San Francisco committed to eliminating the modern landfill. The
idea, concocted in 2002, was to reach a “zero waste” existence
by 2020, which “means that we send zero discards to the landfill
or high-temperature destruction,” said the San Francisco
Department of the Environment. “The city and county of San
Francisco believes achieving zero waste is possible.” Does
the name Sisyphus come to mind?
An environmental code was developed in 2003, then six years
later the Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance, which
requires everyone in the city to separate recyclables,
compostables, and landfill garbage, was passed. Noncompliance is
a finable offense.
In addition to mandatory recycling and composting, San Francisco
also requires “any site that generates more than 40 cubic yards
of waste per week to complete waste audits every three years,”
says Waste Dive. Those that fail are “required to hire on-site
facilitators at their own expense for one year.” More than 400
sites are subject to the reviews, as well as the $1,000-per-day
fines that can be levied on those not meeting the standard.
Despite the efforts and expectations, Politico reported last
month that San Francisco is “nowhere close to that goal.” After
falling for years, the amount of garbage being sent to landfills
has been growing. Officials have tried to push residents into
generating less waste by cutting the size of curbside containers
by half, from 32 gallons to 16.
As of December 2019, it
has still not met the goal. In fact, sensing the inevitable,
during September 2018, San Francisco updated the zero waste
goals to these two pledges:
Reduce municipal solid waste generation by 15% by 2030
(reducing what goes to recycling, composting, and trash).
Reduce disposal to landfill and incineration by 50% by 2030
(reducing what goes in the black trash bins).
Incidentally,
According to author and journalist John Tierney, “All the
trash generated by Americans for the next 1,000 years would
fit on one-tenth of 1% percent of the land available for
grazing.”
Dec 20, 2019
Wordology, OMG
The first use of "OMG" was in a letter to Winston Churchill. It
is not a modern acronym. The first appearance was in a letter to
Winston Churchill during 1917. Lord Fisher, an admiral and naval
innovator, wrote to the British prime minister and was obviously
excited about a possible honor for himself and those in his line
of work. He wrote, "I hear a new order of Knights in on the
tapis—O.M.G. (Oh! My God!)—Shower it on the Admiralty!"
Incidentally, tapis is a heavy textile with a woven design; used for curtains and upholstery.
Incidentally, tapis is a heavy textile with a woven design; used for curtains and upholstery.
Medical Education Progression
People in the US begin as a medical student
who is in medical school and is not yet a doctor. Other
countries have similar, but different terms for medical
professionals.
After medical school they become an intern, then resident. Interns are people in their first year of residency. All interns are residents, but not all residents are interns.
Residents have officially completed their medical degree and are medical doctors, but do not have a specialty or license. A resident still needs to work under an attending doctor. Residency is where they learn to become a specialist, such as a surgeon. Residents typically work 3-5 years in specialty training. They do not get their medical license to practice until after residency.
Everyone needs a license to practice as a regular doctor aka attending. Attendings are people who can independently practice in a particular area without anyone supervising them. They can be either a D.O. (Osteopath) or a M.D (Allopath) and both pass the same board exams.
In order to become a specialist they need to be an attending doctor first. Fellowship is sub-specialty training after residency. They are specializing even further, into things, such as cardiac surgeons must complete four years of college, four years of medical school, a 5-year general surgery residency and a 2-3 year specialized cardio or cardiothoracic fellowship.
After medical school they become an intern, then resident. Interns are people in their first year of residency. All interns are residents, but not all residents are interns.
Residents have officially completed their medical degree and are medical doctors, but do not have a specialty or license. A resident still needs to work under an attending doctor. Residency is where they learn to become a specialist, such as a surgeon. Residents typically work 3-5 years in specialty training. They do not get their medical license to practice until after residency.
Everyone needs a license to practice as a regular doctor aka attending. Attendings are people who can independently practice in a particular area without anyone supervising them. They can be either a D.O. (Osteopath) or a M.D (Allopath) and both pass the same board exams.
In order to become a specialist they need to be an attending doctor first. Fellowship is sub-specialty training after residency. They are specializing even further, into things, such as cardiac surgeons must complete four years of college, four years of medical school, a 5-year general surgery residency and a 2-3 year specialized cardio or cardiothoracic fellowship.
Doctorate Degrees
A doctorate degree is the highest level of academic degree in
most fields. For research or university teaching, the degree is
usually a PhD. Applied professional doctorates include the
Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Education (EdD), Doctor of
Philosophy (PhD), Doctor of Theology (Dth), and the Juris Doctor
(JD), among others.
Difference between two degrees, such as MD and PhD are: PhDs advance knowledge and MDs apply existing knowledge. The MD does not need to produce original research; the PhD must produce original research and write it up in a dissertation, which must be approved by a review committee before achieving a PhD.
Incidentally, in the US, a thesis is the final project for the master's degree and a dissertation leads to a doctoral degree. A thesis is a compilation of research that proves knowledge about the information learned throughout the graduate program. A PhD dissertation must contribute something completely new and undiscovered to the field. The dissertation must contribute original knowledge to the subject. In short, a thesis (MA) proves someone else's point and a dissertation (PhD) proves your own point.
Difference between two degrees, such as MD and PhD are: PhDs advance knowledge and MDs apply existing knowledge. The MD does not need to produce original research; the PhD must produce original research and write it up in a dissertation, which must be approved by a review committee before achieving a PhD.
Incidentally, in the US, a thesis is the final project for the master's degree and a dissertation leads to a doctoral degree. A thesis is a compilation of research that proves knowledge about the information learned throughout the graduate program. A PhD dissertation must contribute something completely new and undiscovered to the field. The dissertation must contribute original knowledge to the subject. In short, a thesis (MA) proves someone else's point and a dissertation (PhD) proves your own point.
What's in a Name, Rubik's Cube
When Hungarian professor Ernő Rubik
invented the Rubik's Cube in 1974 to teach his students about
3-D geometry, even he could not solve the puzzle he had created.
He famously wrote that it was like, "staring at a piece of writing written in a secret code, but for me, it was a code I myself had invented! Yet, I could not read it. This was such an extraordinary situation that I simply could not accept it." He eventually learned to master the cube and could solve the puzzle in under a minute.
Incidentally, Yusheng Du, beat the previous world record of 4.22 seconds with the jaw-dropping time of 3.47 seconds earlier this year.
He famously wrote that it was like, "staring at a piece of writing written in a secret code, but for me, it was a code I myself had invented! Yet, I could not read it. This was such an extraordinary situation that I simply could not accept it." He eventually learned to master the cube and could solve the puzzle in under a minute.
Incidentally, Yusheng Du, beat the previous world record of 4.22 seconds with the jaw-dropping time of 3.47 seconds earlier this year.
Happy Friday
Work while others are
loafing; prepare while others are playing; dream while others
are wishing; and smile while others are frowning.
I like to smile, dream, prepare, and work every day, especially on a Happy Friday!
I like to smile, dream, prepare, and work every day, especially on a Happy Friday!
Night of Radishes
Every December 23, crowds gather in Oaxaca, Mexico’s main
square to celebrate the Night of the Radishes, or La Noche de
Rábanos. It is a competition between artists who use the purple
produce to make sculptures and, hopefully, win the big prize of
the night.
The competition’s origins date back to when holiday market vendors tried to make their vegetables more enticing by making sculptures with them. It was such a hit that the governor, Francisco Vasconcelos, decided to create an official contest in 1897. It has been a tradition in Oaxaca ever since.
Incidentally, Oaxaca is pronounced Wah haw kah.
The competition’s origins date back to when holiday market vendors tried to make their vegetables more enticing by making sculptures with them. It was such a hit that the governor, Francisco Vasconcelos, decided to create an official contest in 1897. It has been a tradition in Oaxaca ever since.
Incidentally, Oaxaca is pronounced Wah haw kah.
Eight Ways To Burn Calories
Time to burn a few calories before the
holidays.
Singing in the shower can burn an extra 10-20 Calories per song, depending on the volume and pitch of your voice.
Brushing your teeth for three minutes will burn 10 Calories.
One hour spent sitting in front of the TV burns about 65 Calories.
Constant texting can burn 40 Calories per hour.
Banging your head against a wall uses 150 Calories an hour.
Hugging for one hour can burn 70 Calories.
A one minute kiss can burn between 2 and 4 Calories, depending on how intimate it is.
Laughing for 10 minutes burns between 20 and 40 Calories.
Singing in the shower can burn an extra 10-20 Calories per song, depending on the volume and pitch of your voice.
Brushing your teeth for three minutes will burn 10 Calories.
One hour spent sitting in front of the TV burns about 65 Calories.
Constant texting can burn 40 Calories per hour.
Banging your head against a wall uses 150 Calories an hour.
Hugging for one hour can burn 70 Calories.
A one minute kiss can burn between 2 and 4 Calories, depending on how intimate it is.
Laughing for 10 minutes burns between 20 and 40 Calories.
More TV Facts
Findings from Hub Entertainment Research’s Evolution of the TV
Set study indicate a disparity between feature availability and
consumer awareness, as well as a strong brand awareness lead for
Roku over Amazon Fire.
Highlights from the study:
About half of consumers with a 4K TV set have used it to watch 4K content. The top-two reasons for not watching; consumers do not know where to find shows and movies in 4K and they do not believe they have access to 4K content.
Smart TVs are not just for streaming video content; streaming music is a relatively popular Smart TV pastime. The top non-TV application of Smart TVs is music streaming. Nearly four in 10 Smart TV owners use it to stream music and among those who do, a quarter use it for music “all the time” or “often.
Two other Smart TV capabilities have attracted a small, but dedicated group of consumers for checking news, weather, or traffic, and looking at/using social media apps.
In the battle for connected device dominance, consumers are much more familiar with Roku than with Amazon Fire. The majority of consumers (59 per cent) say they know at least something about the Roku brand, and 26 per cent say they know a lot. Fewer than half (43 per cent) are familiar with Fire TV, with only 15 per cent saying they know a lot.
“As smart TVs, connected TVs, connected devices, and TV voice-control devices proliferate, many new services and features have suddenly become available to TV set users,” said David Tice, co-author of the study. “But TV manufacturers and services have a long record of inadequately educating consumers on their offerings.”
Highlights from the study:
About half of consumers with a 4K TV set have used it to watch 4K content. The top-two reasons for not watching; consumers do not know where to find shows and movies in 4K and they do not believe they have access to 4K content.
Smart TVs are not just for streaming video content; streaming music is a relatively popular Smart TV pastime. The top non-TV application of Smart TVs is music streaming. Nearly four in 10 Smart TV owners use it to stream music and among those who do, a quarter use it for music “all the time” or “often.
Two other Smart TV capabilities have attracted a small, but dedicated group of consumers for checking news, weather, or traffic, and looking at/using social media apps.
In the battle for connected device dominance, consumers are much more familiar with Roku than with Amazon Fire. The majority of consumers (59 per cent) say they know at least something about the Roku brand, and 26 per cent say they know a lot. Fewer than half (43 per cent) are familiar with Fire TV, with only 15 per cent saying they know a lot.
“As smart TVs, connected TVs, connected devices, and TV voice-control devices proliferate, many new services and features have suddenly become available to TV set users,” said David Tice, co-author of the study. “But TV manufacturers and services have a long record of inadequately educating consumers on their offerings.”
Fast Food Size Comparisons
Here are a few statistics to boggle your
brain.
McDonald's revenue is $38 Billion and Starbucks revenue is $19 Billion.
- DQ has 4,406 locations all but two are franchised.
- Dominos has 5,876 locations, including 390 company stores.
- Taco Bell has 6,588 locations, 462 are owned by the company.
- Wendy's has 6,711 locations, including 353 company stores.
- Burger King has 7,327 locations, 49 are owned.
- Pizza Hut has 7,456 locations, including 24 owned by the company.
- Dunkin Donuts has 9,419 locations, all are franchised.
- McDonald's has 13,914 locations, including 685 company stores.
- Starbucks has 14,825 locations, 8,493 are owned by the company.
- Subway has 24,798 locations, all of which are franchised.
McDonald's revenue is $38 Billion and Starbucks revenue is $19 Billion.
Six School Bus Facts
School buses are yellow everywhere except for the roof.
The reason is that white tops are more reflective, lowering the
temperature inside the bus by an average of 10 degrees during
the summer.
School bus yellow is a color that was specifically formulated for use on school buses in North America in 1939. The color was chosen because it attracts attention and is noticed faster than any other color.
White Strobe lights are supposed to make the bus more visible to other motorists. If your bus has one, it must be on while transporting students to and from school. Some states require newer buses to have one, and it has to be on at all driving times. Rules differ from state to state.
Onspot chain systems are a set of built in chains that can be released to provide traction on icy roads. The chains look like a small octopus that hangs next to the rear wheels of the bus. They are fixed to the bus’ suspension and when required are engaged by a button on the dashboard. Many fire trucks and ambulances use the same type of chains.
The cost of adding seat belts to school buses outweighs any potential benefits, according to NHTSA studies. Modern school buses are large and heavy, and their passengers sit high off the ground. School buses are designed to be safe.
The tiny holes in the ceiling surface absorb sound energy, keeping the bus quieter than it would be otherwise. The mechanism is similar to that used by many acoustical tile products, such as dropped-ceiling tiles.
School bus yellow is a color that was specifically formulated for use on school buses in North America in 1939. The color was chosen because it attracts attention and is noticed faster than any other color.
White Strobe lights are supposed to make the bus more visible to other motorists. If your bus has one, it must be on while transporting students to and from school. Some states require newer buses to have one, and it has to be on at all driving times. Rules differ from state to state.
Onspot chain systems are a set of built in chains that can be released to provide traction on icy roads. The chains look like a small octopus that hangs next to the rear wheels of the bus. They are fixed to the bus’ suspension and when required are engaged by a button on the dashboard. Many fire trucks and ambulances use the same type of chains.
The cost of adding seat belts to school buses outweighs any potential benefits, according to NHTSA studies. Modern school buses are large and heavy, and their passengers sit high off the ground. School buses are designed to be safe.
The tiny holes in the ceiling surface absorb sound energy, keeping the bus quieter than it would be otherwise. The mechanism is similar to that used by many acoustical tile products, such as dropped-ceiling tiles.
Free TV Channels
If you cannot get enough free content and live TV from your
antenna, try some of these ad supported channels for free live
TV and movies. Collectively they have more shows and movies than
you can watch for the rest of your life. Try a few and you might
be pleasantly surprised.
They are, in no order: Amazon IMDB, Pluto TV, XUMO TV, Tubi TV, Crackle, Plex, Dailymotion, CW, CW seed, Stirr, Blaze TV, Roku channel, topdocumentaryfilms, documentarystorm, documentaryaddict, documentaryheaven, Internet Archive, Lego Channel (kids), Newson, Newsy, Haystack TV, Filmrise, Fawesome TV, Vidio, Popcornflix, Reuters TV, Shoutfactory TV, Snagfilms, Streamnews, Viewster, Vudu, and YouTube.
Most are available on smart TVs and all streaming devices, like Roku, Fire TV, Apple, etc. Pluto is one of the most robust with over 175 channels. Newson, haystack, and Reuters are mostly news. YouTube on the web (not YouTube TV) has hundreds of free movies and old TV shows, some classics and most with no ads, search for 'free movies' or 'free TV'.
Locast is an online service that has local stations for many cities without needing an antenna, but asks for five dollars a month donation. LocalBTV app from Didja is another local TV service, but now is limited to a few cities, although more are expected.
They are, in no order: Amazon IMDB, Pluto TV, XUMO TV, Tubi TV, Crackle, Plex, Dailymotion, CW, CW seed, Stirr, Blaze TV, Roku channel, topdocumentaryfilms, documentarystorm, documentaryaddict, documentaryheaven, Internet Archive, Lego Channel (kids), Newson, Newsy, Haystack TV, Filmrise, Fawesome TV, Vidio, Popcornflix, Reuters TV, Shoutfactory TV, Snagfilms, Streamnews, Viewster, Vudu, and YouTube.
Most are available on smart TVs and all streaming devices, like Roku, Fire TV, Apple, etc. Pluto is one of the most robust with over 175 channels. Newson, haystack, and Reuters are mostly news. YouTube on the web (not YouTube TV) has hundreds of free movies and old TV shows, some classics and most with no ads, search for 'free movies' or 'free TV'.
Locast is an online service that has local stations for many cities without needing an antenna, but asks for five dollars a month donation. LocalBTV app from Didja is another local TV service, but now is limited to a few cities, although more are expected.
Truisms
Every
one of us needs to know that we matter and that our life has
meaning beyond the here and now.
We are never too old or too young to do something important and meaningful.
We need to love others and be loved by someone, too.
We need to have something that gets us out of bed every morning and excites and compels us to action.
The happiest people are the people who think the happiest thoughts.
We are never too old or too young to do something important and meaningful.
We need to love others and be loved by someone, too.
We need to have something that gets us out of bed every morning and excites and compels us to action.
The happiest people are the people who think the happiest thoughts.
Dec 7, 2019
Happy Friday
Happiness inside cannot
remain bottled up. It oozes out through a smile and produces a
warm glow outside.
It is easy to ooze and glow, especially on a Happy Friday!
It is easy to ooze and glow, especially on a Happy Friday!
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