Does perception of time go faster as we get older?

Have you ever felt like the years go by a lot faster these days compared to when you were younger? When we were kids, it seemed like the years would take forever to go by, but as an adult, they tend to fly by before we know it. It got me thinking, does our perception of time go faster as we get older?

Here is a little experiment I tried, and you can try too. First, get a timer. You can pull one up with a quick Google search or on your phone. Without looking at it, start the timer and then count for 60 seconds or 1 minute. Then stop the timer when you think 60 seconds have passed. Check to see if the time went by faster or slower than you thought.

When I compared my count to the actual time of seconds, I found that real life seconds were going by a lot faster than I thought. I was surprised as it seemed like seconds were moving almost twice as fast as I remembered. This means time is going by faster than I thought.

I did a little searching and there are some more articles out there about this same issue of time speeding up as we get older. One of the theories is that as we get older, each year is a smaller percentage of our overall life. For example, when you are 10 years old, a year seems like a lot because it is 1/10 of your life experience so far. Compare that to when you are 50 for example, 1 year is just 1/50 of your life so far, so it is a much smaller percentage.

Another theory is that as we get older, our life experiences become less eventful and more routine. For example when we are kids, everything is new so there are a lot of new memorable experiences, but as an older person, chances are each year is relatively similar in terms of life experience. This may lead to the years kind of blending together which may make them feel like they are going by faster.

There is also physical age vs how old you feel. I find, I feel younger than my actual age. This feeling may also have an effect because if you feel a certain age but then get a reality check of your actual age, you may realize how fast time has gone by.

What are your thoughts on this issue? Do you feel like time goes by faster now compared to when you were younger?

Restaurants unwrapping and leaving paper on the end of a straw?

Have you noticed when you order a drink, some restaurants will present you with the drink that has a straw partially unwrapped with the paper still on the top of it? Some may think this is a way to show that the top of the straw has not been touched in an effort to be more sanitary, but what about the rest of the straw?

I would guess if someone is partially unwrapping straws, there is a good chance they are handling the open part of the straw which kind of defeats the purpose of leaving the paper on the top of it. Maybe if they are very careful, they are able to unwrap it while only holding the covered part, but personally I would rather have the straw intact with the full wrapper to be safe.

The partial unwrapping seems like an unnecessary effort that really does not have any benefit. For the most sanitary option, the full straw should be left covered, not just the top portion.

What are your thoughts on this practice of restaurants leaving the paper on the end of a straw?

Windows 10 Creators Update – Review and Thoughts so Far

A few days ago, my computer did a big update known as the Windows 10 Creators Update. It was really pushy, in fact, it woke my computer up from sleep mode just to remind me to install the update. I tried to postpone it but it started popping up a reminder like every 10 minutes even after I disabled the reminder.

So finally I did the restart to enable the update. It took a pretty long time and after the update, the computer seemed to be running a little slow. This update made a lot of changes to the computer. Things like task bar icons are changed, settings are changed, new programs are added, and even basic functionality such as scroll bars are changed.

Usually I don't like when these kinds of changes are forced especially when we did not ask for them. It just makes more work because we have to learn the new features and fix everything that it changed without our permission.

For example, I have keyboard shortcuts set up to control things like the volume on the computer. This update made them not work so I had to reprogram the shortcuts again.

Default programs were changed also. For example it switched my music player from Windows Media Player to Groove Music which I don't like as much.

When going through settings in the main windows, you will notice the scroll bar on the side now has an auto-hide feature so you have to hover over it with the mouse to get it to show up fully which I do not really like. So far I have not found a way to change this back.

It changed the listed install date for a lot of my programs. For some reason now many programs that were installed months ago are now listed as being installed on the same day as the Creators Update happened.

In the display settings there is a new feature for night light which dims and changes the color of the screen for lower lights settings. I do not plan on using this feature. I did noticed however that because of this, now you have to scroll down in the display settings if you want to switch between single monitor and dual monitor. I have to do this often for work so it is more of an inconvenience to have to scroll down every time now.

One improvement I found was the addition of Paint 3D which seems to be an updated version of the old MS Pain program. I played around with it a bit and it seems fairly easy to use and has some nice features to create 3D objects.

After tweaking the settings and using the computer for a few days, the speed seems to be about the same as before. There are more new programs and changes that I have not gotten into yet, so in case there are any big developments, I will update the review here.

Have you done the Windows 10 Creators Update? What do you think about it so far?

Update: Just as I was in the middle of writing this article, it has given me a pop up to set up Microsoft OneDrive which I do not want to do and already told it to go away before. Looks like more annoyances that will have to be fixed.

Update: Since the update, I noticed now that sometimes when my computer is in sleep mode, it will boot up and then shut down all the way by itself. I checked the power settings and nothing is changed, so it should not be shutting down the computer like this. 

Update: I seem to have fixed the issue where it was booting up from sleep and shutting down by itself. Here is an overview of how this was fixed. 

Live With Kelly and Ryan Review – Did they make the right choice for new co-host?

One of my favorite shows to watch is Live with Kelly, or as it has been known recently, Live with Kelly and Michael, and Live with Regis and Kelly. I try to catch this show whenever I can in the morning as it is always a delight to see Kelly and the different guests each week.

Over the past few months, Kelly was the only permanent host and each day they had a different co-host join her on the show. Usually they were other celebrities and well known entertainers. I enjoyed this rotating format as it made the show a little more interesting knowing there would be different people featured each week.

Finally after months without a permanent co-host, they announced Ryan Seacrest as the new official co-host who would be joining Kelly. The announcement was met with mixed reviews based on what I saw from the fan reactions online. I was a surprised by the choice considering they had a lot of great candidates to choose from and several that were clearly fan favorites.

Personally I would have liked to see one of the others chosen as the new permanent co-host. My top pick would have been Fred Savage. He was very likable on the show and had a great energy and chemistry with Kelly. I also think a great choice would have been Richard Curtis who was the teacher who made it on as a co-host through one of their promotions. He did such a great job, they asked him back several more times.

Another good pick would have been Scott Wolf. He also had great chemistry with Kelly and really fit the morning talk show role well in terms wholesomeness and sense of humor. I even would have liked to see her husband Mark Consuelos be the co-host, but I know that could be difficult because it would mean the two would be spending a lot of time together each week.

Nevertheless, Ryan Seacrest was chosen as the new co-host. Personally I feel kind of indifferent about this choice. He has a lot of experience in similar roles from his days on American Idol and from being on the radio. I think the producers of the show figured he would be a safe choice to fill the role of co-host. For me, he was definitely not my first choice, but I think he will do ok.

So far they have had 2 weeks with the new format of Live with Kelly and Ryan. Overall I think Ryan is doing ok. Honestly, I don't think the chemistry between them is quite right and I don't think a morning show like this is the best fit for Ryan. I will still tune in for Kelly because as I like to think, she is a national treasure. For now, Ryan will have to do as co-host. I would be interested to see if there is any trend in the ratings either up of down due to this change.

What do you think of this choice to make Ryan Seacrest the new co-host of Live? Feel free to leave comments below.

Update: It has been a couple months and I still feel that they should have picked someone else to be co-host. This was very apparent the past 2 weeks where the first week Ryan was hosting with guest co-hosts and the next week Kelly was hosting with guest co-hosts. The week where it was just Ryan, I found myself thinking, "Why am I even watching this?" Then the next week when Kelly came back and had different co-hosts, it was like energy and excitement had been restored to the show. I will still tune in here and there, but I hope some changes are on the way to bring the show back to how it was.

Update: 5-21-18 
It's been a little over a year since Ryan stepped in as permanent co-host and overall I think there has been improvement since when he first joined. I think he has settled into the role and the chemistry between he and Kelly has gotten better. I still like when they have guest hosts like when Mark Consuelos joins Kelly at the desk, but overall I think Ryan does a fine job now as the co-host. 

Wahl Color Pro Hair Clipper Kit Review

About 10 years ago, I was getting tired of going out to get my hair cut every 4-5 weeks so I looked into the possibility of cutting my own hair. I noticed, in store, they sell electric clippers like the ones the hair stylists use and they are not too expensive at all. I ended up getting the Wahl Styler Haircutting Kit for about $25.

At first, I tried doing it myself and got a little help from my dad, but the results were not that great. Luckily, I learned how to use it better and within a couple more haircuts, it was looking as good as anything I was getting from the actual hair cutting place.

I would say it has been one of the best investments I have made in terms of saving not only money, but time and convenience as well. The only downside is it can be messy because you have to clean up the hair afterward, but even this becomes easier after a while. (A tip I use is putting a large garbage bag on the ground to catch most of the hair. Then fold it up and rub the bag around the floor as it will pick up any loose hairs with static electricity.)

But back to the original purpose of this article. Even though my original Wahl clipper was still going strong after 10 years, I decided it would be a good idea to get a new one and keep the old one as a back up. I knew I wanted to stick with Wahl because based on experience, they are very durable. So I did a little research and decided to get the Wahl Color Pro. It was only $20 and had very good reviews. I figured it would be similar to the Styler clipper so I decided to try it out.

Contents and Case

It comes with many different length guards starting at 1/16 inch up to 1 inch. It also has combs, scissors, cleaning brush, and oil. All these items are packed tightly into a carrying case. The problem with this is once you unpack it, good luck getting everything back in. With the limited space, I just use the case for all the guards and accessories and keep the clipper out on its own.

Clipper Feel and Details

The shape of the clipper is flared out towards the top and gets more tapered towards the bottom. I don't love the shape, but overall it is functional. I do like the on/off switch which is easier to flip compared to my old clipper which stuck out more and was hard to flip. I noticed the tapper lever was very hard to adjust on this new clipper, but I fixed it by loosening the screw on the side and now it slides much easier.

I like that this one has a guard that goes all the way down to 1/16 of an inch as with many others they start at 1/8 inch. The guards themselves are ok, but feel a little cheap. Also I would prefer just the regular black color rather than different colors for each clip.

One thing I noticed was the clipper oil does not have a sealing cap like the old clipper oil had. This one does have a screw on top, but I would be worried about the oil getting out if it is tipped over. As long as it stays upright and has the cap on, it should be ok though.

Performance

As far as performance goes, it is great! It runs smooth and is not too noisy. It cuts the hair very easily and does not get caught. So far I have not had any issues with it getting too hot. It is plug in which on one hand is good because it is always powered and you don't have to worry about charging it. On the other hand, the cord can be annoying sometimes but given the choice, I would stay with the corded style vs cordless.

Overall if you are looking for a reasonably priced haircut kit from a reliable company, I recommend the Wahl Color Pro. They do have upgraded models also if you don't mind spending more money for even higher quality clipper and accessories. For anyone who is tired of going to the haircut place or is just looking for an easy way to save money, cutting your own hair with a set of clippers like this is a great solution! 

 

Update 3-1-21:

It has been a few years and the clipper is still working well. I did have one issue though, one of the plastic clip-on guards broke so it was no longer able to clip on. This was a problem since it was one that I use a lot. I contacted Wahl to see if it might be covered by warranty. Surprisingly they said they would cover it and send me a replacement. It did take many weeks to arrive, but I am thankful they were able to send the replacement. I am pleased with their customer service and their support of their products.