Happy Friday

Destiny is a decision.

I decided my destiny is to always celebrate a Happy Friday!

National Coffee Day

Today is National Coffee Day, go out and get a free cup of coffee today at your favorite Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kreem, Tim Horton's, and other places - but not Starbucks.

What's in a Name, Duct Tape

It was invented by Johnson & Johnson during World War II. Their original creation for the United States military was a green waterproof tape that could be used for sealing ammunition cases to keep water out.
Soldiers soon learned the tape was good at fixing any type of rip or tear they might encounter for tents, vehicle seats, and even uniforms. After the war, returning soldiers introduced it to friends and neighbors back home.
One of the first uses for the tape was to repair or seal the ductwork in home heating and cooling systems. To match the color of ductwork, the company changed the color of the tape to silver and began to call it duct tape.
Many people believe that the tape was called duck tape, because its ability to repel water reminded of the similar property of duck feathers. There is a brand of tape named Duck tape that is sometimes confused with the original.


Duct tape comes in many different colors, although the most popular are silver and black. It is so strong, because it is made of three different layers. The bottom layer is a strong rubber-based adhesive. The middle layer is a web of cloth fabric that adds durability. The top layer is soft, waterproof plastic.

Lake Baikal

If the rest of the planet’s fresh water disappeared, there would be enough left in Lake Baikal, Russia to supply humanity for 50 years. It is world's oldest (25 million years old) and deepest (over a mile deep) freshwater lake and contains about 23% of the world's fresh surface water. In Mongolian it means "the Nature Lake." Appears the screams about running out of fresh water are a bit premature.

Alcatraz

Its name came from Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala in 1775: La Isla de los Alcatraces or "Island of the Pelicans."
In 1850, US President Fillmore converted the island to military use. A fortress was built, cannons were installed, and the West Coast's first operational lighthouse was constructed.
The US Army also began to use Alcatraz to house military prisoners. It was the perfect spot for a prison, because it was isolated and everyone assumed no prisoner could successfully escape by swimming across the frigid waters of San Francisco Bay.
During the early 1900s, military prisoners helped to build a new, 600-cell jail, as well as a hospital, cafeteria, and other prison buildings. Over time Alcatraz was transferred to the US Justice Department for use as a federal prison for prisoners too dangerous to be kept at other penitentiaries. Alcatraz usually held between 260-275 prisoners. Each prisoner had his own cell, and there was one guard for about every three prisoners.
There were 14 known escape attempts involving 36 prisoners. Of those attempting to escape, 23 were captured, six were shot and killed during their attempt, two drowned, and five went missing and were officially presumed dead.

Alcatraz was shut down during 1963, because it was too expensive to keep operating. Now it is thriving again as a tourist attraction.

Hack the Fast Food Menus

We have all heard about some secret menu items at our favorite fast food places. Did you know you can get a spam and egg McMuffin at McDonald's in Hawaii? Here is a site that shows 20 secret menus from the popular franchises. Enjoy something different to spice up your life. LINK

Piracy

Gizmodo recently reported, the European Union suppressed a 300-page study (2017 Situation Report on Counterfeiting and Privacy in the European Union). The study covered all manner of foods, drugs, goods, and services, from labels to products. Concerning digital piracy, it concluded that piracy did not harm sales of copyrighted material, including books, music, video games, and movies.

From a prosecution standpoint, one problem it found is no funds are generated when a digital game is downloaded. This shortcoming is often overcome by the sale of advertising space on illegal file-sharing sites and this process is facilitated by advertising intermediaries. This no funds process makes it difficult to follow a money stream.

Television and video broadcasts are digital and are available on a variety of platforms such as mobile phones, tablets, smart TVs, and set-top boxes. In recent years, the use of set-top boxes to access large numbers of television channels, films and other protected content has increased due to low prices, improving quality of services, reliability, and user friendliness.

In many cases the media itself is not copied or kept on servers, just the small code needed to play it. "The number of operators providing illegal IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) appears to be on the rise and this trend is expected to continue at an accelerated rate in the future...It is known that some European internet users continue to mistakenly take the fact that a digital content service is freely available online without the authorities having taken action as a sign that the service provides legal access to digital content."

The study concluded that the impact of piracy failed to provide stats which suggested a “…displacement of sales by online copyright infringements.” Essentially, piracy does not harm legitimate sales. The report posited that illicit downloads may even bolster legal sales of games and neutral for books and music. The sole area where illegal downloading was found to have a negative impact is with blockbuster films.

Q Quickie

Qatar is the only country that begins with a Q and Iraq is the only country that ends with Q.

Cannabis History

US Drug Enforcement Administration Museum in Arlington, Virginia, states that the oldest written references to cannabis date back to 2727 B.C., when the Chinese  supposedly discovered the substance and used it medicinally. Ancient Taiwanese were using hemp fibers to decorate pottery about 10,000 years ago, according to "The Archaeology of Ancient China." The plant itself was in use in both Europe and Asia more than 10,000 years ago and grew naturally across both continents.

According to a recent study, the world's first-known pot dealers were the nomads of the Eastern European Steppe. The Yamnaya, traders from what is now Russia and Ukraine, may have traded cannabis throughout Europe and East Asia about 5,000 years ago.

Archaeological records show a spike in cannabis use in East Asia around 5,000 years ago, at the time when the nomadic Yamnaya established a trade route across the steppes. Yamnaya sites show signs of cannabis burning, suggesting they may have brought the habit of smoking marijuana with them as they moved about.

The difference between hemp and pot is a single genetic switch. Researchers from the University of Saskatchewan announced that they discovered the genetic alteration that allows psychoactive cannabis plants (cannabis sativa) to give users a high, compared to industrial hemp plants, which do not.

Industrial hemp plants are the same species as marijuana plants, but they do not produce a substance called tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA). This is the precursor to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in pot. Hemp plants fail to produce this substance because they lack a gene that makes an enzyme to produce THCA. Hemp is rich in non-psychoactive CBDA, while marijuana produces THC.

In the US, before the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act, cannabis was a common ingredient in medicinal tinctures, and sellers were not required to mention it on their labels. During the 1920s and 1930s, Mexican immigration to the United States spiked as a result of the Mexican Revolution. People moving from Mexico brought along the custom of using marijuana for recreation, and the drug became linked with public fears of the newcomers.

LINK more info from my blog

Incidentally, it is not possible to overdose on marijuana like you can on heroin or cocaine. 

Account Killer

There is a web site that lets you get out of many web sites and remove your name quickly to diminish your web presence it is called accountkiller. Quick and easy instructions to close out online accounts. LINK

Happy Friday

Happiness shapes the heart, smiles light it up.
Light up your day, especially on a Happy Friday! 

September Odd Holidays

Here are a few, just in case you need another reason to celebrate.
National One Hit Wonder Day - September 25
Johnny Appleseed Day - September 26 (1774)
National Pancake Day - September 26
Crush A Can Day - September 27
Gone-ta-pott Day - September 28
Ask a Stupid Question Day--September 28
Confucius Day - September 29
National Mud Pack Day - September 30

Salty Tip

Before frying, put a pinch of salt in the pan. It should keep the oil from spattering so much.

Ig Nobel Awards 2017

The Ig Nobel awards are given for achievements that first make people laugh then make them think. On September 14, 2017 at the 27th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, at Harvard's Sanders Theatre, the following prizes were awarded.

• Physics, Using fluid dynamics to probe the question "Can a Cat Be Both a Solid and a Liquid?"
• Peace, Demonstrating that regular playing of a didgeridoo is an effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea (sic) and snoring.
• Economics, Experiments to see how contact with a live crocodile affects a person's willingness to gamble.
• Anatomy, medical research study "Why Do Old Men Have Big Ears?"
• Biology, Discovery of a female penis, and a male vagina, in a cave insect.
• Fluid Dynamics, Studying the dynamics of liquid-sloshing, to learn what happens when a person walks backwards while carrying a cup of coffee.
• Nutrition, First scientific report of human blood in the diet of the hairy-legged vampire bat.
• Medicine, Using advanced brain-scanning technology to measure the extent to which some people are disgusted by cheese.

Camel Camel Camel

Came across this interesting site. It tracks prices for all things Amazon. You can create Amazon price watches and get alerts via email and Twitter when prices drop. View the price history of Amazon products. Seems practical if you are planning a large purchase, but waiting for a price drop. LINK

Wordology, Ultracrepidarian

One who gives opinions on something beyond his or her knowledge. Someone who does not know what they are talking about. No comments please.

Gravity in Space

Contrary to common opinion, gravity is everywhere, even in space. Anything with mass creates gravity. The effect of gravity decreases as distance increases. At extreme distances, the gravity exerted on a particular object might be almost zero, but is never completely absent.

At the orbit of the International Space Station, Earth's gravitational pull is about 90% of what it is at Earth's surface.

Astronauts on spaceships in outer space are affected by gravity in the same way that their spaceships are. They are both orbiting Earth, which means they are falling sideways (in orbit) at the same time they are falling toward Earth.


On Earth, astronauts feel the force of gravity as weight, because the ground prevents them from falling. In outer space there is no ground to push against astronauts. As they orbit and fall toward Earth at the same rate as their spaceship, astronauts feel weightless, as if there were no gravity.

Burger and Booze Home Delivery

Saw an ad that shows Friday's is starting home delivery of booze along with food. It claims to be first to home deliver this combination and is rolling out in Dallas and Houston, Texas, then nationwide next year. The liquor and mix come separate and you need to mix it yourself. It will be interesting to see how this will work with so many unique local liquor laws around the country.

Happy Friday

You cannot learn a deep appreciation of happiness if you do not dive in.

Dive in all the way to appreciate a Happy Friday!

Wordology, Rasceta

The creases on the inside of wrist.

What's in a Name, 7Up

7 Up is a brand of lemon-lime flavored, non-caffeinated soft drink. The rights to the brand are held by Dr Pepper Snapple Group in the United States, and PepsiCo in the rest of the world. Creative marketing during prohibition moved the product to underground speakeasies. Like other products such as ginger ale and tonic, 7 UP quickly became a popular mixer for alcoholic drinks. After prohibition was repealed, it was still marketed as a mixer. By the late 1940s, 7 UP had become the third best-selling soft drink in the world.

Westinghouse bought 7 Up in 1969 and sold it in 1978 to Philip Morris, which then during 1986 sold it to a group led by Hicks & Haas. 7 Up merged with Dr Pepper in 1988. Cadbury Schweppes bought the combined company in 1995. The Dr Pepper Snapple Group was spun off from Cadbury Schweppes in 2008.

7 Up was created by Charles Grigg, who came up with the formula for a lemon-lime soft drink in 1929. The product, originally named "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda" contained lithium citrate, a mood-stabilizing drug. "Bib-label" referred to the use of paper labels that were placed on the plain bottles.

The US Food and Drug Administration banned the use of lithium in beer and soft drinks in 1948, and 7-Up was reformulated two years later. Its name was later shortened to "7 Up Lithiated Lemon Soda" before being further shortened to just "7 Up" during 1936.


The actual origin of the 7Up name is unclear, as is the origin or meaning of the red dot. It contains no sugar, preservatives, caffeine or coloring.

Banana Facts

The wonderful banana probably first grew in Southeast Asia, and did not make a big impact elsewhere until the early Islamic period when it was brought from India to the Middle East, and on to Africa. The banana turned up in Europe before that, but only as an exotic rarity. In ancient Rome, it had to make do with borrowing the name of the fig (a notion which lived on in the early French term for ‘banana’, figue du paradis).

Spanish and Portuguese colonists took the banana with them across the Atlantic from Africa to the Americas, and along with it they brought its African name, banana, apparently a word from one of the languages of the Congo area (it has been speculated that it derives ultimately from Arabic banana ‘finger, toe’, an origin which would be echoed in the English term hand for a bunch of bananas, and serves as a reminder that many varieties of banana are quite small, not like the large sizes imported into Britain).

Since the end of the nineteenth century Bananaland has been used by Australians as a colloquial and not completely complimentary name for Queensland, a state where the banana is a key crop. Even less complimentary is banana republic, a term coined in the 1930s for small volatile states of the South American tropics (from their economic dependence on the export of bananas).

Wordology, O'Clock

The long form of this expression is 'two of the clock' or 'two on the clock' and the apostrophe stands for the missing letters. Two of the clock is an old expression that dates back to the time of sundials and other means of telling time. In order to distinguish the fact that one was referencing a clock's time, rather than something else, one would say, "It is two of the clock," which later became two o'clock.

Manicule

A manicule is a unique symbol. Literally it takes the form of a hand with an outstretched index figure, gesturing towards a particularly pertinent piece of text or a direction.

Although manicules are still visible today in old signage and retro décor, their heyday was in medieval and Renaissance Europe.

Despite its centuries-long popularity, the first-ever use of a manicule is surprisingly difficult to find. They were reportedly used in the Domesday Book of 1066, a record of land ownership in England and Wales. Widespread use began around the 12th century. The name comes from the Latin word manicula, meaning little hand, but the punctuation mark has had other synonyms, including bishop’s fist, pointing hand, digit, and fist.

As far as punctuation marks go, the manicule’s function was fairly self-explanatory. Usually drawn in the margin of a page (and sometimes between columns of text or sentences), it was a way for the reader to note a particularly significant paragraph of text. They were essentially the medieval version of a highlighter.

The use and dynamic of manicules changed once books began to be printed. This new technology allowed writers and publishers to highlight what they believed to be significant. The little hands with outstretched finger make it easy to find the key points without re-reading the whole text.

Funny Town Names

What started out as a temporary solution has become a point of pride for locals. In No Name, Colorado according to reports, a government official first marked a newly constructed exit off I-70 with a sign reading “No Name” as a placeholder. By the time officials got around to officially labeling it, “No Name” had the support of the community and it stuck. Visitors can find the spot near the No Name tunnels, No Name Creek, and the No Name hiking trail.

British Slaves in America

Between 1718 and 1776, British authorities exiled approximately 50,000 male and female convicts to American colonies in a policy euphemistically known as 'transportation'. Once in America, the convicts fell under a life of servitude or outright slavery, underfed and overworked.


They had to obey their masters or risk being imprisoned. In the early period of transportation, half of them died while in bondage. The Americans’ demands for independence caused Britain to stop sending its convicts to America and forced the Brits to send them to Australia instead. The Australian convict trade was about three times as large as the American version.

Happy Friday

If you cannot change, how can you ever discover that each day is better than the last.

Today is a better day to celebrate a Happy Friday!

Wordology, Laughing Hyena

It is used to describe someone cackling: "laughing like a hyena."
Scientists who have studied hyenas will tell you the unique sounds they make are not actually laughing. Hyenas do indeed make loud barking noises that sound like cackling laughter, but it is not because they are amused by anything.

Instead, a hyena's sound is actually a form of communication used to convey frustration, excitement, warning, or fear. Most often, you hear this unique vocalization during a hunt or when the animals are feeding on prey as a group.

What sounds like maniacal giggling to humans lets other hyenas know that one of the other members of their pack has either made a kill or been attacked. When sharing a fresh kill, the sound might also indicate frustration on the part of a younger animal that did not get its fair share yet. Likewise, the animal in possession of the meat might also 'laugh' as a warning to others that it is not ready to share yet.

There are several species of hyenas, and they all have a variety of unique vocalizations. Only one of these species, the spotted hyena makes the laughing sound that has become synonymous with hyenas, in general.


Researchers have also learned that the pitch of a hyena's sound usually varies dependent upon its social status. Hyena packs are matrilineal, which means that females are dominant and lead the pack. There is intense competition for food within a pack, and the subordinate animals, often male tend to make the sound more frequently with a higher pitch.

Scrolling Tip

If you tap the space bar while on a web page you will scroll down, but if you hold down the shift key and hit the space bar you will scroll up.

Costco Liquor Facts

Costco is the US largest wine seller.

In many states, like Texas you do not need to have a membership to buy liquor.
It sells more bottles of Dom Perignon champagne than any other store in the country.

Costco brand wine, beer, and liquor is Kirkland.


Costco's Kirkland brand vodka scored higher than Grey Goose in blind tastings and its water comes from the same region in France.

Behind the Scenes

Just came across this web site and found some fascinating behind the scenes special effects that movie makers use. An educating look at the process LINK.         

What's in a Name, Genghis Khan

That was his title, his name was Temüjin, which means “of iron” or “blacksmith.” He was the Great Khan and founder of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death. First Khagan (Great Kahn) of the Mongol Empire and Supreme Khan of the Mongols, the King of Kings.


Between 1206 and his death in 1227, the Mongol leader Genghis Khan conquered nearly 12 million square miles of territory, more than any individual in history. He was responsible for the deaths of as many as 40 million people.

He came to power by uniting many of the nomadic tribes of Northeast Asia. After founding the Empire and being proclaimed "Genghis Khan," he launched the Mongol invasions that conquered most of Eurasia.

The Mongol Empire ended up ruling, or at least briefly conquering, large parts of modern day China, Mongolia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Moldova, and Kuwait. Many of these invasions repeated the earlier large-scale slaughters of local populations.

Scissors Facts

Many people mistakenly give credit to Leonardo da Vinci for inventing scissors, but scissors were invented many years before him. Some believe scissors were invented in the Middle East over 3,000 years ago. The device consisted of two bronze blades connected by a spring-like mechanism that kept the blades apart until they were squeezed together.
A pair of scissors more like modern scissors with a cross-blade design was developed by the ancient Romans around 100 A.D.


Cross-blade scissors were made by hand for hundreds of years and were not mass-produced until 1761 when English manufacturer Robert Hinchliffe adapted the design so it could be manufactured in a factory. He was also the first to make scissors with steel.


Today, there are a wide variety of scissors with specific purposes. Scissors with a length in excess of six inches are often referred to as shears. Children's or safety scissors have dull blades and rounded tips to ensure their safe use in school environments. Nail scissors were specially developed to cut fingernails and toenails. There are also specialty scissors used by hairdressers, seamstresses, doctors, and more.

Gas is Not a Gas

Soon after oil was found in Pennsylvania during 1859, John Cassell, publisher and coffee merchant, began importing it to London. Cassell came up with a name for the substance, inspired by his own name, cazeline. On 27 November 1862 he placed an advertisement in The Times that stated, "The Patent Cazeline Oil, safe, economical, and brilliant … possesses all the requisites which have so long been desired as a means of powerful artificial light.

The first use of gasoline to be found in America is in an 1864 Act of Congress which declared a tax on the oil.

Cassell discovered a shopkeeper in Dublin, Samuel Boyd selling counterfeit cazeline and wrote to him to ask him to stop. Boyd did not reply, but instead went through his stock, changing with a single dash of his pen, every ‘C’ into a ‘G’ and gazeline was born.