Am sure many of you woke up this
morning with the same burning question on your mind, where did the
common colors get their names.
Pink - In English, pink used to refer exclusively to a flower
called a pink, a dianthus which has pale red petals with fringed
edges. Pink, as a verb means to cut or tear jaggedly and has been in
use in the English language since the early 14th century.
Orange - When oranges (the fruit) were exported from India,
the word for them was exported too. Sanskrit narangah, or "orange
tree," was borrowed into Persian as narang, "orange (fruit)," which
was borrowed into Arabic as naranj, into Italian as arancia, into
French as orange, and eventually into English as orange. The color
of the fruit was so striking that English speakers eventually began
referring to the color by this word as well. Before oranges were
imported in the 1500s, the English word for the color orange was
geoluhread (yellow-red).
Jan 9, 2015
Fog, Smog, Vog, Haze, and Mist
This time of year we see many
of these weather conditions and some people can get a bit foggy
about the definitions.
Mist and fog are caused by water droplets in the air, and the only difference is how far you can see. The airline industry’s definition of fog uses the guideline of not being able to see more than 1,000 meters (3,280 ft), although the civilian definition of fog is when visibility is less than 200 meters (650 ft). If you can see farther than that, it is considered mist. Different types of fog include Valley fog, Upslope fog, and coastal fog. Also, evaporation fog causes freezing fog.
Haze is the reflection of sunlight off air pollution. Some naturally occurring sources of haze include smoke particles from fires. Most haze is air pollution, carried by the wind often hundreds of miles from where it originated.
Smog was first used in London during the early 1900's to describe the combination of smoke and fog. It occurs when pollution causes low-lying ozone. When certain pollutants enter the air, such as nitrogen oxides, they react with the sunlight to form ozone. Major smog occurrences often are linked to heavy motor vehicle traffic, high temperatures, sunshine, and calm winds. During 1952, weather conditions led to massive smog descending on and gathering over London. Visibility was less than 30 centimeters (12 in), the air was black with coal and pollution, and the usually bustling city came to a standstill. By the time the smog cleared, 4,000 people died from exposure to the pollution, and another 8,000 died during the following weeks.
Vog only happens when a nearby volcano is releasing sulfur dioxide into the air to react with what is already there. When a volcano erupts, or begins to erupt, it releases sulfur dioxide, which then reacts with other gases already in the air. When lava reaches the sea, it also reacts with the water to produce other chemicals like hydrogen sulfide. The resulting “fog” is called vog and can mean anything from severely reduced visibility to adding a mild, blue-grey tint to the landscape.
Mist and fog are caused by water droplets in the air, and the only difference is how far you can see. The airline industry’s definition of fog uses the guideline of not being able to see more than 1,000 meters (3,280 ft), although the civilian definition of fog is when visibility is less than 200 meters (650 ft). If you can see farther than that, it is considered mist. Different types of fog include Valley fog, Upslope fog, and coastal fog. Also, evaporation fog causes freezing fog.
Haze is the reflection of sunlight off air pollution. Some naturally occurring sources of haze include smoke particles from fires. Most haze is air pollution, carried by the wind often hundreds of miles from where it originated.
Smog was first used in London during the early 1900's to describe the combination of smoke and fog. It occurs when pollution causes low-lying ozone. When certain pollutants enter the air, such as nitrogen oxides, they react with the sunlight to form ozone. Major smog occurrences often are linked to heavy motor vehicle traffic, high temperatures, sunshine, and calm winds. During 1952, weather conditions led to massive smog descending on and gathering over London. Visibility was less than 30 centimeters (12 in), the air was black with coal and pollution, and the usually bustling city came to a standstill. By the time the smog cleared, 4,000 people died from exposure to the pollution, and another 8,000 died during the following weeks.
Vog only happens when a nearby volcano is releasing sulfur dioxide into the air to react with what is already there. When a volcano erupts, or begins to erupt, it releases sulfur dioxide, which then reacts with other gases already in the air. When lava reaches the sea, it also reacts with the water to produce other chemicals like hydrogen sulfide. The resulting “fog” is called vog and can mean anything from severely reduced visibility to adding a mild, blue-grey tint to the landscape.
Internet Time
This is what happens every sixty seconds on
the internet.
2,635,217 Google searches
204,709,030 emails sent
1,865 new mobile web users
51,763 app downloads
847 new websites created
200,743 people watching porn
$238,651 is spent on web shopping
$89,300 revenues from products sold on Amazon
778,520,485 Gb of global data transferred
1,875,734 new Facebook likes
159,745 new photos uploaded on Facebook
243,040 new tweets
104 hours of video uploaded on YouTube
2,780,653 YouTube video views
About a million Google searches happened while you were reading this tidbit.
2,635,217 Google searches
204,709,030 emails sent
1,865 new mobile web users
51,763 app downloads
847 new websites created
200,743 people watching porn
$238,651 is spent on web shopping
$89,300 revenues from products sold on Amazon
778,520,485 Gb of global data transferred
1,875,734 new Facebook likes
159,745 new photos uploaded on Facebook
243,040 new tweets
104 hours of video uploaded on YouTube
2,780,653 YouTube video views
About a million Google searches happened while you were reading this tidbit.
Pork Powered Protein
The protein found in
bacon is extremely valuable to maintaining our energy levels and a
fully functioning, healthy body, with a minimum of those nasty,
waist, thigh and butt expanding, fat building carbohydrates.
Razor Differences
Men and women use different
razors, but there is no difference between men’s and women’s razors.
There are differences between brand names.
Gillette
issued
a press release in which it stated that the blades used in its
gendered
products both use the same 'blade technology'.
Women’s razors are generally more expensive than men’s, but cost to manufacture different shapes are negligible. The razors for women are usually larger to cut more hair. The heads of men’s razors are designed to facilitate more accurate facial grooming with smaller heads around the blades, as well as having the blades more tightly packed. This serves to better cut thicker hair commonly found on men’s faces vs. women’s legs, and to cut hair closer to the skin.
The blades of men’s razors are often put at more of an oblique angle than women’s razors, along with a different contour of handle. The difference in angle and handle shape allows women to see better what they are shaving when looking down at their legs vs. men looking straight into a mirror.
Shaving creams are also identical, except for aroma, because women prefer different fragrances than men.
So, the price for women is much higher, because of perception and because women are more inclined to pay more - for any number of non-tangible reasons. Men see shaving as a chore and women tend to think of it as beauty enhancing. Save some money and use the less expensive alternative razors, creams, and gels, just do not share the same razor.
Women’s razors are generally more expensive than men’s, but cost to manufacture different shapes are negligible. The razors for women are usually larger to cut more hair. The heads of men’s razors are designed to facilitate more accurate facial grooming with smaller heads around the blades, as well as having the blades more tightly packed. This serves to better cut thicker hair commonly found on men’s faces vs. women’s legs, and to cut hair closer to the skin.
The blades of men’s razors are often put at more of an oblique angle than women’s razors, along with a different contour of handle. The difference in angle and handle shape allows women to see better what they are shaving when looking down at their legs vs. men looking straight into a mirror.
Shaving creams are also identical, except for aroma, because women prefer different fragrances than men.
So, the price for women is much higher, because of perception and because women are more inclined to pay more - for any number of non-tangible reasons. Men see shaving as a chore and women tend to think of it as beauty enhancing. Save some money and use the less expensive alternative razors, creams, and gels, just do not share the same razor.
Seven Interesting Facts
Coke would be green if
coloring was not added.
An average hummingbird weighs less than a penny.
The total weight of ants on earth is greater than the total weight of humans.
The average person is one percent shorter in the evening.
Half of all people in history aged 65 or older are still living.
Frozen lobsters can come back to life when thawed (they do not squeal when being boiled).
Eyes remain the same size from birth, but the nose and ears never stop growing.
An average hummingbird weighs less than a penny.
The total weight of ants on earth is greater than the total weight of humans.
The average person is one percent shorter in the evening.
Half of all people in history aged 65 or older are still living.
Frozen lobsters can come back to life when thawed (they do not squeal when being boiled).
Eyes remain the same size from birth, but the nose and ears never stop growing.
What's in a Name, Ouija Board
The Ouija board was created
as a parlor game around 1890 by designer Elijah Bond, who patented
it in 1891, then sold the patent to William Fuld in 1901. Fuld
popularized the game and promoted it as a novelty. He sold the
business in 1966 to Parker Brothers, which was acquired by Hasbro,
which now owns it, along with Monopoly, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, etc.
Ouija is a combination of two words: 'oui' and 'ja' which mean 'yes'
in French and German respectively.
One of the first mentions of the automatic writing method used in the Ouija board is found in China around 1100 AD. The method was known as fuji, spirit writing or automatic writing using a suspended sieve or tray to guide a stick which writes Chinese characters in sand or incense ashes.
Despite being a trademark, “Ouija” is also used to refer to any kind of 'talking' board that uses automatic writing. Shortly after it was introduced, Pearl Curran, a popular 20th-century spiritualist began using the Ouija board during WWI as a tool for her divination. Some people thought it was kind of ancient mystical device used to communicate with the dead. It has also been associated with devil worship or spirituality, despite Hasbro’s insistence that it is just a board game. The 'automatic' writing is simply done by the ideomotor effect, people moving the indicator unconsciously.
Paranormal and supernatural beliefs associated with Ouija have been harshly criticized by the scientific community, since they are characterized as pseudoscience. There is a 'museum' of talking boards on the web at LINK.
One of the first mentions of the automatic writing method used in the Ouija board is found in China around 1100 AD. The method was known as fuji, spirit writing or automatic writing using a suspended sieve or tray to guide a stick which writes Chinese characters in sand or incense ashes.
Despite being a trademark, “Ouija” is also used to refer to any kind of 'talking' board that uses automatic writing. Shortly after it was introduced, Pearl Curran, a popular 20th-century spiritualist began using the Ouija board during WWI as a tool for her divination. Some people thought it was kind of ancient mystical device used to communicate with the dead. It has also been associated with devil worship or spirituality, despite Hasbro’s insistence that it is just a board game. The 'automatic' writing is simply done by the ideomotor effect, people moving the indicator unconsciously.
Paranormal and supernatural beliefs associated with Ouija have been harshly criticized by the scientific community, since they are characterized as pseudoscience. There is a 'museum' of talking boards on the web at LINK.
Jan 2, 2015
Happy Friday
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your
smile can be the source of your joy.”
Both my smiles and joy always show up for a Happy Friday!
Both my smiles and joy always show up for a Happy Friday!
Time
Ah, we are at the beginning of another New Year and
the world awaits what wonderful things we can accomplish this year.
Time is such an important part of our lives and is so personal to
each of us that there are hundreds of ways to describe it. Each of
us has our own specious present. This year, do not bide your time.
Use this window of time to spend some face time with family and
friends and keep them close for all time.
Words from the Rolling Stones (I like the second version) title come to mind LINK. In the nick of time we look at the fresh calendar, sit a spell, adjust our circadian clock, and ponder the current epoch. This is the kairos to begin before we reach our first poronkusema.
Kairos is an ancient Greek word meaning the right or opportune moment (the supreme moment).
The Finnish word poronkusema describes the distance equal to how far a reindeer can travel without taking a comfort break.
The Malaysian word for the time it takes to eat a banana is pisan zapra. To say that someone would arrive in pisan zapra means they could be expected in a few minutes.
The Turkish phrase 'zaman dilimi' means time period as does the Haitian Creole phrase 'peryòd tan'.
A jubilee is 50 years.
A vigil is a period of time, especially at night, when you stay in a place to wait for something or to give your support.
In medieval time, a moment was defined as being 90 seconds.
In the Old Testament, Yom is translated as period of time, such as year, always, and more.
A sidereal time is the measurement of time relative to a distant star. It is used in astronomy to predict when a star will be overhead. A sidereal day is 4 minutes less than a solar day.
Scientist Gilbert Newton Lewis defined a jiffy in the early 1900s as the amount of time it takes light to travel 1 centimeter (0.4 in), which is about one-hundredth of a second.
A Planck is the duration light takes to travel one (Max) Planck length, theorized to be the smallest duration measurement that will ever be possible, roughly 10 to the 43rd seconds.
Words from the Rolling Stones (I like the second version) title come to mind LINK. In the nick of time we look at the fresh calendar, sit a spell, adjust our circadian clock, and ponder the current epoch. This is the kairos to begin before we reach our first poronkusema.
Kairos is an ancient Greek word meaning the right or opportune moment (the supreme moment).
The Finnish word poronkusema describes the distance equal to how far a reindeer can travel without taking a comfort break.
The Malaysian word for the time it takes to eat a banana is pisan zapra. To say that someone would arrive in pisan zapra means they could be expected in a few minutes.
The Turkish phrase 'zaman dilimi' means time period as does the Haitian Creole phrase 'peryòd tan'.
A jubilee is 50 years.
A vigil is a period of time, especially at night, when you stay in a place to wait for something or to give your support.
In medieval time, a moment was defined as being 90 seconds.
In the Old Testament, Yom is translated as period of time, such as year, always, and more.
A sidereal time is the measurement of time relative to a distant star. It is used in astronomy to predict when a star will be overhead. A sidereal day is 4 minutes less than a solar day.
Scientist Gilbert Newton Lewis defined a jiffy in the early 1900s as the amount of time it takes light to travel 1 centimeter (0.4 in), which is about one-hundredth of a second.
A Planck is the duration light takes to travel one (Max) Planck length, theorized to be the smallest duration measurement that will ever be possible, roughly 10 to the 43rd seconds.
Aging and Time
Time obviously affects our age, but how we
feel about our age can make a difference between just getting old
and aging gracefully.
JAMA Internal Medicine online recently published a study that looked at data from 6,489 people with an average age of 65.8 years who reported that they felt a little less than 10 years younger. Most said they felt about three years younger and 4.8%, felt at least a year older than their actual age.
During the next eight years, scientists found just over 14% of those who felt younger than their years had died, while more than 24% of the people who reported feeling older or feeling their age died.
The study concluded that self-perceived age has the potential to change us. This and other research shows that personality can affect our destiny. New research into the link between personality and aging finds that there are two main traits that seem to help people live longer: conscientiousness and optimism. Happiness and a positive attitude can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. These results certainly make me happy.
JAMA Internal Medicine online recently published a study that looked at data from 6,489 people with an average age of 65.8 years who reported that they felt a little less than 10 years younger. Most said they felt about three years younger and 4.8%, felt at least a year older than their actual age.
During the next eight years, scientists found just over 14% of those who felt younger than their years had died, while more than 24% of the people who reported feeling older or feeling their age died.
The study concluded that self-perceived age has the potential to change us. This and other research shows that personality can affect our destiny. New research into the link between personality and aging finds that there are two main traits that seem to help people live longer: conscientiousness and optimism. Happiness and a positive attitude can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. These results certainly make me happy.
New Year Census
The US population is at 320.09 million
people as of January 1. It is an increase of 11.35 million since the
last census. During January 2015, the US is expected to have one
birth every eight seconds and one death every 12 seconds. Net
migration is expected to add one person to the US population every
33 seconds, according to the Census Bureau.
The combination of births, deaths, and net migration will add at least one person to the US population every 16 seconds.
The combination of births, deaths, and net migration will add at least one person to the US population every 16 seconds.
Wordology, Hogmanay
Hogmanay is the Scots word for the
last day of the year and is synonymous with the celebration of the
New Year in the Scottish style. The celebrating begins on the last
day of the year and lasts through the night until the morning of New
Year's Day or 2 January, a Scottish Bank Holiday.
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