Mar 17, 2017

Happy Friday

Laughter is the best medicine, this is the day to take your medicine.

I always take my medicine, especially while celebrating a Happy Friday!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

It is celebrated March 17. Have fun, drink beer, kiss an Irish person, and generally enhance an already Happy Friday!

Happiness Day

The International Day of Happiness is celebrated throughout the world on March 20. It was founded by United Nations during 2012, when all 193 member states of the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution.

The General Assembly,[…] Conscious that the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal. . . Decides to proclaim 20 March the International Day of Happiness, Invites all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system and other international and regional organizations, as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations and individuals, to observe the International Day of Happiness in an appropriate manner.

What's in a Name, Piccadilly Circus

The London landmark gets its name from the alternate meaning of ‘circus’ referring to a round junction where several streets meet.

(This also explains Oxford Circus, the Tube station just a half mile northwest). The other half of its name, meanwhile, is a centuries-old bit of snark.
A ‘piccadill’ is a large, ruffled collar that was the height of fashion in the late 16th and early 17th Centuries – think portraits of Queen Elizabeth I. Creating piccadills was how one London tailor, Robert Baker, made his fortune… and funded the construction of his grand house here in 1611. Apparently it was seen as a little too grand for a ‘lowly’ tailor, since it came to be known as Pickadilly Hall. The witty put-down stuck: when the junction was built there in 1819, it was called Piccadilly Circus. So, of course, was the Underground station when it opened in 1906.

Wordology, Resilience

A new non-dictionary political term for Climate Change. To be resilient now means to encompass all previous climate change strategies: to resist, to mitigate, and to adapt. Its use in climate research and US academic papers has multiplied over time.

The 2015 US PREPARE Act, a bill to help the federal government recover from extreme weather events, does not mention climate change or global warming, but it uses the term 'resilience' 40 times. The word has also begun to show up in individual state plans to 'mitigate flooding' rather than to 'deal with sea level rise affects of climate change'. A rose by any other name. . .

CBD vs. THC

Different strains of cannabis have different and higher CBD or higher THC levels.
CBD is the abbreviation for cannabidiol, the cannabinoid second only to THC when it comes to average volume. Recently, research has shown CBD to have analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-anxiety properties without the psychoactive effects, such as getting high. Its use looks promising to combat  Crohn’s disease, PTSD, multiple sclerosis, and Dravet’s Syndrome.

THC is one of over 480 different compounds present in the cannabis plant. So far about 85 have been identified as cannabinoids The most well known of these compounds is the delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC.
Bottom line, THC is the stuff in cannabis that makes us high, while CBD is the stuff in cannabis that is used for medicinal purposes and does not make us high. Neither has a lethal dose.


Incidentally, marijuana is the most-consumed illegal drug in Germany, but as of this month, March, cannabis has expanded medical and legal allowances. Now doctors can simply write their patients a prescription if, for example, they suffer from chronic pain or a serious loss of appetite due to an illness. German health insurance providers also now must cover the costs of cannabis treatments.

Facebook and Artificial Intelligence

Facebook is trying to use artificial intelligence to help prevent suicide. It recently introduced AI to be used a suicide-prevention feature to identify posts indicating suicidal or harmful thoughts. The AI scans posts and their associated comments, compares them to others that merited intervention, and, in some cases, passes them along to its community team for review."

Pemmicam

It is a concentrated mixture of fat and protein used as nutritious food. The word comes from the Cree root word pimî, "fat or grease". It was invented by the natives of North America. It is often called the ultimate survival food and is still used today.

Specific ingredients used for pemmican were usually whatever was available. The meat was often buffalo, deer, elk, or moose. Fruits such as cranberries, choke cherries, blueberries, and saskatoon berries were sometimes added. Now, honey, maple syrup or peanut butter are also added.

The meat, with fat removed was cut in thin slices and dried, either over a slow fire or in the hot sun, until it was hard and brittle. About 5 pounds (2,300 g) of meat are required to make 1 pound (450 g) of dried meat suitable for pemmican. Then the meat and berries were pounded into almost powder-like in consistency, using stones. The pounded meat was mixed with melted fat in an approximate 1:1 ratio. Now it is made using food processors or blenders.

Pemmican was widely adopted as a high-energy food by Europeans involved in the fur trade and later by Arctic and Antarctic explorers. The resulting mixture was usually packed into rawhide bags for storage. It can be safely stored for many decades. It is usually served raw, boiled in a stew, or fried. Pemmican beef jerky and pemmican energy bars are still sold in the US and Canada.


Incidentally, During the Second Boer War (1899–1902), British troops were given an iron ration made of four ounces of pemmican and four ounces of chocolate and sugar.

Michelin Stars

The first The Michelin Guide for French drivers in 1900 included maps, listings of hotels, gas stations and mechanics, and helpful information for repairing tires. At the time there were only 3,000 automobiles in all of France. The forward-thinking Michelin brothers thought providing information for car travelers, would increase interest in French automobile tourism, which would in turn increase demand for cars and tires. The first US guide came during 2005.

During 1920, the guide started sending anonymous reviewers out to rate restaurants. A few years later, Michelin began ranking restaurants using a rating system of one to three stars. Michelin stars are used to judge the quality of the food at a restaurant only, independent of any other aspects of the dining experience.
• One star = A very good restaurant in its category
• Two stars = Excellent cooking, worth a detour
• Three stars = Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey

An additional designation of a small knife and fork, known as “couvert,” describes other aspects of the restaurant’s experience like comfort, venue décor, tabletop décor, and level of formality. A black fork and knife icon denotes a more basic experience, while a red icon indicates superior couvert.
Michelin inspectors, who have extensive training and experience in the field are required to hide their jobs from friends and even family members. They recruit dates to accompany them to romantic restaurants, so they do not stand out as solo diners. Some  visit a restaurant multiple times to most accurately judge the quality and consistency of the experience.


Incidentally, Bib is the Michelin Man’s nickname. He is also referred to as Bibendum or Bibelobis.

Mar 10, 2017

Happy Friday

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."~ Winston Churchill


I never fail to have the courage to successfully enjoy a Happy Friday!

Daylight Saving

Tomorrow night March 11, 2am is the time to change your clocks and the batteries in smoke and fire detectors. This time of year we again tear the bottom off the blanket and sew it on the top as we heed the political call to control time and change our clocks to Spring Forward. Lots of fun as we continue the semi-annual game to convince ourselves that we are indeed the masters of time. Meanwhile the birds and bees happily continue to forage, blissfully ignorant of our plight.

Happy National Pi and Potato Chip Day

Not sure how it happened these two are celebrated on the same day, March 14. Especially because Pi is infinite without repetition and eating potato chips is infinite with repetition. Regardless, I bet you cannot eat just 3.14 potato chips, especially if they are Better Made brand.