Aug 10, 2018

Wordology, Pink Noise

Mercedes provides your ears with an extra layer of audio protection called pink noise designed to keep your hearing intact by the extremely loud sounds typically associated with a vehicle crash.
The crunching metal, breaking glass, and the explosive deployments of airbags can hit 165 decibels or higher, and has the potential to permanently damage a passenger’s hearing. Pink noise, which Mercedes calls “Pre-Safe Sound” is unique in that its power is inversely proportional to the signal. When it hits the ear, it triggers muscles in the ear to contract by reflex, automatically bracing the inner ear and eardrum for the extremely loud noise of the crash by reflecting some of the sound before it reaches the point where it could cause problems.

Once the vehicle’s sensors have detected that a collision is unavoidable, a comprehensive system of safety features is activated within the short time before an impact occurs. It takes just 150 milliseconds to deploy the reversible seat belt tensioners and other safety features. The duration of a human blink is 100 milliseconds.

Fresh Fruit vs. Dried Fruit

A common myth is that fresh is better, However, this myth is only true if you are looking for vitamin C. Dried fruit contains just as many nutrients and sugar for energy as fresh fruit. If you subscribe to the notion that you should eat five fruits a day, then you only need one tablespoon of dried fruit per portion – so five tablespoons of dried fruit fulfills your daily need. The same is true of canned or frozen fruit. Fruit juice is also able to be used as a daily fruit portion, but just one per day should be made up of juice only.

Omega-3 Supplements Useless

A recent meta-analysis of 79 randomized controlled trials following more than 100,000 participants added to the growing corpus of non-findings. The study catalogued a long list of heart conditions for which omega-3s appear to have “little or no effect,” challenging the claimed benefit of the supplement, that taking it promotes heart health.
The rise of omega-3 supplements began when a team of Danish scientists, intrigued by reports of low rates of cardiac death among Inuit populations, embarked on an expedition to Greenland. They drew blood samples from local Inuit people and found far more omega-3 in their blood than in the blood of those in the Danish control group. Their hypothesis: Omega-3s are good for your heart.

The original claimed benefits for cardiac health were the first to fall after large randomized controlled trials showed few results. A 2012 meta-analysis came to the conclusion: “Overall, omega-3 … supplementation was not associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality, cardiac death, sudden death, myocardial infarction, or stroke based on relative and absolute measures of association.”

Studies reported that omega-3 supplements do not help depression, do not help young children at risk for psychotic disorders, and do not improve the memories of the elderly.

Finally, during 2017, the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s, a trade association, published a press release of its own study “Among randomized controlled trials, there was a non-statistically significant reduction in coronary heart disease risk with EPA+DHA provision.” Bottom line, save your money.

Wallet Tip

Many times people in other than ordinary situations lose their phone. Since we never remember phone numbers these days, it is a good idea to keep a little note in your wallet or purse with the top five most important numbers to call if you need help. One of those numbers should also be an emergency contact number that someone else could call for you.

5G Requirements

Many have heard or seen phone companies touting their 5G tests around the country. 5G is required to be backward compatible with current technology at current speeds. So there is no need to worry about forced change. . . yet.

However, your current phone is not 5G capable and will not be. You will need to buy a new phone to have it connect to 5G. Motorola is pushing to have the first 5G phone available this month ($480 from Verizon). Others will follow and by early next year there will be more choices.

Also, your current modem/router will not work with 5G, nor will your PC. Intel is currently working with Acer, ASUS, Microsoft, Dell, HP, and Lenovo to deliver laptops and convertibles with the new 5G standard. Companies are working on 5G modems that will fit into phones, cars, smart-home devices and other device forms that have yet to be developed, like maybe carrying a puck type portable modem in your pocket.


Bottom line, if your phone works and your cable or streaming service works for TV now, do not be in a hurry to change all your equipment. Let others suffer the slings and arrows (and costs) of the new technology. Be patient and do not be first in line. It will take a few years to have 5G available everywhere. 5G phone service will be available before home 5G. When home 5G does, be prepared to spend big bucks and deal with learning new equipment. Incidentally, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are expected to broadcast in 5G with 8K TV resolution.

Loving Life

Amor fati (love of fate) is characterized by an acceptance of the events or situations that occur in your life, such as treating each moment, no matter how challenging as something to be embraced, not avoided. It allows a person embrace it, love it, be better for it, and provides a sense of contentment with one's life and an acceptance of it. Like oxygen to a fire, obstacles and adversity become fuel for your potential.

We do not control most of what happens in life, but we do control what our reaction is to those events. What we tell ourselves they mean to us and how we will integrate them into our lives. On one hand, we are powerless, but on the other we are empowered. Most of what happens is outside of our control, but we have the power of being able to love, embrace, accept, and make the most of what does happen. Doing it with a smile is an extra bonus.


Bottom line, life is good if you choose to make it so.

Aug 3, 2018

Happy Friday

Regret lives in the past. Hope lives in the future. Happiness resides in the present.

I am presently very happy, especially on a Happy Friday!

Wordology, Pipe Dream

A 'pipe dream' is an unrealistic hope or fantasy. It is a reference to the strange dreams people have when smoking opium pipes. The term was used as early as the 1800s in America.

Uber 911

Recently Uber added a direct way for riders in the US to call 911 within its app. The emergency button is located in a new “safety center” menu accessible from the app’s home screen. It provides riders a quick way to contact first responders in the event that something goes wrong during their trip.

To dial 911, riders swipe up on the safety center icon, then tap '911 assistance'. They will then be asked to confirm they intended to dial 911 before the call is put through to emergency dispatchers.

It also announced a 911 integration pilot in a few markets that allows a rider’s location and trip details to be automatically sent to a 911 dispatcher. Location sharing is being tested in Denver, Colorado; Charleston, South Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Naples, Florida.

Lightning and Airplanes

Lighting has not brought down a plane since 1963, due to careful engineering that lets the electric charge of a lightning bolt run through the plane and out of it.

Astro Turf

It was originally named “ChemGrass” before being used by the Houston Astros Major League Baseball team in the Astrodome.

Contrary to popular belief, AstroTurf was not first used or invented for the Houston Astros. Before being used by the Astros, it was used at such sporting venues as Moses Brown School in Rhode Island, among others. AstroTurf was originally invented in 1964, two years before the Astros would use it, by Donald L. Elbert, James M. Faria, and Robert T. Wright, working for Monsanto Company. At the time, a subsidiary of Monsanto, Chemstrand, was developing synthetic fibers for carpeting and they decided to try their hand at also making an artificial playing surface for sports that would not require the extensive maintenance typical grass surfaces need when heavily used, as many sporting surfaces are.

During 1965, the Houston Astros organization began investigating artificial surfaces for the Astrodome baseball field. Originally, they attempted to use a special type of natural grass on the indoor field. Unfortunately, the semi-transparent ceiling panels did not let in enough sunlight and all the grass died within a few months. This resulted in the Astros organization having to paint the dirt field green, to make it appear more like a normal baseball field.

By the start of the 1966 season, the Astros decided to go with the relatively new ChemGrass. Due to there being a limited supply, though, they were only able to get the infield covered with ChemGrass for the first half of the season. The outfield was still just painted green dirt. Shortly after the All-Star break, the entire field was covered in ChemGrass and this artificial surface received national attention for the first time. This media attention after being successfully installed in the Astrodome was largely responsible for ChemGrass becoming popular over other similar synthetic grass surfaces being created at the same time.

Relatively shortly after being used in the Astrodome, other sporting teams began using ChemGrass, even some for outdoor stadiums, particularly those in colder climates where maintaining real grass can be difficult. Because ChemGrass became popular thanks to being used in the Astrodome, the product was subsequently renamed “AstroTurf”, by Monsanto. By 1987, AstroTurf had become so popular that Monsanto made it an independent subsidiary, named: AstroTurf Industries, Inc.

Wordology, Onychophagia

This is the technical term for biting your nails. It ranges from 20 to 33% during childhood and approximately 45% of teenagers are nail biters. By the age of 18 years the frequency of nail biting decreases; however it does persist in some adults

Nine More Google Facts

Google searches 30 trillion web pages, 100 billion times a month.

Google rents two hundred goats from California Grazing to mow the lawns and fields around its headquarters.

Type "solitaire" in the search box, or "pacman", and a screen with the game will appear under the box.

Type what sound does an emu, or other animal make and you will hear the sound.

The “I’m feeling lucky” button costs Google US $110 million per year, as it bypasses ads.

Google processes more than 2.3 million searches per second, or one hundred billion searches per month.

Over 60% of Google searches are on mobile.

Google still intends to scan all known existing (as of 2010) 129 million unique books by 2020.

Google offers various perks to its employees including free lunch, breakfast, dinner, haircuts, state-of-the-art gym, and the nap pod.

Superior Opinions

A recent study found that people who think their opinions are superior to others may be most prone to overestimating their relevant knowledge and ignoring chances to learn more.

Those people with the highest belief superiority also tended to have the largest gap between their perceived and actual knowledge. The belief superior consistently suffered from the illusion that they are better informed than they actually are.