Many people presume 'free reign' to means a person has the 'royal' power to do anything they want.
Actually, the correct phrase is 'free rein'. It comes from the days before cars, when horses were used for transportation. When navigating a steep or winding path, the rider would relax the reins so the horse could pick the safest path on its own.
Aug 13, 2010
Checks Going Away in UK
Paper checks, or Cheques (as they spell it) are scheduled to be phased out by October 2018, according to the BBC. The board of the UK Payments Council has set the date in a bid to encourage the advance of other forms of payment.
The first cheque was written 350 years ago and the decision will be greeted with disappointment by some small businesses and consumers.
The target date for the closure of the system that processes cheques has been set for 31 October 2018, after the board described the payment method as in "terminal decline".
However, there will be annual checks on the progress of other payments systems and a final review of the decision will be held in 2016. "The goal is to ensure that by 2018 there is no scenario where customers, individuals or businesses, still need to use a cheque," the Payments Council said in a statement.
Personal cheque payment volumes reached a peak of 2.4 billion in 1990, and have since fallen steadily to 663 million in 2008.
The first cheque was written 350 years ago and the decision will be greeted with disappointment by some small businesses and consumers.
The target date for the closure of the system that processes cheques has been set for 31 October 2018, after the board described the payment method as in "terminal decline".
However, there will be annual checks on the progress of other payments systems and a final review of the decision will be held in 2016. "The goal is to ensure that by 2018 there is no scenario where customers, individuals or businesses, still need to use a cheque," the Payments Council said in a statement.
Personal cheque payment volumes reached a peak of 2.4 billion in 1990, and have since fallen steadily to 663 million in 2008.
Alcohol and Arthritis
Drinking alcohol can not only ease the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, it appears to reduce disease severity too, research suggests.
Scientists at the University of Sheffield asked two groups of patients with and without the disease to provide details of their drinking habits. They found that patients who had drunk alcohol most frequently experienced less joint pain and swelling.
In the study, 873 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were compared to 1,004 people who did not have it. Both groups were asked how often they drank alcohol in the month running up to the start of the study. Patients completed a detailed questionnaire, had X-rays and blood tests, and a nurse examined their joints. The patients in the study did not drink more than the recommended limit of 10 units of alcohol a week.
It's possible that the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of alcohol may play a role in reducing the severity of symptoms, according to Dr James Maxwell consultant rheumatologist.
Patients who drank alcohol most frequently had less severe symptoms than those who had never or infrequently drunk alcohol. X-rays showed there was less damage to their joints, blood tests showed lower levels of inflammation, and there was less joint pain, swelling, and disability in those patients, the researchers found.
The study showed non-drinkers were four times more likely to develop RA than people who drank alcohol on more than 10 days a month. Previous studies have shown that alcohol may reduce the risk of developing the disease initially.
However, they do not yet understand why drinking alcohol should reduce the severity of RA, and people's susceptibility to developing it, but there is some evidence to show that alcohol suppresses the activity of the immune system, and that this may influence the pathways by which RA develops.
Scientists at the University of Sheffield asked two groups of patients with and without the disease to provide details of their drinking habits. They found that patients who had drunk alcohol most frequently experienced less joint pain and swelling.
In the study, 873 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were compared to 1,004 people who did not have it. Both groups were asked how often they drank alcohol in the month running up to the start of the study. Patients completed a detailed questionnaire, had X-rays and blood tests, and a nurse examined their joints. The patients in the study did not drink more than the recommended limit of 10 units of alcohol a week.
It's possible that the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of alcohol may play a role in reducing the severity of symptoms, according to Dr James Maxwell consultant rheumatologist.
Patients who drank alcohol most frequently had less severe symptoms than those who had never or infrequently drunk alcohol. X-rays showed there was less damage to their joints, blood tests showed lower levels of inflammation, and there was less joint pain, swelling, and disability in those patients, the researchers found.
The study showed non-drinkers were four times more likely to develop RA than people who drank alcohol on more than 10 days a month. Previous studies have shown that alcohol may reduce the risk of developing the disease initially.
However, they do not yet understand why drinking alcohol should reduce the severity of RA, and people's susceptibility to developing it, but there is some evidence to show that alcohol suppresses the activity of the immune system, and that this may influence the pathways by which RA develops.
Aug 10, 2010
Land Line Telephones
According to the latest survey from the National Center for Health Statistics, nearly 25 percent of Americans have given up their landlines for a cell phone. Another 22 million Americans pay for a VoIP service like Vonage for calls. That leaves over 100 million households still plugged in.
Only 5 percent of adults age 65 or older live in wireless-only households. Last year AT&T petitioned the government to set a date for the removal of all land lines in the US.
Only 5 percent of adults age 65 or older live in wireless-only households. Last year AT&T petitioned the government to set a date for the removal of all land lines in the US.
Block That Call
There are many ways to block calls using the various carriers, but some are difficult and some cost a monthly fee and some smart phones have apps to do it.
If you have a regular cell phone and there is someone you just do not wish to talk to, use the call ringing feature. Just put in the offending number and assign a no ring-tone, so when that person calls, your phone will not ring.
If you have a regular cell phone and there is someone you just do not wish to talk to, use the call ringing feature. Just put in the offending number and assign a no ring-tone, so when that person calls, your phone will not ring.
Zenith Space Command
In 1956, the first widely used TV remote control had four buttons (power, volume, channel up, channel down) but no batteries. Press a button, and a tiny hammer inside the remote would strike an aluminum rod, transmitting an ultrahigh-frequency tone to control the set. They were affectionately known as clickers, because they actually clicked when you pressed the buttons.
Pictured remote outside and inside. Back then they only had a few channels to scroll through, and all TVs were black and white, so it was not a big deal.
I read that you could sometimes drop a coin on it and it would change channels. The Space Command lasted more than 25 years before being replaced by remotes using infrared technology. Before these slick devices, they actually had a remote that was physically wired directly to the TV. . . and before that they had kids that they would tell to go change the channel, or turn up the volume.
Pictured remote outside and inside. Back then they only had a few channels to scroll through, and all TVs were black and white, so it was not a big deal.
I read that you could sometimes drop a coin on it and it would change channels. The Space Command lasted more than 25 years before being replaced by remotes using infrared technology. Before these slick devices, they actually had a remote that was physically wired directly to the TV. . . and before that they had kids that they would tell to go change the channel, or turn up the volume.
Bacon Lunch Box
Speaking of way back when, do you remember when people actually took lunch boxes to work? Here is one I will bet you never saw, a bacon lunch box. Makes me hungry just looking at it. Ha!
Aug 6, 2010
Billboards Read You
In Tokyo, Japan, there are digital advertising billboards being trialled. They are fitted with cameras that read the gender and age group of people looking at them to tailor specific commercial messages.
A consortium of 11 railway companies launched the one-year pilot project in June and has set up 27 of the high-tech advertising displays in subway commuter stations around Tokyo.
The camera can distinguish a person’s sex and approximate age if the person walks in front of the display looks at the screen for a second. If data for different locations is analyzed, companies can provide interactive advertisements "which meet the interest of people who use the station at a certain time," the project said in a statement. Scary when pictures you are looking at look back at you.
A consortium of 11 railway companies launched the one-year pilot project in June and has set up 27 of the high-tech advertising displays in subway commuter stations around Tokyo.
The camera can distinguish a person’s sex and approximate age if the person walks in front of the display looks at the screen for a second. If data for different locations is analyzed, companies can provide interactive advertisements "which meet the interest of people who use the station at a certain time," the project said in a statement. Scary when pictures you are looking at look back at you.
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