A bidet is a low, basin-like
bathroom fixture, usually with spigots, used for bathing the genital
and perineal areas. It is also the French name for a small saddle
horse originated during the early 1600s.
The modern bidet that resembles a toilet was developed in the 19th
century, and the very popular bidet seat came about in the 1960s,
with one of the most popular invented by an American, Arnold Cohen.
Bidet use greatly reduces the need for toilet paper, which in North
America is over 36 billion rolls per year.
Incidentally, over 2.6 billion people (40% of the
world’s population.) have no access to a toilet.
Jun 26, 2015
Take That Gig
Do you have some extra time and want to make
a few bucks? Gigwalk is a company with an app that you can use to
find work in your area. Some take minutes, like checking a product
placement in a local store, to longer ones, such as doing an
inventory of a product line. The platform gives brands and retailers
on-the-ground visibility and allows them to take action to drive
more in-store sales. There are gigs available in sixty cities so far
with more to come in the future.
Workers (gigwalkers) look up opportunities on their phone and decide if they are interested. Each individual Gig is represented by a pin on the map in the mobile application. Gigs can take anywhere from 5 minutes to a few hours to complete and pay from $3 to $100. It pays directly to your Paypal account. Here is a LINK to the main site.
Workers (gigwalkers) look up opportunities on their phone and decide if they are interested. Each individual Gig is represented by a pin on the map in the mobile application. Gigs can take anywhere from 5 minutes to a few hours to complete and pay from $3 to $100. It pays directly to your Paypal account. Here is a LINK to the main site.
New York City Stats
New York City uses more energy, sucks
down more water, and spews out more solid waste than any other
mega-metropolitan area. There are about 20 million residents,
speaking over 800 languages, in the 6,000 square miles that comprise
the city’s greater metropolitan statistical area. It pumps out over
33 million tons of waste a year. The next closest offender is Mexico
City, which generates 12 million tons of trash.
There are at least 26 other megacities around the world, which, according to new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, account for 9 percent of the planet’s electricity use, drain 10 percent of its gasoline, and create 13 percent of its trash. There were 27 megacities, worldwide, as of 2010. In 2020 there will be closer to 40. According to the study, New York is more wasteful per capita, than all of them.
"The New York metropolis has 12 million fewer people than Tokyo, yet it uses more energy in total: the equivalent of one oil supertanker every 1.5 days,” according to study author Chris Kennedy, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Toronto.
There are at least 26 other megacities around the world, which, according to new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, account for 9 percent of the planet’s electricity use, drain 10 percent of its gasoline, and create 13 percent of its trash. There were 27 megacities, worldwide, as of 2010. In 2020 there will be closer to 40. According to the study, New York is more wasteful per capita, than all of them.
"The New York metropolis has 12 million fewer people than Tokyo, yet it uses more energy in total: the equivalent of one oil supertanker every 1.5 days,” according to study author Chris Kennedy, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Toronto.
Butt Biometrics
A team of engineers in Japan is working on
a device that can recognize your butt.
A few years ago, a mechanical engineer named Shigeomi Koshimizu, along with his team at the Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology in Tokyo, designed a biometric cover for car seats. The sheet of fabric, with 360 embedded sensors creates an individual profile of each driver’s bum, based on size, shape, weight distribution, and pressure points. That profile could be stored in the car’s computer system, and only drivers with registered bums would be able to start the car.
The sensor sheets recognized drivers correctly about 98% of the time in lab tests. Koshimizu had also considered using facial recognition or palm scanners on the steering wheel to identify drivers, but found those methods “overbearing,” according to the Wall Street Journal. It will likely be a few years before they would be ready for a commercial product.
A few years ago, a mechanical engineer named Shigeomi Koshimizu, along with his team at the Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology in Tokyo, designed a biometric cover for car seats. The sheet of fabric, with 360 embedded sensors creates an individual profile of each driver’s bum, based on size, shape, weight distribution, and pressure points. That profile could be stored in the car’s computer system, and only drivers with registered bums would be able to start the car.
The sensor sheets recognized drivers correctly about 98% of the time in lab tests. Koshimizu had also considered using facial recognition or palm scanners on the steering wheel to identify drivers, but found those methods “overbearing,” according to the Wall Street Journal. It will likely be a few years before they would be ready for a commercial product.
Lefties and Digits
Kangaroos prefer to use one of their
hands over the other for everyday tasks in much the same way that
humans do, with one notable difference, generally kangaroos are
lefties. A study found that wild kangaroos show a natural preference
for their left hands when performing particular actions, such as
grooming the nose, picking a leaf, or bending a tree branch.
Psychologist Eliza L. Nelson observed several monkeys using individual fingers to grab food. The spider monkeys also were able to insert one or two fingers into a tube to grab a serving of peanut butter. It is the first time this type of independent digit control has been reported for this species.
The unexpected observation occurred during Nelson's research study evaluating measures of handedness in nonhuman primates, the tendency to use one hand more naturally than the other. Spider monkeys' hands have four fingers and no thumb. "We collected a large number of data points on each measure to allow for analyses. The team analyzed reach and coordination, both of which are difficult for spider monkeys given their unique hand structure. Comparing results of both tasks is critical for understanding the evolution of hand-use preferences in primates.
Contrary to predictions and previous findings, Nelson's research shows multiple measures are needed to fully characterize the concept of handedness as a single handedness test cannot effectively predict hand preference in nonhuman primates. The findings were recently published in the journal Animal Cognition.
Infants who exhibit a consistent right hand preference are more likely to develop advanced language skills by age two, according to another study by Nelson. The findings were recently published in the Journal of Developmental Psychology.
In the study, Nelson measured handedness in different ways according to the age-appropriate motor level. She looked at how infants used their hands to pick up toys and compared it to how they used their hands in combination to manipulate toys as toddlers. The study results suggest there may be an advantage to having consistent hand preference as an infant. Results showed children who had clear early hand preference performed better on language skills tests than those who did not develop handedness until toddlerhood. Those who were inconsistent in their hand use as infants, but developed a preference for the left or right hand as toddlers, had language scores in the typical range for their age. We should give her a hand for these interesting studies.
Psychologist Eliza L. Nelson observed several monkeys using individual fingers to grab food. The spider monkeys also were able to insert one or two fingers into a tube to grab a serving of peanut butter. It is the first time this type of independent digit control has been reported for this species.
The unexpected observation occurred during Nelson's research study evaluating measures of handedness in nonhuman primates, the tendency to use one hand more naturally than the other. Spider monkeys' hands have four fingers and no thumb. "We collected a large number of data points on each measure to allow for analyses. The team analyzed reach and coordination, both of which are difficult for spider monkeys given their unique hand structure. Comparing results of both tasks is critical for understanding the evolution of hand-use preferences in primates.
Contrary to predictions and previous findings, Nelson's research shows multiple measures are needed to fully characterize the concept of handedness as a single handedness test cannot effectively predict hand preference in nonhuman primates. The findings were recently published in the journal Animal Cognition.
Infants who exhibit a consistent right hand preference are more likely to develop advanced language skills by age two, according to another study by Nelson. The findings were recently published in the Journal of Developmental Psychology.
In the study, Nelson measured handedness in different ways according to the age-appropriate motor level. She looked at how infants used their hands to pick up toys and compared it to how they used their hands in combination to manipulate toys as toddlers. The study results suggest there may be an advantage to having consistent hand preference as an infant. Results showed children who had clear early hand preference performed better on language skills tests than those who did not develop handedness until toddlerhood. Those who were inconsistent in their hand use as infants, but developed a preference for the left or right hand as toddlers, had language scores in the typical range for their age. We should give her a hand for these interesting studies.
Jun 19, 2015
Happy Friday
Life is not meant to be drilled, but fracked until every last beautiful ounce spews out.
I always try to have a fracking good Happy Friday!
I always try to have a fracking good Happy Friday!
What's in a Name, eBay
When it was first created, eBay was called AuctionWeb. The original look for the site was very similar to Craigslist. AuctionWeb was one of four sites Pierre Omidyar ran under his eBay Internet, a domain he purchased before coming up with AuctionWeb. He originally wanted to call this “EchoBay,” but the domain was already taken by a Canadian mining company, so he shortened it. The other things you could find under the eBay umbrella were a page on the Ebola virus, a small travel agent site, and a personal shopper site. Within seven months of launching AuctionWeb, revenues coming in were out earning Omidyar’s day job at General Magic, so he quit to devote himself full time to his side project. About a year and a half later, general users and many in the press had been calling it “eBay,” instead of AuctionWeb, so he switched the name. In September of 1997, he also switched the look of the site to be much more graphically based.
When eBay went public with a suggested price of $18 per share (but surged to $53.50 on the first day), the 30 employees of the company at the time did a conga line around the office. The biggest recipients of that public offering were Omidyar, who today is worth about $8.7 billion, and the first CEO of the company, Meg Whitman, who has a net worth of just under $2 billion today.
The section eBay 'Deals' is a part of eBay where it highlights the best deals at a given time on eBay, saving you the effort of sifting through to look for them. It also breaks up the deals in various categories, such as Technology Deals, Fashion Deals, Home Deals, etc.
When eBay went public with a suggested price of $18 per share (but surged to $53.50 on the first day), the 30 employees of the company at the time did a conga line around the office. The biggest recipients of that public offering were Omidyar, who today is worth about $8.7 billion, and the first CEO of the company, Meg Whitman, who has a net worth of just under $2 billion today.
The section eBay 'Deals' is a part of eBay where it highlights the best deals at a given time on eBay, saving you the effort of sifting through to look for them. It also breaks up the deals in various categories, such as Technology Deals, Fashion Deals, Home Deals, etc.
Ten Salt Types
Salt is the most important ingredient in cooking. Without it, most meals would taste bland and unexciting. Salt is a crystalline mineral made of two elements, sodium (Na) and chlorine (Cl). Sodium and chlorine are absolutely essential for life in animals, including humans. They serve important functions like helping the brain and nerves send electrical impulses. The main difference between the salts is the taste, flavor, color, texture and convenience.
Refined Salt (table salt) is the most common. It is usually highly refined. It is heavily ground and most of the impurities and trace minerals are removed. The problem with heavily ground salt is that it can clump together. For this reason, various substances called anti-caking agents are added so that it flows freely. Food-grade table salt is almost pure sodium chloride, at 97% or higher. Iodine is often added to table salt.
Kosher Salt is used for all cooking. It dissolves fast, and its flavor disperses quickly, so chefs recommend tossing it on everything from pork roast to popcorn. Kosher salt got its name because its craggy crystals make it perfect for curing meat, a step in the koshering process. Cooks prize crystals like these, because their roughness makes it easy to pinch a perfect amount.
Himalayan Pink Salt is harvested in Pakistan. It is mined from the Khewra Salt Mine, the second largest salt mine in the world. Himalayan salt often contains trace amounts of iron oxide (rust), which gives it a pink color. It also contains small amounts of calcium, iron, potassium and magnesium, and slightly lower amounts of sodium than table salt.
Black Salt, also known as Kala Namak, is actually a pinkish-grey color. It is mined in India and has a strong sulphuric smell. It is commonly used to spice food in Southeast Asia and has recently become more popular in the US among vegan chefs who use it for the flavor.
Flaked Sea Salt adds a complex flavor to steamed vegetables or shellfish. This salt adds a hint of briny flavor. It comes from England's Essex coast. Its texture is soft, with sheer, pyramid-like flakes. This is the fastest-dissolving of all of the salt grains.
Celtic Salt is a type of salt that originally became popular in France. It has a greyish color and also comes from and contains a bit of water, which makes it quite moist. Celtic salt contains trace amounts of minerals and is a bit lower in sodium than table salt.
Rock Salt is used for making ice cream and de-icing. Rock salt is paired with ice in old-fashioned hand-cranked ice cream makers to regulate the temperature. It is also used to de-ice sidewalks and driveways during the winter. It is not sold for use directly on food. It is usually packaged in an organic, unprocessed form. It has large, chunky, non-uniform crystals. Minerals and other harmless impurities can give it a grayish color.
Crystalline Sea Salt is used for adding a pungent burst of flavor to just-cooked foods. These crystals can complement anything from a fresh salad to a salmon fillet. It comes from coasts from Portugal to Maine, California to the Pacific Rim. It can be either fine or coarse. The size of the irregular crystals affects how fast it dissolves. It varies in color, depending on the minerals it contains. These natural impurities can add subtle briny, sweet, or bitter flavors to the salts.
Fleur de Sel is a special-occasion table salt. It is delicately flavored and adds a perfect hint of saltiness to freshly sliced tomato or melon. It comes from coastal salt ponds in France. Some call it the caviar of sea salt and it is hand harvested. It is crystalline and melts slowly in the mouth.
Pickling Salt is used for brining pickles and sauerkraut. It is also used to brine a turkey, and is more concentrated than kosher salt. Pickling salt may come from the earth or the sea. It is almost one hundred percent sodium chloride and is the purest of salts.
Bottom line, the main purpose for salt is to add flavor, not nutrition.
Refined Salt (table salt) is the most common. It is usually highly refined. It is heavily ground and most of the impurities and trace minerals are removed. The problem with heavily ground salt is that it can clump together. For this reason, various substances called anti-caking agents are added so that it flows freely. Food-grade table salt is almost pure sodium chloride, at 97% or higher. Iodine is often added to table salt.
Kosher Salt is used for all cooking. It dissolves fast, and its flavor disperses quickly, so chefs recommend tossing it on everything from pork roast to popcorn. Kosher salt got its name because its craggy crystals make it perfect for curing meat, a step in the koshering process. Cooks prize crystals like these, because their roughness makes it easy to pinch a perfect amount.
Himalayan Pink Salt is harvested in Pakistan. It is mined from the Khewra Salt Mine, the second largest salt mine in the world. Himalayan salt often contains trace amounts of iron oxide (rust), which gives it a pink color. It also contains small amounts of calcium, iron, potassium and magnesium, and slightly lower amounts of sodium than table salt.
Black Salt, also known as Kala Namak, is actually a pinkish-grey color. It is mined in India and has a strong sulphuric smell. It is commonly used to spice food in Southeast Asia and has recently become more popular in the US among vegan chefs who use it for the flavor.
Flaked Sea Salt adds a complex flavor to steamed vegetables or shellfish. This salt adds a hint of briny flavor. It comes from England's Essex coast. Its texture is soft, with sheer, pyramid-like flakes. This is the fastest-dissolving of all of the salt grains.
Celtic Salt is a type of salt that originally became popular in France. It has a greyish color and also comes from and contains a bit of water, which makes it quite moist. Celtic salt contains trace amounts of minerals and is a bit lower in sodium than table salt.
Rock Salt is used for making ice cream and de-icing. Rock salt is paired with ice in old-fashioned hand-cranked ice cream makers to regulate the temperature. It is also used to de-ice sidewalks and driveways during the winter. It is not sold for use directly on food. It is usually packaged in an organic, unprocessed form. It has large, chunky, non-uniform crystals. Minerals and other harmless impurities can give it a grayish color.
Crystalline Sea Salt is used for adding a pungent burst of flavor to just-cooked foods. These crystals can complement anything from a fresh salad to a salmon fillet. It comes from coasts from Portugal to Maine, California to the Pacific Rim. It can be either fine or coarse. The size of the irregular crystals affects how fast it dissolves. It varies in color, depending on the minerals it contains. These natural impurities can add subtle briny, sweet, or bitter flavors to the salts.
Fleur de Sel is a special-occasion table salt. It is delicately flavored and adds a perfect hint of saltiness to freshly sliced tomato or melon. It comes from coastal salt ponds in France. Some call it the caviar of sea salt and it is hand harvested. It is crystalline and melts slowly in the mouth.
Pickling Salt is used for brining pickles and sauerkraut. It is also used to brine a turkey, and is more concentrated than kosher salt. Pickling salt may come from the earth or the sea. It is almost one hundred percent sodium chloride and is the purest of salts.
Bottom line, the main purpose for salt is to add flavor, not nutrition.
Smart Phone Hack
When going out of town, or to a large
mall, finding your car when you come back can be a hassle. Take out
your phone and take a picture of any landmark, especially if the lot
is color coded, or numbered/lettered close to where your car is
parked. Might save a bunch of time wandering around looking for your
car.
Google Ocean View
If you think Google street view is cool,
you will love street view/ocean. I like to use street view to see
what a house, or building, or block looks like, so when I drive
there I know what to look for.
Now we can do the same under the sea. Thinking of going somewhere warm to do some snorkeling? Try ocean view to see what types of fish you might encounter or take a tour of sunken ships. Street view/ocean has wonderful photography and all the features of street view, plus video. Caution, the views can be addicting. LINK
Now we can do the same under the sea. Thinking of going somewhere warm to do some snorkeling? Try ocean view to see what types of fish you might encounter or take a tour of sunken ships. Street view/ocean has wonderful photography and all the features of street view, plus video. Caution, the views can be addicting. LINK
Humans and Wallabies Share DNA
A tammar wallaby is a small- or mid-sized macropod found in Australia and New Guinea. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos. One of them, Mathilda, became the first kangaroo to have her genetic code mapped.
The Australian researchers were shocked when they compared her code with a human’s. They had expected the comparison to be a mismatch, but it turned out that the genomes of the two species were more than just similar. Apart from a few differences, the genes were identical, and many of them were arranged in the same order. Both species hold large pieces of genetic information about the other.
It made more sense when the researchers also discovered that people and these bouncy marsupials had a common ancestor that lived at least 150 million years ago. Mice separated from humans only 70 million years ago, but scientists feel that kangaroos can provide more answers about human evolution when it comes to why some DNA remained the same for eons while other DNA changed. By comparing different genomes from species, unknown genes can be identified, and Matilda revealed 14 new genes never before seen in kangaroos, which might possibly also be present in humans.
The Australian researchers were shocked when they compared her code with a human’s. They had expected the comparison to be a mismatch, but it turned out that the genomes of the two species were more than just similar. Apart from a few differences, the genes were identical, and many of them were arranged in the same order. Both species hold large pieces of genetic information about the other.
It made more sense when the researchers also discovered that people and these bouncy marsupials had a common ancestor that lived at least 150 million years ago. Mice separated from humans only 70 million years ago, but scientists feel that kangaroos can provide more answers about human evolution when it comes to why some DNA remained the same for eons while other DNA changed. By comparing different genomes from species, unknown genes can be identified, and Matilda revealed 14 new genes never before seen in kangaroos, which might possibly also be present in humans.
How to Move a Mountain
Mother Nature can do in seconds what mankind has never been able to do. Geologists in China announced the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal in April caused Mount Everest to move three centimeters (1.2 inches) to the southwest.
The world's highest peak had been moving northeast at a pace of four centimeters (1.6 inches) per year during the past decade and China's national surveying administration said the height of the mountain has risen by three centimeters (1.2 inches) from 2005 to 2015.
The April 25th earthquake, which triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest, was one of two major quakes that struck Nepal this spring, leaving more than 8,700 people dead.
The world's highest peak had been moving northeast at a pace of four centimeters (1.6 inches) per year during the past decade and China's national surveying administration said the height of the mountain has risen by three centimeters (1.2 inches) from 2005 to 2015.
The April 25th earthquake, which triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest, was one of two major quakes that struck Nepal this spring, leaving more than 8,700 people dead.
Bad Fats
Not all trans fats are bad fats. Generally, bad fats are manufactured trans fats. They are also known as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Manufactured trans fat is a heavily processed vegetable oil. All hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils are trans fats. Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil is one of the top ingredients in most packaged foods: cookies, snack chips, pretzels, most peanut butter, and shortening. Many fast food chains fry their foods in partially hydrogenated oils.
Natural trans fats are found in dairy products and certain other foods. They have not shown to be harmful.
Vegetable shortening and most margarines contain trans fats. Trans fats begin as natural, polyunsaturated fats that are then exposed to chemical processes that change the molecular structure by artificially saturating the fat with hydrogen in the manufacturing process. Manufactured trans fats are synthetic saturated fats.
Manufactured trans fat raises LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and lowers HDL (good) cholesterol levels. It raises levels of triglycerides, another form of lipid, which can increase the risk of heart disease.
Commercial baked goods such as crackers, cookies, cakes, and many fried foods like doughnuts and French fries may contain trans fats. Shortening and margarine may also be high in trans fats. In the United States, if a food has less than .5 grams of trans fat per serving, the food label can read 0 grams trans fat.
According to the Mayo Clinic, in a healthy diet, 25 to 35 percent of your total daily calories can come from fat, but saturated fat should account for less than 10 percent of your total daily calories.
Monounsaturated fat, found in olive, peanut, and canola oils is a healthier option than saturated fat. Nuts, fish, and other foods containing unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids are also good choices of foods with monounsaturated fats. Consumption of bad trans fats has gone down in recent years and decades.
Natural trans fats are found in dairy products and certain other foods. They have not shown to be harmful.
Vegetable shortening and most margarines contain trans fats. Trans fats begin as natural, polyunsaturated fats that are then exposed to chemical processes that change the molecular structure by artificially saturating the fat with hydrogen in the manufacturing process. Manufactured trans fats are synthetic saturated fats.
Manufactured trans fat raises LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and lowers HDL (good) cholesterol levels. It raises levels of triglycerides, another form of lipid, which can increase the risk of heart disease.
Commercial baked goods such as crackers, cookies, cakes, and many fried foods like doughnuts and French fries may contain trans fats. Shortening and margarine may also be high in trans fats. In the United States, if a food has less than .5 grams of trans fat per serving, the food label can read 0 grams trans fat.
According to the Mayo Clinic, in a healthy diet, 25 to 35 percent of your total daily calories can come from fat, but saturated fat should account for less than 10 percent of your total daily calories.
Monounsaturated fat, found in olive, peanut, and canola oils is a healthier option than saturated fat. Nuts, fish, and other foods containing unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids are also good choices of foods with monounsaturated fats. Consumption of bad trans fats has gone down in recent years and decades.
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