Feb 13, 2015
Good to Know Costco
You can go to Costco and buy alcohol
without a membership. Also, you can fill prescriptions and get
shots at their pharmacy, eat at the food court, get your eyes
checked, and use a Costco gift card bought for you by a member.
Bums, Hobos, Tramps, Vagrants, and Vagabonds
Hobo, tramp,
and bum are all terms for a person who is homeless and without a
steady job. While most folks use these words interchangeably, there
is a slight difference between the three. A hobo is someone who
travels from place to place looking for work, a tramp is someone who
travels, but avoids work whenever possible, and a bum does not care
to work or travel.
While no one is quite sure how the word “hobo” developed, it seems to have originated in the American West after the US Civil War, when many discharged veterans were looking for employment. The hobo population also increased during the Great Depression, as unemployed men took to train-hopping with the hopes of finding better prospects on the road. Although “hobo” is a slang word, its meaning was well known by the late 19th century and Funk and Wagnall's even listed “hobo” in the 1893 edition of its dictionary. It was derived from the term hoe-boy meaning "farmhand", or a greeting such as "Ho, boy!". Bill Bryson suggests in Made in America, 1998 that it could either come from the railroad greeting, "Ho, beau!" or a syllabic abbreviation of homeward bound.
The British Hobo Museum exhibits hobo history and lore. Initially just a "Hobo Convention" museum, in the late 1990s it evolved into the Hobo History Museum.
The word “tramp” comes from a Middle English verb meaning to “walk with heavy footsteps,” and, like “hobo,” it also became widely used after the Civil War. It initially referred to migrant workers searching for permanent work, but it was later used to designate those who “prefer the transient way of life.” In Britain the term was widely used to refer to vagrants in the early Victorian period. It is also used for a sexually promiscuous woman.
Lately, the word is experiencing a bit of resurgence as many wanderers have adopted the title to more clearly differentiate their way of life from hobos. Some, for example, intentionally avoid participating in the economic system and therefore take pride in their 'tramp' status and may even view themselves as superior to hobos.
A vagrant could be described as being "a person without a settled home or regular work who wanders from place to place and lives by begging." Both "vagrant" and "vagabond" derive from Latin word vagari "wander." The term "vagabond" is derived from Latin vagabundus. In Middle English, "vagabond" originally denoted a criminal.
Panhandling is a solicitation made in person for immediate donation of money or other gratuity. Bottom line, most bums, tramps, and vagrants, but only some hobos panhandle. All politicians and some other groups and individuals engage in panhandling or public fundraising for many causes and charities.
While no one is quite sure how the word “hobo” developed, it seems to have originated in the American West after the US Civil War, when many discharged veterans were looking for employment. The hobo population also increased during the Great Depression, as unemployed men took to train-hopping with the hopes of finding better prospects on the road. Although “hobo” is a slang word, its meaning was well known by the late 19th century and Funk and Wagnall's even listed “hobo” in the 1893 edition of its dictionary. It was derived from the term hoe-boy meaning "farmhand", or a greeting such as "Ho, boy!". Bill Bryson suggests in Made in America, 1998 that it could either come from the railroad greeting, "Ho, beau!" or a syllabic abbreviation of homeward bound.
The British Hobo Museum exhibits hobo history and lore. Initially just a "Hobo Convention" museum, in the late 1990s it evolved into the Hobo History Museum.
The word “tramp” comes from a Middle English verb meaning to “walk with heavy footsteps,” and, like “hobo,” it also became widely used after the Civil War. It initially referred to migrant workers searching for permanent work, but it was later used to designate those who “prefer the transient way of life.” In Britain the term was widely used to refer to vagrants in the early Victorian period. It is also used for a sexually promiscuous woman.
Lately, the word is experiencing a bit of resurgence as many wanderers have adopted the title to more clearly differentiate their way of life from hobos. Some, for example, intentionally avoid participating in the economic system and therefore take pride in their 'tramp' status and may even view themselves as superior to hobos.
A vagrant could be described as being "a person without a settled home or regular work who wanders from place to place and lives by begging." Both "vagrant" and "vagabond" derive from Latin word vagari "wander." The term "vagabond" is derived from Latin vagabundus. In Middle English, "vagabond" originally denoted a criminal.
Panhandling is a solicitation made in person for immediate donation of money or other gratuity. Bottom line, most bums, tramps, and vagrants, but only some hobos panhandle. All politicians and some other groups and individuals engage in panhandling or public fundraising for many causes and charities.
Oxford University Press Guidelines
The news is that Oxford
University Press has issued guidelines instructing authors of
children’s books to avoid references to pigs, sausage, or anything
else that might be construed as porcine for fear of offending
Muslims. It has no specific policies issued instructing authors not
to offend Christians.
Feb 6, 2015
Happy Friday
The journey of a thousand laughs begins with a single chuckle.
I plan to share a thousand laughs while enjoying a Happy Friday!
I plan to share a thousand laughs while enjoying a Happy Friday!
Dalai Lama
“Man surprised me most about humanity,
because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he
sacrifices money to recuperate his health and then he is so anxious
about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result
being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives
as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really
lived.”
Gotta Go?
There is an app for that. When you really Gotta Go,
Flush Toilet Finder is an app for smartphones that helps you find
free public restrooms.
The app on Android and iOS is handy if you are in a strange city and you do not know where you can go or if you are shopping, and emergency hits.
Open the app and it searches the area around you. Its database covers over 100,000 public restrooms around the world and the database is constantly expanding. When you find the one you want, you can get directions via Google or Apple Maps. Flush also lists if a restroom has a fee, requires a key, or if it provides disabled access. LINK
The app on Android and iOS is handy if you are in a strange city and you do not know where you can go or if you are shopping, and emergency hits.
Open the app and it searches the area around you. Its database covers over 100,000 public restrooms around the world and the database is constantly expanding. When you find the one you want, you can get directions via Google or Apple Maps. Flush also lists if a restroom has a fee, requires a key, or if it provides disabled access. LINK
Size Matters
The largest oil tanker ships displace about
520,000 tons when fully loaded, which is 10 times the 52,310 tons
883 feet length of the Titanic. The largest ship (and largest oil
tanker) ever built was the Seawise Giant, 1,500 feet length and
displacement 657,019 tonnes (724,239 tons).
Top Ten Tech Changes
1. Farming is quickly becoming a high-tech job. Farmers
are using big-data analytics to better monitor, manage, and
understand their outputs.
2. Energy utility companies are slow to adopt new technologies, and they have a set business model used for decades. Renewable energy, however, needs advanced battery technology and new storage and transmission systems, so this has to change. It is starting to with the development of microgrids and other smart grid technologies, which are a major part of the future for utilities. The market for smart grid IT will grow to more than $23 billion by 2023.
3. Electric vehicles are powered by high-tech batteries, but the technology for them is not yet fully developed. Data analysis is big with EVs too, as most cars are equipped with sensors that track the behavior of the driver so that companies can better understand and develop EV technologies.
4. As solar panel prices decrease and more individuals and companies adopt them, the renewable energy industry is finally heading toward the mainstream.
5. There is no industry transforming the future faster than 3D printing, but the technology is also infiltrating many other ones, like healthcare, manufacturing, and aerospace. It means new tech jobs that revolve around understanding, developing, and monitoring the printers and software development and management.
6. The healthcare industry is notorious for developing slowly, but all that is changing with the advent of bioprinting, telemedicine, and big data analytics. There will be IT jobs in hospitals and clinics, software companies, hardware companies, data science companies, and even big tech companies.
7. Technology is changing the way government processes work. Cities like Boston and New York are adding social media directors and Chief Digital Officers to promote campaigns, run social media, and get people to interact more with their government. Organizations revamping government websites to make them more efficient.
8. Technology and computer science education will be increasingly important as the world works to get more children prepare for the future. Nine out of ten schools in the US do not yet offer computer programming classes.
9. Toys are getting smarter. People are building toys that serve a purpose and incorporate robotics, sensors, and computers.
10. Companies are using sensors and data analytics to identify and monitor leaks and water waste in the home so that people can better conserve the resource and their money.
2. Energy utility companies are slow to adopt new technologies, and they have a set business model used for decades. Renewable energy, however, needs advanced battery technology and new storage and transmission systems, so this has to change. It is starting to with the development of microgrids and other smart grid technologies, which are a major part of the future for utilities. The market for smart grid IT will grow to more than $23 billion by 2023.
3. Electric vehicles are powered by high-tech batteries, but the technology for them is not yet fully developed. Data analysis is big with EVs too, as most cars are equipped with sensors that track the behavior of the driver so that companies can better understand and develop EV technologies.
4. As solar panel prices decrease and more individuals and companies adopt them, the renewable energy industry is finally heading toward the mainstream.
5. There is no industry transforming the future faster than 3D printing, but the technology is also infiltrating many other ones, like healthcare, manufacturing, and aerospace. It means new tech jobs that revolve around understanding, developing, and monitoring the printers and software development and management.
6. The healthcare industry is notorious for developing slowly, but all that is changing with the advent of bioprinting, telemedicine, and big data analytics. There will be IT jobs in hospitals and clinics, software companies, hardware companies, data science companies, and even big tech companies.
7. Technology is changing the way government processes work. Cities like Boston and New York are adding social media directors and Chief Digital Officers to promote campaigns, run social media, and get people to interact more with their government. Organizations revamping government websites to make them more efficient.
8. Technology and computer science education will be increasingly important as the world works to get more children prepare for the future. Nine out of ten schools in the US do not yet offer computer programming classes.
9. Toys are getting smarter. People are building toys that serve a purpose and incorporate robotics, sensors, and computers.
10. Companies are using sensors and data analytics to identify and monitor leaks and water waste in the home so that people can better conserve the resource and their money.
WiFi Dilemma
Get the WiFi passwords at various
places by checking the comments section of their FourSquare
accounts. You are welcome.
Wordology, Red Handed
This expression has its origins
in Scotland. Given the context it was often used in the earliest
references, the phrase 'red hand' or 'redhand' probably came about
referring to people caught with blood on their hands. The first
known documented instance of “red hand” is in the Scottish Acts of
Parliament of James I, written in 1432: "That the offender be taken
reid hand, may be persewed, and put to the knawledge of ane Assise,
befoir the Barron or Landeslord of the land or ground, quhidder the
offender be his tennent, unto quhom the wrang is done or not… And
uthers not taken reid hand, to be alwaies persewed…"
The first documented instance of the expression morphing from 'red hand' to 'red handed' was in the early 19th century work Ivanhoe, written by Sir Walter Scott: "I did but tie one fellow, who was taken redhanded and in the fact, to the horns of a wild stag."
It later showed up in 'Guy Livingstone' written by George Alfred Lawrence and published in 1857: "We were collared on the instant. The fact of the property being found in our possession constituted a ‘flagrans delictum’ – we were caught red-handed."
The first documented instance of the expression morphing from 'red hand' to 'red handed' was in the early 19th century work Ivanhoe, written by Sir Walter Scott: "I did but tie one fellow, who was taken redhanded and in the fact, to the horns of a wild stag."
It later showed up in 'Guy Livingstone' written by George Alfred Lawrence and published in 1857: "We were collared on the instant. The fact of the property being found in our possession constituted a ‘flagrans delictum’ – we were caught red-handed."
Climate Change
Clothing could reflect 90 percent of body
heat by dipping clothes in a solution made of AgNW, also known as
silver nanowire. Regular clothing only reflects 20 percent of body
heat back at your skin, making nanowire-coated clothing much more
energy efficient. The study was conducted by Professor Yi Cui of
Stanford University and his team of researchers. Since metal
nanowire coating can conduct electricity, all you would need to do
is connect a battery to the clothing.
They see metal-coated clothing as a way to combat the rampant energy demands of the winter months. They report that "47 percent of global energy continues to be spent simply on indoor heating." We are told global warming is caused by energy use. Now we find half of that is caused by trying to keep us warm. Hmmm
They see metal-coated clothing as a way to combat the rampant energy demands of the winter months. They report that "47 percent of global energy continues to be spent simply on indoor heating." We are told global warming is caused by energy use. Now we find half of that is caused by trying to keep us warm. Hmmm
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