Nov 9, 2012
Presidential Drinking
Our 18th president, Ulysses S. Grant
had a reputation for drinking heavily while still a young man. When
President Lincoln was warned about Grant’s drinking habits during
the civil war he is supposed to have responded “If it makes fighting
men like Grant, then find out what he drinks, and send my other
commanders a case.”
Ten Four, Roger That
The ten-codes or ten-signals are
code words used as stand-ins for common phrases in radio
communication, such as ten-four, meaning message received.
Charles Hopper, a communications director with the Illinois State
Police, developed them in 1937 to combat the problem of the first
syllables or words of a transmission being cut off or misunderstood.
Preceding every code with “ten” gave the sometimes slow equipment
time to warm up and improved the likelihood that a listener would
understand the important part of a message. The codes also allowed
for brevity and standardization in radio message traffic.
The codes were expanded by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO) in 1974 and were used by both law enforcement agencies and civilian CB radio users. Over time, differing meanings for the codes came about in different agencies and jurisdictions, undoing the codes’ usefulness as a concise and standardized system. The problem came to a head in 2005 during rescue operations after Hurricane Katrina. After several instances of inter-agency communication problems, the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) discouraged the use of ten-codes and today the federal government recommends they be replaced with plain, everyday language.
In the days of the telegraph, the Morse code letter R (dot-dash-dot) was sometimes used to indicate “received” or “message received/understood.” When radio voice communication began to replace telegraphs, Roger, the code word assigned to the letter R in the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet (the radio alphabet used by all branches of the United States military from 1941 to 1956), took on the same role.
Roger means “last transmission received/understood.” Wilco (Will Comply) is the code used if the speaker intends to convey “message received and will comply.” The phrase Roger Wilco, often heard in the movies, is redundant and not really used since Wilco alone covers all the bases and acknowledges receipt of message and states intent to comply.
The codes were expanded by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO) in 1974 and were used by both law enforcement agencies and civilian CB radio users. Over time, differing meanings for the codes came about in different agencies and jurisdictions, undoing the codes’ usefulness as a concise and standardized system. The problem came to a head in 2005 during rescue operations after Hurricane Katrina. After several instances of inter-agency communication problems, the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) discouraged the use of ten-codes and today the federal government recommends they be replaced with plain, everyday language.
In the days of the telegraph, the Morse code letter R (dot-dash-dot) was sometimes used to indicate “received” or “message received/understood.” When radio voice communication began to replace telegraphs, Roger, the code word assigned to the letter R in the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet (the radio alphabet used by all branches of the United States military from 1941 to 1956), took on the same role.
Roger means “last transmission received/understood.” Wilco (Will Comply) is the code used if the speaker intends to convey “message received and will comply.” The phrase Roger Wilco, often heard in the movies, is redundant and not really used since Wilco alone covers all the bases and acknowledges receipt of message and states intent to comply.
Interesting Country Facts
Most Lakes in the World – Canada: With over 3 million lakes 9% of Canadian territory is actually fresh water and over 60% of all the lakes in the world are found in Canada. It also has 50% of its population educated at the post secondary level, making it the most educated in the world.
Country Covered with the Highest Percentage of Desert – Libya: With 99% of the country covered in desert, Libya is one of the most arid places in the world and in some regions decades may go by without a drop of rain.
Russia: Siberia is home to approximately 25% of the world’s forests that span an area larger than the continental United States.
Least Densely Populated– Mongolia: With 4 people per square mile, Mongolia is the least densely populated country on Earth. Compare this to the Mong Kok district of Hong Kong that has the highest population density in the world with 340,000 people per square mile.
Suriname: It has 91% of its land covered in jungle.
Wordology, Skid Row
The term “Skid Road” or “Skid Row,”
a slang term for a run-down or dilapidated urban area, was an
actual road in Seattle, Washington during the late 1800′s. The
real name of the road was Yesler Way (now better known as Pioneer
Square), and it was the main street along which logs were
transported. It soon became a rather sketchy street that loggers
began to call “Skid Road.” It also became the dividing line
between the affluent people of Seattle and the mill workers along
with the more impoverished population of the city. It didn’t take
long for the name to catch on and eventually stick.
Honest Criticism
Need to share this about the sincerity
and wonder of children's criticism. Maurice Sendak was an American
writer and illustrator of children's literature who passed away in
May, 2012 at 83. He was particularly known for 'Where the Wild
Things Are', a 1963 children's picture book.
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“Once a little boy sent me a charming card with a little drawing on it. I loved it. I answer all my children’s letters, sometimes very hastily, but this one I lingered over. I sent him a card and I drew a picture of a Wild Thing on it. I wrote, “Dear Jim: I loved your card.” Then I got a letter back from his mother and she said, “Jim loved your card so much he ate it.” That to me was one of the highest compliments I have ever received. He didn’t care that it was an original Maurice Sendak drawing or anything. He saw it, he loved it, he ate it.” The wonder and beautiful sincerity of children never ceases to amaze and amuse me. Adults would do well to eat up and drink in the great things we see every day.
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“Once a little boy sent me a charming card with a little drawing on it. I loved it. I answer all my children’s letters, sometimes very hastily, but this one I lingered over. I sent him a card and I drew a picture of a Wild Thing on it. I wrote, “Dear Jim: I loved your card.” Then I got a letter back from his mother and she said, “Jim loved your card so much he ate it.” That to me was one of the highest compliments I have ever received. He didn’t care that it was an original Maurice Sendak drawing or anything. He saw it, he loved it, he ate it.” The wonder and beautiful sincerity of children never ceases to amaze and amuse me. Adults would do well to eat up and drink in the great things we see every day.
Nov 6, 2012
Drinking and Intelligence
The next time you're inclined to
enjoy an extra glass of wine, consider that it may be a reflection
of your intelligence. That is one of the findings from data from the National Child
Development Study in the United Kingdom and the National
Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health in the United States.
Childhood intelligence, measured before the age of 16, was categorized in five cognitive classes, ranging from "very dull," "dull," "normal," "bright" and "very bright."
The Americans were revisited seven years later. The British youths, on the other hand, were followed in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Researchers measured their drinking habits as the participants became older.
More intelligent children in both studies grew up to drink alcohol more frequently and in greater quantities than less intelligent children. In the Brits' case, "very bright" children grew up to consume nearly eight-tenths of a standard deviation more alcohol than their "very dull" cohorts.
Researchers controlled for demographic variables, such as marital status, parents' education, earnings, childhood social class and more, that may have also affected adult drinking. The findings held true that smarter kids were drinking more as adults.
Psychology Today takes an evolutionary approach. It argues that drinkable alcohol is a relatively novel invention of 10,000 years ago. Our ancestors had previously received their alcohol kick through eating rotten fruits, so more intelligent humans may be more likely to choose modern alcoholic beverages.
Although increased alcohol consumption could be a reflection of exceptional brainpower, drinking more will certainly not make you any more intelligent than you already are. I'll drink to that.
Childhood intelligence, measured before the age of 16, was categorized in five cognitive classes, ranging from "very dull," "dull," "normal," "bright" and "very bright."
The Americans were revisited seven years later. The British youths, on the other hand, were followed in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Researchers measured their drinking habits as the participants became older.
More intelligent children in both studies grew up to drink alcohol more frequently and in greater quantities than less intelligent children. In the Brits' case, "very bright" children grew up to consume nearly eight-tenths of a standard deviation more alcohol than their "very dull" cohorts.
Researchers controlled for demographic variables, such as marital status, parents' education, earnings, childhood social class and more, that may have also affected adult drinking. The findings held true that smarter kids were drinking more as adults.
Psychology Today takes an evolutionary approach. It argues that drinkable alcohol is a relatively novel invention of 10,000 years ago. Our ancestors had previously received their alcohol kick through eating rotten fruits, so more intelligent humans may be more likely to choose modern alcoholic beverages.
Although increased alcohol consumption could be a reflection of exceptional brainpower, drinking more will certainly not make you any more intelligent than you already are. I'll drink to that.
No Name, Colorado
This place can be found west of Denver along Interstate 70 in
Glenwood Canyon in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The origin of the
town lies in its location, the unincorporated area lies between No
Name Canyon and No Name Creek.
The town received its name when the Colorado Department of Transportation was improving the signage along the interstate, when a CDOT employee noticed that there was no sign for Exit 119 he simply wrote "no name" on the map to indicate that there was no name for that exit.
The town received its name when the Colorado Department of Transportation was improving the signage along the interstate, when a CDOT employee noticed that there was no sign for Exit 119 he simply wrote "no name" on the map to indicate that there was no name for that exit.
More November Holidays
Here are a few more November Holidays that you
might want to celebrate.
November 13th brings us 'World Kindness Day' founded in 1998 by an organization called the World Kindness Movement, this international holiday encourages everyone to look deep into their hearts past religion, race, and other differences to do something nice for their neighbors and/or humankind.
This followed on November 15th with 'Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day'. It was probably started as a way to make room to stock up on Thanksgiving goodies. November 15th also shares the spotlight with 'I love to Write Day'. I will refrain from writing about the things I find growing in my refrigerator.
November 13th brings us 'World Kindness Day' founded in 1998 by an organization called the World Kindness Movement, this international holiday encourages everyone to look deep into their hearts past religion, race, and other differences to do something nice for their neighbors and/or humankind.
This followed on November 15th with 'Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day'. It was probably started as a way to make room to stock up on Thanksgiving goodies. November 15th also shares the spotlight with 'I love to Write Day'. I will refrain from writing about the things I find growing in my refrigerator.
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