Apr 8, 2016

What's in a Name, Frisbie

William Russell Frisbie bought a bakery in Connecticut in the late 19th century, which he called the Frisbie Pie Company. After Frisbie's death, his company continued to flourish and it 1956 reached a peak production of 80,000 pies per day. Pies and cookies made by the company came with plate-shaped tin bearing the name 'Frisbee Pies'.

Yale students discovered a second use for the tins, and began to hurl them around the university campus. As the flying disk approached its target, the thrower would shout "Frisbie" as a warning. The slightly different spelling "frisbee" is now used for the toy.

Internet and Web

The Associated Press announced that the next edition of its stylebook will endorse 'internet' over 'Internet' and 'web' over 'Web'.

The change is the latest in a long-running debate over whether 'the internet' is a proper noun,  no different than a television or a hair roller. AP Standards Editor Thomas Kent said, “The changes reflect a growing trend toward lowercasing both words, which have become generic terms.” Hopefully the automated spell checkers will be updated by then.

Apr 1, 2016

Amazing Facts III Trivia Treasures

Amazing Facts III Trivia Treasures is now available on Amazon (my 52nd book). If you liked the first two Amazing Facts, you will love this one. If you have not read the others. Try this one and you can always go back to buy the others. LINK

Thousands more amazing facts about things you don’t know, but want to know, and facts you think you know but don’t. Hundreds of facts about food, laughter, health, medicine, technology, etc. Origins of words and sayings. Popular myths debunked and so much more. If you are interested, disinterested, lazy, or sharp of wit, this book will keep you amazed, interested, entertained, and anxious to share your new-found knowledge to impress friends and family. All organized and fully indexed for your inner geek to find specific information.

Happy Friday

“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness.” ~ Lucius Seneca

There is always an opportunity for kindness, especially on a Happy Friday!

Cheese Weasel Day

On April 4, 2016 give your favorite tech person a Thank You using #cheeseweaselday on Twitter. Send someone you know in the tech sector a Cheese Weasel Day Greeting card. Arrange secretly for a slice of cheese to be placed under the mouse pad of a tech person you know. They will understand.

National Tartan Day

On April 6, 2016 the US celebrates National Tartan Day, established by Congress in 1997 as a way to recognize Scottish-American citizens. Thirty four states have their own official tartan. Like official flowers and birds, the patterns in have been adopted by legislators as legitimate state symbols.

Blonde Myth Debunked

No, this is not an April fool's joke. The 'dumb blonde' stereotype is wrong, according to a new national study of young baby boomers. The Ohio State University study of 10,878 Americans found that white women who said their natural hair color was blonde had an average IQ score within 3 points of brunettes and those with red or black hair. The resulting findings showed that blonde-haired white women had an average IQ of 103.2, compared to 102.7 for those with brown hair, 101.2 for those with red hair and 100.5 for those with black hair. None of the differences are statistically significant.

The results for blond white men were similar. They also had IQs roughly equal to men with other hair colors. The study was published during March, 2016 in the journal Economics Bulletin.

Data from the study came from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, a national survey of people who were between 14 and 21 years old when they were first interviewed in 1979. The NLSY79 was conducted for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Not sure why it took over thirty years to analyze the data or who paid for this wildly useless bit of old information. Further reading showed this article in close proximity to "Do unions reduce the wage penalty experienced by obese women?" Answer, yes.

US National Flower

In 1985, as the U.S. Senate signed a bill declare the rose America’s national flower. President Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law during 1986.

Third Leading Cause of Death in US

Research estimates up to 440,000 Americans die annually from preventable hospital errors. This puts medical errors as the third leading cause of death in the United States.

Leapfrog, an independent, national nonprofit organization that administers the Score, is an advocate for patient safety nationwide.
“We are burying a population the size of Miami every year from medical errors that can be prevented. A number of hospitals have improved by one or even two grades, indicating hospitals are taking steps toward safer practices, but these efforts aren’t enough,” says Leah Binder, president and CEO of Leapfrog.

Key Findings:
On average, there was no improvement in hospitals’ reported performance on the measures included in the score. Of the 2,539 general hospitals issued a Hospital Safety Score, 813 earned an “A,” 661 earned a “B,” 893 earned a “C,” 150 earned a “D” and 22 earned an “F.”

The states with the smallest percentage of “A” hospitals include New Hampshire, Arkansas, and Nebraska. No hospitals in New Mexico or the District of Columbia received an “A” grade.

Maine claimed the number-one spot for the state with the highest percentage of “A” hospitals.

Kaiser and Sentara were among the hospital systems where 100 percent of their hospitals received an “A.”

2013 (latest causes of death available) -
Heart disease: 611,105
Cancer (all types): 584,881
Hospital preventable  error deaths: 440,000
Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 149,205
Accidents (unintentional injuries): 130,557
Stroke (brain diseases): 128,978
Alzheimer's disease: 84,767
Diabetes: 75,578
Influenza and Pneumonia: 56,979
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis (kidney related): 47,112
Intentional self-harm (suicide): 41,149.

Price of Stamps

So, the agreement to raise the price of stamps by 3 cents for two years is complete and the Post Office is crying that the price of stamps set to drop by 2 cents, beginning April 10 will cost it money. It is still a penny ahead and Congress, true to style cannot let any tax end, no matter how little it is.

Traffic Cones

This sounds like another April Fool's Day joke, but it is not. Scotland spends $15,000 per year removing traffic cones from a statue's head.

The government is having a problem with revelers messing up a historic statue in the most hilarious way possible. In Glasgow, there is a statue of the Duke of Wellington. For the last several decades, this statue has been at the center of a bloodless battle between Glasgow City Council and the local drunkards, the latter of whom love nothing more than climbing the statue and placing a traffic cone on its head.

After years of being climbed, the statue has lost its sword and spurs. The cost of removing these cones is running up an annual bill of 10,000 GBP of taxpayer's money and, embarrassingly, the defaced statue is becoming a tourist attraction in itself.

As a result, Glasgow City Council planned to raise the statue's plinth (base) to such a height that the inebriated would not be able to reach anymore. However, thanks to a petition from local residents, the proposal was shot down.

Dutch Doors

There is a Dutch senior facility that attached life size pictures of previous home front doors to the resident's room doors. It helps patients with dementia have a familiar look and assist them to find their room.

That is a truly caring facility.

Zika Virus Facts

Much fear-mongering has recently been spread about the Zika virus, but here are a few facts to keep things in perspective. It is not all that bad, certainly is not life threatening, and most people will not even know if they get it.

Zika virus was first discovered in 1947 and is named after the Zika forest in Uganda. In 1952, the first human cases of Zika were detected. Since then, outbreaks of Zika have been reported in tropical Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and Brazil.

Eighty percent of Zika cases will not be diagnosed. Most people infected with Zika virus will not even know they have the disease, because they will not have symptoms. The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes). Other common symptoms include muscle pain and headache. The incubation period, from exposure to symptoms for Zika virus disease is not known, but is likely to be a few days to a week.

There is no vaccine to treat or prevent Zika virus.

Zika in the U.S. as of March 23, 2016:
Locally acquired vector-borne cases reported: 0
Travel-associated Zika virus disease cases reported: 273 (of the 273 travel-associated infections, 19 are in pregnant women and 6 were sexually transmitted.)

It may be "on occasion" spread through sexual contact or blood transfusions. The CDC has received 15 reports of possible spread of Zika through sex, meaning a person traveled to an area where Zika has broken out, acquired the virus, and gave the virus to a sexual partner who did not travel. Brazilian scientists have found the virus in saliva and urine of infected people.

The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week after being bitten by an infected mosquito. Zika virus usually remains in the blood of an infected person for about a week, but it can be found longer in some people.

Once a person has been infected, he or she is likely to be protected from future infections.

There have been reports of congenital microcephaly in babies of mothers who were infected with Zika virus while pregnant. Zika virus infections have been confirmed in several infants with microcephaly. It is not known how many of the microcephaly cases are associated with Zika virus infection. A pregnant woman can pass Zika virus to her fetus during pregnancy. There is no evidence that prior Zika virus infection poses a risk of birth defects in future pregnancies.

Cooking Steak Myths

Myth Searing steaks lock in juices. - First, it helps give you a nice crunchy and flavorful snap when you take a bite and you can get a prettier color on the outside. However, it does not lock in juices.

Myth Salting your steak before cooking will draw out the moisture and leave you with a tough cut of meat. - Yes and no. It is true, if you are going to salt-pack a steak for an extended period of time, the salt will most definitely draw out the moisture. The way to prepare a steak for grilling is to pat a nice solid coat of sea salt and crushed pepper on the exterior right before placing it over the heat. There is not enough time for the salt to draw out any moisture and you are left with a well-seasoned, great-tasting cut of meat.

Myth Only flip your steak once.- If you flip your steak more than once you are not ruining it. This is simply a matter of personal preference. The effect on your steak's taste is negligible. It is more about how you prefer to grill, and where you are most comfortable. If you are regularly flipping your steak, chances are you have the hood open, which means you are letting out heat. This will affect the timeliness of your cook, but if you make an adjustment for the lower temperature by extending time, it will be fine. Some people prefer to flip their steaks often, because it helps prevent curling.

Myth Sizzling steaks hot of the grill taste best. - While setting your steak out on the counter for 20 to 30 minutes before cooking it is a misconception, resting your steak after cooking is not. You should not go straight from grill grate to plate. Resting your steak for five minutes after coming off the grill will make it juicier and more flavorful. Basically, there is much science that goes into this. When a steak comes hot off the grill the exterior is very hot, and there is little moisture. The center of the steak is considerably cooler and still has moisture. As a steak rests, the muscle fibers loosen and the juices will spread more evenly across the steak.