Google Personal Activity

Do you want to see what personal information about you Google keeps. Go here LINK and you will find out. You can also change your personal and security settings.

Happy Friday

Conscious of being unique is not necessarily vanity.

I am not unique in consciously believing this is a Happy Friday!

Happy Inauguration Day

Finally! Now we get six months before the 2018 midterm election campaigns begin and one year before the 2020 Presidential election campaigns begin.

Incidentally, Donald Trump mentioned the 2020 election during one of his pre-inaugural speeches last night.

Viscious Circle

Election campaigns have sometimes been referred to as a vicious circle. The term vicious circle or vicious cycle refers to a complex chain of events which reinforce themselves through a feedback loop. A chain of events in which the response to one difficulty creates a new problem that aggravates the original difficulty.

During the feedback loop each iteration of the cycle reinforces the previous one. These cycles will continue in the direction of their momentum until an external factor intervenes and breaks the cycle.


Incidentally, A virtuous circle has favorable results, while a vicious circle has detrimental results.

National Days to Celebrate

Yesterday, January 19 was National Popcorn Day, today, January 20 is National Cheese Day and tomorrow, January 21 is National Hug Day. Followed next week Tuesday January 24 with Global Belly Laugh Day. What a week, popcorn and cheese followed by hugs and topped off with a great big belly laugh to be heard 'round the globe.

What's in a Name, FODMAP

Have been seeing ads lately for something called FODMAP. I never heard the term before, so thought I would do some research. It is an acronym for Fermentable Oligosaccharides (eg. Fructans and Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) Disaccharides (eg. Lactose) Monosaccharides (eg. excess Fructose) and Polyols (eg. Sorbitol, Mannitol, Maltitol, Xylitol and Isomalt). The name alone raised my latest-fad-diet-of-the-week antenna.

A FODMAP is one of a group of compounds thought to contribute to the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and similar gastrointestinal disorders. The term is used mainly with reference to a diet that is low in these compounds.

Foods high in FODMAPs include barley, yogurt, many fruits, honey, almost all beans, garlic, onions, foods that contain wheat, beer, coconut milk, rum, soy milk, tea, cheese, milk, ice cream, and cauliflower.


Blackberries bad, blueberries good. Celery less than 5cm of stalk good, Celery more than 5cm of stalk bad.

It is a relatively new concept and was first published in 2005. The low FODMAP diet was originally developed by a research team at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. When looking for some proof, only found a few published papers and each contained the same author Susan J Shepherd, an Advanced Accredited Practicing Dietitian and Accredited Nutritionist who is director of a private practice Shepherd Works. She also has a line of low FODMAP products.

The foods to avoid is so long decided to add a link LIST  for those who wish to find out more. For me, the name alone gives me IBS.

Wordology, Eke

 If we see the word 'eke' these days, it is usually when we 'eke out' a living, but it comes from an old verb meaning to add, supplement, or grow. It is the same word that gave us 'eke-name' for 'additional name', which later  changed from an 'eke-name' to 'nickname'.

Quote

A hearty belly laugh leads to a natural boost in blood pressure and heart rate, which can overpower the midday fatigue. ~ Dr. Robert Provine

Lucky Seven

This is the seventh item in today's Friday Thoughts. The number seven is seen as lucky in many cultures. According to biblestudy.org, the number gets 735 mentions in the Bible (860 if you count "sevenfold" and "seventh"). According to religious beliefs, it is the number of days it took God to create the universe, the number of miracles Jesus performed on the Sabbath, and the number of trumpets blown before the dead are resurrected in the Book of Revelation. There are also seven angels, seven churches, seven thunders, seven seals, and seven plagues.

Seven is also lucky in Japan, due to seven deities known as the Seven Lucky Gods. In China, seven is a lucky number, because it is pronounced "qi," which is the same as the Chinese words for 'arise' or 'life essence'. The seventh son of the seventh son always seems to get the kingdom.

The 'Seventh Son' is also a well known song (and one of my favorites) LINK for Mose Allison, a legendary blues and jazz pianist, who passed away this past November.

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the name of  a Canadian Province on the East Coast of Canada. Labrador is the Northern portion and Newfoundland Island is Southeast. They are also the names of two different breeds of related dogs.


Newfoundlands were originally bred and used as a working dog for fishermen in Newfoundland, Canada. They are famously known for their giant size, tremendous strength, sweet dispositions, and loyalty.

Labrador Retrievers were originally black and initially bred for retrieving small downed waterfowl. They are also adept at a number of other jobs including leading the blind, acting as hearing dogs, and used for police and military work. The name "Labrador" was given to this dog by British breeders in order to differentiate between the two types. The retriever was originally called the 'lesser Newfoundland' or St. John's Dog.

Incidentally, St. John's a city on the Island and is the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Happy Friday

Happiness does not have a future tense.

It is always here if you look for it, especially on a Happy Friday!

Paraskevidekatriaphobia

That is the official name for fear of Friday the 13th. Therapist Dr. Donald Dossey, whose specialty is treating people with irrational fears, coined the term paraskevidekatriaphobia. Another is known as friggatriskaidekaphobia. The fear of the day is likely rooted in Christianity. Jesus was crucified on a Friday and ever since the day has been associated with general ill omen according to Michael Bailey, a history professor at Iowa State University who specializes in the origins of superstitions. See also LINK

Weddings in the Middle Ages were not held on Fridays and it was not a day someone would start a journey. Thirteen guests are believed to have attended the Last Supper, the night before Jesus was killed, according to Stuart Vyse, a psychology professor at Connecticut College. Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, is considered to have been the 13th guest, Vyse said.

It is unclear when Friday and number 13 became linked in the way we think of them today, according to Vyse and Bailey. There are no mentions of Friday the 13th before the 19th century.

Taylor Swift says her lucky number is 13. "I was born on the 13th. I turned 13 on Friday the 13th. My first album went gold in 13 weeks. My first #1 song had a 13-second intro." The performer was sued in 2014 by the clothing brand Lucky 13 for selling T-shirts on her online store with the phrase "Lucky 13" on them.

Cold Weather Hack

We have not had much cold weather here lately, but I know some of you are dealing with it. When you are outside in cold weather, one of the first things to get cold is your feet. The reason is the body is protecting itself from the cold and trying to keep the core of your body, where all your internal organs are located, warm. That means blood flow to your hands and feet become limited, making them colder.



This is why it is important to have warm footwear when venturing outside in cold weather. A way to improve the warmth of even the cheapest boots is to go to a dollar store and buy a sun sheet, like the one you put in a car window to keep the sun out during summer. Remove shoe or boot insoles, place them face down on the sheet, trace the outside of them, and cut the sun sheet. Put the cut sun sheet in your boot and put your insole in over top of it. This will add insulation between you and the cold ground and it will also reflect your body heat back up into you.

Wordology, Just Deserts

The 'desert' from the phrase 'just deserts' is not the hot, dry, and sandy kind, nor the after dinner kind. It comes from an Old French word for 'deserve', and it was used in English from the 13th century to mean "that which is deserved." When you get your just deserts, you get what you deserve.