Wednesday, May 20, 2020

The best ways to say you’re sorry

Apologizing with sincerity is both an art and, it turns out, a science. A growing body of apology research offers a few key pointers on how to express contrition. One study finds that effective apologies are best served with gifts, especially the kind that are costly to the person who apologizes. The gift is less about the monetary value of the offering but about the signal the gift sends. Another tip: For minor infractions, combine your apology with a thank you. Thanking someone for their understanding or patience is a self-esteem booster, which may ease any hurt feelings. (BBC Worklife)

**MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL AUDIENCES**

Man Arrested For Driving With His Penis Out

A man had a very legit reason for driving around with his penis out and stroking it as he pulled up next to women driving around Avon Park, Florida. When the detective looked over at the man as he was driving, his penis was exposed and he was trying to draw her attention to it. As the vehicles got side by side again, investigators said he began masturbating. When the cops pulled the man over to arrest him, he told detectives he often drives with his penis exposed because he gets hot and “airs it out.” According to the sheriff’s office, the man claimed he has done this four or five times before to random women while driving down the road. Detectives said he showed no remorse for his actions. (Fox 13)

Antarctic Penguins Poop Out So Much Laughing Gas, It Has a Funny Effect on Researchers

Antarctica’s king penguins emit such copious amounts of nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, via their faeces that researchers went a little “cuckoo” studying them, according to a Danish scientific study published recently. “Penguin guano produces significantly high levels of nitrous oxide around their colonies,” said the head of the study, Professor of the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management. While studying colonies of king penguins on the Atlantic island of South Georgia between South America and Antarctica, “the researchers went ‘cuckoo’ from being surrounded by penguin poop”, he said. Besides being a strain on the climate, nitrous oxide has an effect very similar to the sedative laughing gas used at the dentist’s. After nosing about in guano for several hours, one goes completely cuckoo. One begins to feel ill and get a headache. Nitrous oxide is 300 times more polluting to the environment than carbon dioxide. The nitrous oxide is explained by the penguin diet of krill and fish, which contains high levels of nitrogen. Nitrogen is released from the penguins’ faeces into the ground and soil bacteria then convert it into nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas. (Science Direct)

Officials are planning to make changes to the Paycheck Protection Program, giving businesses more time and flexibility to spend their funds

The government is expected to allow business to spend less than 75% of the loan on payroll, in order to forgive more loans, while also extending the two-month window in which the funds can be used. The changes are being made in response to a “cooling” of demand for PPP loans, as 37% of the second $310 billion tranche of the funds remained available. This comes after some business owners expressed concerns over how they could spend the loans. Officials are changing the program’s focus from helping keep employees on payroll to helping small businesses survive the pandemic. Currently, 75% of the loans must spent on payroll for loans to be forgiven. Recently, the Small Business Administration released the PPP loan forgiveness application. (The Wall Street Journal)

Most states are making progress on curbing COVID-19

Researchers analysis shows that 32 U.S. states are testing more people and are finding fewer COVID-19 infections. New Jersey, New York, Missouri and Nebraska have shown the most improvement on slowing the rate of positive test rates and change in new cases. States seeing fewer new cases and fewer positive infections have also reported a drop in COVID-19 hospitalizations. While 32 states in the analysis are moving in the right direction, four states (North Dakota, Alabama, Oregon and Arkansas) had an increase in the number of new cases per day and positive test results. As states begin to reopen, models project a sharp increase in the number of COVID-19-related deaths. (Axios)

Senior living community chain Life Care Centers of America repeatedly violated federal safety standards meant to stop the spread of infections

A report shows that inspectors for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found nine Life Care facilities violating standards meant to stop the spread of COVID-19. Five Life Care facilities have seen breakouts of over 100 COVID-19 cases. More than 2,000 COVID-19 cases and 250 deaths are linked to Life Care facilities. A Life Care Center in Kirkland, Washington was an early hotspot for COVID-19, with 37 deaths linked to that facility. Nursing homes are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, as the disease disproportionately affects the elderly. Inspectors found multiple instances where staff did not follow hand washing, social distancing and other safety protocols. (The Washington Post)

A new survey shows fewer Americans are willing to buy Chinese-made products

About 40% of those surveyed by FTI Consulting said they wouldn’t buy products made in China, with 78% saying they would pay more if the production of those products was moved out of China. The same survey found that 22% of U.S. consumers wouldn’t purchase goods made in India, 17% wouldn’t purchase items from Mexico and 12% would avoid European-made products. A similar survey found that 35% of Chinese residents are unwilling to purchase American-made goods. Trump has threatened a new tax on U.S. companies that manufacture products outside of the country. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company recently announced its plans to open an advanced chip factory in Arizona. (Bloomberg News)

Treating Parkinson’s with skin cells

In a series of secret experiments, doctors from McLean Hospital in Massachusetts and Massachusetts General Hospital treated Parkinson’s disease using a patient’s own skin cells, according to STAT’s Sharon Begley. Researchers converted skin cells into the kind of dopamine neurons that are affected by Parkinson’s. They then injected those cells into a patient’s brain in two separate surgeries in 2017 and 2018. Initial results are promising, but clinical trials will be required to fully validate this kind of treatment Approximately 1 million people in the U.S. suffer from Parkinson’s. (STAT)

Restaurant Pleads With Harassers After ‘COVID-19 Surcharge’ Receipt Goes Vira

A photo of a receipt with a “COVID-19 surcharge” gained national attention after making the rounds on social media. The Missouri-based restaurant, Kiko Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Lounge, and its employees were flooded with harassment after the picture of the receipt started getting attention. There were so many negative messages that the restaurant had to ask people to please stop calling its employees names. “They are just working there, go ask the meat packer not us!! We are just buying it from them!!” the owner wrote on the restaurant’s Facebook page. It also included a article on the broken meat supply chain to prove the price increase is a top-down problem. The manager said the price of meat and seafood has almost doubled, but the increased prices are temporary. If ingredient prices go down so will menu prices. It got to the point that the nasty messages bullied the restaurant into removing the 5% surcharge. But without the added tax, the restaurant had to raise its prices to offset how much more it’s paying for ingredients. Kikos isn’t the only business attempting to balance out increased prices from suppliers and manufacturers as number of restaurants are doing the same thing. (Daily Dot)

GM instructs Mexican suppliers to prepare to resume operations

General Motors told its Mexican suppliers to get ready. The company expects to resume production at its plant in Silao today after the Mexican government told the auto industry that it could get going again before June 1st. Workers at the plant in the central state of Guanajuato have been idled for weeks due to the coronavirus outbreak. A GM spokeswoman said the company could not confirm when it would restart operations at any of its facilities in Mexico because it is awaiting more guidance from the government. The government’s announcement means that automakers can begin reconnecting supply chains between Mexico and the rest of North America, which depends heavily on parts made south of the U.S. border. Senior U.S. politicians and auto companies had pressed the Mexican government to reopen factories. (Reuters)

This Dad Built A Stage In His Driveway To Throw His Daughter A Graduation Ceremony

High school graduation looks a little different for the class of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic as official commencement ceremonies as we usually know them are canceled all over the country. However, people are still finding creative ways to make sure graduates feel recognized for their achievements. One dad in Memphis, Tennessee, went so far as to build a stage in his driveway so that his daughter, who earned her bachelor’s degree from Xavier University in New Orleans, could still get somewhat of a proper graduation ceremony. When the father notice his daughter crying over having to miss out on her college graduation ceremony, he took matters into his own hands to make sure she felt special. Once graduation day arrived, his daughter was able to walk across an actual stage, complete with a loudspeaker playing “Pomp and Circumstance”, and they had programs made, too! Neighbors came by to watch her walk across the stage from a distance, and others drove by to cheer her on as well. One neighbor shared the setup in an image posted to Instagram, writing, “My next door neighbor’s daughter couldn’t have her official graduation due to the pandemic so he created one for her! Now that’s a great/proud father for you. He made it happen!” The father told people afterwards “We love our daughter this much. If I had to do this over again, I’d probably do it even bigger.” The programs made for the event indicated that the daughter earned her degree in public health science for epidemiology, plans to join the Armed Forces and eventually hopes to work for the Centers for Disease Control. (Fox 13 Memphis)

Neighborhood In Florida taken over by loud, chaotic peacocks

In what might be a town were NBC TV should set up their headquarters, some beautiful peacocks dominated the landscape. They walk home, on top of homes, perch in trees, and cross the street at any time. Some residents were accustomed to the birds and endured this behavior, which the season adjusted at this moment in the mating season. The neighborhood as a whole is divided on the peacock issue. Some want the birds to disappear, others love them. A Hillsborough County spokesman says there is no regulation for banning birds because no one considers them pets. If they don’t have an owner, enforcing code rules can’t force anyone to include them or move them. A spokesman for the Committee on Fish and Wildlife said this would not help either, as the peacock cannot be considered wildlife. This is not good enough for some residents who at least want safe relocation of birds. The neighbors said they don’t want to hurt them. But Even residents who love birds are proposing a compromise. (Kedlist)

Two Facing Assault Charges After Horse Defecating on Road Leads to Altercation

Two are men are facing assault charges after a horse defecating on a roadway led to a fight. According to the Pennsylvania State Police, troopers were dispatched in Schuylkill Township, near Brockton, for a physical altercation between two males. Police say the altercation started when a 59-year-old man was riding a horse when it defecated on the street in front of the home of a 69-year-old man. As the older man yelled at the rider, an argument ensued. The rider began to clean up the feces and move it to a nearby field to dump when the older man followed and a physical altercation started. The rider was reportedly attempting to hold his dog and horse when the older man struck him in the face, then went to the ground and suffered a laceration to his neck and a swollen eye. The older man was said to have an abrasion to his hand and wrist. Both were reported to be charged with assault. (Skook News)

Wednesday Comes With A Variety Of Reasons To Be Happy:

• Eliza Doolittle Day
• Emergency Medical Services for Children Day
• Everybody Draw Mohammed Day
• National Employee Health & Fitness Day (3rd Wednesday)
• National Juice Slush Day
• National Rescue Dog Day
• Turn Beauty Inside Out Day
• Weights & Measures Day
• World Autoimmune/Autoinflammatory Arthritis Day (World AiArthritis Day)
• World Bee Day