Enjoy Hillary Klug

Hillary Klug (birn 1992) is a National champion buckdancer and is also known for her fiddling. 

Asparagus Pee

     Asparagus is a low-potassium food in small portions and it can be eaten as part of a healthy diet and it will not harm your kidneys. People with kidney disease are encouraged to eat a low potassium diet, so asparagus is an excellent choice. A small portion is considered to be six stalks or less. 

     The downside is that eating asparagus can lead to funky smelling pee. The reason is because asparagus contains...aspargusic acid, which is found exclusively in asparagus. When asparagus is digested the acid is down into sulfur containing byproducts and, as you know, sulfur is not very pleasant smelling. And, so when you pee, the sulfur byproducts evaporate almost immediately, causing pee to smell unpleasant. 

     Asparagus isn’t the only thing that can change the smell of pee. For example, some people find that drinking too much coffee causes their urine to smell like coffee. Brussels sprouts, onions and garlic an also cause odd smelling pee in some people. Asparagus pee usually shows up between 15 and 30 minutes after eating id and the smell can last for several hours, possibly up to 14 hours. 

     According to some studies it’s estimated that only between 20% to 50% of people experience the asparagus pee smell. That’s because everyone digests food differently and some people can break down the sulfur byproducts more efficiently.

Lowe Stokes

 

     Lowe Stokes (May 28, 1898 - June, 1983) and in 1924, he defeated veteran Fiddlin’ John Carson at the Georgia Old-Time Fiddlers' Convention to win the coveted state championship. Stokes also won the coveted Georgia Old-Time Fiddlers' Convention held in Atlanta the next year.

     By most accounts Lowe was born in Georgoa in May 28, 1898. Lowe was the sixth of seven children born to Jacob Stokes, who was a farm laborer, born in 1848. 

     On Christmas Day in 1930, Stokes was involved in a shooting incident near Cartersville, Georgia. He never cared to talk about it. One friend thought Stoled had intervened in a fight between one of his brothers and another man and was shot while trying to grab the latter's gun. His right hand was so badly damaged that it had to be amputated. Within a year he was playing again, using a prosthetic attachment devised for him by a friend. 

     Stokes quit fiddling sometime in the '60s though his fans were still visiting him at his home in Chouteau, Oklahoma. 

 

 

What's the Most Efficient Pattern to Cut Grass?

  

     When mowing the yard, like most people, I go back and forth, back and forth and it seems to tale forever. 

     But, sometimes I cut it diagonally and it seem like I zip right through it. Which way is the most efficient? 

     Of course, the size and shape of the yard is a factor. When it comes to mowing in rows, cutting in the longest direction is most efficient because it involves the least turns. It’s been studied by the pros and it’s been determined that mowing in back and forth in rows is one of the fastest, most efficient way. 

     Experts recommend that obstacles like flower beds, trees, shrubs, sheds, etc. should be mowed around before tackling the larger, unobstructed area. 

     In order to help keep lines straight, start by mowing parallel to a straight sidewalk or driveway. Thereafter focus on ta point about 10 feet in front of you. 

     At the end of a row lift the mower deck as you turn then continue in the opposite direction. 

     Mowing at the highest setting results in soft grass that bends easily. Cutting the grass short means it won’t bend as far, so the pattern will be less noticeable.

     Bu the way. you’ve seen them in sport fields and some professionally cut lawns that look like stripes. Dark stripes are blades bent toward you and the lighter stripes are bent away from you. To get that effect you need a special striping kit for your mower or roller, so it’s probably best to forget that.

Sing along....

Talking Dog

Boonarangs

     Back in the mid-1960s the PX on the Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina was selling plastic boomarangs. 

     So, one evening at dusk I was returning to the barracks and four or five guys were out front throwing one. Because it was dusk and there were tall treed in front of the barracks visibility was getting poor. One guy threw the boomarang and as it was descending the Officer of the Day walked around the corner. 

     Upon heating a “pfft, pfft, pfft” of the descending boomarang, he began looking around. When the guys realized in horror that the thing was headed right for the OOD they started yelling, “Duck, Lieutenant!” But, it was too late. The thing hit him along side of the head and he went down like a sack of potatoes.

     When I reached him he was sitting up and when I asked if he was OK, all he could say was, “What happened?” I informed him he had been hit by a boomarang. He was not seriously hurt, but, unaware of the boomarang craze and he was incredulous. "A boomarand"", he asked. When I looked around the throwers had all disappeared along with the boomarang. And, that’s my boomarang story. 

     A boomerang is a curved throwing stick used chiefly by the Aboriginals of Australia for hunting and warfare. The Aboriginals used two kinds of boomerangs.

    The returning boomerang is light, thin and well balanced, 12–30 inches long and weighs up to 12 ounces. Its shape varies from a deep, even curve to almost straight sides of an angle. The ends are twisted in opposite directions. 

     Returning boomerangs were used only in eastern and western Australia as playthings, in competitions and by hunters to imitate hawks for driving flocks of game birds into nets strung from trees. 

     The non-returning boomerang is longer, straighter and heavier than the returning type. It was used for hunting because it maimed or killed the game. In warfare it caused serious injuries to the enemy if it didn’t kill them. 

     Non-returning weapons were used by the ancient Egyptians, by Native Americans of California and Arizona and in southern India for killing birds, rabbits, and other animals. Thrown over areas of long grass where game birds nest, returning boomerangs can frighten these birds into taking flight, thus making them easier to hunt. 

     In competition, distance boomerangs are designed to go from 80-200 yards and are VERY difficult to control. They require ideal throwing conditions (light to no wind). expert skill and lots of open space...one football field is nowhere big enough...you need about 4-5 fields. 

     The world record for a long distance throw, set in 1999 by Manuel Schultz of Switzerland, is 780 feet, 10 inches. 

     Boomerangs are not toys, they are designed for competition and they can be dangerous...remember the lieutenant! 

 

Boomarang geometry 

 

Boomerang Flight Dynamics

Highway Htypnosis

     Once upon a time I spent a week doing fied exercises at the Marine Corps base at Cap Lejeune, North Carolina. When we came in from the field on Friday afternoon I got cleaned up and picked up my leave papers. 

     It was my intention to leave Saturday morning and drive to visit my parents some 12 hours away. I foolishly decided not to wait, but to leave at once. 

     Things were fine and when I reached the entrance to the Pennsylvania Turnpike at Breezewood it was dark as I pulled up to the booth, handed the attendant my ticket and the toll fare. 

     But, wait a minute! I was very confused. How did the toll booth attendant take my money before I got on the turnpike?! I was flummoxed. Then I saw a sign that said Welcome to Ohio. That’s when I realized I had driven about 175 miles on the Turmpike sound asleep! I pulled off at the first servive plaza at about midnight to get some sleep and woke up about 11:00 am. 

     Actually, I had suffered highway hypnosis, a phenomenon that causes you to zone out while driving a vehicle, often traveling a significant distance without recollecting it. Experiencing highway hypnosis can zone out drivers for hundreds of miles or short distances. 

     In short, highway hypnosis is a condition when a driver experiences hypnotism while driving and they remembering nothing about what occurred during that time. 

     The monotony of driving slows down your brain and leaves you less alert and functioning on autopilot. Typically, drivers do not realize falling into highway hypnosis or road hypnosis, but there might be some warning signs like sleepiness, loss of concentration or mental fogginess, wandering thoughts, a dazed feeling, slow reaction time and heavy eyelids or frequent blinking. Drifting into the next lane or driving onto the rumble strips might also be an indication. 

     If you suddenly realize you’ve just passed your exit or you can’t remember anything about the last several miles, you’ve probably experienced highway hypnosis. 

     Fatigue isn’t the only cause though. Monotonous plays a big part in highway hypnosis. A 2003 study found that the drivers tended to show more fatigue, measured by large steering movements, while driving on the more monotonous road. 

     Also, a driver’s fatigue peaked after approximately 20 minutes of driving. The conclusion was that highway hypnosis may happen very quickly on monotonous stretches of road. 

     According to another study in 2004, the system that controls eye movements also plays a part in highway hypnosis. 

     When you are driving a well known stretch of highway if the landscape is unchanging for a long period of time, your brain begins to depend less on what the eye sees and begins to depend more on your mental prediction of what it expects yo see! That is, your brain switches to a less-alert mode and begins to pay less attention to visual stimuli. 

     The likelihood of experiencing highway hypnosis does go up when you’re tired. Fatigue causes your brain to processes what you see more slowly and relying on mental predictability and autopilot. In the case of fatigue, the longer the time spent driving the greater the chances of experiencing highway hypnosis. Your autopilot mode is real - now we know how the brain does it...Read more

Confusion

     Some people staunchly defend their opinions and beliefs even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Why? 

     One explanation is cognitive dissonance. Cognition is simply thinking and reasoning. It’s how we gain knowledge and understanding. Dissonance is a musical term that means a lack of harmony among musical notes, but it also means there is a clash that results from contradictory information. 

     In psychology, cognitive dissonance is mental discomfort that is triggered when a person's belief clashes with new evidence they have been introduced to.

     To reduce the psychological discomfort, they will have to change either their mind or their behavior to resolve the mental conflict and thus restore their mental and emotional harmony. Thus, many people will people will simply refuse to consider anything that does not agree with their beliefs. Instead, they prefer to vigorously defend, excuse, justify and keep their beliefs even when confronted with irrefutable proof they are wrong...it’s just easier that way! 

     To reduce dissonance, or , mental discomfort, a person can 1) change their behavior or belief so that it’s in line with the new information. 2) justify their behavior or belief by changing the conflicting information or 3) ignore or deny information that conflicts with their existing beliefs. 

     For example when a person, any person, be it a politician, religious leader, family member, anybody, has been shown to have lied, cheated, stolen or committed crimes that would send most people to jail, many people will still vigorously defend them despite credible and incriminating evidence. By doing so they reduce their cognitive dissonance. 

     Very often people will just ignore or deny information that conflicts with their existing beliefs by claiming it’s fake news or part of a conspiracy theory. 

     In the Bible, in the book of Jonah, God spoke of more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left. He was referring to the people of Nineveh who could not tell right from wrong. Last year Arizona state lawyers and the U.S. Supreme Court’s majority showed that they, too, cannot tell right from wrong. 

     The Supreme Court ruled that a person no longer has the constitutional right to present new evidence in federal court to support claims that they weren’t adequately represented at trial or on appeal. What that means is that there is no longer a safeguard against prosecutorial and judicial errors or misconduct. 

     People who have been wrongfully convicted are now left with nowhere to turn. It also increases the likelihood that some innocent prisoners will be executed. 

     The justices ruled 6-3 against two men sentenced to death in Arizona for murder who petitioned to present new evidence in their cases. In 2018, a federal court overturned one of the prisoner’s conviction because he did not receive effective counsel, a violation of his Sixth Amendment rights. In other words, the prisoner had a crappy court appointed lawyer who failed to even try and adequately represent him. The judge ruled that if he had received proper legal representation there was “a reasonable probability that his jury would not have convicted him of any of the crimes with which he was charged and previously convicted.” 

     Arizona’s attorney general appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. During their arguments the state prosecutors repeatedly argued that “innocence isn’t enough” of a reason to throw out a conviction. And, the Supreme Court agreed that innocence is not enough to keep the prisoner off of death row even if there exists a preponderance of evidence that he committed no crime.THAT IS A VERY SCARY RULING!

How fast is a centipede?

 

     Millipedes are a group of arthropods (invertebrates with jointed legs) that are characterized by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments. Most millipedes have very elongated cylindrical or flattened bodies with more than 20 segments. The name millipede is derived from Latin for "thousand feet,” no species was known to have 1,000 or more until the discovery of Eumillipes persephone, which can have over 1,300 legs. 

     Millipede are not to be confused with their cousins the centipedes’ they are entirely different. Centipedes are aggressive predators that use venom to subdue their prey. Centipedes are often the target of pest control measures, but in fact, they are one of nature’s best exterminators! They are night stalkers...they come out at night from their hidey holes to feed on cockroaches, flies, bedbugs, crickets, spiders and snails. Everyone thinks centipedes bite humans, but they don’t because they can’t get through your skin. 

     House centipedes have far fewer than the 100 legs their name suggests. They’re born with only eight legs and the count reaches 30 as they reach adulthood. 

     The house centipede’s legs get progressively longer toward the rear, which creates its characteristic outline and keeps them from getting tangled when they are running fast. 

     Of those 30 legs, besides used for walking, some are other useful and versatile tools. One paleontologist called them Swiss army knives because they use different legs for different functions. 

     When hunting, the house centipede uses its legs as a rope to restrain prey in a tactic called lassoing. The tip of each leg is so finely segmented and flexible that it can coil around its victim to prevent escape. 

     The centipede’s venom-injecting fangs are also modified legs! They are shorter and thicker than the walking legs and they are multi-jointed, which makes them far more dexterous than the fangs of insects and spiders, which hinge in only one plane. Because of this dexterity, the centipede’s fangs not only inject venom, but also hold prey in place while the centipede feeds. 

     They also function as grooming tools. The centipede passes its legs through the fangs to clean and lubricate their sensory hairs which need to be kept clean. They groom down one side of their body and then the other and if the process is interrupted , when they resume they simply pick up where they left off. 

     Because of their length and the fact that the centipede holds their hind legs aloft when they walk, the back legs give the appearance of a second pair of antennae making the house centipede look like it has two heads. 

     Of course it doesn’t have a second head, but the appearance of a second head, known as auto-mimicry and it occurs in some fish, birds and butterflies. It’s a defense mechanism that serves to fool predators. 

     New research turned an electron microscope on the centipede’s legs and found as many sensory hairs, or sensilla, on them as on the antennae. It was found that the house centipede's back legs rival its front antennae in length. 

     It’s believed that the presence of so many sensory hairs on the centipede’s long back legs are not merely dummies used for defensive purposes, but but they serve a special function, but scientists are not sure but think they are possibly in mate selection. During courtship, both the male and female house centipede slowly raise and lower their antennae and back legs, followed by mutual tapping and probing. On a final note, house centipedes are highly cannibalistic. 

     What about the question, how fast can they run? They can cover about 16 inches a second; that’s only about 0.91 miles per hour, but if you’re trying to step on one it’s fast. A common black ant runs at about 0.18 miles per hour. So, a house centipede is five times faster than an ant. However, as far as centipede are concerned, pound for pound about the same as a human running 42 miles per hour. Usain Bolt's average ground speed was a bit over 23 miles per hour although he did briefly hit almost 28 miles per hour. 

 

 

Boerboels

     The Boerboel is a big, self-assured, smart and calm dog. They look a little intimidating at first, but they tend to be affectionate and devoted to family. They also serve as reliable and obedient watchdogs. 

     They weigh 110–176 pounds ans are avout 4 feet tall. Their lifespan is 9–11 years. They belong to the guard dog breed group. 

     Although they are considered a generally healthy breed, they can suffer from the same issues that affect other giant pups such as hip dysplasia and cancer.

     They have substantial muscles from their necks to rumps and have thick, arched necks and sloping shoulders. Their skin is dark-colored which protects against the heat of the sun. Their coat is short and dense, and it can be brindle, brown, cream, reddish-brown or tawny. They have a wide, block-like head, strong jaws and broad chest.     

Thor dressed up for Christmas

     Boerboels are one of the strongest dog breeds as well as one of the biggest dog breeds in the world. They are highly intelligent and territorial. 

     They make great guard dogs with strong protective instincts. Boerboels take guarding their families and homes seriously. One Boerboel owner told me that if they let a person in the house the dog is OK with it and very friendly, but that would not be the case if a stranger barged in! That agrees with the statement that while they were bred to be aggressive defenders, they are fully capable of distinguishing friend from foe. 

     For the most part they are very quiet and don’t bark a lot, so when they do, owners need to take heed! Boerboels usually drive intruders away by their appearance alone. Also, they are very clean and don't shed a lot of fur. 

     That said, while they were bred to protect people, dog trainers and experts warn that they can be aggressive to people including their owners.

Wildroot Cream Oil Hair Tonic, Bonus: Communists and Alleged Communists

     Wildroot Cream-Oil, manufactured by a Buffalo, New York based company, was a men's hair tonic that was popular in the United States from the 1940s to the 1960s. The product provided a nice slick grooming with a medium hold and high shine. 

     The company first started selling Wildroot Hair Tonic in 1911. In the 1920s, the tonic was primarily marketed to women with advertisements warning that bobbed hair and tight hats would cause baldness, unless they used Wildroot!

     Wildroot started marketing the product to men in the 1930s. In 1937, the Federal Trade Commission admonished the company for claiming the product kept the scalp "healthy", "penetrates" the sebaceous glands, cleans up dandruff "completely", and that the results were "guaranteed."

     The company's original tonic was alcohol-based, but alcohol became more scarce during World War II, in the early 40s, chemist Emanuel Gundlach invented a new alcohol-free formula. 

     At first, he presented the Wildroot executives with a cream that came in a tube, but they rejected it. However, by adding more water they were able to bottle the product, and the new Wildroot Cream-Oil became a big success. 

     It’s main ingredient was lanolin, also known as wool grease, which is a wax secreted by the sebaceous glands of sheep. 

     The new Wildroot Cream-Oil was first sold in 1943 and by the 1950s, the product was associated with teenage boys (including me) who slicked their hair down. 

     In 1951, the Wildroot Hair Tonic Company set up the Wildroot Foundation (now the Western New York Foundation), which provides funds for local organizations in Buffalo. 

     The Wildroot company was sold to Colgate-Palmolive in 1959 for $10.5 million. A "Wildroot Hair Groom" is still being marketed today by the Oakhurst Company.

     At the height of the product's popularity, the company advertised extensively in print, radio and television, claiming that is "again and again the choice of men who put good grooming first." 

     In print ads, the company encouraged consumers to try "the Famous Finger Nail Test": "Scratch your head and see if you find dryness or loose, ugly dandruff. If so, you need the new Wildroot Cream-Oil formula." 

     Wildroot sponsored many radio programs such as The Woody Herman Show, The King Cole Trio, The FBI in Peace and War, The Shadow, Twenty Questions and Sam Spade. 

     The Adventures of Sam Spade aired from 1946 to 1950. Sam Spade star Howard Duff and the program’s creator Dashiell Hammett were listed in the anti-Communist tract Red Channels.

     Wildroot didn’t like their names being associated with the show. Sam Spade was removed from the air in 1950, and replaced with a more Wildroot-friendly title, Charlie Wild, Private Detective. It ran from September 1950 to July 1951.

     Counterattack was an anti-Communist journal that published “Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television.” It was a pamphlet that named 151 actors, writers, musicians, broadcasters and journalists, accusing them of fostering Communist manipulation of the entertainment industry. 

     At the time the House Committee on Un-American Activities and Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin were making wild unfounded accusations of disloyalty or subversion against many prominent people without a shred of evidence. However, he did uncover some Communists, but in the process ruined the lives of many who were not. 

     McCarthy’s goal was to purge suspected Communist sympathizers from government service, Hollywood and other areas. He believed the Communists were making an effort to achieve “domination of American broadcasting and telecasting, preparatory to the day when … [the] Party will assume control of this nation as the result of a final upheaval and civil war.” 

     Duff was a staunch Democrat, not a Communist. He had signed a document supporting the Hollywood 10. Actually, there were 11, but one German born writer fled back to Germany. They were a group of motion-picture producers, directors, and screenwriters who appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in October 1947, and refused to answer questions regarding their possible communist affiliations. As a result they spent 6-12 months in prison for contempt of Congress. 

     While in prison one of them agreed to cooperate and admitted to being a communist and he gave the names of 26 others. The ten never worked in Hollywood again, but some wrote scripts under assumed names. 

     After Sam Spade was canceled, Duff couldn’t get work on radio for two years afterward, but he continued working in pictures and the stage. When he asked what he had to do to end the blacklisting he was told to just say you're not a Communist and it worked. 

     Dashiell Hammet’s story was different. He was politically active for decades, participating in several organizations including the Communist Party USA. In the age of McCarthyism, Hammett was swept up in the Red Scare and was imprisoned for refusing to name the sources of bail funds for communists. Later in 1953, he was blacklisted after testifying to a Senate Committee and his writings were branded “subversive.”

Bad Night At An Italian Restaurant

Just take your money back and leave!!

     The other evening we went into an upscale Italian restaurant that we frequent often. After being seated and waiting a rather long time (10 minutes, maybe) a waitress appeared and took our order for an appetizer (potato wedge) and iced tea. 

     After a brief while she returned and we ordered New York Strip steaks which included one side (mine was fried zucchini) plus a salad which is included with the steak. By the time she returned with the salad we had been seated about half an hour. We had to ask for the bread which the waitress had forgotten. 

     About half way through the salad (we had not gotten any refills on the iced tea) the waitress showed up and informed us, “We are out of steaks, so I will take it off your bill. Would you like something else?” We told her no, we had come in for the steak. At that point she left saying she would return with our check. 

     I went and found the “manager,” a young lady who looked like a teenager. I patiently explained that we did NOT come into the restaurant for potato wedges, salad, bread (which we had to ask for) and iced tea. We came in for a streak dinner and I considered those items, even though we paid separately, a la carte if you will, to be part of the dinner. And, we did not appreciate being told after sitting there for over 45 minutes that were would NOT be served a steak, but it would be taken off our bill. Of course it's going to be taken off our bill because we didn’t get it! I also advised her that it was NOT fair and not good service to serve us a partial meal then after nearly 45 minutes tell us we weren’t getting the rest of it.

     The “manager” simply looked at me and asked if we wanted anything else and when I said no, she, too, informed me they would take the steak off the bill? I asked her, "What are you talking about!? Of course you’ll take it off the bill because we didn’t get it." She just looked at me with a blank stare and said, “Sorry.” The whole time there was a young man who appeared to be a waiter standing there, but he didn’t say anything. 

     I returned to our table and informed my wife we would be getting a check for the cost of what we had eaten. At that point a waitress whom we had been served by several times in the past walked by and my wife stopped her and told her we appreciated her good service in the past, but we would not be returning again because of the poor service that night, plus we felt like we were being ripped off by being served what amounted to only part of a meal. 

     She tried to make excuses for the management, but we reminded her that the last time we had been in and ordered steaks, she had told us she would check with the kitchen to make sure they were available. That was not done by our current waitress. 

     At that point the our waitress returned and slapped a bill on the table and, again, announced she had taken the steak off of our check. By this time we were really upset and I asked her, "Why do you think you’re doing us a favor by not charging us for the steak we didn’t get?" She then began shouting that they have steaks, but they are frozen and she didn’t know they had sold the last one, etc., etc. This brought the young man back to our table, but he again remained silent.

     I told her just forget it, here’s the cash, just bring me my change so we can get out of here. She took the money and in a few minutes came back and said “they” decided “in the back” not to charge us and “just take the money back and leave.” 

     Naturally, the diners nearby were aware of the commotion and we think the silent young man was the owner’s son. In any case, we will NOT be returning.You do not serve customers half a meal and after 45 minutes tell them they aren't getting the rest of what they ordered and then charge them for a partial meal that only consisted of sides. And, when doing so you don't act like you are doing the customer a favor by not charging them for something they did not get!

Fun Bladder Facts

     The urinary bladder is a muscular sac in the pelvis, just above and behind the pubic bone. When empty, the bladder is about the size and shape of a pear. 

     Urine is made in the kidneys and travels down two tubes called ureters to the bladder. The bladder stores urine, allowing urination to be infrequent and controlled. 

     The bladder is lined by layers of muscle tissue that stretch to hold urine. Wrinkles on this inner lining called rugae help the bladder to expand. The normal capacity of the bladder is 14-20 ounces, or about 2 cups. The kidneys generate urine every 10 to 15 seconds, but it takes approximately 9-10 hours for your body to make that much urine. A healthy adult bladder can store up to 16 ounces of urine for between two to five hours. 

    As the bladder fills, nerve signals are sent to the brain. Once it is full, those signals from the bladder are responded to by messages to the muscles of the urethra to relax and the muscles of the bladder to contract and squeeze. If all the signals are in the proper order, you have a normal urination. 

     During urination, the bladder muscles squeeze, and two sphincters (valves or ring-like muscles) open to allow urine to flow out. Urine exits the bladder into the urethra, which carries urine out of the body. It’s normal to go to the bathroom four to eight times a day and no more than two times per night. 

     The bowels are right next to the bladder and so constipation puts extra pressure on the bladder. Fiber-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables can help the bowels stay regular and keep the bladder happy. 

     Holding in urine too long can cause bladder problems. If urine is held too long over an extended period of time, it can cause the bladder to not contract fully and over time it won’t empty as well. Not only does it put the bladder at risk in of not functioning normally, a full bladder gives bacteria an opportunity to grow causing a urinary tract infection. 

     Here’s an interesting question! How long should it take you to pee? The answer is surprising. House cats, elephants, humans, in fact, most mammals take about 20 seconds to urinate. 

     How do “they” known that? Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology stumbled upon the average amount of time it takes a person to urinate while working on a project to figure out a better design for water towers! 

     They used high-speed cameras to record animals urinating at zoos and discovered that mammals weighing more than 6.5 pounds take about the same time to urinate. Larger animals have longer urethras and that amplifies gravitational force and helps push urine out at a faster rate. 

     That 20-second rule is a good way to determine bladder habits need to be tweaked of if their might be a medical situation that calls for a trip to the doctor.

     Peeing too often or routinely holding it can cause the bladder-brain communication to go haywire. Regularly waiting to use the bathroom can train the brain to ignore the bladder’s signals that it’s full. This can result in taking longer when it comes time to actually pee. 

     On the other hand, short urinating times could be related to an overactive bladder meaning that signals are sent to the brain saying it’s necessary to pee even when the bladder isn’t full. 

     Not emptying the bladder often enough may cause issues with recurrent urinary tract infections due to bacteria sitting and multiplying in the bladder. Also, prolonged urination times associated with a weak urinary stream can be due to urinary obstruction, possibly related to an enlarged prostate or a narrowing of the urethra.

Peanuts

     Peanuts probably originated in Brazil or Peru, although no records exist to prove this, but it is known that they were grown as far north as Mexico by the time the Spanish began their exploration of the New World in the early 1500s. 

     The explorers took peanuts back to Spain where they are still grown today. From Spain, traders and explorers took peanuts to Africa and Asia. And, it was the Africans who were the first people to introduce peanuts to North America. Eventually, peanuts were grown throughout the Southern United States. 

     Today nine states in the US grow most of the peanuts with Georgia growing nearly half of all the peanuts in the United States, followed by Texas, Alabama, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Virginia, Florida, South Carolina and New Mexico. When I lived in North Carolina in the 1960s peanuts were generally referred to as “ground peas.” 

     There is evidence that ancient South American Inca Indians were the first to grind peanuts to make peanut butter. A Canadian chemist named Marcellus Gilmore Edson patented an early version of peanut butter in 1884. In the United Sates Dr. John H. Kellogg (of cereal fame) invented a version of peanut butter in 1885. However, peanut butter was first introduced to the general public at the Universal Exposition (World’s Fair of 1904) in St. Louis, Missouri. 

     Many are surprised to discover that the peanut is actually not a nut at all, but a legume and belongs in the pea family. Hences, the North Carolina term, ground pea. Some other names given to peanuts are goobers, ground nuts, monkey nuts and earth nut. 

     Peanuts are unusual because they grow on a plant which flowers above the soil but the fruit (the peanut) grows below the ground. Peanuts are usually planted in April or May. Once planted, peanut seeds grow into a green, oval shaped plant which reaches about 18 inches in height when fully mature. 

 

 

     Small yellow flowers appear on the lower part of the plant as it begins to grow. These flowers pollinate themselves and then lose their petals as the fertilized ovary begins to enlarge. 

     The enlarged ovary is called the peg and it grows down and away from the plant forming a small stem which extends to the soil. The peanut embryo is the tip of the peg and the peanut begins developing once underground, growing into a peanut. 

     George Washington Carver (1864-1943), a botanist, began his research into peanuts in 1903 at Tuskeegee Institute in Alabama. He recognized the value of peanuts as a cash crop and proposed that peanuts be planted as a rotation crop in farmers’ fields. This was especially important in cotton growing areas when boll weevils threatened the cotton crops. As a result, peanut production flourished.

     According to Carver’s biographer Rackham Holt, Carver had long mused over the problem of what to do with all the peanuts that were the result of crop rotation and he ultimately got his answer in prayer. 

     According to Carver, he had asked God what the universe was made for, but was told his mind was too small to understand and he should ask for something smaller. So, eh asked what was man made for. Again, the answer was to ask for something smaller. 

     Finally, Carver asked God to teach him all about the peanut, but even that was too high a request for the human mind. God reminded Carver that He’d given mankind peanuts and other plants for their use. So, Carver went into his laboratory with a supply of peanuts and began breaking them down into their various parts: water, fats, oils, gums, resins, sugars, starches, petoses, pentosans, amino acid. 

     Then he mixed the ingredients in various ways, sometimes applying heat or pressure to the mixtures. As a result, he discovered literally hundreds of products developed from peanuts, everything from chili sauce, butter, milk, shampoo, glue, dye, ink, shoe polish and shaving cream. In the end, he came up with over 300 uses for peanuts. 

     That’s why today George Washington Carver is respectfully known as the Father of the peanut industry.

Profanity and Comedians

     We were channel surfing the other night looking for something to watch on television and when we saw a Chris Rock comedy special decided that maybe a little humor would be good. It wasn't and after about two minutes we turned him off. 

     What is so funny about profanity? Simply standing on stage shouting the f-word into the microphone is not funny, but maybe that's just us because the audience applauded, shouted and laughed. 

     Rock's performance reminded me of the time several years ago when I was out cutting the grass and a young pre-teen boy halfway down the street was standing in the tree lawn shouting profanities at passing cars. No doubt in his juvenile mind he thought it was clever, shocking and funny. It wasn't. It was juvenile and stupid. 

     I was once told that swearing is the sign of a weak mind trying to express itself forcibly. Swearing is not mature; it's very immature and childish. Twelve year old boys like to swear because it's obnoxious, annoying, rude, stupid and immature, but they think it is cool. 

     Kevin Hart is another actor, comedian, writer, and producer and in his routine almost every sentence includes the use of profanity as well as at least one f-bomb. 

     Hart addressed those who think he's not funny in a series of tweets in which he pointed out that he has had several stand up comedy specials on television and they always fall in the top 10 highest grossing comedy specials of all time. He added that he has been the highest grossing comedian for years with over 4 billion in earnings. 

     Hart is right, but why do people think watching someone stand on stage uttering a string of profanity is funny? Telling a joke or a story and implanting profanity between every other word makes people laugh. Why? 

     No matter matter how much a comedian's comedy specials gross, offensive material and language under the guise of jokes should not be funny or acceptable, but it is. Americans are more than ever before willing to view profanity as acceptable on television, in movies and in public. What does it all mean? 

     A study by San Diego State University psychologist Jean M. Twenge suggested that this increasing coarseness is not necessarily due to a decline in morals or manners, but rather to the growth of individualism and freedom of expression.

     The findings suggested a notable decline in social taboos which they equate with increasing individualism. Our culture values individual self-expression more and more and so the taboo factor of profanity is disappearing. Our culture has shifted toward more free self-expression and profanity has become normalized and certain words have even lost some of their impact. That still does not answer the question, "Why is profanity funny?" 

     Richard Stephens, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Keele University in the United Kingdom, found that swearing helps people cope with pain. He narrowed it down to two possible mechanisms. 

     First, there is an emotional response from swearing. It rouses your emotions and that arouses your body's autonomic nervous system. Profanity is an acute stress response. 

     The second possible mechanism is that there appears to be a physical sensation of swearing. A lot of swear words are fricatives. A fricative is a type of consonant made by the friction of breath in a narrow opening, producing a turbulent air flow. What's that got to do with anything?! 

     Professor Stephens created an experiment in which people put their hands in ice water which is painful but not harmful. 

     Some of the subjects put their hands in ice water and used the f-word while other used made up swear words such as fouch (a fricative) and twizpipe (just funny sounding). Another group used a neutral word. 

     Professor Stephens measured how long the subjects could keep their hands in the water while saying their swear word. The findings were that when people used fouch and twizpipe, they couldn't keep their hands in the water as long as when people used the f-word. The experiment proved that distraction and humor did not help at all in dealing with pain.

     It was concluded that there's something about our emotional connection to swear words that helps people deal with pain. And, he also concluded that just as swearing helps with physical pain, it also helps with mental pain. That may be the answer to the question about why people find profanity laced routines by comedians funny. 

     In the fields of social psychology and personality psychology, the term social pain is used to denote psychological pain caused by harm or threat to social connection; bereavement, embarrassment, shame and hurt feelings are sub-types of social pain. Maybe swearing comedians help people deal with that type of pain.

Rat City

     When asked which US city has the most rats you'd probably say New York is the country's rattiest city, but according to the pest control company Orkin you'd be wrong. 

     Orkin ranked the most mice-and-rat-infested cities based on the number of residential and commercial rat removal jobs they performed from September 2021 to August 2022. Of course, that does not measure the ACTUAL rat population, but at least it reveals the cities where folks are most concerned about the rat population.

     It's estimated that there are two millions rats roaming New York City's streets, sewers, subways and buildings...that's about one rat for every four humans in the city. Speaking only of the rats, many carry diseases that can cause serious problems for humans. Most scientists believe that while the situation can be controlled, it cannot be eliminated. 

     The COVID pandemic helped increase the rat population! According to Orkin the pandemic gave rise to outdoor dining facilities and that provided rats with a perfect place to dine, live and breed. Think about that next time you decide to eat on a restaurant or bar patio! 

     Here's the list for top honors for the rattiest cities in the US according to Orkin. Note: in Washington, D.C. politicians were not counted. 

 

1-Chicago 

2-New York 

3-Los Angeles 

4-Washington, D.C. 

5-San Francisco 

6-Philadelphia 

7-Baltimore 

8-Cleveland 

9-Detroit 

10-Denver 

11-Seattle 

12-Minneapolis 

13-Boston 

14-Atlanta 

15-Indianapolis

How Fast Is An Alligator!

 

     Down in West Palm Beach, Florida, Monday, February 20th was a bad day for an 85-year old lady out walking her dog. When they walked past a retention pond her small dog was attacked by a ten foot long, 600-plus pound alligator. When she tried to fight off the alligator it grabbed her into the water where she died; the dog, though injured, survived. 

     The American alligator is one of the world's largest reptiles. Males can grow to 19 feet in length and weigh up to 900 pounds. Their bodies are covered with large horny plates which protect them from predators and other alligators. 

     They have short legs with five webbed toes on their front legs and four webbed toes on their back legs. Their eyes, ears and nostrils are located on top of their head so they can use them without being completely emerged in the water They have valves to close their ears and nostrils when submerged and they can stay under water for 45-60 minutes. Their tails are usually at least half their body length. 

     Alligators are found throughout the Southeast and wetlands, with their range stretching as far west as eastern Texas, and as far east as coastal North Carolina, but they are most abundant in Louisiana and Florida; both states have over a million of them. 

     Alligators are relatively timid compared to crocodiles and they have a natural fear of humans, so they will usually retreat when approached because they don't perceive humans as either a threat or as food. Even so, they are still dangerous!

     They will attack if they are unexpectedly disturbed, provoked, hungry or defending their young. They will also attack humans in the water because the splashing piques their interest. And, if it perceives that the person in the water is something smaller and weaker, as many humans will be compared to the alligator, it might attack. 

     According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission the safe distance to keep away from an alligator is at least 30 feet. Although they tire quickly, on land an alligator can reach speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. How fast is that? Sprinter Usain Bolt, just after the midpoint of his world-record 100-meter dash in 2009, briefly hit a speed of 27-1/2 miles per hour. 

     They are slower in the water...they can swim at 20 miles per hour. Olympic champion Michael Phelps has done 4.71 miles per hour. 

     Just to be safe, never approach an alligator that is on land (or swim in water in which an alligator has been spotted). There is no documented evidence of alligators running after humans or any land animal to prey upon them and there is no basis to the advice that if you are being chased by an alligator that you should run in a zig-zag pattern. Experts say that if you do find yourself being chased by an alligator that you should run in a straight line away from the alligator and its habitat. 

     If you do find yourself in the jaws of an alligator poke it in the eyes and punch and kick it in the head. Also, you can induce its gag reflex by jamming anything in the back of its mouth and when it tries to reposition its prey (you) in its mouth you have a chance to escape. That's on land; in the water escape will be more difficult.

     I saw a reality television program where two men went swimming in a pond in which there were alligators. Believe it or not, they were aware that alligators were in there, but went for swim anyway. 

     An alligator latched onto one of the fellow's arm and pulled him to the bottom. Alligators perform a spinning maneuver known as a death roll to subdue and dismember prey. The spinning maneuver involves rapid rotation about the longitudinal axis of the body. 

     He knew he was a gonner and let the alligator do its death roll and rip off his arm at the shoulder, but somehow he had the presence of mind and strength to escape as the alligator ate his arm.

Hot Water/Cold Water Sounds

     Did you know that when it's poured boiling water sounds different than cold water?

     The viscosity (thickness) of the two is different and that changes the sound of the splash and the brain can distinguish the difference. Check it out HERE

Elevator Door Close Buttons

     You get into an empty elevator, no one else is in there, you jab the close door button, the doors close and the elevator starts moving. Guess what? The close door button on an elevator doesn’t do anything...the door closes the same as if you had just waited. 

     It's true! That’s because most of the door-close buttons in U.S. elevators don’t actually work because they’re programmed that way. Why? 

     When the Americans With Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, certain requirements for elevators were outlined, such as the installation of raised buttons, braille signs, and audible signals. 

     The act ensured that people with disabilities would have enough time to get inside and it stipulated that elevator doors must remain open for at least three seconds and so the the door close button will not cut the time short. Many elevator manufacturers just deactivated the button entirely. 

     Here's a little known fact about elevators...their life span is about 25 years and the Act has been around longer, so most of the elevators in operation today do not have a functioning close door button. Only firefighters are able to close elevator doors manually through the use of a key. 

     There are exceptions to the rule. New York City elevators are required by law to have working close door buttons, but some operate on a delay that is so long that the button's use is pretty much meaningless. 

     It's not the case in England where the buttons in most elevators actually do work. Not all elevators in England have the button, but for those that do, the time it takes for the doors to shut after pressing the button varies. 

     The question is, why install a button that serves no purpose? The reason is that the buttons serve an important psychological function. As one Harvard psychologist stated, "Perceived control is very important...it diminishes stress and promotes well-being." Supposedly, believing that we are in control makes us feel better. 

     Here's another interesting fact...elevators are not the only place where "they" fool us. In similar fashion buttons on city crosswalk Walk, Don't Walk signs are often disabled and the thermostats in many office buildings don't actually change the temperature even if the numbers change. 

     In elevators it is a psychological effect at work when you push the close door button and it appears that it actually works...your brain is deceiving you. Pushing the button alleviates some of the subconscious anxiety that many people are not even aware of. 

     Some people experience anxiety stepping inside a small confined space that's hanging by cables that may lift them hundreds of feet into the air. Pushing the button gives them a false sense that they at least have a tiny bit of control.

Frost Quakes

 

     Today we woke up to drizzling rain in a 300 mile wide by 1,300 mile long system that arrived over night from down in Texas. Today's weather conditions will have us feeling more like spring than winter with potentially record-breaking high temperatures of near 65 degrees. But, it also comes with some strong winds with gusts predicted to be up to 60 mph...that's near hurricane strength (!) and that could produce damages and power outages. Just another typical crappy day where I live. 

     There is no danger of frost quakes, or ice quakes, today although a while back when we had zero degree temperatures and even below in some nearby locations they were a real possibility. 

     Technically known as cryoseisms, a frost quake is a seismic event caused by a sudden cracking action in frozen soil or rock saturated with water or ice or by stresses generated at frozen lakes. 

     As water drains into the ground, it may freeze and expand under colder temperatures, putting stress on its surroundings. This stress builds up until relieved explosively in the form of a frost quake. 

     There are numerous requirements for one to occur and so accurate predictions are not possible. Interestingly, their possibility may be a factor in structural design and engineering when constructing in an area historically known for such events. And, needless to say, Speculation has been made between global warming and their frequency. 

     Frost quakes occur when very cold air interacts with soil that is saturated after recent rain or snow has seeped into the ground. They are triggered by a rapid temperature drop in a short amount of time when the air is at or below freezing. The cold air suddenly freezes the water in the ground, causing expansion, which then causes stress and pressure to build up. The result causes soil and rocks to crack, which can make a booming sound and produce minor shaking. 

     They are most likely to happen in locations that are susceptible to cold air masses, like Canada and the northern states in the U.S. They have been reported in recent years in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri and Tennessee. 

     A 2016 study concluded that frost quakes could become more frequent because as winters continue to get warmer and the ground remains thawed for longer with a higher prevalence of unfrozen water in the soil. 

      Frost quakes are often mistaken for minor earthquakes because the initial indications may appear similar...tremors, vibrations, ground cracking and noises such as cracking, popping, thundering or booming sounds.  

 

     However, they can be distinguished from earthquakes through meteorological and geological conditions.

     Frost quakes can have an intensity of up to 6 (out 0f 10) on the Modified Mercalli Scale which means they are considered "strong" and felt by all and many people will be frightened. Some heavy furniture may be moved and there may be a few instances of fallen plaster, but damage is considered "slight." 

     Also, frost quakes often exhibit high intensity only in a very localized area in the immediate proximity of the epicenter as compared to the widespread effects of an earthquake. And, because they happen at the ground's surface they cause effects right at the site, often strong enough to jar people awake. 

     Some reports have included the presence of distant flashing lights before or during a frost quake; this is possibly because of electrical changes when rocks are compressed. Cracks and fissures may also appear as surface areas contract and split apart. Sometime superficial to moderate occurrences may range from cracks of a few inches to several miles long.

Disrespectful Politicians

Marjorie Taylor Greene

     In the US military enlisted men salute officers who are required to return the salute. I don't know about the other branches, but in the Navy and Marine Corps, with some exceptions, salutes are not rendered unless both members are in uniform and "covered", i.e. wearing a hat. The salute, therefore, is a sign of respect for the position, not the individual. 

     Some positions warrant respect even though the person occupying that position is a lout. One such position is President of the United States. 

     One of the crudest and most vulgar men to ever occupy the White House was, without a doubt, Lyndon Johnson. Nevertheless, no matter how despicable the man was, the office should be honored. Details on the man's uncouthness.

     During President Biden's State of the Union Address (which by the way is a legal requirement) a number of those present interrupted him thereby showing their disrespect for the country's highest office. 

     Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia showed what an uncouth, mannerless moron she is when about midway through his address she interrupted and tried to shut him down by yelling, “Liar!” 

     She wasn't the only one. When President Biden called for an end to the fentanyl crisis in the United States, another lawmaker yelled, “It’s your fault!” It's not clear how the smuggling of fentanyl into the US from Mexico, which has been happening for a long time, is the President's fault. 

     Another lawmaker yelled out "Bullshit!" and there were jeers, cat calls and mocking laughter.

     President Biden has low approval ratings, but even so, he is the President and it's disturbing that nobody seemed shocked at the behavior directed at him during his address to Congress. 

     Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is new to politics, is especially worthy of attention. She was stripped of her committee assignments by the House Democratic majority over racist remarks, her embrace of conspiracy theories and her past endorsement of violence against leading Democratic officials. 

     She previously worked for her family’s construction business in Georgia. She was praised by Donald Trump and she is one of his supporters. 

     In 2017, when a gunman opened fire from a hotel room window overlooking an outdoor country music festival in Las Vegas, killing 58 people, Greene suggested that the shooting might have been staged! 

     In 2018, a poorly maintained electrical grid sparked a California wildfire that killed 84 people and Greene speculated that "darker forces" were at work. She suggested a bank controlled by the Jewish Rothschild family, the utility company that controlled the grid and then-Governor Jerry Brown had a motive to cause the fire. It would clear the path for a high speed rail project Brown wanted. 

     She also put forth the possibility that the fires could have been started by “lasers or blue beams of light” coming down from outer space by allies of Brown who were in the solar energy industry. 

     In 2019, Greene appeared in a video arguing that Representatives Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan weren’t “really official” members of Congress because they didn’t take the oath of office on the Bible because both women are Muslim. She also said, “They really should go back to the Middle East.”

    Of course, both Omar and Tlaib are hardly shining examples of patriotism and tolerance. Omar is an anti-Semite who was removed from her seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. 

     Talib is not a nice person either. She was one of the first female members of Democratic Socialists for America to serve in Congress and she has called for abolishing the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the police and the federal prison system, not to mention that she, too, is anti-Semitic. 

     Back to Greene: In May 2018, a Facebook user purporting to be the mother of a New York police officer claimed that her son had seen a video taken from the laptop of disgraced former Representative Anthony Weiner that showed Hillary Clinton and a top aide cutting off a child’s face. Greene “liked” post. 

      Greene once suggested in an online video that Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi could be executed for treason. “She’s a traitor to our country, she’s guilty of treason.” She added, “And it’s, uh, it’s a crime punishable by death is what treason is. Nancy Pelosi is guilty of treason.” 

     She also “liked” a 2019 Facebook post that called for “a bullet to the head” of Pelosi. 

     In 2018, in a video in which she talked about the 9/11 terrorist attacks she referred to a “so-called” plane that crashed into the Pentagon killing 125 people. She added, “It’s odd, there’s never any evidence shown for a plane in the Pentagon.” 

     She “liked” another comment posted by on Facebook in 2018 that argued that 9/11 was “done by our own Government. Greene wrote, “That is all true.”