Feb 8, 2019

Happy Friday

Happiness requires your own approval, not other's. They get the benefit.

Give yourself permission to be happy today, especially because it is a Happy Friday!

National Pizza Day

My brother reminded me, even before I started writing this that Saturday February 9 is National Pizza Day. Although it comes so close to Super Bowl, folks are still in the mood for more pizza. A survey by California Pizza Kitchen found that if Americans could only eat one thing for the rest of their lives, twenty percent would choose pizza. The original dish was started by the Romans and was hardly known outside Italy or Italian communities before WWII, but is now ubiquitous.


Most of the national and regional chains have deals from discounts to free pizza. Look them up in on the net or your local paper for a deal near you.

New Battery

John Goodenough, an engineer and professor at the University of Texas who Quartz writes, "has dominated the world of advanced batteries" for nearly 40 years. He is known around the world for his pioneering work that led to the invention of the rechargeable lithium-ion battery.


He and his team announced that they have created a low-cost, all-solid-state battery that can store twice the energy of modern lithium-ion batteries, can be fully charged in minutes, and is noncombustible. The new battery uses glass, which the researchers claim enables the anode to be made from pure lithium or sodium metal. This has a huge amount of potential energy. In the case of sodium, it is incredibly cheap. Either can charge more quickly. The team believes it will be commercially available within a few years.

Grilling Juicy Burgers

It is always the right time of the year to grill up burgers. Always preheat the grill for burgers, and other meats. A quick tip to make burgers juicy is to add a pat of butter or an ice cube on top when you first put the meat on the grill. The moisture will seep into the patty and make it juicy. Also, never, never, never push down on a burger when it is cooking. It squeezes all the juices out. Bonus tip, line a small pot or pan with foil, add barbecue sauce, and put it on the grill. It will be hot and ready to go when your meat is done.

What's in a Name, Toque

Toque is Arabic for hat. The 100 folds in a chef’s toque are said to represent 100 ways to cook an egg.

McDonald's Fries

Takeout did a small study and found the ideal time to finish your McDonald's french fries is within five minutes. It also determined the fries are unpleasant to eat after eighteen minutes.

Year of the Pig

You all know I could not resist this one. Asia welcomed the lunar Year of the Pig on February 5, 2019. Celebrations took place throughout the region, from Beijing and Seoul to Hanoi and Singapore.
The Pig is the twelfth of all zodiac animals. According to one myth, the Jade Emperor said the order would be decided by the order in which they arrived to his party. Pig was late because he overslept. In Chinese culture, pigs are the symbol of wealth. Their chubby faces and big ears are signs of fortune as well.
The streets of Beijing and other major Chinese cities were quiet and empty after millions of people left to visit relatives or travel abroad during the year’s biggest family holiday.

Families gathered at home for multi-generational banquets. Companies, shops, and government offices closed for official holidays that ranged from two days in South Korea to a week in China. Vendors sold toys branded with the British cartoon character Peppa Pig, which is enjoying a surge of popularity for the Year of the Pig.

5ghz vs. 2.4ghz

WiFi comes in two flavors 5ghz and 2.4ghz, but many do not know the difference.

2.4ghz travels father and penetrates walls and other objects better but is not as fast as 5ghz. Many more devices use the 2.4 ghz band, like baby monitors, RC toys, and Xbox controllers.

5 ghz has higher speed, shorter range, and lower penetration through walls and obstacles. It also allows for more throughput.

Bottom line, if your device is close to the router or the router is in the open rather than hiding in a niche of your house, 5 ghz is better.

Incidentally, 5ghz should not be confused with the new phone 5G and 5G LTE networks, which use much higher frequencies in the 30 ghz to 300 ghz range. It has the potential to be 20 times faster than 4G, meaning you can download things 20 times faster or download more data in less time.

Attitude and Strokes

If you had a stroke, a positive outlook might help prevent another one, a new 2019 study suggests. Researchers found that when people felt they could protect themselves from a second stroke, they had lower blood pressure and high blood pressure is a significant risk factor for a recurrent stroke.

"You can protect yourself against stroke by reducing your risk factors. This study shows that if you think you can do it, you can," said the study's senior author, Bernadette Boden-Albala. The researchers looked at data on more than 400 people who survived a mild or moderate stroke or had a transient ischemia attack.


The group was half female. Their average age was 64. One third of the group was white, about one third were black, and another one-third were Hispanic. Boden-Albala said stress may play a role as well and those who felt they had control would likely feel less stressed. She said, "Patients with a positive attitude had lower systolic blood pressure, irrespective of gender, race, etc., and regardless of intervention status. People with a sense of control seemed destined to have a better outcome."

Feb 1, 2019

Happy Friday

No one is happier than a person who is happy with himself.


It is easy to be happy with yourself, especially on a Happy Friday!

Calorie Comparison, Banana Chips vs. Raspberries


What's in a Name - Maverick, Macadamia Nuts, Mason Jars

Although most of us are familiar these names, not so many know they were all named after real people.
During the 19th Century, Samuel Agustus Maverick did not want to brand his cattle. He coined the term "maverick" for anyone who is unbranded and roams free. Historians thought this was a ploy so he could own any unbranded calf in the area.
Although named after John Macadam, macadamia nuts were discovered in Australia in 1828 by an English explorer, Allan Cunningham. It was given the name and scientific attributes by Ferdinand Mueller, a fellow scholar and personal friend of Macadam.

The popular jars were patented by John Landis Mason in 1858. These jars changed the way we store and preserve food and many other items. We also use them for preserving summer harvest and drink tea or other beverages from them.

Healthy Nuts

A 2018 study of more than 81,000 people found that those who consumed approximately a handful of mixed nuts and/or seeds per day decreased their risk of developing deadly heart problems by 40 percent. Some nuts are healthier for us than others. A few ounces of nuts each day before a meal are good to curb your appetite and a few ounces at night provide a healthy alternative snack.

1. Walnuts contain the most antioxidants compared to any other nut and also offer the healthiest kind of fat, omega-3 fatty acids, which prevent heart disease. Walnuts also contain iron, which supports oxygen-carrying red blood cells, calcium and zinc, which support the immune system, and vitamin E, which acts as an antioxidant.
2. Chestnuts have the least calories at only 55 per ounce, but they also have the least protein and most carbohydrates. Chestnuts also provide a decent portion of manganese, which helps the body metabolize proteins and carbs.
3. Peanuts are actually legumes, since they grow underground, like beans. They contain 160 calories per ounce; have the most protein, and high amounts of healthy monounsaturated fats, considered to be one of the healthiest fats, since they lower cholesterol.

4. Pistachios are a great source of protein, fiber, antioxidants, and heart-healthy fats. They contain more vitamin B6 than any other nut, which is important for blood sugar regulation and the formation of hemoglobin. They are also rich in potassium, with one ounce containing more potassium than half of a large banana.

5. Almonds contain more fiber than any other nut and are also the highest in Vitamin E. They also contain healthy fats, protein, and magnesium. They may help lower blood sugar levels, reduce blood pressure, and lower cholesterol levels.
6. Pecans provide many vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. They also contain monounsaturated fats and they provide flavonoids, which are among the most anti-inflammatory of all antioxidants. They are high in calories at 200 per ounce.
7. Brazil Nuts are one of the richest sources of selenium and are high in monounsaturated fat. They are a great source of magnesium, zinc, calcium, vitamin E, and B vitamins.
8. Cashews have a lower fat content than most other nuts — approximately 82 percent of their fat is unsaturated fat, the majority being heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. They contain 160 calories per ounce and are slightly lower in protein than peanuts.
9. Hazelnuts contain a high amount of phenolic compounds, which are antioxidants that have been shown to help decrease blood cholesterol and inflammation. They are good for muscles, joints and digestion. Hazelnuts contain 180 calories per ounce and are high in monounsaturated fats and fiber.

10. Macadamia Nuts contain more monounsaturated fat per serving than any other nut, and they are a good source of calcium, magnesium, and potassium.

Origin of the Tooth Fairy

The story comes from the book, 'The Tooth Fairy' By Anita Feagles. It tells the tale of a cute little waif girl who works harder than the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus, because she works all year round.

She loves teeth and has buckets of them that she sorts into boxes of girl’s teeth, boy’s teeth, top teeth, bottom teeth, extra teeth, etc. She uses teeth to decorate her fish bowl, and a jar on the kitchen shelf. She paves the path to her house with teeth; she has garlands of teeth outside the house. She has a party for all the fairies once a year and they all get gifts of teeth and play games with teeth. The reason she loves teeth so much is because she does not have any of her own. Nothing is mentioned about putting money under the pillow.