I am hearing more complaints about hearing the TV than ever before! You would assume that with the advancements in technology, we would all be happily enjoying our favorite programs without struggling to hear. After all, we can now see everything (even the wrinkles in someone’s face!). We see colors so vivid that they seem to jump out of the screen. So what is up with the sound? TV Placement The newer TVs are more slender, but the screen size is actually larger. The advantage is … [Read more...] about I Can’t Hear the New TV!
Columnists
How Much Will My Bathroom Remodel Cost?
Now that you have decided to remodel your bathroom, you may be wondering how much you should anticipate spending. The good news is that renovating a bathroom is considered one of the highest yielding investments you can make in your home, whether you plan to stay for a long time or resell in the near future. Your bathroom is a space that you frequent daily, so designing one that pleases you and meets your family’s needs comes with a steady payoff. And, should you choose to move on, prospective … [Read more...] about How Much Will My Bathroom Remodel Cost?
Protecting Your Voice
Your voice is as unique as your fingerprint. It helps define your personality, mood and health. Unfortunately, there are approximately 7.5 million people in the United States who have trouble using their voice. They can have problems with pitch, loudness and/or quality. Pitch is the highness or lowness of a sound; loudness is the volume of the sound; and quality refers to the sound’s character. A person may use a pitch that is too high or too deep, or be too loud or too soft. They might sound … [Read more...] about Protecting Your Voice
Ninety Days with Ben
Benjamin Franklin – founding father, inventor and wit – is an icon of early American history. One of Franklin’s most interesting endeavors is relatively unknown. In his autobiography, Franklin describes a “… bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection.” (Franklin was nothing if not ambitious; moral perfection is a tall order.) Franklin set himself on a challenging path. He found that while he was “… guarding against one fault …” other faults surprised him. He experienced the … [Read more...] about Ninety Days with Ben
Going Green at Home
It’s 2015 and awareness of the importance of “going green” has been on a steady increase. What was once considered to be a drastic movement embraced only by extremists, the importance of making our homes more environmentally friendly has gone mainstream. More new homes are being built with sustainable features as standard. Owners of existing homes are choosing to seek out ways to make their remodeling projects “green.” And homes that are considered green sell faster and closer to list … [Read more...] about Going Green at Home
Choosing Kitchen Lighting
Two types of lighting typically occur in the kitchen. They are general ambient lighting and task lighting. Kitchens have evolved into not only a place for food preparation, but also a social gathering center for the home; hence the need for task lighting for food preparation and ambient lighting for social interaction. Prior to the popularity of recessed cans, kitchen lighting was accomplished with four-foot fluorescent tubes in either ugly wrap-around fixtures or in built-in recessed boxes with … [Read more...] about Choosing Kitchen Lighting
In Business, There is No Time to Slow Down
If life seems to be moving faster than at any time in the past, it’s because it really is. According to Physics Nobel Laureate Brian Schmidt and the High-Z Supernova Search Team (a completely not-made-up name) that Schmidt led in 1998, the universe is expanding at an ever-accelerating rate. According to Kurzweil’s Law of Accelerating Returns, the rate of progress in technological and evolutionary processes doubles every ten years. According to Ray Kurzweil, who formulated the law, we tend to … [Read more...] about In Business, There is No Time to Slow Down
Tinnitus: Ringing in the Ears
More than 50 million people are bothered by tinnitus and approximately 20 percent of those people are severely affected by it. Tinnitus is a sound that is heard without any external stimulation. It can be high or low-pitched; it may sound like humming, clicking, buzzing, whistling, chirping or roaring. The sound may come and go and sometimes people say that the loudness of their tinnitus changes. Tinnitus is a symptom, not a disease and is not threatening to one’s health. Most tinnitus can … [Read more...] about Tinnitus: Ringing in the Ears
X-Rays: Seeing is Believing
The X-ray, also known as a radiograph, is the oldest and most common form of medical imaging. X-rays are a form of radiation (ionizing) that passes through the human body and strikes a detector that either exposes a film or sends the resulting image to a computer. Millions of X-rays are performed each year in the United States to help diagnose a variety of conditions. The conventional X-ray exam is called radiography and is defined by RadiologyInfo.org as “the examination of any part of the … [Read more...] about X-Rays: Seeing is Believing
Living with and Surviving Cancer
In the United States, at least 12 million people have, or have had, cancer – and increasing numbers of them survive. However, even those in remission often find themselves dealing with side effects of cancer and/or cancer treatments. Fortunately, we are learning more about how best to decrease, or even eliminate, these side effects: Decreased motion in the arm. This is common after having a lumpectomy or mastectomy to treat breast cancer. To help regain mobility: o Slowly raise the arm … [Read more...] about Living with and Surviving Cancer