Have you noticed that movies and shows from Netflix look bad
for a few seconds? That is because Netflix will start playing a
stream sooner than it can be played at its full quality and
buffers for the full-resolution version as it is ready then the
stream will be displayed at full resolution.
If your bandwidth slows
down (like when sharing WiFi), video resolution will drop until
the full-res stream is sufficiently buffered again. Netflix does
this to keep the load times short so you see less buffering
circles instead of the show. This is effective use of technology
others might do well to emulate.
Jun 29, 2018
Western Wedding Dresses
As we finish up the month of June, the
traditional month of marriages, which dates back to Roman times
when they celebrated the festival of the deity Jupiter and his wife
Juno, who was the goddess of marriage and childbirth. In
Victorian times, the tradition is thought to have continued
because there were flowers available for wedding décor, and the
scent of the flowers masked body odor.
The common form of white dresses for those in the west began during the 1800s, especially when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840. Before that any color would do, based on wealth or personal preference. The white dress practice spread quickly to the broad reaches of the British Empire. Back then, no woman, not even royalty was expected to wear her wedding dress only once and then never again. This practice also changed after the marriage of Queen Victoria.
After that, wedding dresses were adapted to the styles of the day, such as during the early 1900s, they included lace or frills. During the 1920s, they were typically short in the front with a longer train in the back and were worn with cloche-style wedding veils. Following current fashions continued until the late 1960s, when it became popular to go back to long, full-skirted designs reminiscent of the Victorian era. These days the majority of wedding dresses are strapless dresses or sleeveless.
White wedding dresses had been used for many years before that, but it was not the dominant color. Also, white dresses did not have a symbolic meaning of virginity or purity, but rather were costlier and harder to keep clean, and thus were status symbols of wealth for the wearer. Victorian ideals of weddings, romantic love, and purity were projected backwards to rewrite the white dress as a symbol of innocence and virginity rather than wealth.
Many other cultures also have specific, although usually unwritten rules for wedding attire, including color and style.
The common form of white dresses for those in the west began during the 1800s, especially when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840. Before that any color would do, based on wealth or personal preference. The white dress practice spread quickly to the broad reaches of the British Empire. Back then, no woman, not even royalty was expected to wear her wedding dress only once and then never again. This practice also changed after the marriage of Queen Victoria.
After that, wedding dresses were adapted to the styles of the day, such as during the early 1900s, they included lace or frills. During the 1920s, they were typically short in the front with a longer train in the back and were worn with cloche-style wedding veils. Following current fashions continued until the late 1960s, when it became popular to go back to long, full-skirted designs reminiscent of the Victorian era. These days the majority of wedding dresses are strapless dresses or sleeveless.
White wedding dresses had been used for many years before that, but it was not the dominant color. Also, white dresses did not have a symbolic meaning of virginity or purity, but rather were costlier and harder to keep clean, and thus were status symbols of wealth for the wearer. Victorian ideals of weddings, romantic love, and purity were projected backwards to rewrite the white dress as a symbol of innocence and virginity rather than wealth.
Many other cultures also have specific, although usually unwritten rules for wedding attire, including color and style.
Five Animal Factoids
An ostrich's eye is bigger
than its brain.
A cow gives nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in a lifetime.
Bats are the only mammals that can fly.
A single elephant tooth can weigh up to nine pounds.
Ants never sleep as we know it. They take hundreds of power naps each day.
A cow gives nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in a lifetime.
Bats are the only mammals that can fly.
A single elephant tooth can weigh up to nine pounds.
Ants never sleep as we know it. They take hundreds of power naps each day.
Google Tabs
Many of us use Google search by typing in some word or phrase
and usually find what we want on the first page and go no
further. Google search has become much better at anticipating
our needs, including fixing typos for us.
However, there are times we are looking for specific information and do not wish to wade through the swamp of irrelevant and overlapping pages.
My biggest problem with searching, other than relevance, is dates. Seems like nothing ever leaves the web and as information changes, the web just adds more, rather than fixes incorrect information.
My favorite tab is the Tools tab. When you click on it there are two options, Any Time and All results. Using the Any Time button there are options for various time periods, including custom. For technical information, I like to use past week or past month. For other things, past year usually weeds out most of the old garbage. All results is the default, but also offers verbatim (in case you forgot to use quote marks in your search).
On the top of every search results page there are a number of tabs. Usually you will see Web, Images, News, Videos, Shopping, More, Settings, and Tools. Using these tabs can help define what kind of search you need to do. If you need images, use the Image tab. If you are looking for a recent news article, use the News tab. If you click on More, then choose advanced search, Google offers boxes to help refine your search criteria. You can forget many of the tips I have offered by using this Advanced Search as it shows boxes to fill in and offers examples. Advanced search is particularly good for very specific searches.
Find pages with... To do this in the search box
All these words:...Type the important words: tricolor rat terrier
This exact word or phrase:...Put exact words in quotes: "rat terrier"
any of these words:...Type OR between all the words you want: miniature OR standard
None of these words:...Put a minus sign just before words you don't want: -rodent, -"Jack Russell"
Numbers ranging from:...to Put 2 periods between the numbers and add a unit of measure: 10..35 lb, $300..$500, 2010..2011.
However, there are times we are looking for specific information and do not wish to wade through the swamp of irrelevant and overlapping pages.
My biggest problem with searching, other than relevance, is dates. Seems like nothing ever leaves the web and as information changes, the web just adds more, rather than fixes incorrect information.
My favorite tab is the Tools tab. When you click on it there are two options, Any Time and All results. Using the Any Time button there are options for various time periods, including custom. For technical information, I like to use past week or past month. For other things, past year usually weeds out most of the old garbage. All results is the default, but also offers verbatim (in case you forgot to use quote marks in your search).
On the top of every search results page there are a number of tabs. Usually you will see Web, Images, News, Videos, Shopping, More, Settings, and Tools. Using these tabs can help define what kind of search you need to do. If you need images, use the Image tab. If you are looking for a recent news article, use the News tab. If you click on More, then choose advanced search, Google offers boxes to help refine your search criteria. You can forget many of the tips I have offered by using this Advanced Search as it shows boxes to fill in and offers examples. Advanced search is particularly good for very specific searches.
Find pages with... To do this in the search box
All these words:...Type the important words: tricolor rat terrier
This exact word or phrase:...Put exact words in quotes: "rat terrier"
any of these words:...Type OR between all the words you want: miniature OR standard
None of these words:...Put a minus sign just before words you don't want: -rodent, -"Jack Russell"
Numbers ranging from:...to Put 2 periods between the numbers and add a unit of measure: 10..35 lb, $300..$500, 2010..2011.
Michael Phelps Gold Medals
Michael Phelps has won more Olympic gold medals
than India, Nigeria, North Korea, Portugal, Taiwan and Thailand
combined.
Slugs and Snails
Slugs and snails are both part of the same class of
gastropods. Gastropod comes from the Greek words gastros
(stomach) and podos (foot). Most gastropods live in water.
Snails and slugs are the only gastropods that can also be found
on land, but the majority of snails and slugs live in water.
The most obvious difference between snails and slugs is snails have shells. Their only other differences are in habitat and behavior. Without those big shells to carry around, slugs can squeeze themselves into many different habitats that snails cannot.
As they move along, leave behind a slimy trail, called mucus. Snails and slugs make mucus so that they can move on the ground and keep their bodies from losing moisture to the dry soil beneath them. It also protects them from being cut by sharp objects in the soil. Snails and slugs can completely destroy gardens by eating plants and fruits, including their roots, leaves, and stems. One redeeming feature is that escargot, which is made from land snails, tastes great.
The most obvious difference between snails and slugs is snails have shells. Their only other differences are in habitat and behavior. Without those big shells to carry around, slugs can squeeze themselves into many different habitats that snails cannot.
As they move along, leave behind a slimy trail, called mucus. Snails and slugs make mucus so that they can move on the ground and keep their bodies from losing moisture to the dry soil beneath them. It also protects them from being cut by sharp objects in the soil. Snails and slugs can completely destroy gardens by eating plants and fruits, including their roots, leaves, and stems. One redeeming feature is that escargot, which is made from land snails, tastes great.
Browser Resolution Format Limits
Below is the maximum resolution
for each web browser on a computer. If you have a PC hooked up
to your TV, you will not get the best picture quality due to
browser limitations. A 720p format has a resolution of 1280×720.
Most entry level TVs these days are 1080p and upscale whatever
image is given, but higher resolution input looks better.
Google Chrome: Up to 720p
Firefox: Up to 720p
Internet Explorer: Up to 1080p
Microsoft Edge: Up to 4K (requires HDCP 2.2 connection to 4K display, with at least Intel’s 7th gen Core CPU, and Windows 10)
Opera: Up to 720p
Safari: Up to 1080p (requires OS X 10.10.3 or greater)
There are browser addons available for services, such as Netflix, to up the resolution to 1080p. Better to get a streaming box, than using a PC if you want the best quality pictures for your TV.
Google Chrome: Up to 720p
Firefox: Up to 720p
Internet Explorer: Up to 1080p
Microsoft Edge: Up to 4K (requires HDCP 2.2 connection to 4K display, with at least Intel’s 7th gen Core CPU, and Windows 10)
Opera: Up to 720p
Safari: Up to 1080p (requires OS X 10.10.3 or greater)
There are browser addons available for services, such as Netflix, to up the resolution to 1080p. Better to get a streaming box, than using a PC if you want the best quality pictures for your TV.
Jun 23, 2018
Happy Friday
Life
happens, whether you take advantage of it or not.
Take advantage of being happy by celebrating a Happy Friday!
Take advantage of being happy by celebrating a Happy Friday!
Five Kool-Aid Hacks
Remove the toilet tank lid and pour in a dark-colored Kool-Aid
packet. Wait about 30 minutes without flushing the toilet. If
any of the colored water appears in the toilet bowl, there is a
leak. You may need to replace the flapper, or you may need to
investigate further.
Fill your empty dishwasher’s detergent compartment with lemon Kool-Aid and run a normal cycle. The citric acid will help remove buildup.
Run 1/4 cup lemon or orange Kool-Aid in a regular wash cycle in your washing machine without clothes and repeat as needed to help remove scum buildup.
Kool-Aid mixed with water is a cheap way to dye Easter eggs or to color hard boiled eggs (without the shell), for a fun way to perk up a salad or meal.
Fill your empty dishwasher’s detergent compartment with lemon Kool-Aid and run a normal cycle. The citric acid will help remove buildup.
Run 1/4 cup lemon or orange Kool-Aid in a regular wash cycle in your washing machine without clothes and repeat as needed to help remove scum buildup.
Kool-Aid mixed with water is a cheap way to dye Easter eggs or to color hard boiled eggs (without the shell), for a fun way to perk up a salad or meal.
Singular and Plural Words
In many languages there are certain words which have
no singular form, only a plural form. It is
called "plurale tantum", which is Latin for "plural only". Very
often there no particular reason for it and does not conform to
the rules you learn at school.
In English, pluralia tantum, the plural of "plurale tantum" are usually things that function together as pairs or sets: scissors, pants, pajamas, pliers, spectacles, etc.
There is also "singularia tantum", which are words that have no plural form, such as information.
There are some examples of pluralia tantum that have become singularia tantum. One such is 'news', which was originally plural, but is now always singular. 'Data' was originally the plural of 'datum', but is now pretty mostly a singulare tantum.
Some words can be used as ordinary nouns or as plurale tantum, and you can decide which is the most appropriate. For example, if you want to tell somebody they should apply some thought to a matter, you can say either "Use your brain" or "Use your brains". A bad person would want to blow your brains out, rather than just your brain. There are some that we always get two of, such as pants. There is one "pant" on each leg, but we never talk about them separately, because you need both. A pant would signify just one leg hole.
In English, pluralia tantum, the plural of "plurale tantum" are usually things that function together as pairs or sets: scissors, pants, pajamas, pliers, spectacles, etc.
There is also "singularia tantum", which are words that have no plural form, such as information.
There are some examples of pluralia tantum that have become singularia tantum. One such is 'news', which was originally plural, but is now always singular. 'Data' was originally the plural of 'datum', but is now pretty mostly a singulare tantum.
Some words can be used as ordinary nouns or as plurale tantum, and you can decide which is the most appropriate. For example, if you want to tell somebody they should apply some thought to a matter, you can say either "Use your brain" or "Use your brains". A bad person would want to blow your brains out, rather than just your brain. There are some that we always get two of, such as pants. There is one "pant" on each leg, but we never talk about them separately, because you need both. A pant would signify just one leg hole.
Ten Percent
In 1900, less than 10% of families owned a stove, or had access
to electricity or phones.
-- In 1915, <10 a="" br="" car.="" families="" of="" owned=""> -- In 1930, <10 a="" br="" clothes="" families="" of="" or="" owned="" refrigerator="" washer.=""> -- In 1945, <10 a="" air-conditioning.="" br="" clothes="" dryer="" families="" of="" or="" owned=""> -- In 1960, <10 a="" br="" color="" dishwasher="" families="" of="" or="" owned="" tv.=""> -- In 1975, <10 a="" br="" families="" microwave.="" of="" owned=""> -- In 1990, <10 a="" br="" cell="" families="" had="" of="" phone.="">
Today, at least 90% of the country has a stove, electricity, car, refrigerator, clothes washer, air-conditioning, color TV, microwave, and smart phone.
-- In 1915, <10 a="" br="" car.="" families="" of="" owned=""> -- In 1930, <10 a="" br="" clothes="" families="" of="" or="" owned="" refrigerator="" washer.=""> -- In 1945, <10 a="" air-conditioning.="" br="" clothes="" dryer="" families="" of="" or="" owned=""> -- In 1960, <10 a="" br="" color="" dishwasher="" families="" of="" or="" owned="" tv.=""> -- In 1975, <10 a="" br="" families="" microwave.="" of="" owned=""> -- In 1990, <10 a="" br="" cell="" families="" had="" of="" phone.="">
Today, at least 90% of the country has a stove, electricity, car, refrigerator, clothes washer, air-conditioning, color TV, microwave, and smart phone.
Inventions By Year
The year some items were invented might be related to why less
than ten percent of people owned them.
1913 The zipper
1916 Electric power drill
1917 Radio tuners
1929 Car radio
1930 Jet engine
1931 Electric razor
1932 Electric can opener
1935 Radar
1939 Helicopter
1940 Color television
1941 Artificial heart
1944 Kidney dialysis machine
1950 Alkaline batteries
1958 Pacemaker
1962 LED.. light-emitting diode
1964 Plasma television
1976 Lithium batteries
1982 IBM PC
1988 Digital mobile phones
1989 World Wide Web (1991 live)
2001 Apple iPod
2003 Blackberry 6210
2004 Samsung OLED TV
2007 Apple iPhone
2009 Twitter
2010 Apple iPad
Pagers were originally designed and built during the 1950's, but did not take hold in terms of popularity until the 1980's. These one-way communication devices were often used by emergency services, doctors, and others who needed to be reachable at all times.
Original mobile phones basically did nothing, but call and send text messages. They are now mostly obsolete. The precursor to the modern smartphone, they were extremely useful in their time and ran for days without requiring a charge.
Fax machines were essentially a modern version of the telegram. For many years, they allowed people and businesses to transmit scanned documents from one phone number to another. They are almost gone now, except for medical and legal offices.
We originally connected to the World Wide Web via analogue and dial-up modems.
1913 The zipper
1916 Electric power drill
1917 Radio tuners
1929 Car radio
1930 Jet engine
1931 Electric razor
1932 Electric can opener
1935 Radar
1939 Helicopter
1940 Color television
1941 Artificial heart
1944 Kidney dialysis machine
1950 Alkaline batteries
1958 Pacemaker
1962 LED.. light-emitting diode
1964 Plasma television
1976 Lithium batteries
1982 IBM PC
1988 Digital mobile phones
1989 World Wide Web (1991 live)
2001 Apple iPod
2003 Blackberry 6210
2004 Samsung OLED TV
2007 Apple iPhone
2009 Twitter
2010 Apple iPad
Pagers were originally designed and built during the 1950's, but did not take hold in terms of popularity until the 1980's. These one-way communication devices were often used by emergency services, doctors, and others who needed to be reachable at all times.
Original mobile phones basically did nothing, but call and send text messages. They are now mostly obsolete. The precursor to the modern smartphone, they were extremely useful in their time and ran for days without requiring a charge.
Fax machines were essentially a modern version of the telegram. For many years, they allowed people and businesses to transmit scanned documents from one phone number to another. They are almost gone now, except for medical and legal offices.
We originally connected to the World Wide Web via analogue and dial-up modems.
Broken Bulb Fix
If your light bulb breaks there is no need to panic. Before
taking action, turn the light switch off. Round the end of the
potato with a knife, put on protective gloves and jam the cut
potato into the broken bulb. Turn the bulb counterclockwise,
then remove.
More Google Search Tips
Asterisk - Use an * (asterisk) in place of
unknown word or words. This is great for song lyrics or quotes
that you may only half remember. Alternatively, ones that are
often misquoted. Example: Play * Sam.
Double Period - Use a double period between two numbers to convey ranges. This is handy for pricing, dates, and measurements. Example: Samsung TV buy $1000..$2000.
Define: - Use define: to learn the meaning of words, including slang. Example, define: mortgage.
Flip a Coin – Example: flip a coin. Google will actually show a coin spinning then land on heads or tails.
Some characters used for searching, such as ~ (tilde) for synonyms no longer works in Google.
Double Period - Use a double period between two numbers to convey ranges. This is handy for pricing, dates, and measurements. Example: Samsung TV buy $1000..$2000.
Define: - Use define: to learn the meaning of words, including slang. Example, define: mortgage.
Flip a Coin – Example: flip a coin. Google will actually show a coin spinning then land on heads or tails.
Some characters used for searching, such as ~ (tilde) for synonyms no longer works in Google.
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