A customer mailed me today, Dec 24, and said he'd lost some data, could I recover them for him please.
And then he added: "PS.. please don’t worry about this until after you have had time for a Happy relaxing Christmas."
Isn't that sweet?
Merry Christmas and a great new year to you all.
Friday, December 24, 2010
How The Average U.S. Consumer Spends Their Paycheck
How The Average U.S. Consumer Spends Their Paycheck, article.
Reading: 0.2%. Tobacco: 0.7%.
And about 17.6% on transportation!
That's a nice savings on working from home. Add to this the time you spend sitting in traffic. For many people that is hundreds of hours every year which could be productive in some other way.
Of course many places in the US it is just not practical or even possible to live without a car, unlike Europe which is much more compact. In my native Denmark, the country is so small and developed that you can go virtually anywhere with public transportation, comfortably.
Reading: 0.2%. Tobacco: 0.7%.
And about 17.6% on transportation!
That's a nice savings on working from home. Add to this the time you spend sitting in traffic. For many people that is hundreds of hours every year which could be productive in some other way.
Of course many places in the US it is just not practical or even possible to live without a car, unlike Europe which is much more compact. In my native Denmark, the country is so small and developed that you can go virtually anywhere with public transportation, comfortably.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
John A winter-pictures
These are new from my local friend John A. I think are real dang lovely.
By the way, John works mainly with a pocket-sized camera, and again this proves you can do excellent works with those. I have seen these images on a 30-inch screen, and there is nothing obvious which separates them in quality from photos coming from a honkering professional camera. In fact you have to be experienced to even notice the differences, and even so only on a few of them, mostly when light was low.
(Slight Photoshop polishing done by me.)
United States of Tara
This one can't have been easy to write or act, to make multiple personalities not be too sad or scary or serious, and yet not go over the top with the comedy.
Recommended.
United States of Tara: Season One
Mini airports
Mini-airports with small planes for localized traffic. Sounds cool, but I doubt it'll take off. (Pun not intended.)
At least it would be cool if they can keep the noise limited like they say. We don't need more traffic noise.
At least it would be cool if they can keep the noise limited like they say. We don't need more traffic noise.
Kafka's Koffee
Here's a really interesting little web comic. It's funny, it's surprising, and it even has a point.
(The ending is different than it seems at first, take a close look.)
(The ending is different than it seems at first, take a close look.)
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Bilingualism affects Alzheimer's onset
Bilingualism affects Alzheimer's onset
TORONTO (UPI) -- Canadian scientists say they've found evidence that people who speak two languages can escape the onset of Alzheimer's symptoms by as much as five years.
Researchers from Toronto's Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute examined the clinical records of more than 200 patients diagnosed with probable Alzheimer's disease and found that those who were bilingual and speaking two or more languages consistently over many years experienced a delay in the onset of their symptoms, an institute release said Monday.
While bilingual Alzheimer's sufferers still show deteriorating pathology, their ability with two languages seems to equip them with compensatory skills to hold back the tell-tale symptoms of Alzheimer's, such as memory loss, confusion, and difficulties with problem-solving and planning, researchers say.
"We are not claiming that bilingualism in any way prevents Alzheimer's or other dementias, but it may contribute to cognitive reserve in the brain which appears to delay the onset of Alzheimer's symptoms for quite some time," lead investigator Fergus Craik says.
The study adds to growing evidence that lifestyle factors such as regular cardiovascular exercise, a healthy diet, and speaking more than one language can play a central role in how the brain copes with age-related cognitive decline and diseases such as Alzheimer's, scientists say.
TORONTO (UPI) -- Canadian scientists say they've found evidence that people who speak two languages can escape the onset of Alzheimer's symptoms by as much as five years.
Researchers from Toronto's Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute examined the clinical records of more than 200 patients diagnosed with probable Alzheimer's disease and found that those who were bilingual and speaking two or more languages consistently over many years experienced a delay in the onset of their symptoms, an institute release said Monday.
While bilingual Alzheimer's sufferers still show deteriorating pathology, their ability with two languages seems to equip them with compensatory skills to hold back the tell-tale symptoms of Alzheimer's, such as memory loss, confusion, and difficulties with problem-solving and planning, researchers say.
"We are not claiming that bilingualism in any way prevents Alzheimer's or other dementias, but it may contribute to cognitive reserve in the brain which appears to delay the onset of Alzheimer's symptoms for quite some time," lead investigator Fergus Craik says.
The study adds to growing evidence that lifestyle factors such as regular cardiovascular exercise, a healthy diet, and speaking more than one language can play a central role in how the brain copes with age-related cognitive decline and diseases such as Alzheimer's, scientists say.
Copyright 2010 by United Press International
Monday, December 20, 2010
Good or bad girl art?
[Thanks to Anthony B]
Here's when good and bad girl art gets confused..."Nude snow sculpture in Rahway leads police to request 'snowlady' cover-up", article.
You just have to say: no, come on... really?...
M. Pipolo said:
You may or may not have seen this, from just this Friday in sunny Florida. This kind of stuff makes me ashamed to call myself a Christian.
Though I don't think anybody said it was a Christian thing. Also, I'm not even sure I can think of any religion which does not have a big faction at least who has problems with nudity.
Good Girl Art
From Wikipedia:
Good girl art (GGA) is found in drawings or paintings which feature a strong emphasis on attractive women no matter what the subject or situation. GGA was most commonly featured in comic books, pulp magazines and crime fiction. When cited as an art movement, it is usually capitalized as Good Girl Art.
Gotta love that.
(Maybe I'm stretching the definition a little here, but I think there's a clear connection.)
Photos by Đặng Thiện. I think his work is very fresh and somehow "youthful" without the usual earmarks of a young creator. (Below, unknown.)
And of course there's also Bad Girl Art. Which naturally is about attractive, but nasty or "naughty" girls.
Good girl art (GGA) is found in drawings or paintings which feature a strong emphasis on attractive women no matter what the subject or situation. GGA was most commonly featured in comic books, pulp magazines and crime fiction. When cited as an art movement, it is usually capitalized as Good Girl Art.
Gotta love that.
(Maybe I'm stretching the definition a little here, but I think there's a clear connection.)
Photos by Đặng Thiện. I think his work is very fresh and somehow "youthful" without the usual earmarks of a young creator. (Below, unknown.)
And of course there's also Bad Girl Art. Which naturally is about attractive, but nasty or "naughty" girls.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Cold shock (updated)
Holy friggin' frig, how cold it is this morning!
The real winter of much of the UK has now reached the North-West too, real snow, real frost.
The temperature fell so radically this night that I have elected to forego views of the pretty snow and instead preserving warmth by leaving blinds and curtains shut and having the lights on.
My weather services continue to predict only barely frost locally, one may hope.
BTW, here's a tip: long underwear.
I'm sure many will say "duh!", but I've found that many are not aware of how big a help it is when it really gets cold. Many are even too vain to use it at all, which is dumb.
Update:
When I got up this morning, it felt like neither I nor my apartment would ever become warm enough. But like I knew would happen, after having eaten and later having taken a walk, when I came in again it was just too hot! And of course it was only a couple degrees warmer if that.
During the walk I nicked into Currys electronics and browsed a couple of minutes. Bought some batteries and a matte screen cover for my iPad. (It helps against both reflections and fingerprints.) I was helped by the Indian-heritage girl they have who is just immoderately beautiful. Oh-my-gaaawd. She's just got it all, she knows it, and she knows how to show it to best advantage (even in the boring dark blue shop uniform). It's a pity though how such beauties apparently sometimes feel they have to be somewhat cold. I guess if they are warm and pleasant, they'll just never get rid of every third man they talk to. ... On the other hand, some of them manage okay even though they are very sweet too, what do I know.
(Hey, this bit even fits into the cold/warm theme of this post. :-)
The real winter of much of the UK has now reached the North-West too, real snow, real frost.
The temperature fell so radically this night that I have elected to forego views of the pretty snow and instead preserving warmth by leaving blinds and curtains shut and having the lights on.
My weather services continue to predict only barely frost locally, one may hope.
BTW, here's a tip: long underwear.
I'm sure many will say "duh!", but I've found that many are not aware of how big a help it is when it really gets cold. Many are even too vain to use it at all, which is dumb.
Update:
When I got up this morning, it felt like neither I nor my apartment would ever become warm enough. But like I knew would happen, after having eaten and later having taken a walk, when I came in again it was just too hot! And of course it was only a couple degrees warmer if that.
During the walk I nicked into Currys electronics and browsed a couple of minutes. Bought some batteries and a matte screen cover for my iPad. (It helps against both reflections and fingerprints.) I was helped by the Indian-heritage girl they have who is just immoderately beautiful. Oh-my-gaaawd. She's just got it all, she knows it, and she knows how to show it to best advantage (even in the boring dark blue shop uniform). It's a pity though how such beauties apparently sometimes feel they have to be somewhat cold. I guess if they are warm and pleasant, they'll just never get rid of every third man they talk to. ... On the other hand, some of them manage okay even though they are very sweet too, what do I know.
(Hey, this bit even fits into the cold/warm theme of this post. :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)