"Happiness is a state
of mind, and depends very little on outward circumstances." ~
Helen Keller
I always have a
Happy state of mind, especially on a Happy Friday!
Jun 2, 2017
National Donut Day
It is celebrated on the first Friday in June. That
sweet, doughy goodness that has a day set aside holey in its
honor. Go out for some freebies from your favorite donut shop
today.
Incidentally, the name was originally hyphenated, as in "balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog’s fat, and called dough-nuts, or oly koeks(oily cakes): a delicious kind of cake made by Dutch families.” When phonetic-based spelling reform came along, it was changed to donut, which was popularized by Dunkin' Donuts and has become the more popular spelling.
Incidentally, the name was originally hyphenated, as in "balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog’s fat, and called dough-nuts, or oly koeks(oily cakes): a delicious kind of cake made by Dutch families.” When phonetic-based spelling reform came along, it was changed to donut, which was popularized by Dunkin' Donuts and has become the more popular spelling.
Gandhi Tale
This interesting bit of fiction takes place when Gandhi was
studying law at the University College of London, a white
professor Peters disliked him. The two had many arguments and
confrontations.
Mr. Peters was having lunch at the dining room of the University, and Gandhi came along with his tray and sat next to the professor. The professor said, "Mr. Gandhi, you do not understand. A pig and a bird do not sit together to eat." Gandhi looked at him and calmly replied, "You do not worry professor. I'll fly away," and went to sat at another table.
Mr. Peters decided to take revenge on the next test paper, but Gandhi responded brilliantly to all questions. Mr. Peters asked him the following question. "Mr. Gandhi, if you were walking down the street and found a package, and within was a bag of wisdom and another bag with a lot of money, which one would you take?" Without hesitating, Gandhi responded, "The one with the money, of course."
Mr. Peters said, "I, in your place, would have taken the wisdom, don't you think?"
Gandhi shrugged and responded, "Each one takes what he does not have."
Mr. Peters wrote on Gandhi's exam sheet the word "idiot" and gave it to Gandhi. Gandhi took the exam sheet and sat down at his desk trying to remain calm while he contemplated his next move.
A few minutes later, Gandhi got up, went to the professor and said to him in a dignified, but sarcastically polite tone, "Mr. Peters, you signed the sheet, but you did not give me the grade."
Mr. Peters was having lunch at the dining room of the University, and Gandhi came along with his tray and sat next to the professor. The professor said, "Mr. Gandhi, you do not understand. A pig and a bird do not sit together to eat." Gandhi looked at him and calmly replied, "You do not worry professor. I'll fly away," and went to sat at another table.
Mr. Peters decided to take revenge on the next test paper, but Gandhi responded brilliantly to all questions. Mr. Peters asked him the following question. "Mr. Gandhi, if you were walking down the street and found a package, and within was a bag of wisdom and another bag with a lot of money, which one would you take?" Without hesitating, Gandhi responded, "The one with the money, of course."
Mr. Peters said, "I, in your place, would have taken the wisdom, don't you think?"
Gandhi shrugged and responded, "Each one takes what he does not have."
Mr. Peters wrote on Gandhi's exam sheet the word "idiot" and gave it to Gandhi. Gandhi took the exam sheet and sat down at his desk trying to remain calm while he contemplated his next move.
A few minutes later, Gandhi got up, went to the professor and said to him in a dignified, but sarcastically polite tone, "Mr. Peters, you signed the sheet, but you did not give me the grade."
Languages
According to Ethnologue, there are over 7,000 distinct languages
in the world and about 40,000 dialects. Some languages, like
Russian and Hindi, are written from left-to-right, while others,
like Hebrew and Persian, are written right-to-left.
The nation of Papua New Guinea has the highest language diversity in the world. There are 820 languages spoken in an area the size of Spain.
There are logographic languages, like Japanese and Korean, where symbols represent words, and there are Dongba and Nsibidi which are pictographic languages where symbols represent ideas.
Incidentally, there are over 1.5 billion speakers of English globally. In 2015, out of the total 195 countries in the world, 67 nations have English as the primary language of 'official status'. Plus there are 27 countries where English is spoken as a secondary 'official' language.
The nation of Papua New Guinea has the highest language diversity in the world. There are 820 languages spoken in an area the size of Spain.
There are logographic languages, like Japanese and Korean, where symbols represent words, and there are Dongba and Nsibidi which are pictographic languages where symbols represent ideas.
Incidentally, there are over 1.5 billion speakers of English globally. In 2015, out of the total 195 countries in the world, 67 nations have English as the primary language of 'official status'. Plus there are 27 countries where English is spoken as a secondary 'official' language.
TV Watching
Nielsen’s fourth-quarter Comparable Metrics Report says that
adults spent 509 billion minutes viewing on TVs during the
quarter and another 63.6 billion minutes viewing on TV-connected
devices. Viewing video on PCs accounted for 31.7 billion
minutes, smartphone video 10.9 billion, and 4.4 billion minutes
on tablets.
TV Antenna Facts
If you decide to cut the cord and use an antenna to get local
TV, you do not need to worry about a special 4K antenna, because
there is no broadcast 4K content - and there may never be. Just
as with cables, an antenna does not know and does not care what
kind of signal it receives as long as it is within the
designated frequency (channel) range.
Any digital antenna will work fine for digital TV, HD, and 4K. There is nothing that would make an antenna better or worse for digital, HD, or 4K. However, broadcasters are not required to put out a 4K signal and that means that they probably will not. Current 4K content comes from cable channels and other digital operators, such as Sling TV, DirectTV Now, HULU, etc. None of them require an antenna.
Amplified vs. non-amplified antenna - If you are running a very long length of coax cable or more than one TV, an amplifier might improve your TV reception. It should be placed at the end closest to the antenna, not at the end closest to the TV. For most situations, a non-amplified antenna is equal and sometimes better than an amplified antenna. An amplified antenna may overpower some signals and you actually lose channels, because they amplify noise as well as channel signals.
Bottom line, if you want a digital antenna, buy one, but do not give in to hype about being 4K ready or any other mumbo jumbo from the salesperson. Also, using an antenna will produce a noticeably better picture on your TV, because antennas do not compress the signal as cable companies do.
Any digital antenna will work fine for digital TV, HD, and 4K. There is nothing that would make an antenna better or worse for digital, HD, or 4K. However, broadcasters are not required to put out a 4K signal and that means that they probably will not. Current 4K content comes from cable channels and other digital operators, such as Sling TV, DirectTV Now, HULU, etc. None of them require an antenna.
Amplified vs. non-amplified antenna - If you are running a very long length of coax cable or more than one TV, an amplifier might improve your TV reception. It should be placed at the end closest to the antenna, not at the end closest to the TV. For most situations, a non-amplified antenna is equal and sometimes better than an amplified antenna. An amplified antenna may overpower some signals and you actually lose channels, because they amplify noise as well as channel signals.
Bottom line, if you want a digital antenna, buy one, but do not give in to hype about being 4K ready or any other mumbo jumbo from the salesperson. Also, using an antenna will produce a noticeably better picture on your TV, because antennas do not compress the signal as cable companies do.
Netflix
Netflix can take up almost half of US bandwidth during peak
hours. Sandvine reports that Netflix accounts for over 35% of
web traffic in North America, followed by YouTube at 17.5%, and
Amazon Video at 4.3%. On average, Netflix customers consume 125
million hours a day. On a big day, single-day viewership hours
have approached 250 million. The study concluded that viewers
consume over 800,000 minutes of internet video per second each
day. Netflix now has 50 million US customers and 93 million
subscribers worldwide.
Chesty Tax Deduction
Every now and then something I read is so completely crazy it
tickles me. Thought I would share this IRS story. If you are an
exotic dancer who needs the biggest assets possible to get the
biggest tips, they might be deductible. The IRS initially denied
the write off, which “Chesty Love” submitted for her (56-FF)
breast augmentation. However, the Court allowed her 'stage
props' as depreciable assets.
Graffiti
The
term graffiti referred to the inscriptions and figure drawings
found on the walls of ancient sepulchers or ruins, as in the
catacombs of Rome or at Pompeii. Use of the word has evolved to
include any graphics applied to surfaces in a manner that
constitutes vandalism.
Graffiti are writing or drawings that have been scribbled, scratched, or painted illicitly on a wall or other surface, often within public view. Graffiti range from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and they have existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire.
Both "graffiti" and its occasional singular form "graffito" are from the Italian word graffiato ("scratched").
Graffiti are writing or drawings that have been scribbled, scratched, or painted illicitly on a wall or other surface, often within public view. Graffiti range from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and they have existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire.
Both "graffiti" and its occasional singular form "graffito" are from the Italian word graffiato ("scratched").
May 29, 2017
Happy Friday
Even mediocre happiness
is eternally better than none.
My happiness knows no bounds, especially on a Happy Friday!
My happiness knows no bounds, especially on a Happy Friday!
Pinch Bum Day
I always chuckle when I add this holiday. May 29,
also known as Pinch-Bum Day, to commemorate the return of
Charles II to London on that date in 1660. Those who did not
wear oak leaves could be pinched. Our ancestors were clearly
over-fond of this form of retribution, but at least women could
do it to men, too.
Electronic Spam
Spam is shoulder pork and ham and is also unsolicited junk
email. Eighty six percent of the world's email traffic is spam.
That amounts to more than 400 billion messages sent a day,
according to a report by Cisco Systems.
One way to eliminate spam might be for all of us to reply to the spammer with a copy of the email. When they get 400 billion messages back, they may just understand what we deal with every day. Oh, delete your signature line, but do not worry that they will get your email address. Obviously they already have it.
One way to eliminate spam might be for all of us to reply to the spammer with a copy of the email. When they get 400 billion messages back, they may just understand what we deal with every day. Oh, delete your signature line, but do not worry that they will get your email address. Obviously they already have it.
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
It is part of Appalachian Mountains, Canada, and France.
The Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon (French: Collectivité Territoriale de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon) is an overseas collectivity of France located in the North Atlantic Ocean about 30 kilometers (19 mi) south of the Canadian Island of Newfoundland. It comprises a group of small islands, the main ones being Saint Pierre and Miquelon located in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the center of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic, 25 kilometers (16 mi) southwest of Newfoundland.
The archipelago is composed of eight islands, totaling 242 square kilometers (93 sq mi), and of which only two are inhabited. The islands are bare and rocky, with steep coasts, and only a thin layer of peat to soften the hard landscape. It is geologically part of the northeastern end of the Appalachian Mountains along with Newfoundland.
Saint Pierre Island, whose area is smaller, 26 square kilometers (10 sq mi), is the most populous and the commercial and administrative center of the archipelago. A new airport, Saint-Pierre Airport, has been in operation since 1999 and is capable of accommodating long-haul flights from France.
Miquelon-Langlade, the largest island, is composed of two islands, Miquelon Island (also called Grande Miquelon), 110 square kilometers (42 sq mi), connected to Langlade Island (Petite Miquelon), 91 square kilometres (35 sq mi), by the Dune de Langlade, a 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) long sandy split. A storm had severed them in the 18th century, separating the two islands for several decades, before currents reconstructed the isthmus. The waters between Langlade and Saint-Pierre were called "the Mouth of Hell" until about 1900, as more than 600 shipwrecks have been recorded in that point.
The official currency is the Euro, but the Canadian dollar is also widely accepted. The islands issue their own stamps. The inhabitants have French citizenship, speak French and their customs and traditions are similar to the ones found in metropolitan France.
The total population of the islands at the January 2011 census was 6,080, of which 5,456 lived in Saint-Pierre and 624 in Miquelon-Langlade.
French overseas collectivities like the French regions, are first-order administrative divisions of France. Other collectivities of France include, the Islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthélemy, (Atlantic Ocean) Reunion island, Mayotte, the French Southern, and Antarctic Lands (Indian Ocean) French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna (Pacific Ocean).
The Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon (French: Collectivité Territoriale de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon) is an overseas collectivity of France located in the North Atlantic Ocean about 30 kilometers (19 mi) south of the Canadian Island of Newfoundland. It comprises a group of small islands, the main ones being Saint Pierre and Miquelon located in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the center of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic, 25 kilometers (16 mi) southwest of Newfoundland.
The archipelago is composed of eight islands, totaling 242 square kilometers (93 sq mi), and of which only two are inhabited. The islands are bare and rocky, with steep coasts, and only a thin layer of peat to soften the hard landscape. It is geologically part of the northeastern end of the Appalachian Mountains along with Newfoundland.
Saint Pierre Island, whose area is smaller, 26 square kilometers (10 sq mi), is the most populous and the commercial and administrative center of the archipelago. A new airport, Saint-Pierre Airport, has been in operation since 1999 and is capable of accommodating long-haul flights from France.
Miquelon-Langlade, the largest island, is composed of two islands, Miquelon Island (also called Grande Miquelon), 110 square kilometers (42 sq mi), connected to Langlade Island (Petite Miquelon), 91 square kilometres (35 sq mi), by the Dune de Langlade, a 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) long sandy split. A storm had severed them in the 18th century, separating the two islands for several decades, before currents reconstructed the isthmus. The waters between Langlade and Saint-Pierre were called "the Mouth of Hell" until about 1900, as more than 600 shipwrecks have been recorded in that point.
The official currency is the Euro, but the Canadian dollar is also widely accepted. The islands issue their own stamps. The inhabitants have French citizenship, speak French and their customs and traditions are similar to the ones found in metropolitan France.
The total population of the islands at the January 2011 census was 6,080, of which 5,456 lived in Saint-Pierre and 624 in Miquelon-Langlade.
French overseas collectivities like the French regions, are first-order administrative divisions of France. Other collectivities of France include, the Islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthélemy, (Atlantic Ocean) Reunion island, Mayotte, the French Southern, and Antarctic Lands (Indian Ocean) French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna (Pacific Ocean).
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