Super Duper Blue

Super Duper Blue

The moon plays tricks

with a lunar eclipse

eyes to the skies

the full moon comes soon

twice this month is nice

number two is blue

tipping and slipping

under the earth’s umbra

invitingly in syzygy

this blood moon makes us swoon.

© Rebecca Sanchez 2018

Yes, I did rhyme syzygy, look it up. Lol!

A Blue Moon is when two full moons happen in the same calendar month; lunar eclipses occur when the moon passes into Earth’s shadow; and supermoons happen when the moon’s perigee — its closest approach to Earth in a single orbit — coincides with a full moon. In this case, the supermoon also happens to be the day of the lunar eclipse.

The second full moon and the lunar eclipse will occur on the night of Jan. 30 or the morning of the 31st. And the supermoon will take place on the night of Jan. 30, which is technically one day before the moon reaches peak fullness, but even NASA is willing to call the event a supermoon nonetheless.

I watched it last night on my patio it was awesome! My picture isn’t great, but it’s the only camera I had (cell phone.) This was when the moon was fully eclipsed and was orange.

This is what it looked like (although this isn't from this year.)

I don't know if you saw it but it was totally worth getting up at 4:30am to see. At the time I had no idea I'd be able to watch it from my patio. Once I figured that out, I got in a chair with a blanket and had a great view. A one of a kind viewing last seen in the 1800's.

I'd love to hear if you saw it or not so leave me some comments. If you want to write a poem of your own in the comments please do.

Have a good hump! Take care!

Cell Phone Facts To Consider

Cell phones are so convenient, what would you do without one? They let you make those important on the spot calls and important text messages during the day.

What a lot of people don’t know, and cell phone companies have been keeping from the world is that a cell phone is nothing more than a radio. It is a complex radio, but a radio none-the-less. Let’s take a look at a brief history of cell phones.

In the early 1950’s cell phones were called Radio Phones, in select urban areas, there were large central antennas that were specifically allocated for these radio-phones. Since radio technology itself was only in the building phase, only about 25 channels were available for private use. So basically only 25 people could be talking on their radio-phones at the same time. It wasn’t an efficient system to say the least and a better system was needed so they came up with the cell approach.

The cell approach divided each city up into small divisions, or "cells". The technology behind cells has changed dramatically over the years, just as cell phones have, only now most standard cells are about 10 square miles large. They are usually in the shape of a hexagon. Nowadays, every individual cell has its own base station, rather than only one for an entire city.

Now modern cell phones (meaning they were created in the last 20 years or so) are made to be low-power transmitters (either 0.3 watts or 6 watts), which is much lower wattage than in past decades. This means that the same frequency can be used in the same city, at the same time, but in different cells. This is what makes our current system what it is today.

I got my first cell phone in 1998 and at the time hardly anyone had them that I knew. They were simple but they did the job with very well with an antenna that you pulled up when you used it. It had an old style (green) digital screen with no pictures or texting but it’s convenience was obvious! They were really cheap to have in 1998 but I didn’t have it for long and I wasn’t to buy another one until 2007.

In many ways, cell phones do make our lives better and more convenient. Let’s face it, what can’t the smartphones do? Big Brother and sharing personal information just seem to be growing at a faster rate, whether we like it or not.

Just consider how much personal information you put on your cell. Losing it is one thing, but all the applications you put on your cell use your personal information to some extent. Next time you download an application take the time to look at how much information you're sharing with it. That would normally be a lot, from memory to your images. It usually lists this information after it tells you all the cool things the application can do for you and how you can’t live without it.

Cell phones that have internet can give you the same problems that you encounter on your home PC. Better have a virus checker on that cell, most people who have cell phones don’t think they need them. Always run a virus checker to keep an eye on your naughty apps too.

I’m on my 3rd cell phone and my first “smartphone” and I love my phone. There, I finally said it. Me, the person who always said; “Why do I need a smartphone when I have an awesome computer at home?” The Android cell phones cannot be denied, I have an Evo5 4G with a 3D camera.

To top it all off now there are studies that say our cell phones are possibly carcinogenic causing brain tumors and cancer.

Just lately the World Health Organization put out a new classification for cell phones. The new classification indicates that there is some link between cancer and radiofrequency electromagnetic fields that are emitted by cell phones, but extensive study is still necessary. The panel found that the evidence that cell phone radiation was linked to one type of brain cancer was “limited” and the disassociation with any other type of cancer was “inadequate.” According to the report, the “limited” classification is just one step above the “inadequate” classification.

The problem is with the antennas or certain circuit boards in the cell phones. Holding them up to your head while you talk and exposing this directly next to your brain is what causes these tumors or serious problems. Using your headphones while talking or anything that keeps your cell phone away from your head is the best way you can protect yourself from these problems. Don't put cell phones in your bras women!

The panel that did this study consisted of 31 scientists pulled from 14 different countries that reviewed two large studies that found a relationship between cell phone use and Glioma, a form of brain cancer. The scientists reviewed those studies and other scientific literature for eight days at a meeting in Lyons, France.

There’s no doubt in my head that using cell phones, especially as much as we rely on them now is not a good thing for us. Just consider how many minutes you use yours a month and how you use it. You might be concerned by the answer you come up with!

Here are some cell phone facts:

1. About 20 percent of teenagers have cell phones, many of whom are girls.
2. About ¼ of all Americans have cell phones, but nearly 2/3 of all Europeans do. There was also digital phone technology in Europe about 10 years before there was in the United States.
3. In 1994, 16 million Americans were subscribers to a major cell phone service. Today, more than 110 million Americans currently subscribe. 1.2 billion people are estimated to be subscribers by 2010.
4. There are also disposable cell phones. They are available online and only cost about $12.95.

Whatever your opinion on cell phones it’s hard to live without the convenience of having them. The fact that they are incredibly useful and fun means they will be around for a long time until the next thing comes around to take their place.

This has been updated in 2017 and cell phones have changed even more. I now have a Samsung Galaxy s7 and I love it! Soon, I'll get an s8.

Keep On Bloggin’!

Poop On Your Cell Phones

By now most of you have heard the facts about flushing the toilet without shutting it and the waste that gets spewed all over your bathroom stuff in there but what about something we carry in our hot little hands all day and take everywhere? Our cell phones.

You know you take it everyplace you go. There was a good article recently that said with all of the choices that we have at home to get online or do searches with that cell phones are at the top of the list. Not home computers or tablets, cell phones. I hear a lot of people complain about trying to read the small screens and use the tiny keyboards but it’s becoming a well-known fact that we use our phones more than any other device, especially at home.

When you consider those facts it may not be a surprise to you that our cell phones could be harvesting E. coli and infectious diseases from bathrooms, dirty hands and who knows what else.

You hold it up to your face, use it while relieving yourself, take it into public bathrooms, play with it while eating, take it to hospitals, your car and handle it all day. You may wash your hands but after that, you pick that dirty cell phone right back up again.

NED University Journal of Research did a study in 2012 and published a paper on this subject. Here is what they found.

Mobile Phones: Reservoir Of Infectious Diseases In University Premises
The objective of this study is to find out the level of contamination of mobile phones used in University premises. These mobile phones could be a reservoir of pathogenic microorganisms and can also contribute in the spread of infectious diseases among the users in different environments. During this study, 367 mobile phones of teachers, students, non-teaching staff, medical staff and canteen staff of the University were screened in order to check the presence of different microorganisms including normal flora and pathogenic species. Isolated bacterial species were identified by the standard microbiological methods and biochemical tests. Eight different commonly used disinfectants were tested by Agar Well Diffusion method to find out the effective disinfectant for the cleaning of mobile phones. 98.6% of the total mobile phones were contaminated with bacteria. Overall, 250 (69.0%) samples were contaminated with different members of coliforms group of bacteria. 5% Acetic acid solution and Dettol (4.8% Chloroxylenol) were found to be active disinfectants against bacterial isolates. Presence of coliforms and other pathogens on mobile phones indicates the potential unhygienic conditions in university staff and students. Incidences of infectious diseases are greater in those people who use mobile phones for more than two hours per day. This is an alarming situation which can result in an outbreak of diseases on university premises.

Or at work, or in the home, it’s no wonder people get sick so often. I never gave this much thought myself until I was watching Anderson Cooper on TV and he discussed it. It makes sense even if you never considered it until now.

When asked if they wash their hands 95% of people said they did it regularly but obviously they aren’t telling the whole truth. Men’s hands were more contaminated then women and men wash their hands less when exiting restrooms. I don’t think I have to point out that people with dirty hands have the most “poop” on their phones.

If you stop to think about every place scientists have ever turned up fecal bacteria-grocery store carts, swimming pools, fast food restaurant soda fountains and kids’ play areas, ATM keypads, your purse, your washing machine, prewashed salad greens, food court trays, and pretty much everything in a hotel room, it makes it hard to lay your hands on anything again.

You know what to do about this because (if we ever learn to develop it,) it’s just common sense. Wash your hands, disinfect your cell phone with wipes, don’t share your phone especially with sick people, and keep your phone away from the bathroom.

A little cleanliness never hurt anyone, even when dealing with technology.

Keep On Bloggin’!