Brain in Retrograde

I either woke up or maybe it started in the shower but I was singing the jingle for Ken-L-Ration:
My Dog's better than your dog
My dog's better than yours
My dog's better'cuz he eats Ken-L-Ration
My dog's better than your
I have no idea how that got into my head as it was from the 60's,apparently there is a KIA ad that uses the same jingle but different words but I don't think I have heard it unless it played when I had nodded out.
Ken-L-Ration was owned by Quaker Oats but was sold to H.J.Heinz Co. in 1995. Since being sold it has faded into obscurity.
There used to be a yellow dog on the labels and bags,that I believe was winking? It's name was Fido.
Happy New Year everyone!

Kangol Hats

I came across a reference to Kangol hats and though I thought I knew what they were I had to check,and I was wrong,the bad news is I have no idea what the kind of hat I thought they were is called,but not to worry I will come across it eventually.
Kangol is a British clothing company famous for head wear. The name Kangol comes from the K at the end of silk,the ang from angora,and the ol from wool. They were the beret suppliers during WWII.
During and after the war Kangol berets were the height of fashion. In the 1960's designers Mary Quant and Pierre Cardin worked with the company whose product graced the heads of many famous people including the Beatles,Arnold Palmer and later Princess Diana.
Since I am on the subject of hats I might as well throw this out there as well. Did you know that Panama hats originated in Ecuador?

A Joke?

I heard on the radio earlier today that a new law had passed to insure that the people making$125,000 -$250,000 for two people incomes were voted a tax break,but then in a flash of double talk he said that they would actually be paying more. Didn't really make much sense to me then and even less now. First of all how would something like that get voted for? I don't think there is that large of number of people in that income bracket in Oregon. I had to look it up after saying that,and I was right the average income for 2010 was $37,095. So you may ask yourself why would anyone vote to give people who obviously don't need any breaks a tax break? The way I see it the answer is the way these measures are written you need a law degree to figure out if what you think they are saying is actually what they are saying,and in that way they manage to get things passed that are the opposite of what people think they are voting for. They would never dare to write something in clear concise English because then they would never get the very bills they write for the benefit of themselves and the select few passed. The whole political racket just makes me see red.

Facial Hair and Skateboards

You are probably asking yourself what possible connection could facial hair have to skateboards? I don't think there should be one either however the skateboarders that I often see have facial hair,tattoos and multiple piercings...it just seems odd to me,if they are old enough for all that why aren't they at work instead of leisurely riding around on skateboards? I think this goes right back to the kids that don't leave home these days,why should they if the folks are willing to keep them fed and clothed and all they have to do is play all day,I mean would you get a job if that was the deal you had going? It seems to me that they get the tattoos and MULTIPLE piercing as a way to ward off accidentally stumbling into a job,of course I suppose if they eventually changed their minds or the folks died they could always take the rings and what not out and they would grow closed and  tattoos aren't so bad as long as they aren't the homegrown variety which I find less than appealing,but I guess I am old fashioned that way.

Wrigley's Field

Ha! I bet you think this is going to be about sports,nope not even close.
William Wrigley Jr. came to Chicago from Philadelphia in 1891. He was already a talented salesman. Because his father was a soap manufacturer he started his business selling Wrigley's Scouring Soap. As and incentive to merchants he offered premiums. One of these premiums was baking powder. When the baking powder proved to be more popular than the soap,he switched to the baking powder business. Then one day in 1892,Wrigley got the idea of offering 2 packs of chewing gum with each can of baking powder. The idea was a big success. Once again the premium seemed more promising than the product it was promoting.
Mr. Wrigley realized that gum had the potential he had been looking for so he began marketing it under his own name. His first two brands were called Lotta and Vassar. Juicy Fruit came next in 1893 and Wrigley's Spearmint later that same year.

The Cheerio Effect

I have noticed before how Cheerios seem to clump together in the bowl before but never really given it much thought. Today I came across and article in my Mental Floss magazine that explains it and from what I looked at online may also help explain the galaxies. Once again it turns out something very ordinary isn't really what it appears.
Ever notice how Cheerios tend to cling together in your bowl,almost as if they're huddling up to escape the wrath of your spoon? Well,they're not closing ranks out of terror. The phenomenon is the result of a simple bit of fluid mechanics known as The Cheerios Effect.
How it works. Cheerios'bouyancy makes them float,while the surface tension of the milk acts like a stretchy membrane. When milk gathers around the sides of the Cheerios,it actually changes shape. So,instead of a flat,taut membrane,the surface is now riddled with tiny depressions around each piece of cereal. As the Cheerios begin falling into each other's small depressions,the pieces end up collecting in clumps.
Just a little something for you to chew on next time you have a bowl or cereal!

Nostalgia

When I brush my cats I always sing the old Ipana jingle to them...brusha,brusha,brusha with the new Ipana. I started wondering what happened to Ipana,the following is what I found.
Ipana was first introduced in 1901 by Bristol-Myers. Ipana was an early and large sponsor on radio. Ipana was the most popular U.S. toothpaste from the 1920's to the late 1950's.
Sales of Ipana were dropping by the early 1970's due to increased marketing efforts by other brands. Bristol-Myers wasn't interested in investing in color television programming material and they were making more money with their pharmaceuticals so Ipana and other brands were no longer being advertised.
By the late 1970's Ipana was discontinued entirely in the U.S. but was still sold elsewhere. In 2005,River West Brand,based in Chicago re-introduced Ipana in the U.S. but in 2009 they sold Ipana to maxill inc. of Canada who are bringing it back as a retro brand. If you want to purchase Ipana you can do so online at maxill.com. Long live Bucky Beaver!

Jumping Jacks

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of jumping jacks is the song Jumpin Jack Flash.
Most people think that the creator of the exercise the jumping jack was the fitness and TV personality Jack LaLanne,but that is incorrect. He was however the one to take it to the public. The originator of the jumping jack was U.S. Army General John "Jack" Pershing,he came up with it early in his career as a no nonsense cadet captain at West Point. The jumping jack goes by other names as well,the star jump and the side-straddle hop,though I am guessing those names may be a regional thing as I don't think I have ever heard it called anything but a jumping jack.
Just a little something that is hopefully news to you.
 Enjoy your holidays!

Portmanteau

This very morning I was thinking about portmanteau and told myself I couldn't remember exactly which thing it was,so I was going to look it up when I got back home. As often happens by the time I got back home I had forgotten about all that and went on with my day,and in the way things have a weird way of intertwining I happened across several portmanteaus I had never heard before,but before I get to them I want to give you the first definition of the word.
Portmanteau-An oblong leather suitcase,hinged at the back and having two compartments.
Portmanteau word-A word blended from two distinct words,as chortle,for chuckle and snort.
First of all,I don't think I knew chortle as being a portmanteau so shows you what I know. Brunch is an obvious one,but have you ever heard of blunch? An English magazine in 1896 warned that the combination meal is nearer breakfast in brunch and when nearer luncheon is blunch. How about Crilk? A mixture or cream and milk. Insinuendo,half insinuation,half innuendo. Alcoholiday,leisure time spent nursing a drink. Bungaloafer,one who loafs in his bungalow.
This word doesn't fit with the rest but is one I had never read before and would like to share.Thalian-comic.

A Little on the Dark Side

For the last couple of days I have been wondering about when a person dies,some people literally fall down dead,some die in their sleep. What I am curious about is there any knowledge of this when it is happening? For some reason I keep thinking about when the power goes out and how sometimes it will flicker a bit before it goes,or sometimes even kind of a brown out,and still other times it just goes out with a bang. Is it like any one of those? Or none of those? I guess there is no real way to know but it doesn't stop me from wondering. If any of you have any connection with the deceased asked them about this and get back to me!
For those of you that may be wondering it is 38 degrees here today and the bank doors are wide open,so my mission here is not complete. If I had known that being the energy police was going to become full time work,I wouldn't have taken the job!

Wog or Pog

Another little something I came across that I don't recall hearing before and as it turns out there is a reason.
In the US "wog" is simply short for Pollywog,the term used by sailors for those who have yet to cross the equator.
In UK it is a racially offensive slang word referring to a dark-skinned or olive skinned person from Africa or Asia,but in particular to Afro-Caribbeans and immigrants for the Middle-East and Mediterranean.
In older Australian English wog was used to refer to an illness such as the flu or malaria. More recently the term applied to post WWII migrants from the Mediterranean,North Africa,and Southeast Europe. Just a little something that is hopefully new for you to enhance your day!
I have been wondering about something,and if anyone has any ideas please let me know. I have mentioned in the past that people from all over the world read my blog,but out of all the places in the world that do read it there are NO readers in Canada. Just seems a bit odd so I thought I would put it out there. Again,I thank you for your continued interest.

Mouton

Today is about the above word which I came across in a book I am reading and though I understood from the context that it was a style of coat, being me I had to look it up to be satisfied. It is a fur type of collar where the fur is on the outside so that if you pulled the collar up the fur would then be against your neck. A lot of you may already know this,but as I have mentioned in the past, fashion is not even my forte. My only fashion sense is having the sense to put clothes on before leaving the house! As for making a fashion statement I am afraid you would be looking at a blank page. I do love my tie-dye T-shirts though,they just plain make me feel happy.

Melancholy

I woke up this morning thinking about the Cher song Gypsies,Tramps and Thieves which is nothing to be to reflective or sad about but most every time I think of that song I have always thought of my friend that died recently. She would make me cry laughing when she told me how her 3 daughters sang the song. I think the oldest was maybe just barely a teenager by then,though I couldn't say for sure as I am bad about placing dates. Their version of the song was Thieves,Thieves,Chimpanzees and if that isn't enough to make you laugh the line that said,"But every night all the men would come around,and lay their money down." They would sing,"But every night all the men would come around and lay the monkey down". All right,now I made myself laugh so with any luck I will pull out of this funk now.

Happy Horseshit

First of all I would like to point out that horseshit is all one word,I didn't know that until I looked up the phrase Happy Horseshit. Talk about a multiple use idiom this one qualifies in spades.
1. A quaint term used by the elder generation to denote frivolous activity.
2. A phrase used to describe news releases,speeches,and other official language used by public relations people to put the best possible,if often unrealistic spin,on a particular subject.
3. Sentimental nonsense. Official double talk.
4. Phrase used to describe fluffy Pollyanna type things that have no value other than to make people feel good.
These four cover the phrase for the most part and adding more would like be beating a dead horse!!

Follow up on Rocket Surgery

Just when I thought I had made a dent in the open door dilemma it became apparent that the ordeal was not over. On a trip to the library earlier in the day one set of the doors was open,so as I was getting the books checked out I asked what the deal was with the doors being open,and from her reaction someone else must be on the same crusade because after hurriedly finishing up with me she went directly to the offending door and closed it,she had said that someone must have opened it too far when they came or went,which could have been the case since they were closed when I came in,still being an Arctic entry it wouldn't have mattered much if the second set of doors had been closed.
I made the call on the bank doors to the national phone number on Tuesday and the doors were closed until today and they were open again,so I put in yet another call. I am almost tempted to go back out to check and see if they are closed again,but that would be a waste of both time and fuel just to satisfy my curiosity. My guess on the bank doors being open again is that being a Friday the branch manager was probably off so the employees thought they could get by with doing what they wanted, little did they know how tenacious I can be once I sink my teeth into something.

Why is that?

Maybe it is just me but it seems like every time I find a product I really like a few years later it disappears into oblivion. The latest thing is my favorite brand of socks and though I can't recall the brand name,I would know it if I came across it. I spent 2 days in search of the socks,both online and in a local shoe store that once sold them and they have vanished without a trace. It wouldn't be so bad if there was some way to know ahead of time that they were going to quit making something,then at least you could buy some before they were gone or find out if they had changed the name but I don't see that happening as there really isn't a logical way to go about it. It seems to me that the things they quit making are cancelled because they work too good so they don't need replacing as much,or in the case of other products that you replace on a regular basis they want to sell you something inferior because they make more money from it. So is it about greed? Or have I slipped a cog and am getting even more paranoid?

Dedicated to

Today's blog is dedicated to my friend Sandy who unwittingly supplied me with necessary fodder a couple of days ago. The idea has now had time to fester and be picked,as you will see with the following.
Another idiom I have always found odd is "sleeping like a baby". Does anyone really think that would be a good thing? In their early months babies sleep is full of interruptions and their sleep cycles are shorter than those of adults. Never mind the wetting yourself and waking up hungry,which is all part of sleeping like a baby.
If I were given a choice I would choose to sleep like a bear,go to sleep when it gets cold,your system slows down so there is no need to eat or relieve yourself. I am not sure but I am thinking that you also wouldn't age as fast in that state of hibernation. Sounds like a really good rest to me!

More on Rocket Surgery

I finally got around to following up on the two places with the open doors in cold weather. Before I go on with the story I don't think I mentioned in the first blog  that both places have Arctic entries so at some point in time someone cared about not wasting heat resources. The first place is a bank branch of a national chain that I happen to have my accounts at,so that doubled my concern as I could see where it could cut directly into my profit rates. I called on the phone and asked why they had their doors open in the winter,I knew from the answer that I was not going to be satisfied by the call. She said it gets too hot behind the teller line,I queried "do you have the heat on when the doors are open?" And she said yes without a thought,so rather than go any further wasting my breath with someone that was obviously clueless (though scary to think of people such as her handling my money) I said,okay and hung up. What good would it have possibly done to explain to her that having the doors open and the heat on would not make it cooler,and the only thing really to be accomplished was wasting fuel. I then called the toll free number and filed a complaint. Today the doors were closed!! The second place with the bizarre open door policy was the public library which I walked by today to check and the doors were closed,so I have done my part to stop global warming. No need to thank me,all part of the service.

Easy as Pie?

I have no idea what turned my thoughts to idioms but maybe it will become apparent as I go on about it. Many of these phrases make sense but I would say that an equal amount of them don't. My example  "easy as pie" is supposed to mean simple,but anyone who has ever made pies knows that they aren't that easy to make.
From what I found out about this particular phrase is the easy part is in the eating of the pie,which makes me wonder why not just say "as easy as eating pie"?
Mark Twain frequently used the just word pie to mean something pleasant,which is along the same way I was thinking with adding the word eating to the phrase. So with those thoughts for you...Isn't that just pie?

It's a Dogs Life

I often think of this saying and that sets me off on thinking how good domestic animals have it when they have good homes. They get regular meals and all their needs are met,no need to have to hunt and compete for their food. The flip side of that thought is that not all homes are good,some aren't that concerned with the feeding and proper care of the animals in their charge,and then their lives can become pure hell. Not only may they live in semi-starved conditions but sometimes in filth as well,and never mind the ones without the benefit of neutering who are left to reproduce at will and chances for the off spring of these animals are usually not much better than their parents as the people don't realize that they are bad homes so they don't care where the puppies or kittens end up as long as they are gone,in some cases I would almost agree that it would be more humane for them to be destroyed than live that kind of life cycle. It is truly a shame as animals are some of the best people I have ever known!

Non Event

The clouds came in overnight and blocked the eclipse from view here,I was so bummed as I had really looked forward to seeing it,in the past it seems like when ever I was able time wise to view an eclipse it was in the wrong part of the world and this time I thought it was going to happen for me. The sky was clear last night and the moon was bright so I went to bed hopeful. I spent considerable time poking around the web to see if anything had been posted and so far have come up empty,but maybe I am jumping the gun and some footage will show up on it at a later date. If any of you got pictures or footage I would love to see it,of course to share that you would have to become a follower so you could comment and tell me where to look to see it. Your efforts would be vastly appreciated.

Eclipse Alert

Saturday 12/10 in the early morning hours there will be a total eclipse of the moon,known also as Full Long Night Moon,or Full Cold Night Moon by the Native Americans who named the full moons for all the months. This will be the second lunar eclipse this year,the first was on June 15. It will be visible from all of Asia and Australia,seen as rising over Eastern Europe and setting over the northwest of North America. In Pacific Standard Time totality begins at 6:06 a.m. and ends at 6:57a.m. If the sky is clear like it was this morning I should be able to see it,but the moon was only out briefly after 6 this morning before either clouds or fog obscured it. Don't be to upset if you miss it as there are several sites offering web cast of the event.

I'm Not a Rocket Surgeon but...

I went to two separate places this week on the same day,40 degrees outside and both places had their doors wide open. Stop me if I am wrong here,but isn't everyone supposed to be conserving energy and resources? Or is that just us private parties that are suppose to cut down our usage...so businesses can heat the outside?? Furthermore,why would you want to have your doors open when it is 40 degrees? Someone suggested they might have wanted fresh air,okay fine you want fresh air GO OUTSIDE!
The second thing I am stewing about today is I put in a call to the city planning office yesterday because there have been people working at the dead end of my street,cutting down trees,clearing brush and digging. You might think this should be no concern of mine and it wouldn't be if this weren't a slide area and it isn't a good time of year with the ground freezing and thawing to be digging in it,and you don't want to get rid of any trees growing on hills like this in a slide area as their roots play an important part in holding the hillside in place. In 2007 three blocks below where this activity is currently taking place there was a landslide that caused enough damage to warrant federal funding to patch it up and now they think they can tempt Mother Nature and gravity again? Did I mention they still haven't returned my call? You can't talk to real people when you call you have to leave a message...maybe instead of paying my taxes next year I will call and leave them another message stating that I won't be paying my taxes again until they return my call,nah those kind of things never work out well for me.

Pangaea

This is a subject that I have wanted to feature for a long time,but there is so much information,both pro and con that I wasn't sure how to approach it without it being to long,since what I like to do is just give enough information to whet your appetite,then if it interests you you can dig deeper on your own. So here it goes.
Pangaea (there are even several spellings) was a single land mass made up of all present continents,it is believed to have existed 300-200 million years ago. I am not clear if this theory has ever been proven for sure one way or another. Some fact in support of it are similar fossils are found on different continents shores suggesting they were at one time joined. Then there is the way when looking at a map of the world if you mentally make it into a jig-saw puzzle the continents seem to have been part of a whole at one time.
The only part of this theory I don't find fascinating is that it makes the existence of Atlantis seem less likely,which is another tale I am fond of.

U.S. Territories

Talk about your ignorant Americans,I found myself being an apt description of just that today. I knew Puerto Rico was a U.S. territory and where it was located but like many U.S. Americans I assumed Guam was also located somewhere in the Caribbean,beep I lose! In actuality it is in the South Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the Philippines an somewhat north of Australia.It is a small version of modern America with duty-free shops,boutiques and of course fast food. In case I am not the only one that didn't know all the U.S. Territories here is a list:Midway Island,American Samoa,Virgin Islands and Northern Mariana Islands.
You will note that at least I am not so ignorant as to say just plain Americans as opposed to U.S. Americans, as South Americans and Canadians are also Americans as are Central Americans.

Father's Day

I know,not until the third Sunday in June, but I read something interesting about it this morning and will surely forget it by the time the warmth of June graces us. What I read was that Father's Day was started in Spokane,WA. and I thought how is it possible that I didn't know this holiday was started in the Pacific Northwest? I guess for the most part it is fact,in 1910 Sonora Dodd asked the Spokane Ministerial Alliance for a day honoring her dad who single handedly raised his six children after his wife died in childbirth. The first one celebrated was on June 19,1910 the Sunday closest to her dads birthday. However according to Wikipedia the first Father's Day took place in Fairmont,W.Virginia on July 15,1908 it was organized by Grace Golden Clayton who wanted to honor the lives of the 210 fathers who had been lost in a mining disaster several months earlier. It is interesting that this date was also decided by the Sunday closest to her dads birthday.
In 1966 President Lyndon B. Johnson officially proclaimed it a national holiday and it was decreed by law in 1972.

Absent that Day?

Quite by accident I learned a couple of days ago that Gitchi Gummi was the American Indian name for Lake Superior. Is this something that was taught in school and I missed? All I remember about Gitchi Gummi is it being mentioned in "Song of Hiawatha". In addition to this revelation I found out that Gitchi meant big and Gummi meant water,which makes sense in the "Song of Hiawatha" as it is mentioned as the shining big sea water.
The song by Gordon Lightfoot,The Sinking of the Edmond Fitzgerald describes the lake. "The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down of the big lake they called Gitche Gumee". The lake it is said,never gives up her dead when the skies of November turn gloomy. With a load of iron ore twenty- six thousand tons more than the Edmond Fitzgerald weighed empty that good ship on true was a bone to be chewed when the "Gales of November" come early. You will also note that the spelling differs from the song and the Indian name,and I found no reason for this so it leaves me with yet another unanswered question.

Another Relativity

The time space continuum has experienced yet another little hiccup. I watched the Beatles movie "A Hard Days Night" today and it transferred me back many years and I remembered watching them on the Ed Sullivan Show,I even recalled what chair I was sitting in. They were such big news at that time,and now we are left with only two of the Fab Four. I know I had seen the movie before at some point but it was really a blast from the past today,or maybe I am just in a nostalgic mood. I did find out a couple of things that I don't think I knew before,one was that George met his future wife,Pattie Boyd while filming,she was one of the school girls her line was "Prisoners!!!" Also I learned that Ringo had a tremendous hangover when filming the part where he decides to runaway,or as the Grandfather put it,go on parade.
Time is no longer uniform and absolute.

Hoodies

I have been watching the younger drivers for some time wondering why they were wearing the hoods on their hoodies up while they were driving. It is an obvious impairment to peripheral vision,and though they think their reflexes can save them from any jam they get in,nothing trumps experience when it comes to driving. Why would you need the hood up once you are in a car? It isn't like you are out in the weather,and let's face it is  akin to horses wearing blinders to prevent them from seeing things to the side and spooking,again why would you want to inhibit your senses when it could mean your life? Yesterday I witnessed a near accident because,are you ready? A young male drive wearing a hoodie,if not for the other driver he would have been creamed. Come on people use a little sense here, is your fashion statement or whatever it is you are trying to say worth risking your life or the life of others? As far as I can see it really isn't that great of a look anyway,unless of course you are trying to hide how you look,and if that is the case grow up!

Why Camouflage?

As a child I was told animals were colorblind,though I chose not to believe that. Why would animals coloring use camouflage to protect them from their predators if that were the case? I decided it was time to find out if I had been right. I don't know how recently these finding have become common knowledge but I thought if I hadn't heard about maybe there were others that hadn't either.
The general answer is most animals see color to some extent. A general rule is diurnal animals see color while nocturnal animals don't,but as with most rules there are exceptions. The presence of cones in the eye determines whether colors can be seen,with lack of cones the eye usually have a greater number of rods allowing for keener night vision. One exception to the nocturnal rule is the owl as they have cones.Dogs and cats have 2 sets of cones,making them colorblind to specific colors,though they have more rods giving them greater night vision. The colors they see with most ease are blue and yellow.
In contrast humans have three sets of cones for detecting color in three different wavelengths,though each cone detects a wide spectrum that overlaps to create other hues. Colorblindness comes from a fault in both sets of retinal cones,it is more common in males because it is linked to the X chromosome and the genes are carried on the X chromosome of which males only have one. 12-20% of the white male population is colorblind.