Here are 5 things you should know.
1. If you’re lost in the woods and you see a small plane overhead, waving to the pilot with one arm will signal to the pilot that you are NOT in distress. If you need rescuing, wave with both arms.
Otherwise, the pilot will assume everything is alright and not report that there is someone in distress.
After a tiny bit of research, these signals are meant to signal helicopters, not airplanes. Here are some sources I found online that explain it. Apparently, the two arms in the air resemble a Y for “Yes I need help,” and the one arm up with another down means “No, I do not need help.”
http://canyoncollective.com/threads/helicopter-hand-signals.7672/
https://www.liveabout.com/rescue-signaling-ground-to-air-emergency-code-3157501
Here is the news article where this actually happened:
https://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/19/us/left-in-wilds-man-penned-dying-record.html
2. A friendly reminder to everyone who jumped on last year’s Black Friday $1 per month Hulu subscription that the price returns to normal.
3. It’s better to donate money than food to a food bank.
With Christmas coming up, there’s going to be lots of food drives happening soon. While a food bank will gladly accept food donations, most of them prefer money for 2 main reasons.
You don’t know what their stock is. You could be giving them something they have too much of while ignoring something else they need.
Most food banks have agreements with grocery stores to buy food at wholesale prices. So donating $20 will do more than going out and buying $20 worth of food.
If you have a can of beans lying around that you want to get rid of, then, by all means, donate it. Giving them food is still good but giving money is better. Plus you get a tax receipt for donating money.
4. If you live in the USA and your child needs services, you can get them even if their school won’t tell you.
First of all, IDEA is a law that was passed to protect people with disabilities. Basically, your public school is required to pay for any services your child needs to do well in school. If they need a service that your school doesn’t provide, they need to pay for you to access it somewhere else. You can get more info here: https://sites.ed.gov/idea/
Second, if your child is not in school yet and you have concerns, you can get them evaluated for early intervention. This link has more info and has links to find info for your state: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/parents/states.html
There are also other community-based services that are often free, or at a low cost. In California, we have Regional Centers, which provide services and events for people with developmental disabilities of all ages. Here’s a link to their locations, but there’s plenty of other info as well: https://www.dds.ca.gov/rc/rclist.cfm
If you feel like your child needs services and your pediatrician or school isn’t giving you answers, try one of these avenues. There IS help out there, and often at a low or no cost to you. Take advantage. Advocate for your child. Spread information for others.
5. If a road is set up for zipper merging, the people skipping ahead on the other lane aren’t being fools and we should all be doing it. Research supports it, sources inside.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2602&context=ktc_researchreports
Really good read, and a key element from the conclusion: “Public awareness is one of the most important aspects of implementing a zipper merge. This includes the use of clear signage and public education campaigns. All drivers (including truck drivers) must know how a zipper merge operates and understand that it is utilized to benefit them.”
