Words of Wisdom For High School Grads.

Source: flickriver.com

With high school graduation season in full swing,(cue up Vitamin C “Graduation (Friends Forever)“ on iPods everywhere) I thought I would take a moment to impart some of the wisdom I have learned to this new graduating class of high school seniors and give them a jump-start on life after high school.

• Be compassionate and respectful of others and the world around you.  It seems people start to forget how to treat others and focus on themselves and not the whole of humanity.

• As much as taking a break from school sounds awesome, don’t do it.  The longer you wait the harder it gets to get yourself to go to college.  You can enjoy a well deserved break when you graduate and have plenty to show for it.  You don’t want to end up in an office cubicle putting up with a boss’ crap and getting paid peanuts for it

• If you are choosing not to go onto further education via a Community College or a University, don’t expect to get that great paying job.  It will take years of hard work to get mediocre pay at one job without any further education, let alone climb the ladder at several jobs without some form of education to get good pay. Unless you have some kind of connections or are Bill Gates smart.

• Trust your gut, don’t be afraid of changing majors along the way.  You don’t have to be set on one path, sometimes it takes some trial and error to show you the path you really want to take.  Don’t cheat yourself of those chances to grow and go outside of your comfort zone and try something different.

• Enjoy the social aspects of college life, but don’t over indulge.  You will find connections and experiences that will carry you throughout your life if you find the right balance.

• Don’t take yourself too seriously, enjoy the opportunities in front of you.

• One last thing, if a classmate shows you a picture of their friend and you are interested in them and say “Hook me up!”  Don’t hesitate to call that number, even if you feel like chickening out and make up an excuse when pressed about why didn’t you call.  Call, you may just end up making the best decision of your life and end up happily married to someone who makes you better than you ever thought you could be.

Congrats on your major accomplishment, what you do next is all up to you.

-Gary

Related articles

• Congrats! (writingsluts.wordpress.com)
• 1 in 3 Unprepared for Life After High School (education.com)
• to the class of 2012 (cozywalls.com)
• Flashback Friday With McCabe: Graduation Edition (amp.cbslocal.com)

Highlighting History: Memorial Day.

With Memorial Day this upcoming weekend I felt it appropriate to make it the focus of this week’s Highlighting History.  No need to get your pencil and paper for this history refresher, thanks to Wikipedia you just need a computer.

Source: wallpapersdesktopfree.com

Memorial Day is a federal holiday observed annually in the United States on the last Monday of May.  Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War. (Southern ladies organizations and southern schoolchildren had decorated Confederate graves in Richmond and other cities during the Civil War, but each region had its own date. Most dates were in May.) By the 20th century Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died in all wars. Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.   As a marker it typically marks the start of the summer vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end.

Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor those who have died in military service. Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries.

By the early 20th century, Memorial Day was an occasion for more general expressions of memory, as people visited the graves of their deceased relatives in church cemeteries, whether they had served in the military or not. It also became a long weekend increasingly devoted to shopping, family gatherings, fireworks, trips to the beach, and national media events such as the Indianapolis 500 auto race, held since 1911 on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.

Annual Decoration Days for particular cemeteries are held on a Sunday in late spring or early summer in some rural areas of the American South, notably in the mountains. In cases involving a family graveyard where remote ancestors as well as those who were deceased more recently are buried, this may take on the character of an extended family reunion to which some people travel hundreds of miles. People gather on the designated day and put flowers on graves and renew contacts with kinfolk and others. There often is a religious service and a “dinner on the ground,” the traditional term for a potluck meal in which people used to spread the dishes out on sheets or tablecloths on the grass. It is believed that this practice began before the American Civil War and thus may reflect the real origin of the “memorial day” idea.

On Memorial Day please be sure to take a moment and think about the ultimate sacrifice our soldiers have made to ensure we continue to live FREE.

Sources:

• Wikipedia

FBI WARNING: DNS Malware

The FBI(Federal Bureau of Investigation) has released information about a group of six Estonian nationals that created a virus and malware that infected computers world-wide.

The virus/malware changes the D.N.S. settings on your computer and redirects you to phony versions of websites you normally visit in order to manipulate users into seeing advertising the group were getting paid for. It’s a bit more complex than that, the link to the story on the FBI’s webpage and how to fix it are in the link below.

(If you don’t fix it you will not be able to use the internet after July.)

FBI: DNS Malware Is Your Computer Infected?(www.fbi.org)

-Gary

Faces of Cancer.

Lately we are seeing more people diagnosed with Cancer.  It seemed we really started taking note of it when an American Professor at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania named Randy Pausch, who decided to tape an upbeat lecture titled ”The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” on September 18, 2007, at CMU.  The lecture later became a book titled Last Lecture and was a best seller.  The video itself went Viral on YouTube.com and made Pausch a household name and put a face on the fight with cancer. Pausch had been diagnosed with terminal Pancreatic Cancer in August of 2007.

Most notably after that was Patrick Swayze who put a well-known face to Cancer and became the celebrity face on the fight against Cancer.  Swayze even continued filming a tv show while undergoing treatment and putting in 12-14 hour days. You believed if anyone could beat it, he was the man.  He passed from Pancreatic Cancer in 2009.

More recently we lost:

• Etta James the soulful R&B singer, best know for her song “At last”, died at 73 of Leukemia, a form of Cancer, in January of 2012.

• Mark Lavon “Levon” Helm, Singer & drummer for the  70′s group The Band, died at age 71 in April of 2012 of Cancer.

• Adam “MCA” Yauch of the rap group Beastie Boys died at age 47 on May 4th, 2012, of Cancer.

• Donna Summer, “The Queen of Disco” died of Lung Cancer at age 63

• Robin Gibb from the 70′s supergroup The Bee Gees died at age 62, after a long battle with Cancer and complications from intestinal surgery last week.

It is not just celebrities developing Cancer, many people across the country are developing it at an alarming rate.  Cancer has touched my family more than I would care to see.  My Aunt (on my Dad’s side) succumbed to it after a valiant 8 year battle, then 9 months later my Dad died of Esophageal Cancer on Thanksgiving 2008, 3 months after he was diagnosed.  Out of 7 siblings in my Father’s family 5 have been diagnosed with Cancer.

It runs on my mother’s side of the family too. My Grandma (Mom’s side) died of Cancer. My Mom’s Aunt (on her mother’s side) was diagnosed with Cancer and is now in remission.  My Mom was diagnosed with Cancer 6 months after my Dad passed away and was in remission until another sighting of the ugly disease was spotted again, but she is in remission again.  My Mom has 5 siblings, 3 boys and 2 girls.  Of those, 1 of her sisters currently has Cancer and her 30-year-old son(my cousin) passed away from Cancer in late in 2011.  One of my cousins (Mom’s Brother’s son) had Cancer and is in remission now and just enjoyed the birth of his first son.

To say I feel like the universe is playing Russian Roulette with my DNA is an understatement, but it doesn’t stop with my family.  Friends and Family(Wife’s side) have been affected by it as well.  A friend of the family’s Father died of Esophageal Cancer about 2 years before it affected my family.  Last year we lost Maureen’s Uncle(married to her Dad’s sister) to Esophageal Cancer.  I have also had co-workers and or family members of co-workers fighting the disease or losing their battles in the last 2 years.

Cancer is showing up at an alarming rate. According to the American Cancer Society, there will be an estimated 1,638,910 new cases of Cancer in 2012 in the United States.  165,810 of those will be in California alone.  Washington D.C. is estimated to have the fewest cases at 2,980, and there is no state in the U.S. that is not estimated to have a new case this year.

I have a sneaking suspicion my family are not in the only ones seeing an increase in cases.

These are the most common risk factors for Cancer:

• Growing older
• Tobacco
• Sunlight
• Ionizing radiation
• Certain chemicals and other substances
• Some viruses and bacteria
• Certain hormones
• Family history of cancer
• Alcohol
• Poor diet, lack of physical activity, or being overweight

Over time, several factors may act together to cause normal cells to become cancerous.  These are some things to keep in mind:

• Not everything causes cancer.
• Cancer is not caused by an injury, such as a bump or bruise.
• Cancer is not contagious. Although being infected with certain viruses or bacteria may increase the risk of some types of cancer, no one can “catch” cancer from another person.
• Having one or more risk factors does not mean that you will get cancer. Most people who have risk factors never develop cancer.
• Some people are more sensitive than others to the known risk factors.

 Here are 7 tips from The Mayo Clinic on Cancer Prevention:

Cancer prevention: 7 tips to reduce your risk

Concerned about cancer prevention? Take charge by making small changes in your daily life, from eating a healthy diet to scheduling regular cancer screenings.

By Mayo Clinic staff

You’ve probably heard conflicting reports about cancer prevention. Sometimes the specific cancer-prevention tip recommended in one study or news report is advised against in another. If you’re concerned about cancer prevention, take comfort in the fact that small changes in your daily life can make a big difference. Consider seven real-life cancer prevention tips.

1. Don’t use tobacco

Using any type of tobacco puts you on a collision course with cancer. Smoking has been linked to various types of cancer — including cancer of the lung, bladder, cervix and kidney — and chewing tobacco has been linked to cancer of the oral cavity and pancreas. Even if you don’t use tobacco, exposure to secondhand smoke may increase your risk of lung cancer.

Avoiding tobacco — or deciding to stop using it — is one of the most important health decisions you can make. It’s also an important part of cancer prevention. If you need help quitting tobacco, ask your doctor about stop-smoking products and other strategies for quitting.

2. Eat a healthy diet

Although making healthy selections at the grocery store and at mealtime can’t guarantee cancer prevention, it may help reduce your risk. Consider these guidelines:

• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Base your diet on fruits, vegetables and other foods from plant sources — such as whole grains and beans.
• Limit fat. Eat lighter and leaner by choosing fewer high-fat foods, particularly those from animal sources. High-fat diets tend to be higher in calories and may increase the risk of overweight or obesity — which can, in turn, increase cancer risk.
• If you choose to drink alcohol, do so only in moderation. The risk of various types of cancer — including cancer of the breast, colon, lung, kidney and liver — increases with the amount of alcohol you drink and the length of time you’ve been drinking regularly.

3. Maintain a healthy weight and include physical activity in your daily routine

Maintaining a healthy weight may lower the risk of various types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, prostate, lung, colon and kidney. Physical activity counts, too. In addition to helping you control your weight, physical activity on its own may lower the risk of breast cancer and colon cancer.

As a general goal, include at least 30 minutes of physical activity in your daily routine — and if you can do more, even better. Try a fitness class, rediscover a favorite sport or meet a friend for daily brisk walks.

4. Protect yourself from the sun

Skin cancer is one of the most common kinds of cancer — and one of the most preventable. Try these tips:

• Avoid midday sun. Stay out of the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the sun’s rays are strongest.
• Stay in the shade. When you’re outdoors, stay in the shade as much as possible. Sunglasses and a broad-rimmed hat help, too.
• Cover exposed areas. Wear tightly woven, loosefitting clothing that covers as much of your skin as possible. Opt for bright or dark colors, which reflect more ultraviolet radiation than pastels or bleached cotton.
• Don’t skimp on sunscreen. Use generous amounts of sunscreen when you’re outdoors, and reapply often.
• Avoid tanning beds and sunlamps. These are just as damaging as natural sunlight.

5. Get immunized

Cancer prevention includes protection from certain viral infections. Talk to your doctor about immunization against:

• Hepatitis B. Hepatitis B can increase the risk of developing liver cancer. The hepatitis B vaccine is routinely given to infants. It’s also recommended for certain high-risk adults — such as adults who are sexually active but not in a mutually monogamous relationship, men who have sex with men, and health care or public safety workers who might be exposed to infected blood or body fluids.
• Human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that can lead to cervical cancer. The HPV vaccine is available to both men and women age 26 or younger who didn’t have the vaccine as an adolescent.

6. Avoid risky behaviors

Another effective cancer prevention tactic is to avoid risky behaviors that can lead to infections that, in turn, may increase the risk of cancer. For example:

• Practice safe sex. Limit your number of sexual partners, and use a condom when you do have sex. The more sexual partners you have in your lifetime, the more likely you are to contract a sexually transmitted infection — such as HIV or HPV. People who have HIV or AIDS have a higher risk of cancer of the anus, cervix, lung and immune system. HPV is most often associated with cervical cancer, but it may also increase the risk of cancer of the anus, penis, throat, vulva and vagina.
• Don’t share needles. Sharing needles with an infected drug user can lead to HIV, as well as hepatitis B and hepatitis C — which can increase the risk of liver cancer. If you’re concerned about drug abuse or addiction, seek professional help.

7. Take early detection seriously

Regular self-exams and professional screening for various types of cancers — such as cancer of the skin, colon, prostate, cervix and breast — can increase your chances of discovering cancer early, when treatment is most likely to be successful. Ask your doctor about the best cancer screening schedule for you.

Take cancer prevention into your own hands, starting today. The rewards will last a lifetime.

If we take cancer prevention seriously and make some key changes to our lives, maybe we can be the generation that eradicates this disease.

-Gary

Sources:

• HollywoodMemoir.com
• American Cancer Society
• Yahoo! News
• Medicine.net
• Mayo Clinic
• Wikipedia.org

Highlighting History: Premiere Edition

♦This is a new weekly series in which I will rummage through history and highlight various gems from time and pass them on to you.♦

Possibly the most important invention EVER, for all of us early risers who have to drag our butts out of bed for work at an ungodly hour, The Percolating Coffee Pot.

Benjamin Thompson(Count Rumford)

Benjamin Thompson, an American scientist, traveler and fortune seeker who lived and worked in Europe with the Bavarian Army. He improved the diet of soldiers and their clothes, his loathing of alcohol and dislike of tea propelled him to promote coffee for its stimulating benefits. In 1791 he was named Count of the Holy Roman Empire and given the title of Count of Rumford.

In 1806 Rumford invented the first percolating coffee pot. It used both the drip pot technique and an insulating water jacket.

Buckley Rumford: Fireplaces: Count Rumford(Rumford.com)

The first US patent for a ”Coffee Percolator,” but still using a downflow method without rising steam and water, was issued to James Mason of Franklin, Massachusetts, in 1865.

Finally, an Illinois farmer named Hanson Goodrich patented the modern U.S. stove-top percolator as it is known today, and was granted patent 408707 on August 16, 1889. It has the key elements, the broad base for boiling, the upflow central tube and a perforated basket hanging on it. He still describes the downflow as being the “percolating.” Goodrich’s design could transform any standard coffee pot of the day into a stove-top percolator. Subsequent patents have added very little.

That wraps up the premiere of Highlighting History, check back every Friday for a new edition.

-Gary

Sources:

• answerbag.com
• Book: All About Coffee, by William Harrison Ukers (Google Books)
• Wikipedia
• Buckley Rumford: Fireplaces: Count Rumford

Another Year Older. Wiser? Perhaps.

Source: coolest-birthday-cakes.com

I marked another year on this spinning ball of water we call Earth.  I have learned a few things in my 34 years of life.(in no particular order)

• As a child everything lasts longer, people and things seem bigger than they really are.
• As an Adult time flies quicker with age and things weren’t as impressive as you remembered them as a child.

• As a teen you think everything revolves around you and the “drama” in your life will end the world.
• As an adult, you laugh at what teenagers perceive as life or death moments and at the fact they have no clue how lucky they have it.

• As a teen your parents don’t have a clue.
• As an adult you realize your parents were smarter than you thought, usually after learning something they told you the hard way.

• As a kid/teen you rolled your eyes at anything your parents said.
• As an adult you get dumbfounded when you find yourself saying or doing things they did.

• As a kid you thought 18 was OLD.
• As an adult you find the closer you get to turning another decade older, it isn’t that old.

• As a kid/teen you hear when you get older you start to feel it, and you shrug it off as non-sense. 
• As an adult you hit 20 and think I made it, I feel great. You hit 31 and find yourself waking up one morning to bones creaking and feeling aches that weren’t there a year earlier as if a switch was flipped.

• As a kid/teen the value of a dollar doesn’t really matter. 
• As an adult, you learn just how hard it is to be responsible, have commitments to maintain and pay your bills.

• As a kid you look forward to nap time, summer vacation and school vacations to play and watch tv and really not do anything. 
• As an adult you wish you had more time off from being an adult, wish your employer instituted nap time and can’t remember when you could just sit and do nothing.

What are some of your life lessons you have learned?

-Gary

Howard Leight Sync Noise-Blocking Stereo Earmuff (Review)

I recently realized that my hearing protection at work needed improvement and upgrading.  I wanted to find something that would protect my hearing and incorporate listening to the radio without having to wear headphones under my hearing protection earmuffs.  I purchased and reviewed the MEElectronics M6 In-Ear Headphones and like them a lot, however I also wanted to try earmuff protection that had this technology and for comparative analysis.

After thoroughly searching Amazon.com for “hearing protection with mp3″ I found the Howard Leight Sync Noise-Blocking Stereo Earmuff.  They have a noise reduction rating of 25 decibels(when used as directed) and is a certified by Australian Standard (AS/NZS1270 Lic. 1133, SAI Global). Here is a link to their brochure (in .PDF format).

Lets get to the nitty-gritty!  As soon as I took them out of the package I noticed they are pretty sleek.  I am also impressed with the fact that you can replace the earpads, they are removable, yet I cannot find any info on the company website (HowardLeight.com)or in the manual as to how you get the replacements.  The sound is pretty good, a bit bass-y but you adjust.  The Sync also has a safety set limit so the sound wont go above 82 DBA and OSHA‘s recommended action level is 85 DBA, well within that.

What unimpressed me?  The 3.5 mm audio cable , very flimsy. When I bend over, crouch or even touch the connector I get interruption of sound.  I will be upgrading my cable at some point.

Overall it’s a solid 8 out of 10. I definitely recommend you get yourself a pair if you work or play in noisy environments and want to rock out while doing it.

#iConsumers and The Apple Effect.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

The effect Apple has on its customers or as I call them #iConsumers never ceases to amaze me.  People will stand in line for days for the latest and greatest offering from Apple.  In fact #iConsumers will shell out hundreds of dollars to be the first to have the newest version of an Apple product, when the one they have still works as great as the day they had to have it.

I have to admit I am an #iConsumer, I just don’t have the time or money to either stand in line for days or buy the next gadget Apple makes when it comes out.  It took Maureen and me a few years to finally be able to join the iFamily and get our iPhone 3GS.  We are saving up for the iPhone 5 already and opted not to get the 4 or 4S. 

Knowing full well there are statistically flaws that come with the first generation of any new product.  Apple’s ability to quickly rectify most issues and the hype surrounding the next iPhone and the fact our contract is up for renewal a few months prior to its supposed release, is just too much for us to ignore and we want in on it.

Source: iLounge.com

The Apple Effect doesn’t stop at just their products, but 3rd party products designed around their products too.  If the “rumors” surrounding the new iPhone are true, they will be changing the dock connector size.  Simply put everyone who upgrades to the new phone will HAVE TO BUY new docks, speakers (and case/bumpers) for it to work the way the user wanted it to.  I am sure you will still be able to use the USB port on speaker docks and stereos as well as the audio input jack to charge and play music through the old ones, but that negates the whole reason you bought them in the first place.

Once again the folks at Apple are iGenius’

-Gary

Gone Gamin’

MEElectronics M6 In-Ear Headphones(Review)

I recently purchased the MEElectronics M6-BK Sport Sound-Isolating In-Ear Headphones.

I wanted these for work, as a groundskeeper I NEED to have hearing protection, and I enjoy listening to the radio while working. I currently have a set of headphone safety earmuffs that my employer-provided years ago, but the protection isn’t what it once was so I figured it was time to get something new. I also like to listen to the radio/iPod while working and usually have a pair of over the ear headphones that fit under the hearing protection and I often like to listen while not using power tools or equipment and have to have the headset off of one ear to hear what is going on and it is just bulky.

I like to wear what my co-workers affectionately refer to as an “Indiana Jones” hat while working during the hot months for added shade to my face and the headphone ear muffs make that impossible, so I wanted to find something that would be compact but effective in blocking out sound and give me the option to listen to music as well.

I did a search on Amazon.com for hearing protection plus mp3 player and after many different products to choose from I decided to try these.

The MEElectronics M6-BK Sport Sound-Isolating In-Ear Headphones.

They come with a variety of silicone covers for different ear size and types, which to me was impressive. I just had a pair of regular headphones that came with one size and they kept popping out of my ears, very annoying. They also come with a nice carrying case for the headphones and covers.

I have been using them about a week now and I have been going back and forth between two different silicone covers, I am a little picky, and my right ear has been getting sore from putting them in everyday so I wanted to try a smaller size in it to see if it felt better. The bigger drill looking silicone covers provide the best sound muffling, but aggravate that ear so I have been trying to factor in getting used to this as part of it and it is getting better. The headphones also have a clip that you can attach to clothing or a belt loop to help keep the cord out of your way while working or playing, the headphones come in 3 colors, Black, Clear and Sport Fi S6 black/red. Each color has different pricing, I am using the black pair.

I drive a very loud lawnmower so I have to make sure I have something that definitely protects my ears from the sound. When I first used the MEElectronics headphones I did notice a definite reduction in sound. I had to remove the headphones a few times to compare and it didn’t completely cancel out the noise but it sounded almost like I didn’t have them in at all at times, but I knew I did because the noise level was noticeably lower. The headphones themself are pretty comfy. I have been connecting them to my iPhone and it is great, because I don’t miss a call, text or e-mail while working, I hear it when it comes in and can still enjoy listening to music via Pandora or other apps and my iPod.

I do have to admit I thought the sound reduction would be better, but it does the job. But until my right ear gets acclimated I have to switch off with the safety headset work provided to ease the irritation to my ear. The sound quality of the headphone aspect of these is pretty good, not excellent, but it works well. The price was right as well, MEElectronics on Amazon.com claims the list price is $49.99 and paid $18.93 with Amazon Prime Membership free shipping.

All in all it’s a good value for the reduced price, however I wouldn’t pay $50 for these.

School’s Out For Summer!

The Semester ended yesterday and I am so proud of myself for not quitting and sticking through it. Albeit there were times I wanted to just say forget it, I can’t do this and just give up. Thanks to a great support system I knew that wasn’t the right choice. I have learned that there are some adjustments I have to make myself to be a better student.

It’s funny how those bad habits slowly creep back in and you find yourself asking “Why am I doing this again?” First class/hurdle is just about down. Now I have to re-group over summer break and figure out where I am going to go next. There is a school in the Bay Area that has online courses and I am interested in checking that out. Have to wait for grades to come out before I can ask for my transcript for the other school. Once I get that all taken care of, a long overdue vacation for the Mrs. and Me. Of course I will blog all about that I’m sure.

I also wanted to say thank you to everyone who has supported me in my decision to go back to school and give me positive reinforcement and feedback.

-Gary