Dec 2, 2016
Microsoft Office Online Free
You can get the new Microsoft Office apps,
such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc., for free. One hitch is
that it is all online, rather than physically installed on your
PC. If you can live with that, go to LINK You need to sign up
for a free Microsoft account (if you have not done so).
Travel Tip
Before you leave on your next trip, use your phone to take a picture of your luggage. This will assist recovery efforts for lost luggage and reduce possible disputes. In addition, I always place my business card inside each checked and carry-on bag.
Cranberry Juice Myth
Contrary to popular belief, the cranberry juice commonly found on grocery store shelves is ineffective at preventing urinary tract infections.
Cranberries do contain compounds that defend against bacterial infection in the bladder wall, which can help prevent UTIs, but cranberry juice does not have a high enough concentration of these compounds to do much good. In order for a noticeable reduction in bacterial adhesion, a person would have to consume at least 32 ounces of cranberry juice daily.
Cranberries do contain compounds that defend against bacterial infection in the bladder wall, which can help prevent UTIs, but cranberry juice does not have a high enough concentration of these compounds to do much good. In order for a noticeable reduction in bacterial adhesion, a person would have to consume at least 32 ounces of cranberry juice daily.
Quote
"If God did not intend for us to eat animals, then why did he make them out of meat?" ~John Cleese
Birthday Cakes and Candles
The Ancient Greeks served some form of cake with candles to honor Artemis, the goddess who, among other things, had dominion over the Moon. As such, people offered cakes that were not only shaped like the celestial object, but decorated with lit candles, presumably to make it glow. It has also been reported that smoke from the candles was thought to help the goddess hear an individual’s prayers as it ascends to the heavens.
Persians and Romans are known to have celebrated the birthdays of at least some 'commoners', although it does not appear that the custom was as ubiquitous as it is today. Rather, when a wealthy person reached a major milestone like 50, family and friends might throw the person a party and serve a special cake. However, it does not appear that they put candles on the birthday cakes.
The Chinese have long had birthday celebrations, though eating cake on that day has only been a recent practice, adopted from the Western world. In China it is traditional to eat longevity noodles on one’s birthday.
German bakers during the 15th century, began marketing single-layer cakes for birthdays. By the end of the 18th century, the practice became common in the west. The Germans were also adding candles on the birthday cakes, numbering at least the years the child had been alive plus often more in the hope of a long life to come.
During 1746 Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf had “a cake as large as any oven could be found to bake it, and holes made in the cake according to the years of his age, every one having a candle stuck into it, and one in the middle.”
It wasn’t until the end of the 19th century that ordinary people had sufficient funds and ingredients were cheap enough, that the masses began incorporating enriched, frosted birthday cakes as part of a birthday celebration.
Persians and Romans are known to have celebrated the birthdays of at least some 'commoners', although it does not appear that the custom was as ubiquitous as it is today. Rather, when a wealthy person reached a major milestone like 50, family and friends might throw the person a party and serve a special cake. However, it does not appear that they put candles on the birthday cakes.
The Chinese have long had birthday celebrations, though eating cake on that day has only been a recent practice, adopted from the Western world. In China it is traditional to eat longevity noodles on one’s birthday.
German bakers during the 15th century, began marketing single-layer cakes for birthdays. By the end of the 18th century, the practice became common in the west. The Germans were also adding candles on the birthday cakes, numbering at least the years the child had been alive plus often more in the hope of a long life to come.
During 1746 Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf had “a cake as large as any oven could be found to bake it, and holes made in the cake according to the years of his age, every one having a candle stuck into it, and one in the middle.”
It wasn’t until the end of the 19th century that ordinary people had sufficient funds and ingredients were cheap enough, that the masses began incorporating enriched, frosted birthday cakes as part of a birthday celebration.
Wordology, Strand
The name of the famous street near the River Thames in London comes from the German word ‘Strand’, which means beach in modern German, but also once referred to river banks.
That is also why, if you are left on a desert island beach helpless and alone, you would be described as ‘stranded’.
That is also why, if you are left on a desert island beach helpless and alone, you would be described as ‘stranded’.
Hot Cheese
File this under fun stuff. Sometimes new products come around that just tickle me. The Fondoodler, a hot glue gun for cheese, is one of them and it is a big seller this season.
It can be described as a culinary caulking gun that dispenses hot, coagulated cheese over your bacon, nachos, crackers, or tongue.
Load up the canister with whatever cheese you see fit, let it heat up for three minutes, wave goodbye to any semblance of shame you may have once had, and cover everything with pure, melty cheesiness. Of course, you can just drizzle it directly into your open mouth.
Every piece of the Fondoodler can be washed in a dishwasher. The Fondoodler costs $25, but is already on back-order and there is no guarantee it will arrive in time for the holidays.
It can be described as a culinary caulking gun that dispenses hot, coagulated cheese over your bacon, nachos, crackers, or tongue.
Load up the canister with whatever cheese you see fit, let it heat up for three minutes, wave goodbye to any semblance of shame you may have once had, and cover everything with pure, melty cheesiness. Of course, you can just drizzle it directly into your open mouth.
Every piece of the Fondoodler can be washed in a dishwasher. The Fondoodler costs $25, but is already on back-order and there is no guarantee it will arrive in time for the holidays.
Nov 25, 2016
Happy Friday
A genuine smile is the greatest courtesy.
I always extend my courtesies to all, especially on a Happy Friday!
I always extend my courtesies to all, especially on a Happy Friday!
Paper Towels Origin
Scott Paper Company capitalized on the demand for improved hygiene by essentially 'inventing' the market for toilet paper. Nearly a decade later, a manufacturing error at Scott’s mills revolutionized the company by producing tissue that was too thick to use as toilet paper.
Remembering a story about a schoolteacher who cut up copy paper for her students to use as hand wipes (as opposed to a communal cloth that spread germs), company founder Arthur Scott set his sights on marketing the world’s first disposable paper towel.
By perforating the thick, unusable paper so that it could be dispensed in individual sheets, Scott targeted his sales to railroad stations, hotels, industrial buildings, and schools under the name “Sani-Towels.” By 1931, a paper manufacturer’s mistake had become a successful household item throughout America.
Remembering a story about a schoolteacher who cut up copy paper for her students to use as hand wipes (as opposed to a communal cloth that spread germs), company founder Arthur Scott set his sights on marketing the world’s first disposable paper towel.
By perforating the thick, unusable paper so that it could be dispensed in individual sheets, Scott targeted his sales to railroad stations, hotels, industrial buildings, and schools under the name “Sani-Towels.” By 1931, a paper manufacturer’s mistake had become a successful household item throughout America.
Cannabis Genotype vs. Phenotype
There are there are defining characteristics for every strain, but each plant uniquely expresses genes according to its garden environment. That is why the government is so determined to control the production process, from seed to distribution.
Two things influence the structural formation of any given cannabis plant: genetics and environment. The plant’s genetic makeup, also called a genotype, acts as a blueprint for growth: it allows a spectrum of physical possibilities, but it is up to the environment to induce these characteristics.
The physical expression of a genotype is referred to as a phenotype, which is simply defined as the traits that the environment pulls out from the plant’s genetic code. Everything from color, shape, smell, and resin production are affected by the environment.
Cannabis breeding took a major turn during the 1970s and 1980s when federal anti-cannabis sentiments peaked, driving cultivation from the great outdoors to inside. Indoor gardens, raised by soil, electric lights, and hydroponic systems, produce a bulk of the cannabis in the market today. The plant’s phenotypic expression depends on: nutrients, temperature, the amount and angle of light, soil type, photoperiod length, time of harvest, and the distance between the plant and light source. These and other conditions affect a plant’s characteristics.
Narrowing diversity even further, growers during this time were primarily motivated by THC content and selectively chose this characteristic over other important chemical constituents like CBD.
Two things influence the structural formation of any given cannabis plant: genetics and environment. The plant’s genetic makeup, also called a genotype, acts as a blueprint for growth: it allows a spectrum of physical possibilities, but it is up to the environment to induce these characteristics.
The physical expression of a genotype is referred to as a phenotype, which is simply defined as the traits that the environment pulls out from the plant’s genetic code. Everything from color, shape, smell, and resin production are affected by the environment.
Cannabis breeding took a major turn during the 1970s and 1980s when federal anti-cannabis sentiments peaked, driving cultivation from the great outdoors to inside. Indoor gardens, raised by soil, electric lights, and hydroponic systems, produce a bulk of the cannabis in the market today. The plant’s phenotypic expression depends on: nutrients, temperature, the amount and angle of light, soil type, photoperiod length, time of harvest, and the distance between the plant and light source. These and other conditions affect a plant’s characteristics.
Narrowing diversity even further, growers during this time were primarily motivated by THC content and selectively chose this characteristic over other important chemical constituents like CBD.
Windows 10 Sign-in
Are you required to sign in to your computer each time you turn it on? Do you hate that? If you are not worried that someone will use your computer without your permission, there is a way to turn this 'feature' off.
Click Start > Settings > Accounts. On the left choose “Sign-in options.” Up at the top, under “Require sign-in” set the drop-down box to say Never.
Now you can turn on your PC, go get a cup of coffee, and when you return it will be ready for you to use.
Click Start > Settings > Accounts. On the left choose “Sign-in options.” Up at the top, under “Require sign-in” set the drop-down box to say Never.
Now you can turn on your PC, go get a cup of coffee, and when you return it will be ready for you to use.
AVOD, SVOD, TVOD
These days there is much talk about 'cutting the cord', or eliminating the increasingly high cable TV costs. People are looking for decreased costs and instant gratification. The irony is, while people are installing ever larger TV screens in the home, many people are opting to choose their entertainment on miniscule phone screens and tablets. There are common terms for this instant gratification.
VOD is Video On Demand. Wherever there is a screen, in your pocket, in your car, etc., you can watch the latest episode of your favorite show or watch a movie.
AVOD is Advertising or Ad-based VOD. It is a model that is free of monthly or on demand cost, but you pay by letting yourself be subjected to commercials. Think YouTube as an example or commercial, non-cable TV.
SVOD is Subscription VOD, a type of service that requires a paid subscription agreement, which grants access to movies, shows, or other content. The fees are typically charged monthly.
TVOD is Transactional VOD. It is a service that is paid for as you watch. TVOD is typically free sign up, then pay for any content you watch. This is like an electronic version of the old Blockbuster model, watch a movie, pay a fee, watch another movie, pay another fee.
There are examples of services that operate with mixed models, where the customer will pay a monthly fee, which will grant access to certain types of content, but there are extra fees applied to watch particular pieces of content, such as a live sports event. Cable TV, Rabbittv, Selecttv, and VRV are mixed models.
The Internet, with its Over-The-Top (OTT), or Over-The-Air (OTA) watch anything, anywhere, anytime for free is disrupting most of the paid schemes and forcing cable operators to rethink their business models and outrageous fees.
VOD is Video On Demand. Wherever there is a screen, in your pocket, in your car, etc., you can watch the latest episode of your favorite show or watch a movie.
AVOD is Advertising or Ad-based VOD. It is a model that is free of monthly or on demand cost, but you pay by letting yourself be subjected to commercials. Think YouTube as an example or commercial, non-cable TV.
SVOD is Subscription VOD, a type of service that requires a paid subscription agreement, which grants access to movies, shows, or other content. The fees are typically charged monthly.
TVOD is Transactional VOD. It is a service that is paid for as you watch. TVOD is typically free sign up, then pay for any content you watch. This is like an electronic version of the old Blockbuster model, watch a movie, pay a fee, watch another movie, pay another fee.
There are examples of services that operate with mixed models, where the customer will pay a monthly fee, which will grant access to certain types of content, but there are extra fees applied to watch particular pieces of content, such as a live sports event. Cable TV, Rabbittv, Selecttv, and VRV are mixed models.
The Internet, with its Over-The-Top (OTT), or Over-The-Air (OTA) watch anything, anywhere, anytime for free is disrupting most of the paid schemes and forcing cable operators to rethink their business models and outrageous fees.
Phone and Internet Use
The International Telecommunication Union reports that Earth has as many phone subscriptions as people (7 billion), even if it does not translate to a phone for each person.
It also finds internet usage is not evenly distributed. Though broadband networks are available to 84 percent of the world’s population, just 47 percent actually use the internet.
It also finds internet usage is not evenly distributed. Though broadband networks are available to 84 percent of the world’s population, just 47 percent actually use the internet.
GMT and UTC
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is often confused with Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). GMT and UTC share the same current time in practice, but there is a basic difference between the two. GMT is a time zone and UTC is a time standard.
GMT is a time zone officially used in some European, African, and other countries. The time can be displayed using both the 24-hour format (0 - 24) or the 12-hour format (1 - 12 am/pm).
UTC is not a time zone, but a time standard that is the basis for civil time and time zones worldwide. This means that no country or territory officially uses UTC as a local time.
Neither UTC nor GMT ever change for Daylight Saving Time. However, some of the countries that use GMT switch to different time zones during their Daylight Saving Time periods. For example, the United Kingdom is not on GMT all year, it uses British Summer Time (BST), which is one hour ahead of GMT, during the summer months. Seems to me all Daylight Saving Time should adopt the British acronym and call it for what it is - BST, for Bull S... Time.
GMT is a time zone officially used in some European, African, and other countries. The time can be displayed using both the 24-hour format (0 - 24) or the 12-hour format (1 - 12 am/pm).
UTC is not a time zone, but a time standard that is the basis for civil time and time zones worldwide. This means that no country or territory officially uses UTC as a local time.
Neither UTC nor GMT ever change for Daylight Saving Time. However, some of the countries that use GMT switch to different time zones during their Daylight Saving Time periods. For example, the United Kingdom is not on GMT all year, it uses British Summer Time (BST), which is one hour ahead of GMT, during the summer months. Seems to me all Daylight Saving Time should adopt the British acronym and call it for what it is - BST, for Bull S... Time.
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