May 31, 2019

BBC, Bombs, and Perry Como

The BBC banned a song because listeners kept clapping to its lyrics. “Deep in the Heart of Texas” was written by June Hershey and Don Swander. Perry Como recorded the song two days after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The song quickly became popular in both the US and the UK. It remained at the top of UK charts for five weeks during 1942.

LINK

Listeners often clapped along with Como as he sang. The BBC soon realized this could become a problem, because workers in bomb-making factories might accidentally drop their bombs while clapping. So it banned its broadcasters from playing the song during work hours.

Fixed Phones Fading

Recently saw a funny video on YouTube of teenagers trying to dial a rotary phone. LINK


Made me realize how quickly technology changes. Most of us have abandoned our home phone, the old "land line". The once staple of every home is quickly fading away. In fact, the World Bank estimates that the number of fixed telephone subscriptions in the world fell to just over 13 per 100 people during 2018.

Spray on Skin

Biomedical scientists have 
created a device that sprays stem cells onto wounds, helping them grow a new, healthy layer of skin in as few as four days. Biotech firm Renova­Care recently obtained a patent for the ­SkinGun and has used it to successfully treat dozens of burn patients in trials. While the device still needs FDA approval, it could help eliminate the painful and scarring process of skin grafting.

May 24, 2019

Happy Friday

Some folks are not happy that roses have thorns, but others are happy that thorns have roses.

I am happy that happiness has no thorns, especially on a Happy Friday!

Robocall Blocking

        I do not know of any person who does not hate them. They seem to be sneaking into our lives more and more. Solutions are available, or soon to be available to stem the tide, but they will not end soon.


The Federal Communications Commission announced new rules it said would tackle the avalanche of robocalls we are receiving, but did not offer anything that is not available now. It said it would vote on a ruling that would allow phone companies to have call-blocking as a default, implement strong call-blocking services as the default setting for their customers and to make it easier for us to block unwanted calls. "That means your phone is only going to ring if the call is coming from somebody in your list of contacts," said FCC chairman Ajit Pai.

Until that is finalized, here are a few things more we can do now to eliminate the vast majority of them.

For IPhone users, in Settings, click on “Do Not Disturb” and “Allow Calls From” then “All Contacts.”

For Android, in the Phone app, click the three lines on the top right of the screen, select Settings then Block Numbers, then click on "Block Unknown Callers." Only numbers from your contacts will ring.

There does not appear a way to have phone mail blocked from anyone, but if we can at least eliminate the ring, it is a good first step to eliminate distractions and you can listen to voice mail at your convenience and add the number to contacts if it is someone you want to hear from.

More Body Facts

The human brain uses as much power as a 10-watt light bulb.
The word “organ” comes from an old Greek word, organon, which means “tool” or “instrument.”
There are so many nerve cells in a human brain that it would take almost 3,000 years to count them.
An adult’s skin weighs between 8 and 11 pounds (3.6 to 5 kg). Its surface area is about 18-22 square feet (1.7 to 2 sq. m).
The longest bone in an adult human is the thighbone, measuring about 18 inches (46 cm). The shortest bone is in the ear and is just 0.1 inches (.25 cm) long, which is shorter than a grain of rice.

Free Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms

Many municipalities offer free alarms or free battery replacements from local fire departments. There are a few restrictions, such as elderly, ability to pay, and others, such as height that vary from location to location. Look up your city fire department for details. You are welcome.

Frozen Produce Myth Debunked

Frozen produce can actually be even healthier than fresh fruits and vegetables. Those fruits are often picked at the peak of their ripeness, then flash-frozen within six to ten hours, says registered dietitian nutritionist Jenna Braddock, founder of MakeHealthyEasy.com. “That freezing locks in that nutritional value, so it no longer degrades until you use it,” she says. In fact, frozen produce might have even more nutrients than out-of-season fresh veggies.
Carrots, mangos, peas, spinach, squash, corn on the cob (keep it in the husk), peaches, also good to buy frozen or freeze at home.
Any vegetable or fruit that has a high water concentration, like celery, cucumber, salad greens, and watermelon will not survive the freezer because the water inside quickly forms ice crystals.

Fresh produce, such as apples may be stored for a year before reaching the grocery store shelf. Did you know you can freeze potato chips, nuts, and pretzels to prolong shelf life - if it that is a problem in your house. Incidentally, fresh produce can be kept on the counter if it is to be used within a few days, but is better in the fridge if it is not needed soon. Peaches, plums, nectarines, and apricots are all best kept at room temperature so they can ripen to perfection.

keep apples in crisper drawer instead of on the counter. They ripen too fast on the counter. And a cool crisp apple tastes great, especially with some cheddar cheese on the side and maybe a pinch of salt to bring out peak flavor.

Maybellene

This week during 1955 Chuck Berry released his first hit song Maybellene (sic). Back in the time of innocent rock and roll music and hot rods. Enjoy! LINK

Centrifugal Force vs. Centripetal Force

We see it in the spin cycle of a washing machine or when children ride on a merry-go-round.
Centrifugal force is often confused with its counterpart, centripetal force, because they are so closely related. Centrifugal force is defined as the apparent force that is felt by an object moving in a curved path that acts outwardly away from the center of rotation. It is more inertia than a force. An example of centrifugal force is the earth's revolution around the sun. Another is passengers feeling pushed outward on a merry-go-round.
Centripetal force is defined as the force that is necessary to keep an object moving in a curved path and that is directed inward toward the center of rotation. If you are in a spacecraft orbiting the earth, the centripetal force is the force of gravity. Another example is spinning an object on a string. The tension on the rope pulls the object in toward the center.
Centripetal force and centrifugal force are the same force, just in opposite directions, because they are experienced from different frames of reference.

Centripetal force is an actual force; centrifugal force is an apparent force. In other words, when twirling a mass on a string, the string exerts an inward centripetal force on the mass, while mass appears to exert an outward centrifugal force on the string.

May 17, 2019

Happy Friday

“I love to laugh. It’s the only way to live. Enjoy each day — it’s not coming back again!” ~ Doris Day

I love to laugh and enjoy also, especially on a Happy Friday!

Beyond Meat

Have recently read that some fast food places and TGI Friday's are selling a meatless hamburger ($16.75 in New York). You have likely read about the Beyond Meat company and its recent filing for a successful IPO. Reviews are decidedly mixed and bottom line is that the burgers are close, but not too close to regular meat hamburgers in taste, texture, and looks. With the first two ingredients of water and pea protein, I will be waiting for more reviews before trying one. Of course, bacon might help.


Ingredients include:
 Water
 Pea protein isolate
 Expeller-pressed canola oil
 Refined coconut oil
  - also 2% or less of:
 Cellulose from bamboo
 Methylcellulose
 Potato starch
 Natural flavor
 Maltodextrin
 Yeast extract
 Salt
 Sunflower oil
 Vegetable glycerin
 Dried yeast
 Gum arabic
 Citrus extract (to protect quality)
 Ascorbic acid (to maintain color)
 Beet juice extract (for color)
 Acetic acid
 Succinic acid
 Modified food starch
 Annatto (for color)

Golden Gate Bridge

It did not get name due to its paint color, which many people believe, as it was named after the Golden Gate Strait, which is the waterway it straddles.

Wordology, By The Same Token

Token is a very old word, referring to something that is a symbol or sign of something else. It could be a pat on the back as a token or sign of friendship, or a marked piece of lead that could be exchanged for money. It came to mean a fact or piece of evidence that could be used as proof.


“By the same token” first meant, basically “those things you used to prove that can also be used to prove this.” It was later weakened into the expression that just says “these two things are somehow associated.”