by ·Comments Off on TNT Boys: A world Class Talent

A couple of weeks ago, I somehow found myself watching some Filipino shows.  One of them is a show called “Your Face Sounds Familiar.”   Now I’m not the type to really get to deep into Filipino shows since I’ve lived practically most of my life in the US, nor am the type to even get impressed by some Filipino singers.  Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of great Filipino singers out there.  I’ve seen many, and none have really caught my attention as the TNT boys.  Their singing ability and expressions to go with their singing emotion is really catching.

I’ve also seen many YouTube reactions where the YouTuber ends up being caught off guard with the talent they are watching.  They were all simply amazed that three little kids can have such singing versatility, most adults can’t match.  Below is one of my favorite videos of them singing Jessie J’s single hit “Flashlight.”  I listened to the original from the movie Pitch Perfect 2, and the one done by Jessie J and I like TNT Boys’ rendition better.  Their version really pulls you into their emotion. Enjoy.

I hope you enjoy their awesome voices as much as I have.

by ·Comments Off on Powerball: How many sets of numbers should I get?
Powerball Lottery Ticket

Powerball Lottery Ticket

Today, 17 Aug 2017, the California powerball pot is at $700M. Wouldn’t it be nice to win that and tell your boss the next day that you won’t be coming in to work because you won the lottery?

Everyone dreams of that but sometimes take no action. Remember, you have to take action to at least have a chance of winning. That said, the question begs to be asked: How many sets of numbers would be best to get to improve one’s chance of winning?

The answer is simply one set. This will cost you just $2.00. Here’s why…

 

What’s the chance of getting the correct number?

Let’s first understand the powerball numbering setup.

  1.  You are to pick 5 numbers from 1 to 69.
  2. Then pick a number from 1 to 26

To figure out your chances of picking the right number you use probability theory, which says:

  • The chances of you picking the right number from 1 to 69 is 1 out of 69, or 1/69 multiplied to…
  • The chances of you picking the right second number out of 68 numbers that are left, which is 1/68 multiplied to …
  • The chances of you picking the right third number out of 67 numbers that are left, which is 1/67 multiplied to…
  • The chances of you picking the right fourth number out of 66 numbers that are left, which is 1/66 multiplied to…
  • The chances of you picking the right fifth number out of 65 numbers that are left, which is 1/65 multiplied to …
  • The chances of picking the right number out of 26, which is 1/26.

This equates to 1/69 X 1/68 X 1/67 X 1/66 X 1/65 X 1/26 or 1/(69X68X67X66X65X26) or 1/35,064,160,560 or 2.852xe-11 or 0.00000000002852.

Essentially, your chances of picking the right number is roughly 1 in 35 billion.

Let’s say you decided to buy 10 sets of numbers.  This changes your chances from 1 in 35 billion to 10 in 35 billion.  Does that really make any mathematical difference?  The answer is NO.  You chances went from 0.00000000002852. to 0.0000000002852.  Let’s say you decided to buy 1000 sets (cost is $2000).  This changes your chances to 0.000000002852.  Say that you are rich and had $2M to spare.  You buy 1M sets of numbers.  This improves your chances of winning to 0.000002852.  Still practically 0!

Besides if you’re that rich, why even buy a lottery ticket?

The bottom line:  buy one set of numbers for $2.

That’s it.

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Today, Wednesday, 10 May 2017, I happen to see Amazon’s ad for the new Echo Show.  It really looks like something from a science fiction movie…except it isn’t.  If you watch the video, you’ll see what I mean.

https://youtu.be/WQqxCeHhmeU

Note that this will actually become available on 28 Jun 2017 for $229.  It’s actually not bad considering the original echo was introduced at a price of $199–no video, just audio.

I was really tempted to buy one, but I thought…”Do I really need one?”  I suppose right now I don’t, but maybe this will go on sale come black Friday in November.

If you buy one, please share with a comment below.  Let us know what you think.

by ·Comments Off on The Innocent Mind: Always Thinking Out-of-the-Box

What's this? A Strawberry Spider?

Most people have a difficulty thinking out-of-the-box when trying to solve problems or just coming up with fresh ideas.  I, like most people, have difficulty doing this because of ideas, concepts, principles, and philosophies which have been ingrained in my way of thinking over my lifetime.  How can we get over this limitation?  The answer is quite simple.  Look to the young.

The young I refer to are those children who can communicate ideas verbally, but are still too young to be affected by prejudices and biases.  They can be anywhere from 2 to 4 years of age.  If you pay attention to them, you will see what I mean.

Here’s an example.  My grandson is 3 years old.  He is starting to doodle.  Most recently he drew what looked to be in the shape of a strawberry with lines coming out of it.  His mom asked what it was.  He said “strawberry spider”.  I’ve never heard of a strawberry spider, but it does look like one if I ever saw one–this from a kid who is still too young to have any bias in thinking.

One of the things he seems to do very well is to combine ideas or things that don’t seem to have any connection.  We as adults think there are no connections, but kids don’t know any better, and as such aren’t restricted in anyway to make any connections.

So the next time you are in need of some out-of-the box thinking or ideas, check with a kid who is too young to be affected by adult prejudices or biases.

by ·Comments Off on Cutting the Cord: No More Cable TV
No Cable TV!

Cutting the Cord: No more Cable TV

My family has been with no cable TV for over 2 years now.  We’ve saved almost $1000 over that time.  Well, we didn’t really save; we didn’t have to spend is more accurate.  I imagine some people have more expensive cable packages–in the $100/month range.  At this rate, someone could easily reduce their yearly spending by at least $1000 per year!  That is significant especially in this poor economy.

You might be wondering what we do for entertainment since the TV is generally the modern-day traditional entertainment center.  The secret is high-speed Internet and streaming video.

Within the last decade, high-speed Internet has been here and affordable.  It costs me around $30 per month to maintain DSL speed Internet service.  In 2007, Microsoft came out with built-in WiFi on their Xbox units.  A year later, Netflix became available on the Xbox.  With wireless access points for the home being available at a very affordable price, these two events set the stage for Internet TV.

Today, between YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, and the occasional DVD purchase, we can pretty much watch anything on TV.  The only thing we cannot watch are those pay-per-view type events or other events that only makes sense to watch live.  But I think it is only a matter of time before the networks realize that the Internet is the way to go.

This is the basic setup I have:

  • Console:  Xbox 360 4GB Console – around $200 at Amazon.com; you can use the Wii or the PS3 also
  • Internet service:  Verizon’s DSL Service – around $30 per month; any high-speed Internet service will generally do
  • Wireless router:  NETGEAR RangeMax 150 Wireless Router  – around $70 at Amazon.com; this one has been pretty reliable for me
  • Streaming service:  Netflix – $7.99 per month

Have you cut the cord yet?  If so, how are you doing it?

by ·Comments Off on A White iPhone, Woohooo!!!
An ad as seen on Apple.com

An ad as seen on Apple.com

A few days ago I received an email from Apple.com with their announcement of the availability of the white iPhone. Only Apple can create such a big hoopla around the availability of such an essential feature such as color.

I wouldn’t be surprised if die-hard Apple fans would line up to get a white iPhone.  Some of my friends are figuring out the Apple marketing scam.  They dupe their loyal and die-hard customers into buying a new iPhone through the incremental introduction of features.  Here are some of the most obvious examples:

  • The original iPhone didn’t have a camera facing the user.  The iPhone 4 added that feature.
  • The original iPhone was in silver/black color; now there is white!
  • The original iPhone had its buttons located in a certain position; the new iPhone made some slight design changes, causing the buttons to move by a  few millimeters–enough so that you can’t use your existing or current iPhone cases with the new iPhone 4 phones.

Here’s what I predict Apple will do to squeeze more moola from its loyal customer base.  In a future release of iPhone, Apple will include or offer:

  • A micro SD slot; NOT! Memory limitation or restriction is what keeps users coming back for more iPhones.
  • Flash player-capable iPhone
  • Standard USB interface
  • A 100% silver colored iPhone.

That’s all I can think of right now.  If you have other ideas to add, please post in the comments section.

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This morning, as I did my morning run, I listened to my morning dose of “On the Record” hosted by Greta Van Susteren, I heard something interesting that I normally wouldn’t hear in this show.  She said that a music video titled “Friday” by a 13 year old named Rebecca Black has gone viral on youtube.com with over 100 million hits!  To put this count in perspective, in the United States, there are around 300 million people.

This video has over 2 million dislikes; and According to Greta, Rebecca Black made this video as a joke; but since she has made over 159,000 in music download sales on the recorded music version of this, Rebecca Black is the one laughing on her way to the bank.