Archive for category: Friday Afternoon

As we get closer to the holidays, and the fun gift giving, (I love giving gifts, and don’t mind receiving as well!!), I’m always on the prowl for new family games. (If you have any suggestions, please email me @ skowalski@khtheat.com). Hitting the “game” aisle, it’s not uncommon to see so many of the classics – Stratego, Clue, Chutes and Ladders, Uno, Trouble, and of course, Monopoly. For me, Monopoly never gets old – it’s easy to play, fun to strategize a plan, and usually winds up with one person winning most of the money. The grandkids are coming of age to play, and I can’t wait to take their $$-  (HA!) After a 10-year hiatus, McDonald’s just brought back their fast-food Monopoly game – of course, with new twists, online registration, instant wins, posts, scans, Facebook chatter, and more. I’ve always associated Monopoly with The Parker Brothers, who went on to really dominate games – they actually offer over 1800 different games. Doing research, I found out the real originator of the Monopoly game was Elizabeth “Lizzie” Magie, who designed her original board game as a critique, not a tribute, to capitalism. Quite a character, she held some contemporary views in her time, but her gaming story is lost a bit to history.  I went digging a bit and found the story behind the game. Enjoy!

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There are so many things that we take for granted that just seem to go nicely together – coffee and cream, peanut butter and jelly, bacon and eggs, chips and dips, cheese and crackers, and of course, salt and pepper. Watching Jackie cook in the kitchen, I noticed how she measured some ingredients, but also added a “dash” of salt and pepper to the recipe. It got me wondering where the use of S&P came from. Being a salt-bath champion at KHT, I’ve come to know just how amazing salt baths are for our most trusted and critical products. The use of molten salt as a heating and quenching medium for steels, developed in England at the turn of the 20th century, is awesome. Now I could go on for hours – even days –  telling you all of the ways that salt bath heat treating is incredible – wonderful!  Just give me a call.  If you’d like to know more about salt baths and heat treating, we are here to help. Ironically, one of the main chemical components in salt bath heat treating is Sodium Chloride (Common table salt!) Here’s some history about salt and pepper. Enjoy!

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Here at KHT, we love our motto (thanks, Dad!).  It’s a call, and a promise, to all of our customers, to send us those pesky (I really like the word pesky!!) thermal processing jobs that keep you up at night, so we can “do our thing” providing amazing solutions, production, and delivery. Driving this summer, I noticed some of the state flags and mottos. (Make time to watch the TED Talk below about flag design featuring Roman Mars of 99% Invisible podcast – it’s awesome, and the ending will have you howling!). Here in Ohio, our motto – “With God, All Things Are Possible”– reflects a faith-centric vision of perseverance and hope that resonates deeply with many Ohioans. But we’re not alone, and that nearly half of U.S. state mottos are in Latin, chosen by early leaders to give their words a sense of permanence and prestige. From Kansas’ bold “Ad Astra per Aspera” (“To the Stars Through Difficulties”) to Missouri’s “Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto” (“The Welfare of the People Shall Be the Supreme Law”), these phrases carry so much history and meaning. Others, like Florida’s “In God We Trust” and South Dakota’s “Under God, the People Rule,” share Ohio’s faith-based tone, while mottos like New Hampshire’s “Live Free or Die” and California’s triumphant “Eureka!” are simply great. Together, they are a fascinating portrait of America’s values, dreams, and identity, and paint a fascinating portrait of our country. I hope you find some of these as interesting and uplifting as I did (honestly, some I think are clunkers), but nonetheless, thought provoking (in full openness – I don’t like Chicago’s flag!)  I tried to sort them by theme and included the Latin (sometimes it sounds better than the translation) and English (and four “other” languages), and starred some of my favorites. Enjoy!

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If you’ve had the pleasure of raising kids and watching them grow up to exceed your expectations, then this story is for you. Now that our own girls have grown and found their “niche” in work, life, and the community, we’ve come to appreciate that “proud parent” feeling even more. (It even carries over into our “proud grandparent” moments as well!). On Monday, we’ll once again observe Columbus Day reflecting on the historic accomplishments of Cristoforo Colombo (he was Italian by birth, though the Spanish knew him as Cristóbal Colón). I decided to dig a little deeper into the life of “old Chris,” share a bit about his roots, and how a young man from a really modest background became one of the most famous explorers in history. With no GPS, no modern maps, and a crew full of doubts, Columbus dared to cross an uncharted ocean and opened the door to an entirely new world. Columbus Day reminds us to dream big, to explore, and to persist, even when the odds are stacked against us. Behind the well-known story is a fascinating man, some proud parents, and an incredible journey worth rediscovering. Thanks to Google and Wikipedia for the historical details. Enjoy!

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It’s fun to look back at how ideas become inventions, patents mark time, and innovations spread into our culture and daily routines. At a recent shopping visit with Jackie, I watched the cashier “fly” through our grocery selections, happily chatting away as she was listening for the beeps of the barcode reader. It got me thinking about the teams of individuals that thought up the idea, tested it, built equipment, tested it again, and then brought it to market. I was intrigued and decided to go digging for more info and history. I was surprised to find out the barcode’s origins go back to drawing in the sand (something I love to do with the grandkids at the beach – sandcastles and burying grandpa are part of our fun too!). Here’s some fascinating info on barcodes, and a bit about their discovery and evolution over time. Enjoy.

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