Archive for category: Friday Afternoon

As we slide in October, I had a bit of nostalgia from a business trip I took years ago, (of course there to help solve my customer’s PIA (Pain in the @%$) Jobs!, which ALMOST included a visit to the world’s largest folk festival known as Oktoberfest, but just couldn’t sneak it in! Part county fair, part food festival, part beer festival, Oktoberfest attracts 6-7 million visitors from over 100 countries, featuring 14 enormous beer tents, 20 smaller food and vendor tents, and hundreds of carnival rides, parades and music performances over 2-3 weeklong celebration. If you’ve never attended, I suggest you put it on your bucket (“beer bucket”) list – it’s simply a blast.  Here’s a bit of history and a bunch of fun facts I think you’ll enjoy.

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Social media. Wow, what a battleground. Seems whenever someone posts a thought or idea or perspective, people pounce – some in support, some in disagreement, and some offering a different perspective on the matter. Like you, I’ll admit sometimes I get caught up in the debate, then realize that everyone is entitled to their opinion… because it is just that, THEIR opinion! With the country celebrating the founding of our nation this past summer, it got me thinking about the debates and construction of the Constitution, and eventually the Bill of Rights, which was first proposed on this day way back in 1789. Many naturally assume the Bill of Rights “came” with it. It didn’t. I always thought that the Constitution and Bill of Rights sort of went together, but when delegates signed the Constitution in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787, there was no Bill of Rights attached (historians say that omission nearly doomed the new Constitution before it ever took effect). What’s cool is that one of America’s most treasured documents exists in its original form today because so many citizens, commoners, and elected officials objected to the Constitution as it was originally written. And many of the comments about the Bill were expressed in secret articles strategically in the newspapers (a trick still used today) along with debates in taverns and conference halls. Here’s some fun history to ponder regarding the formation of the original ideas, the debates, and the final outcome (I wonder what would happen with today’s media, international secret “bots,” politicians and political parties all chiming in … Ouch!!) Enjoy! (And remember, enjoying this is not up for debate!!)

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Slang is a way of expressing oneself using words that have a different meaning than the actual words. Cool Beans, Cat’s Pajamas, Puttin on the Dog, Chill, Talk to the Hand, Keep Your Shirt On, and so many others, some of which you’ve probably used or heard in the past. For us baby boomers, many of our sayings have come to pass, such as: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it; burning the midnight oil; Penny wise and pound foolish., and mind your P’s and Q’s – (one of Mom’s favorites!). For the younger generations today, some favorites are RIzzy, Crashout, Delulu, Brain Rot, and one of my favorites – Adulting!– long gone are “Whatever”, Rad, and Gag Me With A Spoon. And for my “industrial buds”, some of these made it to the shop floor or work yard: Close Enough For Government Work., Measure Twice, Cut Once., Built Like A Brick Out House (PG version)., It’ll Run Till The Wheels Fall Off., And If It Doesn’t Fit, Get A Bigger Hammer.  I came across a text from the 19th century titled The American Slang Dictionary, published in 1891, and got completely caught up in reading it and the origins of the saying (here’s the link: The American Slang Dictionary. Life back then was characterized by its rapid industrialization and vast westward expansion. Many words had dual meanings, such as when they were used to name a drink (e.g., Back of the Hand). But for all the trends that have been left behind, it’s fun to revisit how Americans communicated back then. Special thanks to wordsmartts.com. Here are a few of my unusual favorites. Enjoy!

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As we’re winding down in August, I was thinking about all of the wonderful fruits and vegetables available for eating. Trying to broaden my palate, somewhat tired of the “dogs and burgers” selection (only somewhat!!!) So, I thought I’d roam a bit and see what’s out there. Sweet corn is of course on my list, but also, plump tomatoes, juicy peaches, robust squash, and fresh herbs. Jackie loves to gather up the different fresh veggies and fruits, throw them in a salad, or I’ll roast the veggies on the grill as a side dish. I love to grill water-soaked corn in the husk and smother it in butter with a dash of salt and a little dill. I looked around the internet to see if I could find any new and fun recipes and hit a great site that seemed to match the season – Half Baked Harvest, authored by Tieghan Gerard. Be sure to dive in and find a few to try – some of my favorites include Tomato, Peach and Burrata Salad, Mexican Street Corn Dip – with a cornucopia of chips or crackers! And Sheet Pan Tomato Herb Pizza

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A second. Seems harmless enough. Just a little time to get things right. Blink of an eye. Snap of a finger. Seconds seem precious some of the time (we still measure our best athletes in seconds, breaking records past generations thought were impossible). We measure our work sometimes in second/minutes/hours – always trying to shave a little time off to increase efficiency and performance. So, saying to the grandkids, “Sure, just give me a few seconds; today is an eternity.) The other day I was reading an article about FLOPS – A “flop” (or FLOPS) isn’t a physical size but a measure of computer speed. FLOPS stands for Floating Point Operations Per Second, indicating how many complex decimal calculations a computer processor can do in one second. And it blew my mind.  I remember when a “flop” was when a Broadway show or product or service or movie that just fell flat – (history is full of them, like clear Pepsi, Cheetos Lip Balm, Solyndra, DeLorean cars, early Google Glass, Carrie, the musical, CATS the movie (along with CATS the musical (Not a flop, just awful!), Harley Davidson cologne, and most of McDonald’s efforts in new products … (what actually is in a McRib – although very weird, still weirdly good??). Nowadays, FLOPS are super cool, and super-fast. I mean incomprehensibly fast!! I did some digging and learned a whole bunch of cool things about how computational power is just going nuts (Remember, I am a child of AOL CD’s and dial phone up log in’s – for my older readers, we can still remember the sounds: “beep, buzz, zing, aaarrrrr, zap” and then the connection) … so stepping into this arena is quite a rush. 

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