Tourist Scams and American Guilt

One thing I have learned (or should I say real world lessons I have paid for) while being in Southeast Asia is how naive and guilty Americans are. When we are traveling abroad our guilt is used as a powerful leverage tool to part us from our money.

Two things to keep in mind when traveling in tourist areas in Southeast Asia:

  1. There are police EVERYWHERE and they are there to protect you. You will probably not get outright rolled over or beat up just minding your own business. (Although there’s always pickpockets.)
  2. The police can NOT protect you from simply being overcharged. So the main tool of the scam artist is using guilt to get your money. And guess who the number one easiest target is to use the guilt trip? Americans!

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Reactions to Barack Obama in China

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69JeattgAqI

I’m not very much into politics. Partly because I have heard too many political rantings from people in my life. Armchair quarterbacks spouting off all the absolute truths of how things are, so convinced of how brilliant they are. I used to ask what they were doing about it, and get no fulfilling answer. They would vote in a presidential election, and that’s it. No time spent lobbying, no donations to special interest groups, no real world time devoted to their rantings. It bores me. Save it for the local Irish pub.

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Debunk: Psalm 118:8 is center of Bible

*UPDATE 06/21 – Thank you to a commenter who made me aware that there is no longer an article on this topic at the Snopes website. So, the info in this post – to the best of my knowledge – is redacted and not accurate. I am always happy to be corrected when new facts come to light. Thank you!*

Another urban legend debunk – this time about the “center” verse of the bible. The claim is that the verse at the very middle of the bible might contain an extra important message – and that the verse is Psalm 118:8 which reads: “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.”

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Decibel Levels and Perceived Volume Change

Here is information about decibel levels and perceived volume change. Here’s the quick read info, with supporting documentation below.

  • 3dB = twice the power
  • 6dB = twice the amplitude
  • ~10dB = twice the perceived volume
  • Adding up two 12dB noise sources will get you, on average, 15dB (which will not sound twice as loud)

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