Love is the word used to label the sexual excitement of the young,
the habituation of the middle-aged, and the mutual dependence of the
old.
I still depend on the habit and excitement of having a Happy
Friday!
Oct 12, 2012
What's in a Name, FICO
This is the scoring that is used for
credit reporting. FICO is a public company that provides analytics
and decision making services, including credit scoring intended to
help financial services companies make complex, high-volume
decisions.
FICO was founded in 1956 as Fair, Isaac and Company by Bill Fair and Earl Isaac. It went public in 1987 and was originally called Fair, Isaac and Company, it was renamed Fair Isaac Corporation in 2003, then changed its name and ticker symbol to FICO. It also sells other financial related products.
The big three credit reporting companies use this scoring to determine your creditworthiness. Each has its own name, but all use the FICO calculations methodology. Score is calculated on the following. Payment history 35%, amounts owed 30%, length of history 15%, new credit 10%, and types of credit used 10%. It includes only information on your credit report, and nothing else, like race, age, employment, income, etc. It is a snapshot in time and changes as your circumstances change, so you can influence the number for better or worse. Scores range from 300 to 850 with 60% of people falling between 650 and 799.
FICO score is used for home and auto loans, calculating interest rates, and buying insurance, etc. Some states allow employers to use the score to determine potential hiring.
Some tips - Paying down credit cards and revolving credit are better to increase your score than paying off auto or home loans. Also, making payments on time is important. Closing accounts does not make them go away.
You can get your credit history for free once a year, but I have not found a way to get an actual FICO score without paying something. There are free trials, but they entail an automatic enrollment in a program that takes some work to get out of before a payment is subtracted from your credit card. If your credit is OK, do not worry about your FICO.
FICO was founded in 1956 as Fair, Isaac and Company by Bill Fair and Earl Isaac. It went public in 1987 and was originally called Fair, Isaac and Company, it was renamed Fair Isaac Corporation in 2003, then changed its name and ticker symbol to FICO. It also sells other financial related products.
The big three credit reporting companies use this scoring to determine your creditworthiness. Each has its own name, but all use the FICO calculations methodology. Score is calculated on the following. Payment history 35%, amounts owed 30%, length of history 15%, new credit 10%, and types of credit used 10%. It includes only information on your credit report, and nothing else, like race, age, employment, income, etc. It is a snapshot in time and changes as your circumstances change, so you can influence the number for better or worse. Scores range from 300 to 850 with 60% of people falling between 650 and 799.
FICO score is used for home and auto loans, calculating interest rates, and buying insurance, etc. Some states allow employers to use the score to determine potential hiring.
Some tips - Paying down credit cards and revolving credit are better to increase your score than paying off auto or home loans. Also, making payments on time is important. Closing accounts does not make them go away.
You can get your credit history for free once a year, but I have not found a way to get an actual FICO score without paying something. There are free trials, but they entail an automatic enrollment in a program that takes some work to get out of before a payment is subtracted from your credit card. If your credit is OK, do not worry about your FICO.
Magazine Phone
There is a real working smartphone in
Entertainment Weekly paper magazine. Wow. This is how cheap phones
have become. LINK
What Fall Colors Mean
As the days turn longer, less
sunlight means less oxygen and glucose for plants and leaves and
ultimately less chlorophyll, which hides the reds, yellows and
oranges. Different materials cause different colors in leaves. Red
comes from glucose, brown from waste and purple from anthocyanin.
Yellow is always present in leaves, but during spring and summer,
the green overpowers it.
The timetable for leaf transformation runs from September through early November. Typically, the first to see breathtaking fall foliage are the Rockies, Upper Midwest, and New England. From there leaves begin to change further south into the Ohio Valley, Pacific Northwest, and Middle Atlantic toward mid and late October.
The first frost and time of leaf change typically go hand in hand. Within a week or so of the first frost, expect quick leaf transformation. Other factors such as the amount of water during the summer and early fall impact the full potential of color. More water means better color.
The timetable for leaf transformation runs from September through early November. Typically, the first to see breathtaking fall foliage are the Rockies, Upper Midwest, and New England. From there leaves begin to change further south into the Ohio Valley, Pacific Northwest, and Middle Atlantic toward mid and late October.
The first frost and time of leaf change typically go hand in hand. Within a week or so of the first frost, expect quick leaf transformation. Other factors such as the amount of water during the summer and early fall impact the full potential of color. More water means better color.
Wordology, Naked and Nude
Naked implies unprotected or
vulnerable or without clothes. It also describes something that is
without embellishment, as in the 'naked truth' or without aid, as in
'seen by the naked eye'. Nude means one thing, unclothed.
Moon Size
Did you ever wonder how large the moon is. Here
is a picture comparing it to the United States.
Plastic Hanger Fix
If you have clothes slipping off of
plastic hangers, put a few dobs of hot glue along the top and let it
dry, to provide some traction. Your clothes will no longer slip off
the hangers.
Oct 9, 2012
Flu Season
It is that time of year again when the flu
bugs invade and many people get the flu or a cold. Most viruses last
a week or less, while others last for weeks. There is no cure, due
to the many varieties of viruses.
The name “common cold” came into use in the 1500s, because its symptoms seemed to appear in cold weather. Of course, we now know that a common cold is not limited to cold weather. It seems more prevalent, because people spend more time indoors in close proximity to each other and sharing the virus.
Good news, kissing reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol, thereby lowering blood pressure and optimizing immune response. Also, kissing a person with a cold will not cause you to catch it. The quantity of virus on the lips and mouth are miniscule.
Zinc, echinacea, vitamin C, garlic, eucalyptus, honey, lemon, menthol, steam, hot toddies, alcohol, Zicam, chicken soup, and many other “cures” have been repeatedly tested and have been scientifically proven to not prevent or shorten the duration of a cold. At best they provide some physical relief.
Flu shots are designed to prevent the most common types of virus. Most are effective for only those types.
Antibiotics do not cure a cold as they work on bacteria and most colds are caused by virus. However, if it is bacterial, such as half of pneumonia strains, it does help. Bacterial pneumonia usually comes on suddenly and viral types take some time to develop.
The name “common cold” came into use in the 1500s, because its symptoms seemed to appear in cold weather. Of course, we now know that a common cold is not limited to cold weather. It seems more prevalent, because people spend more time indoors in close proximity to each other and sharing the virus.
Good news, kissing reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol, thereby lowering blood pressure and optimizing immune response. Also, kissing a person with a cold will not cause you to catch it. The quantity of virus on the lips and mouth are miniscule.
Zinc, echinacea, vitamin C, garlic, eucalyptus, honey, lemon, menthol, steam, hot toddies, alcohol, Zicam, chicken soup, and many other “cures” have been repeatedly tested and have been scientifically proven to not prevent or shorten the duration of a cold. At best they provide some physical relief.
Flu shots are designed to prevent the most common types of virus. Most are effective for only those types.
Antibiotics do not cure a cold as they work on bacteria and most colds are caused by virus. However, if it is bacterial, such as half of pneumonia strains, it does help. Bacterial pneumonia usually comes on suddenly and viral types take some time to develop.
Smaller is Better
Here’s a challenge: envision a trillionth of something. You might
think of one penny compared to 10 billion dollars.
Now you can add one more thing to the list, thanks to researchers in Zurich: a picometer, or a trillionth of a meter, is around the smallest distance that humans can resolve with a microscope. A team from IBM has refined their method to precisely measure the structural details of a single molecule. That is 3 picometers or 0.000000000003 meters. That’s one-hundredth the diameter of an atom.
Now you can add one more thing to the list, thanks to researchers in Zurich: a picometer, or a trillionth of a meter, is around the smallest distance that humans can resolve with a microscope. A team from IBM has refined their method to precisely measure the structural details of a single molecule. That is 3 picometers or 0.000000000003 meters. That’s one-hundredth the diameter of an atom.
Money Diet
A few years ago, baseball pitcher Curt Schilling started to get a bit pudgy. When the Boston Red Sox re-signed
him to a one-year deal with $8 million before the 2008 season, it
included a clause in which Schilling could pick up an extra $2
million if he made weight at six random weigh-ins over the course of
the season.
Schilling picked up a $333,333 check each time he didn’t tip the scales too far.
Schilling picked up a $333,333 check each time he didn’t tip the scales too far.
Safety Glass Origin
In 1903 Edouard Benedictus, a French
scientist, dropped glass flask and it did not shatter.
The pieces of glass were broken, but they stayed in place and maintained the shape of the container. Upon investigation Benedictus found the flask had originally contained a solution of cellulose nitrate, a liquid plastic that had evaporated.
This was the first type of safety glass developed, a product which is now frequently used in car windshields, safety goggles, doors, stairs, bank protection shields, and more.
The pieces of glass were broken, but they stayed in place and maintained the shape of the container. Upon investigation Benedictus found the flask had originally contained a solution of cellulose nitrate, a liquid plastic that had evaporated.
This was the first type of safety glass developed, a product which is now frequently used in car windshields, safety goggles, doors, stairs, bank protection shields, and more.
Oct 5, 2012
Happy Friday
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the
soul.
You can see it on my face that I maintain the enthusiasm for having a Happy Friday!
You can see it on my face that I maintain the enthusiasm for having a Happy Friday!
Five Handy Kitchen Tips
Keep your onions in the
refrigerator. A chilled onion is easier to chop, and causes fewer
tears.
If you use seltzer instead of tap water or milk, you get fluffier pancakes, waffles, and scrambled eggs.
To freeze berries, spread them on a pan or plate and freeze, then take out and put into freezer bags. That way they stay separate and not in one big lump.
Keep milk fresher for longer by adding a dash of salt into the carton right after opening it for the first time.
Take your eggs out of the refrigerator and let sit out so that when you begin breakfast the eggs are at room temperature. They cook better and make especially fluffy omelets. For other dishes, eggs separate better when cold but whip better when warmed.
If you use seltzer instead of tap water or milk, you get fluffier pancakes, waffles, and scrambled eggs.
To freeze berries, spread them on a pan or plate and freeze, then take out and put into freezer bags. That way they stay separate and not in one big lump.
Keep milk fresher for longer by adding a dash of salt into the carton right after opening it for the first time.
Take your eggs out of the refrigerator and let sit out so that when you begin breakfast the eggs are at room temperature. They cook better and make especially fluffy omelets. For other dishes, eggs separate better when cold but whip better when warmed.
Wordology, Grand Slam
The immediate origin was from the
card game, Bridge. Grand slam means to take all 13 tricks in a
hand.
It has since come to take on other meanings, such as in tennis to win all four major singles titles; the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open in one year. A grand slam in golf is to win; Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA Championship in one year. It is used in baseball to signify hitting a home run with all bases loaded.
Chess, Curling, Rugby, and other sports each have a grand slam definition of their own,
Denny's restaurant chain is famous for its Grand Slam breakfasts consisting of various combinations of meat, eggs, bread, and pancakes. We also cannot forget Grand Slam Pizza in Dripping Springs, Texas.
It has since come to take on other meanings, such as in tennis to win all four major singles titles; the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open in one year. A grand slam in golf is to win; Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA Championship in one year. It is used in baseball to signify hitting a home run with all bases loaded.
Chess, Curling, Rugby, and other sports each have a grand slam definition of their own,
Denny's restaurant chain is famous for its Grand Slam breakfasts consisting of various combinations of meat, eggs, bread, and pancakes. We also cannot forget Grand Slam Pizza in Dripping Springs, Texas.
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