I temporarily lost my cell phone last week and
was worried I might have an emergency. Then I remembered the
following. Old cell phones may not be able to use high-speed
data networks, you can’t call any other number, and can’t
receive calls, but you can call 911 in an emergency. Federal
law requires that cell phones must be able to call 911 at
all times. As long as an old cell phone is functional, it
can be used as an emergency phone.
Tip, if you cannot
speak, call 911, wait for an answer, then use your
telephone's keypad to "talk" to the dispatcher. Press 1 if
you need police, 2 for fire, and 3 for an ambulance.
For landline
service that has been discontinued, service is not required
for land lines. There is no federal law that requires this.
However, depending on your area, 911 may still be available.
You may have 911 access on a land line if your area mandates
a “soft” dial tone for emergency access. Some large carriers
may also provide it. If you do not have a dial tone, you
probably do not have this as a soft tone sounds the same as
a regular tone, but you can always call 911 to test and
explain why you called.
Incidentally,
FCC rules require all wireless carriers and other
providers of text messaging applications in the United
States to deliver emergency texts to call centers that
request them.
PS - A friend gave
me an old cell phone to use as a backup, which I keep on my
bed-stand. Problem solved. Nice to have friends.
Aug 1, 2020
Local News Online
Feeling a bit nostalgic for your old hometown news. There is a
site that has over 500 current local paper front pages
available for free reading. It also has links to websites from
those papers that have one. Interesting to see different takes
on stories from different locations. LINK
Canada vs. US Forests
During 2016, there were 65,575 wildfires in the
US, according to the National Interagency Fire Center
(NIFC). That year 5.4 million acres were burned.
During 2017, there were 71,499 US wildfires and about 10 million acres were burned. The number of acres burned in 2017 was higher than the 10-year average.
During 2018 there were 58,083 US wildfires according to the NIFC. About 8.8 million acres were burned in 2018.
During 2019, from January 1 to November 22, 2019 there were 46,706 US wildfires compared with 52,080 wildfires in the same period in 2018, according to the (NIFC). About 4.6 million acres were burned in the 2019 period, compared with 8.5 million acres in 2018.
Currently, forests cover about 749 million acres in the US. Wildfires in the United States burn an average of 7 million acres of land each year.
Our Canadian neighbors to the north boast 981 acres (396.9-million hectares) of forests, or nine percent of all of the forest area in the entire world, according to Natural Resources Canada. Less than 1 percent is logged annually. Currently, US forests cover about 749 million acres of the U.S.
During a typical year there are over 9,000 forest fires in Canada, burning an average of 6 million acres or 25,000 square kilometers.
During 2017, there were 71,499 US wildfires and about 10 million acres were burned. The number of acres burned in 2017 was higher than the 10-year average.
During 2018 there were 58,083 US wildfires according to the NIFC. About 8.8 million acres were burned in 2018.
During 2019, from January 1 to November 22, 2019 there were 46,706 US wildfires compared with 52,080 wildfires in the same period in 2018, according to the (NIFC). About 4.6 million acres were burned in the 2019 period, compared with 8.5 million acres in 2018.
Currently, forests cover about 749 million acres in the US. Wildfires in the United States burn an average of 7 million acres of land each year.
Our Canadian neighbors to the north boast 981 acres (396.9-million hectares) of forests, or nine percent of all of the forest area in the entire world, according to Natural Resources Canada. Less than 1 percent is logged annually. Currently, US forests cover about 749 million acres of the U.S.
During a typical year there are over 9,000 forest fires in Canada, burning an average of 6 million acres or 25,000 square kilometers.
Wordology, Bitter End
This term first appeared in Captain John
Smith's 1627 publication, Seaman's Grammar: "A Bitter is but
the turne of a Cable about the Bits, and yeare it out by
little and little. And the Bitters end is that part of the
Cable doth stay within boord." Basically, a bit is a post on
the deck of a ship to which rope is wrapped around. When a
rope is pulled out to the "bitter end," it means there is no
more rope left to be used.
Fingerprints Not Protected
our fingerprint is not protected
under the 5th amendment, so police in the US can force you
to unlock a phone with a fingerprint, but not a password -
from 2014, those tiny skin ridges we all share were at the
heart of a Virginia court case last week in which a judge
ruled that police, who suspected there was incriminating
evidence on a suspect’s smartphone, could legally force the
man to unlock his device with its fingerprint scanner. While
the Fifth Amendment protects defendants from revealing their
numeric passcodes, which would be considered a
self-incriminating testimonial, biometrics like fingerprint
scans fall outside the law’s scope.
“If you are being forced to divulge something that you know, that’s not okay,” said Marcia Hofmann, an attorney and special counsel to digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation. “If the government is able through other means to collect evidence that just exists, then they certainly can do that without stepping on the toes of the constitutional protection.” “The important thing is,” Hofmann said, “is it something you know, or something you have?”
“If you are being forced to divulge something that you know, that’s not okay,” said Marcia Hofmann, an attorney and special counsel to digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation. “If the government is able through other means to collect evidence that just exists, then they certainly can do that without stepping on the toes of the constitutional protection.” “The important thing is,” Hofmann said, “is it something you know, or something you have?”
Population Ages
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific,
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as of 2012, 50.5 percent
of the world's population were people under the age of 30.
Around 89.7 percent of those young people live in emerging
and developing economies like the Middle East and Africa.
People 60 years and older make up 12.3 percent of the global population.
Although the majority of the human population is currently under 30 years old, there are still plenty of older folks among us. In fact, 12.3 percent of people on Earth are 60 years old and older. That number is expected to reach 22 percent by 2050.
People 60 years and older make up 12.3 percent of the global population.
Although the majority of the human population is currently under 30 years old, there are still plenty of older folks among us. In fact, 12.3 percent of people on Earth are 60 years old and older. That number is expected to reach 22 percent by 2050.
Jul 11, 2020
Happy Friday
"Let no one ever come
to you without leaving happier." ~Mother Teresa
Always try to make people happier, especially on a Happy Friday!
Always try to make people happier, especially on a Happy Friday!
National French Fry Day, July 13, 2020
During 1802 Thomas Jefferson served
"potatoes served in the French manner" at a White House dinner.
Jefferson originally knew them as pommes de terre frites à cru
en petites tranches (potatoes deep-fried while raw, in small
cuttings). Incidentally, the average American eats 29 pounds of
French fries a year
Chewing the Fat
Before ships were equipped with refrigerators, salted beef,
which was cheap, would keep well, and was standard fare for men
at sea. One piece of the jerky could often be chewed for hours.
Now, the phrase means to have an informal chat with someone,
something the sailors likely did while “chewing the fat.”
Laughter
Laughter does have positive psychological, physiological, and
immunological impacts on our health. The term for the study of
laughter and laughing and the examination of its effects on the
human body is “gelotology” — from the Greek gelos, meaning
“laughter.”
In their study “Humor and Laughter May Influence Health” in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Mary Payne Bennett and Cecile A. Lengacher report that a sense of humor influences psychological and physiological well-being. Among their findings:
Laughter leads to increased heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen consumption, similar to aerobic exercise. After intense laughter, body muscles relax.
Like other strong emotions, humor seems to activate the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), which shows an increase in such hormones as urinary epinephrine and norepinephrine, but blood pressure remains stable. (Sad emotional stimulus results in higher blood pressure.)
Exposure to a humorous stimulus decreased self-reported anxiety.
Laughter in response to humorous stimuli correlates with improvement of natural killer (NK) cell activity — the immune cells that kill cancerous cells and prevent some types of viral illnesses.
Laughing has social benefits. Since much laughter is a social response rather than a reaction to jokes, laughing facilitates social reaction.
Laughter is also contagious. If you see someone laughing, you will probably laugh, too. One reason is because the sound of laughter is contagious: Researchers recently found that we often mimic one another’s behavior, copying words or gestures due to the mirroring system in the brain.
Here are some laughing exercises for you to try.
Smile with stretching: First breathe in and out through your mouth. When you exhale, smile. Repeat few times, and then do it while stretching. Breathe in and stretch your body, and breathe out, smile, and relax.
Facial release: Move your facial muscles. Stretch and squeeze or make a dance with your face. You will find your face becomes much more relaxed and ready for laughing.
Create laughing sounds: Make laughing sounds like ha-ha-ha while shaking your body a little bit or gently tapping your body parts or clapping hands. Imagine all the stress is released.
Laugh out loud: Start with small laughing sounds and a little motion, and then create bigger motions and louder laughter.
In their study “Humor and Laughter May Influence Health” in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Mary Payne Bennett and Cecile A. Lengacher report that a sense of humor influences psychological and physiological well-being. Among their findings:
Laughter leads to increased heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen consumption, similar to aerobic exercise. After intense laughter, body muscles relax.
Like other strong emotions, humor seems to activate the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), which shows an increase in such hormones as urinary epinephrine and norepinephrine, but blood pressure remains stable. (Sad emotional stimulus results in higher blood pressure.)
Exposure to a humorous stimulus decreased self-reported anxiety.
Laughter in response to humorous stimuli correlates with improvement of natural killer (NK) cell activity — the immune cells that kill cancerous cells and prevent some types of viral illnesses.
Laughing has social benefits. Since much laughter is a social response rather than a reaction to jokes, laughing facilitates social reaction.
Laughter is also contagious. If you see someone laughing, you will probably laugh, too. One reason is because the sound of laughter is contagious: Researchers recently found that we often mimic one another’s behavior, copying words or gestures due to the mirroring system in the brain.
Here are some laughing exercises for you to try.
Smile with stretching: First breathe in and out through your mouth. When you exhale, smile. Repeat few times, and then do it while stretching. Breathe in and stretch your body, and breathe out, smile, and relax.
Facial release: Move your facial muscles. Stretch and squeeze or make a dance with your face. You will find your face becomes much more relaxed and ready for laughing.
Create laughing sounds: Make laughing sounds like ha-ha-ha while shaking your body a little bit or gently tapping your body parts or clapping hands. Imagine all the stress is released.
Laugh out loud: Start with small laughing sounds and a little motion, and then create bigger motions and louder laughter.
Wordology, Draw a Blank
According to 'English Language Centres', “draw a
blank” originated in Tudor England when Queen Elizabeth I set up
the first national lottery in 1567.
For this lottery, there were two pots. One pot contained slips of paper with the names of all of the participants. The other pot contained the same number of slips, only some bits of paper had prizes written on them while others were blank. One slip of paper was pulled from each pot at the exact same time and if the person matched with a prize, then they would win the prize. However, if the person’s name was drawn with a piece of paper with no writing, then they would not win anything. They were unsuccessful and “drew a blank.”
For this lottery, there were two pots. One pot contained slips of paper with the names of all of the participants. The other pot contained the same number of slips, only some bits of paper had prizes written on them while others were blank. One slip of paper was pulled from each pot at the exact same time and if the person matched with a prize, then they would win the prize. However, if the person’s name was drawn with a piece of paper with no writing, then they would not win anything. They were unsuccessful and “drew a blank.”
Ten Interesting Internet Facts
37% of the internet is porn.
Porn websites attract more visitors each month than Amazon, Netflix, and Twitter combined.
15% of American adults do not use the internet.
Over 100,000 .com domains are registered each day.
Internet users send 204 million emails per minute.
China has more internet users on mobile devices than on PCs.
"LOL" used to mean "lots of love" before the internet.
The first thing ever bought and sold across the internet was a bag of marijuana around 1971. (Back when it was an academic network Arpnet.)
In 1973, the entire internet consisted of only 42 computers.
India has more people using the internet than the entire population of the U.S.
Porn websites attract more visitors each month than Amazon, Netflix, and Twitter combined.
15% of American adults do not use the internet.
Over 100,000 .com domains are registered each day.
Internet users send 204 million emails per minute.
China has more internet users on mobile devices than on PCs.
"LOL" used to mean "lots of love" before the internet.
The first thing ever bought and sold across the internet was a bag of marijuana around 1971. (Back when it was an academic network Arpnet.)
In 1973, the entire internet consisted of only 42 computers.
India has more people using the internet than the entire population of the U.S.
Online Fax
Many of us have long since abandoned our home fax machines, due
to lack of use. For that rare occasion we need to send a fax,
because email attachment will not do, there is a free internet
service called Faxzero. You can go to the site add your document
and send a fax for free. Some limitations, but quick and easy
when you need it. LINK
Pronounce This
Route, The pronunciation of the word "route" is a little bit
complicated. Though Northeasterners tend to pronounce it so it
rhymes with "hoot" and Midwesterners tend to pronounce it so it
rhymes with "out," just over 30 percent of respondents in the
Harvard Dialect survey noted that they can (and do) pronounce it
both ways.
Get, "The word get does not rhyme with yet here in the South," writes Sarah Johnson, a South Carolina native and Southern accent specialist. "We say it like 'git.' There is a common rhyme teachers use at school when students complain about not getting their first choice. In the North, you might say: 'You get what you get, so don't be upset.' We say, 'You git what you git, so don't throw a fit.'"
Can't, according to Johnson, "the word can't in many small towns in the South rhymes with paint."
Get, "The word get does not rhyme with yet here in the South," writes Sarah Johnson, a South Carolina native and Southern accent specialist. "We say it like 'git.' There is a common rhyme teachers use at school when students complain about not getting their first choice. In the North, you might say: 'You get what you get, so don't be upset.' We say, 'You git what you git, so don't throw a fit.'"
Can't, according to Johnson, "the word can't in many small towns in the South rhymes with paint."
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