Dec 2, 2016

Microsoft Office Online Free

You can get the new Microsoft Office apps, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc., for free. One hitch is that it is all online, rather than physically installed on your PC. If you can live with that, go to LINK   You need to sign up for a free Microsoft account (if you have not done so).

Travel Tip

Before you leave on your next trip, use your phone to take a picture of your luggage. This will assist recovery efforts for lost luggage and reduce possible disputes. In addition, I always place my business card inside each checked and carry-on bag.

Cranberry Juice Myth

Contrary to popular belief, the cranberry juice commonly found on grocery store shelves is ineffective at preventing urinary tract infections.

Cranberries do contain compounds that defend against bacterial infection in the bladder wall, which can help prevent UTIs, but cranberry juice does not have a high enough concentration of these compounds to do much good. In order for a noticeable reduction in bacterial adhesion, a person would have to consume at least 32 ounces of cranberry juice daily.

Quote

"If God did not intend for us to eat animals, then why did he make them out of meat?" ~John Cleese

Birthday Cakes and Candles

The Ancient Greeks served some form of cake with candles to honor Artemis, the goddess who, among other things, had dominion over the Moon. As such, people offered cakes that were not only shaped like the celestial object, but decorated with lit candles, presumably to make it glow. It has also been reported that smoke from the candles was thought to help the goddess hear an individual’s prayers as it ascends to the heavens.

Persians and Romans are known to have celebrated the birthdays of at least some 'commoners', although it does not appear that the custom was as ubiquitous as it is today. Rather, when a wealthy person reached a major milestone like 50, family and friends might throw the person a party and serve a special cake. However, it does not appear that they put candles on the birthday cakes.

The Chinese have long had birthday celebrations, though eating cake on that day has only been a recent practice, adopted from the Western world. In China it is traditional to eat longevity noodles on one’s birthday.

German bakers during the 15th century, began marketing single-layer cakes for birthdays. By the end of the 18th century, the practice became common in the west. The Germans were also adding candles on the birthday cakes, numbering at least the years the child had been alive plus often more in the hope of a long life to come.

During 1746 Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf had “a cake as large as any oven could be found to bake it, and holes made in the cake according to the years of his age, every one having a candle stuck into it, and one in the middle.”
It wasn’t until the end of the 19th century that ordinary people had sufficient funds and ingredients were cheap enough, that the masses began incorporating enriched, frosted birthday cakes as part of a birthday celebration.

Wordology, Strand

The name of the famous street near the River Thames in London comes from the German word ‘Strand’, which means beach in modern German, but also once referred to river banks.

That is also why, if you are left on a desert island beach helpless and alone, you would be described as ‘stranded’.

Hot Cheese

File this under fun stuff. Sometimes new products come around that just tickle me. The Fondoodler, a hot glue gun for cheese, is one of them and it is a big seller this season.

It can be described as a culinary caulking gun that dispenses hot, coagulated cheese over your bacon, nachos, crackers, or tongue.

Load up the canister with whatever cheese you see fit, let it heat up for three minutes, wave goodbye to any semblance of shame you may have once had, and cover everything with pure, melty cheesiness. Of course, you can just drizzle it directly into your open mouth.

Every piece of the Fondoodler can be washed in a dishwasher. The Fondoodler costs $25, but is already on back-order and there is no guarantee it will arrive in time for the holidays.

Nov 25, 2016

Happy Friday

A genuine smile is the greatest courtesy.

I always extend my courtesies to all, especially on a Happy Friday!

Paper Towels Origin

Scott Paper Company capitalized on the demand for improved hygiene by essentially 'inventing' the market for toilet paper. Nearly a decade later, a manufacturing error at Scott’s mills revolutionized the company by producing tissue that was too thick to use as toilet paper.

Remembering a story about a schoolteacher who cut up copy paper for her students to use as hand wipes (as opposed to a communal cloth that spread germs), company founder Arthur Scott set his sights on marketing the world’s first disposable paper towel.

By perforating the thick, unusable paper so that it could be dispensed in individual sheets, Scott targeted his sales to railroad stations, hotels, industrial buildings, and schools under the name “Sani-Towels.” By 1931, a paper manufacturer’s mistake had become a successful household item throughout America.