Aug 24, 2018

Happy Friday

Happiness is a fire that cleanses our souls.
Today is the day to come clean and celebrate a Happy Friday!

Other Uses for Coffee

Coffee is a spice that brings rich, deep, and earthy flavors to food. You will mostly find it on red meats and desserts to add an espresso-like taste.

Coffee can be added to a marinade for roast meat, braising liquid for beef short ribs, barbecue sauce for grilled chicken, a sauce for fried eggs, or a pancake topper. You can even mix it with your favorite spices to create a dry rub for burgers, spice-crusted pork, or lamb.

Coffee is a secret ingredient in some of the very best chocolate cakes and desserts. When used in a small amount, coffee enhances the chocolate.

Coffee rub: One rounded tablespoon freshly ground coffee two teaspoons (packed) golden brown sugar 1.5 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon coffee rub on top side of each burger.

Old coffee grounds end up in a landfill, so it is better to use them in your garden and compost pile. Using coffee grounds in your garden also helps to add nitrogen to your compost pile. You can throw the grounds into your compost pile, or they can be used as a fertilizer. Using grounds as a fertilizer adds an organic material to your soil, which improves drainage, water retention, and aeration in the soil. Coffee grounds can even repel slugs and snails in the garden. Worms love coffee grounds and worms are great for your garden soil.

Make-Goods and Upfronts

Make-Goods are ads which were paid for, but not used. For instance, a company paid millions to run an ad during a TV show, with the promise that it would reach 8 million people with each airing. A few weeks into the season, ratings could be down, and the ad is only seen by 6 million people. The network owes 2 million ad impressions to the buyer. Make-goods or spot audience deficiency units are run in something other than the original program that was purchased.

Upfronts are buying TV ad time for reach, not for response. Networks offer premium inventory, and brands buy it with the guarantee that their ads will reach a certain number of eyeballs. Companies get access to network ad inventory time at discounted rates. The buys lack flexibility that makes it almost impossible to make in-flight changes to campaigns. This commitment, which for some brands is 90% of their annual TV budget, is probably the last bastion of old TV ad buying.

During the past season NFL games, the delivery of “make goods” grew to 23% of the units due to lower ratings.

Butch and Sundance

Robert Leroy Parker, known as Butch Cassidy, was the leader of the Wild Bunch Gang. His last name, Cassidy was a tribute to his friend and mentor Mike Cassidy who taught him how to shoot.

Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, known as The Sundance Kid was an outlaw and member of Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch Gang who committed one of the longest strings of successful train and bank robberies in history. He got his nickname for getting caught stealing horses in Sundance, Wyoming.

Cable TV Customer Losses

AT&T and DISH own the top streaming services that offer live streaming of cable TV networks. They reported 1.5 million video losses, but were padded by the gains of DirecTV Now and Sling TV.

After digging through the 2017 earnings reports of the top six traditional pay-TV subscribers I discovered the following.

During 2017 Comcast dropped 186,000 residential video subscribers, Charter lost 292,000 subscribers, AT&T lost 554,000 Direct TV satellite subscribers and 622,000 U-Verse subscribers, DISH dropped 1,140,000 video customers, Verizon Fios lost 75,000 video subscribers,  and Altice which owns Optimum, Cablevision and Suddenlink lost 129,000 video subs.

That totals nearly 3 million video subscriber losses for the top six providers in one year. These companies make up roughly 85% to 90% of the pay-TV market, so there are likely more losses for privately held providers like Cox and others.

Sling TV added 711,000 subscribers during 2017 and DirecTV Now added 888,000 customers to its service. With these two streaming services picking up 1.6 million customers in 2017 it is evident that traditional set-top box TV is quickly becoming a thing of the past.

Reported 1st quarter 2018 video subscriber losses were much heavier than expected. Charter reported a loss of 122,000. Comcast also reported a loss of 92,000 to start the year. AT&T lost 188,000 satellite customers; however, AT&T’s DirecTV Now streaming service added 312,000 subscribers.

Even if you have cable TV, an indoor or outdoor antenna is a cheap one-time investment to supplement your viewing. Also, antenna TV has a much better picture quality than cable and is a handy backup for those times when cable or internet stop working.

Incidentally, according to Parks Associates, about twenty percent of US homes with broadband internet used an antenna during 2017, a thirty six percent rise.

Three Agatha Christie Facts

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Christie is “the best-selling novelist of all time.” Her novels have allegedly sold more than two billion copies so far, and is eclipsed only by William Shakespeare and the Bible.
She is the most translated author in the world, with her novels translated into 103 languages.

Her best-selling book "And Then There Were None" has sold over 100 million copies, making it the best-selling mystery novel of all time. (also a great movie)

Bicameral vs. Bipartisan

A bicameral legislature divides the legislators into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses. An example of bicameral is the United States Congress which has the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Bipartisan is sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship. It is a political situation, especially in the context of a two-party system, for countries such as the United States and other western countries, in which opposing political parties find common ground through compromise.

What's in a Name, Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin was a legendary British rock band who dominated the music scene in the 70s with heavy, guitar-driven sounds. The phrase "lead balloon" is a commonly used idiom to describe an ill-conceived idea, or one whose failure is both predictable and inevitable.


The name allegedly arose when Keith Moon, after being invited to drum for the band, suggested that the idea would go over like a "lead zeppelin." Moon evidently modified the common phrase to exaggerate its humor. Jimmy Page liked the phrase so much; he took it for the band's name. The decision to misspell it was made because they thought Americans who were not as familiar with the original phrase would mispronounce the word as "leed."

IKEA Rugs

The cloaks worn on Game of Thrones are actually IKEA rugs that have been cut, roughed up, and have leather straps added.

Aug 17, 2018

Happy Friday

A great smile is hidden in every person; some just never look for it.


I find smiles everywhere, especially on a Happy Friday!

Coated PIlls

Some good news about pills for a change. For our safety, drug companies coat some pills with an emetic coating, so that if a patient, accidentally or otherwise overdoses, the coating will induce vomiting before the overdose can take effect and potentially kill the patient.


Another coating is also used for some chemotherapy medications that will have the opposite effect and prohibit nausea and vomiting induced by cytotoxic chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In addition, an injection of Ondansetron Hydrochloride is sometimes given for the prevention of post-operative nausea and vomiting.

Salt Reduction Redux

You may have noticed some foods are a bit more bland than they used to be. Food companies have been voluntarily reducing sodium (salt) in foods for at least the past seven years. The reduced salt content does not show up on the label as 'low sodium' does not sell well, except in specific cases. Foods that have been altered include: ketchup, pizza, bacon, Subway sandwiches, flavored rice, many restaurant meals, and more.
Salt contains minerals necessary for proper body function. The sodium in salt is an electrolyte, and the balance of the electrolytes in our bodies is essential for our cells and organs to work normally. Sodium regulates water in the body, and sodium's movement through cells in the body is critical. Salt for food is used to control microbial growth, which can cause food to spoil and to cause illness. Sodium also is used for taste, texture, leavening, and fermentation.
Even though it has been medically proven that increased salt intake does not increase blood pressure or lead to heart attacks and strokes, old myths live on. As recently as 2016, the FDA was still pushing its agenda to reduce salt. However, the president of the Salt Institute said the initiative was "not based on sound science." She added, "The Italians eat about 40 percent more sodium than Americans, yet they have better cardiovascular health than Americans." Many studies show a correlation, but do not show a cause from salt intake.
Some scientists say data has emerged showing that dropping below a certain level is actually dangerous, and raises the risk of heart attacks and other bad health outcomes. A 2013 report from the Institute of Medicine concluded that cutting too much sodium could be harmful. Evidence from these studies does not support reduction in sodium intake to below 2,300 mg per day, says the IOM. “As you go below the 2,300 mark, there is an absence of data in terms of benefit and there begin to be suggestions in subgroup populations about potential harms.”

As my mother used to say, "All things in moderation is the best way."

Fries Compared


Jim Croce

Who knew he was so prescient about Chicago way back in 1974. Here is an oldie musical interlude, Leroy Brown. LINK