Jul 20, 2019
Sashimi vs. Sushi
Sashimi is thinly sliced raw meat, usually fish, such as
salmon or tuna, that is served without rice. Sashimi always contains fresh raw meat or
seafood. Sashi mi ("pierced flesh" in Japanese).
Sushi is not raw fish, but rather vinegared rice that is mixed with other ingredients, which may or may not include raw fish. Raw fish is one of the traditional ingredients in sushi, but it may also be made without meat or with cooked seafood as long as it uses vinegared rice. Sushi ("it is sour" in Japanese).
Sushi is not raw fish, but rather vinegared rice that is mixed with other ingredients, which may or may not include raw fish. Raw fish is one of the traditional ingredients in sushi, but it may also be made without meat or with cooked seafood as long as it uses vinegared rice. Sushi ("it is sour" in Japanese).
Jul 12, 2019
Happy Friday
Smiles are beneficial
to the body, happiness to the soul.
I keep my body and soul happy with both, especially on a Happy Friday!
I keep my body and soul happy with both, especially on a Happy Friday!
National French Fry Day
July 13 National French Fry Day on July 13 is a
great opportunity to take the time to sample some golden-brown
potato slices. Estimates say Americans eat about 20 to 30 pounds
per person per year. survey of 1,000 Americans)
AMERICA’S ULTIMATE RANKING OF FAST FOOD FRIES
#1: McDonalds (35%)
#2: Chick-fil-A (13%)
#3: Five Guys (12%)
#4: Wendys (11%)
#5: Arbys (11%)
AMERICA’S ULTIMATE RANKING OF FAST FOOD FRIES
#1: McDonalds (35%)
#2: Chick-fil-A (13%)
#3: Five Guys (12%)
#4: Wendys (11%)
#5: Arbys (11%)
Bottled Water
Bottled water is now the largest beverage category by volume in
the US. Food & Water Watch explains that 64 percent of
bottled water comes from municipal tap water sources, sometimes
further treated and sometimes not.
The plastic that seals bottled water uses petroleum, which raises environmental concerns and causes a negative environmental impact. Discarded one-time-use plastic water bottles turn up everywhere and are more negative than plastic straws. The plastic used to make single-use water bottles also contains chemicals called endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol A. BPA and other endocrine disruptors alter the way the body makes and uses certain hormones, which could have negative health consequences.
The plastic that seals bottled water uses petroleum, which raises environmental concerns and causes a negative environmental impact. Discarded one-time-use plastic water bottles turn up everywhere and are more negative than plastic straws. The plastic used to make single-use water bottles also contains chemicals called endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol A. BPA and other endocrine disruptors alter the way the body makes and uses certain hormones, which could have negative health consequences.
National Yellow Pigs Day
July 17 is the day we celebrate Yellow Pigs Day (not
to be confused with national pig day in March). Yellow Pigs Day
is a mathematician's holiday celebrating yellow pigs and the
number 17. It is celebrated annually since the early 1960's,
primarily on college campuses, and primarily by mathematicians.
On campus, Yellow Pig Cake and Yellow Pig Carols, along with
parades and general revelry are tradition. The mythical yellow
pig has 17 toes, 17 teeth, 17 eyelashes, etc. Incidentally,
fear of the number 17 is called heptadecaphobia.
Robocalls Data
According to recent reports, 48 billion robocalls were made to
U.S. mobile phone users in 2018, with scams making up 40 percent
of all robocalls. Only 3 to 5 percent of people return these
calls which can net criminals thousands of dollars each.
Identity theft scams in particular have become increasingly
popular and potentially more lucrative for the bad guys.
Bird Migrations
We think humans travel far, but it seems some birds have us
beat and without planes or Uber. Of the nearly 10,000 species of
birds, about 19% (1,850 species) are considered to be migratory.
The 13-15 inch, 3.5 ounce Arctic Tern takes the prize for the
longest migration at an astounding 44,000 miles (71,000 km)
annually on average.
By tagging the birds, scientists learned the shortest migration was 36,900 miles (60,000 km) while the longest was 50,700 miles (81,000 km). For perspective, the circumference of the Earth is 24,901 miles (40,075 km).
This migration is completed annually at every life stage. The Arctic Tern can live for 35 years, so a single bird can potentially travel about 1.5 million miles (2.4 million km) in its lifetime.
During its migration, the Arctic Tern completes a round trip from Greenland, traversing the Weddell Sea and flying along the shores of Antarctica. The birds take a break at sea over the North Atlantic Ocean while they fuel up on food. Once this break is completed, the birds head down the coast of northwest Africa, around the Cape Verde Islands, then off the west coast of Africa towards Senegal.
Rather than traveling straight back along the path they came, they instead travel in a twisted ‘S’ shaped pattern through the Atlantic Ocean. Though this route adds many miles to their trip, the birds take advantage of the global wind system and use less energy, thanks to the wind currents.
By tagging the birds, scientists learned the shortest migration was 36,900 miles (60,000 km) while the longest was 50,700 miles (81,000 km). For perspective, the circumference of the Earth is 24,901 miles (40,075 km).
This migration is completed annually at every life stage. The Arctic Tern can live for 35 years, so a single bird can potentially travel about 1.5 million miles (2.4 million km) in its lifetime.
During its migration, the Arctic Tern completes a round trip from Greenland, traversing the Weddell Sea and flying along the shores of Antarctica. The birds take a break at sea over the North Atlantic Ocean while they fuel up on food. Once this break is completed, the birds head down the coast of northwest Africa, around the Cape Verde Islands, then off the west coast of Africa towards Senegal.
Rather than traveling straight back along the path they came, they instead travel in a twisted ‘S’ shaped pattern through the Atlantic Ocean. Though this route adds many miles to their trip, the birds take advantage of the global wind system and use less energy, thanks to the wind currents.
Climate Change History
Could not resist this bit of history from the
climate groupies. We only had until the year 2000 before
disaster would strike. Seems these dates change like the dates
for the doomsayers predicting the end of the earth. As each date
passes, another ominous warning and another 'disaster' date is
set.
"U.N. Predicts Disaster if Global Warming Not Checked, PETER JAMES SPIELMANN June 30, 1989
UNITED NATIONS (AP) _ A senior U.N. environmental official says entire nations could be wiped off the face of the Earth by rising sea levels if the global warming trend is not reversed by the year 2000. Coastal flooding and crop failures would create an exodus of eco- refugees, threatening political chaos, said Noel Brown, director of the New York office of the U.N. Environment Program, or UNEP.
He said governments have a 10-year window of opportunity to solve the greenhouse effect before it goes beyond human control. As the warming melts polar icecaps, ocean levels will rise by up to three feet, enough to cover the Maldives and other flat island nations, Brown told The Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday."
"U.N. Predicts Disaster if Global Warming Not Checked, PETER JAMES SPIELMANN June 30, 1989
UNITED NATIONS (AP) _ A senior U.N. environmental official says entire nations could be wiped off the face of the Earth by rising sea levels if the global warming trend is not reversed by the year 2000. Coastal flooding and crop failures would create an exodus of eco- refugees, threatening political chaos, said Noel Brown, director of the New York office of the U.N. Environment Program, or UNEP.
He said governments have a 10-year window of opportunity to solve the greenhouse effect before it goes beyond human control. As the warming melts polar icecaps, ocean levels will rise by up to three feet, enough to cover the Maldives and other flat island nations, Brown told The Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday."
More YouTube Interesting Facts
Here are some interesting tidbits to
one-up your friends.
- YouTube is the
second largest search engine in the world. It processes more
queries than Bing and Yahoo combined. (It also means Google
owns the world’s two most popular search engines).
- Ten years of new
video is uploaded every day with 72 hours of newly uploaded
video every minute.
- The first
Spanish-language video on YouTube to amass more than 1 billion
views was Enrique Iglesias’ reggaeton song, Bailando.
- The only non-music video in the most watched YouTube videos of all time is a Russian-language version of an episode of children's TV show, Masha and The Bear. It has been watched 3.4 billion times and counting.
- In total, 17
different videos have held the record for being the most
watched video on YouTube. The current holder is Luis Fonsi’s
hit, Despacito LINK
with over 6 billion views. (Gangnam Style has only a bit over
3 billion views)
- The YouTube Rewind 2018 video is universally disliked with 15 million downvotes in its first month.
- Of the 7 billion videos available, more than 20 percent of videos are switched off within the first 10 seconds of playback.
- We watch four
billion hours of video every month—that is 456,621 years
worth.
Wordology, Philematology
Researchers discovered two out of three
people tilt their heads to the right when kissing. Doctors say
it strengthens our immune system and slows down the ageing
process.
- Just thinking about a kiss increases the flow of saliva, which in turn loosens plaque.
- A normal kiss burns
6.4 calories per minute and an average kiss lasts 12 seconds.
- People kiss in 90
percent of the countries worldwide. How and why differs from
one country to the next. Three cheek kisses are a standard
welcome in France, while in Japan; people only kiss if both
parties want sex.
- Germany ranks second
with four kisses per day behind Sweden on the list of
countries that are stingy kissers.
- People in France and
Italy kiss an average of seven times per day.
- It is forbidden to kiss women in public on a Sunday in Michigan and Connecticut.
Samsung Note Emergency SOS Feature
I had a chance encounter with an
SOS feature was not aware of. Was trying to increase volume
while on a call and rapidly pressed the "On/Off" button three
times by accident. It activated the feature.
The phone took a back picture, forward picture, captured my location, and sent all the info to my phone emergency contacts, along with SOS text. All this activity took place while I was on a call and did not notice anything happening. Imagine my emergency contact's surprise (and fear) and mine.
It is a great feature and should be more widely discussed. Having the ability to picture surroundings and provide location could be a life saver in many situations. PS - warn your emergency contacts before you test it.
The phone took a back picture, forward picture, captured my location, and sent all the info to my phone emergency contacts, along with SOS text. All this activity took place while I was on a call and did not notice anything happening. Imagine my emergency contact's surprise (and fear) and mine.
It is a great feature and should be more widely discussed. Having the ability to picture surroundings and provide location could be a life saver in many situations. PS - warn your emergency contacts before you test it.
Wordology, Gerrymander
The US Supreme Court recently ruled that it
has no authority to decide cases that challenge partisan
gerrymandering, a practice in which political parties draw
Congressional districts to increase votes in their favor.
By redrawing the borders of electoral districts, members of a given political party can cram the opposition’s supporters into as few precincts as possible, thus grabbing a disproportionate amount of power.
The tactic gets its name after a one-time vice president. Elbridge Gerry was born on July 17, 1744. He was a native of Marblehead, Massachusetts.
In 1787, with the war over, Gerry took part in the Constitutional Convention and was the person who moved to include a Bill of Rights.
Early in 1812, Democratic-Republican legislators laid out new districts which shoehorned most Federalist Party supporters into a handful of precincts. Due to this redesign of maps, Federalist candidates for the state Senate earned 1602 more votes than their Jeffersonian opponents did. Yet, because of these new precincts, the Democratic-Republican Party nabbed 29 seats to the Federalist’s 11.
Districts now came in all manner of irregular shapes. Particularly infamous was one such division in Essex County. This squiggly precinct looked like a mythical salamander. Thus, the name “Gerrymander” was born.
By redrawing the borders of electoral districts, members of a given political party can cram the opposition’s supporters into as few precincts as possible, thus grabbing a disproportionate amount of power.
The tactic gets its name after a one-time vice president. Elbridge Gerry was born on July 17, 1744. He was a native of Marblehead, Massachusetts.
In 1787, with the war over, Gerry took part in the Constitutional Convention and was the person who moved to include a Bill of Rights.
Early in 1812, Democratic-Republican legislators laid out new districts which shoehorned most Federalist Party supporters into a handful of precincts. Due to this redesign of maps, Federalist candidates for the state Senate earned 1602 more votes than their Jeffersonian opponents did. Yet, because of these new precincts, the Democratic-Republican Party nabbed 29 seats to the Federalist’s 11.
Districts now came in all manner of irregular shapes. Particularly infamous was one such division in Essex County. This squiggly precinct looked like a mythical salamander. Thus, the name “Gerrymander” was born.
National Bikini Day
July 5 is National Bikini Day and celebrates the anniversary
of the invention of the two-piece bathing suit. Due to its
risqué design, the bikini was slow to be adopted, but it
gradually gained acceptance when film stars began to wear
bikinis on public beaches and in their films. Incidentally,
it is named after hydrogen bomb testing that was conducted at
Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific during World War II.
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