Shared joy is double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow. -Swedish proverb
I always share my joy when celebrating a Happy Friday!
Apr 29, 2016
International Dance Day
It was introduced in 1982 by the International Dance Council, and is celebrated on April 29 every year. The main purpose of Dance Day events is to attract the attention of the wider public to the art of dance. Every year, the president of the CID sends the official message for Dance Day which circulate in every country of the world.
Cradles of Civilization
Current scholarship generally identifies six sites where civilization emerged independently: Mesopotamia (Iraq, Syria, and Kuwait, including regions along the Turkish-Syrian and Iran–Iraq borders), the Nile River (Africa), the Indus River (Asia), the Yellow River (China), the Central Andes (southern Ecuador, Peru, western Bolivia, and northern and central Argentina, and Chile), and Mesoamerica (from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica).
Historic times are separated from prehistoric times when records of the past begin to be kept for the benefit of future generations; that is, with the development of writing.
The earliest signs of a process leading to sedentary culture can be found in the Levant (from ISIL fame) to as early as 12,000 BC. The Levant is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the eastern Mediterranean, including all of the eastern Mediterranean with its islands, including all of the countries along the eastern Mediterranean shores, extending from Greece to Cyrenaica (Eastern Lybia).
Modern meaning includes Syria-Palestine or the region of Syria bounded by the Taurus Mountains of Turkey in the North, the Mediterranean Sea in the west, and the north Arabian Desert and Mesopotamia in the east. Today, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey are sometimes considered Levant countries.
The first cities to house several tens of thousands were Memphis and Uruk, by 3000 BC.
Historic times are separated from prehistoric times when records of the past begin to be kept for the benefit of future generations; that is, with the development of writing.
The earliest signs of a process leading to sedentary culture can be found in the Levant (from ISIL fame) to as early as 12,000 BC. The Levant is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the eastern Mediterranean, including all of the eastern Mediterranean with its islands, including all of the countries along the eastern Mediterranean shores, extending from Greece to Cyrenaica (Eastern Lybia).
Modern meaning includes Syria-Palestine or the region of Syria bounded by the Taurus Mountains of Turkey in the North, the Mediterranean Sea in the west, and the north Arabian Desert and Mesopotamia in the east. Today, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey are sometimes considered Levant countries.
The first cities to house several tens of thousands were Memphis and Uruk, by 3000 BC.
Wordology, Salubrious
Some words just roll off the tongue and you can almost taste them. This word means promoting health
My sincerest wishes for a salubriously beneficial and gratifyingly pleasurable period between dawn and sunset. In other words, have a happy Friday.
My sincerest wishes for a salubriously beneficial and gratifyingly pleasurable period between dawn and sunset. In other words, have a happy Friday.
Happiness Study
For the study, published in Social Psychology and Personality Science, researchers Aaron Weidman and Elizabeth Dunn from the University of British Columbia gave 67 participants $20 to spend on either an experiential or material purchase of their choice, and then to report one experiential or material gift they had recently received. Then they quizzed them about their happiness levels through text messages and questionnaires.
They found that the study subjects derived more frequent momentary happiness from material goods, but more intense momentary happiness from the experiences. In other words, they enjoyed their material goods on a greater number of occasions than they did their experiences, even though the happiness felt from the experiences was slightly more intense.
People who want the most happiness for their buck should buy experiences, not things. The idea is that the joy of an experience begins before it even starts, and continues when you look back on the fancy dinner or vacation fondly. Experiences provide both more anticipatory happiness and afterglow happiness.
They found that the study subjects derived more frequent momentary happiness from material goods, but more intense momentary happiness from the experiences. In other words, they enjoyed their material goods on a greater number of occasions than they did their experiences, even though the happiness felt from the experiences was slightly more intense.
People who want the most happiness for their buck should buy experiences, not things. The idea is that the joy of an experience begins before it even starts, and continues when you look back on the fancy dinner or vacation fondly. Experiences provide both more anticipatory happiness and afterglow happiness.
Twelve Words Turning 40
Words that are forty years old during 2016 include:
BEER GUT
While beer belly had been around since 1942, beer gut arrived in 1976.
BOLLYWOOD
This blend of Bombay and Hollywood, used to refer to the Indian film industry, was first used in a 1976 Inspector Ghote mystery novel by H.R.F. Keating.
BOOMER
While we already had baby boom to describe the increase in births after World War II, and were already referring to the members of this generation as baby boomers by 1970, during 1976 the generational label was shortened to just boomers.
TREKKIE
The first citation we have for Trekkie, (an admirer of the U.S. science fiction television program Star Trek) comes from a 1976 New Yorker caption reading, “Of course, I didn't know George was a Trekkie when I married him.”
CHICKEN NUGGET
The earliest citation for chicken nugget is from a 1976 ad in a Jackson, Missouri phone book for Troy’s Fish House. “Catfish ‘All You Can Eat.’ Shrimp—Oysters—Steak. Chicken Nuggets—Burgers.” It wasn’t until the early '80s that the McDonald’s Chicken McNugget introduced.
HACKER
Hackers were calling themselves hackers before 1976, but the first print citation of hacker showed up that year and was defined by various publications around that period as a “compulsive programmer,” a “home-computer nut,” or “someone who spends much of his time writing computer programs.”
EBOLA
The first Ebola outbreak occurred in a village near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976, and the virus was identified and named after the river.
PMS
PMS was first used as an abbreviation for “the premenstrual syndrome,” in a 1976 Lancet (medical journal) article.
EXIT POLL
It was during the 1976 presidential election race between Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford that the term 'exit poll' was used to describe a poll asking how individuals leaving a polling station had voted. It is used to predict the result of an election.
SUPER TUESDAY
The phrase Super Tuesday was first used to refer to the general election, but during the 1976 presidential race it was in reference to the primaries. From a New York Times article about how “New York would open up a string of victories on super-Tuesday, June 8, in California, Ohio and New Jersey.”
MEME (pronounced meem)
Richard Dawkins introduced the word meme in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene: “We need a name for the new replicator, a noun which conveys the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation. Mimeme comes from a suitable Greek root, but I want a monosyllable that sounds a bit like gene. I hope my classicist friends will forgive me if I abbreviate mimeme to meme. Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches.”
ICONIC
Iconic is an old word for “pertaining to an icon or image,” but it was 40 years ago that it first came to be used as a way to refer to “a person or thing regarded as representative of a culture or movement; important or influential in a particular (cultural) context.”
BEER GUT
While beer belly had been around since 1942, beer gut arrived in 1976.
BOLLYWOOD
This blend of Bombay and Hollywood, used to refer to the Indian film industry, was first used in a 1976 Inspector Ghote mystery novel by H.R.F. Keating.
BOOMER
While we already had baby boom to describe the increase in births after World War II, and were already referring to the members of this generation as baby boomers by 1970, during 1976 the generational label was shortened to just boomers.
TREKKIE
The first citation we have for Trekkie, (an admirer of the U.S. science fiction television program Star Trek) comes from a 1976 New Yorker caption reading, “Of course, I didn't know George was a Trekkie when I married him.”
CHICKEN NUGGET
The earliest citation for chicken nugget is from a 1976 ad in a Jackson, Missouri phone book for Troy’s Fish House. “Catfish ‘All You Can Eat.’ Shrimp—Oysters—Steak. Chicken Nuggets—Burgers.” It wasn’t until the early '80s that the McDonald’s Chicken McNugget introduced.
HACKER
Hackers were calling themselves hackers before 1976, but the first print citation of hacker showed up that year and was defined by various publications around that period as a “compulsive programmer,” a “home-computer nut,” or “someone who spends much of his time writing computer programs.”
EBOLA
The first Ebola outbreak occurred in a village near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976, and the virus was identified and named after the river.
PMS
PMS was first used as an abbreviation for “the premenstrual syndrome,” in a 1976 Lancet (medical journal) article.
EXIT POLL
It was during the 1976 presidential election race between Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford that the term 'exit poll' was used to describe a poll asking how individuals leaving a polling station had voted. It is used to predict the result of an election.
SUPER TUESDAY
The phrase Super Tuesday was first used to refer to the general election, but during the 1976 presidential race it was in reference to the primaries. From a New York Times article about how “New York would open up a string of victories on super-Tuesday, June 8, in California, Ohio and New Jersey.”
MEME (pronounced meem)
Richard Dawkins introduced the word meme in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene: “We need a name for the new replicator, a noun which conveys the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation. Mimeme comes from a suitable Greek root, but I want a monosyllable that sounds a bit like gene. I hope my classicist friends will forgive me if I abbreviate mimeme to meme. Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches.”
ICONIC
Iconic is an old word for “pertaining to an icon or image,” but it was 40 years ago that it first came to be used as a way to refer to “a person or thing regarded as representative of a culture or movement; important or influential in a particular (cultural) context.”
Subway Origins
Subway opened in 1965, when 17-year-old Fred DeLuca received a $1,000 investment from a friend of his family, Dr. Peter Buck. Buck suggested using the money to open up a sub shop, because it would be a good way for DeLuca to pay for college and medical school.
On August 28, 1965 DeLuca opened Pete’s Super Submarines in Bridgeport, Connecticut. However, on the radio ads, it sounded like “Pizza Marine,” so they changed the name to Pete’s Subway and later to Subway.
In 1974, DeLuca started franchising and he went through a bit of a learning curve, but he was soon able to jump from 16 stores to 200. Since 1987, 1,000 Subways open every year. As of mid-2015, Subway is the biggest restaurant chain, with the most franchises in the world.
On August 28, 1965 DeLuca opened Pete’s Super Submarines in Bridgeport, Connecticut. However, on the radio ads, it sounded like “Pizza Marine,” so they changed the name to Pete’s Subway and later to Subway.
In 1974, DeLuca started franchising and he went through a bit of a learning curve, but he was soon able to jump from 16 stores to 200. Since 1987, 1,000 Subways open every year. As of mid-2015, Subway is the biggest restaurant chain, with the most franchises in the world.
What's in a Name, Emergency Goaltender
All NHL teams must have an emergency goaltender on call, in the event that one of the two goalies on the roster can’t play.
The league keeps a list of willing and able goalies in each city. When Anders Lindback was injured before the Arizona Coyotes played Montreal, the team called up Nathan Schoenfeld, a local bank manager. Schoenfeld rode the bench all night and got the best seat in the house for Coyotes’ 6-2 win. He also received $500 and a jersey.
The league keeps a list of willing and able goalies in each city. When Anders Lindback was injured before the Arizona Coyotes played Montreal, the team called up Nathan Schoenfeld, a local bank manager. Schoenfeld rode the bench all night and got the best seat in the house for Coyotes’ 6-2 win. He also received $500 and a jersey.
Costco Savings Tips
If there is an asterisk * on a Costco price tag, that means the item will not be restocked and what you see is the last in the store. So if your favorite seasonal product is marked with an asterisk, it is time to buy enough to last you till next year.
A plus sign + on the sign means the item is discontinued.
Costco is a great place to visit for end-of-season sales. At the end of summer, Costco does major markdowns of large seasonal items like patio furniture and pool toys to free up room for the next season’s products.
Costco's food court charges $1.50 for a hot dog and drink, and $1.99 for a slice of pizza. Costco is actually the 14th-largest pizza chain in the US.
Costco's prices are coded. If an item ends with $0.99, it is regularly priced merchandise. Items ending with $0.97 have been marked down (usually also has an asterisk), meaning you are probably getting more for your money. If you see a price tag ending in $0.88 or an even dollar, those are usually local markdowns by a manager trying to get rid of a product. Other cents, such as 59, 69, 79, etc. is a special offer from the manufacturer, it reflects competitive pricing over other discount retailers.
Costco sends out an employee to comparison shop to make sure the warehouse is the lowest price on certain foods and big ticket items. They drive around town for two days filling out a clipboard of hundreds of items for comparison.
Costco locations sell restaurant gift cards, movie tickets, and other deals that allow you to get Costco-style discounts at local retailers. Some national deals: $100 worth of Cold Stone Creamery gift cards for $69.99 and a ten-pack of Regal Entertainment movie tickets for $89.99.
You can shop at Costco without a member card if you use a gift card, so you can ask a friend with a membership to get you a gift card and go shopping.
Costco, like Sams, does not offer bags. If you do not want cardboard box, bring your own bags.
A plus sign + on the sign means the item is discontinued.
Costco is a great place to visit for end-of-season sales. At the end of summer, Costco does major markdowns of large seasonal items like patio furniture and pool toys to free up room for the next season’s products.
Costco's food court charges $1.50 for a hot dog and drink, and $1.99 for a slice of pizza. Costco is actually the 14th-largest pizza chain in the US.
Costco's prices are coded. If an item ends with $0.99, it is regularly priced merchandise. Items ending with $0.97 have been marked down (usually also has an asterisk), meaning you are probably getting more for your money. If you see a price tag ending in $0.88 or an even dollar, those are usually local markdowns by a manager trying to get rid of a product. Other cents, such as 59, 69, 79, etc. is a special offer from the manufacturer, it reflects competitive pricing over other discount retailers.
Costco sends out an employee to comparison shop to make sure the warehouse is the lowest price on certain foods and big ticket items. They drive around town for two days filling out a clipboard of hundreds of items for comparison.
Costco locations sell restaurant gift cards, movie tickets, and other deals that allow you to get Costco-style discounts at local retailers. Some national deals: $100 worth of Cold Stone Creamery gift cards for $69.99 and a ten-pack of Regal Entertainment movie tickets for $89.99.
You can shop at Costco without a member card if you use a gift card, so you can ask a friend with a membership to get you a gift card and go shopping.
Costco, like Sams, does not offer bags. If you do not want cardboard box, bring your own bags.
Apr 22, 2016
Earth Day
Today is Earth Day. This observance arose from an interest in gathering national support for environmental issues.
In 1970, San Francisco activist John McConnell and Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson separately asked Americans to join in a grassroots demonstration. McConnell chose the spring equinox, March 21, 1970 and Nelson chose April 22.
In 1970, San Francisco activist John McConnell and Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson separately asked Americans to join in a grassroots demonstration. McConnell chose the spring equinox, March 21, 1970 and Nelson chose April 22.
National Pretzel Day
April 26 is National Pretzel Day. Eat some pretzels, low in calories and a healthy salty treat. Dunk a pretzel in chocolate. Wrap some pretzels in bacon and add some chocolate. The possibilities are endless. Enjoy!
Steak Myths Debunked
Searing steaks lock in juices.
False - First, it helps give you a nice crunchy and flavorful snap when you take a bite. And secondly, you can get a prettier color on the outside, but it does not lock in juices.
Salting steak before cooking will draw out the moisture and leave you with a tough cut of meat.
Yes and no - It is true, if you are going to salt-pack a steak for an extended period of time, the salt will draw out the moisture. If you prepare a steak for grilling by adding sea salt and crushed pepper on the exterior just before placing it over the flame, there is not enough time for the salt to draw out moisture and you get a seasoned, great-tasting cut of meat.
Only flip your steak once.
False - If you flip your steak more than once you are not ruining it. It is simply a matter of personal preference. The effect on steak's taste is negligible. If you are regularly flipping your steak, chances are you keep the grill hood open, which means you are letting out heat. This will affect cook time, but if you make an adjustment for the lower temperature by extending time, it will be fine. Some people prefer to flip their steaks often because it helps prevent curling.
Sizzling steaks hot of the grill taste best.
False - Setting your steak out on the counter for 20 to 30 minutes before cooking it is a misconception, but resting your steak after cooking is not. Resting your steak for five minutes after coming off the grill will make it juicier. When a steak comes hot off the grill the exterior is very hot, and because of the temperature, there is little moisture on the surface. The center of the steak is considerably cooler and still has moisture. As a steak rests, the muscle fibers loosen and the juices will spread more evenly across the steak and not so much on your plate.
False - First, it helps give you a nice crunchy and flavorful snap when you take a bite. And secondly, you can get a prettier color on the outside, but it does not lock in juices.
Salting steak before cooking will draw out the moisture and leave you with a tough cut of meat.
Yes and no - It is true, if you are going to salt-pack a steak for an extended period of time, the salt will draw out the moisture. If you prepare a steak for grilling by adding sea salt and crushed pepper on the exterior just before placing it over the flame, there is not enough time for the salt to draw out moisture and you get a seasoned, great-tasting cut of meat.
Only flip your steak once.
False - If you flip your steak more than once you are not ruining it. It is simply a matter of personal preference. The effect on steak's taste is negligible. If you are regularly flipping your steak, chances are you keep the grill hood open, which means you are letting out heat. This will affect cook time, but if you make an adjustment for the lower temperature by extending time, it will be fine. Some people prefer to flip their steaks often because it helps prevent curling.
Sizzling steaks hot of the grill taste best.
False - Setting your steak out on the counter for 20 to 30 minutes before cooking it is a misconception, but resting your steak after cooking is not. Resting your steak for five minutes after coming off the grill will make it juicier. When a steak comes hot off the grill the exterior is very hot, and because of the temperature, there is little moisture on the surface. The center of the steak is considerably cooler and still has moisture. As a steak rests, the muscle fibers loosen and the juices will spread more evenly across the steak and not so much on your plate.
Summer Outdoor Lighting Tip
Bugs do not fly toward many LEDs, because bugs are attracted to ultraviolet light and most LEDs do not give off this type of light.
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