Happy Friday

"True happiness is... to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future." ~Lucius Seneca

I always enjoy the present, especially on a Happy Friday!

What's in a name, Cadillac

This luxury car maker combined elements from the Ford and Oldsmobile companies when it was started in 1902 and later became known for its innovation and high quality. The company was named for the French explorer Antoine Laumet de la Mothe Cadillac, who founded the city of Detroit in 1701. Cadillac, Michigan (Originally Clam Lake) is also named after Antoine.

Warmer or Cooler

Headlines say that the world is doomed as 2018 was so warm, but the facts they offer spell something a bit different. The facts they give say the warmest year was 2016, 2017 was the third-warmest, and 2018 was fourth warmest.


That means 2017 was cooler than 2016 and 2018 was cooler than 2017. This indicates there has been a cooling trend for the past few years. It will be interesting to see if the polar vortex influences 2019 numbers.

More Celebrity Real Names

After seeing the real names, it is easy to understand why some changed their name.


Lady Gaga - Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
Jean-Claude Van Damme - Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg
Tom Cruise - Thomas Cruise Mapother IV
Freddie Mercury - Farrokh Bulsara
Winona Ryder - Winona Laura Horowitz
Alice Cooper - Vincent Damon Furnier
Vin Diesel - Mark Sinclair
Whoopi Goldberg - Caryn Elaine Johnson
Ben Kingsley - Krishna Pandit Bhanji

Wall Street

The name of the street originates from an actual wall that was built in the 17th century by the Dutch, who were living in what was then called New Amsterdam. The 12-foot (4 meter) wall was built to protect the Dutch against attacks from pirates and various Native American tribes, and to keep out other potential dangers.

The area near the wall became known as Wall Street. Because of its prime location running the width of Manhattan between the East River and the Hudson River the road developed into one of the busiest trading areas in the entire city. During 1699, the wall was dismantled by the British colonial government, but the name of the street remained.

The financial industry got its official start on Wall Street on May 17, 1792. On that day, New York's first official stock exchange was established by the signing of the Buttonwood Agreement, named because it was signed under a buttonwood tree that early traders and speculators had previously gathered around to trade informally, gave birth to what is now the modern-day New York Stock Exchange NYSE.

Disinfection vs. Sterilization

Disinfection is the process of reducing harmful microorganisms from inanimate objects and surfaces. It includes airing, shaking, wiping surfaces, boiling, and using substances such as chlorine, alcohol, etc.

Sterilization is the process of killing all microorganisms, no matter if they are harmful or not. This includes thermal treatment, radiation, filtration, and using gaseous or liquid substances.

Human Ear Facts

Earwax production is necessary for good ear health. Ear wax is made up of oil and sweat.
It only takes 7 pounds of pressure to rip your ear off.
The human ear can distinguish between hundreds of thousands of different sounds.
The human ears can hear in the frequency of 1,000 to 50,000 hertz.
Your ears never stop hearing, even when you sleep. Your brain just ignores incoming sounds.
Your ears secrete more ear wax when you are afraid than when you are not.
Sound that is above 130 decibels can cause pain to our ears.
After eating too much, your hearing is less sharp.
A human ear contains about 24,000 fibers in it.
Tiny hair cells in your inner ear are what translate sound waves to electricity to send to the brain.
Your ears are responsible for the equilibrium and balance of the body - the inner ear has direct connection with the brain.
The inner ear is no larger than a pencil eraser in circumference.
The middle ear is composed of three small bones, and one among them, the stapes, is the smallest bone in the human body.
Children have more sensitive ears than adults.
The ears never stop growing through lifetime.

Sheetrock and Drywall

Sheetrock and drywall are mostly used interchangeably, but it is important to note that Sheetrock is a trademarked name owned by the United States Gypsum Corporation.

Eating Marijuana

Most edible marijuana is metabolized by the liver, which then produces a kind of THC that has a bigger psychedelic punch than the THC that reaches your blood plasma when you smoke it. So when you finally feel the edible’s effects, it will likely be more powerful than what you get from a joint, plus the high will last much longer, up to 12 hours.

Edibles are split into two categories: foods like cookies, candies and pills that are metabolized in the liver, as described above, and products like lollipops, gums, and sublingual drops that take effect through saliva in your mouth. The latter type works faster, but the effects might not be as powerful and will wear off more quickly.

Happy Friday

Happiness requires your own approval, not other's. They get the benefit.

Give yourself permission to be happy today, especially because it is a Happy Friday!

National Pizza Day

My brother reminded me, even before I started writing this that Saturday February 9 is National Pizza Day. Although it comes so close to Super Bowl, folks are still in the mood for more pizza. A survey by California Pizza Kitchen found that if Americans could only eat one thing for the rest of their lives, twenty percent would choose pizza. The original dish was started by the Romans and was hardly known outside Italy or Italian communities before WWII, but is now ubiquitous.


Most of the national and regional chains have deals from discounts to free pizza. Look them up in on the net or your local paper for a deal near you.

New Battery

John Goodenough, an engineer and professor at the University of Texas who Quartz writes, "has dominated the world of advanced batteries" for nearly 40 years. He is known around the world for his pioneering work that led to the invention of the rechargeable lithium-ion battery.


He and his team announced that they have created a low-cost, all-solid-state battery that can store twice the energy of modern lithium-ion batteries, can be fully charged in minutes, and is noncombustible. The new battery uses glass, which the researchers claim enables the anode to be made from pure lithium or sodium metal. This has a huge amount of potential energy. In the case of sodium, it is incredibly cheap. Either can charge more quickly. The team believes it will be commercially available within a few years.

Grilling Juicy Burgers

It is always the right time of the year to grill up burgers. Always preheat the grill for burgers, and other meats. A quick tip to make burgers juicy is to add a pat of butter or an ice cube on top when you first put the meat on the grill. The moisture will seep into the patty and make it juicy. Also, never, never, never push down on a burger when it is cooking. It squeezes all the juices out. Bonus tip, line a small pot or pan with foil, add barbecue sauce, and put it on the grill. It will be hot and ready to go when your meat is done.

What's in a Name, Toque

Toque is Arabic for hat. The 100 folds in a chef’s toque are said to represent 100 ways to cook an egg.