Many
believe there is no gravity in space. Astronauts appear weightless
in space, so there is an assumption that space is a place with
zero gravity. That assumption carries no weight.
There is less gravity in space, but the idea that there is none is
factually incorrect. There is gravity on Earth, on the moon, and
on the sun. It all around us. The reason why space allows humans
to be weightless is because they are gravitating toward the Earth
at the same rate as their ships.
Feb 19, 2017
Coffee Grounds Uses
Coffee grounds serve a dual purpose
when it comes to cleaning pots and pans. Grounds attract and
absorb grease and oil, making them an ideal candidate, with dish
soap for removing excess grease from a pan.
Coffee
attracts worms and their presence means a healthy garden. Also,
the acidity in the grounds keeps snails and slugs away. The
grounds alter the pH level of soil, which can result in new
colors for flowers.
Sprinkling grounds over wood before setting a fire can stop ashes from flying around.
After rinsing your hands, scrub them with used grounds, and then wash to remove the smell of garlic or fish from them. The grounds exfoliate your skin and remove dead tissue, which is where much of the smell resides.
Coffee grounds as a skin scrub can help revitalize your face and reduce cellulite.
Put a bowl of grounds in the back of the fridge, and another in the freezer. Some people argue that raw grounds work as the best deodorizer, while others claim used grounds are best. Try a half-and-half mixture.
Sprinkling grounds over wood before setting a fire can stop ashes from flying around.
After rinsing your hands, scrub them with used grounds, and then wash to remove the smell of garlic or fish from them. The grounds exfoliate your skin and remove dead tissue, which is where much of the smell resides.
Coffee grounds as a skin scrub can help revitalize your face and reduce cellulite.
Put a bowl of grounds in the back of the fridge, and another in the freezer. Some people argue that raw grounds work as the best deodorizer, while others claim used grounds are best. Try a half-and-half mixture.
Millennials overtake Baby Boomers
It finally happened,
Millennials are now America’s largest generation according to
population estimates from the US Census Bureau. Millennials,
those ages 18-34 in 2015, now number 75.4 million, surpassing
the 74.9 million Baby Boomers, ages 51-69. Generation X, ages
35-50 in 2015 is projected to pass the Boomers in population by
2028.
The Millennial generation continues to grow as young immigrants expand its ranks. Boomers, whose generation was defined by the boom in US births following World War II are older and their numbers shrinking as their number of deaths exceeds the number of older immigrants arriving in the country. With immigration adding more numbers to its group than any other, the Millennial population is projected to peak in 2036 at 81.1 million.
Pew Research Center established that the oldest Millennial was born in 1981 and the youngest Millennial was born in 1997.
The Millennial generation continues to grow as young immigrants expand its ranks. Boomers, whose generation was defined by the boom in US births following World War II are older and their numbers shrinking as their number of deaths exceeds the number of older immigrants arriving in the country. With immigration adding more numbers to its group than any other, the Millennial population is projected to peak in 2036 at 81.1 million.
Pew Research Center established that the oldest Millennial was born in 1981 and the youngest Millennial was born in 1997.
Unseen World
A friend of mine, John Mascitti passed
along this great Ted Talk. Fast and slow motion from the minute
to the enormous. Seven minutes of wonder. LINK
Amethyst
It is a
semiprecious stone and is the traditional birthstone for
February. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/amethyst
1250-1300; Latin amethystus, Greek améthystos not intoxicating, not intoxicated (so called from a belief that it prevented drunkenness)
The ancient Greeks wore amethyst and made drinking vessels decorated with it in the belief that it would prevent intoxication. It is one of several forms of quartz.
1250-1300; Latin amethystus, Greek améthystos not intoxicating, not intoxicated (so called from a belief that it prevented drunkenness)
The ancient Greeks wore amethyst and made drinking vessels decorated with it in the belief that it would prevent intoxication. It is one of several forms of quartz.
Wordology, Nasothek
A
collection of noses is a Nasothek.
Classical statues tend to lose their noses, and during the 19th century museums would commonly replace them with “restoration” noses, to preserve the appearance of the original sculpture.
During the 20th century some museums changed philosophies and “de-restored” their collections, thinking it better to present each piece in its authentic state. This created a excess of noses, and some museums collect these into displays of their own. I make no claims about which one might resemble mine.
Incidentally, Gutzon Borglum, who also sculpted Mount Rushmore, sculpted the Capitol bust of Abraham Lincoln - with just one ear. He believed that the dualities of Lincoln’s personality (hard as rock, soft as velvet) were reflected in the opposite sides of his face, with the right strong and masculine, the left soft and feminine. Borglum said of Lincoln’s face, “You see half-smile, half-sadness; half anger, half-forgiveness; half-determination, half-pause; a mixture of expression that drew accurately the middle course he would follow.” If you look at the left side, you do not see an ear. Borglum explained that he purposely omitted the ear because he wished attention to be drawn to the stronger right side of the face.
Classical statues tend to lose their noses, and during the 19th century museums would commonly replace them with “restoration” noses, to preserve the appearance of the original sculpture.
During the 20th century some museums changed philosophies and “de-restored” their collections, thinking it better to present each piece in its authentic state. This created a excess of noses, and some museums collect these into displays of their own. I make no claims about which one might resemble mine.
Incidentally, Gutzon Borglum, who also sculpted Mount Rushmore, sculpted the Capitol bust of Abraham Lincoln - with just one ear. He believed that the dualities of Lincoln’s personality (hard as rock, soft as velvet) were reflected in the opposite sides of his face, with the right strong and masculine, the left soft and feminine. Borglum said of Lincoln’s face, “You see half-smile, half-sadness; half anger, half-forgiveness; half-determination, half-pause; a mixture of expression that drew accurately the middle course he would follow.” If you look at the left side, you do not see an ear. Borglum explained that he purposely omitted the ear because he wished attention to be drawn to the stronger right side of the face.
Self Destructing Phone
From noses to ears to phones.
Researchers in Saudi Arabia have developed a mechanism that,
when triggered, can destroy a Smartphone or other electronic
device. The self-destruct mechanism consists of a polymer layer
that rapidly expands when subjected to temperatures above 80
degrees Celsius, effectively bursting the phone open from the
inside. The mechanism can be adapted to be triggered in various
ways, including remotely through a Smartphone app or when it is
subjected to pressure.
Once triggered, power from the device's battery is directed to electrodes that rapidly heat, causing the polymer layer to expand to about seven times its original size within 10-15 seconds. This crushes the vital components inside the device, destroying any stored information.
One engineer believes the phone will see adoption in the intelligence and financial communities first, though it can also be retrofitted to existing phones for about $15.
Once triggered, power from the device's battery is directed to electrodes that rapidly heat, causing the polymer layer to expand to about seven times its original size within 10-15 seconds. This crushes the vital components inside the device, destroying any stored information.
One engineer believes the phone will see adoption in the intelligence and financial communities first, though it can also be retrofitted to existing phones for about $15.
Cold or Flu
This is the time of year there are many
bugs going around to make us miserable. Worse yet, some come
back during the same season. In
general, flu symptoms tend to be more severe than cold
symptoms, but do not last as long. Here are a few ways
to tell whether you have a cold or the flu.
Antiviral medications do not cure, but can help alleviate some of flu symptoms, and many of the remedies for cold apply to the flu as well, including taking medicine for headaches. Flu symptoms usually are gone in a short time and do not linger as a cold does.
Regardless of whether you have a cold or the flu, the illness will usually go away on its own, but you should visit your doctor if your symptoms change or get worse. If you get either a cold or flu, please stay home and do not share.
- Symptoms of a cold usually come on gradually, but symptoms of the flu can appear suddenly.
- Symptoms such as sneezing, stuffy nose, and sore throat are more common with colds than with the flu.
- People with the flu usually develop a fever, but people with colds rarely do.
- The flu often causes body aches and headaches, which can be severe. If you have a cold, aches are usually mild.
- The flu can cause
serious complications, such as pneumonia or bacterial
infections, but such compilations are rare with colds.
- You can get a seasonal flu vaccine to reduce the severity of flu each year, but there is no vaccine to protect from the common cold.
- Washing your hands
frequently can help prevent either cold or flu.
Antiviral medications do not cure, but can help alleviate some of flu symptoms, and many of the remedies for cold apply to the flu as well, including taking medicine for headaches. Flu symptoms usually are gone in a short time and do not linger as a cold does.
Regardless of whether you have a cold or the flu, the illness will usually go away on its own, but you should visit your doctor if your symptoms change or get worse. If you get either a cold or flu, please stay home and do not share.
Feb 10, 2017
Happy Friday
Laughter is like a
push-up bra for your personality.
Now I understand why I like laughter so much, especially on a Happy Friday!
Now I understand why I like laughter so much, especially on a Happy Friday!
Apple TV
If you
have a 4th generation Apple TV box and want to reduce the loud
sounds to equalize volume during some parts of shows, press the
microphone on your Apple remote and say to Siri, "Reduce loud
sounds." It will change the internal settings until you change
it again.
4k UHD, HDR-10 (Dolby Vision), OLED, Smart TV
Since the
last time I wrote about TVs some new acronyms have popped up. If
you are buying a TV for the future these are important, but if
you are buying a TV for short term, (the next few years) almost
all of these are not important. The reason they are not
important is because almost no one is broadcasting to take
advantage of 4K, HDR-10, (Dolby), except some Netflix and Bluray
DVDs.
Smart TV - These sets are good to have now and the majority of new TVs are smart TVs. They allow access to the internet from your home WiFi and provide access to Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, and more without the need for a separate box. Many Smart TVs give you a full web browser, so you can use a search engine or visit websites. Some let you play interactive online games.
4K UHD - these ultra-high-definition televisions offer four times the resolution of a standard 1080p HDTV. Instead of a screen that has about 2 million pixels, these televisions show about 8 million pixels.
HDR-10, Dolby Vision - I lump these two, High Dynamic Range and Dolby10 together, because they are competing technologies, kind of like the old Betamax / VHS argument. Some manufactures are using one vs. the other and some have both. HDR is currently winning, because it is open source while manufacturers must pay royalties to Dolby for its technology. Many advertisements refer to them simply as Dolby and HDR.
The first of the two major differences between Dolby Vision and HDR-10 is that Dolby uses 12 bits per color (red, green, and blue), where HDR-10 uses 10 bits per color. The second, Dolby Vision uses dynamic, or continuous metadata so that color and brightness levels can be adjusted per scene, or even frame-by-frame basis. HDR-10 uses static metadata that is sent only once at the beginning of the video. Both reproduce a wider range of brightness levels, higher contrast ratio, and richer colors. Contrast ratio is the measurement of the difference in brightness between the whitest white and the darkest black. When seen side by side with non-HDR content, HDR-enhanced video is incredibly bright and with vibrant colors. Samples show a very positive marked difference.
Some TVs use OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) screens for a superior image and other benefits. Televisions packed with organic light-emitting diodes are incredibly thin, because each pixel is its own light source, so backlighting is not required. These televisions are more energy efficient than other TV panel types. Some LG TVs are as thin as four credit cards. Quantum dot or QLED TVs can match the contrast ratio of OLED. Quantum dots are microscopic dots about a fraction of the width of a human hair.Samsung uses the term Quantum Dot.
Bottom line, you can get 4K UHD, HDR (Dolby), OLED on one TV. Every 4K is UHD by definition. Almost all TVs are LED, but very few are OLED or Quantum dot. Most TVs are now Smart TVs.
Incidentally, DolbyVision is for pictures and Dolby Atmos is for sound.
Smart TV - These sets are good to have now and the majority of new TVs are smart TVs. They allow access to the internet from your home WiFi and provide access to Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, and more without the need for a separate box. Many Smart TVs give you a full web browser, so you can use a search engine or visit websites. Some let you play interactive online games.
4K UHD - these ultra-high-definition televisions offer four times the resolution of a standard 1080p HDTV. Instead of a screen that has about 2 million pixels, these televisions show about 8 million pixels.
HDR-10, Dolby Vision - I lump these two, High Dynamic Range and Dolby10 together, because they are competing technologies, kind of like the old Betamax / VHS argument. Some manufactures are using one vs. the other and some have both. HDR is currently winning, because it is open source while manufacturers must pay royalties to Dolby for its technology. Many advertisements refer to them simply as Dolby and HDR.
The first of the two major differences between Dolby Vision and HDR-10 is that Dolby uses 12 bits per color (red, green, and blue), where HDR-10 uses 10 bits per color. The second, Dolby Vision uses dynamic, or continuous metadata so that color and brightness levels can be adjusted per scene, or even frame-by-frame basis. HDR-10 uses static metadata that is sent only once at the beginning of the video. Both reproduce a wider range of brightness levels, higher contrast ratio, and richer colors. Contrast ratio is the measurement of the difference in brightness between the whitest white and the darkest black. When seen side by side with non-HDR content, HDR-enhanced video is incredibly bright and with vibrant colors. Samples show a very positive marked difference.
Some TVs use OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) screens for a superior image and other benefits. Televisions packed with organic light-emitting diodes are incredibly thin, because each pixel is its own light source, so backlighting is not required. These televisions are more energy efficient than other TV panel types. Some LG TVs are as thin as four credit cards. Quantum dot or QLED TVs can match the contrast ratio of OLED. Quantum dots are microscopic dots about a fraction of the width of a human hair.Samsung uses the term Quantum Dot.
Bottom line, you can get 4K UHD, HDR (Dolby), OLED on one TV. Every 4K is UHD by definition. Almost all TVs are LED, but very few are OLED or Quantum dot. Most TVs are now Smart TVs.
Incidentally, DolbyVision is for pictures and Dolby Atmos is for sound.
Lucille
In the
winter of 1949, BB King played at a dance hall in Twist,
Arkansas. The hall was heated by a barrel half-filled with
burning kerosene, a fairly common practice at the time. During a
performance, two men began to fight, knocking over the barrel
and sending burning fuel across the floor. The hall burst into
flames, and the building was evacuated.
Once outside, King realized that he had left his guitar inside so he went back into the burning building to retrieve his beloved $30 Gibson guitar. King learned the next day that the two men that started the fire had been fighting over a woman who worked at the hall named Lucille. King named that guitar, and every guitar he subsequently owned, Lucille, as a reminder never again to do something as stupid as run into a burning building or fight over a woman.
Once outside, King realized that he had left his guitar inside so he went back into the burning building to retrieve his beloved $30 Gibson guitar. King learned the next day that the two men that started the fire had been fighting over a woman who worked at the hall named Lucille. King named that guitar, and every guitar he subsequently owned, Lucille, as a reminder never again to do something as stupid as run into a burning building or fight over a woman.
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