Why is Buffalo Wild Wings called BW3?

     For any readers that are unfamiliar with Buffalo Wild Wings, or BW3 as it is commonly called, it is a casual dining restaurant and sports bar franchise in the United States, Canada, India, Mexico, Panama, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates which specializes in chicken wings and sauces. 

     In 2017, the chain was acquired for more than $2 billionby Arby's, also an American fast food sandwich chain with more than 3,300 restaurants.

     The question is, with only to Bs in the name Buffalo Wild Wings, why is it called BW3? Where's the third W?

     BW3 was founded in 1982 by Jim Disbrow and Scott Lowery who had recently moved to Ohio from Buffalo, New York.  They couldn’t find authentic Buffalo, New York-style chicken wings anywhere around, so they created a restaurant on High Street in Columbus, Ohio that served them. 

     In 1998, the name was changed to Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar, but the original name was Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck; hence, BW3. 

     Beef on weck is a popular sandwich in New York consisting of roast beef on an au jus-soaked kummelweck roll. A beef on weck is a sandwich found primarily in Western New York State, particularly in the city of Buffalo. 

     It is made with roast beef on a kummelweck roll, a roll that is topped with kosher salt and caraway seeds. The meat on the sandwich is traditionally served rare, thin cut, with the top bun getting a dip in au jus and spread with horseradish. It's not on their menu any more.

     It's not the same things as a French dip sandwich which is a hot sandwich with tender thin slices of beef layered on a long French roll, often with melted cheese, then dipped in a sauce made from the pan juices called...au jus... which is French for with broth   

     ...now you know.

How Fast Is A Spider?

     The other day my wife was working in her home office in the basement which has a tiled floor. As I was talking to her she noticed a large spider casually strolling across the floor and told me to step on it. 

     Not wanting a squashed spider on the sole of my shoe, I grabbed a Kleenex and went to grab it and in a flash it sped away and, eluding two attempted grabs, it disappeared under a closet door. 

     It turns out spiders are fast! The fastest spider in the world is the desert-dwelling Moroccan spider which can reach speeds of up to 5.7 feet per second, or 3.8 mph. The average walking speed for humans is 2.5 to miles per hour. 

     It used to be that giant house spiders were officially be recognized as the fastest spider in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records. They have speeds clocked at 1.73 ft per second (1.18 miles per hour). The new record holders were solifugids, but they are not true spiders. Solifugids resemble spiders, but they are closely related to scorpions. 

     Giant house spiders are found in Europe, Central Asia and Northern Africa and although they were accidentally introduced in the Pacific Northwest of North America circa 1900 they are not common. 

     The most common house spiders in the U.S with their description and photo can be found HERE. 

     The ten most dangerous spiders in North America are described HERE. There are three venomous spiders in the United States: the brown recluse, the black widow, and the hobo.

Dialated Pupils

     Opticians are technicians trained to fit eyeglass lenses and frames and contact lenses to correct vision problems, but they cannot diagnose or treat eye diseases or write prescriptions. Many have one or two years of training and are licensed, but not all states require opticians to have a license. 

     Optometrists perform eye exams and vision tests, prescribe and dispense corrective lenses, detect eye abnormalities, and prescribe medications for eye diseases. They are not medical doctors, but are doctors of optometry (OD). They have a degree after finishing three or more years of college and four years of optometry school. 

     Ophthalmologist have attended medical school and done a residency in ophthalmology. These eye doctors have completed college and at least four years of additional medical training. They can provide all the services optometrists can plus they are licensed to practice medicine and perform surgery. 

     Getting your eyes dilated is usually a part of a complete eye exam. After the dilating drops are put in it takes about 20–30 minutes for the pupils to fully open and the effects usually last for four to six hours. People with lighter color eyes will feel the effects longer and children can can feel the effects for a full day. The side effects include stinging after the drops are put in, light sensitivity, blurry vision, trouble focusing on close objects.

     Dilation allows the doctor to look inside the eyes by expanding the pupils so they don't get smaller when a light is shined in the eyes. The widened pupil allows the doctor to use a magnifying lens to look inside of the eye and at the back of your eye so they can see the retina, optic nerve, blood vessels, etc. 

     Dilation helps diagnose conditions such as glaucoma, a detached retina, age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. It also helps diagnose some conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Those conditions can lead to changes in the eye. For example, high blood pressure can damage blood vessels in the retina. 

     Dilating drops can also be used to treat certain eye conditions such as eye inflammation and lazy eye (amblyopia), a condition where one eye doesn’t properly connect with the brain.  

    Whether eye dilation during an exam is necessary depends on the reason for your exam, your age, your overall health and your risk of eye diseases. The eye drops used for dilation cause your pupils to widen, allowing in more light and giving your doctor a better view of the back of your eye. 

 

Whether or not dilation is necessary depends on several factors: 

1) Age. The risk of eye diseases increases with age and the National Eye Institute recommends a dilated eye exam once every one to two years for those over 60.

2) Ethnic background. People of certain ethnic backgrounds are at increased risk of some eye diseases. Blacks and Hispanics are at increased risk of glaucoma and are advised to have a dilated eye exam every one to two years, starting at age 40. 

3) Eye health. Having a history of eye diseases that affect the back of the eye can increase your risk of future eye problems. 

4) Overall health. Certain diseases, such as diabetes, increase the risk of eye disease. 

5) Reason for the exam. Some symptoms require a dilated exam to determine the cause.

A Quick Geography Lesson

     Most people are unaware that South America lies east of Cleveland, Ohio. If you flew straight south from Cleveland, after leaving Florida the next land you would pass over would be west of Havana, Cuba. After that you would fly over Panama. Continuing south you would miss Ecuador and Peru by a few miles and would not hit land again until you reached Antarctica. 

     If you were in the easternmost place in Brazil, Cape Branco, (in Portuguese Cabo Branco) you would be 3,800 miles from Miami, Florida, but only 1,902 miles from the country of Liberia in western Africa. That's roughly the distance between New York City and Salt Lake City, Utah.

Why Do Cats Bite?

     Millie is gone now, but she would be quietly sitting on your lap then begin raucous purring and then deliver a painful bite. Why? 

     Cats have a lot of peculiar behaviors and biting is one of them. By nature they are predators and pouncing, clawing, and biting are part of that behavior.

     Unlike dogs, cats are not social animals. Yes, they may groom each other and will sleep together, but that’s the extent of their socializing. And, unlike dogs, petting is not something they always enjoy. Cats have nerves that are very sensitive and they can become overstimulated. As a result, a bite can mean they want you to stop. 

     Also, biting can soothing for them and, along with licking, it is often part of their grooming process so if they lick and bite you, they may be simulating the act of grooming and they’re trying to show you that you’re important to them. 

     Cats may also lick and then bite as part of their play. Some cats may gently nibble or bite their owners as a sign of affection. That's usually not a problem. But, what about those unprovoked bites like when their on your lap and you’re softly petting them and then suddenly they deliver a painful bite? 

     It can be what vets call "pet-induced aggression" or could also possible the cat is overstimulated. This isn't personal with the cat! It is known that prolonged petting of sensitive areas, such as the base of the tail, can lead to over stimulation and ‘excitement which leads to a bite. It's the cat's way of telling you that they have had enough and want you to stop.

     Most cats will actually give some kind of warning that they've had enough and so the bite is a last resort. The problem is that the signs are quite subtle. A gentle swish of the tail or flattening the ears are two common signs. Then, there is also the intentional aggressive bite. 

     Those bites are usually accompanied by aggressive body language and will include hissing, spitting, defensive posturing, such as an arched back and puffed up tail. This may be a defensive fear because they are scared. 

      Cat bites are serious! They can be deep and get infected due to the bacteria in the cat's mouth. If you are bitten, wash the wound thoroughly and apply an antibiotic ointment! Keep an eye out for a developing infection! 

     It does no good to punish the cat because to them biting is an extreme form of communication when they feel they have no other option. Unlike dogs, cats do not understand punishment and, in fact, it may worsen some behaviors.

Betting On Weight Loss

     There's an ad on television in which people enthusiastically tell about how much money they won by losing weight. 

     Participants bet on their weight loss using a prize calculator to find out what cash prizes will be paid based on how much the participant is willing to wager, how much weight they want to lose and how much time they need to reach that goal.

     It sounds simple enough to win. Participants simply need to achieve their goal in the time frame. Bets start at $100 and if you meet you goal in the specified time, you win. One caveat though...participants can't cancel, so there are no refunds...none...period. Weight loss is verified by filming weigh-ins and sending them to a referee for confirmation. 

     They say you can win up to $10,000. You do that by recruiting friends, family, or Internet strangers to join you in an online group challenge. The catch there is that the $10,000 is split among the winners. 

     Although the money helps, for decades studies have proven that dieting alone doesn’t work and that diets have a failure rate of 95 percent or more. One study that followed the The Biggest Loser television contestants found that that almost every single participant regained their weight plus some. 

     That said, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people with a financial incentive to lose weight were almost three times more likely to reach their target than dieters with no money at stake. Even so, three times the typical success rate isn't much. 

     When you think about it, who pays the winners? The losers. But, even the few winners don't make a killing. If you win more than $600 it's taxable. In one example, a $100 bet winner made $136 in 12 weeks. 

     The short version is that just like in Las Vegas, the house always wins.

Black Widow Spiders

     There are several species of black widow spiders. The females have a unique appearance and it's rumored that they eat their mates. 

     They are the most venomous spiders in North America, but their their bite is rarely fatal to humans; even so, you wouldn't want to get bitten by one. 

     The males and females look very different from each other. The females are the most distinctive...they have shiny black bodies and a red hourglass-shaped marking on the underside of their abdomen although it can also be orange-yellow. Their body length can be up to a half inch. Males are lighter in color with smaller abdomens that may have red or pink markings. Males are only about half the size of females.

     In the United States black widows are found primarily in the South and West where they inhabit urban areas as well as forests, deserts and grasslands. In human areas they often spin their webs in dark corners that may be inside or outside. Black widows eat insects (and other spiders!) that get caught in their webs. But, females do not usually eat their mates. There is an exception within the species though...in the Southern Hemisphere. However, black widow newborns often eat their freshly-hatched siblings as they emerge from their eggs.

     Black widows mostly eat flying and climbing insects, but they have also been known to trap and eat small animals such as snakes and lizards. If those creatures get tangled up in the back widow's web they are paralyzed with a bite and become a spider meal. 

     Black widows have stiff, short hairs on the last segment of their back legs that resemble a comb which they use to drape the silk over prey. Black widows are solitary, but at mating season the males spin sperm laden silk which they wrap around appendages near their heads. This is then inserted into the female. 

     The female creates egg sacs that may contain hundreds of eggs which hatch in about 30 days. They don't live very long: females about nine months and males about three. However, one species can live 3 years in the wild and maybe a year longer in captivity. 

     What about black widow bites? The much larger females are more dangerous...they inject more venom that's 15 times stronger than a rattlesnake's. But, but because they deliver far less venom than a snake, their bites, while painful, are a serious risk only to children and the elderly. 

     Their venom quickly causes swelling and intense pain and nausea, profuse sweating, severe abdominal pain, back pain, muscle aches, hypertension and paralysis of the diaphragm, which can cause difficulty in breathing. The pain can last 12 hours, but other symptoms for several days. There is an antivenom injection available that will kill the pain in half an hour.

How to Use a Telephone - 1927 Documentary

Stolen Elections?!

 

     I have just read an article that explains how Pro-Trump operatives are flooding local officials with public records requests to seek evidence that Trump's claims that the election was stolen form him are true. 

     The freedom-of-information laws were enacted to ensure the public has the information needed to hold their leaders accountable and the laws are used by journalists, advocates, academics and ordinary citizens to access government records. 

     In this case the abuse of these laws is creating chaos with the election system around the country by overwhelming the staffs that oversee elections. They are also fueling baseless voter-fraud allegations and raising concerns about the accidental release of information that could be used to hack voting systems. Officials of BOTH parties have said some of the requests are an abuse of freedom-of-information laws meant to ensure government transparency. These activist thugs are so evil that in some cases election workers have had to endure not only personal harassment but death threats! 

     It's not like it was in the 2020 presidential election. On the evening of election day, November 7, 2000, a clear winner of the presidential election had yet to emerge and the contest focused on Florida. Networks initially projected Al Gore the winner, but later declared that George W. Bush, the governor of Texas and eldest son of president, George H. W. Bush, had an insurmountable lead. 

     Gore called Bush to concede the election, but in the early hours of the following morning it turned out the race was much closer than Gore’s staff had originally believed and at about 3:00 am he called a stunned Bush to retract his concession! 

     After a legal battle and a recount Gore officially conceded on December 13 and stated in a televised address, “While I strongly disagree with the Court’s decision, I accept it.” He added that he accepted the decision for the good of the country. Trump and his supporters have no such concerns about what's good for the country, only themselves.

     Trying to steal elections is nothing new! Read about the time Alexander Hamilton tried to steal the election of 1800 HERE.

Mosquitoes

     Mosquitoes are common, flying insects that live in most parts of the world and there are over 3,500 types of them; over 200 types live in the United States and US territories. 

     Of those 200 only about 12 types spread germs (viruses and parasites)bthat can make people and animals sick. The others are just a nuisance and in general they do not spread germs. Of course, there's no way of knowing which is which, so it's important to protect yourself from mosquito bites. 

     West Nile virus is one of the most common mosquito-borne diseases in the continental United States. Dengue, chikungunya, and Zika virus outbreaks have occurred in US states and territories thanks to mosquitoes. 

     Malaria was common in the United States into the 20th century and most of the continental United States has the mosquito that can spread malaria. Local US mosquito-borne spread has resulted in more than 150 locally acquired cases, but most cases of malaria are reported annually in the United States occur in returned travelers. 

     For a mosquito to get infected with a germ and then spread that germ to people or animals it takes a blood meal from a person or animal and if the blood contains a germ, it then gets passed on. 

     But, mosquitoes do not transmit all kinds of germs, only those that can grow in its body. The germs eventually end up in the mosquitoes salivary which is injected when it bites. This process takes 2-3 weeks. Ability of a mosquito to spread germs depends on the type of germ, environmental conditions, temperature, the amount of germs it ingests and mosquito's age. 

     Most types of mosquitoes in the United States are just a nuisance and they can become a problem immediately following heavy rains, or hurricanes or floods. In fact, after those events the large numbers of mosquitoes can affect recovery efforts. All mosquitoes like water because mosquito larvae and pupae live in the water with little or no flow. 

     Surprisingly, not all mosquitoes bite people or animals. When mosquitoes bite people, the most common reactions are itching and swelling. Adult mosquitoes live indoors and outdoors and they live for about 2 to 4 weeks depending on the species, humidity, temperature, and other factors. Female mosquitoes often live longer than male mosquitoes. 

     If you get bitten, it was a female. Only female mosquitoes bite because they need protein from blood for the development of their eggs. What do males mosquitoes eat? They feed only on plant juices, such as nectar, to get the sugar they need for energy and survival. 

     Some mosquitoes like living near people, while others prefer forests, marshes, or tall grasses, but as mentioned, hey all like water, but different types of water attract different types of mosquitoes! Some tend to lay their eggs in permanent to semi-permanent bodies of water, some like clean water and others like nutrient-rich waters. Some lay eggs near the edges of lakes and ponds or among plants in swamps and marshes or in containers that hold water. 

     Then there are floodwater mosquitoes; they lay their eggs in moist soil or in containers above the water line. The eggs dry out, then hatch when rain floods the soil or container. Places they lay eggs include pools and ponds created by melting snow or rain. irrigated fields, containers holding water after rain and tree holes that collect rainwater. 

     In the United States there are actually mosquito control professionals who monitor and collect them and then report data to Center for Disease Control.    

Best Way To Get Rid of Mosquitoes - HERE

Windex - Substitute for Windshield Washer Fluid?

     Windex cleans glass, so you can use it on your car's glass, right? A gallon of windshield washer fluid costs as little as $2.66 while a gallon of Windex costs $11.99, so it doesn't make sense to substitute Windex for windshield washer fluid in your car, but what about using Windex on a car's glass while, say, washing it?

     The answer is a resounding no because Windex will damage many parts of your vehicle including the glass...windshield wiper fluid is not the same as Windex. To keep it from freezing, windshield washer fluid contains alcohol, Windex does not. Windex also contains a lot of ammonia. You shouldn’t use Windex on your car's glass because the ammonia may leave streaks on auto glass. This can pose a danger as it can create a glare while driving at night. It can also ruin your glass if it has been tinted. 

     Never add Windex to your wiper fluid because it includes chemicals that could damage the washer system and it also contains chemicals that could damage the paint on your car. The ammonia will also out the rubber moldings and could dry out the hoses that run from the washer fluid tank to the spray nozzles. Over time Windex could also damage the spray nozzles on the hood over time. It can also damage the rubber windshield wiper blades. 

     Windshield wiper fluid also lubricates the washer fluid pump; if the pump doesn’t stay lubricated, it can stop working, leak and get corroded. 

     What about the other way around. If you run out of Windex (or are just cheap), can you use windshield washer fluid to clean glass in your house? The answer is yes, but Windex will give you a more streak free clean. The acidity of Windex ensures that it cleans better because it breaks down dirt and grime instantly.