My Daily Smile

Life is short - begin every day with a smile!

Video: Sony’s Ace robot beats top table tennis pros in real matches

Posted on

Want  to get a little something extra out of every day? Sign up for my Living (and loving) Life newsletter.

Back in the day I loved playing table tennis (aka ping-pong for most folks).

In fact, during my junior and senior college years I played it virtually every day during the downtime between my morning and afternoon classes.

While my ping-pong skills never approached anything near professional level, I did eventually become a pretty decent player.

Although it’s been quite a few years since I last picked up a ping-pong paddle, the game still intrigues me and I enjoy watching  pro matches on TV whenever the opportunity arises.  [Read more…]

Video: The man of a thousand voices

Posted on

Mel Blanc

Want  to get a little something extra out of every day? Sign up for my Living (and loving) Life newsletter.

Are you old enough to have grown up watching the old Warner Brothers cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny, Porky the Pig, Daffy Duck, Pepé Le Pew, Speedy Gonzalez, Yosemite Sam and the dozens of other cartoon characters that graced our TV and movie screens?

If so, you surely noticed how distinctive all those characters’ voices were.

Well here’s something you might not know about those voices…  [Read more…]

Historic video: Digging the Erie Canal

Posted on

Want  to get a little something extra out of every day? Sign up for my Living (and loving) Life newsletter.

Numerous massive construction projects helped build the United States into the economic powerhouse that it is today, and many of those important projects were completed without the help of modern construction equipment.

The Erie Canal is a great example of what can be accomplished with a vision for what is possible and enough workers with a strong work ethic.  [Read more…]

You’re 11 times more likely to get struck by lightning than win the lottery, but…

Posted on

Want  to get a little something extra out of every day? Sign up for my Living (and loving) Life newsletter.

Do you play the lottery on a regular basis? If so, you probably know your odds of actually winning the jackpot are extremely poor.

In fact, your odds of getting struck by lightning in a given year  (1 in 1,222,000) are actually 11 times greater than your odds of picking the winning numbers for a lottery drawing (1 in 13,983,816)!

Pretty shocking, right? (Please pardon the terrible pun!)

[Read more…]

Video: Sierra Hull performs a beautiful rendition of “Wildwood Flower”

Posted on

Want  to get a little something extra out of every day? Sign up for my Living (and loving) Life newsletter.

If you’re a fan of Bluegrass music you’re no doubt familiar with Sierra Hull, a supremely talented musician who began wowing audiences at a very young age as a musical child prodigy.

Although Sierra is famous for her mastery of the mandolin, like most other Bluegrass “pickers” she actually plays multiple instruments.

And as you’ll see in a moment, she plays them extremely well.  [Read more…]