Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest Winners

Since 1982 the English Department at San Jose State University has sponsored the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, a whimsical literary competition that challenges entrants to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels. LINK  Fun read for all.

Baseball Trivia

The only man who hit a home run, but did not score on it was former Major League baseball player Benji Molina. He was so slow that he once hit a home run that he never scored on. What happened was Molina hit a home run that initially was ruled a single and a pinch runner, Emmanuel Burris was put in.

However, manager Bruce Bochy challenged the call and it was ultimately ruled a home run, but because the pinch runner had already been put in, the umpires ruled that Molina could not go back out to complete the home run. Burris was given credit for scoring the run, while Molina was credited with hitting the home run.

Smartphone Tips

Want to capture something on your phone's screen? Try this

iPhone - Press and hold the Home button along with the Sleep/Wake button. You should hear a shutter click. The screenshot will appear in your Camera Roll or Saved Photos section.

Android - Hold the Power and Volume Down buttons at the same time. The image is saved to the "Captured Images" folder in your Gallery app. That only works in Android 4.0 and higher. For some Samsung Galaxy phones, hold the home and power off buttons at the same time.



Want to increase the font size to something a bit easier to see?
iPhone
Go to Settings>>General>>Accessibility and turn on Bold Text and Larger Text. You can choose either one or both, depending on your preferences. You will need to restart your phone for Bold Text to take effect.

Android
Go to Settings>>Accessibility. Under Vision, tap Font size and set it to Large. Some phones include an even larger 'Huge' option.


Want to have your phone read things out loud?
iPhone
Go to Settings>>General>>Accessibility and turn on VoiceOver. You will need to do some playing around to get used to it. For example you can touch and drag your fingers around the home screen to have it read what's there. Double tap to activate an app, while one tap will give you details about it. VoiceOver will read directions to you in Maps, have your camera tell you how many people are in your shot, and get spoken photo descriptions. You can also hand write notes and letters on the screen and have VoiceOver translate your messages into text for Mail and other apps.

Android
Go to Settings>>Accessibility and tap TalkBack. If you don't see it, you can download it from the Google Play store. Turn it on and your phone will read whatever you touch on the screen and incoming notifications. To perform a regular swipe gesture, you need to use two fingers instead of one. To adjust your TalkBack settings, go to Settings>>Accessibility and tap Text-to-Speech options. You can adjust the voice engine and speed rate. Then go to Settings and turn on Hands-free mode. This will tell you who is calling or messaging. (I tried this and it was so irritating, that I shut it off)

Want to control your phone camera with voice?
Android
Open the camera app and tap the gear to see the settings. Scroll down to Voice control and turn it on. Now you can take pictures with the commands, "Capture," "Shoot," "Smile" and "Cheese." If your phone doesn't have a built-in camera app with this feature, you'll need a third-party app like Say Cheese.

Homogamy, Hypergamy, Hypogamy

This is a marriage between individuals who are, in some culturally important way, similar to each other. Homogamy may be based on socioeconomic status, class, gender, ethnicity, or religion. Concerning age homogamy, there is an old maxim, "Never date anyone under half your age plus seven." This rule of thumb is sometimes used to judge whether the age differences in potential intimate relationships are socially acceptable within a Western-oriented culture. Homogamy can also refer to the socialization customs of a particular group; such that people who are similar in religion, class, gender, or culture tend to socialize with one another.

Hypergamy, or marrying up is the practice of marrying someone wealthier, or of higher caste or status than oneself. The term is not gender specific, but it is generally used by social scientists to refer to women marrying higher-status men, rather than to men marrying higher-status women.

Hypogamy typically refers to instances of marrying a person of lower social class or status. So, this hypergamist and hypogamist got married and lived happily ever after.

Scanner Radio App

One of the most valuable things in an emergency is real-time information. Now you can add an app to your smartphone to be informed. LINK

Get access to live police, fire, weather, and radio repeaters from around the world and add local stations to a favorites list. This app is free for Apple and Android smartphones.

Facebook Messenger

Now that Facebook has decided to separate the messenger service from Facebook it might be time to look at whether you want to use it. It only works for Facebook friends, so you still need another messenger service for non Facebook friends.

The new Messenger allows you to message ONLY your Facebook friends using a Wi-Fi connection or your data plan. It lets you include stickers in your messages and new messages will pop up on your screen while you are using other apps. The app lets you send picture and video messages like other mobile messaging services. Like Skype, now you can call your Facebook friends all over the world for free using your Wi-Fi connection. Of course Skype does not limit calls to only Facebook friends. Seems silly to add another messenger service that can only access some of your contacts. Caveat Emptor and absolutely do read the terms of service.

Wall Plug Tip

Wall plugs or outlets have no top or bottom. Unlike light switches, it does not matter which way is up or down. However, most buildings have switch-controlled outlets mounted upside-down with the center hole on top. Normal position for plugs is to have the center hole below the two prongs. Very handy to know when moving into a new place and you want to place a lamp that you want to be controlled by a light switch.

More Google Tips

Google has 12 billion searches per month. Many people try too hard and become frustrated. Using a few tricks makes it much easier to quickly find what you want. For all of these tips, do not type the quote marks.

This is very useful for finding one thing, while eliminating something related - to find a sunbird that is not a car, type "sunbird -car" and Google will eliminate car references or try "beatle -beatles" to get bug info and eliminate the singing group.

Type in a holiday name and it will give you the day and date for the current year.

Put ".." between two numbers and Google will search within that range, as “camera $200..$300” to show cameras within that price range.

To find a definition, type "define:" followed by the word.

If you do not remember a complete headline, book title, song title, etc., fill in the blanks of any search with asterisks (*) and Google will try to complete your search for you.

Search for "Books by" and the name of an author, Google will display all of their works.

If you hit "I'm feeling lucky" without actually typing anything into the search box, you will get a catalog of all the Google doodles.

Happy Friday Picture

Go ahead. Give someone you love a kiss today.