Jan 29, 2010
Web Viewing Tip
Here is a tip that I use all the time. When viewing a web page that has small print, hold down the CTRL (control) key and move your scroll button on your mouse forward. It increases the size of print for easier viewing. It is temporary and only lasts for the page you are viewing. Moving your scroll button back reduces the size of print. It works in Internet Explorer and Firefox.
Robot Maids
South Korean scientists have developed a walking robot maid which can recognize people, turn on microwave ovens, washing machines, and toasters, and also pick up sandwiches, cups, and whatever else it senses as objects.
Mahru-Z has a human-like body including a rotating head, arms, legs and six fingers plus three-dimensional vision to recognize chores that need to be tackled. Below is a picture of the old and new models.
"The most distinctive strength of Mahru-Z is its visual ability to observe objects, recognize the tasks needed to be completed, and execute them," said You Bum-Jae, head of the cognitive robot center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology.
The institute took two years to develop Mahru-Z, which is 4.3 feet tall and weighs 121 pounds.
It could also work with an earlier maid robot called Marhu-M which moves on wheels, since both can be remotely controlled through a computer server. Don't look for this in the mail order catalogs soon.
Mahru-Z has a human-like body including a rotating head, arms, legs and six fingers plus three-dimensional vision to recognize chores that need to be tackled. Below is a picture of the old and new models.
"The most distinctive strength of Mahru-Z is its visual ability to observe objects, recognize the tasks needed to be completed, and execute them," said You Bum-Jae, head of the cognitive robot center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology.
The institute took two years to develop Mahru-Z, which is 4.3 feet tall and weighs 121 pounds.
It could also work with an earlier maid robot called Marhu-M which moves on wheels, since both can be remotely controlled through a computer server. Don't look for this in the mail order catalogs soon.
Older Brains and Remembering
A new study has found promising evidence that the older brain's weakened ability to filter out irrelevant information may actually give aging adults a memory advantage over their younger counterparts.
Other research has already shown that aging is associated with a decreased ability to tune out irrelevant information. The current study showed that older brains are less likely to suppress irrelevant information than younger brains and can link the relevant and irrelevant pieces of information together to use this knowledge for subsequent memory tasks.
The older adults showed a 30% advantage over younger adults in their memory. Because this type of knowledge is thought to play a critical role in real world decision-making, older adults may be the wiser decision-makers compared to younger adults because they picked up so much more information. I knew that.
Other research has already shown that aging is associated with a decreased ability to tune out irrelevant information. The current study showed that older brains are less likely to suppress irrelevant information than younger brains and can link the relevant and irrelevant pieces of information together to use this knowledge for subsequent memory tasks.
The older adults showed a 30% advantage over younger adults in their memory. Because this type of knowledge is thought to play a critical role in real world decision-making, older adults may be the wiser decision-makers compared to younger adults because they picked up so much more information. I knew that.
World Record No Sleep
The world record for time without sleep is 264 hours (11 days) by Randy Gardner in 1965.
John J. Ross, who monitored his health, reported serious cognitive and behavioral changes. These included moodiness, problems with concentration and short term memory, paranoia, and hallucinations. On the fourth day he had a delusion that he was Paul Lowe winning the Rose Bowl, and that a street sign was a person. On the eleventh day, when he was asked to subtract seven repeatedly, starting with 100, he stopped at 65. When asked why he had stopped, he replied that he had forgotten what he was doing.
On his final day, Gardner presided over a press conference where he spoke without slurring or stumbling his words and in general appeared to be in excellent health. "I wanted to prove that bad things didn't happen if you went without sleep."
After completing his record, Gardner slept 14 hours and 40 minutes, woke naturally, stayed awake 24 hours, then slept a normal eight hours. Makes me tired just thinking about it.
John J. Ross, who monitored his health, reported serious cognitive and behavioral changes. These included moodiness, problems with concentration and short term memory, paranoia, and hallucinations. On the fourth day he had a delusion that he was Paul Lowe winning the Rose Bowl, and that a street sign was a person. On the eleventh day, when he was asked to subtract seven repeatedly, starting with 100, he stopped at 65. When asked why he had stopped, he replied that he had forgotten what he was doing.
On his final day, Gardner presided over a press conference where he spoke without slurring or stumbling his words and in general appeared to be in excellent health. "I wanted to prove that bad things didn't happen if you went without sleep."
After completing his record, Gardner slept 14 hours and 40 minutes, woke naturally, stayed awake 24 hours, then slept a normal eight hours. Makes me tired just thinking about it.
Jan 27, 2010
Jan 26, 2010
Integrity
If you have integrity, nothing else matters.
If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.
If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.
See Through Refrigerator
The idea is to save energy by keeping the door closed until you want to take something out.
World Front Pages
Here is a web page of newspaper front pages from around the world. A great way to see the real big stories beyond your hometown. You can sort by region of the country or international, etc. Sure opens your perspective about what the rest of the world thinks is important. LINK
Poop
Why is poop brown? I know you have all wondered it, but were afraid to ask. Well, here is the answer. Stools can come in several different colors. Brown happens to be the color of good health. Bile comes from your gall bladder and helps your body digest food. It is metabolized by the bacteria in your large intestine, leaving behind a byproduct called stercobilin, which gives stool a brown pigment.
The color of poop can offer some surprising insights into what's going on within your body. Changes in stool colors are frequently the first sign that something is wrong. There's three main bad colors your poop can be. Red means internal bleeding, or that you have recently eaten beets. Yellow means there is fat in your poop and this is the kind that floats. Usually it means you are eating too much fat and not digesting it. Green means that you probably have a bacterial infection.
That is enough details for now and aren't you glad I did not include pictures.
The color of poop can offer some surprising insights into what's going on within your body. Changes in stool colors are frequently the first sign that something is wrong. There's three main bad colors your poop can be. Red means internal bleeding, or that you have recently eaten beets. Yellow means there is fat in your poop and this is the kind that floats. Usually it means you are eating too much fat and not digesting it. Green means that you probably have a bacterial infection.
That is enough details for now and aren't you glad I did not include pictures.
Free ebooks
For you book readers in the crowd, here is a web site that has a bunch of sources for free ebooks. LINK
Magnificent Eagles
A bald eagle’s nest grows with each year of use. They usually start with one of the taller trees in a given area, with a network of strong supporting branches. While the nest may start out only a couple of feet wide, after a few years of use, the nest can grow to more than six feet wide and ten feet deep. The male usually brings nest material to the nest site where the female will arrange it to suit her. Softer material, such as grasses and leaves, will be used to line the center of the nest.
Copulation usually occurs at the nest. The male will simply mount the female to make contact. The whole thing lasts just seconds. After copulation the pair might perch next to each other for a half hour or so, sometimes preening themselves and each other.
Bald eagles generally lay two eggs, although one or three are not that uncommon. The eggs are laid about two days apart and will normally hatch in the same order as they were laid, with approximately the same intervals between hatchings as there were between layings. The eggs are bluish-white, about 3 inches in length, and roughly oval-shaped. Through time, the eggs will discolor until they appear to be more of a mottled, or dirty, white.
Incubation lasts 34 to 36 days with both the male and female birds incubating. Females will incubate the eggs about 60 percent of the time. During incubation, the male will bring food for the female, many times to one of the supporting branches of the nest and she will usually come off the eggs to eat, with the male taking her place on the nest.
Copulation usually occurs at the nest. The male will simply mount the female to make contact. The whole thing lasts just seconds. After copulation the pair might perch next to each other for a half hour or so, sometimes preening themselves and each other.
Bald eagles generally lay two eggs, although one or three are not that uncommon. The eggs are laid about two days apart and will normally hatch in the same order as they were laid, with approximately the same intervals between hatchings as there were between layings. The eggs are bluish-white, about 3 inches in length, and roughly oval-shaped. Through time, the eggs will discolor until they appear to be more of a mottled, or dirty, white.
Incubation lasts 34 to 36 days with both the male and female birds incubating. Females will incubate the eggs about 60 percent of the time. During incubation, the male will bring food for the female, many times to one of the supporting branches of the nest and she will usually come off the eggs to eat, with the male taking her place on the nest.
Quotable
Some people will hold anything except their tongues, keep anything except their word, and lose nothing except their patience.
I don't hold back, and lose nothing by keeping pleasant thoughts of a Happy Friday!
I don't hold back, and lose nothing by keeping pleasant thoughts of a Happy Friday!
Jan 23, 2010
Edgar Allen Poe
The mysterious visitor who left roses and a bottle of Cognac at the original Baltimore grave site of Edgar Allan Poe failed to appear this year for the first time in 61 years.
Jeff Jerome, curator of the Edgar Allan Poe House, tells The Baltimore Sun that the visitor, whose identity is unknown, has shown up every Jan. 19 since 1949. The visitor left notes some years. In 1993, the visitor left a note that read: "The torch will be passed." Years later, another note indicated the man had died in 1998 and had handed the tradition to his two sons. Nevermore?
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