Champagne, vs. Prosecco

Champagne is a sparkling wine from France and Prosecco is from Italy. The difference in price is partially from the production method used to make each wine. Both have flavonoids that have antioxidant properties, just as with red wine.

Champagne is more time intensive to produce and enjoys better marketing, thus affecting higher price. Champagne is primarily Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes with higher acidity. Since carbonation develops under high pressure, Champagne has fine, persistent bubbles. Pairing champagne with potato chips or fried chicken may sound odd, but is very delicious.
Prosecco is made with primarily Glera grapes (formerly known as Prosecco).  Prosecco can be spumante ("sparkling wine"), frizzante ("semi-sparkling wine"), or tranquillo ("still wine"). Because it is aged in large tanks with less pressure, Prosecco has lighter, frothy bubbles that do not last as long. Prosecco is a bit sweeter than champagne.

Incidentally, in some countries, it is illegal to label any product Champagne unless it both comes from the Champagne region in France and is produced under the rules of the appellation. The United States has a grandfather clause stating that wineries which were operating and producing sparkling wine before the agreement was signed in 2005 are legally, according to US law, able to use the term “champagne” on their label. One company that does is Korbel.

New Logo NextGen TV

They came up with a new logo that will be shown on all new TVs and devices that can support the new ATSC 3 antenna TV that is in process of rolling out around the country. You might see the logo (and the new 8K logo) on TVs in stores beginning next year.


The new standard is being tested around the country now, but you will need to get a dongle for your TV to see or wait for the new TVs to come with it built in, as is with ATSC 1 on current TVs. Current antennas and cables will work for both.
The new standard should offer 4K over your current antenna as well as two-way communication, immersive Dolby audio, and more. It will provide local and national emergency alerts, even if the TV is turned off. The only downside is that it is two-way, meaning the TV companies can now check what we are watching and provide more direct ads to us.
Incidentally, broadcasters are required to provide the current service for five more years, so you can ignore NextGen TV for a while.
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Screen Casting vs. Mirroring

Screen Casting vs. Mirroring - Screen Mirroring and Screen Casting are often used interchangeably, but they are different.
With Screen Mirroring, everything you see on your smartphone, including streaming services, apps, videos, web pages, and other content on your TV. In addition to content, the smartphone's menu bars and status icons appear on your TV.
Casting involves showing just the chosen content shows on to your TV screen, no phone menu bars or status icons. If a smartphone app is compatible with casting, such as YouTube or Netflix, the Cast Logo



will appear near the top of your smartphone screen of the app you want to cast.

As content plays, you can perform other tasks on your phone at the same time including finding other content to cast, make a phone call, or turn the phone off. The casted content will play on the TV until you change to another app, channel, or setting on the TV.

Alaska Facts

Alaska has more coastline than the rest of the United States combined at about 34,000 miles (54,563 km). Alaska has more inland water than any other state (20,171 square miles). It is the only state to have coastlines on three different seas: the Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Bering Sea. New Hampshire has the shortest at 131 mi (211 km)

Opt Out Paper Mail

To reduce ads and mailers, create an account with the Direct Marketing Association You can cancel mailings from a few thousand organizations, individually or in bulk, as well as to stop many catalogs, promotional flyers, donation requests, and even “Current Resident” junk mail. For two dollars, you get a 10 year stoppage.

Catalog Choice is a similar option, and free, but it covers only catalogs, and you have to cancel mail from each brand individually. If your mailbox is regularly stuffed with coupons, the ubiquitous coupon slinger Valpak has its own opt-out form, and RetailMeNot, which sends mailers from many big brands, lets you cancel online. (If you actually like some coupons, remember this option stops all mailings.)

New Ted Meat Research

Scientists have found there is little evidence that eating red meat causes health problems. Ian Johnson, a nutritional expert at the UK’s Quadram Institute, welcomed the new findings, telling Reuters, “This study will, I hope, help to eliminate the incorrect impression… that some meat products are as carcinogenic as cigarette smoke, and to discourage dramatic media headlines claiming that ‘bacon is killing us’.”
The research, led by Dalhousie University and McMaster University in Canada, counters official guidance from the World Health Organization, which in 2015 labelled meat a carcinogenic.
The new paper was based on the research of an international team of specialists and published on this month in Annals of Internal Medicine. Bradley Johnston, associate professor at Dalhousie University, said, “Based on the research, we cannot say with any certainty that eating red or processed meat causes cancer, diabetes, or heart disease.”
The study’s author elaborated, “From 12 randomized controlled trials enrolling about 54,000 individuals, we did not find a statistically significant or an important association in the risk of heart disease, cancer, or diabetes for those that consumed less red or processed meat."
"In the meantime, the best we can do is understand the parameters of the evidence that we do have. While the precise downsides of bacon, for example, are unclear and possibly nonexistent, what is apparent is that we don’t really have enough evidence to consider it a bad food."
 

Some scientists have been pushing to stop meat consumption on the grounds that it is bad for one’s health, others have led with the angle that it must be reduced because of the so-called ‘climate emergency’.

Happy Friday

Happiness is infectious and incalculable.

I am overcome with happiness, especially on a Happy Friday!

Hidden Internet

Most people are not aware that undersea cables carry over 99% of the internet and other electronic traffic between continents, with the small remainder provided by satellites.

The first transcontinental undersea cable was completed in 1858 to deliver telegraph messages between the US and England. As of 2019, there are over 400 active undersea fiber cables in place that stretch over 745,000 miles (1,198,961km). Cables are laid down using specially-modified ships that carry the submarine cable on board and slowly lay it out on the seabed. Undersea cables are designed for a 25-year life, and so cables are regularly being retired and replaced.
These cables are owned by countries, cable operators, and companies, such as Google, Facebook, etc. Huawei Marine Networks Co., majority owned by the Chinese telecom giant, recently completed a 3,750-mile cable between Brazil and Cameroon. It also recently started work on a 7,500-mile cable connecting Europe, Asia, and Africa in addition to finishing up links across the Gulf of California in Mexico.
There is an average of about 25 undersea fiber cuts per year, caused by earthquakes, underwater mudslides, ship anchors, and even a few from sharks. Repairs are made by ships that pull the cut ends of the fiber to the surface and splice them back together.

Incidentally, as an indicator of speed, 4.8 million HD movies could stream at the same time in high-definition through one strand, in one direction, of the 4,104 mile (6,600km) Marea cable from Spain to the United States. The cable is composed of an eight-pairs fiber-optic thread bundle, a bit larger than the size of a garden hose.

Prostate Facts

I was surprised to read researchers found that seventy five percent of men over fifty were not able to identify the prostate’s main function correctly. That is a bit troubling as they are group likely to have problems.

About one man in nine will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime, but only one in thirty nine will die of this disease. About 80% of men who reach age eighty have cancer cells in their prostate. According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in US men, behind skin cancer.

The prostate is about the size of a ping pong ball, weighs about an ounce, and is located between the base of the penis and the rectum. The gland is responsible for supplying seminal fluid that mixes with sperm, helping it survive and travel from the testes.

Just over one-third of respondents were able to correctly identify associated disorders, such as Erectile Dysfunction (ED), and benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). Benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), and erectile dysfunction (ED) are separate problems, but curable. BPH causes problems in the bathroom and ED in the bedroom. A range of treatments can relieve enlarged prostate symptoms, such as medications, minimally-invasive office procedures, and surgery.
Prostate cancer comes in many varieties and most are slow growing and non-life threatening. However, there are some that escape the prostate and move to other parts of the body. These are called metastatic prostate cancer and can grow in organs, bones, lymph nodes, etc.

The PSA test is a blood test used primarily to screen for prostate cancer. It measures the amount of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood. A score of less than 4 is considered a safe level, 4 to 10 is suspicious, and above that is considered dangerous. PSA is a protein produced by both cancerous and noncancerous tissue in the prostate. The test became very popular and led to more aggressive treatment than necessary, so lately doctors are less apt to prescribe the test for men over 70, because many types of prostate cancer are slow growing. The problem is that some are fast growing and if not caught, could be fatal. Another test is the uncomfortable rectal finger test to find abnormalities on the prostate surface.

Bottom line is that it is good to be tested and not to fear the word cancer when it comes to prostate. Ninety two percent of men who have caught it early survive and die of other causes, not because of the cancer.

Canadian Actors

Here are a few you might not have known are Canadian: Pamela Anderson, Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Jim Carrey, Tommy Chong, Michael J. Fox, Ryan Gosling, Lorne Green, Mathew Perry, Keanu Reeves (by naturalization), Ryan Reynolds, Seth Rogan, William Shatner, and Martin Short.


Incidentally Bruce Willis was born in Germany as was Martin Lawrence,  Joaquin Phoenix born in Puerto Rico, Freddie Mercury born Tanzania, Lou Diamond Phillips born Philippines, Mel Gibson born in New York, and Charlize Theron in South Africa.

New Logo 8K TV

Wow, 4k is not even the current standard and the TV companies are already pushing the next generation. It will be a few years before 4K is standard and a few more years after that for 8K movies and shows to kick in.

Currently, broadcast TV, such as CBS, NBC, etc., and cable providers have no short term plan or intention to even consider 4K. They are too busy scrambling to squeeze every penny out of current outdated low resolution shows. They have been given the gift of 4K upscaling built into new TVs to make pictures look better.

The logo can be used starting in January 2020.


To use that logo, a TV must have resolution of "at least 33 million active pixels, with at least 7680 horizontally and 4320 vertically within a 16:9 viewable window." One or more of the HDMI inputs must support "7680x4320 pixels; bit depth of 10-bits; frame rates of 24, 30 and 60 frames per second; HDR transfer functions and colorimetry as specified by ITU-R BT.2100; and HDCP v2.2 or equivalent content protection." It must also be able to upconvert SD, HD and 4K video for display at 8K resolution and be able to receive and render 10-bit 8K images.

Bottom line, if you need or want a new TV, save your money and get a 4K TV. Experts recommend a 65 inch as the smallest 4K TV to buy so you can enjoy the wonderful resolution.

CBD Jelly Belly

Jelly Belly's inventor, David Klein recently launched a business called Spectrum Confections that makes jelly beans infused with cannabidiol, or CBD, the non-psychoactive component of marijuana. The jelly beans come in 38 flavors and each bean contains 10 milligrams of CBD.