4K vs. 8K TV

4K, or 3840×2160, is about 2 million pixels and it contains almost four times the number of pixels on a screen compared with 1080P (current) technology.

8K resolution is 7680×4320 pixels. It is 16 times more dense than 4K. The numbers show 4K at 2 million pixels is compared to 8K at 33 million pixels. Today’s TV technology is not yet capable of handling this kind of raw power.

Other comparisons show current HD is 24 frames per second, 4K ultra HD is 60 frames per second, and 8K super Hi Vision is 120 frames per second.

For human eyes to actually differentiate between 4K and 8K resolutions, 8K televisions need to be at least 70 and 80 inches in size and you need to sit very close. To truly enjoy 8K, the television sets need to be even larger than that. Panasonic has developed a plasma television that is 145 inches.

2020 Olympics will all be broadcast in 8K - Samsung, LG, Sony, and Panasonic have all announced plans to have 8K TVs ready for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Incidentally, as of September 2017 an 85 inch 8K TV costs $133,000 and is only available in Japan. Oh, and the old wives tale of sitting too close can hurt your eyes is a myth.

HDTV Antenna Myth

HDTV antenna hype created a huge misconception with regard to TV antennas used for HDTV reception. There is no such thing as an HDTV antenna. An antenna is like a pipe (as I recently described HDMI cables). An antenna just takes in the signal and passes it along to your TV. If the signal is HD, it passes HD. If the signal is SD, it passes SD.

Bottom line, do not be fooled by a marketing ploy to get you to pay more for an HD antenna, any modern antenna will pass along HD content to your TV. Also, all antennas provide a better picture than cable as the digital signals are compressed by cable companies.

Heisman Trophy

Last week they awarded the Heisman trophy, but many do not remember who John Heisman was and how he had the trophy named for him.

He was a player, coach, and hugely successful innovator in the early days of football. He played for Brown and then Penn as a collegian from 1887 to 1891, then went on to coach a number of college teams. He changed the sport from placing the ball on the ground and rolling it from center to lifting and handing or passing it back to the quarterback. He also added more innovations to the game.

During 1916, he coached Georgia Tech to the highest scoring game in college football. While playing a makeshift Cumberland team, his team outscored its opponent 222-0.

Heisman became the athletic director at New York’s Downtown Athletic Club, which awarded the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy to the most valuable college football player east of the Mississippi. He died after the first trophy was awarded and before the second trophy could be awarded, the club voted to rename the prize the Heisman Memorial Trophy Award and included college players west of the Mississippi.

Incidentally, The famous “Heisman pose” trophy is actually based on Ed Smith, a former NYU running back who modeled for the trophy’s sculptor in 1934.

Robot Handiwork

For those who do not think robots are ready for prime time, here is a gif showing a robot stitching the skin of a grape. LINK  

Happy Friday

Do not chase happiness, attract it.

I am always attracted to happiness, especially on a Happy Friday!

Camel Beauty Contest

An interesting beauty contest is held in Madinat Zayed in Al Gharbia from December 13 to 29, the Al Dhafra Festival, the world’s largest festival of Bedouin traditions, is organized by the Cultural Programs and Heritage Festivals Committee - Abu Dhabi. The two-week event also serves as an important channel to make future generations familiar with their traditions and cultural heritage.

The festival will host one of the world’s largest camel beauty contests and camel gatherings with organizers expecting around 2,000 camel owners and over 20,000 camels from the GCC taking part in the event.

Last year camels owned by Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed, the President’s Representative, won top prizes in the camel ‘mazayna’ beauty contest at this year’s Al Dhafra Festival. Sheikh Sultan’s camels won the Aayel category for the golden-red camel breed, originally from Oman. Camels belonging to Khamis Al Mazrouie won the Majahim category, the black camels of Saudi Arabia.

Overweight Statistics

Many things have changed since 1960. Back then the price of gas was 25 cents, house price $12,700, loaf of bread 25 cents, and a pound of hamburger 45 cents. Not so with the CDC definitions of weight. The tables used to determine the current obesity levels are still the same ones used during 1960.

Unrelated, but interesting to note that since 1960, the average weight of a turkey has more than doubled from 15.1 pounds during 1960 to 31.1 pounds during 2017.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and the US National Center for Health Statistics, as of 2014, close to 71% of US adults age 20 or older are overweight or obese, based on those old tables.

While the world has changed dramatically, the weight definitions for overweight and obese have not changed during the past almost sixty years. The fact that Americans have also increased height and age during that time is not taken into consideration of the weight calculations.

Bottom line, we are comparing current weights to ancient 1960 tables. Also, BMI, as a measure has been debunked by the same CDC which states, "BMI ranges are not exact ranges of healthy and unhealthy weight." According to the BMI table, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Vin Diesel are both overweight.

Maybe the 1960 definitions and the BMI definitions need to be updated according to modern reality. Since we have achieved two standard deviations above the almost 60 year old tables, it might be time to redefine normal or we will soon be 100% overweight. Then the government agencies will forced to redefine the definition of windmills, as they are wont to do.

Text 911

For texting to 911 to work, emergency numbers need to be set up to receive texts, and then people trained and paid to receive and respond to those messages. Most departments have not had the time or money to implement.

There are some localities within the United States who do have the required infrastructure to take 911 messages through text. This does not mean you should take it for granted, as far fewer places can take text messages than cannot. If you are interested in being able to text 911 in an emergency, call up your local police non-emergency hotline and find out first if they have the service. If you are not 100% sure the service is provided in your area, call 9-1-1.

Creating New Tabs

Many times, clicking on a link in your browser opens it on top of what you are reading. This makes you go back after you are finished reading the page that interrupted you. Fortunately there are a few ways around this. Look for options and you can tell your preferred browser to open everything in a new ltab, or you can try a few of these tricks below.

Clicking on a link with the middle mouse button opens that link in a new browser tab. Go ahead and give it a try. It will change your life - or at least your browsing.

The oldest method is to right-click a link and select 'Open in new tab'.

For laptop users, sometimes pressing both trackpad buttons at once works as a middle click.

Finally, you can left-click a link while holding the CTRL key.

Fresh vs. Frozen Food

It is a natural tendency to believe fresh fruits and veggies are better for us, and taste better. However, unless you live in an area with local farms, your produce probably came from a place that is far away. From the moment that spinach was picked, it has been slowly decaying and losing its nutrients during the long journey to the grocery shelf. In addition, it was tossed into a refrigerated storage room for a while, then spread out in the produce section for a while hoping to get selected, then left in your fridge at home after you bought it.

What that all leads to is when it comes to nutrition, frozen produce will probably always be better than fresh. It is flash frozen immediately after it is picked, so it loses fewer nutrients between being harvested and landing on your plate. The same is true for some canned foods. For instance, canned tomatoes are higher in the cancer-fighting antioxidant lycopene than their non frozen counterpart, due to how they are preserved.

There is a caveat, the convenience and cost of frozen or canned foods makes them attractive options, particularly when fresh foods are out of season in your area. However, make sure you carefully read nutrition labels before purchasing frozen or canned foods. Some of these foods have high levels of added sodium or preservatives, which can make them less healthy options.

Frozen or canned food often allows you to buy higher-quality produce that was picked in-season and kept at that level of freshness. Even Popeye preferred canned spinach.

Three Quick Facts

Oscar Hammerstein II is the only Oscar to win an Oscar.

Tipping the hat comes from the military salute, which in turn comes from men in armor lifting the visor to show their faces.

Wine drinkers pour 12% more wine into a glass they are holding than one that is sitting on the table.

Velveeta

Velveeta does not fit into the fresh or frozen category of food, because it is neither picked nor frozen. It was invented by Emil Frey back during 1918. It is smooth and creamy, melts like a dream, and is one of the truly all-American foods. It was a pantry staple during the 1950s and lives on today. We grew up on many grilled cheese sandwiches made with Velveeta.

Real cheese was originally a part of the recipe, but today it is primarily milk protein concentrate and whey protein concentrate mixed with fat, milk, preservatives, and stabilizers, which the US FDA does not officially recognize as cheese. In 2002, the company was forced to change its official designation from Pasteurized Process Cheese Spread to Pasteurized Recipe Cheese Product.

During the 1920s Velveeta was advertised as a health food, and several years later it became the first cheese product to gain the American Medical Association’s seal of approval.

Like cream cheese, Velveeta contains both whey and curd, resulting in a creamier product. The whey is drained off of most cheeses, which are made from the resulting curd. Despite the fact that Velveeta is not a true cheese, it is a good source of CLA, containing more than most whole milk cheddar cheeses. It is also a good source of calcium

Today, Velveeta has more than thirty varieties. Its Kraft website calls it 'liquid gold'. It also comes in slices for easy grilled cheese sandwiches. There are the popular shells and cheese as well as variations including broccoli rotini and cheese, Nacho Supreme Cheese Skillets, Cheese Bacon Scalloped Potatoes, and Cheesy Chili Cornbread Casserole. among others. Its website even has a recipe for creamy Velveeta fudge. The many varieties of Velveeta cheese dips have long been a favorite for game day snacking.