Tuesday, December 18, 2012
It's been a while
Okay, I admit it. I've been AWOL for a while. I've been using my free time to learn Korean.
Could I possibly get any more random than that?
Probably not. But bear with me. I'm trying to finish a level by the end of the year, and hope to be back in the New Year.
다음에 보자
Monday, September 17, 2012
Happy Birthday, Emoticon!
Okay, I'm a few days early, but, heck, since I haven't posted in a few months, it's nice to be early instead of late.
While flying on a Southwest flight recently, I read an article about the birth of the emoticon. What would we do without the emoticon these days? How could we wink online or frown? Ever wonder who thought of the idea to use punctuation marks to express emotions? (Yes, as you might imagine, I have.)
Turns out that the father of the emoticon is Scott E. Fahlman, and the emoticon's birthday is September 19, 1982. Dr. Fahlman was part of a Computer Science community at Carnegie Melon back in the early 80s, and they had an online bulletin board to discuss everything from campus parking to politics. He says that sometimes people would post a sarcastic comment and others would fail to see the humor. That lead to some irate posts. So, he suggested that :-) could be used as a humor maker, and :-( could be used to mark anger, frustration, or disappointment.
The idea caught on and spread to other universities, and then folks took the idea up a notch and created emoticons for surprise, Santa Claus, and many others. Now, we even have moving emoticons.
Happy Birthday, Emoticon! :-)
Monday, February 20, 2012
Presidential Randoms
In honor of Presidents' Day, here are a few Presidential Randoms:
1. Theodore Roosevelt was the first U.S. President to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
2. George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Q. Adams, Andrew Jackson, and William Henry Harrison were all born British subjects.
3. James Buchanan was the only President never to marry.
4. Twenty-six Presidents were lawyers.
5. Both Ohio and Virginia claim to have produced the most presidents. Both lay claim to William Henry Harrison, who was born in Virginia, but later moved to Ohio and served as both a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senator from that state.
1. Theodore Roosevelt was the first U.S. President to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
2. George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Q. Adams, Andrew Jackson, and William Henry Harrison were all born British subjects.
3. James Buchanan was the only President never to marry.
4. Twenty-six Presidents were lawyers.
5. Both Ohio and Virginia claim to have produced the most presidents. Both lay claim to William Henry Harrison, who was born in Virginia, but later moved to Ohio and served as both a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senator from that state.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Friendship
"A loyal friend laughs at your jokes when they're not so good, and
sympathizes with your problems when they're not so bad."
-- Arnold H. Glasow
sympathizes with your problems when they're not so bad."
-- Arnold H. Glasow
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Happy New Year
Many folks have their own New Year's Eve traditions, and our family is no exception. For many years, we rang in the New Year with friends at the beach, but then a hurricane came along and wiped out all of the beach houses, so there went that tradition.
New traditions take time -- that's, uh, sorta wrapped up in the whole idea of "tradition." But we more or less have a new one.
Not really being late night people, we ring in the New Year with a place in an earlier time zone. (Okay, that's cheating a bit, but we get to go to bed earlier that way.)
This year, we rang in the New Year with Gander, Newfoundland.
Now, one of the interesting things about ringing in the New Year with Gander is that the town is located in Newfoundland Standard Time, which keeps time by subtracting 3 1/2 hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This is a special time zone used in Canada, and really only on the island of Newfoundland, its offshore islands, and southeastern Labrador communities south of Black Tickle.
This special situation arose because Newfoundland was a separate country when the time zones were created and because it lies exactly 3 1/2 hours from Greenwich. Greenwich is home to the Royal Observatory, which at one time provided the astronomical observations that served as the basis for Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). GMT is often now referred to as UTC. Thus bringing us back to the significance of Newfoundland being 3 1/2 hours from Greenwich.
And, that is a long way to say that we really rang in the New Year at 9:30 p.m. local time.
Here's wishing you a Healthy, Happy, and Prosperous New Year -- no matter what time zone you're in.
New traditions take time -- that's, uh, sorta wrapped up in the whole idea of "tradition." But we more or less have a new one.
Not really being late night people, we ring in the New Year with a place in an earlier time zone. (Okay, that's cheating a bit, but we get to go to bed earlier that way.)
This year, we rang in the New Year with Gander, Newfoundland.
Now, one of the interesting things about ringing in the New Year with Gander is that the town is located in Newfoundland Standard Time, which keeps time by subtracting 3 1/2 hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This is a special time zone used in Canada, and really only on the island of Newfoundland, its offshore islands, and southeastern Labrador communities south of Black Tickle.
This special situation arose because Newfoundland was a separate country when the time zones were created and because it lies exactly 3 1/2 hours from Greenwich. Greenwich is home to the Royal Observatory, which at one time provided the astronomical observations that served as the basis for Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). GMT is often now referred to as UTC. Thus bringing us back to the significance of Newfoundland being 3 1/2 hours from Greenwich.
And, that is a long way to say that we really rang in the New Year at 9:30 p.m. local time.
Here's wishing you a Healthy, Happy, and Prosperous New Year -- no matter what time zone you're in.
Monday, December 26, 2011
They Made Cheese out of What?
Just spent a wonderful week in Florida hitting all of the amusement parks that one family could possible take in a five day period, following by a fun-filled family Christmas at our house with the extended family. (Can you say "tired"?)
So, it's time to get back to reality and visit my poor, lonely blog. Tempted as I am to write Disney Randoms or Christmas Randoms, I'll be settling for Cheese Randoms because I just ran across a European delicacy -- mozzarella cheese made from cat's milk.
Several things hit my brain when I first heard about this:
1) How do they get the cats to submit to milking? Surely, these people have met cats. Or, are the cats heavily sedated?
2) Who thought -- "Hey, why don't we make cheese out of cat's milk?" Some say that it was the idea of Franco Latitante from the Italian village of Rosenato.
3) What other mammals had they already tried to milk before turning to a house cat? Cows, horses, goats, yaks -- these I understand, but house cats?
I'm really hoping that someone will chime in here and tell me that this is just a joke. Until then, I'm going to be suspicious of any mozzarella cheese offered to me . . .
Happy New Year everyone!
So, it's time to get back to reality and visit my poor, lonely blog. Tempted as I am to write Disney Randoms or Christmas Randoms, I'll be settling for Cheese Randoms because I just ran across a European delicacy -- mozzarella cheese made from cat's milk.
Several things hit my brain when I first heard about this:
1) How do they get the cats to submit to milking? Surely, these people have met cats. Or, are the cats heavily sedated?
2) Who thought -- "Hey, why don't we make cheese out of cat's milk?" Some say that it was the idea of Franco Latitante from the Italian village of Rosenato.
3) What other mammals had they already tried to milk before turning to a house cat? Cows, horses, goats, yaks -- these I understand, but house cats?
I'm really hoping that someone will chime in here and tell me that this is just a joke. Until then, I'm going to be suspicious of any mozzarella cheese offered to me . . .
Happy New Year everyone!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Antifreeze in her Veins
What critter can freeze for several years, thaw out and walk away? No, not your mean Aunt Helga.
A Siberian Salamander.
These critters can survive deep freezes of up to -50 degrees. (It's 50 degrees above zero today, and I'm cold. I can't even imagine -50. Okay, so maybe I'm a major cold weather wimp.)
The Siberian Salamander is able to create "antifreeze" chemicals in its blood. The exact mechanism through which it does so is not known, but other animals use glucose, glycerol and related compounds to protect themselves in a similar way.
As you might guess, these little animals are found primarily in Siberia, but they can also be found in in northern Kazakhstan and Mongolia, northeastern China, on the Korean Peninsula, and on Hokkaidō, Japan, in the Kushiro Shitsugen National Park. They are thought to have come from Korea originally.
Knowing that they are found in such places doesn't make me want to visit those places any time soon -- at least not in the winter!
A Siberian Salamander.
These critters can survive deep freezes of up to -50 degrees. (It's 50 degrees above zero today, and I'm cold. I can't even imagine -50. Okay, so maybe I'm a major cold weather wimp.)
The Siberian Salamander is able to create "antifreeze" chemicals in its blood. The exact mechanism through which it does so is not known, but other animals use glucose, glycerol and related compounds to protect themselves in a similar way.
As you might guess, these little animals are found primarily in Siberia, but they can also be found in in northern Kazakhstan and Mongolia, northeastern China, on the Korean Peninsula, and on Hokkaidō, Japan, in the Kushiro Shitsugen National Park. They are thought to have come from Korea originally.
Knowing that they are found in such places doesn't make me want to visit those places any time soon -- at least not in the winter!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Things Learned the Hard Way
If you get into your car and something smells like a really rotten banana, there's usually only ONE explanation . . .
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Who-Who-Who-Cooks-For-You
Last weekend, my youngest daughter (also known as the Super Flying Coconut) and I heard a talk about owls by a member of the Audubon Society. In particular, we learned about the Great Horned Owl, the Barred Owl, and the Eastern Screech Owl. The little fella in the photo is an Eastern Screech Owl.Of course, this means that I learned a few new randoms about owls.
1. The Barred Owl has a call that sounds like "Who-Who-Who-Cooks-For-You. Who-Who-Who-Cooks-For-Y'all."
2. Owls have four toes. They use them to grasp branches, generally by placing two toes forward and two toes backward, but they can rotate one toe to the front to use to snatch up prey.
3. Owls' ears are not level. One ear is higher than the other. This allows them to judge the distance of moving objects.
4. Snowy owls are diurnal and migrate to avoid the long, dark winters up north. They can be found near southern airports during the winter. Some think this reminds them of the flat, barren land of their homes.
5. The Great Horned Owl is known as the "Tiger of the Sky" because it has no natural predators once it's in flight.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Nothing Trivial about Texas
The Texas Rangers are playing the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. Yes, I know. Nothing new about that. But I thought some of the trivia about Texas shared on last night's game was interesting.
For example, Texas has more airports than any other state. (I didn't know that, but it makes sense. We need them to get from one part of the state to another in less than a day.)
In honor of the Texas Rangers, here are a few other randoms about Texas:
1. Texas spans 801 miles from its southern tip to its northern state line.
2. The Amarillo airport has the 3rd longest runway in the world and is designated as an alternate landing site for the space shuttle.
3. While Texas was a Republic, its northern panhandle extended all the way into southern Wyoming.
4. The Texas state capitol building is the largest of all the states. It spans 8.5 acres and has almost 500 rooms.
5. The largest county in Texas is Brewster County, which covers 6,233 square miles. That's more square miles than Connecticut.
So, when we say things are bigger in Texas, we really mean it.
For example, Texas has more airports than any other state. (I didn't know that, but it makes sense. We need them to get from one part of the state to another in less than a day.)
In honor of the Texas Rangers, here are a few other randoms about Texas:
1. Texas spans 801 miles from its southern tip to its northern state line.
2. The Amarillo airport has the 3rd longest runway in the world and is designated as an alternate landing site for the space shuttle.
3. While Texas was a Republic, its northern panhandle extended all the way into southern Wyoming.
4. The Texas state capitol building is the largest of all the states. It spans 8.5 acres and has almost 500 rooms.
5. The largest county in Texas is Brewster County, which covers 6,233 square miles. That's more square miles than Connecticut.
So, when we say things are bigger in Texas, we really mean it.
Monday, October 17, 2011
MOONQUAKE!
So, last week, I mentioned the number of earthquakes in the world each year. Did you know that the moon has quakes too? Not surprisingly, they are called "moonquakes."
Buzz Aldrin planted a seismometer in the Sea of Tranquility while he was there. (Hmmm, that explains one of the little black boxes. My roommate from college always wondered about those, but I digress.)
According to NASA, there are at least four different kinds of moonquakes: (1) deep moonquakes, which are about 700 km below the surface, apparently caused by tides; (2) those that register vibrations from the impact of meteorites; (3) thermal quakes, believed to be caused by the expansion of the frigid crust when the morning sun first hits a spot after two weeks of deep-freeze lunar night; and (4) shallow moonquakes occurring only 20 or 30 kilometers below the surface.
Their equipment has even registered a 5.5 magnitude quake, which is strong enough to move heavy furniture and crack plaster on earth, according to NASA. Some scientists would like to deploy a series of seismometers around the moon to conduct a better study of moonquakes. That would give NASA a better idea of which parts of the moon are more stable so that they'd know where the best possible lunar base locations could be.
Too bad scientists didn't have a chance to do that before all those people moved to California.
Buzz Aldrin planted a seismometer in the Sea of Tranquility while he was there. (Hmmm, that explains one of the little black boxes. My roommate from college always wondered about those, but I digress.)
According to NASA, there are at least four different kinds of moonquakes: (1) deep moonquakes, which are about 700 km below the surface, apparently caused by tides; (2) those that register vibrations from the impact of meteorites; (3) thermal quakes, believed to be caused by the expansion of the frigid crust when the morning sun first hits a spot after two weeks of deep-freeze lunar night; and (4) shallow moonquakes occurring only 20 or 30 kilometers below the surface.
Their equipment has even registered a 5.5 magnitude quake, which is strong enough to move heavy furniture and crack plaster on earth, according to NASA. Some scientists would like to deploy a series of seismometers around the moon to conduct a better study of moonquakes. That would give NASA a better idea of which parts of the moon are more stable so that they'd know where the best possible lunar base locations could be.
Too bad scientists didn't have a chance to do that before all those people moved to California.
Monday, October 10, 2011
What's Shaking?
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there have been 3,678 earthquakes in the United States during 2011 as of October 10th. The USGS estimates that there are several million earthquakes worldwide each year, but many go undetected because of their remote locations or lack of magnitude.
The USGS also detects about 50 mine blasts each business day and maintains a separate explosion list -- just to keep the two straight.
No earthquake of a magnitude 3.5 or greater has occurred in my beloved State of Texas in the past thirty years. Now, if you want to talk about hurricanes, we've got you covered.
To check out real time earthquake activity, hop over to the USGS website: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/
The USGS also detects about 50 mine blasts each business day and maintains a separate explosion list -- just to keep the two straight.
No earthquake of a magnitude 3.5 or greater has occurred in my beloved State of Texas in the past thirty years. Now, if you want to talk about hurricanes, we've got you covered.
To check out real time earthquake activity, hop over to the USGS website: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/
Monday, September 26, 2011
You want me to ride what?
Okay, I think it's a bit crazy to ride a bobsled down a bobsled track. It's definitely crazy to ride a luge or a skeleton sled down a bobsled track. But a wok?
Apparently so.
After a bet on a German TV show, some folks set up the World Wok Racing Championship, which involves one person or four person teams sliding down an Olympic bobsled track on modified Chinese woks. The competitors wear heavy gear similar to hockey uniforms and ladles (yes, cooking ladles) on their feet.
And, if that doesn't sound crazy enough, a single rider has gotten up to 91.70 kmh (or 56.98 mph). A four-person team managed to get to a speed of 114.3 kmh (or 71.02 mph).
If either of my kids ask to borrow the wok any time soon, the answer is definitely "no."
Apparently so.
After a bet on a German TV show, some folks set up the World Wok Racing Championship, which involves one person or four person teams sliding down an Olympic bobsled track on modified Chinese woks. The competitors wear heavy gear similar to hockey uniforms and ladles (yes, cooking ladles) on their feet.
And, if that doesn't sound crazy enough, a single rider has gotten up to 91.70 kmh (or 56.98 mph). A four-person team managed to get to a speed of 114.3 kmh (or 71.02 mph).
If either of my kids ask to borrow the wok any time soon, the answer is definitely "no."
Monday, September 19, 2011
Fried What?
Here in Texas, we like to do everything "bigger and better." Apparently, we like to do things more . . . "creatively" too.
At the recent Texas State Fair, the race was on to see who could come up with the most creative food at the fair. This year's winner -- fried bubble gum. Only, it wasn't really fried bubble gum. It was "fried puffy marshmallows infused with pink bubble gum extract," but that just doesn't sound as catchy as "fried bubble gum."
My only question is: Can you get that on a stick? If not, then it just shouldn't be fair food.
At the recent Texas State Fair, the race was on to see who could come up with the most creative food at the fair. This year's winner -- fried bubble gum. Only, it wasn't really fried bubble gum. It was "fried puffy marshmallows infused with pink bubble gum extract," but that just doesn't sound as catchy as "fried bubble gum."
My only question is: Can you get that on a stick? If not, then it just shouldn't be fair food.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Quotable
"When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another."
-- Helen Keller
-- Helen Keller
Sunday, September 11, 2011
We Remember
Ten years ago, I was returning a video at Blockbuster before work when I heard the news about the first plane crashing into the Twin Towers. Such a mundane thing for what started as such a mundane day.
The pain that I, along with the rest of our nation, felt in the days, weeks, and months that followed was anything but mundane. May this anniversary day be a day of peace.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Rock Snot
It's ooey. It's gooey. It's heading for a rock near you.
IT'S ROCK SNOT!
You don't believe me? Check out this photo from the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources:
Scientifically know as Didymosphenia geminata and often called "didymo," this diatom, which is a kind of single-celled algae, can form large mats on the bottom of lakes, streams, and rivers. It's not dangerous to humans, but can kill fish and threaten rivers and streams by smothering native algae and and aquatic insects.
It's easy to transport and can multiply rapidly. In fact, it can multiple in a single drop of water. Apparently, it's on the march again, clinging to the bottoms of felt-soled fishing boots. Maryland has banned such boots, and other states plan to follow in short order.
Here are a few more randoms about this little menace:
1. Didymo are unique for their silica (SiO2) cell walls.
2. They live primarily in cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
3. If you knowingly transport didymo in New Zealand, you could face up to 5 years in prison.
So, get out your gigantic hankies, and avoid that goo on the rocks.
IT'S ROCK SNOT!
You don't believe me? Check out this photo from the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources:
Scientifically know as Didymosphenia geminata and often called "didymo," this diatom, which is a kind of single-celled algae, can form large mats on the bottom of lakes, streams, and rivers. It's not dangerous to humans, but can kill fish and threaten rivers and streams by smothering native algae and and aquatic insects.
It's easy to transport and can multiply rapidly. In fact, it can multiple in a single drop of water. Apparently, it's on the march again, clinging to the bottoms of felt-soled fishing boots. Maryland has banned such boots, and other states plan to follow in short order.
Here are a few more randoms about this little menace:
1. Didymo are unique for their silica (SiO2) cell walls.
2. They live primarily in cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
3. If you knowingly transport didymo in New Zealand, you could face up to 5 years in prison.
So, get out your gigantic hankies, and avoid that goo on the rocks.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Harry Potter
I only recently saw HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PT. II. I waited until my eldest child returned from camp to see it with her. I'd just re-read the book, which means that many of the scenes and plot lines from the book were fresh on my brain. My daughter with her encyclopedic memory was just as fresh with the details. That meant we spent way too much time whispering in the back of the theater about differences between the book and the movie.
That said, we loved the movie.
In honor of the latest HARRY POTTER, here are a few wizarding world randoms:
1. So many fans visit King’s Cross station, where Harry and his friends catch the Hogwarts Express, to take pictures of platforms 9 and 10 that the station management erected a sign that says “Platform 9 ¾.”
2. There's a picture of Gandalf the Grey in the Professor Dumbledore's study in HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS.
3. The Hogwarts school motto is "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus," which is Latin for “Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon.”
You can find plenty more Harry Potter trivia on the web -- if you have a few hours to kill.
That said, we loved the movie.
In honor of the latest HARRY POTTER, here are a few wizarding world randoms:
1. So many fans visit King’s Cross station, where Harry and his friends catch the Hogwarts Express, to take pictures of platforms 9 and 10 that the station management erected a sign that says “Platform 9 ¾.”
2. There's a picture of Gandalf the Grey in the Professor Dumbledore's study in HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS.
3. The Hogwarts school motto is "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus," which is Latin for “Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon.”
You can find plenty more Harry Potter trivia on the web -- if you have a few hours to kill.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Owling
This weekend, I heard about a new craze -- owling.
Apparently, "planking" is so two months ago, that a new trend is in. (For those of you who are as clueless about "planking" as I was -- it involves lying flat on your face as straight as you possible can (i.e., in a plank position) and having someone take a picture of you).
Eh -- don't try it, you'll be far too out of style. Try owling instead. Owling involves crouching in a perched position, generally in an unusual place like the top of a refrigerator or a statue, and staring off into the distance, in imitation of a perched owl, and having someone take a picture of you.
Want to see how it's done? Check this out =>
Apparently, "planking" is so two months ago, that a new trend is in. (For those of you who are as clueless about "planking" as I was -- it involves lying flat on your face as straight as you possible can (i.e., in a plank position) and having someone take a picture of you).
Eh -- don't try it, you'll be far too out of style. Try owling instead. Owling involves crouching in a perched position, generally in an unusual place like the top of a refrigerator or a statue, and staring off into the distance, in imitation of a perched owl, and having someone take a picture of you.
Want to see how it's done? Check this out =>
And, if you decide to try it out yourself, post your photo on-line.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
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