Aug 28, 2015

Happy Friday

Happiness is lust in a good way.

I always lust for a Happy Friday!

Google Birthday

Next week September 5, 2015, Google will celebrate its 17th birthday. Seems like the company has been around much longer. It is worth about US $367Billion. In such a few short years, it has profoundly changed the internet and the world. How appropriate to celebrate a birthday on International Bacon Day - Both are ubiquitous.

Flash Drives Getting Smaller





Nine Old Snack Foods

Marshmallows have been around since ancient Egypt, and were often used to soothe sore throats By the 19th century, French confectioners began whipping the marshmallow to the shape we know.

Pretzels are widely considered to be the world’s oldest snack food It is believed the modern pretzel’s predecessor was first made in the 6th century by an Italian monk, who used it as a treat to reward his youngest church attendees. The word “pretzel” is from the Latin word “pretzola,” which loosely translates to “little reward.”

Archeologists reporting finding popcorn ears that they can date all the way back to being snacked on some 5,600 years ago. Native Americans would throw popcorn ears right on a fire, in order to pop out kernels. ( I bought popping corn ears at Bass Pro and popped in microwave. Fun to watch the thing fill up with popcorn and spill out when the door was opened.)

Necco Wafers were first manufactured in 1847 and Oliver Chase invented a cutting machine that allowed the slices to be made so thin.

Cracker Jack most likely began in 1871 Chicago, IL when German immigrant Frederick William Rueckheim started cooking up and selling his own type of popcorn. By 1896, Cracker Jack was being produced for commercial sales.

In 1897, Pearle Bixby Wait trademarked the powdered gelatin dessert, called Jell-O.

Triscuits were first invented in 1903 in Niagara Falls, NY. Triscuits were originally larger, but shrunk down to their current size in1924.

The first Sunshine Hydrox cookie was made in 1908 and was followed by its Oreo competitor in 1912. The difference between Hydrox and Oreo is that Hydrox is a bit more crispy and less sugary, and the original Hydrox was Kosher.  Hydrox are supposed to become available again this year, but have yet to find them for sale.

Natural Causes

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A natural cause of death is anything that isn’t a non-natural cause of death. When people kill themselves, are killed by someone else, or die as the result of an accident, that is considered non-natural. Any other cause is “natural.”

Accidents accounted for two-thirds of all non-natural deaths in 2013 (most recent results available). The most common type of accident was accidental poisoning, at 20 percent of all non-natural deaths, followed by motor-vehicle accidents at 18 percent of all non-natural deaths, and falls at 15 percent.

Suicide, by whatever means accounted for more than twice as many deaths as homicide. Firearms specifically are used in almost twice as many suicide deaths (21,175) as homicide deaths (11,208).

Wordology, Dishes, Plates, and Platters

A food dish is generally something that food is eaten or served from. It can also mean the food served or contained on a dish, such as, "I wish I had that bacon dish."

A food plate tends to refer specifically to a flat dish that is suitable for holding food that does not have a high liquid content. It can also mean the food served or contained on a plate, such as, "I ate that whole bacon plate."

A food platter is a large shallow usually oval dish or plate, used for serving food.
It is also a course of a meal, usually consisting of several different foods served on the same plate, such as a bacon platter.

Although size does not matter for plates and dishes, some people refer to small as dish and larger as plate. Size does matter for platters, which are larger.

Bottom line, all plates are not platters and all platters are not plates, but all plates and platters are dishes.

Heinz Ketchup

In Israel, Heinz ketchup must now be called 'tomato seasoning' because it does not have enough tomato in it to be called an actual ketchup product. The Health Ministry said that since Heinz does not contain at least 10% tomato solids, it can not legally be called ketchup. Heinz's local importer, Diplomat, is working with the Health Ministry to legally change the definition of ketchup from containing 10% to 6% tomato solids. In the meantime, English labels may still retain the term ketchup.

Organic and Taste





The crime solving dog Scooby-Doo first appeared in 1969 in the series 'Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?'. The character has since been the star of ten television series and twenty films and is still in demand.

Scooby-Doo was originally called 'Too Much'. Then Fred Silverman, who approached Hanna and Barbera with the idea of making a cartoon about a rock group that solves mysteries. He was inspired by the Frank Sinatra song 'Strangers In The Night', a hit record which included the lyrics ‘scoobie-doobie-do’ and the name was changed.

Aug 21, 2015

Happy Friday

Speak in a way that others love to listen to you and listen in a way that others love to speak to you.

I always listen first then speak about having a Happy Friday!

Happy Just Because Day

Each year on August 27, it is National Just Because Day and you can celebrate this day any way you choose, “just because.”

It is an unofficial national holiday created by Joseph J. Goodwin from California, in the late 1950′s. It began as a family holiday and has grown into an annual celebration across the United States.

Today is a chance to do something without rhyme or reason. It could be that there is an outfit at the mall that you are admiring; buy it, just because. Maybe you want to go fishing; do it,  just because. Take the rest of the day off, just because. The possibilities are endless.

Wordology, Want, Wont and Won't

The first two words are pronounced the same, but mean two different things.

Want means ‘desire something’ or ‘wish for something': I want to stay here, he wants to speak, etc.

Wont means in the habit or tendency doing something, or of a characteristic of something. such as, “Tomorrow will be quiet, as Sundays are wont to be” or "He writes every day as he is wont to do."

Neither should be confused with the contraction of will not. Won't is used to express the future and meaning 'will not' as in, I won’t be here tomorrow.

Cancer and Chemotherapy Facts

Not usually a positive topic, but it is nice to get a few facts and dispel some myths.

There are over 200 different types of cancers and 200 different types of cells in the human body with all of these having the potential to become cancerous. All types are a result of unregulated cell growth. The result is excessive tissue, known as tumors. These tumors can be localized, or they can spread to surrounding areas through your lymphatic system or your blood stream.

Normal healthy cells divide and die as they should. The average number of times normal healthy cells divide is known as the Hayflick Limit. It was named after Dr. Leonard Hayflick, who in 1965 noticed that cells divide a specific number of times before the division stops. The average was between 40-60. If you took every cell in your body, at the time you were born, and accounted for all the cells they would produce and so on, multiplied that number by the average time it takes for those cells to die, you get what is known as the ultimate Hayflick limit, or the maximum number of years you can theoretically live, 120 years.

Chemotherapy, by definition is "a chemical that binds to and specifically kills microbes or tumor cells." It is a drug treatment that uses powerful chemicals to kill fast-growing cells in your body. It is usually systemic treatment, meaning that the drugs flow through the bloodstream to nearly every part of the body. Chemotherapy is generally given in cycles: a treatment period is followed by a recovery period, then another treatment period, etc.

It is most often used to treat cancer, since cancer cells grow and multiply much more quickly than most cells in the body. Many different chemotherapy drugs are available and can be used alone or in combination. Chemotherapy treatments carry risks of side effects, some mild and treatable and others which can cause serious complications.

Most chemotherapy cannot differentiate between abnormal cancer cells and normal healthy cells. Because of this, cells that multiply rapidly can also be affected by chemotherapy. Not all chemo drugs will make you lose your hair. Some people have mild thinning that only they notice and some show no loss. Hair loss includes eyelashes, eyebrows, underarms, legs, and even pubic hair. Whether you lose hair depends upon the medication, dosage, combinations, and individual sensitivity. Hair loss happens because the chemotherapy affects all cells in the body, not just the cancer cells. The lining of the mouth, digestive tract (that is why many have nausea and vomiting as side effects), stomach, bone marrow, and the hair follicles are especially sensitive because those cells multiply rapidly just like the cancer cells.

Chemotherapy can also decrease in production of white blood cells (causing immune-suppressed), and inflammation of the digestive tract. Other areas that can be affected include,
kidneys, liver, heart, and lungs. Luckily, many healthy cells repair themselves during or shortly after therapy.


Vikings believed that a giant goat whose udders provide an endless supply of beer was waiting for them in Valhalla (Viking Heaven).