The earliest reference to some aspect of
this expression goes all the way back to the Ancient Egyptians. They
noted that the heliacal rising of the star Sirius heralded the
hottest part of the summer. The star’s hieroglyph is a dog. Sirius
would appear in Egypt just before the season where the Nile
typically floods. So it is thought the star’s hieroglyphic symbol
being a dog symbolized a “watchdog”.
It is the brightest star in what is now known as the Canis Major
(Latin for Greater Dog) constellation. It’s rising marked the start
of the hottest part of the year, which then became the 'Dog Days'.
The Roman’s and Greeks had expressions for Dog Days. They both
believed that, when Sirius rose around the same time as the Sun,
this contributed to that time of year becoming hotter. As such, they
would often make sacrifices to Sirius, including sacrificing dogs,
to appease Sirius with the hope that this would result in a mild
summer and would protect their crops from scorching. Seems to me
that offering dead dogs to a dog might not please him as much as
they thought.
Jun 8, 2012
Popular Science Augments Reality
This month's issue of
Popular Science will be the first monthly U.S. consumer magazine to
bring an editorial feature to life by way of a new augmented reality
technology from Aurasma that unites the physical and virtual worlds
to deliver a unique and interactive experience for readers. You can
hold your phone up to the printed page and it will show a video of
someone talking about the article to provide more background info.
Here is a LINK
that shows how it works. Another great example of where art meets
science.
Daimler and Benz History
Long before there was Daimler Benz
and Mercedes, there were two car companies. At the same time that
Karl Benz was developing his three-wheeler in Mannheim, Germany, in
the 1880s, Gottlieb Daimler was creating the world's first
four-wheeled automobile with an internal combustion engine in
Stuttgart, 75 miles away.
Incidentally, Benz' wife, Bertha used her dowry to pay off his debts and keep him in business. She also undertook the world’s first long-distance car journey, and is acknowledged as the first lady motorist in history.
Daimler received his patent for a "vehicle with gas or petroleum drive machine" in 1885. Benz built three gas engine models between 1885 and 1887, and received the patent for his design in 1886.
In the United States at the time, cars powered by steam, gasoline, and electricity were all proliferating on the roadways.
In April 1900, Emil Jellinek, an Austrian businessman made an agreement with DMG (Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, or Daimler Motor Company) to buy and resell its cars. He decided to use his young daughter's name, Mercedes, as a product name. Jellinek ordered 36 vehicles at a total price of 550,000 marks, equivalent to over 2 million dollars today. A few weeks later, he placed a new order for another 36 vehicles.
This first ‘Mercedes’ was developed by Wilhelm Maybach, the chief engineer at DMG, and it is regarded today as the first modern automobile.
After various iterations, in November 1921, DMG applied for patents for a three-dimensional three-pointed star enclosed in a circle and it became a registered trademark in August 1923. Daimler and Benz merged in 1926. Now you know how all the names and pieces fit together.
Incidentally, Benz' wife, Bertha used her dowry to pay off his debts and keep him in business. She also undertook the world’s first long-distance car journey, and is acknowledged as the first lady motorist in history.
Daimler received his patent for a "vehicle with gas or petroleum drive machine" in 1885. Benz built three gas engine models between 1885 and 1887, and received the patent for his design in 1886.
In the United States at the time, cars powered by steam, gasoline, and electricity were all proliferating on the roadways.
In April 1900, Emil Jellinek, an Austrian businessman made an agreement with DMG (Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, or Daimler Motor Company) to buy and resell its cars. He decided to use his young daughter's name, Mercedes, as a product name. Jellinek ordered 36 vehicles at a total price of 550,000 marks, equivalent to over 2 million dollars today. A few weeks later, he placed a new order for another 36 vehicles.
This first ‘Mercedes’ was developed by Wilhelm Maybach, the chief engineer at DMG, and it is regarded today as the first modern automobile.
After various iterations, in November 1921, DMG applied for patents for a three-dimensional three-pointed star enclosed in a circle and it became a registered trademark in August 1923. Daimler and Benz merged in 1926. Now you know how all the names and pieces fit together.
Finding Stuff
When you are reading a long page and just
looking for a name, you can hold down the CTRL key and hit the
letter F. A box will open on the bottom of the screen and you can
begin typing the word. It will find and highlight that word on the
page. This also works in Microsoft Word documents. If the word is
not found, the box will turn pink to let you the word is not on the
page.
What's in a Name, Bloomers
Amelia Jenks Bloomer was born in
1818. She was a women’s rights advocate, social reformer and
temperance advocate. She married Dexter Bloomer, who encouraged her
to write for his newspaper. Later she wrote for her own periodical
about women's rights.
Among other things, she worked for more sensible dress for women and recommended what was called the Bloomer Costume in 1849. Bloomer believed that “pantalettes” were appropriate clothing for women. These were baggy pants that narrowed at the ankles and were meant to be worn under dresses. Bloomer advocated them because they both preserved a woman’s decency and allowed her to participate in more activities without having to worry about indecency. That is why bloomer panties were named after her. Elizabeth Smith Miller introduced the costume, but it was Amelia that gave bloomers the name we still use today.
Later she established churches, helped pass suffrage legislation, and she even founded the Soldier’s Age Society. In 1871, she became the president of the Iowa Women Suffrage Society and helped pass a law that put an end to the distinction between male and female property rights. She petitioned congress to either end her taxation or end the “political disabilities” that did not allow her an active role in the government.
Among other things, she worked for more sensible dress for women and recommended what was called the Bloomer Costume in 1849. Bloomer believed that “pantalettes” were appropriate clothing for women. These were baggy pants that narrowed at the ankles and were meant to be worn under dresses. Bloomer advocated them because they both preserved a woman’s decency and allowed her to participate in more activities without having to worry about indecency. That is why bloomer panties were named after her. Elizabeth Smith Miller introduced the costume, but it was Amelia that gave bloomers the name we still use today.
Later she established churches, helped pass suffrage legislation, and she even founded the Soldier’s Age Society. In 1871, she became the president of the Iowa Women Suffrage Society and helped pass a law that put an end to the distinction between male and female property rights. She petitioned congress to either end her taxation or end the “political disabilities” that did not allow her an active role in the government.
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.
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