better as more folks add pictures.

What's for Breakfast

You can make approximately 11 1/2 omelets with 1 ostrich egg. Hmmm, I wonder if there is Ostrich bacon?

Speaking of Breakfast

How about something for that new child or grandchild. Here is just the thing, Bacon flavored formula. Mmmm!

Eyeball Closeups

Here is a fascinating look at the human eye in extreme closeup. Never knew the eye was so complex. A quick look at stunning pictures all on one page. LINK

Happy Friday

A bargain is something you don’t need at a price you can’t resist.

 I absolutely need and cannot resist having a Happy Friday!

What's a Whip

Both the Senate and House have majority and minority whips. A whip is a person, whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy.

A whip's role is also to ensure that the elected representatives of their party are in attendance when important votes are taken. The usage comes from the hunting term 'whipping in', such as preventing hounds from wandering away from the pack.

Robot Goes to School

 Freshman Lyndon Baty attends classes at his high school in Knox City, Texas every day by using a robot. Vgo is a four foot tall bot on wheels with a small screen, camera, speakers and microphone at the top.

Baty logs into the robot remotely from his home, using his PC and a webcam to teleconference into his classes. He moves Vgo around school, switching between classes just like regular students. He has polycystic kidney disease and recent treatments have left his immune system so damaged that he can’t risk being surrounded by people

What's the Internet

Came across this funny clip LINK from the Today Show in 1994. The hosts are trying to find out that "funny little a with the ring around it" is. Bryant Gumbel actually asks the staff what the Internet is. It shows how far we have come in such a short time. Here is another interesting one with children looking at old technology.    LINK 

Ten Uses For Vicks Vaporub

It's always fun to find new uses for old stuff, especially when there does not seem to be any way to ever finish it before it hits the expiration date. Here are ten interesting uses for Vicks.

The most common use of Vicks is to uncongest your chest and throat area. When applied to the upper chest, it provides excellent relief of cough and congestion symptoms.

Vicks relieves sore, overworked muscles. It increases circulation and provides almost instant aid. Use a generous portion and apply it all over the aching area. (Be sure to warn your bed-mate.)

Rub VapoRub on your toenails if you suspect you have a fungus. Within days, the nail will turn dark—this means the Vicks is killing the fungus. As your toenail grows out, the dark part will grow off and you will have fungus-free feet. Keep applying the ointment over a period of two weeks to fully cleanse nail beds of any remaining bacteria.

Cats are notorious for scratching every hard surface they get their claws on. To prevent Miss Kitty from ruining your doors, walls, and windows, apply a small amount of VapoRub to these areas. Cats detest the smell and will steer clear. Vicks can also be applied to your arms and legs if your kitty is prone to scratching you.

If your dog or cat is not yet potty trained, put an open bottle of Vicks on the area he or she likes to mark as their territory. The smell will discourage them from lifting their legs and wetting your rug.

Rub a small amount of Vicks VapoRub on your temples and forehead to help relieve headaches. The mentholated scent will release pressure in your head and instantly relieve pain.

Vicks VapoRub can be used in special types of humidifiers and vaporizers. Ensure your humidifier has an aromatherapy compartment before using. The humidifier will circulate Vicks throughout the air and keep you breathing easy all night long.

To prevent infection and speed up healing time, dab a small amount of Vicks on any small cut or splinter.

If you get bitten by a tick, apply Vicks immediately. The strong odor might help get the critter to release itself and stop bugging you.

Vicks wards off mosquitoes. Apply small dabs of Vicks VapoRub to your skin and clothes and mosquitoes will steer clear. If you do get bitten, apply Vicks to the area and cover it with a Band-Aid to relieve itching.

Find Your iPhone

Here is a free app that you download to your iPhone, iPod, or iPad. Just download it and you are ready. Great if the device is misplaced, or stolen. It can find it, lock it, erase data, or whatever else you want to do. LINK

See With Your Tongue

 An experimental device that uses the tongue instead of the eyes to "see" is here. Researchers say their BrainPort device does not replace the sense of sight, but lets the blind perceive images, making it easier for them to navigate their surroundings.

The device is comprised of an inch-long video camera mounted on a pair of sunglasses. The camera sends signals down a cable to a handheld control unit about the size of a cell phone, which converts the image into a low resolution black, white and gray picture. That picture is then recreated as a square grid of 400 electrodes, approximately the size of a postage stamp, on the lollipop-shaped stick. Each electrode sends pulses based upon the amount of light detected, with strongest pulses for white, and no signal for black.
Those who could see before they went blind describe the sensations as similar to vision -- although the resolution is not the same, they say.

The idea started with Paul Bach-y Rita, a neuroscientist at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Bach-y-Rita was convinced that the brain, not the eye, is what enables humans to see and can rewire nerve impulses from anywhere, not just the eye, to generate vision.

After 10 hours wearing the device, people have been able to find and walk down a hallway and avoid obstacles, said Aimee Arnoldussen, a neuroscientist who is leading the research. With the device, people also have distinguished a men's room sign from a women's room sign and found doorways, she said.
You don't put the device on and magically see and it isn't a substitute for a cane or a guide dog.

Related technologies: The U.S. Navy is developing a system that will allow divers to find their way through murky waters by interpreting infrared through their tongues.

NASA is creating sensors to enable astronauts to feel objects on the outside of their space suits.

The Institute for Human and Machine Cognition is working toward making vests that will alert pilots to other planes or incoming missiles by sending pulses.