What's really killing the land-line business?

I found the article on home-based telephones very timely since my husband and I were close to cancelling our home phone. We have two land lines in the house. One for the home and one for the fax/business office. Until a few weeks ago we had the 2 telephones and a DSL line through AT&T. Our DSL line was so old we could not get someone to service it so we decided to take the plunge and switch all our services to Charter cable services. We added high speed internet, cable TV and the free home phone line (they were able to keep our current home phone number). We calculated all the old bills from AT&T with out new plan and the new plan is less plus we have faster internet service and HBO. If Charter had not included the land-line for free I would seriously think about going the way of the new generation and depending on cell phones only. After the earquake yesterday it was interesing that the cell phones were jammed and our land-line worked. Guess, we will keep the land-line.

Earthquake Los Angeles

Today LA had an earthquake. It registered as a 5.4. I was just passing through our dinning area when it hit. It came as a define jolt followed by some side to side swaying for 30 seconds. A few little items rolled off the fireplace mantel, but other than that no damage. We have a emergency shut off valve on our gas meter but the earthquake was not hard enough to shut the gas off. Having lived through the Northridge earthquake this was minor. The biggest inconvenience was the lack of cell phone service. Apparently thousands of people hit their autodials to check on their loved ones immediately after the earth settled. Verizon was overwhelmed with the increased cellular use. It did remind those of us who live in LA that the big one will come just like the hurricane did come to New Orleans.

Pedal vs Metal

With gas prices soaring more people are taking to the road on a bicycle. The increasing number of cyclists has caused conflict with motorists. In a recent Newsweek article the city of Portland Oregon is having increase problems with road rage between the two groups. We had our own incident in Los Angeles a few weeks ago when a driver slammed on his breaks in front of two bicyclists causing them to crash and suffer injuries. I only ride a stationary bike but talking to my fellow spinners they talk about the increase in bike riders who do not know bike etiquette. I have cut down my driving but have not resorted to bike riding. My kids all have bikes and use them for week-end activities. My oldest son would like to eventually ride to work. My words of advice: Be Careful Out There!

Funny Bike Accidnet Video:

Low-carb Diet

I have read the article Low-carb diet beats other diets in study on line and in the LA times and still do not completely understand what the researchers are trying to say. According to the authors Atkins regimen and a Mediterranean diet rich in fish and nuts produces slightly greater weight loss than a low-fat program recommended by American Heart Association dietary guidelines. The other factor studies was HDL (I call them the Happy Cholesterol) or the good cholesterol. It seems that people who avoid beads and pasta have a greater increase in the HDL levels. One reviewer of the study was unimpressed with the findings. I thought the best comment was made by a Nutritionist "East Less, Move More". Since my husband has re-directed his work interest (notice I did not use the term retired)he has been able to exercise more, and guess what he has lost 10 pounds in two weeks.

Trash Recycling

In California we are encouraged to put all our recyclables in a separate bin on trash day. with the failing economy and rising gas prices apparently people are driving around on trash day and going through trash cans taking all the items that can be recycled and taking them to the recycle centers for cash. I have been taking my bottles and cans to the recycle center for last two years to buy books for my daughter in laws first grade classroom. The lines have increased dramatically over the past few months. I noticed today that someone had taken a few items that I had put out in the trash. I guess if someone needs something I have put at the curb is it really a problem?

Urban Smores

One my favorite treats in the summer is the Smore. I found this funny little video about making smores / fondue. Enjoy!

See more recipes and videos at Eat Drink or Die

Aging Brain

Aging Brain Can Learn New Tricks.

The study was published in the July 9 issue of Journal of Neuroscience. the study involved learning the art of juggling. The juggling involved keeping three balls in motion for a minimum of 60 seconds. None of the participants could juggle prior to the testing. After a 3 month teaching period about a quarter of the 50 + age participants were able to master the skill. When the subjects were test 3 months later, if the group failed to practice the skill they lost the ability to juggle. I have no desire to spend 3 months on learning to juggle but I did learn I have to continue to use my brain to keep the hand-eye coordination functioning. I would have to add that even as younger person I was never able to juggle three objects for 60 seconds without losing focus.

Hands Free in California

As of July 1, 2008 one can get ticketed for talking on a cell phone while driving. I found a video on line:

driving "hands free". During shooting, Skyler drove his car with no hands on the wheel around Los Angeles while Brandon Kraines, the director shot from the front seat and Michael Abbott, the producer sat in the backseat feeding dialogue from the script, and handing Skyler props. Enjoy!

Hands Free Driving

Cell phone distractions

As of July 1, 2008 is is illegal to drive while talking on a cell phone. In California you can be ticketed if you do not use a hands free device when talking on a cellular phone while driving. I have not hooked up my telephone to the blue tooth in my car yet. I tend to ignore the telepone while driving since my kids are grown and out of the house. I found this video on YouTube that shows how distracted one can get when trying to drive and talk on the phone at the same time. Since it is a simulation not real people were injured in this simulation.