Oct 25, 2013

Happy Friday

"Love enters a man through his eyes, woman through her ears."

My eyes and ears both appreciate a Happy Friday!

Halloween Stuff

Halloween is next week, so I thought I would add a few thoughts about it, beginning with a real tombstone and apt epitaph.

Eight Brain Myths Debunked

Many myths persist even after being thoroughly proven to be incorrect. Here are some myths that are incorrect, but still linger:

  • It has been sci­en­tif­i­cally proven that fatty acid sup­ple­ments (omega-3 and omega-6) have a pos­i­tive effect on aca­d­e­mic achieve­ment. Wrong
  • We only use 10% of our brain. Wrong
  • The brains of boys and girls develop at the same rate. Wrong
  • Indi­vid­u­als learn bet­ter when they receive infor­ma­tion in their pre­ferred learn­ing style (audi­tory, visual, etc.). Wrong
  • Men­tal capac­ity is hered­i­tary and can­not be changed by the envi­ron­ment or expe­ri­ence. Wrong
  • Brain train­ing does not work. Wrong
  • Dif­fer­ences in hemi­spheric dom­i­nance (left brain, right brain) can help explain indi­vid­ual dif­fer­ences among learn­ers. Wrong
  • Chil­dren are less atten­tive after con­sum­ing sug­ary drinks and/or snacks. Wrong

New Types of Glass

At a recent industry show, Nippon showed off some new glass that is amazing. It first seemed like a joke as a sign said "Invisible glass" with arrows pointing into thin air. Visitors were asked if they could see the glass and many could not. There really was glass, but it didn't become apparent until viewed from the side. The glass reflects just 0.08 percent of the light that travels through it. A normal sheet of glass reflects about 4 percent of light. Nippon Electric Glass said it is targeted at museums where items need to be displayed, but protected.

It also showed off G-Leaf glass, which is so thin and flexible that it is supplied on a roll to customers. It looks exactly like a roll of plastic film, but the 35-micron thick sheet is actually glass. It has been used in flexible display panels and can be gently curved around corners.

Nippon also showed the impact resistance of its chemically strengthened glass that is already used in smartphones and tablet PCs. A sheet of Zero glass was on display and every thirty seconds a one pound steel ball dropped from a height of three feet onto a sheet of the glass the size of a small TV screen. Every time the ball fell, it bounced off the glass with no damage to the glass. Sorry, no picture available for the invisible glass.

Food for Thought

Kiwifruit was once called Chinese Gooseberry, but changed for marketing reasons. Kiwifruit has more vitamin C than oranges and about as much potassium as a banana. Kiwi also tastes great.

More Inventions by Women

Mary Phelps Jacob was awarded a US patent in 1914 for a Brassiere that supported the breasts up from the shoulders and separated them into two individual shapes. People had experimented with making Brassieres before, but it was the idea of separating the breasts, that made her design unique. Prior to Brassieres, women’s undergarments were uncomfortable, containing whalebones and steel rods. They virtually squeezed the wearer into shape. Jacobs' design was soft, light, and conforming to the wearer’s anatomy. During WWI her bra design became popular when the U.S. government requested that women stop purchasing corsets in order to conserve metal.

Sarah E.Goode was granted a U.S. patent in 1885 for the invention of the Foldaway Bed. The bed could be tucked-up into a cabinet while it wasn’t in use. It made an attractive piece of furniture that could also be used as a roll top desk or a stationary shelf. Bibliographies speculate that Goode was born a US slave and emancipated after the Civil War. Versions of her original bed design are still made today.

Dr. Maria Telkes was a biophysicist who invented the first home solar heating system. She grew up in Hungary and moved to the US in 1925. She became an American citizen after receiving her Doctorate in physical chemistry. Telkes’ other solar-powered inventions included a distilling system for life rafts and a solar oven.


Dysania means having difficulty getting out of bed in the morning. Griffonage means illegible handwriting. Acnestis is the area between your shoulder blades. Semordnilap is a word or phrase that reads one way forward and another backward (parts/strap). Scroop is the sound produced by the movement of silk, as in long dresses. Penthera phobia is fear of your mother-in-law.

Punt is the indent on the bottom of a wine bottle. Agraffe is the wire that keeps the cork on a bottle of champagne. Barm is the foam on the top of a glass of beer. Box Tent is the little plastic piece used in pizza boxes to keep the top from smashing the pizza. Kemmerspeck is the weight gained from emotional overeating (literally grease bacon).

String is a group of ponies. Business is an assembly of ferrets. Smack is a group of jellyfish. Gam is a group of whales. Murder is a group of crows. Trip is a group of goats. Parliament is a group of owls. Pass is a group of donkeys. Prickle is a group of porcupines.

Bionic Man

For those who missed the Smithsonian 'Incredible Bionic Man' show this past Sunday, here is a LINK to watch it online, sans commercials. This is a fascinating look at an attempt to combine the best of current artificial body parts into a functioning bionic man. Don't want to give any secrets away here. Suffice it to say it is well worth a viewing if you are interested in modern bionics and robotics, including artificial heart, kidneys, limbs, etc. The length is 46 minutes.

Antony Gormley

British sculptor Antony Gormley is known around the world for his figurative sculptures. His series titled Another Place, features 100 cast iron sculptures and has turned Crosby Beach, UK into a tourist attraction. Originally, Gormley's pieces were installed on different beaches in Germany, Norway, and Belgium and were scheduled to make a move to New York after their display in England. They never made it to New York, but officially settled in the Merseyside coastline. Now, they still stand in the sand, weathered and worn by the sea.

The permanent UK installation consists of 100 life-size figures of men reaching over 6', weighing over 1,400 lbs. and spread over a 2 mile stretch between Waterloo and Blundellsands. The figures, which are casts of the artist's own body, are scattered about the beach, facing out to the sea. Altogether, the installed sculptures serve to represent the shared sentiments of emigrants who are sad to leave their country but hopeful of their future in a new land. The figures are smaller, but eerily reminiscent of the Easter Island figures facing out to sea.

Halloween Fears

Boo! Samhainophobia is an intense and persistent fear of Halloween, and it can cause panic attacks for people who suffer from it. The word is derived from the old Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the end of the Celtic year. They believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to the Earth on this day. Other Halloween related fears are wiccaphobia, fear of witches: phasmophobia, fear of ghosts; and coimetrophobia, fear of cemeteries.


Here are the epitaphs of my heroes Laurel and Hardy.

A master of comedy
His genius in the art of humor
Brought gladness
To the world he loved.
Stan Laurel

A genius of comedy
His talent brought joy and
Laughter to all the world.
Oliver Hardy

"That's All Folks!"
The Man of a Thousand Voices
Mel Blanc

Oct 18, 2013

Happy Friday

If you really know everything, you will realize that you do not.

One thing I do know is that today is already a Happy Friday!

Cinnamon and Cassia



The last two are more closely related to cassia than cinnamon
True cinnamon – Cinnamomum verum
Cassia – Cinnamomum aromaticum
Indonesian - Cinnamomum burmannii
Vietnamese - Cinnamomum loureiroi



Four Simpson Facts


Many characters are named after streets in Portland, Oregon.



Blood Pressure

The first known experiment to measure the exact pressure of blood was performed by Stephen Hales on December 1, 1733. He took a live horse, attached a tube to her left crural artery, then allowed her blood to rush through the tube and it rose to a height of 8’3”.

He noted that “when it was at its full height, it would rise and fall at and after each pulse 2, 3,or 4 inches”. The horse bled out, but he performed the experiment on a horse that was about to be put down.

Quotes from '1984'

George Orwell penned these prescient sobering quotes in his book, released in 1948.

“Big Brother is Watching You.”

What's in a Name

PAM Cooking Spray is an acronym for Product of Arthur Meyerhoff.

NECCO, as in Necco wafers is an acronym for New England Confectionery Company.

Street Signs

Real estate and subdivision developers have the privilege of naming new streets in the United States. The name is submitted to the city for review. Police, fire, and the post office, are given the opportunity to veto the name if they feel it creates any confusion.

The building, engineering and public works departments all comment, but the departments that have the most input and veto power are police and fire. The reason is that the street names are unique and intelligible enough for them to distinguish and find a street and property in an emergency.

Most cities have guidelines and standards for certain areas that require street names to be of a specific theme. This is why you see a large quantity of streets named after trees in one particular section of a city, or all 50 states represented in street names in Washington D.C.

If you happen to be a developer and want to name a street after yourself, you would have better luck in a newly developing suburb than you would in an established city.


Health Insurance Statistics

The Census Bureau survey report on health insurance said there were about 311,116,000 people in the United States in 2012. Of these, 263,165,000 had some kind of health insurance coverage and 47,951,000 did not. Of the 263,165,000 who had health insurance coverage, 101,493,000 million obtained it from the government. That means almost 33% of Americans get health care from the government.

According to the survey, there were approximately 114,809,000 people who usually worked full-time in the United States in 2012. Percent of all people working in 2012 was less than in many decades past.

Food for Thought

Oranges and bananas are berries, but strawberries are not technically berries, they are aggregate fruits.

Inventions by Women




Oct 11, 2013

Happy Friday

A wise man hears one word and understands two.

I hear Friday and understand it will be a Happy Friday! 

International Day for Failure

October 13th is International Day for Failure. A new holiday intended for people to share stories of failure and learn from them. The goal of the people organizing the event is to have it be an internationally-recognized holiday by 2020.

The holiday was created in Finland in 2010. In 2012 it has expanded to over 17 different countries, their goal is for it to be accepted worldwide by 2020. In 2011, their campaign got over 30 public figures in Finland to talk about their failures. They managed to reach 1/4 of the population with their media coverage. LINK   It will be interesting to see if their failure campaign will be a success.

Free Mug Shots

There are over a hundred web sites that publish mug shots and request payment to take them off. These are legal, but can be very bad for someones reputation and job prospects. The sites get away with their actions because the United States Supreme Court has ruled that mug shots are public records and many law enforcement agencies regularly publish them online. Mug shots are taken at time of booking and many people are exonerated or have their charges dropped.

Mug shots have been online for years, but now there are many more sites. They get most of their images from sheriffs’ and other law enforcement web sites. Some sites offer a courtesy removal for people who have been exonerated or never charged, to get their image removed for free. Others charge hundreds of dollars for removal. Unfortunate for the people who land on many sites. It could cost them thousands to have their mug shots removed.

Lately PayPal and some credit card companies have been dropping known mug shot sites as customers, making it more difficult for them to get paid. This is good for their corporate consciences, but makes it even more difficult to get mug shots removed from the web.

Vitamin C Myth Lingers

As we approach the cold and flu season, I thought it might be interesting to follow up on the persistent vitamin C myth of using it as a prevention and cure for the common cold. Some people have also claimed it to be a cure for cancer.

Hundreds of studies have now concluded that vitamin C does not treat the common cold. The results of many studies of various types, involving hundreds of thousands of people from around the world have all arrived at the same conclusion - vitamin C has no effect to prevent or cure colds or cancer.

The FDA, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Dietetic Association, the Center for Human Nutrition at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the Department of Health and Human Services do not recommend supplemental vitamin C for the prevention or treatment of colds. Vitamin C does have other benefits and the studies did not say vitamin C is bad for you, it just does not provide the cancer and common cold remedies claimed.

New Toothbrush

It has been a long time since toothbrushes have changed. This interesting personally tailored brush, called the Blizzident is 3D printed to order and claims to clean your teeth in six seconds. The Company does have FDA approval for materials and production, but toothbrushes are FDA Class 1 devices and therefore generally do not need an FDA approval.

It looks almost like a set of dentures and has 400 bristles in a mold of a person's mouth. By biting down on the mouthpiece and grinding on it, the 45-degree angled bristles are supposed to clean your teeth in six seconds.

There are also inter-dental bristles that get between teeth. The Blizzident comes with slits where dental floss can be inserted to clean between teeth and the handle has a container for the dental floss. In the middle there is also a tongue scraper and brush so you clean your tongue at the same time.

The toothbrush is tailored to a person's mouth through either a dental impression or a dental scan performed by a dentist. The 3D scan can be uploaded to Blizzident's site, where it is used to make the toothbrush with a 3D printer. The first Blizzident brush costs $299 and recommended annual replacement brushes sell for $159. The company also offers to refurbish a brush by replacing the bristles for $89. Here is a LINK to the site. Wow, personally tailored low tech and high tech in one package.

Potato Facts

China grows the most potatoes of any nation on earth, followed by Russia, India, and US in fourth place. China consumes almost half of all potatoes produced and the Europeans, per capita consume the most potatoes annually. Potatoes rank as the world's fourth most important food crop, after corn, wheat, and rice.

A fresh potato contains about 80 percent water and 20 percent dry matter. About 60 to 80 percent of the dry matter is starch. On a dry weight basis, the protein content of potato is similar to that of cereals and is very high in comparison with other roots and tubers. In addition, the potato is low in fat. Potatoes are rich in several micronutrients, especially vitamin C, if eaten with its skin. A single medium sized potato provides nearly half the daily adult requirement. The potato is a moderate source of iron, and its high vitamin C content promotes iron absorption. It is a good source of vitamins B1, B3 and B6 and minerals such as potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium, and contains folate, pantothenic acid and riboflavin. Potatoes also contain dietary antioxidants and dietary fiber.

Boiling potatoes in their skins prevents loss of nutrients. Baking causes slightly higher losses of vitamin C than boiling due to the higher oven temperatures, but losses of other vitamins and minerals during baking are lower.

More than 5 000 native varieties are still grown in the Andes. While the Incas called it papa (as do modern-day Latin Americans), Spaniards called the potato patata, apparently confusing it with another New World crop, the sweet potato, known as batata. In 1797, the English herbalist Gerard referred to the sweet potato as "common potato", and for many years S. tuberosum was known as the "Virginia potato" or "Irish potato" before finally displacing batata as the potato.

Daylight Savings




Wordology, Orchestra, Symphony, and Philharmonic

“Orchestra” is a broad term for any ensemble featuring a large proportion of string instruments. There are two basic orchestras; chamber orchestras (small) and symphony orchestras (big)

A symphony orchestra and a philharmonic are almost the same thing. They are the relatively same size and they play the same kind of music. The two terms help us tell different orchestras apart, especially in cities that have multiple groups, as Brooklyn Symphony and Brooklyn Philharmonic. Symphony orchestra is a generic term and philharmonic orchestra is mostly part of a proper name.

Every philharmonic is a symphony, but not every symphony is a philharmonic. Also, 'Pops'  is an orchestra that usually also plays (popular) show tunes.

Twilight Zone

Came across this site that has links to the top ten full  episodes of Twilight Zone. LINK
Thought some might enjoy a bit of classic writing and acting.

Another Benefit of Laughing

Laughing helps burn calories by increasing your heart rate by 10 to 20 percent. Your metabolism increases as well, meaning you will burn more calories at rest once you have stopped laughing. Find something hilarious which makes you laugh, watch a funny movie or TV show for 15 minutes and burn up to 50 calories.

Over the course of a laughter-filled year, the daily calories burnt from laughing result in a net loss of more than 4 pounds.

Oct 4, 2013

Happy Friday

It's sad to think that the current generation of children probably have no idea that Prince used to be known as 'The Artist Formerly Known as Prince'.

A princely idea for today is to have a Happy Friday!

World Smile Day

Today (first Friday in October) is World Smile Day®.

Harvey Ball, a commercial artist from Worcester, Massachusetts created the smiley face in 1963. He worried the world lost sight of the meaning of his famous smiley face and thought that we all should devote one day each year to smiles and kind acts. It began in 1999 and has continued every year around the world. Ball passed away in 2002, but  'Harvey Ball World Smile Foundation' was created to honor his name and memory. The Foundation continues as the official sponsor of World Smile Day® each year. Do an act of kindness and make someone smile today.

National Sausage Month

October is National Sausage Month. In the UK it is celebrated in September. In addition, October 11 is National Sausage Pizza Day.

A sausage is a prepared food product usually made from ground meat, animal fat, salt, and spices, and sometimes other ingredients such as herbs and generally packed in a casing. Sausage making is a traditional food preservation technique originating with European cuisine. Traditionally, casings have been made of animal intestines, though they are now mostly synthetic. Some sausages are cooked during processing, and the casing may be removed at that time. Sausages may be preserved by curing, drying in cool air, or smoking. The distinct flavor of some sausages is due to fermentation during curing.

Barbecue vs. Grilling

These usually fit in any conversation about sausage. Barbecue or Barbeque or BBQ is slow cooking for several hours. Grilling is cooking fast, at a high temperature.

Barbecue is a method and apparatus for cooking food with the indirect heat and hot gases of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of charcoal and may include application of a marinade, spice rub, or basting sauce to the meat.

Grilling or broiling is a form of cooking that involves direct heat. Devices that grill are called grills. The definition varies widely by region and culture. In the United States and Canada, use of the word refers to cooking food directly over a source of dry heat, typically with the food sitting on a metal grate that leaves 'grill marks'. In the UK and other Commonwealth countries this would be referred to as barbecueing.

Grilling in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries (except Canada) generally refers to cooking food directly under a source of direct, dry heat. The grill is usually a separate part of an oven where the food is inserted just under the element. This is referred to as broiling in North America. To sum it up, whether grilled or barbecued, broiled or boiled, marinated or rubbed, slathered or dry, sausage is almost as good as bacon.

GPS Belt

Here is something someone will want to rush out to buy, a belt that gives directions. Triposo gives hands-free experience with its vibrating travel belt. The Travel Belt connects to a wearer’s smartphone and gives out directions by buzzing.

With the help of the Triposo app, the wearer can activate the belt by tapping the “Buzz Me There” option. The app sends a signal to the belt to tell the wearer where to go. Start walking and the belt will buzz in any of four directions, guiding you from corner to corner until you reach your destination. Fifty dollars for pre-order with estimated delivery February 2014.

What do They Think

Found this interesting web site that answers that question. Just type in a word or phrase and it will tell you what the rest of the internet thinks. http://www.whatdoestheinternetthink.net/
It provides three percentages, Positive, Negative, and Indifferent. It also allows you to type in two terms or names to compare how the net feels about it (I tried IBM and Google). That is it, simple answers to let you know what the rest of the net thinks. You may be surprised at the answers.

I typed in 'politics' and what came back confirmed my suspicion -
Negative 20.8% - 21k+ hits
Positive 13.4%  - 14k+ hits
Indifferent 65.8% - 68k+hits

Happy Birthday Confucius

Sorry I missed it last Saturday Sep 28, when ceremonies were held across China to mark the 2,564th birthday anniversary of Confucius. Not many are remembered that long.


Beer Spread

Chocolate beer spread has hit the shelves at Selfridges stores in the UK as the result of a collaboration between an Italian chocolate maker and beer brewer. The result is a sweet and beer-perfumed jelly with an intense scent and a full-bodied taste, perfect for spreading on a slice of warm toast.

"Beer lovers rejoice, you can now enjoy your favorite tipple with cheeses and bread with Omid dark ale spreadable beer," explains the Selfridges sales pitch. ‘The beer spread provides a unique accompaniment for hors d’oeuvres and cheeses… or as a stuffing or garnish for tarts and cakes.’ I think I need some of that.

Farrington B Font

The squared-off numbers on almost every credit card were invented in a bar at the Waldorf-Astoria. David H. Shepard, who invented the first optical character recognition device (in his attic), first voice recognition system, also created the Farrington B numeric font to try to combat the smudging and smearing that would inevitably occur at gas pumps, one of the first places optical character recognition would be used.

These days, credit card companies could use any font for the account number, because the information is gathered from the magnetic strip on the back. Farrington B is still commonly used as tradition. Shepard passed away in 2007.

What's in a Name, Corned Beef

The term 'corned beef' refers to the 'corns' of salt used to preserve the meat. Meat is treated with large grains of salt (corns) in a process known as salt-curing. Corn is used to describe any small hard particles or grains, in this case, salt. That is why corned beef tastes salty. The salt draws water out of the meat via osmosis, making it more difficult for microorganisms to breed in the meat.