Thursday 5/23/24
Celebrate:
International Chardonnay Day
Lucky Penny Day
National Taffy Day
World Turtle Day
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There are a bunch of sayings, mantras, and advice that people keep repeating . . . even though we all know they mostly ring hollow. Or maybe they DO work for you? A website has collected a list of common pieces of advice and sayings that we should STOP following because they're outdated . . . or we just know better.
Here are a few:
1. "Don't go to bed angry." The idea is that it CAN be better than arguing when you're tired and irritable. And maybe things will seem different in the morning.
2. "Never give up." Sometimes, if something isn't working, you need to let go.
3. "When there's a bully, just ignore them." Most bullies won't stop just because you ignore them. Sometimes the situation needs to be addressed.
4. "Don't be afraid to do what you love, and the money will follow." This can be true, but it also could get you in a lot of trouble. It's possible to make money doing something you're passionate about, but you're still going to have to figure it out HOW . . . for most people, it doesn't just happen magically on its own.
5. "Tough it out." Not always. Talk about it, take breaks, and think it over. Take care of yourself and then keep going, or you'll run yourself into the ground.
6. "Forgive and forget." Someone said, "It should be 'forgive, but don't forget' because nine out of 10 times, people's poor behavior is part of a pattern. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."
7. "Treat people how you want to be treated." Someone said, "You'll be taken advantage of. Instead, I treat people the way THEY treat me."
8. "Trust your gut." The spirit of this one is empowering, but for people with anxiety and other issues, their "gut" may be working against more compelling data and support systems. One person said, "If it were up to MY gut, I'd never do anything."
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You may have heard of white noise used to mask background sounds. Now, it has colorful competition.
There’s a growing buzz around pink noise, brown noise, green noise — a rainbow of soothing sounds — and their theoretical effects on sleep, concentration and the relaxation response.
White noise is similar to static on a radio or TV. Sound engineers define it as having equal volume across all the frequencies audible to the human ear. It gets its name from white light, which contains all the visible color wavelengths.
Pink noise turns down the volume on those higher frequencies, so it sounds lower in pitch and more like the natural sound of rain or the ocean.
Brown noise sounds even lower in pitch, giving it a pleasing, soothing rumble.
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Some people get a little crazy with the customizations when ordering delivery . . . but no one has done anything THIS extreme.
Some guy named Greg went viral for placing a very strange order from McDonald's on Saturday, through a delivery service.
He ordered a Triple Cheeseburger, but had EVERYTHING removed . . . so, no ketchup, no mustard, no pickle, no onions, no cheese, no bun, and no meat. He says he just wanted to see what happened.
When the driver got to the restaurant, he texted Greg saying, "Cheeseburger with everything removed, including the bun and meat . . . so you're gonna get an empty box. You cool with that?"
Greg said, "Perfect, thank you."
And believe it or not, the order was STILL "wrong." When Greg opened the bag, which was "sealed for freshness," there was just an empty box in there . . . a box for a Deluxe McCrispy.
He said, "I ordered a Triple Cheeseburger, not a McCrispy!"
Anyway, Greg paid $20 . . . for his NOTHING BURGER.
The Triple Cheeseburger was $5.39, even with everything removed. There was a $3.00 service fee . . . 42 cents in tax . . . and he tipped the driver $11.
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Going on a trip this summer? A poll found 61% of us will stay in a hotel. Everyone else said an Airbnb or with family. Someone asked people to name things you do in a hotel room that you never do at home. Here are the highlights . . .
1. Wear a robe and slippers. It seems like a wasted opportunity if you don't.
2. Watch cable TV. Because so many of us just stream at home now.
3. Blast the A/C until it's 58 degrees.
4. Eat a full dinner in bed.
5. Fill an entire bucket with ice when you only need four ice cubes.
6. Read the Bible. A lot of hotels still have them in the nightstand.
7. Use a towel as a bathmat. I would add - Leave towels on the floor because you used them.
8. Really long showers. A lot of people said they do it for some reason.
9. Look at the smoke detector and wonder if there's a hidden camera in there.
10. Wash down $16 cashews with a $12 beer.
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Microsoft, Google, Apple, Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla, nicknamed 'The Magnificent 7,' are all betting big on A.I.
Google has just added it to search.
Speaking of AI, Scarlett Johansson is speaking out against it.
She says OpenAI copied her voice for ChatGPT without her permission. It was so eerily similar to hers that her closest friends could not tell the difference.
In a statement provided to USA TODAY, Johansson said Altman asked her to be the voice of his AI system and, when she turned him down, he copied her voice anyway.
Altman even made another effort to recruit Johansson, she said.
Johansson starred in Her in 2013, a science fiction movie and was the voice of the artificial intelligence assistant.
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France has just released new scratch-and-sniff stamps that smell like a BAGUETTE. The ink apparently has "microcapsules" that provide the scent.
The stamp also has an image of a baguette . . . decorated with a red, white, and blue ribbon. It's celebrating "Saint-Honoré," the patron saint of bakers and pastry chefs. And generally, the baguette is a symbol of national pride in France.
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Today's Useless Fact of the Day - This isn't shocking: People say their childhood years were America's best years . . . regardless of how old they are. It's called the "reminiscence bump."
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