High Tech Halloween Costumes

Check this site to see some awesome and battery wasting costumes. LINK

Velcro Myth

Some say that Velcro was invented by NASA for the space program. Not true, Velcro was already commercially available before being used by NASA. It did receive a huge boost in popularity after being used by NASA on parts of astronaut’s space suits as well as used to allow astronaut’s to store things along the walls of their space craft. Because of this, similar to Tang, it is a common misconception that Velcro was invented by or for NASA.

World Championship of Punkin' Chunkin

This year it runs from Nov. 2-4, 2012. The World Championships of Punkin' Chunkin in Bridgeville, Del., brings together some of the most determined, ingenious, and crazy hobbyists, who arrive with various contraptions engineered to launch pumpkins thousands of feet.

The competition started in 1986, and last year drew more than 200,000 people. The winning "chunk" in the Adult Air category flew 4,329 feet.

If you can't get there in person, they always have the finals on TV and it is fun and very entertaining.

Poinsettia Poison

Myths and rumors about the toxicity of the poinsettia plant are common late in the year, when the popular red-leaved plants take center stage in holiday decorations. While the genus (Euphorbia) to which the poinsettia plant belongs does contain some highly toxic plants, the popular poinsettia itself is not toxic. Some sources attribute the rumor about the dangers of poinsettia leaves to a case of poisoning in 1919 that led to the death of a two year-old child. At the time, the cause of the poisoning was incorrectly determined to be a poinsettia leaf.

Contact with the sap of a poinsettia plant may cause a mild, itchy rash. If this happens, wash the affected area with soap and water and apply a cool compress to ease itching. Eating the leaves or stems of a poinsettia plant may cause a mild stomachache, vomiting or diarrhea, but severe signs and symptoms are unlikely.

A 50 pound child would need to eat about 500-600 leaves or about 20 ounces of the bitter tasting leaves of a poinsettia plant before any medical action would be necessary.

Lighting Pumpkins Tip

This year for Halloween, get a few glow sticks to light your pumpkins. They are safer than candles and last most of the night. You can find them for a dollar at the Dollar store. They also come in fun colors.

Pleased as Punch

This phrase came from an English puppet show, Punch and Judy that goes all the way back to the 1600s. No two performances of the show were totally alike, but they all usually involved the same events:
1. Punch kills his infant child
2. Punch punches Judy until she dies
3. Punch goes to prison and escapes using a golden key
4. He then kills doctors, lawyers, and a hangman
5. He kills Death, as in the Grim Reaper
6. Then it all ends spectacularly as he kills the Devil.

Apple Tracking

No, not a way to look for apples. It is a way Apple is tracking your iPhone. The new operating system that came out a few weeks ago has a feature that is turned on by default. IFA or IDFA stands for "identifier for advertisers." It is a random, anonymous number that is assigned to you and your iPhone.

The good news is that you can turn it off so advertisers cannot track your every move.

First, what it does. When you look at an app, or browse the web, your presence generates a call for an ad. The site you are looking at passes the IFA to the ad server so an advertiser knows a specific iPhone user is looking at a specific publication and can direct a specific ad to you.

To disable this, go to "Settings," "General," then "About," and then "Advertising." The tracking control is titled "Limit Ad Tracking," and must be turned to On. On means 'limit tracking' so tracking is not working. Interesting, you have to turn it on to turn tracking off.

State Rocks

Many people do not know there are many states that have a state rock. Here are states that do.
Serpentine California
Geode Iowa
Bauxite Arkansas
Slate Vermont
Thunder egg Oregon
Red granite Wisconsin
Agate Kentucky, Nebraska
Limestone Tennessee
Petoskey stone Michigan
Cumberlandite Rhode Island
Barite rose Oklahoma
Mozarkite Missouri
Roxbury puddingstone, Massachusetts
Marble Alabama, Colorado, Vermont
Coal Utah, West Virginia
Sandstone Nevada
Granite New Hampshire, North Carolina, Vermont

Robot Pole Dancer

This struck me funny and had to share. It is a pole dancing robot shown at the Tobit Software booth prior to the opening of the CeBIT IT fair in Hanover, Germany, on March 5, 2012. It should destroy the myth that nerds do not have a sense of humor.

You can find this and many more robots for work and play at LINK.    

Happy Friday

Love is the word used to label the sexual excitement of the young, the habituation of the middle-aged, and the mutual dependence of the old.

I still depend on the habit and excitement of having a Happy Friday!

What's in a Name, FICO

This is the scoring that is used for credit reporting. FICO is a public company that provides analytics and decision making services, including credit scoring intended to help financial services companies make complex, high-volume decisions.

FICO was founded in 1956 as Fair, Isaac and Company by Bill Fair and Earl Isaac. It went public in 1987 and was originally called Fair, Isaac and Company, it was renamed Fair Isaac Corporation in 2003, then changed its name and ticker symbol to FICO. It also sells other financial related products.

The big three credit reporting companies use this scoring to determine your creditworthiness. Each has its own name, but all use the FICO calculations methodology. Score is calculated on the following. Payment history 35%, amounts owed 30%, length of history 15%, new credit 10%, and types of credit used 10%. It includes only information on your credit report, and nothing else, like race, age, employment, income, etc. It is a snapshot in time and changes as your circumstances change, so you can influence the number for better or worse. Scores range from 300 to 850 with 60% of people falling between 650 and 799.

FICO score is used for home and auto loans, calculating interest rates, and buying insurance, etc. Some states allow employers to use the score to determine potential hiring.

Some tips - Paying down credit cards and revolving credit are better to increase your score than paying off auto or home loans. Also, making payments on time is important. Closing accounts does not make them go away.

You can get your credit history for free once a year, but I have not found a way to get an actual FICO score without paying something. There are free trials, but they entail an automatic enrollment in a program that takes some work to get out of before a payment is subtracted from your credit card. If your credit is OK, do not worry about your FICO.

Magazine Phone

There is a real working smartphone in Entertainment Weekly paper magazine. Wow. This is how cheap phones have become.  LINK

What Fall Colors Mean

As the days turn longer, less sunlight means less oxygen and glucose for plants and leaves and ultimately less chlorophyll, which hides the reds, yellows and oranges. Different materials cause different colors in leaves. Red comes from glucose, brown from waste and purple from anthocyanin. Yellow is always present in leaves, but during spring and summer, the green overpowers it.

The timetable for leaf transformation runs from September through early November. Typically, the first to see breathtaking fall foliage are the Rockies, Upper Midwest, and New England. From there leaves begin to change further south into the Ohio Valley, Pacific Northwest, and Middle Atlantic toward mid and late October.

The first frost and time of leaf change typically go hand in hand. Within a week or so of the first frost, expect quick leaf transformation. Other factors such as the amount of water during the summer and early fall impact the full potential of color. More water means better color.

Wordology, Naked and Nude

Naked implies unprotected or vulnerable or without clothes. It also describes something that is without embellishment, as in the 'naked truth' or without aid, as in 'seen by the naked eye'. Nude means one thing, unclothed.

Moon Size

Did you ever wonder how large the moon is. Here is a picture comparing it to the United States.

Plastic Hanger Fix

If you have clothes slipping off of plastic hangers, put a few dobs of hot glue along the top and let it dry, to provide some traction. Your clothes will no longer slip off the hangers.

Flu Season

It is that time of year again when the flu bugs invade and many people get the flu or a cold. Most viruses last a week or less, while others last for weeks. There is no cure, due to the many varieties of viruses.

The name “common cold” came into use in the 1500s, because its symptoms seemed to appear in cold weather. Of course, we now know that a common cold is not limited to cold weather. It seems more prevalent, because people spend more time indoors in close proximity to each other and sharing the virus.

Good news, kissing reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol, thereby lowering blood pressure and optimizing immune response. Also, kissing a person with a cold will not cause you to catch it. The quantity of virus on the lips and mouth are miniscule.

Zinc, echinacea, vitamin C, garlic, eucalyptus, honey, lemon, menthol, steam, hot toddies, alcohol, Zicam, chicken soup, and many other “cures” have been repeatedly tested and have been scientifically proven to not prevent or shorten the duration of a cold. At best they provide some physical relief.

Flu shots are designed to prevent the most common types of virus. Most are effective for only those types.

Antibiotics do not cure a cold as they work on bacteria and most colds are caused by virus. However, if it is bacterial, such as half of pneumonia strains, it does help. Bacterial pneumonia usually comes on suddenly and viral types take some time to develop.

Smaller is Better

Here’s a challenge: envision a trillionth of something. You might think of one penny compared to 10 billion dollars.

Now you can add one more thing to the list, thanks to researchers in Zurich: a picometer, or a trillionth of a meter, is around the smallest distance that humans can resolve with a microscope. A team from IBM has refined their method to precisely measure the structural details of a single molecule. That is  3 picometers or 0.000000000003 meters. That’s one-hundredth the diameter of an atom.

Money Diet

A few years ago, baseball pitcher Curt Schilling started to get a bit pudgy. When the Boston Red Sox re-signed him to a one-year deal with $8 million before the 2008 season, it included a clause in which Schilling could pick up an extra $2 million if he made weight at six random weigh-ins over the course of the season.

Schilling picked up a $333,333 check each time he didn’t tip the scales too far.

Safety Glass Origin

In 1903 Edouard Benedictus, a French scientist, dropped glass flask and it did not shatter.

The pieces of glass were broken, but they stayed in place and maintained the shape of the container. Upon investigation Benedictus found the flask had originally contained a solution of cellulose nitrate, a liquid plastic that had evaporated.

This was the first type of safety glass developed, a product which is now frequently used in car windshields, safety goggles, doors, stairs, bank protection shields, and more.

Happy Friday

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.

You can see it on my face that I maintain the enthusiasm for having a Happy Friday!

Five Handy Kitchen Tips

Keep your onions in the refrigerator. A chilled onion is easier to chop, and causes fewer tears.

If you use seltzer instead of tap water or milk, you get fluffier pancakes, waffles, and scrambled eggs.


To freeze berries, spread them on a pan or plate and freeze, then take out and put into freezer bags. That way they stay separate and not in one big lump.


Keep milk fresher for longer by adding a dash of salt into the carton right after opening it for the first time.


Take your eggs out of the refrigerator and let sit out so that when you begin breakfast the eggs are at room temperature. They cook better and make especially fluffy omelets.  For other dishes, eggs separate better when cold but whip better when warmed.

Wordology, Grand Slam

The immediate origin was from the card game, Bridge. Grand slam means to take all 13 tricks in a hand.

It has since come to take on other meanings, such as in tennis to win all four major singles titles; the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open in one year. A grand slam in golf is to win; Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, British Open, and  PGA Championship in one year. It is used in baseball to signify hitting a home run with all bases loaded.


Chess, Curling, Rugby, and other sports each have a grand slam definition of their own,

Denny's restaurant chain is famous for its Grand Slam breakfasts consisting of various combinations of meat, eggs, bread, and pancakes. We also cannot forget Grand Slam Pizza in Dripping Springs, Texas.

Happy Birthday Zippers

A hundred years ago in 1912, zippers were first used in clothes. The Titanic sunk in 1912, but there is no relation between that and zippers.

Soft Drinks and Sugar

A typical carbonated soft drink will have 200 calories in a 16-ounce serving. All of those calories come from sugar, and sugar contains 16 calories per teaspoon. Divide those two and you find a 16-ounce serving contains about 12.5 teaspoons of sugar.

I wanted to compare this to coffee, so I looked at a 12 ounce soda, which has about 140 calories or about 8.75 teaspoons of sugar. Standard coffee cups (not mugs) contain about 6 ounces of fluid. Take half the calories and sugar of a 12 ounce soda and it would take about 4.38 teaspoons of sugar to make coffee as sweet as soda.

Cheap Parts Storage

When storing unused cables, plugs, or other parts and pieces, use kitchen storage bags and put a note in the bag telling what the item is used for. Saves space and helps you remember.

Origin of the Simpsons

The inspiration for Homer Simpson came from a character in “The Day of the Locust” book, which featured a hopelessly clumsy and disaffected character named Homer Simpson, and Eddie Haskell in “Leave it to Beaver” TV Series.

Life in Hell started in 1977 as a self-published comic book written and produced by Matt Groening and was a story about life in Los Angeles and the things which Groening encountered at school, at work in a succession of seedy jobs, and in his personal love relationships.

The series reached the attention of James L. Brooks who commissioned Groening to create short skits for the Tracey Ullman Show. While waiting in Brooks’ office reception for the interview, Groening sketched out a number of basic designs which would go on to become the basis for The Simpsons. He walked in to the office, presented his 10 minute-old drawings and got the job.

He named the characters after members of his own family, his father Homer, mother Marge, and sister Lisa. He substituted Bart for himself. Bart Simpson was named as an anagram of “brat,” and Matt's older brother Mark produced much of the early inspiration for Bart’s attitude.

The entire Simpson family was designed so that they would be drawn very quickly, allowing the often tight budget to reach further, and be recognizable in silhouette. When designing Homer's hair he initially just sketched his initials, ‘M’ for the hairline and ‘G’ for Homer's ear. Matt Groening's initials still remain on the final character to this day. Marge’s hair was based on the iconic Elsa Lanchester hairdo as worn in The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and on a similar style worn by Margaret Groening during the 1960s. Lisa’s hair was initially a cluster of hand drawn hairlines, but this was changed to the simpler ‘hexagon hair’ design before the pilot episode.

So far the show is still on the air after 500+ episodes and is regarded as the longest running animation series of all time.

What's in a Name, Denny's

Richard Jezak and Harold Butler founded Denny's as Danny's Donuts in Lakewood, California in 1953. It expanded to twenty restaurants by 1959, when the chain was renamed Denny's to avoid confusion with another chain, Coffee Dan's.

KKR bought 47% of Denny's among others from owner TW corporation. Eventually, Denny's operations dominated the parent company so much that the Flagstar Companies changed its name to Denny's Corporation.

Russian Service

While most of our Western food flavors originate in French cuisine, the style of service we are all most used to – individual plates pre-filled and served – is called Russian service, and it originates from the table of the Czar.

In French cuisine it was traditional for all food to be prepared in advance and displayed in huge amounts on side tables. It was an extremely lavish affair, but the end result of this was that much food was wasted and wasn't always hot.

Russian service, prepared with the expertise of the chef in the kitchen, caught on very fast and was so convenient that it is now the primary way we dish our meals at home.

Grandfather Clocks

The name for the free standing tall clocks is actually newer than you might think. In 1875, an American songwriter named Henry Clay Work was visiting England. While there, he checked in to the George Hotel in North Yorkshire.

In the hotel’s lobby was a large pendulum clock. The clock had stopped many years prior and just sat in the lobby as decoration.

He was told a long made-up story how the clock stopped when the previous owner of the inn passed away. Work went home and penned a song about the clock. The song was called “My Grandfather’s Clock”, released in 1876.

You might remember the familiar lyrics of the children's song.

My grandfather’s clock was too large for the shelf, So it stood ninety years on the floor; It was taller by half than the old man himself, Though it weighed not a pennyweight more.
It was bought on the morn of the day that he was born, And was always his treasure and pride;  but it stopp’d short – never to go again – When the old man died.

CHORUS
Ninety years without slumbering (tick, tick, tick, tick),
His life seconds numbering (tick, tick, tick, tick),
It stopp’d short – never to go again – When the old man died.
etc.

Happy Friday

"He who learns, but does not think, is lost. He who thinks, but does not learn, is in great danger." Confucius

I think I have learned to have a Happy Friday!

Popinator

Who said there are no new inventions. Here is one to benefit mankind. It is a machine that shoots a popcorn into your mouth when you say the word, "Pop." It uses a sound system to determine your direction and distance and shoots one kernel of popped popcorn directly into your mouth. LINK Not sure if you can actually buy one, but it is fun to watch.

Kitchen Tip

Glue a few magnets under your upper kitchen cabinets to attach your frequently used metal items, like kitchen scissors, mixing spoon, etc. It keeps them handy, but out of site and reduces drawer clutter.

Tooth Patch

The Japanese have developed a tooth-patch made of an ultra thin bio-compatible film made from hydroxyapatitte, the main mineral in tooth enamel. The microscopically thin film can coat individual teeth to prevent decay or to make them appear whiter. It could also mean an end to sensitive teeth. They are aiming to create artificial enamel.

Researchers can create film 0.00016 inches thick by firing lasers at compressed blocks of hydroxyapatite in a vacuum to make individual particles pop out. These particles fall onto a block of salt which is heated to crystallize them, before the salt stand is dissolved in water. The film is scooped up onto filter paper and dried, after which it is robust enough to be picked up by a pair of tweezers. The sheet has a number of minute holes that allow liquid and air to escape from underneath to prevent forming bubbles when it is applied onto a tooth.

The film is currently transparent, but it is possible to make it white for use in cosmetic dentistry.

It might be five years before the film could be used in practical dental treatment such as covering exposed dentin, the sensitive layer underneath enamel, but it could be used cosmetically within three years. The technology is currently patented in Japan and South Korea and applications have been made in the United States, Europe, and China.

Origin of Chocolate Milk

Chocolate milk was not just a clever ploy built up by a marketing team as a a way to sell more milk to children. In fact, Sir Hans Sloane first created chocolate milk over 350 years ago. He had tasted chocolate while in the West Indies, but said it made him nauseous, so he added milk and sugar to make it more appealing. By 1700, people would often go to 'chocolate houses' instead of coffee houses, where they could choose from a range of different chocolate milk mixes.

Farenheit Scale

Fahrenheit is the temperature scale proposed in 1724 by German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736). In 1717, Fahrenheit became a glassblower, making barometers, altimeters, and thermometers. After 1718 he was a lecturer in chemistry. At that time, temperature scales were not standardized and everybody made up their own scale. He originally copied another thermometer, but adjusted his scale so that the melting point of ice would be 32 degrees, body temperature 96 degrees, and water boil at about 212 degrees. 180 degrees made for even spacing of his scale.

Other scientists later refined it to make the freezing point of water exactly 32 °F, and the boiling point exactly 212 °F. That is how normal human oral body temperature became 98.6°.

The Fahrenheit scale was replaced by the Celsius scale in most countries during the 1960s and 1970s when converting to metrics. Fahrenheit remains the official scale of the United States, Cayman Islands, Belize (by Guatemala), Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Scientists use Celsius in all countries.

The Fahrenheit and Celsius scales intersect at −40° (−40 °F and −40 °C represent the same temperature).

Tips for Separating Eggs

Here is a little video that shows two easy ways to separate eggs without trouble. Don't worry if you do not understand Chinese, you can just watch. LINK  The second way, with a bottle is a also good way to store the yolks. Just put the cap back on the bottle and put back in the refrigerator.

Cheap Tablets

Fry's now sells a 7 inch tablet for $56. It has a bunch of models under a hundred dollars. Prices are dropping faster than anyone could imagine. At that price they become an impulse buy. It has mail, front camera, internet, and uses Wifi. Toys R Us is even selling a tablet specifically for children.

The name Wifi is not an acronym, it is just a trademark term with no meaning. Some erroneously think it means wireless fidelity, because it sounds like the old HiFi term.

O. Henry

In September, we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of O. Henry, born as William Sidney Porter in Greensboro, North Carolina. At age three, his mother died of consumption, now called tuberculosis, and he was raised by his physician father and maternal grandmother.

Porter spent his first twenty years in Greensboro with a love of reading and a talent for sketching. After high school, he became a licensed pharmacist and worked briefly in his uncle's drug store. At age 20, worried about a chronic cough that might develop into tuberculosis so he moved to Texas.

Porter traveled with Dr. James K. Hall to Texas in 1882, hoping that a change of air would help alleviate a persistent cough he had developed. He took up residence on the sheep ranch of Richard Hall, James' son and helped out as a shepherd, ranch hand, cook and baby-sitter.

Porter's health did improve and he traveled with Richard to Austin in 1884, where he decided to remain and was welcomed into the home of the Harrells, who were friends of Richard's. Porter took a number of different jobs over the next several years, first as pharmacist then as a draftsman, bank teller, and journalist. He also began writing as a sideline.

During the next several years, he became a well-known member of the social scene as a result of his involvement in musical and theater groups. He played guitar and mandolin and had a great singing voice. It was around this time that he also began to dream up plots for short stories and imagine an assortment of characters, often brought to life in his drawings.

By 1891, while devoting all his spare time to a self-published magazine 'The Rolling Stone', he took a job as a teller and bookkeeper at the First National Bank of Austin. In 1894, be was abruptly fired for embezzling funds, although no charges were filed. He moved to Houston, where his pieces in The Rolling Stone helped land him a job as a writer for The Houston Post.

Two years later, after a federal audit of the Austin bank, formal embezzlement charges were brought against him. The day before his trial, he fled to New Orleans and then to Honduras. A year later, after learning that his wife Athol was dying, he returned to Austin and surrendered to authorities.

In 1898, he was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. While serving his sentence at Ohio Penitentiary, Porter worked as a night druggist in the prison hospital, given a room in the hospital wing, and even provided with access to a typewriter to continue his writing efforts.

He had fourteen stories published in national magazines under various pseudonyms while he was in prison, but became best known as "O. Henry." When asked what the O stood for, he said, "O stands for Olivier, the French for Oliver."

He was released from prison after serving three years and moved to Manhattan, where he lived until his premature death at age 47 in 1910. He died of cirrhosis of the liver, complications of diabetes, and an enlarged heart. During the last decade of his life, he wrote nearly 400 short stories.

In an interesting twist, like many of his stories, O. Henry Hall in Austin, Texas is named for him and it previously served as the federal courthouse in which he was convicted of embezzlement.

Free Google Calculator

When you type in any formula into the Google search box, like 1+1 or 20/40 (/ is for divide) or 2*2 (* is multiply), Google shows a calculator as the response and it includes the answer.

Happy Friday

Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.

I have the perfect design for a Happy Friday!

Oktoberfest

September 22 is considered the beginning of Oktoberfest for 2012. The multi-week festival of beer, oompa music, and wurst always starts in late September. It is one of the most famous events in Germany and is the world's largest fair, with more than 5 million people attending every year. The Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture and has been held since 1810. Now Oktoberfests are celebrated in cities around the world.

The holiday started as a royal wedding celebration for Crown Prince Ludwig, Beer must adhere to strict German Beer Purity laws (Reinheitsgebot) to be considered official Oktoberfest Beer.

Vanilla Truth

Vanilla comes from a special species of orchid. Consuming natural vanilla causes the body to release catecholamines, including adrenalin and for this reason it is considered to be mildly addictive.


When vanilla plants were first exported from Mexico to other tropical climes, they flowered, but wouldn’t produce vanilla pods. It was discovered that a bee native to Mexico was the only creature that could pollinate vanilla flowers.


Attempts to move the bee to other countries failed and it was not until a slave boy discovered a method of artificial pollination that Mexico lost its monopoly on vanilla. As well as being mildly addictive, vanilla has also been found to block bacterial infections. Ice cream with real flecks of vanilla beans (and maybe some bacon bits) is probably doubly addictive.

USA Today

The Gannett media empire published USA Today for the first time on September 15, 1982. The paper was called 'The Nation’s Newspaper'. Critics called the satellite-transmitted, colorful, splashy publication, 'News McNugggets', and 'The Nation’s Comic Book', but it has withstood the test of time while many others have failed.

Several books have been written about the newspaper that is read by millions each day. USA Today has editions throughout the world and has changed the game for newspapers everywhere. Many have imitated the fast-reading format pioneered by USA Today.

Top Ten Toys of All Time

There is minimal agreement on the top toys of all time among many adults. Some are obviously biased, such as the first poll which includes Star Wars Figures. They have not been in existence long enough to even be considered by others.

Poll 1	Poll 2	Poll 3
1. Hula Hoop	1. Bike	1. G.I. Joe
2. Barbie	2. LEGO	2. Transformers
3. LEGO	3. Teddy Bear	3. LEGO
4. G.I. Joe	4. Crayons	4. Barbie
5. Mr. Potato Head	5. Slinky	5. View-Master
6. Monopoly	6. Ball	6. Bike
7. Star Wars figures	7. Etch A Sketch	7. Cabbage Patch Kids
8. Yo-Yo	8. Yo-Yo	8. Crayons
9. Slinky	9. Barbie	9. Play-doh
10. Wiffle ball, bat	10. Hula Hoop	10. Monopoly

The only 2 toys included on all three lists, in order are LEGO (introduced in 1947) and Barbie (introduced 1959).

I tend to agree with the following list according to another source, which lists the best 5 toys of all time. They are: Stick, Cardboard Box, String, Cardboard Tube, and Dirt. I would add rocks, water, and snow. All have withstood the real test of time, are played with around the world, provide for endless enjoyment and evoke magnificent flights of imagination.

Print a Book While You Wait

Here is a concept that has been bubbling for a while and might be soon at a store near you. On Demand company has signed an agreement with Kodak that could make CVS, and other retailers into instant bookstore as well.

On Demand Books said it hopes to begin wrapping its Espresso Book Machine into Kodak's retailer-based photo kiosks. The unit can print, bind, and trim a softbound book within a couple of minutes. By adding in Kodak picture kiosks, the Espresso would also be able to turn out other photo-related merchandise like photo books. No word on pricing, but this is great technology.

False Folding Paper Fact Debunked

The statement that "you can’t fold a piece of paper in half more than 7 times has been around for a long time." Many still believe it.

However, in 2002 a US high school student Britney Gallivan bought a large roll of toilet paper on the internet and along with her family took it to the local mall, where they toiled for seven hours and folded it into 12 folds. She also folded a piece of thin gold leaf more than 7 times with the use of tweezers.

Download vs. Upload

These words seems to confuse many people when discussing computer usage.

Download is taking something on the Web/Internet or a main company computer and putting it on your personal computer, such as programs or updates. Think of the Web/Internet as the big computer in the sky that drops stuff down to your device.

Upload is taking something on your computer and putting it on the Web/Internet or company computer, such as photos or files.

Donut Bacon Burger Breakfast

This is a great twist on an old idea. Southern Californian burger chain Slater’s 50/50 now offers a Donut Burger on its weekend breakfast menu during regular season football.

It consists of two glazed donuts which sandwich their 50/50 half bacon, half beef burger with a sunny side up egg and cheese. It comes with a side of strawberry jelly. Mmmm.

Welcome

Greetings to all my new best friends from Poland. I have seen many new people sign up recently.

Am interested in how you found my blog. Please comment below to tell me the source that sent you.

Thank you and welcome. I hope you continue to enjoy my posts.