Oct 17, 2014
Bacon Brain Building
Bacon is full of an important
nutrient called choline, which helps increase intelligence and
memory and has been shown in University studies to help fight off
the debilitating effects of Alzheimer’s Disease and other chronic
mental impairments. Bacon helps me to remember to eat more #bacon.
Oct 10, 2014
Happy Friday
“Life is sweet when you pay attention. When it doesn't seem sweet,
put a sticker on your nose and do a funky dance.” Whitney Scott
I have a sticker on my nose and am doing a happy dance on this Happy Friday!
I have a sticker on my nose and am doing a happy dance on this Happy Friday!
Happy Columbus Day
Monday is Columbus Day for most of the
US, but Seattle, WA., will be holding its first Indigenous Peoples'
Day. It makes little difference as Columbus Day is not an official
holiday in Washington. A councilman said it is, "About taking a
stand against racism." An opposing lawyer said people of Italian
descent are "deeply offended." "By this resolution you say to all
Italian-Americans that the city of Seattle no longer deems your
heritage or your community worthy of recognition." Seems like
politics never takes a holiday.
Bacon's Blood Balancing Bounty
Several university and
medical center studies have shown that including bacon as a regular,
moderate part of one’s diet naturally works to lower the body's
blood pressure and blood sugar levels, helping to prevent and / or
alleviate the effects of diabetes, as well as heart disease, stroke,
and heart attack.
Tips, Tipsy, Tipple, and Wingtips
The etymology of these
words is a bit different than the generally accepted (although
incorrect) stories that they come from acronyms.
Tip does not come from 'to insure prompt service'. It dates back to the 1600s and meant to give a small present of money. It was also used in thieves jargon about the same time, meaning 'to give, hand, or pass'. The meaning 'give a gratuity to' is first documented in the early 1700s. The incorrect acronym story came from an editorial in "Life" magazine from July 15, 1946, claiming the restaurant server's word tip "probably comes from a London coffeehouse custom of two centuries ago when the words 'To Insure Promptness' were written on notes to the waiter, with coins attached.
Tipsy comes from another definition of tip, from the 1300s meaning 'to knock down, topple, or knock askew'. Possibly from Scandinavian tippa 'to tip, dump'. Tipsy-cake from the 1800s was stale cake saturated with wine or liquor.
Tipple dates back to the 1500s, meaning 'sell alcoholic liquor by retail'. It is possibly from a Scandinavian source tipla 'to drink slowly or in small quantities'. The meaning of 'drink (alcoholic beverage) too much' is found in the 1550s. A tippler is a seller of alcoholic liquors.
Wingtips are totally unrelated to the above discussion, except that many businessmen who wear these shoes with a back-curving toe cap suggestive of a bird's wingtip often tipple after work and are tipsy by the time they go home.
Tip does not come from 'to insure prompt service'. It dates back to the 1600s and meant to give a small present of money. It was also used in thieves jargon about the same time, meaning 'to give, hand, or pass'. The meaning 'give a gratuity to' is first documented in the early 1700s. The incorrect acronym story came from an editorial in "Life" magazine from July 15, 1946, claiming the restaurant server's word tip "probably comes from a London coffeehouse custom of two centuries ago when the words 'To Insure Promptness' were written on notes to the waiter, with coins attached.
Tipsy comes from another definition of tip, from the 1300s meaning 'to knock down, topple, or knock askew'. Possibly from Scandinavian tippa 'to tip, dump'. Tipsy-cake from the 1800s was stale cake saturated with wine or liquor.
Tipple dates back to the 1500s, meaning 'sell alcoholic liquor by retail'. It is possibly from a Scandinavian source tipla 'to drink slowly or in small quantities'. The meaning of 'drink (alcoholic beverage) too much' is found in the 1550s. A tippler is a seller of alcoholic liquors.
Wingtips are totally unrelated to the above discussion, except that many businessmen who wear these shoes with a back-curving toe cap suggestive of a bird's wingtip often tipple after work and are tipsy by the time they go home.
A Few Drinking Terms
Speaking of tipsy, here are a few
more booze related terms. Two old words that I miss.
GROG-BLOSSOM, A word from the 18th century for the dilation of blood vessels caused by long-term over consumption of the drink—in an alcoholic's nose.
CRAPULENCE, This word, from the Latin root crapula, arose in the 18th century. It denoted intestinal and cranial distress arising from intemperance and debauchery. Put another way: If you get drunk, expect crapulence.
GROG-BLOSSOM, A word from the 18th century for the dilation of blood vessels caused by long-term over consumption of the drink—in an alcoholic's nose.
CRAPULENCE, This word, from the Latin root crapula, arose in the 18th century. It denoted intestinal and cranial distress arising from intemperance and debauchery. Put another way: If you get drunk, expect crapulence.
Electronic Swing
Normally, I extremely dislike
commercials and mute them at best or change channels. Have heard a
few lately that struck my fancy because of the background music. One
in particular had a track I remembered, but could not recall the
artist. As usual, I scoured the web to find out more information.
It was Parov Stelar, one of my new besties. His musical style is called Electronic Swing. The first YouTube video I remember from him 'All Night', complete with amazing dancing LINK.
Here is one with vocals from singer Cleo Panther (I think I love her) 'Nobody's Fool' LINK.
Here is one for the oldies, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing to Parov's 'Booty Swing', with samples from 'Oriental Swing' LINK and a rousing live version LINK. These will get your toes a tappin.
It was Parov Stelar, one of my new besties. His musical style is called Electronic Swing. The first YouTube video I remember from him 'All Night', complete with amazing dancing LINK.
Here is one with vocals from singer Cleo Panther (I think I love her) 'Nobody's Fool' LINK.
Here is one for the oldies, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing to Parov's 'Booty Swing', with samples from 'Oriental Swing' LINK and a rousing live version LINK. These will get your toes a tappin.
What's in a Name, Starbucks
Starbucks is named for
Captain Ahab’s first mate, Starbuck in the 1851 novel Moby-Dick.
The founders had considered naming it Pequod's, after Ahab’s ship.
Coffee related and true - The first webcam watched a coffee pot. It allowed researchers at Cambridge to monitor the coffee pot without leaving their desks. Well, call me Ishmael.
Coffee related and true - The first webcam watched a coffee pot. It allowed researchers at Cambridge to monitor the coffee pot without leaving their desks. Well, call me Ishmael.
New Internet Rumor Tracker
Emergent is a real-time rumor
tracker. http://www.emergent.info/about
It is part of a research project with the Tow Center for Digital
Journalism at Columbia University that focuses on how unverified
information and rumor are reported in the media. It aims to develop
and best practices for debunking misinformation. Kind of like a
"real time" version of Snopes.
You can view a list of rumors being tracked on the homepage, along with their current claim state (True, False, Unverified). Click on a story to visit a page that visualizes the sources reporting the rumor, and a breakdown of social shares per source. You can also click on individual articles on the story page to see specific revision and social share data about that article.
You can view a list of rumors being tracked on the homepage, along with their current claim state (True, False, Unverified). Click on a story to visit a page that visualizes the sources reporting the rumor, and a breakdown of social shares per source. You can also click on individual articles on the story page to see specific revision and social share data about that article.
Wordology, Crocodility
I love the way that word rolls off
the tongue. Crocodility is an ancient word for fallacious reasoning
See if you can follow this paradox. A crocodile snatches a young boy from a riverbank. His mother pleads with the crocodile to return him, to which the crocodile replies that he will only return the boy safely if the mother can guess correctly whether or not he will return the boy.
There is no problem if the mother guesses that the crocodile will return him. If she is right, he is returned; if she is wrong, the crocodile keeps him. If she answers that the crocodile will not return him, however, we end up with a paradox: if she is right and the crocodile never intended to return her child, then the crocodile has to return him, but in doing so breaks his word and contradicts the mother’s answer. On the other hand, if she is wrong and the crocodile actually did intend to return the boy, the crocodile must then keep him even though he intended not to, thereby also breaking his word.
The paradox is such an enduring logic problem that in the Middle Ages the word 'crocodilite' came to be used to refer to any similarly brain-twisting dilemma where you admit something that is later used against you.
See if you can follow this paradox. A crocodile snatches a young boy from a riverbank. His mother pleads with the crocodile to return him, to which the crocodile replies that he will only return the boy safely if the mother can guess correctly whether or not he will return the boy.
There is no problem if the mother guesses that the crocodile will return him. If she is right, he is returned; if she is wrong, the crocodile keeps him. If she answers that the crocodile will not return him, however, we end up with a paradox: if she is right and the crocodile never intended to return her child, then the crocodile has to return him, but in doing so breaks his word and contradicts the mother’s answer. On the other hand, if she is wrong and the crocodile actually did intend to return the boy, the crocodile must then keep him even though he intended not to, thereby also breaking his word.
The paradox is such an enduring logic problem that in the Middle Ages the word 'crocodilite' came to be used to refer to any similarly brain-twisting dilemma where you admit something that is later used against you.
My Blog Statistics
Interesting statistics
from last month show that the top five viewing countries to my
blog, in order were Ukraine, US, France, Russia, and UK. It has
been a very long time since US was not first on the list.
Thanks and welcome to my new best friends from Ukraine.
Oct 3, 2014
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