Who kNEW?

I hope you are enjoying the NEW THaNGS that I have shared thus far. I am super excited to share my NEW THaNG for this week. And all I have to say is “Who kNEW?”

Ever been with a group of people and the subject just changes to all kinds of random topics? Not even sure who brought it up or even why it was brought up.

I bet you don’t know why AMBULANCE is spelled backwards on the front of emergency vehicles?

Now I noticed it before, a few years ago, from a friend who pointed it out as weird that such an important word was spelled backwards. I too thought it was very weird but chalked it up to a bad detail job or maybe because ambulances was made in Europe. I know far-fetched right?

OK! Back to our question, now we all stood bewildered and a little puzzled from entertaining such an out of the box question, but we decided to go along with the short quiz. I had no answer, as was a few others. Some shook their heads and replied, “I don’t know.”

Well I have to say is “Who kNEW?”

Below is the explanation, as to why the word AMBULANCE is spelled backward on the front of emergency vehicles:

“The word 'ambulance' is spelled backwards on the front of a modern day ambulance vehicle so that the vehicles ahead can easily read the word. This is since the drivers check vehicles behind them using the rear view mirrors, which usually show words from backwards and upside down. This therefore means that spelling the words backwards would make the driver in front be able to read the word normally.”

http://www.ask.com/question/why-is-ambulance-spelled-backwards

Look out for the next AMBULANCE you see, (always remember safety first) and check out the NEW THaNG you picked up today.

Did you already know this fact or was this a NEW THaNG? Leave comment.

“Emoji” Pop Culture

MY NEW THaNG, I discovered this week was learning how to use the Emoji keyboard on my Samsung phone.

Now everyone knows that “Emoji” is the animated designs that include just about anything you can think of from smiley faces to flowers to birthday cakes. And it is originally from Japan meaning pictograph, the word emoji literally means "picture" (e) + "letter" (moji). ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emoji )See example below:

OS_X_mini_character_palette_showing_Emoji_emoticons.png ‎(324 × 235 pixels, file size: 61 KB, MIME type: image/png)

So I recently changed from an iPhone to an Android OS, and the formats are striking different platforms. And of course I was so irritated that my emoji keyboard was not available on my new Samsung, I was thinking what is the point of this brand new phone and I can’t use emoji’s. What a bummer?! I felt so left out seeing my friend’s texting, tweeting and facebooking with emojis. So I tried to download an app but they all had disclaimers of some sort not guaranteeing the emoji graphic would be viewable. And I just wasn’t satisfied with that.

One day my son and I were discussing phones and he asked why I didn’t use any emojis when texting and I told him, my phone wasn’t capable. Well he took my phone and starting tapping, shifting and bingo! I do have access to a factory installed emoji keyboard. Now here's the thing, he doesn’t have a this phone but he knew exactly how to access the emoji keyboard. I didn’t even ask how, I just wanted him to show me how to access the emoji keyboard on my own. He proceeded to show me what he did and I tried it myself under his watchful tutelage and I have not looked back since.

I just love that I can go to my kids and find out all the cool new THaNGS that keep me hip!!!

Too N.B. or not too N.B.?

I am so excited to share “MY NEW THaNG” I learned the other day!

So I am taking an online class and the class is given a syllabus. And as I read through the text, I come across the initials “N.B.” and I stop to think:

“N.B.”

• What is that?
• What does that signify?
• What does it stand for?

I proceeded to scan the text for a connection to what the initials could possibly mean and I couldn’t found anything remotely close to explaining what the initials meant. So of course, I started to make up things in my mind, as to what “N.B.” could possibly be: “No Body”, “Not Bad” are just a few of the possibilities I conjured up. So I gave up trying to figure out this mysterious mystery of the secret initials for a few weeks. Then those initials,“N.B.” came up again, later in class.

So I thought, maybe these initials are worth investigating since they had appeared several times thought out the course. Well, I Googled, “N.B.” to find out the meaning of these cryptic initials. And here is what I discovered:

“N.B”. stands for:

1. Nota Bene /no·ta be·ne/ verb: n.b.; verb: N.B. observe carefully or take special notice (used in written text to draw attention to what follows). (Google Search:What does n.b. stand for?)
2. Nota Bene, derived from the Latin (and Italian) meaning note well (take notice). It is used to draw the attention to a certain aspect. (http://english.stackexchange.com/a/24598)
3. Nota Bene - note well in Latin, basically just "note".(http://english.stackexchange.com/a/24597)

Now it all make sense now, our professor had added “N.B.” to the syllabus in order to emphasize extremely notable points and concerns that needs special attention above all else.

Well, that's “MY NEW THaNG” until next time. I hope this was insightful for you as it was for me.

N.B., If you wish, share your comments below:

"MY NEW THaNGS!"

WELCOME...

... to my blog, “MY NEW THaNGS!”, where you can drop in and take a look at some of the exciting "NEW THaNGS", I've come across and feel are worth sharing with other self-proclaimed students of LIFE ...

Honestly, I'm not sure where I came across the concept of learning something NEW everyday or just learning "NEW THaNGS!" It's just something that has always stuck with me since I was young. I consider myself a student of LIFE. I am always excited about learning "NEW THaNGS" and have always been amazed of the aspect of learning "NEW THaNGS", the awareness of gaining NEW knowledge can be powerful. What's that saying? “Knowledge is POWER!”

You might be curious to know, why I am calling my blog “MY NEW THaNGS” instead of "THiNGS". Well, it really doesn’t have any specific reasoning or meaning. I simply thought of it as a play on words, something NEW and different.

Now before you think I am being a “smarty pants”, please understand that I am willing to be a student of anyone who is willing to teach. My children, believe it or not are my greatest teachers. I have learned a host of "NEW THaNGS" from them, it's their way of trying to keep me “hip” to the latest trends.

Below are a few of the "NEW THaNGS" I will be sharing in my weekly blog:

• NEW INSIGHTS
• NEW SHORTCUTS
• NEW TECHNIQUES
• NEW TECHNOLOGY
• NEW TRENDS

As I stated, I am willing to be a student of anyone who is willing to teach, so if you have a "NEW THaNG" you would like to share, please add your "NEW THaNG" to the comments section below, but please nothing inappropriate or offensive. THANK YOU AND ENJOY!

So please be sure to check back soon for "MY NEW THaNGS"!!!!