Bloginalia 2011

 As I promised last month, Bloginalia 2011 is now available on Amazon.

A full year of Friday Thoughts in one convenient place. If you forgot any of the tidbits from last year or just want to impress your friends, pick up a copy. This rounds out the trio of Bloginalia 2009 and 2010. Great for Kindle or iPad or Nook reading and they look great on a coffee table. Thanks.
Bloginalia 2011

Happy Friday

The here and now is all we have, and if we play it right it's all we will need.

Right now I have a need for a Happy Friday!

St. Agnes Eve

The night of January 20  is "Saint Agnes' Eve", which is regarded as a time when a young woman dreams of her future husband.

Celebrations

Thursday was National Popcorn Day, today is National Cheese Day and tomorrow is National Hug Day. In my house, we celebrate them all together and we have 'hug some cheese popcorn day'. It is much easier.

Alaska and Calendars

Speaking of days and dates, did you know that Alaska was the last state to adopt our current, Gregorian calendar? Many think our calendar has been around forever, but it is not that old.

In Alaska, the change took place when Friday, 6 October 1867 was followed again by Friday, 18 October after the US purchase of Alaska from Russia. Eleven days were skipped, and the day of the week was repeated on successive days, because the International Date Line was shifted from Alaska's eastern to western boundary along with the change to the Gregorian calendar.

In Russia the Gregorian calendar was accepted Wednesday, 31 January 1918, followed by Thursday, 14 February 1918, thus dropping 13 days from the calendar.

The last country of Eastern Orthodox Europe to adopt the Gregorian calendar was Greece on Thursday, 1 March 1923, which followed Wednesday, 15 February 1923. Korea adopted the Gregorian calendar on 1 January 1895. China finally agreed to use the Gregorian calendar 1 January 1929 (Yes, only eighty three years ago).

Many religious sects and countries still use other official calendars, but have unofficially adopted the Gregorian calendar for convenience of doing business. Kind of makes one question the exact dates in many history books. . .

Rhubarb

The first shipment of rhubarb was sent to the United States in 1770 from London. Most of the world recognizes it as a vegetable, but the US classifies it as a fruit. There are rhubarb festivals around the country, but mainly in the northeast, where it grows abundantly.

Rhubarb is a perennial and grows rather wild if you do not keep up with it. Easy to grow and exciting to watch it come back each year in the spring. We always had some in the yard along with strawberries, which will also grow wild.

I was in the store last spring, picked up some rhubarb and the person at the register did not know what it was. I had to explain what it was and how it was used. My mother used to make rhubarb pie and stewed rhubarb (cook it down and eat it like applesauce). It also makes great jam. Ah, it has a wonderful tart taste and also good for you.

When taken internally in small doses, rhubarb acts as an astringent tonic to the digestive system, when taken larger doses rhubarb acts as a very mild laxative. It is a useful alternative to prunes to keep things flowing. . . People claim that rhubarb enhances the appetite when it is taken before meals in small amounts, that it also promotes blood circulation and relieves pain in cases of injury or inflammation, inhibits intestinal infections, and can also reduce autoimmune reactions.

If you’re in the vicinity of Knott’s Berry Farm you will get stewed rhubarb with your meal, whether you want it or not. Children in the UK and Sweden dip a stalk in sugar and eat it raw. You do not want to eat the leaves or flowers because they can be toxic. Another delicious reason to look forward to Spring.

What's in a Name, Pumpernickel

Pumpernickel is one of those words that rolls off the tongue and sounds almost playful. It is a a dark coarse sourdough bread made of rye flour and rye berries. The name comes from the German pumpern, meaning to break wind and Nickel meaning goblin or satan. The name stems from its reputed indigestibility and is crudely referred to as 'the devil's fart' by some dictionaries. The long cooking time is what gives it its dark color.

There are stories about the name coming from the French and Napoleon, but they have been debunked.

Pumpernickel is great and commonly found on hors d'oeuvres trays, topped with caviar, smoked Salmon, or other goodies. It is referred to as an 'upscale bread' and you can find it is upscale shops. In the US some add molasses to get the dark color without the long cooking time. It is great eaten in small doses and is also wonderful with strong cold cuts and cheeses.

Obesity is Shrinking

A new Gallup report shows that obesity in America has declined between 2010 and 2011, from 26.6 percent to 26.1 percent.

The shift is likely caused by more Americans reporting that they were of normal weight, from 35.4 percent in 2010 to 36.1 percent in 2011, according to the report, based on data taken from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

Lets check the math - 26.1 percent obese, 36.1 normal - that leaves 37.8 percent as either skinny or otherwise abnormal. This is another of those great headline making studies. People are less obese, because they say they are. Hmmm, Gallup was actually paid to ask people if they were obese, then reported that those people said they were not? Maybe it was a blind study.

Losing Weight

Did you know that it is actually easier to lose weight than it is to gain weight? It is mathematically easier to lose than to gain. For example, if you eat 3,500 calories more than you burn, you will gain 0.3 pounds, but if you burn 3,500 calories more than you eat, you will lose 1 pound.

Also, if you want to lose weight, you can expose yourself to significant changes in temperature which speeds up your metabolism. The above information is based on a pure fat diet.

Purse Germs

One of the most germ infested places many come into contact with is the bottom of a woman's purse. Many women fear the germs of public toilet seats, but don’t think twice about placing their purses down on the floor of the stall.

They also set them on the floor while riding the bus, in the car, at a restaurant, in a bar, or on floor at the office. Then, when they get home and set that same purse bottom on the kitchen counter or the dining room table.

Nelson Laboratories tested a random selection of ladies’ purses and found Pseudomonas, staphylococcus aurous, salmonella, and e-coli. Many of the handbags also had fecal contamination. Something to think about.

Happy Friday

Taste everything a little, study everything for a while, but live life a lot.

I have tasted some and studied some more, but am living life for a lot of  Happy Fridays!

Tax Changes from Inflation for 2012

The value of each personal and dependent exemption, available to most taxpayers, is $3,800, up $100 from 2011.

The new standard deduction is $11,900 for married couples filing a joint return, up $300, $5,950 for singles and married individuals filing separately, up $150, and $8,700 for heads of household, up $200.

Tax-bracket thresholds increase for each filing status. For a married couple filing a joint return the taxable-income threshold separating the 15-percent bracket from the 25-percent bracket is $70,700, up from $69,000 in 2011.

For tax year 2012, the maximum earned income tax credit (EITC) for low- and moderate- income workers and working families rises to $5,891, up from $5,751 in 2011. The maximum income limit for the EITC rises to $50,270, up from $49,078 in 2011.The credit varies by family size, filing status and other factors, with the maximum credit going to joint filers with three or more qualifying children.

Where's the Beef

This week in 1984 marked the beginning of a new commercial for Wendy's. Clara Peller was first seen by TV viewers in the famous and successful commercial campaign for Wendy’s fast-food chain.

Dave Thomas spent $8 million on the ads that promoted hamburger sales plus T-shirts, baseball caps, records, greeting cards and many other items bearing her picture and the famous question. I think the new ads with the real Wendy are boring, but I really do like the new fries they are now selling.

Unwanted Calls

I have begun receiving calls on my cell during the past month and it is irksome. Some texts have also been coming through. It seems the scammers are losing too many home phone numbers as so many people are eliminating them to save money. Now they are attacking cell phones.

There is a web site you can use to look up numbers LINK. It asks for a name, but no email address and you can type in your first name as many folks seem to do. Type in the number and you can see if anyone else has been called, plus details. I have used this before and it has very interesting information. The home page shows examples of comments.

There is also the government National do-not-call Registry, LINK which I signed up for, but it seems some scammers ignore it. I just registered again.

PS - Some scammers call and claim to be from the registry and want to help you sign up. Do not fall for it. Go to the site and sign up for free directly.