Germany is a country that
does not traditionally celebrate Halloween. Instead, it has
Walpurgisnacht, the Witches’ Night, which takes place every year
on April 30.
One of the largest Walpurgisnacht celebrations in Germany takes
place at the Hexentanzplatz, the Witches’ Dance Floor, a
mountain plateau looming over the sleepy town of Thale. Locals
light an enormous bonfire and run wild dressed as witches,
demons, and all forms of nightmarish ghouls. Statues of witches
and demons from regional folklore line a square where local
vendors sell all sorts of Harz specialties from sausages to
schnapps.
Jun 5, 2020
Mark Twain Quote
"The only difference
between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist
leaves the skin."
How to Pronounce It
Nutella
new-tell-uh
IKEA
ee-kay-uh
Hyundai
hun-day
Porsche
por-shuh
Bayer
buy-er
Hoegaarden
who-garden
Cetaphil
seat-uh-fill
Del Monte
del-mon-ti
Huawei
wah-way
Adidas
Ah-dee-dahs
Chevrolet
shev-ro-lay
Hermès
air-mez
Van Heusen
van hoy-sen
Givenchy
zhee-vahn-shee
Versace
ver-sa-cheh
new-tell-uh
IKEA
ee-kay-uh
Hyundai
hun-day
Porsche
por-shuh
Bayer
buy-er
Hoegaarden
who-garden
Cetaphil
seat-uh-fill
Del Monte
del-mon-ti
Huawei
wah-way
Adidas
Ah-dee-dahs
Chevrolet
shev-ro-lay
Hermès
air-mez
Van Heusen
van hoy-sen
Givenchy
zhee-vahn-shee
Versace
ver-sa-cheh
Elixir of Life
These days of Covid are
finding many people seeking the "magic cure". Throughout
history, people have sought the elixir of immortality and many of
them died in the process of consuming that which killed them,
instead. "Cures" have been found as far back as from 202 BC to 8
AD.
Just as we have no magic cure now, we did not have
one in the past. As our "quest for the "nectar of the Gods" goes
on, we are doomed to a more pragmatic cure. Those hoping for a
90 day solution to the current problem are as misguided as our
ancestors, but the beauty of human nature is that we keep
trying. Thankfully people like Jonas Salk and others come along
often enough to keep our faith. It will happen again, but we
must do our part - and keep the faith.
Covid and Closed in
If you are feeling a
bit closed in, think about this. Human beings may dominate the
planet with our sprawling cities, but we are just one species
among some 8.7 million species that live together on planet
Earth.
One 2011 study published in the journal PLoS Biology
estimated that "the various forms of life on the planet included
7.8 million species of animals, 298,000 species of plants,
611,000 species of mushrooms, mold and other fungi, 36,400
species of protozoa, and 27,500 species of algae or chromists."
It is also worth noting that the researchers did not venture to
put an estimate on the number of bacteria.
The world population of people is 7.8 billion. As of
now, 2.5 million people have been affected by Covid with 706,000
recovered, and 1.7 million active cases.
In perspective I think it is time for the media
to get over themselves and report on the vast many good things
going on in our planet rather than just focusing in on the
half-vast Covid.
May 29, 2020
Wordology
Continuous and Continual - Continuous and continual are not the
same, although they are similar. As Grammarist notes, things
that happen without any interruption (like the flowing of a
river) are continuous, while things that happen regularly with
breaks in between (like bus departures) are continual.
Farther and Further - The difference between farther and further might be subtle, but it is important. Though both words mean "more distant," farther refers to physical distance, and further refers to figurative distance.
Allusion and Illusion - An allusion is a reference, most often one made in literature. An illusion, on the other hand, is a mirage or some other sort of deceptive appearance.
Evoke and Invoke - Evoke and invoke both come from the Latin word vocare for "call," so it makes sense that they are two of the most commonly confused words in the English language. These verbs are not interchangeable.
Evoke means "to call forth" and is typically used in reference to memories or emotions. Invoke, meanwhile, means "to call upon" and is most often heard in a court of law.
Farther and Further - The difference between farther and further might be subtle, but it is important. Though both words mean "more distant," farther refers to physical distance, and further refers to figurative distance.
Allusion and Illusion - An allusion is a reference, most often one made in literature. An illusion, on the other hand, is a mirage or some other sort of deceptive appearance.
Evoke and Invoke - Evoke and invoke both come from the Latin word vocare for "call," so it makes sense that they are two of the most commonly confused words in the English language. These verbs are not interchangeable.
Evoke means "to call forth" and is typically used in reference to memories or emotions. Invoke, meanwhile, means "to call upon" and is most often heard in a court of law.
Alcohol and Brain Cells
Alcohol does not necessarily kill brain cells.
Alcohol can, however, lead indirectly to the death of brain
cells in two ways: In chronic, heavy alcohol users whose brains
have adapted to the effects of alcohol, abrupt cessation
following heavy use can cause excitotoxicity leading to cellular
death in multiple areas of the brain. In alcoholics who get most
of their daily calories from alcohol, a deficiency of thiamine
can produce Korsakoff's syndrome, which is associated with
serious brain damage.
Bacon Facts
The first bacon factory opened in 1770. For generations, local
farmers and butchers made bacon for their local communities. In
England, where it became a dietary staple, bacon was typically
"dry cured" with salt and then smoked. In the late 18th century,
a businessman named John Harris opened the first bacon
processing plant in the county of Wiltshire, where he developed
a special brining solution for finishing the meat. The
"Wiltshire Cure" method is still used today, and is a favorite
of bacon lovers who prefer a sweeter, less salty taste.
The phrase "bringing home the bacon" dates back centuries. These days the phrase refers to making money, but its origins have nothing to do with income. In 12th century England, churches would award a flitch, or a side, of bacon to any married man who swore before God that he and his wife had not argued for a year and a day. Men who "brought home the bacon" were seen as exemplary citizens and husbands.
Bacon was used to make explosives during World War II. In addition to planting victory gardens and buying war bonds, households were encouraged to donate their leftover bacon grease to the war effort. Rendered fats created glycerin, which in turn created bombs, gunpowder, and other munitions. A promotional film starring Minnie Mouse and Pluto chided housewives for throwing out more than 2 billion pounds of bacon grease every year: "That’s enough glycerin for 10 billion rapid-fire cannon shells."
Hardee's Frisco burger was a game-changer for bacon. Bacon took a beating in the 1980s, when dieting trends took aim at saturated fats and cholesterol. By the '90s, Americans were ready to indulge again. Hardee’s Frisco Burger, one of the first fast-food burgers served with bacon, came out in 1992 and was a hit. It revived bacon as an ingredient, and convinced other fast-food companies to bacon-ize their burgers. Bloomberg called it the Frisco Burger "a momentous event for fast food, and bacon’s fate, in America."
The average American consumes 18 pounds of bacon each year. Savory, salty, and appropriately retro: The past couple of years have been a bonanza for bacon, with more than three quarters of restaurants now serving bacon dishes, and everything from candy canes to gumballs are now flavored with bacon. Recent reports linking processed meats to increased cancer risk have put a dent in consumption, and may have a prolonged effect. But America’s love affair with bacon continues.
There is a Church of Bacon. This officially sanctioned church boasts more than 25,000 members under the commandment "Praise Bacon." It is more a rallying point for atheists and skeptics than for bacon lovers, per se, and there is no official location, but the church does perform wedding ceremonies and fundraisers, and has raised thousands of dollars for charity. All bacon praise is welcome.
There is also a bacon camp. Bacon camp is like summer camp, but with less canoeing and more bacon cooking. Held every year in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Camp Bacon features speakers, cooking classes, and other bacon-related activities for chefs and enthusiasts eager to learn more about their favorite food.
Modern technology wants to help you wake up and smell the bacon. An ingenious combination of toaster and alarm clock, the Wake 'n Bacon made waves a few years back with the promise of waking up to fresh-cooked bacon. Sadly, the product never made it past the prototype phase, but those intent on rising to that smoky, savory aroma were able to pick up Oscar Mayer’s special app, which came with a scent-emitting attachment.
The phrase "bringing home the bacon" dates back centuries. These days the phrase refers to making money, but its origins have nothing to do with income. In 12th century England, churches would award a flitch, or a side, of bacon to any married man who swore before God that he and his wife had not argued for a year and a day. Men who "brought home the bacon" were seen as exemplary citizens and husbands.
Bacon was used to make explosives during World War II. In addition to planting victory gardens and buying war bonds, households were encouraged to donate their leftover bacon grease to the war effort. Rendered fats created glycerin, which in turn created bombs, gunpowder, and other munitions. A promotional film starring Minnie Mouse and Pluto chided housewives for throwing out more than 2 billion pounds of bacon grease every year: "That’s enough glycerin for 10 billion rapid-fire cannon shells."
Hardee's Frisco burger was a game-changer for bacon. Bacon took a beating in the 1980s, when dieting trends took aim at saturated fats and cholesterol. By the '90s, Americans were ready to indulge again. Hardee’s Frisco Burger, one of the first fast-food burgers served with bacon, came out in 1992 and was a hit. It revived bacon as an ingredient, and convinced other fast-food companies to bacon-ize their burgers. Bloomberg called it the Frisco Burger "a momentous event for fast food, and bacon’s fate, in America."
The average American consumes 18 pounds of bacon each year. Savory, salty, and appropriately retro: The past couple of years have been a bonanza for bacon, with more than three quarters of restaurants now serving bacon dishes, and everything from candy canes to gumballs are now flavored with bacon. Recent reports linking processed meats to increased cancer risk have put a dent in consumption, and may have a prolonged effect. But America’s love affair with bacon continues.
There is a Church of Bacon. This officially sanctioned church boasts more than 25,000 members under the commandment "Praise Bacon." It is more a rallying point for atheists and skeptics than for bacon lovers, per se, and there is no official location, but the church does perform wedding ceremonies and fundraisers, and has raised thousands of dollars for charity. All bacon praise is welcome.
There is also a bacon camp. Bacon camp is like summer camp, but with less canoeing and more bacon cooking. Held every year in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Camp Bacon features speakers, cooking classes, and other bacon-related activities for chefs and enthusiasts eager to learn more about their favorite food.
Modern technology wants to help you wake up and smell the bacon. An ingenious combination of toaster and alarm clock, the Wake 'n Bacon made waves a few years back with the promise of waking up to fresh-cooked bacon. Sadly, the product never made it past the prototype phase, but those intent on rising to that smoky, savory aroma were able to pick up Oscar Mayer’s special app, which came with a scent-emitting attachment.
Email Disclosure
You cannot rope someone into a binding legal agreement without
their consent simply by e-mailing them. Those disclaimers at the
end of emails only have weight (legal or otherwise) if all
participants/recipients of the e-mail have explicitly agreed to
abide by such disclaimers. Common examples include: Internal
e-mails of a company where this is company policy; As a result
of a preexisting contractual agreement;
There are plenty of other reasons why it might be illegal to reveal the contents of an e-mail (e.g. sensitive information) but the "weight" there comes from existing laws, not any sort of disclaimer.
The point of the disclaimers would be two-fold:
To remind people for whom the disclaimer actually applies that the have to abide by it.
To scare people people into not releasing the contents of the e-mail when they actually can.
In other words, they are mostly useless.
There are plenty of other reasons why it might be illegal to reveal the contents of an e-mail (e.g. sensitive information) but the "weight" there comes from existing laws, not any sort of disclaimer.
The point of the disclaimers would be two-fold:
To remind people for whom the disclaimer actually applies that the have to abide by it.
To scare people people into not releasing the contents of the e-mail when they actually can.
In other words, they are mostly useless.
More Google Tips
A search for “What is the Who” is going to get results about
the English rock band. Search instead for “What is a Who” and
you see top results around the whimsical characters in Dr.
Seuss’ “Horton Hears a Who!”
Word order matters. Leave common terms in the correct order. Typing “blue sky” yields very different results from “sky blue.” it is better to ask, “What is the average length of an octopus” rather than “Is the average length of an octopus 21 inches?" and you may see search results "confirming" 21 inches? Maybe other sources also got it wrong. When you include the answer in a search query, you bias results, which may not be correct.
Add a minus sign to that same search along with the thing you want to eliminate from your results. So you might type “kitchen remodeling -stainless” to leave out stainless steel. Or “kitchen remodeling -stainless -granite” to knock out both stainless and granite images. The spacing between the thing you are searching for and the thing you are excluding is important – the search will not exclude the words without a space before the minus.
Google does not recognize uppercase or lowercase letters and punctuation. But pay attention to characters such as “$”,” %” and “+” which do make a big difference.
You are searching for a specific quote, but one of the words slips your mind. Put an asterisk in its place. "Four score and * years ago."
Word order matters. Leave common terms in the correct order. Typing “blue sky” yields very different results from “sky blue.” it is better to ask, “What is the average length of an octopus” rather than “Is the average length of an octopus 21 inches?" and you may see search results "confirming" 21 inches? Maybe other sources also got it wrong. When you include the answer in a search query, you bias results, which may not be correct.
Add a minus sign to that same search along with the thing you want to eliminate from your results. So you might type “kitchen remodeling -stainless” to leave out stainless steel. Or “kitchen remodeling -stainless -granite” to knock out both stainless and granite images. The spacing between the thing you are searching for and the thing you are excluding is important – the search will not exclude the words without a space before the minus.
Google does not recognize uppercase or lowercase letters and punctuation. But pay attention to characters such as “$”,” %” and “+” which do make a big difference.
You are searching for a specific quote, but one of the words slips your mind. Put an asterisk in its place. "Four score and * years ago."
National Emergency Library Free Stuff
The National Emergency Library
promotes learning and education in a time where libraries are
closed. The library is great to learn something new or read a
good book for free. The Internet Archive released the National
Emergency Library that gives public free access to over 1.4
million digital books.
LINK
"To address our unprecedented global and immediate need for access to reading and research materials, as of March 24, 2020, the Internet Archive will suspend waitlists for the 1.4 million books in our lending library by creating a National Emergency Library to serve the nation’s displaced learners. This suspension will run through June 30, 2020, or the end of the US national emergency, whichever is later."
LINK
"To address our unprecedented global and immediate need for access to reading and research materials, as of March 24, 2020, the Internet Archive will suspend waitlists for the 1.4 million books in our lending library by creating a National Emergency Library to serve the nation’s displaced learners. This suspension will run through June 30, 2020, or the end of the US national emergency, whichever is later."
Data vs. Dayta
Data is technically the plural of datum, so, the “correct”
pronunciation is dayta. This is also the most widely used
pronunciation.
It is also pronounced Dah-tah in Australia and Boston area.
In modern non-scientific use it is generally not treated as a plural. Instead, it is treated as a mass noun, similar to a word like information, which takes a singular verb. So as long as you are not using it in a scientific context, it is usually fine to use “this data is”.
Strictly-speaking, data is a plural term. For example, if we are following the rules of grammar, we should not write "the data is" or "the data shows" but instead "the data are" or "the data show".
As usage has changed over time, Oxford Dictionary indicates both pronunciations are now acceptable.
It is also pronounced Dah-tah in Australia and Boston area.
In modern non-scientific use it is generally not treated as a plural. Instead, it is treated as a mass noun, similar to a word like information, which takes a singular verb. So as long as you are not using it in a scientific context, it is usually fine to use “this data is”.
Strictly-speaking, data is a plural term. For example, if we are following the rules of grammar, we should not write "the data is" or "the data shows" but instead "the data are" or "the data show".
As usage has changed over time, Oxford Dictionary indicates both pronunciations are now acceptable.
Mold and Mildew
These are types of fungi; typically, mold is black or green,
and mildew is gray or white. Mold tends to grows on food,
whereas mildew grows on damp surfaces, like bathroom walls,
basement walls, or fabrics.
Mold grows in the form of multicellular filaments or hyphae, while mildew has flat growth. Mildew is often referred to as a kind of mold and is classified as powdery (under the order Erysiphales) and downy (under the family Peronosporaceae).
Mildew is a specific kind of mold, usually with a flat growth habit. Mold is a fungi that contains multiple identical nuclei. It grows in the form of hyphae of filaments.
Mildew could be downy or powdery: Downy mildew starts as yellow spots that first become brighter in appearance and then the color changes to brown. Powdery mildew is whitish in color and that slowly turn yellowish brown and then black. Mold has a fuzzy appearance and can be an orange, green, black, brown, pink or purple in color and can be found in several shapes.
Some molds are used in food production, for example, Penicillium is used in the production of cheese, Neurospora in the production of oncom, which is made from the by-product of tofu.
To prevent mildew at home, keep all the areas moisture-free. There are mildew removers available at stores to eliminate mildew. To protect crops from mildew use mildew-resistant seeds, remove infested plants, avoid overhead heating. To prevent mold in your home, you need to keep all the areas dry and moisture-free.
Prolonged exposure to mold spores can cause health problems such as allergic reactions and respiratory problems, due to the toxins (mycotoxins) it produces.
Mildew can cause damage to crops and other plants it infests. Inhalation of mildew can cause coughing, headache, scratchy throat and lung problems. Mildew can also start growing in lungs and cause other serious health problems.
Some molds are used in food production, in the production of bread, soya sauce and so on. Mildew has no uses as such in food production.
Mold grows in the form of multicellular filaments or hyphae, while mildew has flat growth. Mildew is often referred to as a kind of mold and is classified as powdery (under the order Erysiphales) and downy (under the family Peronosporaceae).
Mildew is a specific kind of mold, usually with a flat growth habit. Mold is a fungi that contains multiple identical nuclei. It grows in the form of hyphae of filaments.
Mildew could be downy or powdery: Downy mildew starts as yellow spots that first become brighter in appearance and then the color changes to brown. Powdery mildew is whitish in color and that slowly turn yellowish brown and then black. Mold has a fuzzy appearance and can be an orange, green, black, brown, pink or purple in color and can be found in several shapes.
Some molds are used in food production, for example, Penicillium is used in the production of cheese, Neurospora in the production of oncom, which is made from the by-product of tofu.
To prevent mildew at home, keep all the areas moisture-free. There are mildew removers available at stores to eliminate mildew. To protect crops from mildew use mildew-resistant seeds, remove infested plants, avoid overhead heating. To prevent mold in your home, you need to keep all the areas dry and moisture-free.
Prolonged exposure to mold spores can cause health problems such as allergic reactions and respiratory problems, due to the toxins (mycotoxins) it produces.
Mildew can cause damage to crops and other plants it infests. Inhalation of mildew can cause coughing, headache, scratchy throat and lung problems. Mildew can also start growing in lungs and cause other serious health problems.
Some molds are used in food production, in the production of bread, soya sauce and so on. Mildew has no uses as such in food production.
Steroids
A
steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four
rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids
have two principal biological functions: as important components
of cell membranes which alter membrane fluidity; and as
signaling molecules. Hundreds of steroids are found in plants,
animals, and fungi.
There are many different steroids, testosterone is one type, it increases muscle mass and men produce more of it then women. Other types are progesterone, helps maintain pregnancy among other things. Prednisone, which reduces inflammation to help people with breathing problems.
All testosterone is a steroid, but not every steroid is testosterone.
There are many different steroids, testosterone is one type, it increases muscle mass and men produce more of it then women. Other types are progesterone, helps maintain pregnancy among other things. Prednisone, which reduces inflammation to help people with breathing problems.
All testosterone is a steroid, but not every steroid is testosterone.
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