Earthquakes
| Summary: How do we measure earthquakes? After an earthquake hits, we all want to know what it measured on the Richter Scale. What does it all mean? |
With the recent earthquake off Indonesia and the resulting devastating tsunami, people seem to be a lot more interested in earthquakes and when and why they happen. Immediately following an earthquake, everyone wants to know “What was it?” What they really mean to ask is, “What did it rate on the Richter Scale?”
But the Richter Scale, while considered scientifically to be the most accurate rating system, is only one of many different systems for rating the intensity and magnitude of an earthquake. Read more
How can I save on Real Estate Commissions?
| Summary: How can I get the most out of selling my home? What’s best for your realtor my not be the best for you. Do your homework! |
After years of living in the home you’ve come to love, you’ve decided to move. Maybe you’re relocating due to a better job or you’re retiring. Maybe the last of the kids are gone and it’s time to downsize. Perhaps you’ve had it with all of the yard work that sucks up your weekends and you’re thinking that a condo is the way to go. Whatever the reason, you’re probably going to want a realtor to help you with the sale of your home. Read more
Why does humidity make heat feel hotter?
| Summary: How hot is hot? The type of humidity indicates how your body will react to the heat and how fast it will cool off. |
Back in the late 80s I took a trip to Phoenix, Arizona with a friend who grew up there. Nothing noteworthy really, except that the trip was to take place over the 4th of July holiday. I kept thinking to myself, “The desert in July? 105F at 7 a.m.? 5 a.m. tee times just to beat the heat? Am I nuts?” Clearly, the answer was a resounding, “Yes!” (although my friends will tell you it has little to do with my vacation choices). I kept thinking to myself that I had to be mad, and yet all of my coworkers chided around me, mimicking each other like mina birds: “But it’s a dry heat.” Dry heat or no, when the central air’s pumping out at full force 24/7 and you’re still sweating like a farm animal, hot is hot. Nonetheless, by the time my ten days of arid temperatures were up (never once dropping below the upper 101F in the shade) I had come to learn a few things about humidity and what all of those do-gooders were trying to make me feel better about. Read more
How are hurricanes Measured? (Saffir Simpson Hurricane Scale)
| Summary: What exactly is a hurricane and how are they measured? Are you brave enough to fly into a hurricane as the hurricane hunters do? |
The past events surrounding the devastation of New Orleans, due to the impact of Hurricane Katrina have no doubt touched us all. How many of us could have imagined that the images that we have seen on the news could happen here: muddy, contaminated flood waters waist-high; people without adequate food, shelter, or bathroom facilities; families being split apart, not knowing if their loved ones are alive or dead; children taking care of children, people looting stores not for expensive electronics, but for milk and diapers for their infants who are crying from the heat; the dead being dragged off into corners because there’s nothing else to do. And there are those who just don’t know what else to do, so they leave the shelters and wander with no real idea of where they’re going or what’s going to happen. There’s a name for all of these folks: refugees. Right here in our own country. Read more
How much Caffeine in Coffee, tea and soda?
Filed under: About Numbers and Measurement, Technology
| Summary: How does caffeine work? Caffeine shows up in many unexpected places, so be careful or you could end up missing out on important sleep. |
If you’re like many people all over the world then you start your day with a steaming mug of coffee to get you on point. But it’s not really the coffee itself you’re after – although a good cup of coffee is a wonderful thing. Read more
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