Thanksgiving "did you knows?"

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[Source: Today I Found Out]

Please help Wikipedia....

If you have not already, please start looking into those tax donations for the end of the year.

Here's a good one..



Dear Charles,

Thank you for your gift  to the Wikimedia Foundation, received on November 13, 2010. I’m very grateful for your support.
Your donation celebrates everything Wikipedia and its sister sites stand for: the power of information to help people live better lives, and the importance of sharing, freedom, learning and discovery. Thank you so much for helping to keep these projects freely available for their nearly 400 million monthly readers around the world.

Your money supports technology and people. The Wikimedia Foundation develops and improves the technology behind Wikipedia and nine other projects, and sustains the infrastructure that keeps them up and running. The Foundation has a staff of about fifty, which provides technical, administrative, legal and outreach support for the global community of volunteers who write and edit Wikipedia.
Many people love Wikipedia, but a surprising number don't know it's run by a non-profit. Please help us spread the word by telling a few of your friends.

And again, thank you for supporting free knowledge.

Sincerely Yours,


Sue Gardner
Executive Director

* To donate: http://donate.wikimedia.org
* To visit our Blog: http://blog.wikimedia.org
* To follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wikimedia
* To follow us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wikipedia


This letter can serve as a record for tax purposes. No goods or
services were provided, in whole or in part, for this contribution.
The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit charitable corporation
with 501(c)(3) tax exempt status in the United States. Our address is 149 New Montgomery, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA, 94105. Tax-exempt number: 20-0049703

Great Quote

"I'm not frightened. I'm not frightened of anything. The more I suffer, the more I love. Danger will only increase my love. It will sharpen it, forgive its vice. I will be the only angel you need. You will leave life even more beautiful than you entered it. Heaven will take you back and look at you and say: Only one thing can make a soul complete and that thing is love.
- Michael Berg, The Reader"
— Bernhard Schlink (The Reader)

Piatt Castles

Arlene and I took Tom and Libby to the Piatt Castles about an hours drive west of Columbus in West Liberty, Ohio.

The castles were built by the Piatt brothers in the 1860's.   They are only about a mile from one another.

Margaret Piatt and so many others before her have done a great job maintaining these nearly 150 year old beautiful structures. 

2010_08_23 - Trip to the Piatt Castles

If you live in Ohio and are looking for a great historical adventure, then this is the place to visit.

Also, very near by (a mile or so)  are the Ohio Cavern.


More information about the Piatt Castles can be found at:

http://www.piattcastles.org/

and


http://www.ohiocaverns.com/

Fun Shockwave -- Ragdoll

I hate when people think they can just push me around  Ragdoll Shockwave File...

Bounce to my google document site, click open on the swf

Gravity

What is going on with this theory of gravity...

I recently read this great article by Dennis Overbye in the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/science/13gravity.html?_r=2   

It got me completely curious.  What is this guy talking about??? 

I went to his paper here:  http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/1001/1001.0785v1.pdf

but found my self confused.  Being a layman and it being 16 years since I have had a physics class, I was quite perplexed.

So, I started to do some searching on some basics of gravity and found the following really great movie:
What On Earth Is Wrong With Gravity?
In summary, it says:
  
Newton predicted the efffects of gravity:  An apple falls to the ground from a tree and it is the natural attraction between objects that appeared to Newton, to be the cause.

Einstein worked out why gravity exists. We all see space as dark empty and black.  Einstein, saw space as a type of fabric.  So the earth and us, as we spin and move through space, stretch this space fabric.   The closer you are to the earth, the stronger the gravitational field.   The further you are out in space, the weaker the gravitational field. What he theorized and was later proven was that this space fabric is time.  The stronger the gravitational field, the slower time moves.   The further you are away from a gravitational field, the faster time moves.

Satellites, like those used by the Global Positioning System (GPS) have to constantly be re-synchronized with the clocks here on earth.  They in fact, run faster.

More to follow...

Obama Gives Commanders Wide Berth for Secret Warfare - Politics - The Atlantic

Interesting. Not the pussy cat some thought he was...

Obama Gives Commanders Wide Berth for Secret Warfare - Politics - The Atlantic

White Sangria

Someone told me that Sangria means cheap wine in Spanish.  Not true.   It's made with cheap wine, so maybe folks are referring to this when they think of Sangria.   It actually means "bloodletting".

The trick to a good Sangria is the Orange Liqueur or Cointreau.  If not available, then a cheap Triple Sec will do if you must, but just won't be as tasty.

1 750-ml bottle of CHEAP white wine such as Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc
1 can of sprite or other lemon-lime soda
1 cup orange juice
3/4 cup of Cointreau or other orange liqueur
2-3 Shots of Peach Schnapps
2 tablespoons grenadine
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
sugar to taste;  I use 4 tablespoons
1 apple thinly sliced, washed and unpeeled
1 orange thinly sliced, washed and unpeeled
2 lemons sliced, washed and unpeeled
1 lime sliced, washed and unpeeled
a few slices of finely chopped pineapple.
a few strawberries sliced
a few raspberries
ice
For an extra kick, add two shots of Vodka

Mix the booze, juices, soda, and sugar.  Add fruit and mix well.  Refrigerate and let soak for an hour or two before consuming.

The Sistine Chapel

What a great site!!!

Gui is a bit difficult to get used to, but very amazing.

 

http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html

Fwd: State Issue 1 is critical piece of Ohio's future

-------- Original Message --------

Subject:	State Issue 1 is critical piece of Ohio's future
Date:	Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:58:36 -0400 (EDT)
From:	E. Gordon Gee <gordon.gee@osu.edu>
To:	...

On Tuesday, May 4, all Ohio registered voters have the opportunity to
help secure a brighter future for our state and our university system by
supporting State Issue 1, which renews Ohio's successful Third Frontier
jobs and economic development program.

Here is what it has meant to Ohioans:

• expansion of businesses, generating 571 new companies since 2002
• 48,000 new jobs with more on the way, helping to keep talented young
people in the state
• breakthrough discoveries in a state that will lead the way in the new knowledge economy.

The University's Board of Trustees and leaders across our campus join me
in recognizing that passage of State Issue 1 will help Ohio State
maintain its position as one of the truly great research institutions in
the nation. One more point: State Issue 1 is not a tax increase. It is,
instead, a means to accelerate our positive momentum.

By voting yes on Issue 1, we can assure a vibrant future for Ohio.

Sincerely,

E. Gordon Gee
President

Eating the Wrong Kind of Carbohydrates Increases Heart Disease Risk - US News and World Report

Eating the Wrong Kind of Carbohydrates Increases Heart Disease Risk - US News and World Report

Posted using ShareThis

"Our love affair with carbohydrates is hard to break: Time and again, we try to swear off pretzels, bread, and pasta­­—usually in an effort to lose weight­—only to embrace them again after feeling deprived. Turns out, though, we might not need to cut back on all carbs, only certain ones.

That's according to a new study published in today's Archives of Internal Medicine, which found that women who ate the most "high-glycemic" carbohydrates—which cause quick spikes in blood sugar levels—had more than twice the risk of having heart disease as those who ate the least. (The study didn't find the same association in men.) What's interesting, though, is that it was the type of carbs, not the amount, that had the health impact. "High consumption of carbohydrate from high-glycemic foods, rather than overall quantity of carbohydrate consumed, appears to influence the risk of developing heart disease in women," says study leader Sabina Sieri....."

Make sure you take a look at this too:
http://www.glycemicedge.com/glycemic-index-chart/

Wind Turbines in Indiana

While driving from Columbus, Ohio to Chicago this week, we encountered a HUGE Wind Turbine Farm along I-65.

From Things-you-don't-see-everyday

This was an eye opener.  I never knew there were so many wind farms across the country.
Such as indicated here:
http://www.awea.org/projects/


Surprisingly, Ohio has only 7.  Ironically enough,  we are one of the largest manufacturers of  Wind Turbines with GE Wind turbines.

From Things-you-don't-see-everyday

What I could not understand was why there were so many wind turbines not running.  This just seemed like such a waste.  It was VERY windy;  I would say the wind speed had to be at least 20 mph. 

Curious, I did some looking and found this:

http://chicago.straightdope.com/sdc20091224.php

On to the heart of the matter: why lock down the turbines when the breeze is really blowing and you could pump out some serious juice? You've already guessed the reason: for fear the big windmills will rip themselves apart if the gale gets too fierce. The danger isn't strictly theoretical — check out the Danish wind turbine accident on YouTube. Horizon's turbines start generating electricity when the wind reaches 6 to 9 MPH and reach maximum output at 22-25 MPH. They automatically shut down above 42-44 MPH, known in the business as the cutout speed. When wind speed drops below that level, operation automatically resumes.

Also, here are some pretty decent videos on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZwHkJ52-tc&feature=related

From Things-you-don't-see-everyday

From Things-you-don't-see-everyday

Local News | Area 51 vets break silence: Sorry, but no space aliens or UFOs | Seattle Times Newspaper

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011461015_area51vets28m.html

What a great article....

Probably will never silence those that are convinced aliens crashed and were held at Area 51...

Local News | Area 51 vets break silence: Sorry, but no space aliens or UFOs | Seattle Times Newspaper

Help, there's a dog stuck in my computer...

Help!   There's a dog stuck in my computer....

http://www.horness.com/tools/screenclean.swf

Liu Bolin - The Invisible Man

Very Cool. 

http://v1kram.posterous.com/liu-bolinthe-invisible-man

The Invisible Man

Quote supposedly by Johnny Depp.

pretty amazing inline skating...

So you think you can skate....

Top Ten Instrumenal Works

I don't necessarily agree that these are the top ten works... but just the same, they are all great works.

http://www.listzblog.com/top_ten_instrumental_works_opera_favorites_list.html


Here are some of my favorites:
http://chuckkozak.blogspot.com/2009/03/give-to-your-local_07.html#links

Video Bomb

Some of my favorite video bombs..

Pride

He fought so hard... 'must have been so tired'

Pride

This is a great read...

50 Things we know now that we didn't know this time last year

Published: 12/28/09, 12:10 PM EDT
By Jeff Houck

If there was an award for best quote of the year, our money would be on Richard Fisher, the director of NASA's Heliophysics Division....