Contrary to popular belief, leprosy does not cause
rotting flesh or the loss of limbs. It is actually a disease (now
called Hansen’s disease, named after Gerhard Hansen a Norwegian
physician who discovered the leprosy bacteria that damages nerve
endings and effects the skin. Because of the numbness caused by
leprosy, a sufferer can be unaware of harming himself accidentally.
It is this accidental harm that can lead to infections and,
consequently, the loss of limbs.
Leprosy has been treatable since the 1930s, but to this day there
remain leper colonies in some nations such as India, Japan, and
China.
Armadillos also carry leprosy and can transmit it to humans. Ninety
five percent of humans are naturally immune to the disease, and the
remaining five percent can be easily and successfully cured of it.
May 18, 2012
Wilhelm Scream Again
A while back I had a Friday Thought
about the Wilhelm Scream from movies. I just found out it was the
voice work of Sheb Wooley, a man more famous for his novelty song
‘Purple People Eater’. Shelby Wooley passed away in 2003. He played
Ben Miller, brother of Frank Miller in the film High Noon, played
Travis Cobb in The Outlaw Josey Wales, and also had a co-starring
role as scout Pete Nolan in the television program Rawhide.
The Cool Botijo
The botijo generally has a wide, spherical
belly with two openings on top -- a wide opening to pour water in
the jug and a smaller drinking spout -- as well as one or two
handles to carry it. Traditionally, people drink the water directly
from the botijo by holding it up and tilting it so that the water
pours from the drinking spout.
Botijo-etiquette demands that the lips do not touch the drinking spout, as the water container is usually shared among several people. The large opening is covered with a cork or a cloth after filling the jug, in order to keep insects out. Botijos come in different sizes, but on average it contains about 3 liters of water, with larger ones holding up to 7 liters, enough to supply a small group of people with drinking water for a full day.
After the botijo is filled with water, it is preferably placed outside in the shade, although it also works when placed in the sun or indoors. The technology is based on evaporative cooling, the same process that keeps the human body cool by sweating. Because the ceramic jug is not completely water-tight, a small amount of the stored water filters through the pores of the clay and evaporates once it comes in contact with the outside, dry environment. Evaporation (the transition from liquid to gas) requires thermal energy, which is partly extracted from the water inside the jug, cooling it down. One 1995 study showed that, under optimal conditions, a cooling of up to 15 degrees Celsius can be obtained.
Glazed botijos often sold as tourist souvenirs do not cool water as it cannot evaporate through the glaze.
The botijo is a mobile refrigeration device, for which there exists no modern counterpart. Plastic, glass or metal bottles, which have no pores are unable to 'sweat'.
Botijo-etiquette demands that the lips do not touch the drinking spout, as the water container is usually shared among several people. The large opening is covered with a cork or a cloth after filling the jug, in order to keep insects out. Botijos come in different sizes, but on average it contains about 3 liters of water, with larger ones holding up to 7 liters, enough to supply a small group of people with drinking water for a full day.
After the botijo is filled with water, it is preferably placed outside in the shade, although it also works when placed in the sun or indoors. The technology is based on evaporative cooling, the same process that keeps the human body cool by sweating. Because the ceramic jug is not completely water-tight, a small amount of the stored water filters through the pores of the clay and evaporates once it comes in contact with the outside, dry environment. Evaporation (the transition from liquid to gas) requires thermal energy, which is partly extracted from the water inside the jug, cooling it down. One 1995 study showed that, under optimal conditions, a cooling of up to 15 degrees Celsius can be obtained.
Glazed botijos often sold as tourist souvenirs do not cool water as it cannot evaporate through the glaze.
The botijo is a mobile refrigeration device, for which there exists no modern counterpart. Plastic, glass or metal bottles, which have no pores are unable to 'sweat'.
What's in a Name, Adidas
Adolph 'Adi' Dassler and his
brother Rudolph owned their own shoe company in Germany during the
1920s and 30s. Their products were so popular, many of the German
competitors in the 1928 Olympics wore Dassler Brothers shoes.
During WWII the brothers had a falling out. Both joined the Nazi party, but Rudolph was more fanatical and went off to fight, leaving Adi to make shoes for the military. After the war ended, Rudolph left and formed his own company, Puma. Adi then renamed the original company after himself, and Adidas was born.
During WWII the brothers had a falling out. Both joined the Nazi party, but Rudolph was more fanatical and went off to fight, leaving Adi to make shoes for the military. After the war ended, Rudolph left and formed his own company, Puma. Adi then renamed the original company after himself, and Adidas was born.
New GE Bulb
First we get the hundred dollar bulb, now we get
an over-engineered bulb that requires built in cooling. GE just
announced a new LED light bulb replacement for the 100 watt
incandescent that uses pulses of air to keep cool. The design comes
just as the 100 watt incandescent bulb phase-out is this year, 2012.
If common bulbs cost a hundred dollars, need to be cooled, or contain mercury they have other deficiencies beside cost. This would be the same as building an iPad that cost five thousand dollars and needs continuous water cooling. GE and Philips must be designing these bulbs in Washington DC. Thomas Edison is likely crying in his grave at the politicians who caused this.
If common bulbs cost a hundred dollars, need to be cooled, or contain mercury they have other deficiencies beside cost. This would be the same as building an iPad that cost five thousand dollars and needs continuous water cooling. GE and Philips must be designing these bulbs in Washington DC. Thomas Edison is likely crying in his grave at the politicians who caused this.
May 16, 2012
Chicken Fried Bacon Creator
The creator of chicken
fried bacon, Frank Sodolak has passed away. Thirty years ago Frank
Sodolak borrowed a few hundred dollars and made his idea a reality
in a small restaurant (Sodolak's Original Country Inn" in Snook
Texas, population about 500. It is about 80 miles from Houston. His
bacon delight has been featured in Maxim Magazine, Discovery
Channel, Travel Channel and more. Some call it Sodalak's saturated
succulence.
“People hear about chicken fried bacon and they're like huh? But when they eat it, they're like Wow!" explains son Curtis Sodolak.
"He left us a mini-empire, and we have to keep it going, and that's my promise to him, and who knows, maybe one day, I'll pass it on to my kids," said his son, Curtis.
PS - Even Emeril has come up with a Pecan-Praline candied bacon. Seems everyone wants in on the act. Not sure why. Bacon does not need toppings to be good.
“People hear about chicken fried bacon and they're like huh? But when they eat it, they're like Wow!" explains son Curtis Sodolak.
"He left us a mini-empire, and we have to keep it going, and that's my promise to him, and who knows, maybe one day, I'll pass it on to my kids," said his son, Curtis.
PS - Even Emeril has come up with a Pecan-Praline candied bacon. Seems everyone wants in on the act. Not sure why. Bacon does not need toppings to be good.
How Not to Spill Coffee
Rouslan Krechetnikov is a mechanical engineer at the University of
California at Santa Barbara, and he spends most of his time working
on fluid dynamics, the flow of air on a plane’s wings, the
stability of a rocket, and other weighty problems. None of that has brought him as much attention as his newest paper
in the journal Physical Review E: “Walking with coffee: Why does it
spill?”
Krechetnikov and a graduate student, Hans Mayer, decided to divert from weightier subjects last year after a scientific conference, where they had watched fellow researchers stumble to their tables, trying not to get coffee all over themselves and the floor.
“The project was certainly fun. We just wanted to satisfy our curiosity and, given the results, to share what we learned with the scientific community through peer-reviewed literature,” Krechetnikov wrote.
They set up a simple experiment, watching a person walk in a straight line, mug in hand. They had their test subject look at the coffee cup. They had their test subject look at the floor ahead. They shot video of it all, recording how the coffee oscillated and how long it took to spill.
The results. Don’t rush. You may think the coffee will spill less if you get it to the table more quickly, but the opposite is true. Slow down and the sloshing will too. Watch the cup, not the floor. You will spill less.
The abstract concludes: “The studied problem represents an example of the interplay between the complex motion of a cup, due to the biomechanics of a walking individual, and the low-viscosity-liquid dynamics in it.” Isn't science wonderful?
Krechetnikov and a graduate student, Hans Mayer, decided to divert from weightier subjects last year after a scientific conference, where they had watched fellow researchers stumble to their tables, trying not to get coffee all over themselves and the floor.
“The project was certainly fun. We just wanted to satisfy our curiosity and, given the results, to share what we learned with the scientific community through peer-reviewed literature,” Krechetnikov wrote.
They set up a simple experiment, watching a person walk in a straight line, mug in hand. They had their test subject look at the coffee cup. They had their test subject look at the floor ahead. They shot video of it all, recording how the coffee oscillated and how long it took to spill.
The results. Don’t rush. You may think the coffee will spill less if you get it to the table more quickly, but the opposite is true. Slow down and the sloshing will too. Watch the cup, not the floor. You will spill less.
The abstract concludes: “The studied problem represents an example of the interplay between the complex motion of a cup, due to the biomechanics of a walking individual, and the low-viscosity-liquid dynamics in it.” Isn't science wonderful?
May 11, 2012
Happy Friday
The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget;
the wise forgive but do not forget.
I always forgive, and never forget to have a Happy Friday!
I always forgive, and never forget to have a Happy Friday!
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