Basketball and hockey coaches wear business suits on the sidelines. Football coaches wear team-branded shirts and jackets and often ill-fitting pleated khakis. Baseball managers are the only ones who wear the same outfit as their players.
It goes back to the earliest days of the game, when the person known as the manager was the business manager, the guy who kept the books in order and the road trips on schedule.
The person we call the manager today, who arranges the roster and decides when to pull a pitcher, was known as the captain. He was usually also on the team as a player. There were also a few captains who didn’t play for the team and stuck to making decisions in the dugout, and they usually wore suits. With the passing of time, it became less common for the captain to play and on most teams they had strictly managerial roles. The rules do not state that a manager should wear a uniform or not.
Mar 2, 2012
Wordology
Jumbo was a large African Bush Elephant, born 1861 in the French Sudan, imported to a Paris zoo, transferred to the London Zoo in 1865, and sold in 1882 to P. T. Barnum, for the circus. The giant elephant's name is now a common word 'jumbo', meaning large in size.
ENIAC Facts
In February 1946, the first ever general purpose digital electronic computer was dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania. The machine was called the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer). It cost over $500,000 ($6 million today), weighed about 57,000 pounds and took up 1800 square feet. It had 17,468 vacuum tubes, 70,000 resistors, 7,200 diodes, 10,000 capacitors, and 5 million hand soldered joints. It used enough electricity to power 114 homes. The longest time between vacuum tube failures was 4 days and 20
The first task it was to perform calculations pertaining to the development of the hydrogen bomb. It stayed in service for nine years.
The first task it was to perform calculations pertaining to the development of the hydrogen bomb. It stayed in service for nine years.
Feb 28, 2012
Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami Before and After
Here are some stunning pictures of the incident in March 2011 and one year later. Amazing cleanup. Click on each picture for the after. LINK
How to Squish Beans
Are you having a bad day? Feeling frustrated? Use this site to squish some beans. LINK Just click on the beans and watch. Now you will feel better.
What's in a Name Bisquick
Bisquick mix was reportedly invented in 1930 by a General Mills executive who, while on a journey by train, complimented the chef in the dining car on his fresh biscuits. The chef showed him how he pre-mixed shortening with the dry ingredients of flour, salt and baking powder and kept the mixture on ice in the train kitchen so he could prepare the biscuits very quickly.
When they mass-marketed the idea, General Mills replaced the shortening with hydrogenated oil so that the product wouldn't need to be refrigerated. At first they marketed it solely as a fast way to make biscuits, but soon, in an effort to increase sales, they started suggesting that consumers use it to make a variety of other foods, including pizza dough, pancakes, dumplings, cookies, and pies.
When they mass-marketed the idea, General Mills replaced the shortening with hydrogenated oil so that the product wouldn't need to be refrigerated. At first they marketed it solely as a fast way to make biscuits, but soon, in an effort to increase sales, they started suggesting that consumers use it to make a variety of other foods, including pizza dough, pancakes, dumplings, cookies, and pies.
Top of the Morning to You
This phrase appears to not be original Irish, although some have said it has been Irish and out of use for hundreds of years. Hollywood keeps it alive, along with the response, "and the rest of the day to yourself."
It was used in Theodore Cyphon, a novel by George Walker, published in 1796. The protagonist is greeted not long after landing on the shore of Essex, "Halloo! you teney" cried one, "the top of the morning to you. Have you seen pass a tall chap, in a light blue coat, with striped trowsers."
It was used in Theodore Cyphon, a novel by George Walker, published in 1796. The protagonist is greeted not long after landing on the shore of Essex, "Halloo! you teney" cried one, "the top of the morning to you. Have you seen pass a tall chap, in a light blue coat, with striped trowsers."
Four Coffee Seed Facts
Coffee bean is not actually a bean, it is a seed. Beans are always seeds, but seeds are not always beans. A bean is just one kind of a seed. Specifically, the bean is a name for seeds of the family Fabaceae, of which the coffee plant is not a member.
A coffee bean is actually the seed of the coffee plant, the pit inside of the coffee fruit.
Only one state produces coffee, Hawaii.
English chemist, George Constant Washington invented instant coffee.
Put used coffee grounds in houseplant soil to help the plants.
A coffee bean is actually the seed of the coffee plant, the pit inside of the coffee fruit.
Only one state produces coffee, Hawaii.
English chemist, George Constant Washington invented instant coffee.
Put used coffee grounds in houseplant soil to help the plants.
Feb 25, 2012
Steve Jobs Henry Ford
Phones started as all black.
Then they went crazy with color, shape, and size.
Where we are now.
It is difficult to stand out from the pack these days.
We have devolved into a pack of phone drones.
There is no difference in shape or style.
Steve Jobs has taken over as the new Henry Ford.
Next will we all be wearing black as the clothing color of choice?
Oops, women already are.
At least there is a variety of size and shape.
Cars started as all black.
Then they went crazy with color, shape, and chrome.
Then they began to all look alike, with color as the only differentiator.
Now they come in many sizes, shapes, and colors.
PCs started as all gray.
Then they went crazy with color, shape, and size.
Then they morphed into tablets, which all look alike.
Why have PCs and phones become clones?
It seems to me the last time we came out of a depression things changed.
I hope it happens again when we come out of this one.
It is time for a change.
Then they went crazy with color, shape, and size.
Where we are now.
It is difficult to stand out from the pack these days.
We have devolved into a pack of phone drones.
There is no difference in shape or style.
Steve Jobs has taken over as the new Henry Ford.
Next will we all be wearing black as the clothing color of choice?
Oops, women already are.
At least there is a variety of size and shape.
Cars started as all black.
Then they went crazy with color, shape, and chrome.
Then they began to all look alike, with color as the only differentiator.
Now they come in many sizes, shapes, and colors.
PCs started as all gray.
Then they went crazy with color, shape, and size.
Then they morphed into tablets, which all look alike.
Why have PCs and phones become clones?
It seems to me the last time we came out of a depression things changed.
I hope it happens again when we come out of this one.
It is time for a change.
Feb 24, 2012
Happy Friday
In matters of style swim with the current; in matters of principle stand like a rock.
I am standing firm on my conviction to have a swimmingly Happy Friday!
I am standing firm on my conviction to have a swimmingly Happy Friday!
What's in a Name, Quilling
Most of us know what quilting is, but quilling is a bit different. Quilling, or paper filigree, is an art form using strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs.
The name originates from winding the paper around a quill to create a basic coil shape. The paper is glued at the tip and the coiled shapes are arranged to form flowers, leaves, and various ornamental patterns similar to ironwork.
During the Renaissance, French and Italian nuns and monks used quilling to decorate book covers and religious items. The paper most commonly used was strips of paper trimmed from the gilded edges of books. These gilded paper strips were then rolled to create the quilled shapes. Quilling can be as simple or as complex as your imagination allows. It is making a comeback and is great fun for children and adults.
The name originates from winding the paper around a quill to create a basic coil shape. The paper is glued at the tip and the coiled shapes are arranged to form flowers, leaves, and various ornamental patterns similar to ironwork.
During the Renaissance, French and Italian nuns and monks used quilling to decorate book covers and religious items. The paper most commonly used was strips of paper trimmed from the gilded edges of books. These gilded paper strips were then rolled to create the quilled shapes. Quilling can be as simple or as complex as your imagination allows. It is making a comeback and is great fun for children and adults.
How to Stump Someone
Stumping someone means ask someone a question they can’t answer. However, it actually refers to tree stumps.
Pioneers built their houses and barns out of logs and frequently swapped work with neighbors when clearing new ground. Some frontiersmen would brag about their ability to pull up big stumps, but it was not unusual for the boaster to suffer defeat with a stubborn stump. In other words, he was stumped.
Pioneers built their houses and barns out of logs and frequently swapped work with neighbors when clearing new ground. Some frontiersmen would brag about their ability to pull up big stumps, but it was not unusual for the boaster to suffer defeat with a stubborn stump. In other words, he was stumped.
Languages Fading Away
There are an estimated 6,500 languages in the world and half or more of them could cease to exist by 2100.
Languages are dying out around the globe through globalization, social change, and a shift in populations from rural areas to cities. Of the 6,500 languages estimated to be still in use, only 11 are spoken by half the world’s population, and 95 percent of the languages are spoken by less than five percent of the global population.
Languages are dying out around the globe through globalization, social change, and a shift in populations from rural areas to cities. Of the 6,500 languages estimated to be still in use, only 11 are spoken by half the world’s population, and 95 percent of the languages are spoken by less than five percent of the global population.
Wordology
Grawlix is the term for a string of typographical symbols, especially "@#$%&!", used to represent an obscenity or swearword. Also, a series of violence related images in a speech bubble to represent obscenity or swearwords. It was likely coined by cartoonist Mort Walker in the 1960s. He penned Beetle Bailey and Hi and Lois comic strips.
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