Passwords

Find Obituaries

Rather than trying to find individual obituaries for local cities or individual funeral homes, use Google. Type name in quotes followed by the word obit into Google.

Obsessive vs. Compulsive

The easiest way is to use an example. An OCD patient who is a germaphobe. The O represents a fear of germs and the C is the action of constantly washing one's hands.

Think of obsessive is thoughts and compulsive is actions. A compulsion is what we do to quell an obsession.

Robo Call Relief

The FCC tried to get phone companies to voluntarily enact technology to reduce or eliminate robo calls and many did, but some did not. The new action is to require all phone companies to deploy technology that prevents spoofing of Caller ID under a plan by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai.

The original requirement on the FCC was part of the TRACED Act that was signed into law in December 2019. Pai previously hoped that all carriers would deploy the technology voluntarily.

The STIR and SHAKEN protocols use digital certificates, based on public-key cryptography, to verify the accuracy of Caller ID. STIR/SHAKEN would work best if all phone companies adopt it because it can only verify Caller ID when both the sending carrier and receiving carrier have deployed the technology. Depending on how each carrier implements it, flagged calls could be passed on to consumers with a warning or be blocked entirely.

The requirement would apply to big carriers by June 30, 2021 and to small and rural providers one year later. In addition to mobile providers, companies that offer IP-based phone service over cable or fiber lines would have to comply.


While STIR/SHAKEN might help reduce robocalls or slow their growth, it is not enough on its own to solve the large and complicated robocall problem. For one thing, a lot of robocalls originate from overseas. Robocalls from outside US, are a major problem.

Baking Powder vs. Baking Soda

When baking powder is mixed with salt and coated on chicken it dries out the skin, leaving it crisp and crunchy. It happens because the addition of the baking powder raises the pH level in the chicken, allowing the peptide bonds in the skin to break down, thus letting the skin get more crisp and brown.

Meat is treated with baking soda dissolved in water to keep it tender. Briefly soaking meat in a solution of baking soda and water raises the pH on the meat's surface, making it more difficult for the proteins to bond excessively, which keeps the meat tender and moist when it is cooked. Tenderizing with a baking soda solution is faster than using a saltwater brine. Meat only has to sit in a baking soda solution for 15 to 20 minutes.

Wordology, Quarantine

You have probably heard the word quarantine too often in the recent COVID-19 coverage. It derives from the Latin word for forty.

The word was coined in Venice to describe the forty day period ships had to be isolated before they would be allowed to dock. The Venetian word for forty is quaranta, which has a Latin root.

Happy Friday

A smile is happiness you will find right under your nose. ~Tom Wilson

Wow, happiness to wear, especially on a Happy Friday!

Daylight Saving

After the past few years of campaigns for the presidency, politicians take a brief respite to do their semi-annual battle with Mother Nature. This weekend is the beginning of Daylight Saving Time.
None of us has ever seen a clock that actually controls sunlight, but politicians believe there is one - somewhere - that can do it. Twice a year, they ask us to join them and drink the sunlight kool aid and magic will happen. Saturday night, just move your clock ahead one hour, go to bed, and when you wake up there will be more sun during the day.

Obviously there are a number of gullible believers, because they are the ones who keep re-electing these snake oil salesmen. Also obvious is that Mother Nature continues to defy them and cheerfully raises and lowers the sun on her same schedule as she has since before anyone of us was born.

I am surprised that the climate folks have not taken up the banner as that extra hour of daylight in every village, city, and town across the whole globe surely is enough to raise the temperature higher and contribute to even faster and more precipitous global warming.
The other bad news this year is that it provides an extra hour for the ( COVID-19) corona virus to spread.

The solution, wait until election day, vote for someone else, tell the politicians to go to bed, and tomorrow they will no longer need to worry about too much sunshine, warming, or virus.

Be Grateful

Psychologists have studied this phenomenon, and have found that people who regularly write down the things they are grateful for exhibit higher levels of optimism and satisfaction with their lives. I am very grateful that you are reading this.

Happy by Law

If you are feeling blue, then you better stay away from Milan. In the Italian city, it is a legal requirement for people to smile at all times. The only exception to this seemingly strict, happiness-enforcing rule is during funerals or hospital visits. Apparently, the rule came from 19th-century city regulations imposed by the Austrians who then ruled over the city, and it was never repealed since. Fortunately, frowning rebels can probably expect to get by without a fine.