Chewing Gum Without The Sticky Mess

While this may not be breaking news, this blind Bambi just ran across an article about a possible solution to the sticky problem of used chewing problem that may end up on unwanted surfaces such as furniture and the bottom of shoes.  Revolymer, a spin-off company from a group of researchers at the University of Bristol in the UK, has released a new chewing gum product named Rev7 that can be removed from most surfaces with just a little water.  This new gum uses a new patented co-polymer that both markedly reduces its adhesion strength to surfaces and allows water to penetrate the gum.  This new gum, then, will break down and can be much more easily washed off of many surfaces.  Rev7 chewing gum will also apparently biodegrade into a fine powder within only about six months time.  Best of all, the company claims that the gum still offers an excellent taste and long-lasting flavor.  Rev7 went on sale in the United States in October -- hopefully a successful solution to a sticky problem.

Homeless But Honest

Dave Tally is a 49-year-old recovering alcoholic from Tempe, Arizona, who is currently homeless. Dave Tally also recently found an abandoned backpack at a light-rail station that contained $3300 and a laptop computer. I think that many of us, if faced with his financial challenges, would likely succumb to the temptation to treat this like lucky lottery earnings that we could put to good use. Tally, however, instead turned the backpack into his boss, who was able to identify its owner, an Arizona State University student who was planning to use the cash to purchase a car. Afterward, Tally said, "It wasn't my money. I didn't earn it. I'm the one that has to lay down every day and deal with myself. If I'd done anything different than what I did, I don't know if I could handle that." Since the students mother called "The Arizona Republic" to report the good deed, Tally has apparently received a number of cash reward offers by those inspired by wishing to commend him for his honesty.  This blind Bambi also salutes Dave Tally.  God Bless him.  I hope that he earns much more from this response to his act of integrity than he would have from keeping the money he found as his own.  Even if he does not, however, his unselfish act is humbling.  I am not homeless, and hence cannot walk in his shoes, but I would hope that the personal pride he can take providing inspiration to the rest of us about the good in humanity and our society is priceless.

Perfect Weather for This Punter

Here's a video worth checking out.  This is a clip of an 86 yard punt from a high school football game.  Over half of that distance, however, was on the ground.  This was not your standard end over end roll due to the momentum of the kick.  Instead, the wind sustained a long, slow roll until the kicking team finally downed it on the four yard line.

That's A Lot of Money In Her Underwear

The FBI was investigating allegations of real estate developers in Prince Georges County, Maryland, offering rewards to county officials in exchange for personal and business favors. When agents went to visit the home of County Executive Jack Johnson, his wife, Leslie, who was also recently elected to the County Council, called her husband. Unknown to them, the FBI had a wiretapping warrant and recorded their conversation. They discussed destroying and flushing a $100,000 check from a real estate developer and removing cash from the home by stuffing it in her underwear. When the federal agents entered the home, they found $79,600 hidden on her person. Even if that was all in $100 bills, that seems to this blind Bambi like a lot of cash to stuff in your underwear. This hill-billy has probably never even had almost 800 one dollar bills at any given time, but it seems like, say, 796 one hundred dollar bills would amount to a substantial stack of cash to hide in your bra. The couple is now charged with evidence tampering.

A Whisky for the Road?

This blind Bambi is all for renewable energy sources and reducing our dependence upon petroleum, so when I saw a short piece in the 27 August 2010 edition of "Science" magazine about turning the byproducts of Scotch whiskey production into butanol to fuel cars, it caught my eye. Now Scotch whiskey is apparently Scotland's biggest industry. A Scotch single-malt whiskey is distilled ethanol produced by using yeast to break down the glucose in barley. When the process is complete, what's left over is a residue known as "draff" and Scotland's hundreds of distilleries produce about 187 million kilograms of it each year. Now, Martin Tangney, an industrial microbiologist at Edinburgh Napier University, has discovered and patented a process to turn the sugars remaining in the leftover draff into a fuel that can be used in vehicles. In my simple mind, the beauty of this solution is that, although an area like Scotland cannot grow sugar cane, like Brazil, to produce ethanol, they have found a similar process to simply convert a "waste product" which is plentiful in their region to potentially achieve a similar, and almost more elegant, result. I raise a toast to the Scots and wish them the best of luck with ingenuity like this.

Is Your Ride a Ticket Magnet?

In a recent study for the insurance industry, various vehicle makes and models were studied and the propensity of each to be ticketed by law enforcement was quantified. The following results are specified in terms of moving violations per 100,000 miles driven, expressed as percentage of average:

Most Violations ("Spirited Vehicles")	Least Violations ("Cautious Vehicles")
Mercedes-Benz SL-Class Convertable (404%)	Buick Ranier SUV (23%)
Toyota Camry-Solara Coupe (349%)	Mazda Tribute SUV (26%)
Scion TC Coupe (343%)	Chevrolet C/K- 3500/2500 Pickup (26%)
Hummer H2/H3 SUV (292%)	Kia Spectra Sedan (27%)
Scion XB Hatchback (270%)	Buick Lacrosse SUV (32%)
Mercedes-Benz CLS-63 AMG Sedan (264%)	Saturn Aura Hybrid Sedan (37%)
Acura Integra Coupe (185%)	Oldsmobile Silhouette Minivan (37%)
Pontiac Grand Prix Sedan (182%)	Chevrolet Uplander Minivan (38%)
Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG Sedan (179%)	Hyundai Tucson SUV (38%)
Volkswagen GTI Hatchback (178%)	Pontiac Vibe SUV (39%)

So, there are no surprises that sportier and more exotic models such as the Mercedes sedans and coupes are indeed more likely to get you ticketed. While it may be arguable whether this is because they tempt you to drive them more aggressively or whether they simply stand out from the other traffic, my guess is that in most cases, the first problem is the more likely culprit. In my opinion, though, the presence of two Scion models on this list lends credence to the "stand-out" theory. Likewise, I expect that most of the models on the "cautious vehicle" list could not be found on many dream car lists. It struck me that a large number from the "less likely to be ticketed" list are no longer made. As a sobering note of the current economic climate, though, even the list of "cool" cars includes models from car brands no longer with us (i.e., Hummer and Pontiac).

NFL Team Popularity Contest

In an online survey of 2,620 adult sports fans in the U.S., conducted Sept. 14-20 by Harris Interactive, the Dallas Cowboys were again "America's Team" finishing first in popularity for the fourth straight year. The full rankings are:

1. Dallas Cowboys	12. San Francisco 49ers	23. Carolina Panthers
2. Indianapolis Colts	13. Philadelphia Eagles	24. St. Louis Rams
3. Green Bay Packers	14. Denver Broncos	25. Kansas City Chiefs
4. Pittsburgh Steelers	15. Washington Redskins	26. Cleveland Browns
5. New Orleans Saints	16. New York Jets	27. Cincinnati Bengals
6. New England Patriots	17. Houston Texans	28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
7. New York Giants	18. Oakland Raiders	29. Buffalo Bills
8. Minnesota Vikings	19. Baltimore Ravens	30. Detroit Lions
9. Chicago Bears	20. San Diego Chargers	31. Seattle Seahawks
10. Atlanta Falcons	21. Miami Dolphins	32. Jacksonville Jaguars
11. Arizona Cardinals	22. Tennessee Titans

Now I'm just a blind Bambi, but this list validates my expectations that teams in more populous regions and/or teams which have had recent success are, in general, the more "popular" teams nationwide.  If you surveyed fan groups, however, I would certainly expect that according to each, their team and its fans are unquestionably the "best."  The fact that even teams which perennially struggle have fans that take pride in their team and are relentlessly optimistic about future victories, though, is an important element of the game.

Michigan Couple Pulls Off A Triple Triple

Chad and Barbara Soper, of Rockford, Michigan, shouldn't have any difficulty remembering their childrens' birthdays.  Oldest daughter, Chloe Corrin, was born August 8, 2008.  Son, Cameron Dane, was delivered on September 9, 2009.  Now, just a few days ago, youngest daughter, Cearra Nicole, arrived on October 10th.  That's three children with birthdays of 08/08/08, 09/09/09, and 10/10/10 respectively.  Now a blind Bambi like myself might think that this is a pretty unlikely feat.  It turns out, however, that thousands of women in the United States had kids in each of the three consecutive years:  2008, 2009 and 2010.  Having three children separated by two spans of 13 months is also probably not incredibly rare.  Somehow, though, lining these events up early in the century, where patterns such as this are possible, is pretty cool.  If I were them, I might try buying a few lottery tickets to see if similar numeric trends work out for them there.  In case you're wondering about whether they might extend the streak with a child on 11/11/11, they apparently don't currently have any more planned.

Wasted Food Equals Wasted Energy

My mother always taught me to be a member of the "clean your plate" club.  Most diet and nutrition experts, however, often encourage us not to feel obliged to eat everything put in front of us at the table.  Throwing away food may trigger our guilt about wasting something others in this world may not have enough of.  In truth, however, the health issues caused by our overeating probably result in even higher costs to our society.  Researchers at the University of Texas, though, are now telling us that American food waste represents the energy equivalent of 350 million barrels of oil.  That's enough to power the U.S. for a week.  In my simple mind, this complicates the dilemma even further.  Now I have to balance three categories of guilt (wasting nutritional resources, over-eating, and wasting energy).  In the bigger picture, however, this result indicates to me that, although Americans highly value convenience, even slightly more careful and better planned food shopping by consumers and small efficiency increases in our food production and supply chain could have a significant impact on our energy consumption.

Mandates for Many Miles Per Gallon

Another new proposed auto fuel mileage rule is expected from the Obama administration this week, listing an overall auto-industry standard that could be set as high as 60 mpg by 2025. Back in April, a rule forcing automakers to meet a required 35.5 miles per gallon standard in 2016 was announced. Although this would impose an estimated $52 billion burden on them, manufacturers welcomed this standard, as it will avoid a much more costly patchwork of state and federal regulation. I wonder if the talk of such a drastic increase only nine additional years further out now has them worried, though. I'm just a Blind Bambi, but I would want to wait a little longer to see the impact of the earlier attempt at such standards upon both the U.S. auto industry and their consumers before trying to come up with a fuel consumption target for 15 years out.

Road Test Playlist

On USA Today's website, I ran across an article which included a playlist for for testing car audio quality. The expert selecting the songs was General Motors audio engineer Matt Kirsch. GM also posted the tracks as a mix at the iTunes store ($12 to buy it). His list includes 1) "Don't Know Why" by Norah Jones (you should listen for Norah's voice to sound natural, and centered in front of you), 2) "Diamonds and Rust" by Joan Baez (you should listen for strong vocals, and for the instruments to be set across a wide sound stage), 3) "No One" by Alicia Keys (you should listen for clarity in Alicia's vocals and spacious background sound), 4) "Hotel California" by the Eagles (you should isten for the clarity and dynamic range during the opening guitar solo, and of course the powerful drum beat), 5) "Boom Boom Pow"by the Black Eyed Peas (you should listen for powerful, accurate bass beats, even at full volume), 6) "Rock that Body" by the Black Eyed Peas (you should listen clear, intelligible lyrics over the powerful, persistent bass beat), 7) "Hide and Seek"by Imogen Heap (you should listen for the enveloping ambience of the song, building on the openness and dynamic vocals), 8) "He Mele No Lilo" by Mark Keali'i Ho'omalu from Lilo and Stitch (you should listen for the ambience and staging as the children's chorus is offset by powerful bass), 9) "Bird on a Wire" by Johnny Cash (you should listen for the clarity in Johnny's distinctive voice, and his guitar to sound natural and free of any coloration), and 10) "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box" by Radiohead (you should listen for the punch from the percussive bass, and the ring of the steel drums).

Now I'm just a hillbilly and certainly not a sophisticated audiophile. In considering the range and types of musical sound covered by this list, however, even I can appreciate how these songs could be useful in comparing audio systems.

A Hollywood Star for Ringo

I'm not sure why this surprised me, but I recently saw a news article that this past Monday, Ringo Starr was honored with the 2401st star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This event also marked the marked the 50th anniversary of the sidewalk attraction's groundbreaking. This Blind Bambi's first thought was: "Why Ringo Starr at this point in time?." I would have thought that all of the Beatles would have long ago received their stars. It turns out that the Beatles, as a group, were originally honored with a star in 1994, but the honor was short-lived as Capitol Records had the star removed weeks later. The removal was based on the label's concern that the installation of the star was not attended by at least one member of the band. In 1998, though, the British band was given a new star. After John Lennon's death in 1980, he was honored with a star in 1988. Just last year, George Harrison, who died of cancer in 2001, was also awarded a star. Apparently, Paul McCartney's star has been approved, but he has yet to schedule a ceremony. At some point, then, it looks like all of the Beatles will be immortalized on the Walk of Fame.

Curious, I did some simple research into how this process works. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Walk of Fame Committee selects entertainers each year to receive stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star, however, doesn't come for free. The honoree must agree to attend a presentation ceremony within five years of selection, and a fee (currently $25,000) must be paid, by the honoree or a sponsor, to a trust which pays for installation, security, publicity, staging, and maintenance costs.

Money and Happiness

A recent study by researchers from Stanford and the University of Toronto found that there is a stronger tie between pay rate and happiness for hourly wage-earners than there is for salaried employees. They believe that this is because being paid hourly forces you to see the valuation placed upon your time. Thinking of time in terms of money strengthens the connection between happiness and money. Salaried employees who did the calculation to convert their income to an hourly rate also more strongly correlated income to happiness. They also infer that how people tend to see and treat their time at the workplace doesn't typically change when they are off of the clock. This Blind Bambi is not really sure what this means, though. This seems to imply that well-paid hourly workers might more efficiently manage their time (both on the job and at home) - they fully understand the valuation of their time. Those who don't make very much, though, may be happier as a salaried employee that doesn't try to figure out how little he or she is being paid on a time interval basis.

Streets Paved With Gravel, Not Gold

Writing for USA Today, Liisa Rajala, in "Tight Times Put Gravel on the Road," reports that some American communities have resorted to conversion of their cracked asphalt roads into gravel as a cost-cutting measure. The article sites a study by the University of Minnesota's Center for Transportation Studies that concluded gravel is cost-effective when traffic averages less than 200 vehicles per day. Even so, there are safety, dust, and probably other basic drawbacks of gravel roads. Now a Blind Bambi like myself, with "no-eyed deer" about much of anything, is certainly going to have little insight to add. That's not going to stop me, though, from sharing my viewpoint on the matter, which is somewhat conflicted on this potential trend. On the one hand, I am thrilled to see novel approaches being taken to weather the economic downturn in a way that lessens future public debt and/or makes additional money available for other necessary projects. On the other, however, I am discouraged that this seems to be yet another example of national infrastructure that is in decline. That national infrastructure that provides our transportation systems, utilities, communications, and much more, is both an important part of and a by-product from American success.

Soon It Will Be Super Bowl Weekend

Its almost Super Bowl weekend. We are all eagerly anticipating Sunday's game, The Who's halftime show, and those brand new commercials. This year, a 30 second advertisement spot is priced between $2.5 million and $3 million. It seems like every year, both Coke and Pepsi participate in this ritual, each airing some memorable ads. This year, however, Pepsi has decided not to play in this game. Pepsi, has instead decided to redirect the millions of dollars that they would pour into Super Bowl marketing towards a social-media campaign to promote its "Pepsi Refresh" initiative. Coke, by contrast, will air two different spots, including one with characters from "The Simpsons." Automakers have jumped in headfirst. Audi, Dodge, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, and Volkswagen have all purchased ads. The notable abstention is from Toyota, currently embroiled in a recall crisis. Publicly, however, they have stated that they did not buy ad time because they are in-between product introductions. Lots of food, football, and hype. Super Bowl Sunday is one of my favorite holidays. And yes, at this Blind Bambi's home, it is considered a holiday. Regardless of who you are cheering for, here's a heartfelt wish that your Super Bowl experience is a superbly enjoyable affair!

2.7 Trillion Digits of Pi -- With a Desktop Computer!

French computer programmer Fabrice Bellard has announced a new record for approximating the value of pi to 2.7 trillion digits. This is not that surprising. Approximating pi is a common and somewhat competitive challenge. Last August, for instance, in Japan, Daisuke Takahashi calculated the value of pi to 2.577 trillion digits. What caught my eye, however, was that Bellard computed and checked his result on a desktop computer costing less than 2000 euro. It took him 103 days to compute and another 28 days to check all of these digits. By contrast, former record holder Takahashi needed only 29 hours. He used very powerful computers, though. To this Blind Bambi, Bellard's achievement of this new world record, using only a common desktop computer, is quite amazing.

Olympic Cash Clash

Tonight, I was looking at tomorrow's Parade magazine (it comes with the advertisements for my local Sunday paper that are delivered on Saturday). I read an article by Jamie McEwan on the disputes between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). U.S. television deals for Olympic coverage are big money (NBC paid $820 million for this year's rights) and the USOC owns the Olympic brand in the U.S. Apparently, the USOC, though, allows the IOC to broker U.S. broadcasting rights in exchange for a 12.75% share of the revenue. The USOC also gets 20% of the IOC's worldwide sponsorship income. The IOC is also upset about USOC efforts towards a deal for an Olympic cable-TV network. Most of the 205 Olympic nations provide government funding for their Olympic committees, but the U.S. does not. It sounds like the IOC feels like the USOC should find their funding elsewhere and not leverage the sponsorship deals that the IOC believes belong to them. For the USOC (and hence American athletes in the lower profile sports) to be funded differently, however, would be a major cultural change for American amateur sports. It sounds to me, that the leverage the IOC has, however, is their ability to keep U.S. cities from hosting the Olympics.

Racist Cameras

Today, on Time.com, an article by Adam Rose reports that the face recognition technology implemented in some new cameras to improve both the convenience and results of the photographers that use them may be optimized for Caucasian faces. For example, the camera seemed to be malfunctioning for many users with Asian ethnic backgrounds. Before I read this article, I would have thought that a photographer could be racist but not his camera. As our gadgets get smarter, however, if we are not careful, they can implement both good and bad characteristics of an almost human nature (even if unintentionally).

Migration to Myopia

In the 1 January 2010 edition of "Science" magazine, I read that scientists at the National Eye Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, have concluded that Americans are getting ever more nearsighted. Apparently, in the early 1970s, only about 25% of the U.S. population could be classified as myopic. In the early 2000s, however, that number climbed to nearly 42%. Donald Mutti, a vision scientist from the Ohio State University in Columbus, believes that a lack of outdoor exposure, is most likely the problem. Research has not yet figured out, though, what about being outdoors (e.g., increased light levels, more use of the eyes in viewing distant objects, etc.) seems to protect our close vision. Experts (and non-experts) have always suspected that a lot of "near work" can lead to myopic tendencies, but recent studies have failed to support any such association. Therefore, I guess we can continue to work on our computers, text on our cell phones, and do any other type of "near work" but it would be best for our eyes to do so in an outdoor venue. For me, it's way too late. I have been nearsighted for most of my life, and I continue to get worse over time. I guess that's appropriate for a Blind Bambi.

White House Worth Wilts

So, apparently even the White House is not immune from the slump in the housing market. According to a U.S. News and World Report article, which references a report by real estate website zillow.com , our Presidential mansion is worth $23 million less than it was just a year ago. Even so, its value, estimated at $308,058,000, makes it the most expensive residence in the United States. Its 55,000 square feet of indoor space, 132 total rooms, 35 bathrooms, 16 bedrooms, three kitchens and 18 acres of premium downtown Washington, DC land would fetch a good price on their own merits, but Zillow applied a maximum historical premium on top of that in calculating their appraised value. Just for some fun numbers, if the property was sold at this price, a prospective buyer would need to have $62 million saved up for a 20% down payment and make $53.3 million in gross income a year to qualify for and afford a standard 30-year fixed-rate mortgage payment of between $1.25 million (at 4.5% interest) and $1.48 million (at 6% interest). Even this Blind Bambi understands that the White House would and should never be offered for sale, but it is interesting to ponder who might afford such a property. Those at the top of Forbes list are obvious candidates. Would it be beyond the reach of a bailed out bank or Wall Street executive and his or her bonus?

Slashing Prices on Space Shuttles

On USAToday.com, I saw a short article entitled Recession Special: NASA Cuts Space Shuttle Price, by Marcia Dunn. Apparently, NASA is trying to unload the 1970's era Space Shuttles that they no longer need. Dunn reports that Discovery is already promised to the Smithsonian Institution, but Atlantis and Endeavour are up for grabs. In this tough economy, the price tag has supposedly dropped from $42 million to $28.8 million apiece. It sounds like there may be quite a bit of interest, especially because of the lowered prices. Now, I don't have the room nor the money to consider such a purchase. Even if I did, however, although it would be very cool, that seems like a lot of money unless you really need a retired spaceship. I'm just a Blind Bambi, though. What do I know? I think I'll just go see the one at the Smithsonian.

Is Football Action Packed? Maybe Not So Much.

In today's Wall Street Journal, David Biderman provided a very insightful time analysis of NFL football coverage. It turns out that in the typical game, the average amount of time the ball is in play on the field during an NFL game is only about 10 minutes and 43 seconds. In a typical broadcast, this leaves 174 minutes of "other" coverage. As many as 75 minutes, or about 60% of the total air time, excluding commercials, is spent on shots of players huddling, standing at the line of scrimmage or just generally milling about between snaps. Surprisingly, network announcers showed up on screen for just 30 seconds, while shots of the head coaches and referees took up about 7% of the average telecast. Among the sampled games, ESPN showed the most replays, Fox was the leader in showing players on the sidelines, and CBS devoted the most time to cheerleaders (a mere 7 seconds). Next time, I think I'm going to hurry a little less when fixing a sandwich, getting a drink, or taking a bathroom break.

Where's Your Spam Coming From?

For Americans, here's a trend we can be proud of. Apparently, in 2009, the 6.6 trillion spam messages originating from the United States was down 20.3% from the previous year. In fact, eSecurityPlanet.com author Sean Michael Kerner, citing statistics compiled by Cisco, reports that Brazil's spam output, up 193%, rose enough for it to claim the 2009 distinction as "top spamming" nation. In the big picture, I'm not sure that this result means anything terribly significant. Regardless of where you are in the world, it is likely that your future includes more undesirable spam than you want. On the world-wide web, geographical source probably changes little about the nature of and exposure to spam. This Blind Bambi just finds factoids like this interesting and wanted to share.

Smarter Search Engines?

Scientists at Cornell University have been given stimulus funding to create search engine software that can learn from users by noticing which links, from the list of returned results, that they click on and how they modify their query when they are not satisfied with the outcome of the original search. This is kind of cool, but, if they are successful, what is the next step in smarter search engines? I'm thinking maybe a brain wave detector to figure out what I want to search for and then both automatically format and submit the query on my behalf. For a Blind Bambi like me, though, this complexity probably isn't necessary. A simple random query generation tool may be all that's needed to capture my crazy search interests.

The Physics of Liquid Droplets

According to Physics textbooks (and practical experience), if I want to slide a box across the floor, I will have to apply more force in order to get a heavier box to move than that required to slide a lighter box across the same floor. A team of scientists at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, however, published a report, in the 25 December 2009 issue of Physical Review Letters, on a seemingly similar situation, where this same concept does not apply. They measured the force required to push a millimeter-sized droplet across a solid surface and found that a droplet hanging upside-down from the surface needed more force to get moving than a droplet resting its weight on top of the surface. One theory for this is that the differences in molecular orientation between "hanging" and "resting" droplets may change chemical interactions between the solid surface and the liquid. All I know is that this Blind Bambi is glad that there are people much smarter than I to figure things like this out.

American Information Consumption

Last month, researchers at the University of California, San Diego published a report entitled "How Much Information? 2009 Report on American Consumers. As one would expect, this report indicates that, in 2008, U.S. residents consumed an incredible quantity of information from radio, television, computer, newspaper, mobile telephone, and other sources. It was interesting to me that they presented these same information consumption results using three different measures with significantly different effect (at least from my perspective). In hours, Americans consumed information for about 1.3 trillion (1,300,000,000,000) hours, an average of almost 12 hours per day for each of us. The detailed breakout was 4.91 hours of TV, 2.22 hours of radio, 1.93 hours of computer, 0.93 hours of computer games, 0.73 hours of phone, 0.60 hours of print media, 0.45 hours of recorded music, and 0.03 hours of movies. In words, Americans consumed 10,845 trillion, which works out to about 100,000 words per American per day. The breakout here was 44.85% of words were consumed from television, 26.97% from computer, 10.6% from radio, 8.61% from print media, 5.24% from the telephone, 2.44% from computer games, 1.11% from recorded music, and .20% from movies. Computer games, recorded music, and radio, therefore, appear to be lower word per minute information sources. Finally, in data bytes, we consumed 3.6 zettabytes (3,600,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes) or about 34 gigabytes per person each day. Using this measure, graphical information dominated. 54.62% of this information represented computer games, 34.77% represented television, and 9.78% represented movies. All other information sources (computer, recorded music, radio, phone, and print media) added up to less than one percent of the information total when measured in bytes.

Mistaken Fortunes (And Not)

Talk about differences of fate. Here are two storys of incredible odds for large payouts and their association with a mistake. In the first, Rob Anderson, of Georgetown, Kentucky, made a quick stop on Christmas Eve to get a couple of lottery tickets as stocking stuffers. Instead of the three single $1 Powerball tickets he requested, the clerk mistakenly printed a single $3 ticket with three lines of numbers. He decided to keep the mistakenly printed ticket and got it in addition to his stocking stuffer tickets. As the mistakenly printed ticket made him and his wife the winner of a $128.6 million jackpot, his was the kind of mistake we all dream about. In England, however, Cliff Bryant placed two £5 accumulator bets on snow falling across 24 towns and cities in the North and Midlands on Christmas Day. He believes he won a long odds bet worth £7.1 million ($11 million). Unfortunately, the bookmaker, Ladbrokes, is refusing to pay, claiming the bet was accepted by mistake. Instead, the company has paid out on the single bets which it says are relevant – a sum of £31.78. This poor bloke is seeking legal advice, but unless he gets a favorable ruling, his instant fortune has been negated rather than created by a mistake.

How Violent of an Influence are Video Games?

I was scanning the December 4th issue of Science magazine and came across a short summary entitled "Doom Didn't Make Me Do It." It explained that much study has been expended on the subject of whether or not violent TV programs and video games cause people to be violent. Now, Christopher Ferguson, a psychologist at Texas A&M International University has published a graph showing that video game sales have soared and youth violence has actually decreased. He contends that this demonstrates that lab-based experiments showing increased "aggression" from exposure to violent TV programs or video games may bear little relationship to actual violence. Others contend that this graph does little to dispel their belief that early viewing of violence by children will likely negatively influence later behavior. What makes sense to me is that this is just a piece of a much bigger context. Most people would probably advise avoiding activities which teach young children inappropriate aggression or desensitize them to violence. If TV programs and video games are the major influence in a young person's life, though, I don't think many people would see that as a good situation. It seems to me that, in most real world situations, children are also going to be heavily influenced by the way they are treated by others and how they see adults and their peers around them behave toward each other. It seems to me that these studies cannot adequately factor in variations in this bigger contextual environment. Also, it occurred to me that an increased allotment of time to video games gives people less time to perform real-world violent acts. I'm not saying that this is the best way to keep kids off the streets and out of trouble nor the worst. It may or may not have the positive character building aspects that we often attribute to sports, clubs, or other activities, but like these, video games and TV programs are a time commitment of sorts. My philosophy is that, in many things (not all) moderation is a good approach. With kids, video games, and TV, that is kind of where I fall. I'm not sure that it is necessary or helpful to shelter children from everything bad on TV and/or video games. Neither would I advocate unfiltered access to things such as TV and/or video games. What seems most important to me, however, is to provide them a greater context which teaches them the values that you feel are important.

This is pretty complicated and controversial stuff for a Blind Bambi like me to ponder. I think my New Year's resolution should be to address less weighty issues in future posts.

Some Interesting Movie Factoids

Happy New Year! My personal outlook for 2010 is very bright and I truly hope that we all make this a very good year.

I really enjoy good (and sometimes even not so good) movies. As a somewhat recession proof industry, the movie industry just had a record breaking year. Even at current box office rates, research firm OTX discovered in a survey that consumers ranked moviegoing as the best value for their entertainment dollar and this has apparently been reflected in the marketplace. According to a Los Angeles Times story box-office revenue was up 8.6% for 2009 in the U.S. and Canada and was projected to ultimately top $10 billion, an all-time record. This article also points out that moviegoers in 2009 viewed a broader variety of offerings. Whereas in the past, a few "mega-hits" accounted for most of the ticket sales, in 2009, an unusually large number of pictures, including "The Hangover," "The Proposal," "The Blind Side" and "Paranormal Activity," played for weeks and netted more than $100 million, based more on buzz via via texting, Twitter and Facebook than traditional movie industry marketing.

Today, I came across an article (10 Things Movie Theaters Won't Tell You) on SmartMoney.com that I found very insightful. If you are interested, I would encourage you to read it. I will, however, attempt to highlight some of the facts provided in this story:

• Revenue from the on-screen advertising shown before the previews start has been increasing by roughly 10 to 15 percent a year for the past several years. In 2003, marketing firm Arbitron peformed a survey that found two-thirds of audience members didn't mind them. Recently, however, more than 3,400 moviegoers cared enough to sign an online petition demanding Regal Cinemas stop showing ads before movies.
  
• Coming digital projection technology may result in major change to the cinema industry. For instance, they may be able to broadcast live events on slow days, when theaters are usually "lucky to fill 10 percent of their seats." If theaters move to an iPod-like movie distribution and projection capability, more opportunities for independent filmmakers to get their work screened could open up.
  
• Theaters pay somewhere between 35 and 70 percent of box office receipts to the studio as a film-rental fee. In most cases, the studio takes the biggest cut in the first week, and the percentage drops from there. Therefore, from the standpoint of the local theater, they make more money if you don't come on opening night.
  
• "Premium experience" amenities (e.g., 3-D, IMAX, etc.) are in demand. Regal Cinemas, for example, had 168 digital 3-D screens out of a total 6,782 screens nationwide by the end of 2008, but plans to up that number to 1,500 in the next few years.
  
• Concessions typically account for about a quarter of total revenue. The amount each customer spends keeps heading steadily upward, from $2.51 in 2004 to $3.09 in 2008.
  
• Despite all indications to the contrary, theaters are reluctant to crack down too hard on the ringing cell phone or the distracting glow of a text message during a movie. They are afraid of customer backlash from the younger audiences who are primarily responsible for these disruptions. Kerasotes Theatres, a Midwest chain with 94 theaters, has tried to balance this somewhat, however, offering an escape from rowdy crowds with its "enchanted evening" policy. At select locations on Friday and Saturday nights, no one under the age of 17 is permitted without an adult into movies that start after 9 p.m.
  
• Protect your hearing. Individual theaters' decibel levels vary, but special effects-laden action flicks, for example, can hit the same dangerous territory as a loud rock concert, thus potentially contributing to hearing loss, according to the Center for Hearing and Communication.
  
• Theaters traditionally bring in 40 percent of their yearly revenue in just three months: May, June and July. The winter holidays are another big period for box office revenue. Things are slowly changing, however, as studios seek to spread their quality releases more evenly throughout the year.
  

I'm not sure that there is anything shocking or surprising here, but this Blind Bambi found it interesting and wanted to share.