Man cannot learn truths which are too complicated; he forgets truths
which are too simple.
It is not complicated; I simply always have a Happy Friday!
Jan 25, 2013
S.O.S Scrub Pads
S.O.S brand scrub pads stands for “Save
Our Saucepans”. The name was originally thought up by the wife of
the creator of the S.O.S pad, Ed Cox.
In 1917, Cox was an aluminum pot salesman and when he introduced himself to potential new customers, he would give them a little steel wool pad that he had encrusted with soap as a gift. Eventually, these pads became more popular than the pans he was trying to sell so he began selling the pads.
The last period in “S.O.S” was left off because “S.O.S.” could not be trademarked due to the SOS distress signal often being written as “S.O.S.”.
In 1917, Cox was an aluminum pot salesman and when he introduced himself to potential new customers, he would give them a little steel wool pad that he had encrusted with soap as a gift. Eventually, these pads became more popular than the pans he was trying to sell so he began selling the pads.
The last period in “S.O.S” was left off because “S.O.S.” could not be trademarked due to the SOS distress signal often being written as “S.O.S.”.
Origin of Porky Pig
The inspiration was Joe Cobb, Joe in
the “Our Gang/Little Rascals” TV Series. Joe Cobb starred in 86
episodes of the series and played the ever smiling yet hapless
stereotypical fat kid, who often sets up gags for the others.
During the early 1930s, Leon Schlesinger secured a contract to produce the Looney Tunes series for Warner Bros. He asked animator Robert Clampett and studio director Friz Freleng to design a new series of characters and suggested they do a cartoon version of the Our Gang films.
The first short, I Haven’t Got a Hat, released in 1935 included: Beans the cat, Oliver Owl, a motherly cow named Mrs. Cud, and Porky Pig in the ‘Joe’ role. Porky quickly became the star. Porky’s name came from Friz Freleng, who remembered two childhood friends and brothers nicknamed “Porky” and “Piggy” and decided to put the two names together. His trademark stutter comes from Joe Dougherty, the first voice actor to voice Porky. Joe had a very pronounced stutter and forced director Freleng to go through take after take of uncontrollable stuttering.
Eventually the studio realized the high production cost of the many hours of wasted material, and replaced Dougherty with Mel Blanc in 1937. By this time the stutter had become so associated with the character that Blanc was asked to use it to create a more precise comedic effect.
Had to include this tribute picture to Mel Blanc, man of a thousand voices with some of his favorite characters, including Porky. It is titled "Speechless."
Porky’s legacy continues with his signature line “Th-th-that’s all folks” heard at the end of Looney Tunes episodes. The Warner Bros. other series, Merrie Melodies, which had always used “So Long, Folks” to close its short films, changed to the more catchy Porky line after opinion polls found most people better associated with it.
During the early 1930s, Leon Schlesinger secured a contract to produce the Looney Tunes series for Warner Bros. He asked animator Robert Clampett and studio director Friz Freleng to design a new series of characters and suggested they do a cartoon version of the Our Gang films.
The first short, I Haven’t Got a Hat, released in 1935 included: Beans the cat, Oliver Owl, a motherly cow named Mrs. Cud, and Porky Pig in the ‘Joe’ role. Porky quickly became the star. Porky’s name came from Friz Freleng, who remembered two childhood friends and brothers nicknamed “Porky” and “Piggy” and decided to put the two names together. His trademark stutter comes from Joe Dougherty, the first voice actor to voice Porky. Joe had a very pronounced stutter and forced director Freleng to go through take after take of uncontrollable stuttering.
Eventually the studio realized the high production cost of the many hours of wasted material, and replaced Dougherty with Mel Blanc in 1937. By this time the stutter had become so associated with the character that Blanc was asked to use it to create a more precise comedic effect.
Had to include this tribute picture to Mel Blanc, man of a thousand voices with some of his favorite characters, including Porky. It is titled "Speechless."
Porky’s legacy continues with his signature line “Th-th-that’s all folks” heard at the end of Looney Tunes episodes. The Warner Bros. other series, Merrie Melodies, which had always used “So Long, Folks” to close its short films, changed to the more catchy Porky line after opinion polls found most people better associated with it.
Geocaching
Do you like to get outside and explore? Want to
do something fun? Geocaching is like a scavenger hunt for adults. It
is played with your smartphone or GPS device. There is an app for
most phones and it works with your built-in GPS on the phone. The
phone guides you to the exact location, but then you need to look
around to find the treasure.
There are millions of little treasures hidden around the world. Each has an exact location and a short description letting you know what you are looking for, such as a plastic pencil box, tin can, etc. When you find it, you sign the enclosed logbook and if there is a gift, you are expected to replace it with your own item of equal or greater value.
You can also log on to the internet and share your story with the over six million other players. There are even groups in many cities around the world that you can join to share stories. I looked up my neighborhood and found the location of two caches, less than a half mile away. LINK Happy hunting.
There are millions of little treasures hidden around the world. Each has an exact location and a short description letting you know what you are looking for, such as a plastic pencil box, tin can, etc. When you find it, you sign the enclosed logbook and if there is a gift, you are expected to replace it with your own item of equal or greater value.
You can also log on to the internet and share your story with the over six million other players. There are even groups in many cities around the world that you can join to share stories. I looked up my neighborhood and found the location of two caches, less than a half mile away. LINK Happy hunting.
Shape of the Earth
When thinking of geo stuff, it is
interesting to note that the earth is not round. Most people know
this, but did you know you weigh more or less depending on where you
live?
The Earth’s shape is classified as an oblate spheroid or ellipsoid. The polar diameter of the Earth is about 26.7 miles (43 km) shorter than its equatorial diameter causing a difference of about 0.3%. This very slightly oblate shape affects the weight of an object according to its position on the Earth’s surface. A 20-lb bag of sand would weigh less at the equator than at the North Pole. This is because the further an object gets from the center of the Earth, the less it weighs. Maybe I might move to the equator.
The Earth’s shape is classified as an oblate spheroid or ellipsoid. The polar diameter of the Earth is about 26.7 miles (43 km) shorter than its equatorial diameter causing a difference of about 0.3%. This very slightly oblate shape affects the weight of an object according to its position on the Earth’s surface. A 20-lb bag of sand would weigh less at the equator than at the North Pole. This is because the further an object gets from the center of the Earth, the less it weighs. Maybe I might move to the equator.
Are We There Yet
We tend to get irritated with traffic jams
and long driving trips by car. Here is a picture from 1800 that
might put modern travel time in perspective.
Jan 22, 2013
Wordology, Paladin
Someone who fights for a cause.
Some of you might remember the old TV western series 'Have Gun, Will Travel' with Richard Boone.
Some of you might remember the old TV western series 'Have Gun, Will Travel' with Richard Boone.
What Causes Gray Hair
A few of these gray things have
begun to sprout and it made me wonder why. A person’s hair color is
the result of pigments known as melanin produced by a specialized
group of cells known as melanocytes. Melanocytes are found
throughout our body and the melanin they produce is what gives our
skin, hair, and eyes their color. Scientists can determine what
color your eyes and hair are from DNA.
The melanocytes responsible for hair color are found in the bulbs of your hair follicles.
There are two main types of melanin. Eumelanin produces dark browns and blacks, and pheomelanin produces reddish/yellow. How these cells blend together determines what color hair will be. It is not fully known what makes the melanocytes blend together in the ways they do, but it appears to be genetic.
Once melanin is produced, their granules are transferred to adjacent keratinocytes, also found in the bulbs of your hair follicles. Keratinocytes are what produce keratine, the dead protein cells that make up our visible hair. Gray hair is the result of less melanin within the keratin. The less melanin, the more gray your hair will be and white hair has no melanin.
As we age our melanocytes decrease in number. The result is less and less melanin, until none are present, so hair slowly turns gray, and then white.
In 2009, scientists in Europe found that hair follicles produce small amounts of hydrogen peroxide. Normally this small amount of hydrogen peroxide is broken down by an enzyme called catalase. As we age, catalase production is reduced and there is a build up of hydrogen peroxide, which blocks melanin production by melanocytes.
There are several other things that can cause our hair to turn gray, including: genetic defects; abnormal hormone production, such as stress; abnormal body distribution of melanin; and climate factors, such as pollutants, toxins, and chemical exposure. The time and speed at which you will gray varies greatly.
As an aside, in Britain, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and South Africa, the spelling is commonly grey. In the United States, the preferred spelling is gray, but grey is accepted.
The melanocytes responsible for hair color are found in the bulbs of your hair follicles.
There are two main types of melanin. Eumelanin produces dark browns and blacks, and pheomelanin produces reddish/yellow. How these cells blend together determines what color hair will be. It is not fully known what makes the melanocytes blend together in the ways they do, but it appears to be genetic.
Once melanin is produced, their granules are transferred to adjacent keratinocytes, also found in the bulbs of your hair follicles. Keratinocytes are what produce keratine, the dead protein cells that make up our visible hair. Gray hair is the result of less melanin within the keratin. The less melanin, the more gray your hair will be and white hair has no melanin.
As we age our melanocytes decrease in number. The result is less and less melanin, until none are present, so hair slowly turns gray, and then white.
In 2009, scientists in Europe found that hair follicles produce small amounts of hydrogen peroxide. Normally this small amount of hydrogen peroxide is broken down by an enzyme called catalase. As we age, catalase production is reduced and there is a build up of hydrogen peroxide, which blocks melanin production by melanocytes.
There are several other things that can cause our hair to turn gray, including: genetic defects; abnormal hormone production, such as stress; abnormal body distribution of melanin; and climate factors, such as pollutants, toxins, and chemical exposure. The time and speed at which you will gray varies greatly.
As an aside, in Britain, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and South Africa, the spelling is commonly grey. In the United States, the preferred spelling is gray, but grey is accepted.
Bacon
Gratuitous picture of bacon. A few readers complained that I have
not mention bacon for a long time.
Jan 18, 2013
Happy Friday
"The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle."
That's why I always practice having a Happy Friday!
That's why I always practice having a Happy Friday!
Pop Goes The Weasel
Pop Goes the Weasel - There are dozen versions of "Pop Goes the Weasel" around the world. Many are similar, but in North America, the opening line is generally "all around the mulberry bush," possibly due to confusion with a similar tune, "Here we go round the mulberry bush."
In the UK it is usually "All around the cobbler's bench." Most authorities think "Pop Goes the Weasel" describes the acts of weaving, spinning, and sewing. A weasel was a mechanism used by tailors, cobblers, and hatters that "popped" when the spool was full of thread.
A version popular in 19th-century English music halls includes "Up and down the City Road / In and out the Eagle / That's the way the money goes," etc. The Eagle was a London tavern and the song describes the consequences of spending too little time at the cobbler's bench and too much on a bar stool. Some suggest that “Pop” means to pawn and “weasel” is Cockney rhyming slang, “weasel and stoat” for coat. So pawning a coat to pay for drinks.
All around the cobblers bench,
The monkey chased the weasel.
The monkey stopped to pull up his sock,
Pop! goes the weasel.
---------------------
Good Tech, Bad Tech, Cool Tech
Last week the annual
Consumers Electronic Show happened in Las Vegas. As usual, there
were thousands of whizzbang gadgets that will never hit the store
shelves. Car makers were out in force with devices to tech-up new
cars and take our minds off of driving. Hundreds of toys, games,
bots, and tablets were on display, but almost no PCs. The buzz is
that PCs are so yesterday.
According to Cisco, 1 trillion devices will be connected to the Internet in 2013. Interesting note that Apple iPhones only made a bit over 14% of smartphone shipments during the last quarter of 2012. How far it has fallen from leader of the pack.
TVs - Of course, there was a plethora of 4K and OLED TVs that are amazing in clarity (4k is four times the definition of your HD TV, OLED is same definition as current HD, but much better quality), size (up to 100 inches), and price (up to thirty+ thousand dollars). Only thing small on them is the width of the screen at just 23mm. Samsung introduced a TV that can display two shows simultaneously. The 3D TVs that were supposed to be the next best thing to sliced bread last year were said to be dead on arrival this year.
Here are a few of my other observations:
Bad Tech, iPotty
This is a training potty for youngsters with an ipad to distract them while they are supposed to learn what to do on the potty.
Cool Tech, Papertab - a tablet as flexible as paper and has a 10.7in plastic touchscreen display
It is as thin as a piece of paper with a fully interactive plastic touchscreen display. The tablet is powered by a second generation Intel Core i5 processor and aims to replace the need for paper. A few phones and pads will have bendable screens in the not too distant future. This technology has been discussed for a number of years, but finally has reached the demo stage and it is impressive. Samsung, who has been outselling Apple three to one has this 'Youm Flexible Display'. Awesome!
Dumb Tech, HAPIfork - This little device starts to vibrate if you are eating too fast.
Good Tech, Leap - My personal favorite (and I will be getting one when they come out in next few months) is a $69 sensor from Leap Motion that enables full control of PCs or other devices using hand and finger gestures.
The 3D motion control technology has the ability to track the movement of the user's hand (including all 10 fingers) at 290 frames per second, tracking movements to 1/100th millimeter. It will make any screen react as if it was touch screen, so you do not need to go buy a touch screen.
My observations and prognostications for the next few years: ubiquitous wireless everything, smartphones getting larger toward the 5 - 6 inch sweet spot, smartphones as the universal controller for everything from TV to stoves to robots, Apple needs a new device to remain competitive, the mouse will begin to go the way of the PC as new technologies, like touch screen and Leap become more common, personal privacy is dying faster than the rotary dial telephone, devices controlled by the mind are progressing beyond games and will continue to go mainstream, smaller proved to be not better as we went too small with phones, thinner is the new 'better'.
According to Cisco, 1 trillion devices will be connected to the Internet in 2013. Interesting note that Apple iPhones only made a bit over 14% of smartphone shipments during the last quarter of 2012. How far it has fallen from leader of the pack.
TVs - Of course, there was a plethora of 4K and OLED TVs that are amazing in clarity (4k is four times the definition of your HD TV, OLED is same definition as current HD, but much better quality), size (up to 100 inches), and price (up to thirty+ thousand dollars). Only thing small on them is the width of the screen at just 23mm. Samsung introduced a TV that can display two shows simultaneously. The 3D TVs that were supposed to be the next best thing to sliced bread last year were said to be dead on arrival this year.
Here are a few of my other observations:
Bad Tech, iPotty
This is a training potty for youngsters with an ipad to distract them while they are supposed to learn what to do on the potty.
Cool Tech, Papertab - a tablet as flexible as paper and has a 10.7in plastic touchscreen display
It is as thin as a piece of paper with a fully interactive plastic touchscreen display. The tablet is powered by a second generation Intel Core i5 processor and aims to replace the need for paper. A few phones and pads will have bendable screens in the not too distant future. This technology has been discussed for a number of years, but finally has reached the demo stage and it is impressive. Samsung, who has been outselling Apple three to one has this 'Youm Flexible Display'. Awesome!
Dumb Tech, HAPIfork - This little device starts to vibrate if you are eating too fast.
Good Tech, Leap - My personal favorite (and I will be getting one when they come out in next few months) is a $69 sensor from Leap Motion that enables full control of PCs or other devices using hand and finger gestures.
The 3D motion control technology has the ability to track the movement of the user's hand (including all 10 fingers) at 290 frames per second, tracking movements to 1/100th millimeter. It will make any screen react as if it was touch screen, so you do not need to go buy a touch screen.
My observations and prognostications for the next few years: ubiquitous wireless everything, smartphones getting larger toward the 5 - 6 inch sweet spot, smartphones as the universal controller for everything from TV to stoves to robots, Apple needs a new device to remain competitive, the mouse will begin to go the way of the PC as new technologies, like touch screen and Leap become more common, personal privacy is dying faster than the rotary dial telephone, devices controlled by the mind are progressing beyond games and will continue to go mainstream, smaller proved to be not better as we went too small with phones, thinner is the new 'better'.
Wordology, Junkie
Early heroin users supported their habits
by collecting and selling scrap metal, hence the name ‘junkie’.
Jan 15, 2013
Happy Birthday to You
AOL Time Warner owns the copyright of
“Happy birthday to You” and will do so until 2030 when the copyright
expires. For this reason movies often use different songs, which are
not in copyright or are owned by the studio for birthday scenes. AOL
Time Warner earns over $2 million per year from royalties for the
song.
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