Telephone Keypads versus Calculator Keypads
Filed under: About Numbers and Measurement, Technology
| Summary: If you’ve ever worked at a job that required you to switch off between a calculator and a telephone every now and again then no doubt you’ve noticed that the key pads are backwards: on the phone the number “1″ is in the upper left and on a calculator it is in the lower left. So what gives? |
The first keypads were created for cash registers and had the “1″ in the lower left. When calculators were invented they followed suit. Enter the telephone system. When Alexander Graham Bell, the man who invented the telephone, came up with the idea, operators were used to connect people – you didn’t simply pick up your phone and dial with reckless abandon. But reach into the dark recesses of your memory – or your basement – and I’ll bet that somewhere back there there’s a rotary telephone. Not that cool, antique telephone of the candlestick variety that’s probably worth some money. I’m speaking of the big clunky kind that was frequently used to hit the bad guy over the head with on 1970s detective shows. Read more
Body Fat
| Summary: BMI is an important measurement to indicate your risk of hypertension, heart disease and premature death. Do you know your Body Mass Index? |
The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a number that represents our body weight adjusted for our height and is used world wide to calculate obesity.
BMI is broken down into four categories: underweight, normal, overweight, and obese. The formula for calculating adult (20 years old and over) BMI is not a difficult one: simply divide your weight by your height squared and multiply by 703. Even easier – just go to the Center for Disease Control and plug in your height and weight into their BMI calculator. Read more
Barcodes
Filed under: About Numbers and Measurement, Technology
| Summary: Barcodes are everywhere, but where did they come from and how did they start? Bar Codes are not just for grocery stores anymore. |
I saw a funny ad on television the other day. It was for a bank or something – I don’t really remember – but people were waiting in what seemed to be endless lines. When they reached the front the teller took a staple gun and proceeded to attach a bar code to the forehead of the customer with it, all in the name of automation and faster service. A moment later we see another woman behind the counter trying to “scan” a customer’s forehead across a desk scanner that just won’t seem to read it. It was really funny, but then I started thinking about barcodes in general and how pervasive they’ve become.
Seems that just about everything you purchase nowadays has that little strip of bars on the back that gets run across a scanner at your point of purchase. It seems to tell a lot about the product: brand, item, size, and price – even which shipment it came in with and when. It also seems that these codes are so pervasive that if for some reason the product doesn’t scan, it’s like playing a game of “stump the cashier.” So when did this happen? When did these bar codes take over and why? Where do they get them and can I have one, too? Read more
How can I get money from a reverse mortgage?
| Summary: Is a reverse mortgage right for you? A reverse mortgage my be easier to qualify than a standard mortgage. What should you be looking for in a reverse mortgage? |
A reverse mortgage is the opposite of a forward (standard) mortgage; that is, instead of sending money to a lender you receive money from a lender. If you are over sixty-two and have a home which has accrued equity, you might want to consider a reverse mortgage.
Under the terms of a reverse mortgage, the home still belongs to you and you are responsible for paying taxes and having insurance coverage. You will also be expected to maintain the home to reasonable expectations. The loan amount will be equal to the amount of cash you receive plus any financing fees and interest. Read more
Numerology
| Summary: What is the hidden meaning of your name? Use numerology to find out if you are money-oriented, or prone to limited thinking. Learn what you numbers are by following the chart below. |
The Nowadays it seems that newspapers seem to be giving us a small array of metaphysical options. Not happy with your horoscope? That’s all right, you can read your tarot for the day instead. If you’re the type of person that loves numbers, then you can get your own personal numerology reading along with the daily news. But what exactly is numerology and what do the numbers mean?
Numerology – the study of numbers and their “meaning” as it applies to, well, just about everything – was at one point in history considered a valid area of academic study, engaging such great mathematical minds as Pythagoras (considered the “father” of numerology). Using numerology, just about anything can be analyzed using numbers: simply reduce anything to a single digit – whether it is number-related (such as a house number or a birthday) or not – and reveal the mystery behind it. You can even tell your fortune by using some very simple equations – kind of like crystals for the math minded.
According to numerology, every number has a mystical meaning and each letter of the alphabet is assigned a number, one through nine, allowing for the analysis of names, places, and just about everything else one can spell. With some very simple math you, too, can reduce your being to a single number and find out what the cosmos have in store for you.
Although there are two main systems for working numbers, Pythagorean and Chaldean, most newspapers and magazines that offer do-it-yourself numerology readings in this country all work using the Pythagorean method and this chart:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z -
Ready to find out what your numbers mean? Grab a pencil and write down your first, middle, and last name. Using the chart above, find the numeric equivalent to each letter in your name. Once you have found a number for each letter, add each set (first name, middle, and last) of these numbers. If any of the numbers in each set are more than a single digit, continue to add each set until you come up with a single number. Once you have a single digit for each part of your name add these together. If that number is two or more digits, continue to “break down” the numbers until you have a single digit that represents your total being.
For example, let’s work the numbers for Frank Vincent Zappa:
Add the numbers for each name:
FRANK
6+9+1+5+2=23 > 2+3=5
VINCENT
4+9+5+3+5+5+2=33 > 3+3=6
ZAPPA
8+1+7+7+1=24 > 2+4=6
Then add the resulting digits together:
FRANK 2+3=5
VINCENT 3+3=6
ZAPPA 2+4=6
Then add those sums together:
5+6+6=17
Then reduce the sum until only a single digit remains:
1+7=8
Frank Zappa’s birth name reduces to 8.
So exactly what does “8” mean? Primarily it is the number of payback, the one where karma creeps up and reminds you of your past deeds – all of them, in this life and all that came before. However, since it is also the number associated with hard work and experience, hopefully you and your past lives, will have caught on at least a couple of millennia ago and has gone easy on you for the last couple hundred lives. This hard work might also be responsible for the monetary and material wealth associated with the number eight.
So sit down and do a little math. The chart below will help you find the hidden meaning of your name.
1 self sufficient, dominant, stubborn
2 insightful, introspective, but shy
3 social, playful, but prone to exaggeration
4 productive, traditional, but prone to limited thinking
5 influential, but self-indulgent
6 responsible and a natural caregiver, but anxious and guilt-ridden
7 spiritual, but often narrow in thinking
8 money-oriented, driven, occasionally ruthless
9 philosophical, intuitive, but can be somewhat flaky
(from www.members.aol.com/AspireA1)
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