Impact of Junk Mail

Junk mail in the US destroys 100 million trees a year. The equivalent of deforesting all of Rocky Mountain National Park every four months.
Hundreds of millions of pieces of junk mail (also called “direct,” “bulk,” or “standard” mail) are sent through the US Postal Service annually, none of them solicited or requested by the recipient, and most of them entirely unwanted.
That mountain of credit card offers, insurance offers, catalogs, flyers, coupons, phone books, and anything else you did not specifically ask for, are all vying for your attention and causing the eradication of our forests. These companies apparently get enough responses to justify their excessive mailings, but that does not mean you have to like it.
Here are some facts from New York University School of Law about junk mail and sustainability:

• 5.6 million tons of catalogs and other direct mail advertisements end up in US landfills annually.
• 44 percent of junk mail is thrown away unopened, but only 22 percent is recycled.
• The average mailbox receives 848 pieces of junk mail per household, equal to 1.5 trees every year and that equals more than 100 million trees for all US households combined.
• Largely due to deforestation, junk mail manufacturing creates as much greenhouse gas emissions annually as 3.7 million cars.
• Americans pay $370 million annually to dispose of junk mail that does not get recycled.

Older Adulthood

Modern humans have added a whole new era to life, with many people continuing to thrive into their 80s and 90s. We have increased the lifespan about two and a half years each decade over the last century. With longer life comes a further decline in rapid recall, but other aspects of cognition are at their strongest as we move into older adulthood.

Crystallized intelligence, for example, which refers to a person’s amassed knowledge such as vocabulary and cultural references, continues to improve with age. The crystallized intelligence or wisdom of aging comes from your synthesis of experience, knowledge, maturity, and judgment, which all improve.

Ray Kroc

Ray Kroc refused to hire any person who had an MBA degree. He believed that college degrees did not teach proper competitive spirit and those who attended university were missing a certain marketing finesse.
Kroc was the person who set in place strict codes of conduct for work ethic by introducing standardization and discipline to McDonald's and was the first person to introduce large-scale mass production to the service industry.

The original Ronald McDonald premiered in 1963, but as Kroc and the corporation expanded the branding of their clown mascot across the country, they thought it would be too difficult to find other actors with the same stocky build of the original actor, weatherman Willard Scott. So, Scott ended up losing the job and McDonald’s established the slimmer Ronald that we see today.

Ray set up the “Hamburger University” for future franchisees of McDonald’s. Before one could purchase a franchise, an owner had to attend and get a degree “hamburgerology with a minor in French fries.” Hamburger University continues and there are now seven locations spread throughout four continents around the world. Over 275,000 people have graduated from the school since it opened during 1961. The Shanghai campus accepts less than 1% of applicants, making it more difficult to get into than any Ivy League school.

Happy Friday

Happiness is nature's proof that life is good.

It is easy to prove, especially on a Happy Friday!

What's in a Name, Vicodin

Vicodin's name is based on it being approximately six (VI is 6 in roman numerals) times stronger than codeine.

Wild Bill Hickok

He was born James Butler Hickok. He was given the mocking nickname “Duck Bill” because of how big his nose was. He later altered the name by calling himself “Wild Bill” instead.

Hickok’s reputation as a skilled gambler and poker player was so good that he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1979.

Wordology, Pink Noise

Mercedes provides your ears with an extra layer of audio protection called pink noise designed to keep your hearing intact by the extremely loud sounds typically associated with a vehicle crash.
The crunching metal, breaking glass, and the explosive deployments of airbags can hit 165 decibels or higher, and has the potential to permanently damage a passenger’s hearing. Pink noise, which Mercedes calls “Pre-Safe Sound” is unique in that its power is inversely proportional to the signal. When it hits the ear, it triggers muscles in the ear to contract by reflex, automatically bracing the inner ear and eardrum for the extremely loud noise of the crash by reflecting some of the sound before it reaches the point where it could cause problems.

Once the vehicle’s sensors have detected that a collision is unavoidable, a comprehensive system of safety features is activated within the short time before an impact occurs. It takes just 150 milliseconds to deploy the reversible seat belt tensioners and other safety features. The duration of a human blink is 100 milliseconds.

Fresh Fruit vs. Dried Fruit

A common myth is that fresh is better, However, this myth is only true if you are looking for vitamin C. Dried fruit contains just as many nutrients and sugar for energy as fresh fruit. If you subscribe to the notion that you should eat five fruits a day, then you only need one tablespoon of dried fruit per portion – so five tablespoons of dried fruit fulfills your daily need. The same is true of canned or frozen fruit. Fruit juice is also able to be used as a daily fruit portion, but just one per day should be made up of juice only.

Omega-3 Supplements Useless

A recent meta-analysis of 79 randomized controlled trials following more than 100,000 participants added to the growing corpus of non-findings. The study catalogued a long list of heart conditions for which omega-3s appear to have “little or no effect,” challenging the claimed benefit of the supplement, that taking it promotes heart health.
The rise of omega-3 supplements began when a team of Danish scientists, intrigued by reports of low rates of cardiac death among Inuit populations, embarked on an expedition to Greenland. They drew blood samples from local Inuit people and found far more omega-3 in their blood than in the blood of those in the Danish control group. Their hypothesis: Omega-3s are good for your heart.

The original claimed benefits for cardiac health were the first to fall after large randomized controlled trials showed few results. A 2012 meta-analysis came to the conclusion: “Overall, omega-3 … supplementation was not associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality, cardiac death, sudden death, myocardial infarction, or stroke based on relative and absolute measures of association.”
Studies reported that omega-3 supplements do not help depression, do not help young children at risk for psychotic disorders, and do not improve the memories of the elderly.

Finally, during 2017, the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s, a trade association, published a press release of its own study “Among randomized controlled trials, there was a non-statistically significant reduction in coronary heart disease risk with EPA+DHA provision.” Bottom line, save your money.

Wallet Tip

Many times people in other than ordinary situations lose their phone. Since we never remember phone numbers these days, it is a good idea to keep a little note in your wallet or purse with the top five most important numbers to call if you need help. One of those numbers should also be an emergency contact number that someone else could call for you.

5G Requirements

Many have heard or seen phone companies touting their 5G tests around the country. 5G is required to be backward compatible with current technology at current speeds. So there is no need to worry about forced change. . . yet.

However, your current phone is not 5G capable and will not be. You will need to buy a new phone to have it connect to 5G. Motorola is pushing to have the first 5G phone available this month ($480 from Verizon). Others will follow and by early next year there will be more choices.

Also, your current modem/router will not work with 5G, nor will your PC. Intel is currently working with Acer, ASUS, Microsoft, Dell, HP, and Lenovo to deliver laptops and convertibles with the new 5G standard. Companies are working on 5G modems that will fit into phones, cars, smart-home devices and other device forms that have yet to be developed, like maybe carrying a puck type portable modem in your pocket.


Bottom line, if your phone works and your cable or streaming service works for TV now, do not be in a hurry to change all your equipment. Let others suffer the slings and arrows (and costs) of the new technology. Be patient and do not be first in line. It will take a few years to have 5G available everywhere. 5G phone service will be available before home 5G. When home 5G does, be prepared to spend big bucks and deal with learning new equipment. Incidentally, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are expected to broadcast in 5G with 8K TV resolution.

Loving Life

Amor fati (love of fate) is characterized by an acceptance of the events or situations that occur in your life, such as treating each moment, no matter how challenging as something to be embraced, not avoided. It allows a person embrace it, love it, be better for it, and provides a sense of contentment with one's life and an acceptance of it. Like oxygen to a fire, obstacles and adversity become fuel for your potential.

We do not control most of what happens in life, but we do control what our reaction is to those events. What we tell ourselves they mean to us and how we will integrate them into our lives. On one hand, we are powerless, but on the other we are empowered. Most of what happens is outside of our control, but we have the power of being able to love, embrace, accept, and make the most of what does happen. Doing it with a smile is an extra bonus.


Bottom line, life is good if you choose to make it so.

Happy Friday

Regret lives in the past. Hope lives in the future. Happiness resides in the present.

I am presently very happy, especially on a Happy Friday!

Wordology, Pipe Dream

A 'pipe dream' is an unrealistic hope or fantasy. It is a reference to the strange dreams people have when smoking opium pipes. The term was used as early as the 1800s in America.