Look up!

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The Chinese balloon shoot down last week got me to thinkin’…

As the news continues to come in about the recent airborne discovery, I must say I was quite surprised to hear about the “spy” balloon left drifting across the US. Seems like we hear more and more as the investigation goes forward. Now, I’m sure our armed forces were on top of things, but it did pique my curiosity and cause me to think about such an old technology in today’s high tech satellite systems.  Who’s behind this? What are they trying to learn? What about other balloons being allowed to randomly float around the globe?  And more. It also got me to think about old fashioned ballooning, so I went online and dug out some cool facts. I enjoyed learning more about balloons since I will never, ever, ever go up in one! Special thanks to www.nationalballoonmuseum.com and Wikipedia for the info, and YouTube for the video.  Enjoy!

A great balloon song: LISTEN

Learn to make your own HERE

  • On November 21, 1783 the first free flight carrying a human occurred in Paris, France in a hot air balloon made of paper and silk made by the Montgolfier brothers. The balloon carried two men, Francois Pilatrê de Rozier and Francois Laurent, Marquis of Arlanders. the balloon’s skirt.  The balloon reached an altitude of at least 500 feet and traveled about 5½ miles before landing safely 25 minutes later. Legend says when they landed in the farming and vineyard area near Paris the pilots gave bottles of champagne to the startled farmers and peasants to calm their fears of demons appearing from the heavens, but that cannot be confirmed.
  • On December 1, 1783, just ten days after the first hot air balloon ride, the first gas balloon was launched by physicist Jacques Alexander Charles and Nicholas Louis Robert.  This flight too started in Paris, France and lasted 2½ hours covering a distance of 25 miles.  The gas used in the balloon was hydrogen, a lighter than air gas that had been developed by an Englishman, Henry Cavendish in 1776, by using a combination of sulphuric acid and iron filings.
  • Balloons were one of the first mechanisms used in air warfare. Their role was originally mainly for reconnaissance purposes.
  • Gas balloons soon became the preferred mode of air travel. . They continued to be the primary mode of air travel until the invention of the fixed wing aircraft  by the Wright brothers in America in 1903.
  • In the early days of ballooning, crossing the English Channel was considered the first step to long distance flying.  In 1785 Pilatre de Rozier, one of the men from the first balloon flight, and a man named Romain attempted to cross the channel in a balloon using an experimental system of hydrogen and hot air compartments. Unfortunately, this volatile mixture of highly flammable hydrogen with fire caused the balloon to explode thirty minutes after liftoff and both men were killed. The first successful crossing of the English Channel was later accomplished the same year by French balloonist Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries using a gas balloon.
  • Airships, often called blimps, began to be built in the early 1900’s.  They were inflated by hydrogen gas to keep them aloft.  Airships are cigar shaped balloons, some of which have a rigid frame to maintain their shape.  They had engines with propellers as well as flaps to control the direction and speed of flight.
  • The Van Zeppelin was the first large airship built.  It was 420 feet long and could travel 600 miles in 2 days. One of the first such ships in the U.S. was built in 1904.  These large ships became the first commercial airliners. Many were made for military uses but others had luxurious cabins for seating passengers.  By 1936 airships had become more common.  The most famous airship was the Hindenburg built in Germany in 1936.  It was 803 feet long and 135 feet wide and contained 7 million cubic feet of gas.
  • On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg caught fire and burned in less than one minute while attempting to dock in Lakehurst, New Jersey. Of the 97 persons on board 35 were killed. Such ships had exemplary safety records until the spectacular demise of this famous ship.  (hear famous live radio announcer Herb Morrison struggle to share what he was seeing via radio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ad9tholMEM . After the crash, the use of such airships began to wane.
  • In 1960 Paul E. (Ed) Yost and 3 others formed Raven Industries in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and developed the modern hot air balloon and the propane gas burner which made sustained flight possible.  On October 22, 1960 Yost piloted the maiden flight of the new balloon on a flight lasting 25 minutes and traveling 3 miles.  The balloon was 40 feet in diameter with a volume of 30,000 cubic feet. This made modern sport hot air ballooning possible.
  • By 1963 Sport ballooning had grown enough so that the first U. S. National Hot Air Balloon Championship event was held in Kalamazoo, In 1964 the Nationals were held in Nevada where it remained for 3 years.  In 1970 the preliminaries for the Nationals were held in Indianola, Iowa with the final event at the State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa.  The National championships remained in Indianola for 18 years.
  • Beginning in 1989 the Nationals moved around to various parts of the country.  That same year the National Balloon Classic was born to take its place in Indianola.
  • Balloons using a combination of helium and hot air are now used for many long-distance flights such as the around the world flight of Steve Fossett in his balloon, “Bud Light Spirit of Freedom” on June 19, 2002.  This balloon was a hybrid hot air and gas balloon with two separate Helium gas cells and one hot air cell.  Inflated, the balloon stood 180 feet tall with a diameter of 108 feet.  Fossett launched from Northam, Western Australia in a seventh and successful attempt to be the first person to circumnavigate the globe solo in a balloon.  Fourteen days, 19 hours and 51 minutes later he landed in the eastern Australian Outback.
  • Gas balloons, such as NASA’s Ultra-Long Duration Balloon provide greatly enhanced scientific research.  Such balloons are used like satellites to study deep space and the Earth, but at a fraction of the cost of a satellite.  NASA balloons are made of a thin polyethylene material about the same thickness as an ordinary sandwich wrap.  In size they range up to 40 million cubic feet in volume and 600 feet in diameter and taller than a 60-story building.  When the experiment is complete, a radio command is sent from a ground station to separate the scientific payload from the balloon and a parachute opens and it floats back to the ground.  The balloon envelope collapses and falls to the Earth.

Another cool video:
B-Line to Space: The Scientific Balloon Story (20 min)

 

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DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))  
Have fun!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Record Breakers

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The King at the top where he belongs, Elvis in 1956! Harry Belafonte next. A wall of gold records. Queen’s signed gold plaque. Glenn Miller and his band. And look there! A very young Johnny Cash admiring Kowalski Heat Treating’s very first gold record for PIA (Pain In The @%$) Jobs!!!!!!! That’s his manager, Sam Philips, standing and mugging the camera.  :))))))))

With the Super Bowl this weekend, many of us with be cheering on either the Chiefs or Eagles along with our favorite players while consuming way too many pre-game snacks, like Aunt Edna’s three bean touchdown cheesy chip dip.  Unlike most fans, those of us in Cleveland won’t be  pondering why “our” team didn’t make it again while watching future hall of famers showcase their talent. Some will also debate the GOATs (greatest of all time) while watching the game.  Old timers will fight for their era quarterbacks, linebackers, and receivers, while the younger set will stare aimlessly trying to figure out who they are talking about (Johnny U, Leroy Kelly, Bart Star, Jerry Rice to name just a few). While it’s fun to debate the gridiron elites, another “greatest” milestone took place on this day back in 1942, when the first gold record was presented to Glenn Miller and His Orchestra (hey grandpa, what team did he play for…and what’s an orchestra?). In the early days, selecting a “gold” song required counting the total sales of the song in its prime. So, for my audiophiles out there, here’s a little history on the rankings and awards along with some links to just some of the GOATs. Thanks to Wikipedia and YouTube and all the artists for these hits.  Enjoy!

Some background music while you read

  • Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory.
  • The original gold and silver record awards were presented to artists by their own record companies to publicize their sales achievements. (interesting marketing trick).
  • The first gold disc was awarded by RCA Victor (under division imprint Bluebird Records) to Glenn Miller and His Orchestra in February 1942, celebrating the sale of 1.2 million copies of the single, “Chattanooga Choo Choo“. (great video!!!)
  • Other examples of a company award is the gold record awarded to Elvis Presley in 1956 for one million units sold of his single “Don’t Be Cruel”.
  • The first gold record for an LP was awarded by RCA Victor to Harry Belafonte in 1957 for the album Calypso (1956), the first album to sell over 1,000,000 copies in RCA’s reckoning.
  • The first silver disc was awarded by Regal Zonophone to George Formby in December 1937 for sales of 100,000 copies of “The Window Cleaner”.
  • At the industry level, in 1958 the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) introduced its gold record award program for records of any kind, albums or singles, which achieved one million dollars in retail sales. These sales were restricted to U.S.-based record companies and did not include exports to other countries.
  • (RIAA) was established for singles in 1958, and the RIAA also trademarked the term “gold record” in the United States. On 14 March 1958, the RIAA certified its first gold record, Perry Como’s hit single “Catch a Falling Star”. The Oklahoma! soundtrack was certified as the first gold album four months later.
  • For albums in 1968, this would mean shipping approximately 250,000 units; for singles the number would be higher due to their lower retail price.
  • The platinum certification was introduced in 1976 for the sale of one million units for albums and two million for singles, with the gold certification redefined to mean sales of 500,000 units for albums and one million for singles. The first was awarded to the Eagles compilation album Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) on 24 February 1976, and to Johnnie Taylor’s single “Disco Lady” on 22 April 1976.
  • In 1999, the diamond certification was introduced for sales of ten million units. In the late 1980s, the certification thresholds for singles were dropped to match that of albums.
  • In most countries, certifications no longer apply solely to physical media but now also include sales awards recognizing digital downloads (in the US and UK since 2004).
  • In June 2006, the RIAA also certified the ringtone downloads of songs. Streaming from on-demand services such as Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and Napster has been included into existing digital certification in the US since 2013, and the UK and Germany since 2014.
  • In the US and Germany, video streaming services like YouTube, VEVO, and Yahoo! Music also began to be counted towards the certification, in both cases using the formula of 100 streams being equivalent to one download. Other countries, such as Denmark and Spain, maintain separate awards for digital download singles and streaming.
  • The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) was founded in 1996, and grants the IFPI Platinum Europe Award for album sales over one million within Europe and (as of October 2009) the Middle East. Multi-platinum Europe Awards are presented for sales in subsequent multiples of one million. Eligibility is unaffected by time (from date of release) and is not restricted to European-based artists.
  • The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA) was founded in April 2000 to grow the independent music sector and promote independent music in the interests of artistic, entrepreneurial and cultural diversity. IMPALA launched sales awards in 2005 as the first sales awards recognizing that success on a pan-European basis begins well before sales reach one million. The award levels are Silver (20,000+), Double Silver (40,000+), Gold (75,000+), Double Gold (150,000+), Diamond (200,000+), Platinum (400,000+) and Double Platinum (800,000+).
  • The plaques themselves contain various items under the glass. Modern awards often use CDs instead of records. Most gold and platinum records are actually vinyl records which have been vacuum metallized and tinted, while trimmed and plated metal “masters”, “mothers”, or “stampers” (metal parts used for pressing records out of vinyl) were initially used. The music in the grooves on the record may not match the actual recording being awarded. 
  • Individual plaque-makers produced their awards according to available materials and techniques employed by their graphic arts departments. The plaques, depending on size and elaborateness of design, cost anywhere between US$135 and $275, most often ordered and purchased by the record label that issued the original recording.
  • Elvis is the record holder of the most gold records.  (dad – who’s Elvis?)
  • Fastest song to go gold – just under two weeks – K.O released his latest single“Sete” featuring Blxckie and Young Stunna, The lead single from the veteran rapper’s upcoming fourth album “SR3” (Skhanda Republic 3), has achieved gold certification status (over 1.2 million streams) in record time.
  • Like many awards and recognitions these days, the industry has sort of outgrown the honor and prestige of hitting a milestone such as gold. But that’s ok – we’ll let it go by the wayside of buying and playing our vinyl records.  Check out Billboards “GOAT”.

15 Million (or more) Hard Copies Sold

1942    Bing Crosby — “White Christmas”

1997    Elton John — “Something About the Way You Look Tonight”/”Candle in the Wind

1946    Tino Rossi —  “Petit Papa Noël”

1970    Mungo Jerry — “In the Summertime”

1954    Bill Haley & His Comets —  “Rock Around the Clock”

1992    Whitney Houston —  “I Will Always Love You”

1960    Elvis Presley —  “It’s Now or Never”

1985    USA for Africa —  “We Are the World”

1939     The Ink Spots — “If I Didn’t Care”

1977    Baccara —  “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie”

1997    Celine Dion — “My Heart Will Go On”

1994    Mariah Carey — “All I Want for Christmas Is You”

1991    Bryan Adams — “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You”

1978    John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John — “You’re the One That I Want”

 

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DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Perfect Condiment

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Ok. Now I’m hungry. And I just had lunch!!!  :)))))

There are certain things that just go together.  Cookies and cream. Peanut butter and jelly. Chips and dip.  And for me, one of those things is French fries and ketchup. Now, I know some of you out there would insist on eating them plain, or for my northern friends, splashing a little vinegar on them too, but for me, French fries and ketchup just go together. Take a minute – close your eyes and think about McDonalds French fries, and one of those little ketchup packets – you leave the drive thru, open the bag, the aroma hits you and your find the fries, tear the corner of the tiny ketchup packet, squirt the yummy ketchup into the top of the fry holder, pick a few and … bam!  Now that’s good! I have always loved ketchup – in my humble opinion it is the perfect condiment!  As I finished my burger and fries for lunch the other day, it got me to thinking about ketchup – history, production, recipes, and more. For my foodies out there, here’s some fun info about ketchup (catsup?). Thanks to google, businessinsider.com, Wikipedia and allrecipes.com for the info, and YouTube for the video, and Mickey D’s for those yummy fries!  Enjoy!

What 1.8 Million bottles a day looks like

(the video above tests my plant logistics brain – tons of tomatoes/sauce, gallons of water, 1.8 million bottles, caps, 5 million labels, boxes, palettes, shrink wrap – wow – talk about a PIA (Pain in the @%$) Job! – and that’s DAILY!!!). WOW.

  1. The word “ketchup” comes from the Hokkien Chinese word, “kê-tsiap”, which is a sauce that calls for fermented fish; a far cry from the ketchup we know today. Ketchup has come a long way from its roots in China as far back as the third century BCE, when cooks fermented seafood to create a salty, amber-colored sauce that resembles modern fish sauce (an anchovy-based condiment that adds umami flavor to many Asian dishes). Absolutely not a fan of fish sauce.
  2. The ketchup we slather onto hot dogs, burgers, and fries today once had a different purpose: Doctors believed it was best consumed as a health tonic. I am always telling Jackie that it’s heart healthy!
  3. By around the 16th century, British sailors had taken word of ketchup back to their home country, and British cooks tried to replicate it with their own versions made from walnuts and mushrooms.
  4. The word “catsup” first showed up in poems composed at Market Hill by Jonathan Swift in 1730 when he wrote about “Botargo, catsup, and caviare.” For a while the word “catsup” was more commonly used in North America, and then “ketchup” took over due to large-scale manufacturers like Heinz and Hunt’s calling is ketchup.
  5.  It’s not clear exactly when tomatoes came on the scene, though the first known tomato ketchup recipe appeared around 1812, published by Philadelphia horticulturist James Mease.
  6. It wasn’t until the 1830s that some doctors began rebranding tomatoes as a 19th-century superfood. One physician, Dr. John Cook Bennett, especially promoted tomatoes as cures for indigestion and other stomach ailments, encouraging a craze for the fruit that eventually saw the introduction of ketchup pills and extracts (one memorable jingle went, “tomato pills will cure all your ills”).
  7. The fad would last through around the 1850s, but soon enough home cooks focused on creating their own ketchups instead of taking the vitamin equivalents. The sauce then became an easily obtainable American dinner table staple in large part thanks to the H. J. Heinz Company, which released its first tomato ketchup in 1876.
  8. HJ Heinz was the son of immigrant parents. When Heinz turned six, he began helping his mother with her garden (1850).  By age eight, Henry began selling goods to neighbors out of a basket he would carry around (1852).  When he was nine, Henry was grinding and making his own horseradish sauce — it was his mother’s recipe (1853)
  9. Demand was so strong Heinz began to use a horse and cart to deliver his goods by age 12 (1856).  At 16, Heinz began making three weekly deliveries to Pittsburgh, Penn (1860).  By the time he was 25, Heinz had formed his first company with a friend. It was named Heinz Noble & Company (1869) and they sold canned beans.
  10. In just a few years they went bankrupt and shut down. Heinz quickly formed a new business with his cousin, the F & J Heinz Co. (1875).  In 1876 they began selling ketchup and the company
  11. In 1888, Henry bought out his family members and launched a major factory along the Allegheny.
  12. In 1896 Heinz added the 57 to the bottle, after seeing a shoe store advertise 21 styles of shoes. Although he was selling more than 60 products at the time, Heinz thought 57 was lucky.

TRIVIA:

  • Number of individual ketchup packets made by Heinz each year (as of 2020) – 12 billion
  • Approximate number of known tomato species – 10,000
  • Year the ketchup packet was patented – 1955
  • Weight (in tons) of tomatoes processed into ketchup each year by Heinz – 2 million
  • Top five brands – Heinz, Hunts, Del Monte, French’s, Primal Kitchen
  • The World’s Largest Catsup Bottle® stands proudly next to Route 159, just south of downtown Collinsville, Illinois – formerly a water tower: https://www.catsupbottle.com

If you want to make your own, here you go: CLICK

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Baffled

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We hear enough words every day to fill a small dictionary. But not all of them have a recorded history. Really????? Really. Here are some of them. 

Being a grandpa is a magical experience.  It hits me in so many fun ways – watching them grow, having an “adult-child” conversation, getting those amazing, unexpected hugs, rocking them to sleep, or just playing together.  My favorite is watching either of them say to Jackie,  “Grandma do you want to play?” then taking her by the hand on their next great adventure!  Sometimes I get hit with an occasional “hey Grandpa” question that’s not so easy to answer.  While reading a book together recently, we came across the word “dog”. I paused for a minute to see if it registered and then I jumped into an adult explanation of “you know, a fun loving four-legged creature, covered with hair that eats and drinks and plays and barks and runs and slurps”.  Now, being a man of science and intrigue, I of course jumped online later to be sure I was right – (don’t want to alter my grandkids development).  Ha!  Talk about trying to solve a PIA (Pain in the @%$) Job! – I stumbled across a confounding tale (tail 😊).  Seems many are not quite sure of the origin of the basic word dog.  Of course, I went digging a bit further and found a whole bunch of words we use every day that are not seated in any language from the past (etymology – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology ).  I picked some of my favorites to share with you, so you’ll be better prepared than I.  Enjoy!  And thanks to Berlitz.com, dictionary.com, mentalfloss.com, Wikipedia, and google and Wiktionary.com (a new one for me!).

FUN – longest English words

All words started somewhere. Through the careful work of historical linguists and lexicographers, we can usually trace a word, if not to its ultimate origin pretty far back in time. We know that the word water, for example, goes back to an old Germanic source by comparing it with words from other Germanic languages: Dutch water, German Wasser, Old Icelandic vatr. We know the word fruit came to English from French because we first have evidence of its use during the period when the French Normans ruled England.

Sometimes, after much searching and analyzing, no satisfying origin explanation can be found. This is not so surprising for slangy or risqué words—if they aren’t the type of words that would be written down, it will be hard to find early sources for them—but there are a few pretty basic, run-of-the-mill words that have defied the best efforts of etymologists. One of their bitter triumphs is the ability to say ‘origin unknown.’”

Here are basic English words that have remained etymological mysteries.

1. Dog

English has the word hound, which is clearly related to other Germanic words like Hund, and the word cur, which is related to other Germanic words for growling. But the most common term is dog, which looks nothing like any other language. It seems related to similar untraceable English words pig, hog, stag, and the wig of earwig. Were they originally childish nicknames or slang? Many theories have been explored, but the answer has not been settled.

The Polish etymologist Piotr Gąsiorowski put forth a new proposal just a few years ago, by interpreting Old English docga as a pet form of dox/dohx ‘of a certain dark hue’ (cf. English dusk), like frocga/frogga ‘frog’ beside frox/frosc/forsc ‘id.’. That is to say, the name would originally have referred to a darker type of dog.  We won’t even try to figure out “hotdog” (a food or a person showing off??)

2. Bad

What could more basic than bad and good? We know that good is cognate with many other languages, from Gothic to Old Saxon to Dutch, and evil is from a Germanic root, but bad is on its own. Its earliest uses referred to food that had gone bad.  Learn more HERE

3. Big

Big is a pretty basic concept, but it was not the word of choice in the Old English period (when the word was mickle or great) and only shows up from the 14th century. Was it borrowed from a Scandinavian word for a rich, powerful man? Did it come from someone’s name? The status remains “origin unknown.”  This adjective, c. 1300, at first found chiefly in writings from northern England and north Midlands, with a sense of “powerful, strong;” a word of obscure origin. It is possibly from a Scandinavian source (compare Norwegian dialectal bugge “great man”). Old English used micel (see much) in many of the same senses. Big came into general use c. 1400. The meaning “of great size” is from late 14c., as is that of “full-grown, grown up.” The sense of “important, influential, powerful” is from c. 1400. The meaning “haughty, inflated with pride” is from 1570s. The sense of “generous” is U.S. colloquial by 1913.

4. Girl

Maiden is from a Germanic root, and damsel is from a French one, but where does girl come from? Perhaps an old Germanic word for dress or a borrowing from another word for child. We don’t know, but it used to be used for boys too. In the 1300s and 1400s, gurles or gyrles were children of either sex, and if you wanted to specifically refer to a boy child you could say “knave girl.”  The English word girl first appeared during the Middle Ages between 1250 and 1300 CE and came from the Anglo-Saxon word gerle (also spelled girle or gurle). The Anglo-Saxon word gerela meaning dress or clothing item also seems to have been used as a metonym in some sense.

5. Boy

Knave goes back to Old English from a Germanic root, but boy only shows up in the Late Middle Ages and in its earliest uses was an insulting term for slave, rogue, or wretch. Did it come from an old French word for “person in chains”? A Dutch word meaning messenger? It’s unclear, but the OED says that for words like girl, boy, lass, and lad, “possibly most of them arose as jocular transferred uses of words that had originally a different meaning.”  It’s thought the word “boy” comes from Middle English boi, boye (“boy, servant”), related to other Germanic words for boy, namely East Frisian boi (“boy, young man”) and West Frisian boai (“boy”).

6. Bird

The more common word in Old English was fugel, which can be traced back to an old Germanic root for flying (and which gives us the current word fowl), but somehow bird won out. Bird was originally spelled brid, which gave the idea that perhaps it was related to brood, but what we know about historical sound change rules makes that unlikely.  From Middle English brid, from Old English bridd (“chick, baby bird”), of uncertain origin and relation; but its stock root is possibly onomatopoeic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onomatopoeia ). Gradually replaced fowl as the most common term starting in the 14th century.

8. Log

There is an Old Germanic root laeg, related to lie, that became the word for a felled tree in Old Norse, but etymologists have ruled out this source because due to sound change rules, that would have ended up pronounced low in English. It may have been borrowed from a later stage of a Scandinavian language because of the timber trade, but it could also be from an attempt to imitate the sound of something large and heavy.

9. Toad

Toad goes all the way back to Old English, but it has no known cognates in any of the related languages.  With unknown origin it evolved from Middle English tode, toode, tadde, tade, from Old English *tāde, a shortened variant of Old English tādie, tādiġe (“toad”).

10. Kick

At first etymologists thought kick might come from Welsh cicio, but it turned out cicio came from English kick. The idea that it comes from an Old Norse word for “bend backwards, sink at the knees” is another possibility, but it hasn’t been generally accepted. For me, I get a “kick” out of writing these fund blog posts – hope you enjoy as well.

BONUS TRIVIA:  Why do cats purr and humans and animals yawn?  Send me you thoughts (skowalski@khtheat.com)

 

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

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Not So Temporary

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What a face!!!  :))))))))))))) 

Growing up, I loved to read the comics. I’d wait for Dad to finish with “the paper” (yes, we actually got two delivered to the house a day … one in the morning and one later in the day .. and a big one on Sundays!!) –  I liked many of the characters, especially Spiderman and Funky Winkerbean.  Comics are always a simple escape from the day-to-day.  And many times, just put a smile on my face. Today marks a fun anniversary in the history of comics.  On this day in 1930, Walt Disney himself wrote the first Mickey Mouse comic strip.

Coming off the success of producing “shorts” for the film industry (I think everyone knows Steamboat Willie), Walt himself took on the task of creating a daily comic strip – talk about a PIA (pain in the @%$) Job! With the help of his drawing assistant Ub Iwerks and his inking assistant Win Smith, Mickey and Minnie came to life – and the strip lasted over 90 years!!  Here’s a little history on the series, the people behind the drawings and the themes, many based on the events of the day, that drove the success for so many years.  Enjoy, and thanks to disneydiary.com, Wikipedia and YouTube.  Enjoy!

short video history 

Walter Elias Disney was born in 1901 in Chicago to a family of modest means. In 1919, he met Ub Iwerks while working in commercial art studios in Kansas City. Three years later, the two started their own, ultimately unsuccessful, animation studio. Disney regrouped in California, forming the company we know today with his brother, Roy, as business manager and Iwerks as lead cartoonist.

Though it may seem like Mickey Mouse has always been with us, this most well-known of cartoon characters sprang to animated life on November 18, 1928. The high-spirited, mischievous mouse debuted in Steamboat Willie, a short film designed and animated by Ub Iwerks, the chief animator with the then-nascent Walt Disney Company, with direction from Walt Disney. They cast Mickey Mouse as a shipmate on a steamboat captained by a surly cat. Scheduled to be the opening for a feature-length film, Steamboat Willie was given an initial modest run at the Colony Theater in New York. But audiences and critics went wild for the impish, round-bellied mouse and for the premiere of the first cartoon with synchronized sound.

Two weeks later, Steamboat Willie was re-released at the Roxy, also in New York, and the largest theater in the world at the time. It made silent animation obsolete and launched the Disney empire, as Walt proclaimed…”sound is here to stay”.

After releasing Steamboat Willie, the struggling company began to thrive and to introduce other characters—like Donald Duck and Goofy—into popular culture. As the American economy crumbled during the Great Depression, the Walt Disney Company rose, a paradox explained by the delight, even relief, that its cartoons brought to Americans and audiences worldwide, hungry for a respite from harsh daily realities.

A Mickey Mouse comic strip was suggested by Joseph Connolly, the president of King Features Syndicate, in a July 24, 1929 letter to Disney animator Ub Iwerks: “I think your mouse animation is one of the funniest features I have ever seen in the movies. Please consider producing one in comic strip form for newspapers. If you can find time to do one, I shall be very interested in seeing some specimens.”

The comic strip launched on January 13, 1930 was written by Disney himself, with art by Ub Iwerks. The strip begins with young Mickey as an optimistic, imaginative young mouse living on a farm, and dreaming of becoming a great aviator like his hero, Charles Lindbergh. In a sequence based on the 1928 short Plane Crazy, Mickey puts together a homemade plane, and takes a flight with his girlfriend Minnie. She falls out of the plane, and Mickey travels through a storm to land on a deserted island, inhabited by fierce natives who want to cook him alive.

As these first strips were being released, Iwerks left the Disney studio, signing a contract with Disney competitor Pat Powers to leave Disney and start an animation studio under his own name. Win Smith, who had been inking the strips, took over the penciling as well with the February 10th strip. Smith left the studio in April after a fight with Disney, who wanted him to take over writing the strip.

As a “temporary replacement”, Disney asked a young inbetweener at the studio named Floyd Gottfredson to fill in. Gottfredson’s first strip was published on May 5, and he took over the scripting two weeks later. He would continue as the creative force of the strip for more than 45 years. (WOW!).

While the early months of the strip did have a loose plot, the pace and style were still the standard gag-a-day approach to comic strips. With adventure and daily continuity strips like The Gumps and Wash Tubbs becoming increasingly popular, King Features Syndicate asked Disney to make Mickey Mouse a more serious adventure strip.

This led to the first adventure storyline, “Mickey Mouse in Death Valley”, which ran from April 1 to September 20, 1930. The story—begun by Smith, and continued by Gottfredson—involves a crooked lawyer, Sylvester Shyster, and his thuggish associate Peg-Leg Pete, who kidnap Minnie in order to find a map to her Uncle Mortimer’s hidden gold mine in Death Valley. Mickey and Minnie race Shyster and Pete to the desert, to lay claim to the mine.

Over decades Gottfredson used extended main themes inspired from Disney’s animation department to support the storylines, such as “The Great Orphanage Robbery”, The Case of the Vanishing Coats”, “The Robin Hood Adventure”, “Mighty Whale Hunter” and “Lil Davey” based on Davey Crockett.

Years later, many of these themes became book titles, extending the series into children’s bedrooms.  I can remember reading some of the storybooks to the girls when they were little (For a full list, CLICK.) and now enjoy reading to the grandkids.

Thanks Walt and team!

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DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Slurp

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Out of a can or home-made, soups really are mmm-mmm-good!! :))))

 

Happy New Year to all my blog readers – I hope you had a safe, fun holiday with family and friends. My wish to you in the New Year is that you prosper in health and wealth, grounded in your faith and love of your families.  Over the holidays I was able to really enjoy some wonderful soups (and chili).  When the mercury dropped below zero, I was the first at the table with spoon in hand to lap up some of Jackie’s creations.  As a “foodie” (my definition is “eat everything”), soup and hearty sandwich on a blustery day is at the top of my list.  (who doesn’t dip your sandwich in the soup?) And when you are feeling down, there’s NOTHING like a bowl of steamy chicken noodle soup.  I know every family has “their” recipe and way of making it – as chicken soup is undeniable the dish that has souped its way into the hearts of people throughout the world and has become a staple ‘rainy day’/’sick day’ comfort meal. Here’s a little history, some recipes to try, and a great production video on how soup is made for my production buds out there.  If you have a “to die for” family recipe, please email it to me at skowalski@khtheat.com and I’ll ask Jackie to give it a try.  Thanks to Wikipedia, The Oxford Student, You Tube and the recipe folks for the info – ENJOY! (and don’t forget the crackers – saltines or oyster or wheat or Ritz or … perhaps another blog topic 😊.

Makin’ Soup

Chicken soup is a soup made from chicken, simmered in water, usually with various other ingredients. The classic chicken soup consists of a clear chicken broth, often with pieces of chicken or vegetables; common additions are pasta, noodles, dumplings, or grains such as rice and barley. Chicken soup has acquired the reputation of a folk remedy for colds and influenza, and in many countries is considered a comfort food.

Chicken soup has been with us for a long, long time, and there its fame has made its history so easy to find. People have obsessed over chicken soup since the domestication of fowl around 7,000 to 10,000 years ago in Southeast Asia. The Ancient Greeks also had their own version of chicken broth and believed the soup to have healing properties much like today.

Variations on the flavor are gained by adding root vegetables such as parsnip, potato, sweet potato and celery root; herbs such as bay leaves, parsley and dill; other vegetables such as zucchini, whole garlic cloves, lettuce, or tomatoes; and black pepper. Saffron or turmeric are sometimes added as a yellow colorant.

Chicken soup is the undoubtable symbol of Jewish cuisine. But the hot broth — made of scarce and expensive fresh meat — was not always readily available in every Eastern European community.  There was one day a year when every family, rich or poor, prepared the soup: Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement.  “At night, the people of the village [Cycow in Poland] would wave fluttering chickens above their heads for the atonement ceremony called kapparot, and right after the ceremony people marched in droves to the slaughterhouse,” recalled Shmil Holand in his book “Schmaltz.” A few hours later, the village was filled with the aroma of fresh chicken soup, which was then served before the Yom Kippur fast.

While every chef has their own approach, some terms to keep in mind when creating your base:

  • Chicken broth is the liquid part of chicken soup. Broth can be served as is, or used as stock, or served as soup with noodles. Chicken bouillon or bouillon de poulet is the French term for chicken broth.
  • Chicken consommé is a more refined chicken broth. It is usually strained to perfect clarity and reduced to concentrate it.
  • Chicken stock is a liquid in which chicken bones and vegetables have been simmered for the purpose of serving as an ingredient in more complex dishes.
  • Chicken stew is a more substantial dish with a higher ratio of solids to broth. The broth may also be thickened toward a gravy-like consistency with a roux or by adding flour-based dumplings

Some ingredient variations to try from around the world include: 

  • China ginger, scallions, black pepper, soy sauce, rice wine and sesame oil.
  • Colombia includes maize, three types of potatoes, avocado, capers, and a herb called guascas, and is served with a dollop of cream.
  • Denmark uses suppehøner (“soup-hens”) celeriac, carrots, onions and leek are usually added and typical flavourings are thyme, laurels and white pepper.
  • France serves chicken-based forms of bouillon and consommé with bay leaves, fresh thyme, dry white wine and garlic. Germany uses chicken broth, vegetables, such as carrots, spices and herbs and small noodles. For the broth, a large hen, called a Suppenhuhn (lit.: “soup hen”), may be boiled.
  • Ghana chicken soup, also known as Chicken Light soup is made by cooking the chicken in a blended mixture of tomatoes, onions, pepper and other spices and sometimes garden eggs and is served primarily with fufu or on its own.
  • Greece In Greece, chicken soup is most commonly made in the avgolemono (“egg-lemon”) fashion, wherein beaten eggs mixed with lemon are added to a broth slowly so that the mixture heats up without curdling, also adding rice or pasta like kritharáki (“little barley;” orzo), resulting in a thicker texture.
  • Hungary is a clear soup, a consommé, called Újházi chicken soup. A consommé with entire pieces of chicken, chicken liver and heart, with chunky vegetables and spices like whole black peppercorn, bay leaves, salt and ground black pepper.
  • Indonesia sayur sop, vegetable and chicken broth soup that contains chicken pieces, potato, green beans, carrot, celery, and fried shallot.
  • Italy often served with pasta, in such dishes as cappelletti in brodo, tortellini in brodo and passatelli. Even when served on its own, the meat and any vegetables used are usually removed from the broth and served as a second dish.
  • Japan torijiru starts with dashi, which is made from boiling konbu (kelp) and katsuobushi (dried skipjack tuna flakes), and not by boiling the chicken (whole chicken is not typically available in Japanese supermarkets). After the dashi is prepared, pieces of boneless chicken thigh meat are usually used and combined with vegetables.
  • Jewish (Ashkenazi) The Russian and Polish Jewish communities use a relatively high proportion of chicken stock for their soup, made mostly from the bones. The soup is prepared with herbs like parsley and fresh dill or thyme, and is often served with knaidlach (matzah balls), kreplach (dumplings), lokshen (flat egg noodles), or mandlen (Shkedei Marak in Israel) (soup “almonds”). A traditional garnish was eyerlekh (little eggs). These unlaid chicken eggs were taken from a hen and boiled in the soup.
  • Mexico Caldo de pollo, is a common Latin-American soup made with whole chicken pieces instead of chopped or shredded chicken, and large cuts of vegetables, such as half-slices of potatoes and whole leaves of cabbage.
  • Pakistan most famous one is Chicken Corn Soup served as a popular street food in the winter. White vinegar with green chilli slices, soy sauce, and red chilli sauce are condiments often served alongside chicken soup.
  • Polish (Yeah!) The Polish chicken soup is called rosół. It is commonly served with fine noodles, boiled carrots and parsley every Sunday. The broth is served separate from chicken meat. There are many types of rosół, as: Rosół Królewski (royal rosół), made of three meats: beef or veal, white poultry (hen, turkey or chicken) and dark poultry as duck, goose (crop only The cooking must take at least six hours of sensitive boiling over a small fire. At the end, softly burnt onion is added to the soup. Rosół myśliwski (The hunter’s rosół) is made of a variety of wild birds as well as pheasant, capercaillie, wood grouse, black grouse, or grey partridge, with a small addition of roe deer meat, a couple of wild mushrooms, and 2–3 juniper fruits.

If you are brave enough to veer from tradition, here are a few recipes to try:
>>THIS ONE
>>THIS ONE
>>AND THIS ONE

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DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

A Blessing

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PLEASE. Watch this show with your family and friends. A Charlie Brown Christmas is a wonderful show that’s such a great part of this wonderful season. I can hear the music now. Enjoy.

Now that we’ve turned the corner on November, it’s time of course to start thinking about the Christmas holiday time.  One of the classics “everyone” knows is A Charlie Brown Christmas, (who doesn’t love Snoopy’s doghouse with the lights??) written by Charles Schultz, the inventor of the Peanuts comic strip, about a depressed child who gets ridiculed by his friends but finds the magic of Christmas in the end.  The comic special has aired every December for over 50 years — longer than any other holiday program besides Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Lee Mendelson, who produced A Charlie Brown Christmas, thinks its message is particularly relevant this year, with at least half the population feeling like someone “pulled their football away.“ What most people don’t realize is that the holiday classic barely made it into production — and was almost buried forever. No networks had wanted it, but after Charlie Brown and the gang were featured on the cover of Time magazine, Coca-Cola’s ad agency, McCann Erickson, got the idea for a holiday special and approached Mendelson. Desperate after his documentary imploded, he told the agent that, in fact, he and Schulz had discussed such a project. He called Schulz and told him they’d sold A Charlie Brown Christmas. “Schulz said, ‘What’s that?’” Mendelson said, “It’s something you’re going to write starting tomorrow.” (Talk about a PIA (Pain in the @%$) Job!!  Here’s some of the history behind the show, and a few tidbits you likely never knew.  Thanks to Wikipedia for the info and YouTube for the music – (you gotta click the music link while reading to get the full effect!).  Enjoy.

Soundtrack

By the early 1960s, Charles M. Schulz’s comic strip Peanuts had gained enormous popularity.  Television producer Lee Mendelson acknowledged the strip’s cultural impression and had an idea for a documentary on its success, phoning Schulz to propose the idea. Schulz, an avid baseball fan, recognized Mendelson from his documentary on ballplayer Willie Mays, A Man Named Mays, and invited him to his home in Sebastopol, California, to discuss the project.

Their meeting was cordial, with the plan to produce a half-hour documentary set. Mendelson wanted to feature roughly “one or two” minutes of animation, and Schulz suggested animator Bill Melendez, with whom he collaborated some years before on a commercial for the Ford Motor Company. Mendelson later stated that he was drawn to doing an animated Charlie Brown after working on A Man Named Mays, noting that Mays was arguably the best baseball player of all time, while Charlie Brown, in a running gag in the strips, was one of the worst, making him a natural follow-up subject to his previous work.

Mendelson rang animator Bill Melendez, who had helped animate a two-minute segment in the never-aired documentary. The three met in Schulz’s office in Sebastopol, California. Schulz wanted the show to focus on the childhood stress of putting on a Christmas play. Mendelson had just read The Fir-Tree by Hans Christian Andersen and suggested the story include a tree that is as sad and misunderstood as Charlie Brown. They cranked out an outline and put it in a Western Union shipment to Atlanta. Several days later, the agency told them they had a short six months to deliver the animated special.

Halfway through production, when the team was still working with black-and-white illustrations, a McCann executive (Mendelson is almost certain it was Neil Reagan, the older brother of President Ronald Reagan) showed up in Sebastopol to check in on the progress. He was put off by the slow pacing of the story. Mendelson, Melendez, and Schulz assured him it would be better once there was music and color. The executive said he wouldn’t tell the agency what he thought — because if he did, he was sure they would cancel the show.

For the music, the team had courted up-and-coming jazz musician Vince Guaraldi, whose “Cast Your Fate to the Wind” seemed to strike the same balance of somber enlightenment and childlike buoyancy that Schulz achieved in his comic. But when they played the introduction song as the children skated on the frozen pond, Mendelson realized it was way too slow and solemn. It was missing something. He sat down at his kitchen table and wrote out the words to “Christmas Time Is Here” on an envelope. Guaraldi enlisted the children’s choir of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in San Rafael, California, to sing the lyrics.

Lyrics or not, the CBS executives didn’t think jazz belonged in a cartoon. They also challenged Schulz’s decision to use untrained children instead of professional adult voice actors. They especially couldn’t understand why children would use such big words. Schulz even got pushback from his own team. Mendelson suggested a laugh track would save the show and Schulz responded by standing up and walking out of the room. When Schulz, a Sunday school teacher, said Linus should recite from the Gospel of Luke, Mendelson and Melendez protested. “We looked at each other and said, ‘Well, there goes our careers right down the drain,’” Mendelson recalls. Of course, now Mendelson realizes that Linus’s segment probably made the entire project work. “That 10-year-old kid who recited that speech from the Bible was as good as any scene from Hamlet,” he says.

When CBS finally saw the finished product, they were sure it was doomed. It was still too slow, there was no action, the kids weren’t polished, the jazz didn’t belong. But Coca-Cola had already bankrolled the program, and it was listed in TV Guides nationwide. CBS had to air the show, but the execs were certain it would flop, never to run again.

When A Charlie Brown Christmas aired at 7:30 p.m. ET on December 9, 1965, half of American TV viewers tuned in. The reviews were outstanding. Washington Post TV critic Lawrence Laurent wrote, “Good old Charlie Brown, a natural born loser … finally turned up a winner.”

The only person involved who wasn’t surprised was Schulz. The cartoonist was plagued by depression and self-doubt his entire life, but he always had confidence in his characters and their stories. He believed everyone knew what it felt like to fail despite doing everything right. “We hear about authors who write best about what they know. Steinbeck wrote about the West. Hemingway wrote about, well, everywhere,” says Mendelson. “Schulz jumped ahead in school, so he was always the youngest, and he endured a lot of bullying. He felt a lot of loneliness, and I think that was the bedrock of his whole philosophy.”

Schulz’s message of perseverance in the face of dejection always resonated with American audiences, a reminder that we should keep kicking no matter how many times they pull the ball away.

In a classic scene, at the tree lot, Charlie Brown picks the only real tree there, a small sapling. Linus questions his choice, but Charlie Brown believes that once decorated, it will be perfect. When they return, however, Lucy and the others scorn him and the tree and walk away laughing. Crestfallen, Charlie Brown loudly asks if anyone knows what Christmas is all about; Linus says he does, walks to center stage, asks for a spotlight, recites the annunciation to the shepherds, returns and says, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

Let us all remember the true meaning of Christmas.

If interested here’s the detailed link to Wikipedia 

 

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DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Ahhh, lasagna

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Guess what I had for lunch today.  :)))))))))) 

Now that the daylight savings flip is behind us, it’s time to start cooking indoors – yummy fall soups, fresh breads, sweet deserts and of course Italian sauces and foods. And that includes lasagna. If you’re like me, you can eat lasagna pretty much all the time! A warm, cheesy, gooey lasagna dish is an ideal go-to meal for chilly nights, romantic weekdays, family gatherings and dinners with friends. When topped with grated fresh parmesan cheese and a nice glass of cab or pinot noir, a regular lasagna dish on a Friday night is elevated to a gourmet meal fit for a king and queen. Now, before I go any further, a tip to my readers. Be extremely cautious when discussing the tastes and origins of your favorite lasagna dish. Avoid the words, “honey, I like your lasagna recipe, but it’s not even close to my _______ (insert: mom’s, gramdma’s, first wife, Aunt Betty’s, at Antonio’s, Uncle Carmen’s, etc.) recipe.”  This is sure to create havoc, and you’ll soon find a ladle dent on your forehead.  Picking “the best” is truly a PIA (Pain In The @%$) Job!  I’m lucky, as I LOVE both my Mom’s recipe and wife Jackie’s recipe – totally different and totally delicious. Everyone has a little twist to their recipe (homemade sauce, fresh ground sausage, variety of vegetables, special spices, long hours of simmering sauce), and more. At a work event we held recently, one of my supervisors surprised us with his significant other’s recipe – OOOHHH MMMYYY GGGOOOSSSHHHH – simply amazing.  So good, I included it below.  Be sure to share your favorite recipe – and send a photo too! (skowalski@khtheat.com). Special thanks to history.com, ciaoitalia.com, and inside therustickitchen.com and YouTube.com for the insights and music. Divertiti!

Great music to enjoy while reading and cooking

  • The origins of the word lasagne or lasagna can be traced back to Ancient Greece. What we know as lasagne or lasagna is derived from the word “laganon”, which was the first form of pasta. Laganon was a reference to flat sheets of pasta dough cut into thin strips, looking very different from what we know to be a typical lasagna dish today. It consisted of layers of pasta and sauce without traditional Italian ingredients. Ancient Rome was known to have a similar dish called “lasanum”, which is Latin for container or pot. Italians used this word to refer to the pot that the dish was served in. Eventually, the dish evolved and took on the same name.
  • The Greeks are believed to have first settled in the area of Naples in 2BC and it is currently the third-largest city of Italy. Naples is also the capital city of Campania, one of the most populous areas in Italy. It eventually became the epicenter of culture for the Roman empire and played a key role as the capital of the Duchy of Naples and the Kingdom of Naples. Eventually, it became the center of the baroque period and an artistic renaissance sparked by the famed Italian painter Caravaggio.
  • Lasagne is the plural word for one sheet of lasagna and is used regionally throughout Italy. Referencing lasagne or lasagna depends on whether you’re in the northern or southern regions of Italy. The plural form is mostly used in British English, while American English is known to use the singular version.
  • The Italian favorite of lasagne or lasagna that we all know and love originated in Italy in the city of Naples during the Middle Ages. One of the first references to modern-day lasagne can be found in a 14th-century English cookbook that highlighted a dish with layers of pasta without the tomatoes. Later, another reference was made to lasagne in an Italian cookbook in the 1880s that featured tomato sauce.
  • The dish eventually evolved into the traditional lasagna of Naples called “Lasagna di Carnevale” made with local sausage, fried meatballs, veal, pork, hard-boiled eggs, ricotta or mozzarella, and Neapolitan Ragu. One of the most popular variations of this lasagna dish is called “Lasagna al Forno”  This variation originates from the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna and is made with ricotta or mozzarella, thick Ragu, bechamel sauce, wine, onion, oregano, and green sheets of pasta made with spinach and baked.
  • Lasagne’s history wouldn’t be complete without variety throughout the regions of Italy. Different areas may use different dough or sauces. The beautiful Italian region of Piedmont specializes in lasagna al Sangue, which translates to “bloody lasagne” due to the addition of blood from a slaughtered pig (eeeuuuww).
  • The person who invented lasagna could never have imagined how it would impact the world today and what nutritional value it contains. When discussing lasagna history, carbohydrates never tasted so good and this dish is packed full of them. Carbohydrates bring energy to your blood cells and help drive essential day to day bodily functions. Most of this energy comes directly from the noodles, with a small amount of coming from the sauce and any vegetables you add.
  • Your favorite lasagna dish is also packed with B vitamins. These nutrients are responsible for driving your body’s metabolism. The beef in the recipe gives your body the iron it needs to promote healthy blood circulation. You can easily add vitamins A and C by including zucchini and red pepper. Adding vegetables will increase your vitamin intake and make for a delicious lasagna dish.
  • Lasagna is also an excellent source for dietary protein and fat. Proteins are broken down by your body into amino acids that are used to create and maintain healthy tissues. Each ounce of meat and cheese adds between 6 and 7 grams of protein. These components are a major source of saturated fat so you’ll want to be cautious when adding them.
  • We know that lasagna is far from being considered a health food, but you can make healthy substitutions when making it at home. For example, instead of using white noodles, you can substitute whole wheat noodles that will help to stabilize your blood sugar levels. When making a lasagna dish with meat, try to substitute with 95% lean ground beef, turkey, or chicken and make sure to thoroughly drain off any excess fat. While we all love cheese, try to limit the use of mozzarella cheese to only a few sprinkles on the top or choose a low-fat cheese. To add the nutritional value, load your lasagna with plenty of vegetables to boost fiber, vitamins, and mineral intake. Before adding them to the dish, try pureeing them to improve the texture and adding them directly to your tomato sauce. This way, you’ll be able to reap the nutritional benefits of adding vegetables while not compromising taste or texture.
  • While packing your lasagna with vegetables and lean meats adds nutritional value, using no-boil noodles will improve the taste. They are typically thinner than the dry noodles and absorb the tomato sauce well. Also, you won’t have to wait for the noodles to cook. Using pork sausage instead of ground beef for your tomato sauce will bring your pasta dish to a different level of satisfaction. You can choose to mix sweet and spicy sausage to enhance the flavor of the sauce. Instead of using grated mozzarella, add fresh mozzarella instead. You’ll notice that the rich diary flavor is tasty and the texture is smooth.
  • If you’ve never thought about using eggs in a lasagna dish, now is a great time to try. When coupled with parmesan cheese and herbs, eggs round out the flavor and create a creamy texture filling that is mouth-watering. Lastly, when you’re adding vegetables, you’ll want to add the right ones that don’t turn soggy while baking. While this can be fixed by pureeing your vegetables before they are added to the sauce, you can also use spinach. Adding spinach is a great alternative to including vegetables and adding flavor.
  • However you make it – experiment and enjoy – and if you hit a winner, send me the recipe!!

Amazing recipe from one of our team here at KHT Heat.

From The Kitchen of Danielle Lorence
Recipe: Lasagna –  Double Batch (Recipe is estimations – _I don’t measure)
Baking Dish –  Layers work best in 16 9/10” _long 10 1/5” _– _4 1/4” _depth
(Le Creuset has a Lasagna Deep Baker)
Line Oven Racks with Foil –  Cheese will melt over

Ingredients: (Can Be Found at Giant Eagle Market Districts)

  • 4-5 lbs. Ground Beef 80/20, Ground Pork and Ground Veal
  • 2 lbs. Spicy Bob Evans Sausage
  • 5-6 (32 oz.) Jars Mids Garlic and Onion Spaghetti Sauce
  • 2 cans Contadina Petite Diced Tomatoes
  • 4 (30 oz.) Micelili’s Whole Milk Traditional Ricotta Cheese (Must Be Micelili’s)
  • 1 (30 oz) Breakstone’s Cottage Cheese
  • 2-3 Micelili’s Mozerella Pears (Balls)
  • 3 pks. Bel Gioioso Sharp Provolone Cheese
  • 3 pks. Bel Gioioso Regular Provolone Cheese
  • 3 pks. Bel Gioioso Fontina Cheese
  • 3 pks Bel Gioioso Asiago Cheese
  • 1 container Parmesano Reggiano
  • 1 container of Pecorino Romano
  • 1 pint Whole Whipping Cream
  • 4 Eggs
  • 2 sticks Salted Butter
  • 3 boxes Barilla Lasagna Noodles
  • 4 Shallots
  • 8 Cloves Garlic
  • 3 large Yellow Onions
  • 1 bunch Fresh Parsley
  • 2 tbsp. Marjoram
  • 1 tbsp. Italian Seasonings
  • 4 tbsp. Garlic Powder
  • 2 tbsp. Onion Powder
  • Salt and Pepper (to taste when browning meat)
  • ½ cup Sugar

Instructions: 

  • Brown all meat in a large pot, as meat browns season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder. Do not drain grease, let meat cook down and allow grease to caramelize. Stir frequently and be careful not to scorch.
  • In a large skillet add diced onions and shallots, minced garlic – _sauté in 2 sticks of butter until soft. 1/3 approximately will be added to ricotta cheese mixture and rest will go into browned meat mixture.
  • After meat caramelizes, add 2/3 of sauteed onions, shallots and garlic and petite diced tomatoes. Simmer for a few minutes and add Mid’s sauce, add 4 tbsp. garlic powder, 2 tbsp. onion powder, 1 cup of parmesano reggiano and ½ cup pecorino romano. Let sauce simmer at least one hour.
  • Grate all cheeses and combine all in an extra-large bowl mix thoroughly with hands.
  • In an extra-large bowl add ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, eggs, parsley, marjoram, Italian seasonings, sprinkle layer with garlic powder, onion powder, ½ sugar, ¾ cup whipping cream, 4 handfuls shredded cheeses, add 1 cup meat mixture and mix thoroughly with clean hands.
  • Coat 2 lasagna baking dishes with non-stick spray. Put a layer of sauce on bottom of baking dish. Layer lasagna noodles, then add approximately one inch of ricotta mixture, lasagna noodle layer, sauce layer, generous layer of shredded cheese and grated parmesano reggiano and pecorino romano. Layer lasagna noodles, one inch of ricotta mixture and repeat other layers.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, possibly 1 hour – _15 min. – _Let lasagna set 20-30 minutes before serving.

 

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DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

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Turnover

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Most things in, on and under water can be seen. But probably the biggest thing that happens in a lake of any size goes unnoticed by all but a select few people. Interested? Read on, my friend.

 

I really love looking out my office window and watching the lake.  Brilliant sunshine makes it sparkle.  Fall cloud formations make me reach for my cell phone camera, and incoming sweeping rain and thunderstorms are a treat every time. I’m not a big fisherman (those of you who know me truly understand why!), so I don’t follow the different fishing seasons, but one thing I learned recently is that my great, beautiful Lake Erie actually turns over – specifically in the spring and fall. A buddy of mine said I should think of turnover much like a dog learning to roll over: As he pushes himself to one side, his underbelly begins to show.  It made me think of my brothers on the couch trying to roll over after a massive Kowalski thanksgiving dinner).  Wanting to learn more, I jumped online and found some really cool info.  For my fishing fanatics out there, I’d love to hear how you adjust to the changing weather and water temperatures (email me at skowalski@khtheat.com).  Special thanks to cleanlakesalliance.org, lakes.grace.edu and outdoornews.com for the info.

Simple Video

Lake masses consist of three layers – epiimnion – the upper layer of water in a thermally stratified lake consists of the warmest water and has a fairly uniform (constant) temperature; the hypolimnion – the cold bottom waters, and the metalimnion (or thermocline) layer – a stratum of rapidly changing temperature water.

Fall and spring turnover are natural phenomenon that cause the top layer of the lake to trade places with the bottom layer. This turnover is critical for lake health – like folding chocolate chips into cookie dough (yep, I eat the dough when Jackie isn’t looking!!).  In the fall, this phenomenon happens when the temperature in the air drops. The epilimnion then cools to a temperature that balances with the density of the hypolimnion, allowing them to “intermingle.” (The opposite occurs in the spring: the air temperature rises, warming the surface water while the bottom grows cooler).

Water is unique in the way it changes density at different temperatures. Unlike almost all other liquids, water is most dense at 39 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) and is lighter at both warmer and colder temperatures. In other words, when water reaches the critical temperature of 39 degrees Fahrenheit, further cooling causes the water molecules to become less dense and rise to the surface. This unusual characteristic allows water to form distinct layers within an otherwise uniform liquid. This phenomenon explains why ice forms at the surface and does not sink.

Warmer and less dense water floats on the top of cooler, denser water at the bottom. This allows the lake to mix when temperatures equalize throughout the water column, as water from the bottom of the lake rises to the top, and water from the top of the lake sinks to the bottom. The process allows for oxygen to be replenished and nutrients to be distributed throughout the lake.

The two layers could not intermingle without the wind. As the Fall winds blow and winter approaches, a constant breeze begins to move over the surface of the lake. The wind pushes the surface water from one shore to the other, and as this happens, the hypolimnion moves upward to replace the water that is moving across to the other shore. Once it reaches the other shore it gets pushed downward to replace the hypolimnion that moved up to the other side of the lake.  The lake “rolls over” in this way in an ongoing cycle until it freezes over.

In both the fall and the spring, turnover affects three major aspects of the lake environment: oxygen, algae, and phosphorus.

The hypolimnion routinely runs low or out of dissolved oxygen, as decomposition, such as bacteria breaking down organic matter.  The turnover breaks down the temperature boundary and moves oxygen-rich surface water to the bottom and oxygen-starved bottom water to the top. Moving dissolved oxygen to the hypolimnion is not only crucial to the lake, but also to the fish who live there.

Fish and most other aquatic critters rely on dissolved oxygen to survive. If too much muck builds up and dissolved oxygen is not replenished, fish will be forced to move toward the surface.

Turnover also helps our lakes clean up harmful bacteria and algae. It carries dead algae down into the depths of the lake where there is less sunlight, helping to prevent algae growth where it is eaten or decomposed at the lake bottom.

Turnover also helps clean up excess phosphorus. As turnover forces iron (which naturally exists in our lakes) toward the hypolimnion, the iron interacts with phosphorus. As it falls to the bottom, the compound is deteriorated by oxygen and anaerobic bacteria. This process is similar to a Ferris wheel as the phosphorus and iron “ride” to the epilimnion and back down to the hypolimnion. Algae blooms are fueled by phosphorus, so the mixing cycle can reduce the conditions for a bloom.

Lake Erie’s western basis turns over frequently, but the larger lake takes more time to cycle.  Anglers talk of seeing tiny bubbles on the surface, and also a gray color to the water.

For any angler who ventures out on the water during the cooler temps it can be a make or break time. Finding fish right after turnover can be challenging.  Bass, pike, perch, bluegills, walleyes… all may need time to adjust to turnover, but usually the reason fisherman are not catching fish post-turnover is because they’re fishing the same spots as they did before. Baitfish are willing to seek deeper depths, and when their forage goes deep, so do the sportfish. Learn more here.

 

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DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Leafy

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Autumn really is a wonderful time of year.  You can even eat it!!!  : )))))))))))

As you can tell by my posts lately, there are many things I love about fall — from the brisk air to the deluge of football to the tantalizing scent of pumpkin spice — but there’s one striking visual that sets autumn apart from any other season: the brilliant hues of red, orange, and yellow foliage.  Jackie and I love to go for long walks in the parks and long drives on the weekends, soaking in the incredible beauty of the northeast Ohio landscapes.  I know I’ve written a bit in the past about leaves and colors, but I thought it’s a good time to touch on the science (and beauty) that surrounds us.  So, here’s a little science, a little history, and a whole lot of fun in salute of the season – enjoy and be sure to click on the music link below to set the mood while reading – one of my favorites.  Thanks to you tube, interestingfacts.com, ssec.si.edu, esf.edu, canr.msu.edu, fs.usda.gov, harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu, redbookmag.com, grammarist.com, livescience.com, goodnet.org, slate.com, wiley.com, nowthisnews.com, atlasobscura.com, and dictonary.com.

An Autumn Listen

Deciduous Trees Change Color, But Coniferous Trees Don’t
The bright crimson and gold tones of fall foliage are found primarily on the branches of deciduous trees, an arboreal subset that includes oaks, maples, birches, and more. The word “deciduous” itself stems from the Latin decidere, meaning “to fall off,” and the term is used to describe trees that — unlike conifers and other evergreens — lose their leaves during the autumn as they transition into seasonal dormancy.  So, now you can impress the kids by saying – “Yea, that’s a deciduous tree” … (just watch the leaves!).

Deciduous trees have broadleaves: flat, wide leaves that are more susceptible to weather-induced changes compared to the thin needles of their coniferous counterparts.  As sunlight decreases and temperatures drop, chlorophyll production in these broadleaf trees ramps up, which in turn gives way to other pigments that produce the red, orange, and yellow tones of autumn. There are some geographic exceptions to this rule, however, as deciduous trees in the southern United States are more likely to maintain their green color than those in the North, primarily due to the region’s milder winters.

A Leaf’s Color is Determined by It’s Tree Type
There are three different pigments responsible for the coloration of autumn leaves: chlorophyll, carotenoids, and anthocyanin. Chlorophyll, the most basic pigment that every plant possesses, is a key component of the photosynthetic process that gives leaves their green color during the warmer, brighter months. The other two pigments become more prevalent as conditions change. Carotenoids are unmasked as chlorophyll levels deplete; these produce more yellow, orange, and brown tones.

Though scientists once thought that anthocyanin also lay dormant during the warmer months, they now believe that production begins anew each year during the fall. The anthocyanin pigment not only contributes to the deep red color found in leaves (and also fruits such as cranberries and apples), but it also acts as a natural sunscreen against bright sunlight during colder weather.

During the transformative autumnal months, it’s easier to discern the types of trees based on the color of their leaves. Varying proportions of pigmentation can be found in the chemical composition of each tree type, leading to colorful contrasts. For example, red leaves are found on various maples (particularly red and sugar maples), oaks, sweetgums, and dogwoods, while yellow and orange shades are more commonly associated with hickories, ashes, birches, and black maples. Interestingly, the leaves of an elm tree pose an exception, as they shrivel up and turn brown.

The Etymology of the Word “Fall” Refers to Falling Leaves
Prior to the terms “fall” and “autumn” making their way into the common lexicon, the months of September, October, and November were generally referred to as the harvest season, a time of year for gathering ripened crops. Some of the first recorded uses of the word “fall” date back to 1500s England, when the term was a shortened version of “fall of the year” or “fall of the leaf.”

The 1600s saw the arrival of the word  “autumn,” which came from the French word automne and was popular among writers such as Chaucer and Shakespeare. By the 18th century, “autumn” became the predominant name for the season in England, though over the following century, the word “fall” would grow in popularity across the Atlantic. But while some proper British English linguists consider fall to be an Americanism, the term actually originated in England, and both “autumn” and “fall” are used interchangeably today.

When English poets started using the phrase “the fall of leaves” it became very fashionable to call the season fall. But by the mid-1800s, after the split of the colonies from England led to language change,  England reverted back to Autumn and the American upstarts retained fall.

American Trees Produce Redder Leaves Than Northern European Ones
While America is home to a wide array of both reddish and yellow autumnal hues, trees in Northern Europe are more universally yellow in color. One fascinating theory for why that is goes back to 35 million years ago. During the ice age of the Pleistocene era, America’s north-to-south mountain ranges allowed for animals on either side to migrate south to warmer climates, whereas the east-to-west Alps of Europe trapped many animal species that became extinct as freezing conditions took hold in the north. The result was American trees producing more anthocyanins — and thus a darker red color — to help ward off insects, whereas European trees didn’t need to do the same, since extinct insect species no longer posed a threat. This phenomenon also occurred in East Asia, where forests bear a similar resemblance to those in America, as opposed to the uniquely yellow forests of Northern Europe.  (USA!  USA!  USA!)

——> Bonus Trivia <——

More People Fall in Love in Fall
Does cold weather make you want to cuddle with someone? You are far from alone. According to Redbook, the cooler weather in fall makes people want to get closer to others and not be alone for the winter. So get ready to snuggle in the fall.

You Can See the Brightest Full Moon in Fall
The full moon in the fall that occurs during the equinox is much brighter (almost orange) and rises much earlier than a typical full moon. This full moon, called the Harvest Moon) occurs sometime in September or October and it was very helpful for farmers who used the moonlight to help harvest their crops.

Try Tempura-Fried Maple Leaves – A Japanese Delicacy
While most Americans rake up autumn leaves and throw them into a garbage bin, in Japan, they are the main ingredient of a delicacy. Momiji tempura is a popular snack that originated in the city of Minoh, about 10 miles north of Osaka, where the first commercial fried leaf vendor opened in 1910. Legend has it that around 1,300 years ago, a traveler was so taken by the beauty of the autumn maple leaves in the region that he decided to cook them in oil and eat them. Fear not if you’re a germaphobe, though — the leaves used in momiji tempura are freshly picked off trees, never scooped up from the ground. Preparation involves soaking the maple leaves in salt water (sometimes for up to a year), frying them in a tempura batter, and coating them with sugar and sesame seeds for a sweet, crunchy treat.

 

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DO YOU LIKE CONTESTS?
Me, too.
As you may know the Kowalski Heat Treating logo finds its way
into the visuals of my Friday posts.
I.  Love.  My.  Logo.
One week there could be three logos.
The next week there could be 15 logos.
And sometimes the logo is very small or just a partial logo showing.
But there are always logos in some of the pictures.
So, I challenge you, my beloved readers, to count them and send me a
quick email with the total number of logos in the Friday post.
On the following Tuesday I’ll pick a winner from the correct answers
and send that lucky person some great KHT swag.
So, start counting and good luck!  
Oh, and the logos at the very top header don’t count.
Got it? Good.  :-))))
Have fun!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::