May 31, 2013

Navigating Charities

Before giving your hard earned money to charity, look it up at this site. LINK  I just chose the alphabetic page at random for a starting point. You can look up your favorite charity alphabetically or type in the name to see interesting facts and figures, such as officers, amount going to the cause, amount going to fund raising, etc. It also has many school and church fundraising efforts.

You can also use GreatNonprofit LINK to look up personal reviews of various charities.

I looked up St. Mark's School in Dallas and noticed its headmaster's salary was surprisingly high. Also checked SPCA and was stunned at the bad news about the non-profit organization. These sites are great for your personal caveat emptor.

May 24, 2013

Happy Friday

Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is wisdom.
Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is power.

I always have the intelligence, strength, wisdom and power to have a Happy Friday!

Wordology, Feriation

The act of observing a holiday and cessation from work is called feriation. Since Memorial Day is almost here, I want to share my feriation with each of you.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday which occurs every year on the final Monday of May. It is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the US Armed Forces. Originally, it was known as Decoration Day to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. Now it has been extended to honor all Americans who have died in all wars.

Taps

Taps is widely played on Memorial Day and this music is a variation of an earlier bugle call known as the Scott Tattoo, which was used in the US from 1835 until 1860 and was arranged in its present form by Union Army Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield a Medal of Honor recipient. His bugler, Oliver Wilcox Norton, was the first to sound the new call. It was officially recognized by the United States Army in 1874.

The first notes in any bugle call tells the troops in a particular command to pay attention to it, and then tells them what to do, such as to go forward, stop and lie down, or, in this case to go to sleep. Taps also concludes many military funerals. Taps is played here LINK.

The term 'Taps' originates from the Dutch term taptoe, meaning close the beer taps and send the troops back to camp.

"Military tattoo" comes from the same origin. The original meaning of military tattoo was a military drum performance, but subsequently came to mean army displays. Drummers were sent out into the towns at 9:30PM each evening to inform the soldiers that it was time to return to barracks. Tattoo, tap-too, and taptoo are derived from the Dutch taptoe and have the same meaning.

Taps Lyrics

Many do not know, but there are words to Taps, written by Horace Lorenzo Trim:
 Day is done, gone the sun
 From the lakes, from the hills, from the sky
 All is well, safely rest
 God is nigh.
 Fading light dims the sight
 And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright
 From afar, drawing near
 Falls the night.
 Thanks and praise for our days
 Neath the sun, neath the stars, neath the sky
 As we go, this we know
 God is nigh.

Il Silenzio

('The Silence' in English) is an Italian pop music instrumental piece written in 1965 by Nini Rosso and Guglielmo Brezza, its melody is an extension of the Italian Cavalry bugle call used by the Russian composer Tchaikovsky to open his Capriccio Italien. It is often mistaken for Taps. This version by a thirteen year old is likely to bring tears. LINK

May 22, 2013

Fugitive Glue

If you ever received a credit card, it was likely stuck to a piece of paper with some icky glue that you can rub off. The name of the glue is Fugitive Glue.

It is a low tack adhesive, which means that it is easy to remove. It leaves a minimal residue on the paper and card. The glue is used for marketing materials, as well as for mailing credit cards. The beauty is that fugitive glue tends to lose most of it's stickiness after the first application and cannot be reused. Hmmm, interesting name for credit card use.

Morton Salt Facts

Difficult to imagine a barbecue without some salt for the ribs, burgers, and fries. Also difficult to think of Morton's Salt without thinking of the umbrella girl (when it rains it pours).

During the 1880s, Joy Morton invested in a Chicago-based salt company. Salt was big business in those days, largely fueled by the demand of the explorers and pioneers who were settling the American West. Salt is a critical component of any diet and throughout history has been critical to various types of food preservation.

Salt is hygroscopic, which causes it to absorb water from the air around it. When water is absorbed, the salt tends to clump. Morton's solved this problem in 1911 by adding an anti-caking agent, magnesium carbonate, to its product. It also put the salt in a cylindrical package to aid in keeping water out.

Morton hired an advertising agency to put together a marketing campaign to promote the anti-caking properties of his salt. The ad team came up with a long list of marketing plans. Morton’s son chose the umbrella-wielding girl, accidentally pouring salt in the rain. The illustration epitomized wholesomeness, innocence and the value of Morton salt to pour easily, even if you are standing in the rain.

The additional ingredients did help, but salt still tended to clump and people put a few grains of rice in salt shakers to absorb moisture. Salt producers often add trace amounts of iodine to salt to prevent iodine deficiency, or folic acid to reduce anemia, both of which are a serious problem around the world. Today there are more than a half dozen common additives to reduce clumping, reduce health defects, and add flavors. About 17% of all salt production is used for food. The bulk of the rest is used in manufacturing, dyeing, and in soaps and detergents.

Judas Iscariot is depicted knocking over a jar of salt in Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting The Last Supper. Spilled salt was considered a bad omen and still is for some people.