Sleep Sunglasses

Also in February's issue, Reader's Digest did an article called "Energize Your Life!" They interviewed a bunch of health professionals to get their tips for feeling better.

The neurology expert had a potential solution for a common sleeping problem that people have now that digital devices are such a big part of our lives:

Pick up some sleep shades 

The blue light emitted by your computer screen, smart phone, and television stimulate your brain, making it hard to fall asleep. But even insomniacs typically aren't willing to give up screen time for the recommended hour or two before bed, says Lisa Shives, MD. So she's found another solution: blue-light filtering glasses. Put them on if you're using the computer before bed, and you'll sleep much better, Dr. Shives says. Find them at: safetyglassesusa.com/amberlens.html

Hopefully this will help you still get enough sleep after catching up on "Stuff I Just Learned". :)

Where Robots Come From

... or where the word "robot" comes from at least!

From Reader's Digest:

Some robots (Robbie, Wall-E) we adore. But many others (the terminators, Alien's Ash, those cylons from Battlestar Galactica) are downright evil -- with good reason: The term robot comes from the Czech robota for "compulsory labor" and the Latin orbus for "orphan". Now, if you were a motherless machine forced to work against your will, wouldn't you be belligerent too?

:)  I knew there was a good reason to not like robots!

You may look cute, but you still scare me!

Where Did "Computer Bugs" Come From?

From Bill Bryson's book, Made In America:

"In 1945, an early US Navy vacuum tube computer crashed. Its operators searched in mystification for a cause until they found a moth crushed between the contact points of an electrical relay switch. After that, whenever a computer was down, it was said to need debugging."

Therefore the moth was the first known computer bug. I never expected those terms to be so literal! Ha!

How To Dry Out Electronics

In case your Thanksgiving was a little crazier than you thought, and your iPod ended up in a glass of water or you dropped your cellphone in the punchbowl, here are some tips for saving your electronics:

1. Turn off your device and place it in a bowl of uncooked rice. Make sure the room is relatively dry (near the shower isn't a good idea!), and let it sit until the rice absorbs all of the moisture.

or

2. Remove the battery and the SIM card. Pat the extra moisture off the device (don't use heat). Then soak it in rubbing alcohol and let it air dry for a couple of days.

It's worth a try at least! According to the experts at Lifehacker, these steps saved a Blackberry from a toilet and a cellphone from a swimming pool!

To Plug or Unplug?

So which preserves battery life on your laptop more, keeping it plugged in or unplugging it until it runs out of charge?

Here's one answer (with multiple parts) via smarterware:

1. With Lithium-Ion batteries, Apple encourages users to let the battery run completely out and recharge it fully once/month. In between chargings, it recommends not leaving your laptop plugged in unless you need to.

2. For other battery types, the data is pretty inconclusive. Whereas neither Dell nor HP suggests unplugging to save battery life, there are many people who claim that leaving their laptop plugged in has shortened the battery life significantly.

Bottom line (as the article says): When In Doubt, Unplug. There doesn't seem to be any evidence that unplugging can shorten a battery's life if nothing else. Plus I hear it's "greener" anyway. Win-win.