Jul 15, 2017

Happy Friday

A half-hearted spirit has no power. You must put your whole heart into achieving happiness.


I put my whole heart into enjoying every Happy Friday!

World Eskimo-Indian Olympics

Next week, July 19 - 22, 2017, the third Wednesday in July, at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks .

WEIO gives people and participants a chance to see supreme feats of endurance and agility and the rare chance to experience a culture alongside those who live within it. WEIO is a time to share stories through dance and display parkas, kuspuks, mukluks, moose hide dresses, vests and jewelry at the Native Arts & Crafts fair. In additional there is a cultural Miss WEIO pageant to showcase talents and traditional knowledge. Events include: Native Regalia and Baby Regalia contest, Knuckle Hop, Blanket Toss, High Kick, Stick Pull, and more.

Flitch Day

Next week, July 19 is Flitch day. The Flitch Trials are held every 4 years in Great Dunmow, Essex, England. The town is located north-east of London, just off the A120 between the M11 at Stansted Airport and Colchester.

4,000 Flitches lined up and ready to go.

Dating back to 1104 in Dunmow Priory, England, monks offered a side of bacon (flitch) to any married couple proving a year and a day after their wedding that they had lived in harmony and fidelity for the past year and had not wished they were single again.

Knots and Bends

A ‘knot’ is something tied in a single piece of rope or line. Something that joins two ropes together is a ‘bend’.

Keep Fruit Fresh

One way to keep your fruits and veggies fresh longer is with an inexpensive ethylene gas absorber. It can extend the life of fruits and veggies by weeks or more vs. using nothing. Ethylene is a harmless, odorless, and colorless gas that is given off naturally by fruits and vegetables as a signaling mechanism for produce to ripen faster. Many growers add extra ethylene or absorbers to their delivery trucks to hasten or reduce ripening during fruit's trip to the store.

These are relatively cheap and come in various guises, such as food storage tray liners for fridge, plastic apples filled with absorber, 'stayfresh' bags, and sachet type packets. Some of them use a coated zeolite, which has a honeycomb like structure which absorbs odor and ethylene. Depending on type, the absorbers last about three months to a year in constant use. When not in use, they can be stored in an airtight container almost indefinitely, for later use.

There is scientific evidence that absorbers are effective and growers would not waste money on technology that does not work. A US Navy test showed a 245% improved shelf life for tomatoes, 88% for lettuce, and 10% for cucumbers. All indications are that they work best in closed area, rather than simply putting an absorber on a counter next to fruit. They can be purchased online and at Walmart, Bed Bath, etc. I read many comments from users and they appear to work as advertised, which is a pleasant change these days.

More Egg Facts

Most eggs are not egg-shaped. Hummingbirds lay eggs that look like Tic Tacs, owls lay almost perfect spheres, and sandpipers lay almost conical eggs that end in a rounded point. Swift eggs are pointed, more like pine nuts than Tic Tacs. The most common shape, exemplified by a songbird called the graceful prinia, is more pointed than a chicken’s. Eggs of 1,400 bird species had measurements extracted from 50,000 photos. It revealed the left-field nature of chicken eggs.

Incidentally, if you dissolve an egg shell in acid, the naked egg will still retain its original shape due to the internal membranes.

Hoopla

Hoopla is a service that works with libraries to offer patrons an enormous selection of digital products, such as TV, Movies, Music, Comics, Ebooks, and Audio books for free and with no ads or commercials. You can download an app from Amazon, Apple, Google, etc. It has a free sign up, but you must also have a valid library card. Nice way to add to your entertainment without breaking the bank.

These days libraries have grown up and offer much more than dusty books. Last time I visited my local branch, I picked up a free prescription card that covers prescriptions not covered by insurance. Saved over $30 vs. using my insurance on one script a few weeks ago. You do know where your local library is don't you? It is likely the place where you go vote.

Solar Eclipse

Next week Friday is when we in the US will experience the first total solar eclipse in 99 years. Check your local area for the times.

Texas Obscenity Law, or Not

The Obscene Device Law is a Texas statute dealing with obscenity. In 1973, the Texas Legislature passed Section 43.21 of the Texas Penal Code which, in part, prohibited the sale or promotion of "Obscene device[s] mean[ing] a device including a dildo or artificial vagina, designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs."

In an appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the statute on February 12, 2008, by a vote of 2–1, holding that "the statute has provisions that violate the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution".

On November 4, 2008, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel released a two-page document dated October 29, 2008, in which he stated that the Texas Attorney General's Office notified him that they would not file a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court.

The following month, on November 13, Yeakel filed a "joint status report" that noted the parties had come to an agreement. "Texas Penal Code §§ 43.23, to the extent that it applies to “obscene devices” as defined in Texas Penal Code § 43.21(a)(7), is declared to be facially unconstitutional and unenforceable throughout the State of Texas," the report read.