Google’s Chrome browser is #1 in the world for the first time! Definitely not the case in Asia - especially Korea! - where Microsoft’s IE browser is dominant.
Now we’re getting somewhere! An Android-controlled pot-stirrer. Engadget tells us the exciting details!
Ben Heck is always thinking up gadgets that make life easier, from completely hands-free luggage to a sensor system for improved cycling safety. His latest mod is meant for those of us who have burnt Ramen a few too many times. His so-called Ben-Stur Remote Control Android app works with a pot-stirring device, freeing users to stray from the kitchen while their meal is cooking. The app works via Bluetooth, and the pot-stirrer consists of an actuator arm, a chip clip, a timing belt and, of course, a wooden spoon. Heck used a Google ADK and an Arduino Uno for the control mechanism that communicates between the app and the stirrer. In the tablet app, users can check their food’s temperature and control the speed of the spoon’s stirring.
The future is getting so close I can taste it!
Just below I mention that there are ‘smart Americans’. Marilynne Robinson is one of the smartest. Her novels, Housekeeping and Gilead are deeply enjoyable works of genius and she manages always to combine her Christian beliefs with intelligence and a respect for non-belief.
Here she is talking about the danger of “presumptive contempt” for those who disagree with you. That seems to me to be standard operating procedure for Fox News (see below). The result, of course, is tribalism and ignorance.
Some Americans are very smart. Unfortunately, not many.
Maybe it’s the TV they watch.
Researchers did a large study of Americans’ knowledge of the news and people who watched right-wing Fox News actually scored lower than people who watched no news!
My right-wing American friends might say, “Please don’t confuse me with the facts!”
Funny but, actually, kinda sad. And, in election year, scary!
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2012/05/survey-no-news-better-fox-news/52709/#
Let’s face it: old people don’t look so good. And, often, they’re kinda dumb. They’re just worn out!
But things are getting better. Everybody these days looks 10 years younger than they are because of better diet and health care as well as greater concern for appearance. More people are actually living to 100! And scientists have now studied a group of these super-oldies and this the conclusion:
When we assessed the personalities of these 243 centenarians, we found qualities that clearly reflect a positive attitude towards life. Most were outgoing, optimistic and easygoing. They considered laughter an important part of life and had a large social network. They expressed emotions openly rather than bottling them up.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120524215339.htm
So I googled ‘100 years old’ and the advice for getting there was simple:
Don’t worry. Be happy (kinda easy)
Be active, mentally and physically. Walking is enough. (easy)
Stay married or have a bunch of good friends. (both of these are difficult.)
Don’t get fat and don’t smoke! (easy)
Drinking is OK. Yay! (super-easy)
Do work you like. (easy)
Live simply. Skip the Ferrari. (very easy)
Have good genes. (just luck.)
http://www.ehow.com/how_136642_live-be-100.html
The problem with more people getting old is this: Are they going to look like the old people we have today? Frail, gray, wobbly, slightly dopey. OMG! I hope not!
I love the look of this device! It will replace the dreaded needle! Science Daily reports:
MIT researchers have engineered a device that delivers a tiny, high-pressure jet of medicine through the skin without the use of a hypodermic needle. The device can be programmed to deliver a range of doses to various depths — an improvement over similar jet-injection systems that are now commercially available.
“If you are afraid of needles and have to frequently self-inject, compliance can be an issue,” says Catherine Hogan, a research scientist in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and a member of the research team. “We think this kind of technology … gets around some of the phobias that people may have about needles.”
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120524134703.htm
Gemma has said for years that espresso has less caffeine than drip coffee. I never really believed it but, as usual, she’s right! The facts are:
Espresso has 30-50 mg of caffeine per shot
Drip coffee has 75-130 mg of caffeine per cup (6 oz.)
The reason? Espresso is brewed very fast so it doesn’t capture as much caffeine.
Interesting coffee site with the wonderful name, ‘ineedcoffee.com’. True!
You can see inequality from space! How? Look for green!
The two photos above show treeless Oakland and many-treed Piedmont, cities near each other in California. Oakland is poor; Piedmont is well-off. So people who live in richer neighborhoods have trees. People living in poorer places don’t.
That hurts because we all love trees. And need trees!
In my opinion, having trees near your house is a better measure of real equality than money because everybody doesn’t need or want a lot of money but everybody needs and wants a lot of trees!
I don’t believe the government should be worried about income equality but…the government should definitely be responsible for the equality of 2 super important aspects of our lives: health care and the environment. Only the government can be trusted to guarantee a clean environment and that means clean water and air and lots of trees!
Right now, of course, the government doesn’t care at all about water or air or trees. Even Obama; he couldn’t spell ‘e-n-v-i-r-o-m-e-n-t’!
Good report from the best eco-site, Treehugger:
http://www.treehugger.com/economics/how-spot-income-inequality-space-look-trees.html
