We had to put one of our little girl cats down about a month ago at just 3 YO. She had gotten very sick and in 2 weeks after multiple Vet visits she was too sick to save, so we did the right thing for her. I absolutely love my animals, and when they go it leaves a hole in my heart for a long, long time. We have had so many great little guys and gals running around over the years. They are such a part of everyday life that it amazes me how close we bond with them. In the end, just like every day, we owe them for the love and happiness they have shared with us.
I watched my Dad literally wither away from Alzheimers that actually took about 8 years. I share with you the anguish of not being able to offer that last act of love and compassion for our fellow mortals.
We are of the opinion as humans that we have the right to every moment of life we have coming to us, however valuable they may be. Where the tragedy of errors lies is that the law also sees it that way and it is out of our hands. What we don't have the right to is to forfeit the right to life even in the event of a worthless and disastrous existence. The law sees to that as well. One must suffer in life...and suffer till death. Thus, the fate of the Homo sapien. Pipe vivat!
@motie2 , @OlePops Alzheimers scares the crap out of me, my Dad, Grandfather, and my Uncle all died of that horrible illness. Being genetic, I am always thinking about it.
My Dad was a POW during WW2, and in the earlier stages he thought he was back in the prison camp. He suffered for years, my Mom died of heart issues from taking care of him at home until we had to put him in a nursing facility. They would have to tie him into a chair at night because he was going to "escape' in his mind (they didn't care about his history, they just drugged him). More than once the facility would call me to come because he would stand in a corner and fight with anyone who would attempt to calm him down. On severaloccasions he would take a swing at me.
He suffered and as OlePop said, I could see his "person" slowly leaving his body and his once wonderful and caring mind.
At the end on a weekend, I had a Priest visit and give him his last rights and we all prayed over him. He hung in there over the weekend. Monday morning I went in about 0500 on my way to work and he was almost in a coma. I kissed him, and told him my Mom was waiting for him, and he needed to go to her (I am tearing up typing this). He fought so hard (a tough survivor). I got to work thinking I would stop again at lunch and again on my way home, they called me around noon telling me he had just died. I immediately went there, and for the first time in years he had what I thought was a slight smile on his face. That smile solidified my religious beliefs.
@pwkarch - There is no telling what he was seeing...what he was looking at, at the exact moment he passed beyond this life to the next. You say it solidified you belief in some religious belief. I can only say, The Bible says, "...absent from the body, present in the Lord." If this is the belief that you speak of, rest well in it. I can only hope that the things they did in the end while out of their head, and we may end up doing as we grow old and perish are not held against us by the living. Because if there is an afterlife there is surely total forgiveness in it. We simply can't be subject to this bitter reality again. Perhaps he was looking into the angelic face and the outstretched arms of your mother welcoming him to a better place.
I had a feeling youtube would eventually crack down on pipe stuff. I really hope someone steps in to do something about google stepping in and overreacting with censorship. I'm already looking for ways to de-google my life by getting rid of my chrome browser.
@PappyJoe I have, I've used it long before Chrome, but went with Chrome for a few years to try something different. I still use Firefox, though I've also expanded out to Brave, which is also a good Chrome substitute.
Wolfram Alpha: Search Engine or Answer Calculator?
Untold millions use Google as their go-to search engine, but there are others you should know about. Among all the “other” search engines, one of my favorites is Wolfram|Alpha. It’s not really a search engine in the traditional sense; it’s more like an “answer calculator.” Wolfram|Alpha surfaces online through licensing deals that make its technology available through Google Search, Bing, Siri, and other well-known brands. But it's best to experience it directly. Here’s a look at what Wolfram|Alpha is, and can do for you...
What is Wolfram|Alpha?
Unlike most search engines, Wolfram|Alpha doesn't scan the Web, and build a searchable data base of the world's knowledge. Instead, Wolfram|Alpha uses "computational intelligence" to make sense of available data, and answer questions with proprietary algorithms and AI technology. Let's take a look at how it differs from a traditional search engine, and what kind of questions it can answer.
If, for example, you enter “New York Yankees” into Google Search, you'll get over 128 million results. Each result is a web page that contains the search query, or part of it. Any given "hit" may be exactly what you’re seeking or it may be wildly off-base. In contrast, “New York Yankees” entered in Wolfram|Alpha starts a process that assembles a single page of facts about the team. If the particular fact(s) you’re seeking are not there, you can refine the search with additional terms. You can also sort the columns of information when indicated.
"Wolfie" can produce answers to complex queries like “last pro baseball game with more than 9 stolen bases.” This query involves a sport, date, and statistic as its variables. (The result is “San Diego Padres at Florida Marlins, Thursday, May 18, 2000.”) But it's not all about sports. One example that got a chuckle from me was "How many chickens can fit in a Boeing 747?" I'll let you find the answer to that one.
Obviously, such a tool can be indispensable to people who must come up with this sort of trivia in real time. But there are dozens of specialized searches, calculations, and conversions that it can do for you. Many categories of examples are available to help you understand the functions and uses of Wolfram|Alpha. Try exploring some of these and constructing your own queries:
Words & Linguistics (dictionary lookups, word puzzles, anagrams, emoticons),
Units and Measures (conversions, calculations, and comparisons)
People and History (genealogy, names, occupations, political leaders, historical events)
Household Science (everyday weather, astronomy, chemistry, biology or physics problems)
Money and Finance (stocks, mutual funds, futures, mortgages, currency)
Hobbies, Entertainment, Food & Nutrition, Statistics and many more.
Options and Operations
While Google has a limited number of operators to refine search queries, such as +, -, and quotes, Wolfie has a larger set of operators that help you specify what kind of results you want. For instance, “word” specifies that you want to know the uses of the following word, e. g., “word march” yields “march in protest” among other uses, and nothing about the month of March. Operators such as define, synonym, antonym, and even “Morse code for…” are available.
The "Surprise Me" link picks queries at random, and shows the results. My surprises included "recently released movies starring Brad Pitt," "spectral class of Barnard's star," and "people at the signing of the Declaration of Independence." The detailed answer to that last query was a surprise indeed. In addition to a list of the 56 signers, it returned their dates and places of birth, dates and places of death, leadership positions they held, and other tidbits.
Remember that this is a tool that eats facts and spits out information. So Wolfram|Alpha is a bit like a nerd at a cocktail party. It can tell you that it would take 4.39 years to reach Alpha Centauri (some 25.81 trillion miles away) if you were in a ship travelling at the speed of light. It knows who performed "Blinded By The Light" but not what songs are on the Billboard Top 40. It can answer "What song contains daniel is leaving tonight on a plane?" It knows that "Kenny Rankin" is a person's name, but not that he was a popular musician.
Every year, Wolfram|Alpha gets new capabilities, algorithms, and an expanding knowledgebase. Currently Wolfram|Alpha boasts over 10 trillion pieces of data from primary sources with continuous updating, and over 50,000 types of algorithms and equations. When I tried some of those queries 7 years ago, the answer was "Wolfram|Alpha doesn't understand your query."
Some features require a "Pro" subscription. For educators, Wolfram|Alpha Pro ($4.75/month) has a time-saving problem-generation function that creates math problems for students of various grade levels to solve. For students, Wolfram|Alpha Pro ($4.75/month) has a “step by step solutions” function that will solve those problems and “show your work.” That seems to be playing both sides of the street. (Kind of like using Wikipedia to write your term paper.)
Wolfram|Alpha is never going to be the dominant search engine on the web. But it’s specialized capabilities are worth bookmarking, and they will enrich more popular services such as Google Search, Siri, Alexa, and so on.
Comments
We had to put one of our little girl cats down about a month ago at just 3 YO. She had gotten very sick and in 2 weeks after multiple Vet visits she was too sick to save, so we did the right thing for her. I absolutely love my animals, and when they go it leaves a hole in my heart for a long, long time. We have had so many great little guys and gals running around over the years. They are such a part of everyday life that it amazes me how close we bond with them. In the end, just like every day, we owe them for the love and happiness they have shared with us.
I watched my Dad literally wither away from Alzheimers that actually took about 8 years. I share with you the anguish of not being able to offer that last act of love and compassion for our fellow mortals.
Alzheimers scares the crap out of me, my Dad, Grandfather, and my Uncle all died of that horrible illness. Being genetic, I am always thinking about it.
My Dad was a POW during WW2, and in the earlier stages he thought he was back in the prison camp. He suffered for years, my Mom died of heart issues from taking care of him at home until we had to put him in a nursing facility. They would have to tie him into a chair at night because he was going to "escape' in his mind (they didn't care about his history, they just drugged him). More than once the facility would call me to come because he would stand in a corner and fight with anyone who would attempt to calm him down. On severaloccasions he would take a swing at me.
He suffered and as OlePop said, I could see his "person" slowly leaving his body and his once wonderful and caring mind.
At the end on a weekend, I had a Priest visit and give him his last rights and we all prayed over him. He hung in there over the weekend. Monday morning I went in about 0500 on my way to work and he was almost in a coma. I kissed him, and told him my Mom was waiting for him, and he needed to go to her (I am tearing up typing this). He fought so hard (a tough survivor). I got to work thinking I would stop again at lunch and again on my way home, they called me around noon telling me he had just died. I immediately went there, and for the first time in years he had what I thought was a slight smile on his face. That smile solidified my religious beliefs.
That is EXACTLY what I think. he was seeing my Mom with outstretched arms, and she was holding Gods hand............
YOUTUBE CRACKS DOWN ON TOBACCO CONTENT
https://tobaccobusiness.com/youtube-updates-advertising-policy-to-block-tobacco-content/
Maybe duckduckgo.com
Wolfram Alpha: Search Engine or Answer Calculator?
Untold millions use Google as their go-to search engine, but there are others you should know about. Among all the “other” search engines, one of my favorites is Wolfram|Alpha. It’s not really a search engine in the traditional sense; it’s more like an “answer calculator.” Wolfram|Alpha surfaces online through licensing deals that make its technology available through Google Search, Bing, Siri, and other well-known brands. But it's best to experience it directly. Here’s a look at what Wolfram|Alpha is, and can do for you...
What is Wolfram|Alpha?
Unlike most search engines, Wolfram|Alpha doesn't scan the Web, and build a searchable data base of the world's knowledge. Instead, Wolfram|Alpha uses "computational intelligence" to make sense of available data, and answer questions with proprietary algorithms and AI technology. Let's take a look at how it differs from a traditional search engine, and what kind of questions it can answer.
If, for example, you enter “New York Yankees” into Google Search, you'll get over 128 million results. Each result is a web page that contains the search query, or part of it. Any given "hit" may be exactly what you’re seeking or it may be wildly off-base. In contrast, “New York Yankees” entered in Wolfram|Alpha starts a process that assembles a single page of facts about the team. If the particular fact(s) you’re seeking are not there, you can refine the search with additional terms. You can also sort the columns of information when indicated.
"Wolfie" can produce answers to complex queries like “last pro baseball game with more than 9 stolen bases.” This query involves a sport, date, and statistic as its variables. (The result is “San Diego Padres at Florida Marlins, Thursday, May 18, 2000.”) But it's not all about sports. One example that got a chuckle from me was "How many chickens can fit in a Boeing 747?" I'll let you find the answer to that one.
Obviously, such a tool can be indispensable to people who must come up with this sort of trivia in real time. But there are dozens of specialized searches, calculations, and conversions that it can do for you. Many categories of examples are available to help you understand the functions and uses of Wolfram|Alpha. Try exploring some of these and constructing your own queries:
Options and Operations
While Google has a limited number of operators to refine search queries, such as +, -, and quotes, Wolfie has a larger set of operators that help you specify what kind of results you want. For instance, “word” specifies that you want to know the uses of the following word, e. g., “word march” yields “march in protest” among other uses, and nothing about the month of March. Operators such as define, synonym, antonym, and even “Morse code for…” are available.
The "Surprise Me" link picks queries at random, and shows the results. My surprises included "recently released movies starring Brad Pitt," "spectral class of Barnard's star," and "people at the signing of the Declaration of Independence." The detailed answer to that last query was a surprise indeed. In addition to a list of the 56 signers, it returned their dates and places of birth, dates and places of death, leadership positions they held, and other tidbits.
Remember that this is a tool that eats facts and spits out information. So Wolfram|Alpha is a bit like a nerd at a cocktail party. It can tell you that it would take 4.39 years to reach Alpha Centauri (some 25.81 trillion miles away) if you were in a ship travelling at the speed of light. It knows who performed "Blinded By The Light" but not what songs are on the Billboard Top 40. It can answer "What song contains daniel is leaving tonight on a plane?" It knows that "Kenny Rankin" is a person's name, but not that he was a popular musician.
Every year, Wolfram|Alpha gets new capabilities, algorithms, and an expanding knowledgebase. Currently Wolfram|Alpha boasts over 10 trillion pieces of data from primary sources with continuous updating, and over 50,000 types of algorithms and equations. When I tried some of those queries 7 years ago, the answer was "Wolfram|Alpha doesn't understand your query."
Some features require a "Pro" subscription. For educators, Wolfram|Alpha Pro ($4.75/month) has a time-saving problem-generation function that creates math problems for students of various grade levels to solve. For students, Wolfram|Alpha Pro ($4.75/month) has a “step by step solutions” function that will solve those problems and “show your work.” That seems to be playing both sides of the street. (Kind of like using Wikipedia to write your term paper.)
Wolfram|Alpha is never going to be the dominant search engine on the web. But it’s specialized capabilities are worth bookmarking, and they will enrich more popular services such as Google Search, Siri, Alexa, and so on.