During May, 2019 robocallers rang Americans' smartphones an
estimated 4.7 billion times, according to YouMail, a company
that makes an app that helps users block suspected spam calls.
That is nearly double the amount from two years ago, reflecting
the extent to which fraudsters have outwitted carriers such as
AT&T and Verizon, lawmakers on Capitol Hill and the
government's chief robocall cops, including the Federal
Communications Commission.
At Tufts Medical Center, administrators registered more than
4,500 robocalls between about 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. on April 30,
2018.
Testifying in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee,
it stressed robocalls represent a "serious threat" to the
Tampa-based facility, which serves more than 60,000 patients
each year. Over a 90-day period, robocallers rang more than
6,600 times using numbers that mimicked its own, which it
estimated had consumed 65 hours of hospital response time. That
came in addition to about 300 robocalls that appeared to be
coming from numbers affiliated with the U.S. Department of
Justice. Callers sought to swindle physicians into surrendering
critical information that might make it easier for scammers to
obtain prescription drugs fraudulently.
Jul 20, 2019
Robocall Popular Area Codes
The list from the app HIYA shows popular area
codes and number of unwanted calls. Looks like Texas is popular.
area code, area code region, estimated unwanted calls
214 Dallas, TX 210,590,643
817 Fort worth, TX 177,353,949
210 San Antonio, TX 167,494,351
512 Austin, TX 141,493,980
832 Houston, TX 125,617,537
404 Atlanta, GA 104,613,003
205 AL 98,239,446
area code, area code region, estimated unwanted calls
214 Dallas, TX 210,590,643
817 Fort worth, TX 177,353,949
210 San Antonio, TX 167,494,351
512 Austin, TX 141,493,980
832 Houston, TX 125,617,537
404 Atlanta, GA 104,613,003
205 AL 98,239,446
Veggie Cutting Tip
Place your cutting board in a sheet pan to keep your table clean
when dealing with messy veggies.
Five Canadian Inventions
Here are a few things many do not know were
invented in Canada.
Peanut Butter - Although American agricultural pioneer George Washington Carver is often credited for inventing peanut butter, the first patent for the spreadable substance was actually given to Montreal, Canada’s Marcellus Gilmore Edson in 1884.
IMAX - Canadian filmmakers Graeme Ferguson and Roman Kroitor first pioneered the technology of high-resolution images on huge screens at Montreal’s Expo ’67.
Hockey Mask - No surprise with this one. The hockey mask, which has helped keep many a goaltender’s face intact, was first worn regularly by Montreal Canadiens player Jaques Plante in 1959.
World Time Zones - Canadian railroad engineer Sandford Fleming came up with the idea of creating 24 time zones across the entire globe, which would form “international standard time.” In 1884 at the International Meridian Conference in Washington, D.C., his ideas were eventually adopted worldwide.
Trivial Pursuit - During 1979, Montreal Gazette picture editor Chris Haney and sports journalist Scott Abbott came up with Trivial Pursuit, which became the biggest phenomenon in game history, with over 100 million copies of the game sold.
Peanut Butter - Although American agricultural pioneer George Washington Carver is often credited for inventing peanut butter, the first patent for the spreadable substance was actually given to Montreal, Canada’s Marcellus Gilmore Edson in 1884.
IMAX - Canadian filmmakers Graeme Ferguson and Roman Kroitor first pioneered the technology of high-resolution images on huge screens at Montreal’s Expo ’67.
Hockey Mask - No surprise with this one. The hockey mask, which has helped keep many a goaltender’s face intact, was first worn regularly by Montreal Canadiens player Jaques Plante in 1959.
World Time Zones - Canadian railroad engineer Sandford Fleming came up with the idea of creating 24 time zones across the entire globe, which would form “international standard time.” In 1884 at the International Meridian Conference in Washington, D.C., his ideas were eventually adopted worldwide.
Trivial Pursuit - During 1979, Montreal Gazette picture editor Chris Haney and sports journalist Scott Abbott came up with Trivial Pursuit, which became the biggest phenomenon in game history, with over 100 million copies of the game sold.
Sashimi vs. Sushi
Sashimi is thinly sliced raw meat, usually fish, such as
salmon or tuna, that is served without rice. Sashimi always contains fresh raw meat or
seafood. Sashi mi ("pierced flesh" in Japanese).
Sushi is not raw fish, but rather vinegared rice that is mixed with other ingredients, which may or may not include raw fish. Raw fish is one of the traditional ingredients in sushi, but it may also be made without meat or with cooked seafood as long as it uses vinegared rice. Sushi ("it is sour" in Japanese).
Sushi is not raw fish, but rather vinegared rice that is mixed with other ingredients, which may or may not include raw fish. Raw fish is one of the traditional ingredients in sushi, but it may also be made without meat or with cooked seafood as long as it uses vinegared rice. Sushi ("it is sour" in Japanese).
Jul 12, 2019
Happy Friday
Smiles are beneficial
to the body, happiness to the soul.
I keep my body and soul happy with both, especially on a Happy Friday!
I keep my body and soul happy with both, especially on a Happy Friday!
National French Fry Day
July 13 National French Fry Day on July 13 is a
great opportunity to take the time to sample some golden-brown
potato slices. Estimates say Americans eat about 20 to 30 pounds
per person per year. survey of 1,000 Americans)
AMERICA’S ULTIMATE RANKING OF FAST FOOD FRIES
#1: McDonalds (35%)
#2: Chick-fil-A (13%)
#3: Five Guys (12%)
#4: Wendys (11%)
#5: Arbys (11%)
AMERICA’S ULTIMATE RANKING OF FAST FOOD FRIES
#1: McDonalds (35%)
#2: Chick-fil-A (13%)
#3: Five Guys (12%)
#4: Wendys (11%)
#5: Arbys (11%)
Bottled Water
Bottled water is now the largest beverage category by volume in
the US. Food & Water Watch explains that 64 percent of
bottled water comes from municipal tap water sources, sometimes
further treated and sometimes not.
The plastic that seals bottled water uses petroleum, which raises environmental concerns and causes a negative environmental impact. Discarded one-time-use plastic water bottles turn up everywhere and are more negative than plastic straws. The plastic used to make single-use water bottles also contains chemicals called endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol A. BPA and other endocrine disruptors alter the way the body makes and uses certain hormones, which could have negative health consequences.
The plastic that seals bottled water uses petroleum, which raises environmental concerns and causes a negative environmental impact. Discarded one-time-use plastic water bottles turn up everywhere and are more negative than plastic straws. The plastic used to make single-use water bottles also contains chemicals called endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol A. BPA and other endocrine disruptors alter the way the body makes and uses certain hormones, which could have negative health consequences.
National Yellow Pigs Day
July 17 is the day we celebrate Yellow Pigs Day (not
to be confused with national pig day in March). Yellow Pigs Day
is a mathematician's holiday celebrating yellow pigs and the
number 17. It is celebrated annually since the early 1960's,
primarily on college campuses, and primarily by mathematicians.
On campus, Yellow Pig Cake and Yellow Pig Carols, along with
parades and general revelry are tradition. The mythical yellow
pig has 17 toes, 17 teeth, 17 eyelashes, etc. Incidentally,
fear of the number 17 is called heptadecaphobia.
Robocalls Data
According to recent reports, 48 billion robocalls were made to
U.S. mobile phone users in 2018, with scams making up 40 percent
of all robocalls. Only 3 to 5 percent of people return these
calls which can net criminals thousands of dollars each.
Identity theft scams in particular have become increasingly
popular and potentially more lucrative for the bad guys.
Bird Migrations
We think humans travel far, but it seems some birds have us
beat and without planes or Uber. Of the nearly 10,000 species of
birds, about 19% (1,850 species) are considered to be migratory.
The 13-15 inch, 3.5 ounce Arctic Tern takes the prize for the
longest migration at an astounding 44,000 miles (71,000 km)
annually on average.
By tagging the birds, scientists learned the shortest migration was 36,900 miles (60,000 km) while the longest was 50,700 miles (81,000 km). For perspective, the circumference of the Earth is 24,901 miles (40,075 km).
This migration is completed annually at every life stage. The Arctic Tern can live for 35 years, so a single bird can potentially travel about 1.5 million miles (2.4 million km) in its lifetime.
During its migration, the Arctic Tern completes a round trip from Greenland, traversing the Weddell Sea and flying along the shores of Antarctica. The birds take a break at sea over the North Atlantic Ocean while they fuel up on food. Once this break is completed, the birds head down the coast of northwest Africa, around the Cape Verde Islands, then off the west coast of Africa towards Senegal.
Rather than traveling straight back along the path they came, they instead travel in a twisted ‘S’ shaped pattern through the Atlantic Ocean. Though this route adds many miles to their trip, the birds take advantage of the global wind system and use less energy, thanks to the wind currents.
By tagging the birds, scientists learned the shortest migration was 36,900 miles (60,000 km) while the longest was 50,700 miles (81,000 km). For perspective, the circumference of the Earth is 24,901 miles (40,075 km).
This migration is completed annually at every life stage. The Arctic Tern can live for 35 years, so a single bird can potentially travel about 1.5 million miles (2.4 million km) in its lifetime.
During its migration, the Arctic Tern completes a round trip from Greenland, traversing the Weddell Sea and flying along the shores of Antarctica. The birds take a break at sea over the North Atlantic Ocean while they fuel up on food. Once this break is completed, the birds head down the coast of northwest Africa, around the Cape Verde Islands, then off the west coast of Africa towards Senegal.
Rather than traveling straight back along the path they came, they instead travel in a twisted ‘S’ shaped pattern through the Atlantic Ocean. Though this route adds many miles to their trip, the birds take advantage of the global wind system and use less energy, thanks to the wind currents.
Climate Change History
Could not resist this bit of history from the
climate groupies. We only had until the year 2000 before
disaster would strike. Seems these dates change like the dates
for the doomsayers predicting the end of the earth. As each date
passes, another ominous warning and another 'disaster' date is
set.
"U.N. Predicts Disaster if Global Warming Not Checked, PETER JAMES SPIELMANN June 30, 1989
UNITED NATIONS (AP) _ A senior U.N. environmental official says entire nations could be wiped off the face of the Earth by rising sea levels if the global warming trend is not reversed by the year 2000. Coastal flooding and crop failures would create an exodus of eco- refugees, threatening political chaos, said Noel Brown, director of the New York office of the U.N. Environment Program, or UNEP.
He said governments have a 10-year window of opportunity to solve the greenhouse effect before it goes beyond human control. As the warming melts polar icecaps, ocean levels will rise by up to three feet, enough to cover the Maldives and other flat island nations, Brown told The Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday."
"U.N. Predicts Disaster if Global Warming Not Checked, PETER JAMES SPIELMANN June 30, 1989
UNITED NATIONS (AP) _ A senior U.N. environmental official says entire nations could be wiped off the face of the Earth by rising sea levels if the global warming trend is not reversed by the year 2000. Coastal flooding and crop failures would create an exodus of eco- refugees, threatening political chaos, said Noel Brown, director of the New York office of the U.N. Environment Program, or UNEP.
He said governments have a 10-year window of opportunity to solve the greenhouse effect before it goes beyond human control. As the warming melts polar icecaps, ocean levels will rise by up to three feet, enough to cover the Maldives and other flat island nations, Brown told The Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday."
More YouTube Interesting Facts
Here are some interesting tidbits to
one-up your friends.
- YouTube is the
second largest search engine in the world. It processes more
queries than Bing and Yahoo combined. (It also means Google
owns the world’s two most popular search engines).
- Ten years of new
video is uploaded every day with 72 hours of newly uploaded
video every minute.
- The first
Spanish-language video on YouTube to amass more than 1 billion
views was Enrique Iglesias’ reggaeton song, Bailando.
- The only non-music video in the most watched YouTube videos of all time is a Russian-language version of an episode of children's TV show, Masha and The Bear. It has been watched 3.4 billion times and counting.
- In total, 17
different videos have held the record for being the most
watched video on YouTube. The current holder is Luis Fonsi’s
hit, Despacito LINK
with over 6 billion views. (Gangnam Style has only a bit over
3 billion views)
- The YouTube Rewind 2018 video is universally disliked with 15 million downvotes in its first month.
- Of the 7 billion videos available, more than 20 percent of videos are switched off within the first 10 seconds of playback.
- We watch four
billion hours of video every month—that is 456,621 years
worth.
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