Jun 5, 2012
Boiling Tips
Here is an easy way to remember what to put in
boiling water vs. room temperature water. Whatever grows below
ground, like potatoes, should be placed in room-temperature water
and brought to a boil. Whatever is grown above ground, like Brussels
sprouts, should be placed in boiling water and then cooked until
done.
Toilet Tales
In 2009, cosmonaut Gennady Padalka complained
to a Russian newspaper that he wasn't allowed to use the bathroom on
the American side of the Space Station.
As it turned out, Padalka actually blamed the closed bathroom door on the Russian government, which had started charging NASA for resources used by American astronauts in 2003.
The United States reciprocated by asking the Russians to keep out of its facilities, including the toilet, which NASA paid $250 million to develop. Padalka told the newspaper that the bathroom shutout was having a real effect on his cosmonauts' morale.
As it turned out, Padalka actually blamed the closed bathroom door on the Russian government, which had started charging NASA for resources used by American astronauts in 2003.
The United States reciprocated by asking the Russians to keep out of its facilities, including the toilet, which NASA paid $250 million to develop. Padalka told the newspaper that the bathroom shutout was having a real effect on his cosmonauts' morale.
Castle Stairs Facts
Castles were always built with a
spiraling staircase that turned clockwise. This design served a
practical purpose, because incoming bad guys would ascend the stairs
and have a huge disadvantage with their sword arm. Since most people
are right-handed, the advantage was to the castle occupants
descending the stairs with their sword-arm free to attack.
Earthquakes
Last time I checked, there were 6,714
earthquakes during the past 30 days. There were 189 over 2.5
magnitude in the past week. Here is a site to keep on your favorites
list for when you want some details. It has an interactive map along
with useful info. LINK
Jun 1, 2012
Happy Friday
The conqueror is regarded with awe, the wise man commands esteem,
but it is the kind who wins our affections.
I hold them in esteem and regard with awe the kind people who always have a Happy Friday!
I hold them in esteem and regard with awe the kind people who always have a Happy Friday!
National Basketball Association
Chuck Conners, best known as 'The Rifleman', played for the Boston Celtics in the first year of the NBA.
The silhouette on the NBA logo is Jerry West. He is also the silhouette for the Mountaineer which stands outside the Mountainlair (student center) at West Virginia University.
Pied Piper
Below is an excerpt from the famous Grimm
brothers version of the very famous tale of the Pied Piper in which
the small German town of Hamelin loses all of its children to the
Piper when the mayor refuses to pay him for ridding the town of
rats.
“The long procession of children soon left the town and made its way through the wood and across the forest till it reached the foot of a huge mountain. When the piper came to the dark rock, he played his pipe even louder still and a great door creaked open. Beyond lay a cave. In trooped the children behind the pied piper, and when the last child had gone into the darkness, the door creaked shut.”
Here is a quote from the wall of the Piper’s House in Hamelin today: “In the year of 1284, on the day of Saints John and Paul, the 26th of June, 130 children born in Hamelin were seduced by a piper, dressed in all kinds of colors, and lost at the calvary near the koppen.”
The story is largely true, with some exaggerated parts. Many theories abound as to the factual events of that day, but the most logical seems to be that the piper represents death (death was depicted as a skeleton wearing pied clothing in the middle ages) and that the children who died were killed by the plague.
Pied means 'having two or more colors'. The word comes from middle English and is taken from the word “magpie.” Thus, the pied piper was a man wearing clothing of many colors.
“The long procession of children soon left the town and made its way through the wood and across the forest till it reached the foot of a huge mountain. When the piper came to the dark rock, he played his pipe even louder still and a great door creaked open. Beyond lay a cave. In trooped the children behind the pied piper, and when the last child had gone into the darkness, the door creaked shut.”
Here is a quote from the wall of the Piper’s House in Hamelin today: “In the year of 1284, on the day of Saints John and Paul, the 26th of June, 130 children born in Hamelin were seduced by a piper, dressed in all kinds of colors, and lost at the calvary near the koppen.”
The story is largely true, with some exaggerated parts. Many theories abound as to the factual events of that day, but the most logical seems to be that the piper represents death (death was depicted as a skeleton wearing pied clothing in the middle ages) and that the children who died were killed by the plague.
Pied means 'having two or more colors'. The word comes from middle English and is taken from the word “magpie.” Thus, the pied piper was a man wearing clothing of many colors.
Listerine
Walmart pulled Listerine off shelves in 1989 after
a woman claimed it burned her mouth. After testing, they restocked
it. Turns out that’s just how Listerine tastes. I could have
told them that.
Caught Red Handed
“Caught red handed”, has its origins in
Scotland around the 15th century. 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. It subsequently popped up numerous times in various legal proceedings in Scotland, nearly always referring to someone caught in the act of committing some crime, such as “apprehended redhand”, “taken with redhand”, etc.
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.
The first known documented instance of “red hand” is in the Scottish Acts of Parliament of James I, written in 1432. It subsequently popped up numerous times in various legal proceedings in Scotland, nearly always referring to someone caught in the act of committing some crime, such as “apprehended redhand”, “taken with redhand”, etc.
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.
10,000 Zambonis
The ice making business was booming way
before household refrigerators were common. In 1939 Frank Zamboni
and his brother had been in their ice block business for years, but
refrigerators were becoming popular enough that they saw things
quickly changing.
They had an inventory of many large refrigeration units, so they decided to open an ice rink. It was there that Frank came up with a way to resurface the ice. Originally it took three men an hour and a half to get it done, but in 1949 he invented the precursor of the ice machine we know today.
Now one man could resurface an ice rink in ten minutes. Like Xerox and Kleenex, Zamboni is a trademarked word that we now use to refer to all ice resurfacing machines. In April 2012, the 10,000th Zamboni was sold and delivered to the Montreal Canadiens.
They had an inventory of many large refrigeration units, so they decided to open an ice rink. It was there that Frank came up with a way to resurface the ice. Originally it took three men an hour and a half to get it done, but in 1949 he invented the precursor of the ice machine we know today.
Now one man could resurface an ice rink in ten minutes. Like Xerox and Kleenex, Zamboni is a trademarked word that we now use to refer to all ice resurfacing machines. In April 2012, the 10,000th Zamboni was sold and delivered to the Montreal Canadiens.
Free Google Calendar
Free online calendar application
called Google Calendar. If you have a Google account, you can create
a Google Calendar. If you don't have one, you can register for a
free account.
You can use Google Calendar to schedule events and invite people to participate. By sharing folders, you can compare your schedule with other users. If everyone keeps his or her calendar up to date, it's easy to avoid conflicts. A single user can open multiple calendars and view all the scheduled events in a single window. Google displays each calendar's events in a different color.
Google includes its search feature within the Google Calendar system. You can search for specific calendars. Calendar owners can choose to keep a calendar private or share it openly with everyone. you can also set it up to send you an email to remind you of events in the calendar.
You can use Google Calendar to schedule events and invite people to participate. By sharing folders, you can compare your schedule with other users. If everyone keeps his or her calendar up to date, it's easy to avoid conflicts. A single user can open multiple calendars and view all the scheduled events in a single window. Google displays each calendar's events in a different color.
Google includes its search feature within the Google Calendar system. You can search for specific calendars. Calendar owners can choose to keep a calendar private or share it openly with everyone. you can also set it up to send you an email to remind you of events in the calendar.
The Charleston
The Charleston was one of the biggest dance
crazes of all time It was popularized in a song of the same name in
the 1923 Broadway show Runnin’ Wild.
The choreography for the show was most likely original, but the style came from the Juba dance moves that originated among slaves on plantations and in southern cities like Charleston, South Carolina, where the name comes from. Here are a few super examples Charleston moves set to dubstep. LINK
The choreography for the show was most likely original, but the style came from the Juba dance moves that originated among slaves on plantations and in southern cities like Charleston, South Carolina, where the name comes from. Here are a few super examples Charleston moves set to dubstep. LINK
What's in a Name, 5
One of the characters in the Peanuts
universe was “555 95472,” or “5” for short. Introduced in September
1963, 5 explained that his father was so upset about people being
seen as “just a number,” he renamed the entire family as a series of
digits.
The family’s last name is taken from their ZIP Code, though when spoken, 5 insists there’s an accent on the 4. The ZIP Code, by the way, is the real one for Sebastopol, California, where Charles Schulz lived at the time.
5’s sisters 3 and 4 made a few appearances in the strip before disappearing, but 5 was occasionally a background character until 1981. You’ve probably seen 3, 4, and 5 already and didn’t even know it. All three appear in the famous dance sequence in 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'. 3 and 4 are the twin girls in purple dresses, while 5 is the spiky-haired kid in orange.
The family’s last name is taken from their ZIP Code, though when spoken, 5 insists there’s an accent on the 4. The ZIP Code, by the way, is the real one for Sebastopol, California, where Charles Schulz lived at the time.
5’s sisters 3 and 4 made a few appearances in the strip before disappearing, but 5 was occasionally a background character until 1981. You’ve probably seen 3, 4, and 5 already and didn’t even know it. All three appear in the famous dance sequence in 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'. 3 and 4 are the twin girls in purple dresses, while 5 is the spiky-haired kid in orange.
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