Crow Bar

The word crowbar with the bird-name "crow", due to the crowbar’s resemblance to the feet or beak of a crow. The first use of the word shows up around 1400. They were called simply crows, or iron crows, and sometimes Jimmy Bars. William Shakespeare used the term iron crow in many places, including his play Romeo and Juliet, Act 5, Scene 2: 'Get me an iron crow and bring it straight unto my cell'. I thought a crow bar was a place where politicians hang out and talk about themselves.

Big Government, Small Government

Many discuss the size of big government, but most do not realize that the local governments are much larger than the federal government. During the past year, state and local employment has been reduced, mostly through not filling vacancies, by 258,000, or 1.3%, to 19.2 million workers, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compensation for government workers accounts for half of the $2 trillion spent annually by governments. For workers who remain, compensation increased 2.5% compared with 0.8% for private-sector workers for the year ended June 30, 2010.

The federal workforce, meanwhile, grew 3.4% to 2.2 million during the past year and promises to keep growing.   The worst part of having this many federal and state workers, is that when they retire, we get to pay for them for the rest of their (and our) lives.

Government Signs

Recently the Federal Highway Administration decided that it takes way too much time for us to read road signs printed in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. So, the newest FHA Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices says that all such signs must be replaced by those with an initial capital letter, followed by the remaining letters in lower case.

According to a September article in the New York Post, New York City has already begun the process of changing its 250,900 signs. City officials estimate it at $110  each, that amounts to $27.6 million, just for New York City. Maybe it is a secret 'shovel ready' project to keep prisoners busy.

Bacon Soda

It finally happened, Jones Soda has come out with a new flavor drink. It is vegetarian friendly and kosher bacon soda. How's that for an oxymoron?

Tasters have mixed reactions. We'll see how this one goes. Some other flavors in the Jones line-up, Blue Bubble Gum, Pizza, and WhoopAss energy drink. I have tried a number of the drinks and love the Black Cherry.

Two Turkey Myths

Some things to think about as we approach the great Turkey Day.
MYTH No. 1: The turkey is cooked when the juices run clear or when the leg pulls away from the bone.

FACT: Color is not an indicator of safety or doneness. Turkey juices do change from raw-meat pink to a clear color as the bird cooks, but that doesn't equate with safe eating because color doesn't show the temperature that the salmonella or campylobacter are killed (165 degrees).

MYTH No. 2: You should cool your turkey to room temperature for a while before putting it in the refrigerator.

FACT: Decades ago, when people plopped a hot turkey into the refrigerator, the heat would overload the system and lead to spoiled milk, but refrigerators today are now built to keep the temperature constant. The safest thing to do is get the leftover meat in the fridge within two hours of removing it from the oven.

What's in a Name, Refrigerator

From the Latin re frigerare - to make cool again. The first known artificial refrigeration was demonstrated by William Cullen at the University of Glasgow in 1748. Between 1805 and 1902 when Willis Haviland Carrier demonstrated the first air conditioner, many inventors contributed advances in cooling machinery. In-home refrigeration became a reality in 1834 with the invention of the cooling compression system by the American inventor Jacob Perkins.

The absorption refrigerator was invented by Baltzar von Platen and Carl Munters from Sweden in 1922, while they were still students at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. It became a worldwide success and was commercialized by Electrolux. In 1923 Frigidaire introduced the first self-contained unit. The 1950s and 1960s brought in technical advances like automatic defrosting and automatic ice making and, as of 1955, 80% of American homes had a refrigerator. The Chinese cut and stored ice in 1000 BC.

Warming Thought

According to a September ScienceDaily, the first eight months of 2010 tied the same period in 1998 for the warmest combined land and ocean surface temperature on record worldwide. Meanwhile, the June-August summer was the second warmest on record globally after 1998, and August was the third warmest August on record. Separately, last month's global average land surface temperature was the second warmest on record for August, while the global ocean surface temperature tied with 1997 as the sixth warmest for August. What all that means is that global warming (now politically called global climate change) has caused the world to be almost as warm as it was about twelve years ago.

Most Popular Cell Phone

The Nokia 1100 cell phone is in the hands of over a billion people (as of 2009) around the world. The iPhone gets most of the press and has sold millions, but the Nokia 1100, which has been around since 2003, just keeps selling and selling. It has also been named the best consumer electronics device in the world. BTW - Android phones are currently outselling the iPhones by almost two to one. Much has to do with the high cost of the iPhone.

A Penny for your . . . Birdbath

Prevent algae from growing in a birdbath by tossing a few pre-1982 pennies into the water. The copper keeps the organisms from multiplying so fast.

Friday Thought

It is better to look ahead and prepare, than to look back and regret.

I looked ahead and am prepared to have a Happy Friday!

Adidas and Puma

German brother Adi and Rudolf Dassler founded their shoemaking firm in 1924. Twelve years later, Adi drove cross-country to Berlin, where he convinced Jesse Owens to wear his handmade running shoes in the Olympics. Owens won four gold medals, and the Dasslers’ white shoes became coveted by runners everywhere. But in 1948, after many years of feuding, the brothers split. Rudolph opened up a shop across the river and named his new enterprise Puma, while Adi renamed his company Adidas (the first three letters of his first and last names).

Top Six Things Found in College Refrigerators

Beer, part of a pita sandwich, ranch dressing, text books, expired milk, hard liquor. I think the books come from not having much beer or liquor remaining.

SUX

FAA identifiers for airports aren’t technically acronyms, but the three-letter codes can give rise to their own headaches. Just ask the Sioux City Gateway Airport, which the FAA saddled with the unfortunate designator “SUX.” Airport authorities petitioned for a new code, and the FAA, not a joke, offered them “GAY” as a nod to the “Gateway” part of the airport’s name.

Sioux City decided that switching to GAY probably wouldn’t save them any taunting, so officials decided to make the best of the SUX situation. Now the airport markets playful t-shirts emblazoned with slogans like “Fly SUX.”

SUX might not even be the worst code. According to a 2008 LA Times story, Fresno’s is FAT, and Perm, Russia’s is PEE. The big winner has to be Fukuoka, Japan, though. Hmmm, how does that one get abbreviated.

Hospital Art

Believe it or not, art in hospitals has actually been found to aid the healing process while gloomy walls or the wrong kind of art can cause physical distress.

American Art Resources, a health-care art-consulting firm, says scientific studies show that art can aid in the recovery of patients, shorten hospital stays and help manage pain. Of course it has to be the right art. Vivid paintings of landscapes, friendly faces and familiar objects can lower blood pressure and heart rate, while abstract pictures can have the opposite effect.

In 1984, scientists found that postoperative patients healed more quickly and successfully if they had park-view windows. Through the 1980s, scientists became more interested in the role of art in hospitals.

Art can also be used to help patients on a more practical level. Autumn Leaves in Flower Mound, Texas, an Alzheimer's and dementia facility uses artwork to keep patients oriented to their surroundings.

Each of the four hallways has a different theme, which helps patients remember where their rooms are. Among them is a landscape hallway covered in outdoor settings and a Western hallway depicting images from the Old West.