tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29519221355184470892024-03-13T06:32:22.842-04:00100 Hour BoardA Place for Answers - in 100 hours or less.HRPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09090518698010984212noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-57646353722313847042010-09-20T12:51:00.001-04:002010-09-21T09:01:33.052-04:00Was the Tricerotops a baker?<strong><span style="color: red;">Q:</span></strong> On a recent Scout hike, a heated debate developed during our woodly wanderings. Proudly standing on one side was a 12 year old insisting that grass did not exist during the era of the dinosaurs, and didn' t appear until after the great meteorite that brought mass extinction. On the other were several boys and leaders insisting that common sense pointed to the fact that grass did exist. There is honor, a little money and participation in future Scouting events riding on this. So. Did grass exist at the time of the dinosaurs?<br />
The Vegan Raptor<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: blue;">A:</span></strong> Dear Poaceaen Minded,<br />
<br />
It sounds like your adolescent dinophile is fairly caught up on the early eras of the earth and the development of land animals and plants. Or fairly so. You may not like the answer, but technically the 12 year old is right, and wrong. (What a safe cop-out). And until 2005 or so, he was mostly correct. Let's explain.<br />
<br />
Grasses - specifically of the poaceaen or gramineae family - are a branch of flowering plants, even part of a greater group of monocotelydons (single seed leaf) that include pineapples, palms, orchids and lilies. We know grasses as things that produce food we eat - ryes, wheat, etc - and things we decorate with, i.e the lawn. The family includes bamboo, rice, and corn, and includes 9-10,000 species.<br />
<br />
But this plant family that dominates our lives and cuisine, is relatively new. Lets describe the history briefly, as understood up through 2004, best summarized by <a href="http://www.ricegene.csdb.cn/.../Evolutionary%20history%20of%20the%20grasses.pdf">Elizabeth Kellogg</a>. Using rDNA studies of the chloropast genome (a sub-cell structure in plants) scientists can begin to create a family tree of grasses to show their development. You have to go pretty far back to find a common ancestor of rice and corn (maize). Scientists also use fossil evidence in conjunction with atomic dating to start fixing the early descendants. Specifically they look at pollen fossils and for specific grass features (look for channels that go through the outer but not inner pollen walls). Earliest examples are found at 60-55 million years ago. They have found some examples of pollen from 70 million years ago, but they cannot confirm it actually comes from grass.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/TJdcycsdQ0I/AAAAAAAAA2o/pTPnMNwGc28/s1600/LostWorldDio012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/TJdcycsdQ0I/AAAAAAAAA2o/pTPnMNwGc28/s320/LostWorldDio012.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Your brief dinosaur history: Dinosaurs were the dominant land vertabrates from the late Triassic to late Cretaceous period - roughly 230-65.5 million years ago. Science generally points to several mass extinction events taking place at the end of hte Cretaceous period to kill off the dinosaurs and allow mammels to dominate. This later time is a time of thriving for dinosaurs, including the Tyrannosaur. And some mammels were around at this time. But you can see that with dinosaurs dying off in 65.5 million years from asteroids and/or volcanos, grass wasn't around according to the fossil and genetic record. So before 2004 scientists declared, "Dinosaurs did not eat grasses".</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/TJddAx-OYtI/AAAAAAAAA24/Lukf-12OUDY/s1600/ArgentinosaurusHuinculensis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/TJddAx-OYtI/AAAAAAAAA24/Lukf-12OUDY/s320/ArgentinosaurusHuinculensis.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A type of titanosaur sauropod</td></tr>
</tbody></table> But dinosaur poop saves the day! (Didn't expect that ever!) In 2005, a <em><a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/sci;310/5751/1177">Science</a> </em>article discussed that they have found evidence of grasses in corprolites (the polite word for fossilized poop). Specifically they found that 5 different taxas (major species groups) of grasses were eaten by dinosaurs. (In this case titanosaur suaropods in India) This points to the fact that grasses were somewhat widespread and developed before the catastrophes of 65.5 million years ago.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/TJdc50BQG1I/AAAAAAAAA2w/IqyrNpDJr90/s1600/fred_flintstone-5307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/TJdc50BQG1I/AAAAAAAAA2w/IqyrNpDJr90/s320/fred_flintstone-5307.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A TV lie! He may have had the hammock, but not the lawn.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> So...both sides are right. (Keep in mind the the exact dating and science here is a bit nebulous and often dependent on what we are lucky enough to find in someone's backyard). Grasses did exist to a good extent during the time of the dinosaurs, but not for the majority of the time. So Fred Flinstone didn't have to mow the lawn. How you settle the bet is up to you.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">HRB</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>HRPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09090518698010984212noreply@blogger.com115tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-7653051900601550792009-11-05T17:43:00.008-05:002009-11-05T18:50:54.465-05:00Chapping in the CAPTCHAs<strong><span style="color:#ff6600;">Q:</span></strong> Dear 100HB:<br /><br />How come on some web sites to leave comments I only have to leave one set of silly characters and then on others I have to type in TWO sets of characters the second of which are OH so very difficult to decipher?<br /><br />Yours Truly,<br /><br />Spam the Man<br /><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>A:</strong></span> Dear Slave to the Anti-Spam:<br /><br />Could the real slim shady please stand up? No? Well, okay how about you just fill out this verification then?<br /><br />The answer to your question is because you work for a man named Luis. That is right you are part of the great plan to mobilize the largest workforce in the history of mankind. Not getting paid? Well, you have <a href="http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~biglou/">Luis von Ahn</a> to blame for that. If you are one of the 100 of millions of people who use the Internet (and if you are reading this you are) you have been working for Luis von Ahn for years...for free! So I called him to get some background and answers.<br /><br />According to Luis, years ago Yahoo had a problem- SPAM. In an effort to gather a vast number of email accounts, Spammers were using automated computer programs to sign up for them. They were right programs to gather millions of Yahoo accounts everyday. Spam was clogging up Yahoo email accounts.<br /><br />So Luis and his advisor Manuel Blum were approached to identify who was a person and who was an malicious automated computer program. They finally came up with a test. That is where the birth of the verification process called CAPTCHA.<br /><br />The idea is that a human can discern the characters whereas computers cannot recognize the characters. Suddenly, the spam programs cannot gather accounts. Millions of companies including, YouTube, Gmail, Yahoo, MSN, Facebook, TicketMaster, Flickr, and NBC use CAPTCHA.<br /><br />You would think with spam being reduced in every one's inbox Luis would be rejoicing at his success. Believe it or not Luis felt bad about this invention of his. When I spoke with him he let me know that he has estimated that for every CAPTCHA entry the average person is waisting 10 seconds of their time.<br /><br />"If you were to multiply that by 200 million," Luis said, "you get that humanity as a whole is waisting 500,000 hours every day typing these annoying CAPTCHAS." This began to eat at him and he asked himself, "How could I better use this time? Is there a way to use this human effort in a way that benefits humanity?"<br /><br />"I was on a mission to make good use of that 10 seconds of time," he says.<br /><br />While hiding from the mass of Internet users upset at Luis's invention he got involved with another project, the initiative to scan books, decipher text and provide books over the Internet. Google has one, the Internet Archive has one but the problem is many books texts are old and faded. Type is not aligned, there are smudges and faded type as well. So when computers scan these old texts the computers don't recognize the text and converts 30-40% of the words incorrectly.<br /><br />Solution? Take those words and use them as CAPTCHAs and have the people decipher them. But there in lied the problem. The computer could not decipher the word so how is the CAPTCHA test going to verify whether the person typing in the word got it right or not? Luis's solution was to combine the word from a book with a computer generated CAPTCHA.<br /><br />"We will give two tests," says Luis, "One we know the answer to and the other that we don't and the person can solve the one we know the answer to them we will assume they can solve the one that we don't know the answer to."<br /><br />He called it <a href="http://recaptcha.net/">RECAPTCHA</a>. Now every time you type a reCAPTCHA you are also transcribing an old book. It looks like this:<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SvNfMhCWb5I/AAAAAAAABKI/3ax34-91tao/s1600-h/11-5-2009+3-46-13+PM.jpg"></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400765170022740690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 168px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SvNfTsKB8tI/AAAAAAAABKQ/0wv05qKaylk/s320/11-5-2009+3-46-13+PM.jpg" border="0" /> Today 125-150 books are being digitized a day because of RECAPTCHA. Even the New York Times archive are being transcribed this way. 130 years of newspaper archive is being transcribed from <a href="http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~biglou/reCAPTCHA_Science.pdf">RECAPTCHA</a>. Luis estimates that the NYT Internet archive will be complete next year with the help of RECAPTCHA.<br /><br />"Now, we are taking that effort of 10 seconds and applying it to assist in the dissemination of literature, scientific text and social news," Luis states triumphantly.<br /><br />Luis has done a lot with himself working as faculty at <a href="http://www.cylab.cmu.edu/education/faculty/vonAhn.html">Carnegie Mellon University</a>. But he tries to ensure his work is interesting to others. That is why he has founded <a href="http://www.gwap.com/gwap/">GWAP</a> (Games With A Purpose). In fact, I am sure you have all played one of his games, Google Image Labeler- pair up with another Internet user and try to identify matching labels for a picture. This data helps search engines refine search criteria and list more relevant and contextual results. GWAP has made games for the following:<br /><ul><li>Fighting Spam</li><li>Digitizing Books</li><li>Labelling Images on the web</li></ul>So don't get too angry with yourself about those RECAPTCHAs. Just remember you are doing good for humanity. Yet, it begged the question, now that we all decipher two words is that not doubling our efforts to 20 seconds, Luis?<br /><br />Also, Luis, could you establish a single sign on for the worldwide Internet?<br /><br />I am sure your comments and questions Luis, are always invited on this Board (<em>thanks for being a good sport</em>).<div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-71681936793926358642009-10-29T11:43:00.006-04:002009-10-29T12:13:45.420-04:00Inquisitor of the Nauseating, Ghastly, Repulsive, Revolting so Called Candy<strong><span style="color:#ff9900;">Q:</span></strong> Dear 100HB:<br />Where do candy corns come from?<br /><br />Sincerely,<br />Hal Louene<br /><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>A:</strong></span> Dear Candy Cobbed Genesis:<br /><br />First created in the 1880s by George Renninger of the Wunderle Candy Company, the three colors of candy corn are meant to symbolize actual corn. George Renninger came up with the idea to celebrate the unique food from the Americas but mostly because he was corny and vindictive. After all who else could possible invent something that looks like corn but tastes far worse and then call it candy? Each piece is approximately the size of a whole kernel of corn, as if it fell off a ripe or dried ear of corn. When candy corn first appeared, it was popular among farmers because of its agrarian look. They used the candy to fool pests into eating the candy rather than eating the farmers actual corn stock.<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/Sum59YLYA5I/AAAAAAAABKA/vCcHasBd8tQ/s1600-h/candycorn.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398050092493570962" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 256px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/Sum59YLYA5I/AAAAAAAABKA/vCcHasBd8tQ/s320/candycorn.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Candy corn is made primarily from sugar, corn syrup and honey. Working by hand, the original manufacturers first combined sugar, corn syrup and water and cooked them into a slurry. Fondant was added for texture, and marshmallows provided a soft bite. The final mixture was then heated and poured into shaped molds. Three passes were required during the pouring process, one for each colored section. Few changes have been made to the process or recipe.<br /><br />Candy corn can be found at most popular grocery food stores in the United States. This is mostly due to the little known fact that candy corn is actually not manufactured anymore because it is not consumed anymore. That is right, NO ONE makes candy corn anymore. But you say, “they must I have some in my house right now”. Sure, just like everyone else.<br /><br /><br />The Goelitz Candy Company (now Jelly Belly Candy Company) started producing the confection in 1900. In 1952 Goelitz Candy Company found that kids in actuality don’t eat the bland tasting candy. At first this was due to a misunderstanding where kids thought that the candy corn was a candy version of the corns one gets on their feet. Since the candy had the same texture and taste the kids could not be blamed for their assumption.<br /><br />In an effort to save on costs and be more environmentally friendly the company decided to send out representatives to simply collect all the unconsumed candy corn from people’s houses a week after Halloween. These remnants proved to be 98% of production that year. Goelitz’s research found that only a small population in Michigan was consuming 2% of their product while the rest went untouched- unconsumed.<br /><br />One would think that George Renninger’s ancestors would be hurt by the news that no one in truth likes or even eats candy corn. But that is not the case. These brilliant entrepreneurs have been collecting candy corn remnants over the years, repackaging and selling them again for the next year. With the slashing in production costs, Goelitz has been raking it in since. According to the <a href="http://www.candyusa.com/">National Confectioners Association</a> roughly 35 million pounds of candy corn will be "produced" this year.<br /><br /><br />But now the secret is out and we know that 35 million pounds of unconsumed candy corn are actually COLLECTED and recirculated out. That equates to nearly 9 billion pieces—enough to circle the moon nearly 21 times if laid end-to-end. The 100HB appreciates Goelitz's innovative business strategy modelled after the Treasury Department.<br /><br /><br />October 30th is National Candy Corn Day- this in no joke. So when you pick up a candy corn this week just think it may be as old as your grandpa.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-72771463066621333952009-10-19T10:44:00.003-04:002009-10-19T10:55:53.062-04:00Let me think...minus 9 months means...<strong><span style="color: red;">Q:</span></strong> Dear 100 Hour Board,<br />
<br />
You have been busy 100 board, and i will add to your work load... i have a birthday coming up and this got me wondering, what month has the most birthdays celebrated in? thank you wise one...<br />
<br />
Birthday Boy<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><strong>A:</strong></span> Dear Spank Receiver (for your birthday and unnatural habit of not capitalizing your i's),<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/Stx6VeK8PRI/AAAAAAAAAzU/7MXclonboXk/s1600-h/Raiders_Of_The_Lost_Ark_Government_Warehouse_new.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/Stx6VeK8PRI/AAAAAAAAAzU/7MXclonboXk/s320/Raiders_Of_The_Lost_Ark_Government_Warehouse_new.jpg" vr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The 100 Hour Board most humbly apologizes for the delay in this answer. To our dismay, we have been stuck in a government archive digging out the information you requested. Unfortunately we were locked in one of the warehouses, and although we believe we saw the famed Ark of the Covenent, we did not relish our lengthy stay.<br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">However, we have recovered some information for you. Hopefully you have not turned whatever you will turn this year yet, and we can assist in your celebratory exercises.<br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">There are lots of answers on the internet regarding the most popular birth day and birth month. Many are not correct. Their sources are rather dubious. In fact I think you could pretty much pick any month by random (although not using 2, 6-sided dice as you will then only select months of Feb through Dec - although we can usually leave January out as a rather dull month will dull birthday kids) and supply a better answer. But the 100 Hour Board has come through again and given you the correct answer. <br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">September!<br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">But not by too much. First the information is hard to come by because the US Census buerau does not track births or birthdays, they leave that to the National Center for Health Statistics who are much more interested if you are born healthy and with 4 limbs than when exactly. (Actually there is a lot of data recorded by the <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/elec_prods/subject/natality.htm">NCHS</a> and these results are confirmed by their data).<br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">One website "<a href="http://anybirthday.com/">Anybirthday.com</a>" (a site providing a service whereby you can query any friend's or enemy's birthday just in case you need to send a present or order a credit card) uses a database of most states census records and birthdates. Although it isn't complete it is fairly concise. It points out that September is the lucky month. And January and February being unluckily lonely. (By the way they also point out that October 5th is the most common birth day.)<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/Stx6LmSeUhI/AAAAAAAAAy8/sDiVy5x5Scw/s1600-h/birthchart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/Stx6LmSeUhI/AAAAAAAAAy8/sDiVy5x5Scw/s320/birthchart.jpg" vr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/26/us/with-september-s-rains-come-baby-showers.html?scp=13&sq=%22birth+month%22&st=nyt">NY Times</a> summerized this research in a study that again points out that September is the most popular birth month.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/Stx6RJ-AR5I/AAAAAAAAAzM/ZYn-B4veLS4/s1600-h/merry_christmas_baby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/Stx6RJ-AR5I/AAAAAAAAAzM/ZYn-B4veLS4/s320/merry_christmas_baby.jpg" vr="true" /></a><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Why you ask? I suppose we naturally turn towards excesses of egg-nog, idle time and frisky natures around Christmas. Yes September minus 9 months is December. Makes you wonder what people really mean when they sing the "Twelve Days of Christmas" and all those "lord's a leaping". And October 5th would point towards drunken hook-ups thanks to the ball dropping. This trend has been noticed since 1942 when the first reliable data tracking started.<br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">However, September is a common birth month in non-Christian societies also - like India and Isreal. And in European countries they tend to favor the Spring. So it isn't just a proliference of Barry White music played over the Holidays. <br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/Stx6Nz2YNkI/AAAAAAAAAzE/5TVMOFgJ4ig/s1600-h/christmaslingeriesantashelperl28316_Full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/Stx6Nz2YNkI/AAAAAAAAAzE/5TVMOFgJ4ig/s320/christmaslingeriesantashelperl28316_Full.jpg" vr="true" /></a>Scientists are looking at other factors. (Here is <a href="http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121429006/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0">one study</a> that found that Crohn's disease is NOT related to the seasonality of birth date - for some of our interested readers.)<br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So, although the reasons are less certain - or perhaps varied (like based around Victoria Secrets sales or maybe due to temperature and length of the night...because no one except Canadians like to conceive in the snow) - we generally can assume that in the US there is something to that Holiday - unexplained birth 9 months later phenomenon. What you should really ask, is what month has the most unplanned pregnancies. My guess is still September. Although November 14th is a good guess. <br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>The 100 Hour Board (not born in September!)<br />
PS - Here is a great <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9E03E3DA1330E132A25750C2A9649C946097D6CF">NY Times article</a> from 1901 about the popularity of February as a birth month for famous people. Although I don't think we would consider Rose Terry Cooke famous nowadays. Although George Derby of New York vehemently disagrees in a <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9B0DE6D91330E132A25751C0A9659C946097D6CF">follow-up letter-to-the-editor</a> a bit later. Now you know what your great-grandparents did for fun. No wonder they had lots of September babies.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>HRPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09090518698010984212noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-53095414307316576052009-09-14T13:27:00.012-04:002009-09-14T14:26:12.244-04:00Bird On A Wire<div><span style="color:#ff9900;"><strong>Q:</strong></span> Is it true that birds will sit on a wire to keep their feet warm?<br /><br />Thanks,<br />Avian Fowl<br /><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>A:</strong></span> Dear H5N1:<br /><br />In answer to your question we went to Rocky Mountain Power company:<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/Sq6Kqhe9pbI/AAAAAAAABHA/aKbPt-aQbno/s1600-h/untitled.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381391067901699506" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 283px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/Sq6Kqhe9pbI/AAAAAAAABHA/aKbPt-aQbno/s320/untitled.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>100HB:</strong></span> "I was hoping you could tell me why birds sit on your powerlines. It has been suggested that it keeps their feet warm. Is this true?"<br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">RckPW:</span></strong> "I don't know. I've never heard of that. I guess if it is a hot day and the sun is keeping the wire hot. It is metal...I really don't know. I can tell you why they don't get electrocuted though."<br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">100HB:</span></strong> "No, that is alright, just want to know about why they sit up there."<br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">RckPW:</span></strong> "I think it is becuas they can see prey from up there."<br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">100HB:</span></strong> "As apposed to the wood sections of your poles? I mean why the wire?"<br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">RckPW:</span></strong> "I don't know. But they don't get electrocuted because..."<br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">100HB:</span></strong> "Yes, yes, I know the second wire bit. I just need to know about why the wire."<br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">RckPW:</span></strong> "Beats me."<br /><br />Oh, I think we will beat you...I think we will.<br /><br />I went and asked one of our professors in Natural Sciences- he wasn't too pleased with the question. He started going off on how a bird will lift one leg close to its body to keep it warm and how wires provide unabstructed views for hunting.<br /><br />Wow, you're a REAL professor and everything? So impressive (sarcasm).<br /><br />The wires contribute no heat themselves to the birds' feet. First we are talking about high power transition lines and not telephone wires. With telephone and cable wires they are insulated so you wouldn't get any heat if it let out any at all. Just feel your cable to your lamp or cable box. Is it hot? of course not.<br /><br />Now high power transmission lines I read average about 7.2% loss across them, which means somewhere the lines are resisting and changing the electricity into heat. This is due to grounding and the corona effect - a blueish discharge of electricity more than just heat loss in resistence. But b/c aluminum alloys are used in transmission lines it is possible to have some heat. Heat loss to resistence is given by Q = I^2 x R (power loss = current ^2 times resistence) Resistence in aluminum is 0.248*10^-8, average current in line is 100-3000amps (high voltage means low current PV=I (power x voltage = current). This gives about .00558kW in power loss. Power x Time = Energy - so assume you lost ALL of that energy is lost to one bird foot in a second. That's 5.58 kWs or 5.58 Joules. 1 Joule can heat 1 gram of dry air 1 degree Celsius. You release 1 Joule in 1 hundredth of a second. 1 /100th of energy in one drop of beer. So it COULD heat up a bird's foot a very little bit, but I assumed all the heat came out in 1 second at one point. No the bird ain't getting warm.<br /><br />The real answer most likely has to do with wires warmed in the sun over the day that have a heat from radiation effect. Like sitting on a warm sidewalk. MUCH MUCH more effect from that (magnitudes more). Add in a social, hunting, and need to sit down and raise a foot to keep warm - and you have a handy community perch.<br /><br />Until the Disney researchers get back with me, the answer is for the birds:<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3IpOFsKcDQ">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3IpOFsKcDQ</a><br /><br /><br /><object height="315" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/s3IpOFsKcDQ&hl=en&fs=1&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/s3IpOFsKcDQ&hl=en&fs=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="315"></embed></object></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-17316676616984213342009-09-10T21:27:00.000-04:002009-09-10T21:27:52.942-04:00Whirling Johns<strong><span style="color: red;">Q:</span></strong> Dear All-Wise-100-Hr-Board,<br />
<br />
I have heard (but have never traveled far enough to confirm) that when above the equator a toilet flushes in the opposite direction than from below the equator. Is this true?<br />
<br />
<br />
If so, what occurs when you are located AT the equator? <br />
<br />
Sincerely, <br />
Flushed Away <br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: blue;">A:</span></strong> Dear Swirly, <br />
<br />
Who says they use toilets south of the equator? Or even AT the equator for that manner? Seeing as you have not traveled beyond the confines of your particular commodal region, you may not be aware what occurs in Australia. What do you think wombats are designed for? Which is why Tazmanian Devils are so very feared lest you confuse the two in the middle of the night. All of South America actually uses small buckets that magically teleport the...umm..leftovers to a specific septic tank in the 1000 Islands that magically needs extra pumping every year. And as you near the border, well...trophies are dried, shipped to Seattle and used as in high-price grande soy mocha latte. <br />
<br />
We jest. Toilets in the Northern Hempisphere rotate counterclockwise, clockwise in the Southern. That is the whole toilet gets up and spins in only one direction. And then puts thier who selves in...their whole selves out... Ok...they flush in those respective directions. So at the border things just go straight down. Quickly. So watch the hands. <br />
<br />
How do we know this? From watching hurricanes and cyclones that rotate similarly. Using deduction and gross-literary allegories we know that toilets behave similarly (gross...ha ha). What's good for the cyclones good for the crapper. <em>If you know what I mean.</em> I mean we give both of them men's names? Really...don't we consider the Gulf of Mexico our common WC? Coincidence? I think not. <br />
<br />
Back in 1984 a group of MIT engineers and physicists undertook a NIS funded project to study this phenomena. Although fluid mechanics is central to engineers' studies (and essentially most civil engineers end up spending their career designing oversized toilet systems - HA BRIAN!), the real reason for the study arose from a debate on hair styling post swirlies. There was a worry that if an Aussie bloke gave you a swirlie while visiting a conference on Crocco effect in fluid dynamics (or a Star Trek convention Kirk) down under, you may not be able to adequately return to your 30 year old hairstyle. German nerds avoided this issue years ago by removing any toilet bowl and installing shelves. Trust me..I'll risk wet hair! <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/Sqmk-9GGf6I/AAAAAAAAAyo/rT7wCMr1SfU/s1600-h/692px-Low_pressure_system_over_Iceland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/Sqmk-9GGf6I/AAAAAAAAAyo/rT7wCMr1SfU/s320/692px-Low_pressure_system_over_Iceland.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Surprisingly it was discovered that in fact the toilet bowls aren't large to come under the hyptonizing Coriolis effect. (Or that is, it is extremely neglibigle. Like spitting into the wind of a hurricane to mix analogies) The Coriolis effect is a 'fictional force' that is how straight movement on something rotating is perceived in another reference frame. Commonly we recognize this as air rotating in a low pressure storm - hurricane or cyclone (ruled by Buys-Ballot's law). Basically, hurricanes are huge and last around several days so the rotation of the earth effects the winds flowing towards the low pressure point to curve them. In the North you see this as counterclockwise storms, clockwise in the South. On the equator: nada - but only exactly there. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
Turns out toilets, sinks, bathtubs (yes even jacuzzi tubs), swimming pools and the like are way too small to be effected or noticed. (Unless you live in a crapper). </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SqmlgbMNlWI/AAAAAAAAAyw/KEMcJGKEplQ/s1600-h/toilet-house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SqmlgbMNlWI/AAAAAAAAAyw/KEMcJGKEplQ/s320/toilet-house.jpg" /></a></div> <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">"But my toilet swirls counterclockwise!" you say in consternation (NOT constipation). Well, the swirls are actually caused by the way the toilet flushes. Or small disturbances when the drain is plugged. So sorry, no dice. Toilets generally behave the same no matter the geography. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Although, in the 1930's British scientists did study the effect in bathtubs in very controlled experiments and found a very minimal effect to draining. Only the Brits have that much time on their hands. And week old bath water. Although we did watch a great video from 1961 of Ascher Shapiro <a href="http://web.mit.edu/hml/ncfmf.html">demonstrating </a>drains and how to calculate velocity vectors. But that's a little dry for most people. (Dry?!! We are too funny!) (In case you need to sleep watch the video <em>Vorticity Part 1</em>) More info <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolis_effect">here</a> and <a href="http://www.snopes.com/science/coriolis.asp">here</a>. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div>But this is ok. You won't believe what happens to toilets in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9TQJ6MJOmw">Japan</a>! Watch out! And of course I found this one that isn't about toilets flushing - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvJdCyOZB_Q">but fun</a>. <br />
<br />
Sincerely, <br />
Your WC Director<div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>HRPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09090518698010984212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-88806467897413517262009-08-26T15:13:00.005-04:002009-08-26T15:45:58.987-04:00I Thought I Had An Idea<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SpWQakTMQRI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/mwTCqBHd8HQ/s1600-h/DSC_4842-940-close-up-photo-blown-bulb.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374360516431724818" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SpWQakTMQRI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/mwTCqBHd8HQ/s400/DSC_4842-940-close-up-photo-blown-bulb.jpg" /></a><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Q:</span></strong> dear 100 board<br />i apologize for my absence, but i need an answer and i know of only one place to get the truth..... ok board a light bulb burns out, are we still using energy if the light switch is on even though our bulb has seen its last?... i appreciate your time oh wise 100!!<br /><br />Pat<br /><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>A:</strong></span> Oh Pat. Your absence is unexcused. The 100 Hour Board is aware of your departure and responsible for your light bulbs burning out.<br />The answer is yes and no. Or rather my favorite answer ever...it depends! Depends on what?<br />It depends on what kind of light bulb you have.<br /><br /><strong>Light Bulb 101:<br /></strong><br />Light bulb technology is pretty intricate, cool and yet simple at the same time. Makes you respect Mr. Edison more.<br /><br />Incandescent bulbs (old technology) work by sending a electrical current through a resistor, in this case thin tungsten coil filaments, that resist the flow of electricity and convert it into heat and some light. Only about 10% is visible which is why they are so inefficient. Normally the tungsten would catch on fire, so they fill the light bulb with argon or nitrogen. Over time the tungsten atoms fly off because the filament gets really hot - 4000 degrees! Like evaporation off water. The argon helps keep this from happening.<br /><br />But over time, because of the tungsten leaving, and the constant on and off, rapid heating and cooling, the filament gets brittle and breaks. And your bulb burns out. Now an incandescent bulb can also fail because of vibration (filament breaks loose), glass breaking (argon leaves and filament catches fire), or the connection to the bulb and fixture is bad (that solder piece is deformed or the copper spring contact bends in - stemming from over tightening bulbs).<br /><br />No matter which way it burns out, with incandescent bulbs, no electricity is flowing. The electrical circuit is broken. Like cutting your cord to the lamp. Which is why they are safe to leave in - no electric shocks from probing fingers.<br /><br />BURNED OUT INCANDESCENT BULB = NO POWER<br /><br />But fluorescent bulbs use a different principle to operate. A tube of argon coated in phosphor powder, is also filled with a little mercury. Electrodes at either end flow electrons through the plasma in the on tube and this causes gaseous mercury to release electrons and light. Although it releases ultraviolet light. The phosphor powder absorbs the UV and releases white light (or other colors depending on the powder). (I recommend looking at this page at <a href="http://home.howstuffworks.com/fluorescent-lamp5.htm">How Stuff Works</a>.)<br /><br />These lights require a starting mechanism - usually what they call a ballast - that stores and releases energy at start-up. "Burning out" for fluorescent bulbs are less defined if they are not catastrophic (glass breaking) but can include issues with the electrodes, ballasts and leaks.<br /><br />When fluorescent bulbs burn out it is possible to have electricity flowing through the tube but not igniting the mercury electron release. Also you can be sending electricity to the ballast all the time the switch is on. It could be a slow leak or even more to the ballast.<br /><br />BURNED OUT FLUORESCENT BULB = SOME POWER<br /><br />So not only do you need to worry about mercury spills and the EPA with a broken flourescent bulb, you need to worry about stray current! Oh my!<br />Hope that gives you some answers - or ideas to swallow for that matter:<br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SpWQaQH7rLI/AAAAAAAAAyI/UaISSEDSops/s1600-h/432xraysnakebulbs.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 309px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374360511015791794" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SpWQaQH7rLI/AAAAAAAAAyI/UaISSEDSops/s400/432xraysnakebulbs.jpg" /></a><br /><br />100 HB<br />(Top photo courtesy of <a href="http://joshmadison.com/notebook/entry/close-up-photo-blown-light-bulb">Josh Madison</a>) </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>HRPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09090518698010984212noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-50383549060232355022009-08-02T10:06:00.002-04:002009-08-02T10:46:58.229-04:00Confusing Cuisine<span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Q:</strong></span> Dear 100 Hour Board<br />I read the ingredients of many foods I eat. Not one of them has made much sense to me. I don't remember ever learning about the chemicals listed on the back of food. Who is to say whether or not these may be cancerous? Where can I find information regarding the chemicals/ingredients of food?<br /><br />Regards,<br />Stuck with sodium benzoate<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#6633ff;">A:</span></strong> Dear gastronomically, molecularly and masticatingly challenged,<br /><br />Please repeat after me. "Chemicals are my friends. Chemicals are my friend." Take a deep breath.<br /><br />Now that we are past that, we must realize that not all chemicals are evil, a grand consipracy, or disgusting. In fact most of them are quite helpful for you, some are helpful to the manufacturer and others are there to make food cheap and accessible. Modern food convenience, the freedom to eat a variety of interesting creations and cuisines, at prices that don't add to more than 50% of your income or 75% of your (a woman's) time, are due in part to these additions that drive down the cost of making and delivering safe food. But a lot of them aren't new. Man has been adding things to food to make them safe for years; salt, vinegar or even sulfer dioxide into wine to help control bad bacteria first added in Ancient Egypt).<br /><br />But what are they? Food additives (the majority of all those chemicals on the ingredients' list) are either direct or indirect additiives. Direct additives are added to affect the actual food. Like adding niacin in wheat flour to make up for the loss of vitamins during milling. Indirect additives are leftovers from packaging, storing or making the food. For example calcium silicate (an inert salt that can't hurt you) is added to allow powders to flow in food plants. Direct additives serve one of three general purposes:<br /><ul><li>Maintain freshness and saftey: ie. so you don't get botulism or the product doesn't stale or dry out. This has direct relation to food risks and costs.</li><li>Improve or maintain nutrition: adding potassium iodine into table salt has been a medical marvel of our time - preventing severe thyroid issues.</li><li>Improve taste, texture and appearance: dyes for color, stabilizers so food don't seperate, starches for mouth feel, etc. A lot of these aren't new, but they help!</li></ul><p>Now that we've firmly established the need and usefulness of additives, how do we know they are safe? In the United States (similar in most countries) food manufacturers must apply for the use of additives in food (both direct and indirect). The Food and Drug Administration then looks at the composition and chemical properties, focus on the amount you'll eat, any short and long-term health effects (especially cancer) and other various factors. They determine a safe level (which gives you a safety margin to consume a whole lot - just in case) and then regulate the use in the food. (Note: there are some items exempted from the process because we know they are safe - like GRAS - generally frecognized as safe). Are we absolutely sure its safe? NO. But we do our best. Combined with GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) companies and the government look to deliver the best, and safest food possible.</p><p>Please note that the dangers these additions prevent are a MUCH MORE serious threat to your health than the 1 in 10,000 chance you have of being slightly sensitive to Yellow Dye #5. Botulism, samonella, e-coli, etc. are devastating diseases. So a little sodium erythorbate in your canned veggies can prevent that tiny amount of botulism that can kill you very fast (it takes a miniscule amount). </p><p>The FDA (and similar government groups) post online all the information you need to look up chemicals and determine their use. Start at <a href="http://www.fda.gov/">www.fda.gov</a>. There are search tools and tables. I'll give you some examples:</p><p>EDTA, BHA & BHT are all preservatives to keep food from spoiling or going rancid</p><p>Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a SAFE way to add richness and flavors without their own flavor to change taste (this falls into the new taste on our tongues - savoriness).</p><p>Xanthan gum has many uses including a fat replacer and thickener to add texture.</p><p>Soy lecithin is an emulsifier - it keeps mixes of oils and waters together.</p><p>Sodium carobanate or citric acid keep the pH in control to prevent spoiling.</p><p>Glycerin retains moisture.</p><p>Ammonium sulfate strengthens dough effectively and at a lower cost for baked goods.</p><p>Calcium chloride (think similar to table salt) firms up foods - like veggies.</p><p>Having cooked directly with some of these pure chemicals, I can tell you they are useful and safe. Don't be afraid of them. But one note on general nutrition and food consumption. It is true that less processed foods are better - mostly because they retain a richer amount of nutrients and flavor than the processed kind - NOT because of these additives. I do recommend a homemade whole wheat bread, home killed, dressed and cooked meat and fresh garden veggies over alternatives. Pure foods are delicious and a delight. Do you have the time and ability for all those? When it comes to safe, effective and cheap food to keep us fed ALL year round, these additives are critical! And they are in EVERYTHING you eat - no matter if it is Green or Organic or not. </p><p>So bon appetit. Meanwhile I'm going to have a nice class of sodium benzoate with my soda.</p><p>The 100 Hour Board </p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>HRPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09090518698010984212noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-2192263398003910822009-07-16T14:48:00.007-04:002009-07-16T15:22:01.656-04:00Electircal Potential Differences...its all Voltage to Me<span style="color:#000000;">Dear 100 (Day?) Board:</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff9900;">Q:</span></strong> Why does the United States use 110 voltage and Europe 220? And why the different plug system for them?<br /><br /><p><span style="color:#666666;">Sincerely,</span></p><p><span style="color:#666666;">220V A,L Plug</span></p><p><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>A:</strong></span><span style="color:#3366ff;"> </span><span style="color:#666666;">Dear Anti-Adapter,</span></p><p><span style="color:#666666;">In short, to answer your question laziness and unilateralism has caused the issues regarding inconsistent voltage, Hz and plugs not to mention that pesky metric system. To help you with the confusion visit the </span><a href="http://www.travelproducts.com/electricity_guide.htm"><span style="color:#3366ff;">World-wide Electricity</span></a><span style="color:#666666;"> guide.</span></p><p><span style="color:#666666;">We have addressed these questions earlier with our brilliant article, </span><a href="http://100hrboard.blogspot.com/2008/08/dirty-power-done-cheep.html"><span style="color:#3366ff;">Dirty Power Done Cheap</span></a><span style="color:#666666;">. Your lack to adapt and understand previous answers is unfortunate. But because you are an ex-Pat it is almost a given that you will never fully adapt. For more detailed answers, well let us get started:</span></p><span style="color:#ff9900;"><strong>How values were selected</strong></span><br />The type of electricity delivered to homes and businesses was first direct current (DC) but then changed to AC electricity. The standard voltage level started at 110V, went to 240V, back to 110V, and then to 220V. Voltage is just a fancy way to say, electrical potential differences. It is the force of electricity. The frequency started at 60Hz and then went to 50Hz in most areas simply because these frequencies were most efficient and optimal although it is argued 60Hz is better, faster and stronger... like the US.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff9900;">Tesla starts AC<br /></span></strong>Early in the history of electricity, Thomas Edison's General Electric Company was distributing DC electricity at 110 volts in the United States and kicking every one's butt. Then Nikola Tesla devised a system of three-phase AC electricity at 240 volts. Three-phase meant that three alternating currents slightly out of phase were combined in order to even out the great variations in voltage occurring in AC electricity. He had calculated that 60 cycles per second or 60Hz was the most effective frequency. Tesla later compromised to reduce the voltage to 110 volts for safety reasons.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;"><strong>Europe goes to 50Hz</strong></span><br />With the backing of the Westinghouse Company, Tesla's AC system became the standard in the United States. Meanwhile, the German company AEG started generating electricity and caught the fascist bug and became a virtual monopoly in Europe. They decided to use 50Hz instead of 60Hz to better fit their metric standards, but they kept the voltage at 110V.<br /><br />Unfortunately, 50Hz AC has greater losses and is not as efficient as 60HZ. Due to the slower speed 50Hz electrical generators are 20% less effective than 60Hz generators. Electrical transmission at 50Hz is about 10-15% less efficient. 50Hz transformers require larger windings and 50Hz electric motors are less efficient than those meant to run at 60Hz. They are more costly to make to handle the electrical losses and the extra heat generated at the lower frequency. Those stupid fascists.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;"><strong>Europe goes to 220V<br /></strong></span>Europe stayed at 110V AC until the 1950s, just after World War II. They then switched over to 220V for better efficiency in electrical transmission. Great Britain not only switched to 220V, but they also changed from 60Hz to 50Hz to follow the European lead. Since many people did not yet have electrical appliances in Europe after the war, the change-over was not that expensive for them.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;"><strong>U.S. stays at 110V, 60Hz<br /></strong></span>The United States also considered converting to 220V for home use but felt it would be too costly, due to all the 110V electrical appliances people had. A compromise was made in the U.S. in that 220V would come into the house where it would be split to 110V to power most appliances. Certain household appliances such as the electric stove and electric clothes dryer would be powered at 220V.<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/Sl98O-OAKoI/AAAAAAAABGI/NbeVHCVSg2M/s1600-h/48-555.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359138678255921794" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 298px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/Sl98O-OAKoI/AAAAAAAABGI/NbeVHCVSg2M/s320/48-555.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff9900;">Some countries can't decide on a standard.</span></strong><br /><br /><br /><span style="color:#666666;">This lack of standardization has caused multiple plugs and appliance prongs. I mean come on what do we even have a UN for?</span><br /><span style="color:#666666;"></span><br /><span style="color:#666666;">But just think it could be worse. Just look at these countries:</span><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;"><br /></span><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>Brazil</strong></span><br />In Brazil, most states use between 110V and 127V AC electricity. But many hotels use 220V. In the capital Brasilia and in the northeast of the country, they mainly use 220-240V.<br /><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>Japan<br /></strong></span>In Japan, they use the same voltage everywhere, but the frequency differs from region to region. Eastern Japan, which includes Tokyo, uses 50Hz. In western Japan, which includes Osaka and Kyoto, they use 60 Hz.<br /><br />The reason for this is that after World War II, Britain was in charge of helping reconstruct Japan's electrical system in the eastern part of the country and the United States set up the electricity in the western part of Japan. Since Great Britain (United Kingdom) had been using 60Hz before the war and had just switched over to the European 240V 50Hz, it is strange that they set up Japan at 100V and 50Hz, especially when the U.S. was using 60Hz.<br /><br />Having different voltages and frequencies within the country not only must be confusing for the people but also can result in extra costs for appliances and adapters. That MacArthur missed this is a mystery. Maybe he was preoccupied with his ever present personality.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff9900;"><strong>Summary<br /></strong></span>The voltage and frequency of AC electricity varies from country to country throughout the world- it ain't changing anytime soon. No US or foreign president has had it on their platform for election/re-election. Most use 220V and 50Hz. About 20% of the countries use 110V and/or 60Hz to power their homes. 220V and 60Hz are the most efficient values, but only a few countries use that combination. The United States uses 110V and 60Hz AC electricity.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-17338959760806460622009-02-19T00:38:00.004-05:002009-02-19T01:40:35.539-05:00Turn Me Off or On?...It All Depends on How Long<div><strong><span style="color:#ff6600;">Q:</span></strong> Is it better to leave fluorescent bulbs on continually or turn them on and off as needed? Is there a time when it is more efficient to leave them off?</div><div></div><br /><div>Sincerely,</div><br /><div>In the Dark</div><div></div><br /><div><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>A:</strong></span> Dear Dark Side:</div><div></div><br /><div>Your question of efficiency is a good one. I would qualify the question by asking, is it better to leave fluorescent bulbs on continually or turn them on and off as needed as compared to what? If you are comparing a fluorescent bulb to an incandescent bulb than the answer would be yes in either situation. It would be more efficient to have fluorescent bulbs period.</div><div></div><br /><div>So what is the difference between the two? A incandescent light bulb uses a thin tungsten filament that electricity runs through. Since the filament is thin it offers resistance to the electricity. This resistance turns electrical energy into heat. The heat turns the filament white hot which emits light. It also emits heat. This is highly inefficient. In fact only <a href="http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/lighting_daylighting/index.cfm/mytopic=12280">10-15%</a> of electricity that incandescent lights consume results in actual visible light.</div><br /><div></div><div>A fluorescent bulb utilizes electrodes at both ends of a fluorescent tube. A gas mixture of argon and mercury vapor is pumped into the tube. When the light is switched on a stream of electrons flow from one electrode to the other passing through the mixed gas. The electrons bump into the mercury atoms and activate them. As the frenzied mercury atom slows its activity it emits off ultraviolet photons. The photons collide with phosphor that coats the inside fluorescent tube. This collision creates visible light. This process is 4-6 times more efficient than incandescent bulbs and produces less heat. <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SZz-eflnymI/AAAAAAAABEc/Ju96VxqBRDI/s1600-h/fluorescent.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304394260964428386" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SZz-eflnymI/AAAAAAAABEc/Ju96VxqBRDI/s320/fluorescent.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div></div><div>If your question is in comparison with the fluorescent bulb itself the question still needs to be qualified. How long will you be leaving a room? This is what makes all the difference. The process to emit light from a fluorescent bulb does take more energy upon the switch of a light as compared to leaving the light on. So wouldn't it be more efficient to just leave it on? Just like everything else in life the efficiencies of a fluorescent bulb have a break even point. So yes, there are times when it is more efficient to leave a fluorescent bulb but when doesn't seem to be agreed upon. Provided are recommendations as to when to turn the bulb off.</div><ul><li><strong><a href="http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/lighting_daylighting/index.cfm/mytopic=12280">US Department of Energy: </a></strong>If you leave the room for more than 15 minutes</li><li><strong><a href="http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/myths/fluorescent_lights.html">Consumer Energy Center</a></strong>: When leaving the room for more than 3-5 minutes</li><li><strong><a href="http://kwc.org/mythbusters/2006/12/episode_69_22000_foot_fall_lig.html">Myth Busters:</a></strong> When leaving the room for more than 23.3 seconds</li><li><strong><a href="http://www.lightingdesignlab.com/articles/switching/switching_fluorescent.htm">Lighting Design Lab:</a></strong> When leaving a room for more than 15-20 minutes</li></ul><div>But consider this:<br />According to the <a href="http://www.anl.gov/">Arogonne National Laboratory</a>, the energy needed to start a fluorescent lamp is not significantly higher than the energy needed to operate it. Even if we assume that a fluorescent lamp uses twice the normal amount of power during the starting phase, this phase lasts for only about 1 or 2 seconds. So, the crossover time to save energy would be less than 2 seconds.</div><br /><div>And finally <a href="http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=turn-fluorescent-lights-off-when-you-leave-room">Scientific American </a>recommends to always turn them off.</div><div></div><br /><div>What you are really failing to ask yourself is the most important question regarding fluorescent bulbs. That question is, How does one make an authentic Star Wars light saber using fluorescent bulbs? Well, you can't unless you want to kill yourself or end up like those <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/4575291.stm">brits</a> who put gasoline in fluorescent lights. You can try something a bit <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/SRKPK5GFLROM0PF/">Safer</a> however.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-29996938483026272622008-12-23T08:50:00.005-05:002009-01-12T11:55:24.454-05:00Can We All Just Get Along?<strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Q:</span></strong> Perhaps the next question should be "Can we ALL get along?"<br /><div><br /><div><div>Regards,</div><div>Snarky 80</div><div><strong><span style="color:#33cc00;"></span></strong></div><br /><div><strong><span style="color:#33cc00;">A:</span></strong> Dear "Accident"</div><br /><div>In this wonderful time of year, the Holiday cheer, the message of Christmas and the desire to be warm to each other despite the chill outside, fills our hearts with depression. We want to share our love for one another, come together and be a little kinder. Some of us, hot chocolate kissing our lips, glitter spread across our kiesters, and fit into sweats to accommodate our expanding Holiday waist lines, take up the call to arms of Rodney King and ask if <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_King">"can we all get along?" </a></div><br /><div>And then that SUV cuts you off for the last parking space at the mall. </div><br /><div>No. </div><div>We cannot all get along. </div><br /><div>And there are three profound scientific reasons we cannot.</div><ol><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pheramones">Phermones</a>: Yes, those pesky little chemical triggers we r<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SVD5_mIhNXI/AAAAAAAAAuk/2uGormpVx6g/s1600-h/Pheromones_350.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282997233868944754" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 278px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SVD5_mIhNXI/AAAAAAAAAuk/2uGormpVx6g/s400/Pheromones_350.jpg" border="0" /></a>elease that inspire a natural response in other people. And I'm not talking about post-eggnog exhaust. There are the territorial markers that tell us to keep away or else. Which is why the 100 Hr Board has taken up marking the outside of our cars when we park in parking lots. All it takes is a couple of sodas. Just mind the frost. There are also epideictic pheramones that let other women know, "uh-uh you best not be touching my man and home. This is my crib girlfriend." (I think the chemical even does a little head shake too, while the extended molecular arm waves its chemical finger - so to speak). Of course there are sexual pheramones that start fights, scuffles, couch-sleeping and even inter-galactic war. It isn't the man's fault his head turns to look at a cute younger woman honey - chemistry made me do it. Releaser pheramones may even attract mates up to 2 miles away. Which explains the need for me to visit Quick Chek and eat a sausage-egg-cheese-hotsauce-breakfast sandwhich I am so attracted to. So, all those not-getting-along sessions can be attributed to pesky chemical markers. So next time you get someone angry or can't pick up a date - check your pheramones.</li><br /><li><a href="http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/412/2-4-8-16-how-can-you-always-have-more-ancestors-as-you-go-back-in-time">Pedigree Colapse</a>: Why is it you don't have billions of ancestors, when<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SVD5_hLXKxI/AAAAAAAAAus/WANT6ors5ho/s1600-h/RedneckGenealogy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282997232538692370" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 301px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SVD5_hLXKxI/AAAAAAAAAus/WANT6ors5ho/s400/RedneckGenealogy.jpg" border="0" /></a> the math suggests you should? Given the increase in ancestors when you start counting grandparents, and the lot of greats before them, you would think you had lots of fore-fathers. Something like 3 million around the black plague time. The thing is, as you move back you start getting common ancestors. For example, statistically 70% of those 3 million ancestors are really some of the same people. Your family tree actually looks more like a diamond. In short. You are inbred. We all are. And we are all related. Think of it as a giant family Thanksgiving dinner. No one can expect to make it to dessert before Uncle Buck starts a thermonuclear war over the last drumstick. Or Cousin Alice starts suicide bombing your sister about past bad-boyfriends. That pesky DNA (common DNA) will keep us from getting along. It's fate. Or rather genes. </li><br /><li>Law and Order Reruns: Is it really a coincidence that there is a direct correlation between the number of Law and Order shows currently on TV (or in reruns) and the population growth? Or proportional with the increase in violence in the latter part and early part of the last 2 Centuries. Coincidence? Hardly. Current scientific study suggests that every time <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Goren">Robert Gorn </a>of Criminal Intent makes a snarky comment, three cities in the world disappear off the face of the earth. If he tilts his head to the side, then you can also expect an earthquake in the region above a 7.0 on the Rhicter scale. It is also not widely known but the very relationship between Israel and the Arab Middle East hinges on the relationship between <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliot_Stabler">Elliot Staler</a> and his on-again-off-again wife. Only until recently with the presidential campaign of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Thompson">red Thompson</a> did people realize the profound effect on politics from the show. Elections are lost or won based on whether the jury at the end of an episode acquits. In fact, there is a persistent rumor in the scientific community that suggests that if the show ends without finding the killer (whether they are convicted or not), then there will be an invasion somewhere. And I think that tides are affected by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Waterston">Sam Waterston's </a>tie choice. So you may not like the all day line-up of NY crime. But beware. Some think if you cancel it, a large black hole will open up in the earth's core. Of course some people think this is all hog wash and attribute all the same to CSI. There is something to be said about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Cane">Horatio Cae's</a> sun glasses and global warming.</li></ol><p>So - to answer your question. No we cannot just get along. With things like floating chemical lures that AKE me look at her butt out there, unending L&O reruns that drive a man insane and cause mass murder, or the fact that I'm related to boss in some distant way will force us to always fight and argue. </p><p>There is one bright spot though. One cure out there. It comes from a much maligned, holiday film staring a recently displaced man raised by elve<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SVD5_VfiLUI/AAAAAAAAAuc/Wm6AL5Hzgfk/s1600-h/3fa7431481b49-4-1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282997229402074434" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 235px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SVD5_VfiLUI/AAAAAAAAAuc/Wm6AL5Hzgfk/s400/3fa7431481b49-4-1.jpg" border="0" /></a>s who walked throught the 7 layers of the candy cane forest and through the Lincoln Tunnel. Yes, <em><a href="http://whv.warnerbros.com/WHVPORTAL/Portal/product.jsp?OID=25955">Elf</a></em>. It is known as the Code of the Elvs:<br /><a href="http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=4495525732"></a>1. Treat Every Day Like Christmas. </p><p>2. There's Room For Everyone on the ice List. </p><p>3. The Best Way to Spread Christmas Ceer is Singing Loud for All to Hear.</p><p>There is hope after all. Thanks Budddy!</p><p>100 HRB</p></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>HRPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09090518698010984212noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-15162611836247487842008-12-16T17:14:00.010-05:002008-12-17T00:56:22.907-05:00iTunes, uTunes We All Tunes for iPods<strong><span style="color:#ff6600;">Q:</span></strong> Dear 100HRB<br /><br />How does one get their own podcast on iTunes?<br /><br />Sincerely,<br />Pod Dweller<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SUiSIKi4V7I/AAAAAAAABDQ/4iZpoSRp2q4/s1600-h/itunes.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280631232059168690" style="WIDTH: 93px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 90px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SUiSIKi4V7I/AAAAAAAABDQ/4iZpoSRp2q4/s200/itunes.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">A:</span></strong> Dear Media Prima Donna:<br /><br />Wait, your asking questions now? Well as the 1/2 of 100 HRB has already made clear readers (and contributors) should, "<a href="http://images.apple.com/support/itunes_u/docs/iTunes_U_Creating_Content.pdf">answer</a> their own D$#@ quesiton(s)". But this 1/2 (who happens to be pulling the load) is far kinder, gentler, more handsome and manly. A true man doesn't curse (hopefully this will be catalyst enough to get the other 1/2 to post on his own blog).<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SUiSISdrIoI/AAAAAAAABDY/CGwvkH7pMXs/s1600-h/3g-ipod-nano-classic-size.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280631234184815234" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 170px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SUiSISdrIoI/AAAAAAAABDY/CGwvkH7pMXs/s200/3g-ipod-nano-classic-size.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SUiSIv9T6SI/AAAAAAAABDg/55vvOPtRGBM/s1600-h/ipod-touch-5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280631242102139170" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 175px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SUiSIv9T6SI/AAAAAAAABDg/55vvOPtRGBM/s200/ipod-touch-5.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />But I digress. First let us define what is a podcast. Unless you have been living in a cave for the past five years you will know that a podcast is a video or audio series that is downloadable from iTunes and plays on either your MP3 device or computer. You can subscribe to podcasts so that new episodes are automatically downloaded on your <a href="http://www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates/download/?itmsUrl=itms%3A%2F%2Fax.itunes.apple.com%2FWebObjects%2FMZStore.woa%2Fwa%2FviewPodcast%3Fid%3D292569651%26subMediaType%3DAudio%26ign-mscache%3D1">iTunes</a> player. Some are free and some have a fee associated with them. Podcasts do not play under shuffles. They are treated as separate than music files. Considering that Apple sold 1.2 billion iPods this year alone, distribution through iTunes seems the way to go. But it all depends on what you want to do.<br /><br />So you think that you have some wonderful content to provide for iTunes Podcasters? <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SUiTX_5YYOI/AAAAAAAABD4/c8PFGm7OpHY/s1600-h/recording.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280632603590287586" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 137px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SUiTX_5YYOI/AAAAAAAABD4/c8PFGm7OpHY/s200/recording.jpg" border="0" /></a>The first thing you need to do is create recordings. As large as Apple company is they do not support the creation of podcasts from content owners. A simple and free download for audio recording software is <a href="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/">Audacity</a>. If you are creating a video podcast you may want to look into <a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/pro/">Quicktime 7 Pro</a>.<br /><br />Once you have created your recording you will need to host the file on a web-server with an RSS feed. If your podcast is apt to be wonderful you had better have a lot of money. Supporting many downloads to your Podcast requires a lot of server space. Server space costs a lot of money. <a href="http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/default.aspx">WBEZ Chicago Public Radio</a> pays about $104,000 per year just to pay for server space which enables millions of users to download the free <a href="http://www.thisamericanlife.org/">This American Life</a> podcast. I can think of many good podcasts (<a href="http://www.pri.org/fair-game.html?gclid=CJvbr9n0xpcCFSJIagod1BNvRw">Fair Game</a>) that went under simply because of lack of funding.<br /><br />Finally, you need to submit your RSS web address to the iTunes Store. Apple would like to make this sound very easy but in actuality this submission is more of an application. To become a content provider you must complete the <a href="https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZLabel.woa/wa/apply">iTunes Online Application</a>. So fill out the application and wait for a couple of years until some poor intern actually fields your request. Once you are a signed content provider you can set the price of your Podcast. Just beware- since iTunes is a behemoth distributor their share of sales is 30 cents for every dollar spent. Even Hollywood labor unions have fought with iTunes for a greater royalty when actors, directors and writers works are downloaded from iTunes...the union lost. iTunes lives and breathes by one-third of the buyers who account for 80 percent of revenues, according to <a href="http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/Excerpt/0,7211,40858,00.html">Josh Bernoff of Forrester Research</a>. So it isn't as though you can charge a lot otherwise demand will go down.<br /><br />If your podcast is picking up speed faster than you can support server space you may want to outsource your server. In addition, you may want to procure the services of Podcast marketing specialists like <a href="http://www.podtrac.com/index.htm">Podtrac</a> or comScore.<br /><br />iTunes reports having over 100,000 requests for content to be distributed by them each week. I think what you will find is that getting your stuff out there is easy. Distributing it in such a way that it rises above the billions of other content is the difficult part (just ask 100HRB). <a href="http://marketplace.publicradio.org/">Marketplace International</a>, another great podcast, did a study and found that everything on iTunes has a market. Meaning, every piece of content distributed by iTunes has been downloaded or purchased by someone. So at least you know you will have one person interested in your podcast.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-28824499699614784812008-12-03T19:18:00.007-05:002008-12-04T13:57:54.008-05:00The Dark Side: Matters of Darkest Dark<span style="color:#ff6600;"><strong>Q:</strong></span> What does Dark Matter look like?<br /><br />Brown Dwarf<br /><br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>A:</strong></span> Dear <a href="http://www.eclipse.net/~cmmiller/DM/">MACHO</a>:<br /><br />Well, I am not a scientist. The closest I come is a social scientist and even then...a poor one. <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/STgIzNJl92I/AAAAAAAAA0I/IphavbNRu-I/s1600-h/080998_Universe_ContentM.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275976639260784482" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 142px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/STgIzNJl92I/AAAAAAAAA0I/IphavbNRu-I/s200/080998_Universe_ContentM.jpg" border="0" /></a>To that end...the 100HB's colleagues were supposed to answer this insidious question.<br /><br />Your question is only the surface of deeper questions, such as, “What is Dark Matter?”, "How does one find it?", and "What is the purpose of Dark Matter?". I am glad you are so inquisitive- you must have a striking intellect.<br /><br />The name ‘dark matter’ is given to the amount of mass whose existence is deduced from the analysis of galaxy rotation curves but which until now, has escaped detections. <a href="http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/media/080998/index.html">NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Prove (WMAP)</a> reveals that dark matter comprises 23% of the universe.<br /><br /><br />Dark Matters properties are as follows (and as argued):<br /><ul><li>Does not emit light</li><li>Does not absorb light</li><li>Can be detected indirectly by its gravity</li><li>Is invisible </li></ul>So in answer to your questions as to what does it look like- invisible. Which only makes sense when you discover that while attempting to create the new invisibility cloak, researchers at <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080122154610.htm">Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Rice University</a> managed to create the darkest material ever made by man (0.045% reflection which beats out the current 1.4%). That is “Dark Matter”.<br />Scientifically, if one were to accept the <a href="http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/bigbang.htm">Big Bang Theory</a>, one would have to agree that something (or someone) organized matter to form the galaxies. Our galaxy is the Milky Way. The Milky Way contains about 100 billion stars. On still larger scales, individual galaxies are concentrated into groups, or what astronomers call clusters of galaxies. These all had to be organized. But by what? Some would argue God. Some would argue dark matter. The force, or glue, that holds the cluster together is gravity -- the mutual attraction of everything in the Universe for everything else. The space between galaxies in clusters is filled with a hot gas. In fact, the gas is so hot (tens of millions of degrees!) that it shines in X-rays instead of visible light. By studying the distribution and temperature of the hot gas we can measure how much it is being squeezed by the force of gravity from all the material in the cluster. This allows scientists to determine how much total material (matter) there is in that part of space.<br /><br />Remarkably, it turns out there is five times more material in clusters of galaxies than we would expect from the galaxies and hot gas we can see. Most of the stuff in clusters of galaxies is invisible and, since these are the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity, scientists then conclude that most of the matter in the entire Universe is invisible. This invisible stuff is called 'dark matter'. Current research is using the identification of dark matter in hopes to locate Black Holes. Dr. Prisin Chen of the <a href="http://www.slac.stanford.edu/">Stanford Linear Accelerator</a> center says:<br /><br />"If a sufficient amount of small black holes can be produced in the early Universe, then the resultant remnants, which are stable and interact only through gravity, can be an interesting candidate for dark matter."<br /><br />According to Nasa, there is currently much ongoing research by scientists attempting to discover exactly what this dark matter is, how much there is, and what effect it may have on the future of the Universe as a whole. In short…no one knows but God.<br /><br />PS - By the other <strong><em>colleague</em>:</strong><br />The 100 Hour Board encourages self-discovery and self-learning (ie finding out yourself, and not just discovering, yes indeed you have an arm on the left side). For this reason 1/2 of the board has directed the other 1/2 to answer their own D$#@ quesiton.<br />And to good results. Excellent presentation of the facts and understanding in science. Some quick notes.<br />All of this must be framed in the light (ha ha) that all science is theory, and usually (esp in physics) a way to mathematically conform reality (observation) to a model. What fits. For example the entanglement effect (think quantum teleporation) was first predicted mathmatically than proven. String theory is just a series of math proofs. So dark matter and energy are essentially solutions to a very VERY long math problem.<br />We also "see" dark matter by the way we see objects. That is the dark matter deflects actual positions of matter into an Einstein ring.<br />All of this (and a really cool experiment you can try at home to "see" what Einstein rings look like - minute 6:45 on) is best explained by a fantastic video from TED by Patricia Burchat. I encourage you to view. Here is also the <a href="http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/patricia_burchat_leads_a_search_for_dark_energy.html">link</a>.<br /><br /><object id="VE_Player" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=" height="285" width="432" align="middle" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000"><param name="_cx" value="11430"><param name="_cy" value="7541"><param name="FlashVars" value=""><param name="Movie" value="http://static.videoegg.com/ted2/flash/loader.swf"><param name="Src" value="http://static.videoegg.com/ted2/flash/loader.swf"><param name="WMode" value="Window"><param name="Play" value="0"><param name="Loop" value="-1"><param name="Quality" value="High"><param name="SAlign" value=""><param name="Menu" value="-1"><param name="Base" value=""><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="Scale" value="NoScale"><param name="DeviceFont" value="0"><param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"><param name="BGColor" value="FFFFFF"><param name="SWRemote" value=""><param name="MovieData" value=""><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="1"><param name="Profile" value="0"><param name="ProfileAddress" value=""><param name="ProfilePort" value="0"><param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="false"><embed src="http://static.videoegg.com/ted2/flash/loader.swf" flashvars="bgColor=FFFFFF&file=http://static.videoegg.com/ted/movies/PatriciaBurchat_2008-embed-Clay_high.flv&autoPlay=false&fullscreenURL=http://static.videoegg.com/ted/flash/fullscreen.html&forcePlay=false&logo=&allowFullscreen=true" quality="high" allowscriptaccess="always" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" scale="noscale" wmode="window" width="432" height="285" name="VE_Player" align="middle" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></object><br />We encourage you to check out <a href="http://www.ted.com/">TED</a> more.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-40626385421186487052008-09-22T20:13:00.005-04:002008-09-22T20:46:41.155-04:00Let's Scream All Together!<a href="http://i.timeinc.net/recipes/i/recipes/su/06/08/ice-cream-su-1215072-l.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i.timeinc.net/recipes/i/recipes/su/06/08/ice-cream-su-1215072-l.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Q:</span></strong> Dear 100 Hour Board,</div><br /><div></div><div>What is the most popular ice cream in the United States?</div><div></div><div>Brain & Freeze</div><div></div><br /><div><strong><span style="color:#3366ff;">A:</span></strong> Dear Cookies N Creme,</div><div></div><div></div><br /><div>As my grandfather says. "They should make a statue to the man who invented ice cream. Think about how much happiness he has brought to the world." Ah, yes. But what flavor should it be?</div><br /><div>There are sooo many flavors out there. It is tough to decide (unless you are presented with trout ice cream, as made in Iron Chef America). We for one are ready to punt those little kids aside so that we can get to the front of the ice cream truck line.</div><br /><div>The answer is simple: vanilla. Let's show you with a little more information. (Data from the International Ice Cream Association in Washington DC).</div><br /><div>The first pie chart (a good choice with a big scoop of ice cream!) shows all the favorite flavors. (Ours is in the 'other' category).</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249009987210372290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SNg6xd4m5MI/AAAAAAAAAec/J62KCPVlCk0/s400/Ice+Cream+Flavors.bmp" border="0" /> <div>The second pie chart (this one rhubarb and strawberry) shows the generic categories. Both show vanilla as king!</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249009993820573362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SNg6x2gmjrI/AAAAAAAAAek/hrYUaEtbBko/s400/Ice+Cream+Cats..bmp" border="0" /> <div>Now, as this was an easy answer - anyone who's dropped a delicious scoop of vanilla into cold root beer understands - we offer you some more interesting facts.</div><br /><div>The leaders in ice cream consumption: 1 US 2 New Zealand 3 Denmark 4 Australia (per capita).</div><br /><div>In the US the mid-northern states eat the most ~42 quarts / person / year. (Average is 23.2 quarts). With Portland, St. Louis and Seattle being the winners (nothing better to do).</div><br /><div>Ages 2 through 12 and over 45 eat the most. And 98% of homes buy ice cream.</div><div></div><br /><div>Some odd flavors are out there, so watch out. Although most of these are in Asia and a single store in Venezuela (500+ flavors). Some include: a whole variety of fish flavors (shark, eel, squid, etc.), corn, chicken wing (if it was buffalo w/ blue cheese swirls I'm game), viagra (just what we need, fat old excited men), garlic, bacon and spaghetti bolognese. 101 found <a href="http://www.who-sucks.com/food/101-frightening-ice-cream-flavors-from-around-the-world">here</a>.</div><div></div><br /><div>But <a href="http://www.benjerry.com/scoop_shops/dousaflavor/flavor_generator.cfm">Ben & Jerry's</a> - a truly loved ice cream provider (or as we say, a packager of love) - gives you a tool to make your own ice cream. With 4 steps and many options the varietes are endless (actually there are exactly 155,999,692,800 varieties). </div><div></div><br /><div>And one last fact. Sorbets and ices have been around for a while, some believe Marco Polo brought it along from China (along with pasta). But true 'ice cream' showed up in the US around 1715. Is it any wonder that the US has been around as long as ice cream. We at the 100 Hour Board suggest that the Constitution, the Revolution and the United States democracy all came because of the creation of ice cream. Jefferson and Madison loved it. I think you can even see a chocolate ice cream stain on the Declaration of Independence. And why did the British really loose? Brain Freeze. Some call it Divine guidance. We call it Delicious goodness.</div><div> </div><div>100 Hour Board</div><br /><div>PS - Some 100HB favorites: basil ice cream w/ virgin olive oil, sorbets of all sorts, spaghetti ice cream (vanilla 'noodles' w/ strawberry sauce and coconut shavings), Graeters!, peanut butter in almost any way.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>HRPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09090518698010984212noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-16850518968528480792008-09-20T22:03:00.004-04:002008-09-20T22:37:19.629-04:00Licking the Salt Stone<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SNWzFnC55eI/AAAAAAAAAeU/T2Z4MGDLszg/s1600-h/Watermelon.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248297849732064738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SNWzFnC55eI/AAAAAAAAAeU/T2Z4MGDLszg/s320/Watermelon.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Q:</span></strong> Dear 100 Hour Board, <div></div><br /><div>Why does watermelon taste sweeter when you put salt on it?</div><div></div><br /><div>Georgia Inquisitive</div><div></div><br /><div><strong><span style="color:#3366ff;">A:</span></strong> Dear Peachy Keen on an Answer,</div><div></div><br /><div>People do a lot of things with their watermelon. Some better than others. They eat it. Pickle the rinds. Cut into wedges, squares, balls and strips. Juice it. Salt it. Some even (so we've heard) drill a hole in it and pour libations therein. (The 100 Hour Board loves to shave it in thin slices and serve with cucumber slices with prosciutto and lemon olive oil. But we digress). We've even seen pictures of little kids with watermelon that is worn rather than eaten. </div><br /><div>But why salt it?</div><br /><div>The 100 Hour Board - in our infinite wisdom - will tell you the reasons, both the simple, the most likely and the probable. So sit back with a slice of pink and green, pull up a can for spittin' seeds and enjoy. (Just don't spill on the keyboard. IBM doesn't like the sticky keys.)</div><div>The short answer - salt doesn't make your watermelon sweeter, just seem that way. It works too with all sorts of fruits, especially: tomatoes, melons, pineapple, mangoes, papayas and even wine (again - so we hear). We'll give you the top three reason this works.</div><ol><li>Seasoning. Salt is the ultimate season. (that's as seasoning not spring or fall) As a primary taste (along with sweet, bitter, sour and umami - the newly found one) it adds depth to things we eat. For a long time it was thought we had individual taste buds for each taste type. But currently, "electrophysiological evidence indicates that although some cells are especially responsive to specific types of stimulus, they also respond to other taste stimuli to varying degrees as well." To quote a recent cartoon rat. Think of taste like music, with each taste a layer that works in harmony to make a symphony. Salt is like a major bass note - supports a whole lot to make things tasty. Add a little salt, and things taste better. A little more and the full flavors come really out. A little more and it begins to get salty. Balance is the key. So a little salt on that melon will enhance the flavor as it plucks the strings of your taste bud.</li><br /><li>Vacuoles. Plant cells contain little pockets inside that act as little storage depots. Some are temporary garbage dumps. In plants, they can be 90% of the volume in the cell. Plant vacuoles, especially in fruit cells designed to be tasty and enticing, are full of the sweet nectar we animals love. All those complex flavours, acids and the like fill those delicious bubbles. As we eat, these burst inside cells and fill our mouth with acids, sugars and other chemicals. The idea is that when we add salt, osmotic pressures (more salt on one side of the cell wall, can help lyse - break or drive out - the flavourful liquid. Thus the fruit is oozing with goodness sooner in the tasting process - before we need to chew it up. This is much like a fruit ripening and beginning to decompose to be tastier.</li><br /><li>Balance. This is a little more touchy a reason - but important. We talked about strings on the taste chord. But balancing the sweet - sour, bitter - sweet, salty - acid, etc. balances are important. Fruits really need to get the sour/sweet thing right. In fact there is a lot of sour in unripe fruits to keep you away from them until they are ready. Then out comes the sweet big time. It seems that fruits with especially high sugar to acid ratios (a lot more sugar than acid) are well suited to salting. These include (with their ratio) grapes (80), melons (40-50), bananas (60), papaya (80) and even cactus pear (110). But there are exceptions: pineapple (6), strawberries (6) and grapefruit (8) which are served well by a salting - which may point to a different balance salt helps find. (Too much sugar or too little). Maybe that is why we typically leave apples (13), peaches (25) and plums (17) alone.</li></ol><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248297846638584514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SNWzFbhXIsI/AAAAAAAAAeM/wZS1UzFISIA/s320/melon.jpg" border="0" /> <p>Odd mixes of chemicals really can bring out the best of tastes. Salt is just the beginning. So keep on eating melon with a shaker my friend. And open your melon mind to try it out on a couple other things. But don't be afraid of other things. Pure cocoa in a tomato sauce for example really helps bring out that non-acidic or sweet tomato flavour (umami! like glutamate).</p><p>A very hungry 100 Hour Board</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>HRPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09090518698010984212noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-2049506945844341322008-09-17T17:35:00.009-04:002008-09-17T18:27:41.967-04:00Don't Be Such a QWERTY!<div><div><div><div><div><div><span style="color:#ff6600;"><strong></strong></span></div><div><span style="color:#ff6600;"><strong>Q:</strong></span> Dear 100HRB,</div><div></div><br /><div>Is it true that you can mathematically type faster and more acurate using the Dvorak key configuration on the keyboard?</div><div></div><br /><div>Sincerely,</div><br /><div>Christopher Sholes</div><div></div><br /><div><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>A:</strong></span> Dear Stuck in the QWERTY:</div><br /><div>Your typical computer these days comes with a keyboard with a preconfigured key settings with the exception of a few keys that have been added for modern day use. Namely, your settings are the QWERT settings established in 1874.</div><div></div><br /><div>Where does this name come from? Look down at your keyboard and you will see at the top left hand corner where the letters begin the sequence, QWERTY. This layout was<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SNGCYG8fJ8I/AAAAAAAAApI/g_H6GhfKPFI/s1600-h/QWERTY_keyboard.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247118391556122562" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SNGCYG8fJ8I/AAAAAAAAApI/g_H6GhfKPFI/s200/QWERTY_keyboard.jpg" border="0" /></a> designed to make it easier to find letters. If you look down at your keyboard right now you will see that FGHJKL are all together. This is the same sequence as the alphabet. This was supposedly "easier" for configuration of the type writer mechanics not the typist. If you have ever used an old type writer you know about those swinging arms that pull up and hit the paper to mark the letter. The problem was, how do you configure a keyboard to type without crossing those letter hamers on the typewriter? QWERTY solved that issue. But typewriters are no longer used and the mechanics issue was resolved through ribbon cartridge technology.</div><div></div><br /><div>Thus there was a need for Dr. August Dvorak to make a name for himself by developing and testing a new keyboard configuration. According to Dvorak research he found that after 3 years of typing instruction prior to WWII using the QWERTY method typists could type 47 net words <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SNGDyxvjd5I/AAAAAAAAApo/J2gmpaKbHaI/s1600-h/2102.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247119949232830354" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SNGDyxvjd5I/AAAAAAAAApo/J2gmpaKbHaI/s200/2102.jpg" border="0" /></a>per minute (NWPM). In 1944 the US Navy let Dvorak do some research on 14 typists to see what results he could get. Three years wasn't a good turn around for the Navy. Dvorak could train in 52 hours with speeds that were 74 percent faster and 68 percent more accurate. However to this day there is speculation as to whether these findings were <a href="http://www.reason.com/news/show/29944.html">fabricated</a>. </div><br /><div>If you are so inclined to try the Dvorak keyboard layout you can go to <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/altkeyboard.aspx">Microsoft's Keyboard </a>website and download different keyboard layouts for two handed or single handed typists. This is pretty cool stuff. I mean what if you lost a hand? Thankfully you can download a configuration that enables you to type one handed. You will see Dvorak layouts with tutorials as to how to select the layout. You can switch it off and on using XP. So it might be worth the try for you.</div><div></div><br /><div>Once downloaded you can also run through some <a href="http://www.gigliwood.com/abcd/abcd.html#lesson_1">practice modules</a>.</div><div></div><br /><div>But I guess the question is why do we still use the QWERTY method? There is a theory that argues that market winners will only by the sheerest of coincidences be the best of the available alternatives. By this theory, the first technology that attracts development, the first standard that attracts adopters, or the first product that attracts consumers will tend to have an insurmountable advantage, even over superior rivals that happen to come along later. Hmmm, 100HRB has to give this theory more thought. It is very bright news for the groundbreakers. So if your self toothpaste dispensing toothbrush invention is sitting in the garage you might want to be first to market.</div><div></div><br /><div>Of interest is that the term QWERTY is sometimes used to refer to designs, ideas, or practices that had a historic origin in a technological limitation, became established practice, and have persisted as an anachronism long past the time of their utility.<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SNGD8LfiB5I/AAAAAAAAApw/geeMCdbm8TM/s1600-h/untitled.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247120110763771794" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SNGD8LfiB5I/AAAAAAAAApw/geeMCdbm8TM/s400/untitled.bmp" border="0" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-70370825782937583802008-09-15T15:14:00.010-04:002008-09-15T15:47:14.304-04:00Would You Like Fries with That?<span style="color:#000000;"><strong><span style="color:#ff6600;">Q:</span></strong> Dear 100HRB:</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">For being America's fast food restaurant...why doesn't McDonald's sell hot dogs?</span><br /><br />Yours Truly,<br /><br />Frankfurter<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#3366ff;">A:</span></strong> Dear Insoluble Inquirer:<br /><br />In order to get your answer the 100HRB contacted McDonald's Corporation Customer Service located in Peoria, IL. Not too far from the corporate headquarters in Oak Brook, IL.<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SM65WhuPm3I/AAAAAAAAAoI/qut52r9oFE0/s1600-h/20051020-RonaldMcDonaldThai.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246334412593798002" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SM65WhuPm3I/AAAAAAAAAoI/qut52r9oFE0/s200/20051020-RonaldMcDonaldThai.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">McD:</span></strong> <span style="color:#000000;">I’ve got an answer for that… <span style="color:#ff6600;"><em>(you can hear Jackie typing in an inquiry to whatever form of Mc Google they use for questions)</em></span> McDonald’s feels that their form of business in hamburgers & chicken and their wonderfully new salads provides a unique nutrition solution. (<em><span style="color:#ff6600;">Wow- not only did the McD’s Google give me an answer it gave me a sales pitch for wonderfully new salads</span></em>.)<br /></span><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>100HRB:</strong></span> <span style="color:#666666;">Are the new salads wonderful or are they just wonderfully new?</span><br /><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>McD:</strong></span> What do you mean?<br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>100HRB:</strong></span> <span style="color:#666666;">I mean, are you not saying that it is just wonderful that they are new and in actuality taste like crap? Or are they wonderful to eat?<br /></span><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>McD:</strong></span> Both.<br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>100HRB:</strong></span> <span style="color:#666666;">They taste like crap and and crap is wonderful to eat?!<br /></span><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>McD:</strong></span> No, no <em><span style="color:#ff6600;">(laughing</span></em>). Are you doing this on purpose?<br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>100HRB:</strong></span> <span style="color:#666666;">What?</span><br /><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>McD:</strong></span> Changing my words?<br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>100HRB:</strong></span> <span style="color:#666666;">I haven’t changed anything. I just want to know the answer.<br /></span><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>McD:</strong></span> Well, they are wonderfully new and wonderfully delicious.<br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>100HRB:</strong></span> <span style="color:#666666;">Okay, if you say so. I’ll give you this one. (<em><span style="color:#ff6600;">in order to be perceived as authoritative I make some keystrokes of my own and ensure that the McCorporate lady hears it</span></em>) I guess my concern is that my question was on the premise that McDonald’s Corporation is the fast food king. Is McDonald’s new fascination with salads and healthy nutrition solutions a message to the world that McDonald’s is relinquishing its throne to…I don’t know say to Burger King.</span><br /><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>McD:</strong></span> McDonald’s is proud of being the number one convenient food restaurant of choice by people around the world.<br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>100HRB:</strong></span> <span style="color:#666666;">Is the name Burger King a misnomer?</span><br /><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>McD:</strong></span> Other chains have every right to claim their own name.<br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>100HRB:</strong></span> <span style="color:#666666;">But not the position of King in the…what did you call it? Convenient food market? Look, all I am saying is that this new focus kills any future of having an old fashion American hot dog. Tell me straight, is or is not Ronald McDonald afraid of Nathan’s?<br /></span><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>McD:</strong></span> I am not sure what Nathan’s is.<br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>100HRB:</strong></span> <span style="color:#666666;">Oh, you are not sure are you? Nathan’s! It is a fast food chain that serves hotdogs, corn dogs and fries. You can get sauerkraut, mustard, olives, chili, relish anything you really want on top of a good old fashion dog. <em><span style="color:#ff6600;">(obviously she deliberately stalled the 100HRB since as I am answering I can here the clickety clack of her keyboard)</span></em> But they fail to provide me with the ever important question after ordering a hot dog, ‘Would you like fries with that?’. I just want to hear it at my local McDonald’s. What is wrong with that?<br /></span><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>McD:</strong></span> Unless we are talking about one of our specialty stores like the ones in Walmart, McDonald’s has no future plans to add hot dogs to our menu selection.<br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>100HRB:</strong></span> <span style="color:#666666;">Ah, finally some answers from your secret vault. Tell me more about these so called, ‘specialty stores’.<br /></span><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>McD:</strong></span> McDonald’s has partnered with Walmart and other local supermarket stores in offering McDonald’s food to customers who come to shop. At select stores we offer hot dogs.<br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>100HRB:</strong></span> <span style="color:#666666;">Boiled or baked?</span><br /><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>McD:</strong></span> I believe they use a spit or something like you would see at a Seven Eleven.<br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>100HRB:</strong></span> <span style="color:#666666;">Is this in response to the Polish hotdogs that Costco offers?<br /></span><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>McD:</strong></span> Our specialty locations are there to serve the customer in a convenient location with convenient choices.<br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>100HRB:</strong></span> <span style="color:#666666;">Is the hamburger not convenient enough?<br /></span><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>McD:</strong></span> Hamburger’s our McDonald’s number one product.<br /><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>100HRB:</strong></span> <span style="color:#666666;">Enough about the hamburger; please stay on topic. Are these so called hot dogs you serve at the specialty locations polish dogs or more like Ballparks?<br /></span><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>McD:</strong></span> I think they are just a regular hot dog.<br /><strong><span style="color:#3366ff;">100HRB:</span></strong> <span style="color:#666666;">Is it not true that McDonald’s is afraid of the Polish? Or at least any form of Kraut?<br /></span><em><span style="color:#ff6600;">(I can hear more typing on that insane computer! As though this question demands a McGoogle search.)<br /></span></em><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>McD:</strong></span> We are happy to be located in Warsaw. For questions or comments regarding McDonald's outside the USA please feel free to contact our Global Trade Center in Warsaw at 48-22-874-4303.<br /><strong><span style="color:#3366ff;">100HRB:</span></strong> <span style="color:#666666;">Oh, I will. Believe me, I will.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Anyone have a over seas phone plan?</span><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SM65W2CTTYI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/8dxNe-lyR6s/s1600-h/mcdonald_brothers.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246334418046635394" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SM65W2CTTYI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/8dxNe-lyR6s/s200/mcdonald_brothers.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Truth is that Dick and Mac McDonald's Restaurant, in San Bernardino, California was the first McDonald's. And it DID offer hotdogs. To make a long story short...in 1954 Ray Croc came around and began selling franchises across the nation and ripped* Dick and Mac off. In Ray Croc's desire to streamline everything hotdogs were taken off the menu.<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SM65XO0NzjI/AAAAAAAAAoY/xm5WxOTn6jk/s1600-h/Ray%20Croc_ret.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246334424698441266" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SM65XO0NzjI/AAAAAAAAAoY/xm5WxOTn6jk/s200/Ray%2520Croc_ret.jpg" border="0" /></a> It is obvious that the question brings up a shady history of aggressive business practices that McDonald's Corporation would like to cover up. The hotdog can lead to the smoking gun that is known as Ray Croc.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">*Ray Croc bought the McDonald's franchise from Dick and Mac. Ray even opened a McDonald's across the street from the original McDonald's in San Bernardino. Then Ray had the nerve to sue Dick and Mac for name infringement. The court ruled that since McDonald's was Dick and Mac's given name they had a right to use it. Four years later, Ray's McDonald's in San Bernardino competed so hard that it forced Dick and Mac to close shop for good.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-50861677028123196502008-08-26T10:15:00.006-04:002008-08-26T11:04:56.612-04:00Come On Do the Locomotion with Me!<span style="color:#ff6600;"><strong>Q:</strong></span> Dear 100 Hour Board:<br /><br />Why can't particular bugs go backwards?<br /><br />Pain in the Thorax<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#3366ff;">A:</span></strong> Dear Phylum Arthropoda:<br /><br />Terrestrial locomotion has come a long way...at least for most of us.<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SLQZhfQsevI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/UAwgfUqU5V8/s1600-h/untitled.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238840329656630002" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SLQZhfQsevI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/UAwgfUqU5V8/s200/untitled.bmp" border="0" /></a> Humans and many other animals can readily walk forward or backward. In insects, the nervous system changes the effects of sense organs that signal forces on a leg when the direction of walking is reversed. The short answer is that insects can walk backward if given the correct signal to their little brains. <div><div></div><br /><div>In legged locomotor systems, sensory input signaling leg displacement and force or strain to central neuronal networks is pivotal for generating functional walking motor outputs.</div><div></div><br /><div>The cockroach has a set of pattern generators that control the motion of each leg, which are coupled together to produce the alternating motion of left and right legs. For the animal to walk, however, these interconnected central pattern generators (CPGs as those bug nut cases like to term them) must be modulated to allow different stride lengths in each leg, different swing heights to step over obstacles, and so on. It takes a complex system of modulating CPGs to enable a cockroach to walk backward.</div><div></div><br /><div>Poor insects have 3 things against them in terms of successful backward walking:</div><ol><li>In proper/Inefficient sensory input signals to the leg- too many modulating CPGs to process</li><li>Exoskeletons- flexibility, stride and gate are all dependent on the exoskeletal structure</li><li>More than two legs- each leg has it's own CPG thus multiplying the processing required to walk. </li></ol><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SLQZgyBT66I/AAAAAAAAAlA/TeD9XcR1W4M/s1600-h/evolution1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238840317512510370" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SLQZgyBT66I/AAAAAAAAAlA/TeD9XcR1W4M/s200/evolution1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><div>These factors contribute to the difficulty of insects walking backwards. But it can be done. Scientists have influenced the sensory input signals in insects to modify their walking behavior. For instance, scientist who had nothing better to do with their time apparently successfully had a stick insect walk backwards by simply grabbing the insects antennae (Segment Specificity of Load Signal Processing Depends on Walking Direction in the Stick Insect Leg Muscle Control System, Journal of Neuroscience). </div><div></div><br /><div>But even cooler (oh no, I am becoming an insect freak) is that specific to cockroaches, <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SLQZhJRPq7I/AAAAAAAAAlI/Qc6E5gSg9sI/s1600-h/PRInsectTroopersEvolutionInsectRanger.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238840323753356210" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SLQZhJRPq7I/AAAAAAAAAlI/Qc6E5gSg9sI/s200/PRInsectTroopersEvolutionInsectRanger.gif" border="0" /></a>when in a fight or flight situation they always choose flight and in order to escape with speed the cockroach will run on their hind legs. Putting aside the human evolution implications of this fact, this demonstrates that the in order for the cockroach to run with a specific velocity it must reduce the number of CPGs to process- thus using only two legs rather than all legs. Suddenly, the evolution of Insect Ranger doesn't seem so rediculous.</div><br /><div></div><div>This type of evolution is not just specific to insects. Believe it or not Michael Jackson's famed 1983 "moonwalk" proves that human evolution still exists to this day! That's right friend, in <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SLQZKjYbFHI/AAAAAAAAAk4/8vMpnMyHHO4/s1600-h/mowtown25moonwalk.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238839935625794674" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SLQZKjYbFHI/AAAAAAAAAk4/8vMpnMyHHO4/s200/mowtown25moonwalk.gif" border="0" /></a>terms of terrestrial walking Michael is the one to beat. The moonwalk is a highly adapted stepping pattern. His ability to give a convincing impression of forward walking, while actually moving backward, apparently took many hundreds of hours of practice, and shows that the basic kinematic pattern of leg movements can be almost completely inverted, generating ground forces with the bent leg, while sliding the apparently supporting leg over the ground. So lesson learned- if you want to get the girl (in Michael's case I think it is a little boy) you must learn and apply physics in your gate. But this also proves that we as humans have not entirely discovered all that we can do with just our walk alone. And that is exhilarating!</div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-48596780419522131542008-08-24T16:02:00.003-04:002008-08-24T16:28:05.450-04:00You Can Say That Again...You Can Say That Again<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SLHEFKMru3I/AAAAAAAAAdk/ilN0a8Hk5yU/s1600-h/ugly_twins.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238183434524539762" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SLHEFKMru3I/AAAAAAAAAdk/ilN0a8Hk5yU/s320/ugly_twins.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Q:</span></strong> Dear 100 Hour Board:</div><br /><p>Why do "identical" twins have different finger prints?- Not so identical are they?</p><p>Irish Twin</p><p><strong><span style="color:#3366ff;">A:</span></strong> Dear Celtic Brother,</p><p>Having an identical twin certainly does have its benefits: a free friend, an automatic transplant organ source, and a diabolical crime partner. Imagine you rob a bank, or knock-off somebody, and can blame it on your twin. The jury would never know who really committed the crime - and given just DNA evidence - either would Grissolm or the CSI team (no matter how much Prada they wear)! But if you left a fingerprint, it is true, the coppers could tell you apart from your twin. (Or if you have an identifiable tattoo that leads an eyewitness to correctly pick you apart).</p><p>Now, if you're being that nitty-gritty about it, identical twins don't exactly have the same DNA. They start out with the same zygoate (single fertilized egg) that splits: so on Day 1 they have the same genetics. But over time the environment inside the womb - and eventually outside - will change the DNA. Even naturally occurring mistakes in gene translation will cause differences. But things like different temperatures, blood flow, food, nutrients, position, etc in the womb can change the genes. Heck, DNA isn't even the same in all parts of your body. (Dr Starr, Stanford U)</p><p>Fingerprints are an amplified piece of this puzzle. The pattern of whorls, arches, loops are dermal ridges which are at first determined by genetic code in the baby. Around the 13th week of pregnancy the baby develops these, however immediately they are changed and influenced by the surroundings - ie. mother. Touching the amniotic sac, their face, what they eat, etc. changes the patterns slightly. But the changes are dramatically amplified in the patterns we see and therefore offer a distinguishing feature between twins. </p><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SLHEFPAdAeI/AAAAAAAAAdc/M2X-jJ3vdXw/s1600-h/mlyn411l.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238183435815420386" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SLHEFPAdAeI/AAAAAAAAAdc/M2X-jJ3vdXw/s320/mlyn411l.jpg" border="0" /></a> <p>Identical twins, similarly, aren't that identical when born. Their other features and genetics have the same influence of environment. This is all referred to as phenotype - the way we or species look. Genotype (DNA) + environment + random variables = Phenotype.</p><p>So yes. That extra helping of General Zhaos chicken when you are preggo could make your kid's fingerprints randomly closer to a mass murderer. You never know.</p><p>100 Hour Board</p><p>Oh and PS: Chance of having twins 1:40, identical twins 1:240, spontaneous fraternal twins 1:60, two sets of fraternal twins 1:5</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>HRPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09090518698010984212noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-47001238877938506822008-08-04T15:22:00.005-04:002008-08-04T15:41:07.028-04:00Dirty Power Done Cheep<div><div><div><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Q:</span></strong> Dear 100hrb</div><br /><div>Why and how is European electricy different than US?</div><div></div><br /><div>Regards,</div><br /><div>Frazzled Expatriot</div><div></div><br /><div><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong>A:</strong> <span style="color:#000000;">Dear Electric Slide Fanatic:</span></span></div><div></div><br /><div>So you’re in Europe stuck on the highway to hell with no outlet to charge your iPod? Maybe Angus or Malcolm Young can help you out. Their “High Voltage” music can spark the energy into anyone, including that maniac Bon Scott. And that is where AC/DC come from. Alternating assaults of the Young brother’s guitars and the direct hard-living, hard-loving, hard-playing wild-eyed rabble-rousing singer, Bon Scott. Electricity can flow continuously in one direction (direct current, DC) or it can be reversed on a regular basis (alternating current, AC).<br /><br /><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SJdanczBWLI/AAAAAAAAAfE/HVnLf2aESGs/s1600-h/guitarsAngusYoung.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230749126005708978" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SJdanczBWLI/AAAAAAAAAfE/HVnLf2aESGs/s200/guitarsAngusYoung.jpg" border="0" /></a>Just remind your self that AC is the schoolboy-in-knickers, Angus Young. Respectable and American (well not quite but use your imagination).<br /><a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SJdaXD0X0RI/AAAAAAAAAe8/qFayqS4zo_o/s1600-h/guitarsAngusYoung.jpg"></a><br />DC is your half dressed wild-eyed Scotsman Bon Scott. Euro trash.<br /><a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SJday3iUEsI/AAAAAAAAAfM/l4bHDhUNxWA/s1600-h/Bon_Scott-1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230749322161951426" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SJday3iUEsI/AAAAAAAAAfM/l4bHDhUNxWA/s200/Bon_Scott-1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Easy to understand the difference now? Good. Now let’s see if we can distinguish why you can’t plug that iPod in. Converting European electricity so that it can be used in your American appliances is a significant nuisance but it can be done.<br /><br /></div><div><strong><span style="color:#3366ff;">Lighting it up in America</span> </strong><br />Your local utility company provides your household in the United States with 110 to 120 volts (force of electricity) and 60 Hz (frequency per second that the AC current reverses direction). This considered safer. It is lower voltage with a higher frequency of hertz. But America took it a step further and backed up fuses that are prone to being blown out with circuit breakers. A circuit breaker switch automatically opens when too much power is being used. When the switch opens the flow of electricity is shut of. Thus your 1,000 watt hair dryer may only shut off while using it. When the cause of the excessive power is resolved the circuit breaker will reset. Thus you can turn that hair dryer back on until the circuit breaker turns it off again.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#3366ff;">Exploding in Europe<br /></span></strong>Europeans who are so tired of Americans being better at everything have decided that they will show America up when it comes to voltage. Electricity in Europe is supplied at 230 volts and 50 Hz. This means more power with less alternating currents. Danger Will Robinson! So it only makes sense that when you decide to use that 1,000 watt (electrical power used) hair dryer the lights will start to flicker and if not shut off it will blow a fuse. After all you are driving a lot of energy toward that one appliance with high voltage and low hertz. To top it off there are no circuit breakers within the electrical infrastructure in Europe. That means your hair dryer will fry or worse you will get electrocuted prior to you even knowing that you were using excessive power. But Europe hopes to combat these dangers with what you ask…well heaven forbid they use circuit breakers…no they want to build more, smaller grids to serve communities and shut down when excessive power exists. In truth it is like a circuit breaker just for the community not in your house. To read more go to <a href="http://www.smartgrids.eu/documents/vision.pdf">http://www.smartgrids.eu/documents/vision.pdf-</a>.</div><div><br />That is the difference- so get a 50 watt transformer for low wattage devices (iPod) and a small converter for high power appliances (television). Finally, don’t even bother hooking up an American electric clock in Europe. Generally, these clocks run on AC motors and will run at 5/6 the speed since the speed is determined by electric frequency. In other words if you set an American clock up in Europe and set it to 6 PM when you go check it in the morning it may read 4 AM when in actuality it is 6 AM.<br /><br />For those about to rock we solute you, keep a stiff upper lip and continue those dirty deeds. Other wise if you want to know the power of electricity...go fly a kite!</div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-57579376270936727622008-07-28T22:10:00.004-04:002008-07-28T23:05:18.330-04:00You've Got Mail...Again<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SI6IqSMM2tI/AAAAAAAAAdM/nkbipyGJD9Q/s1600-h/untitled.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5228266477442620114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SI6IqSMM2tI/AAAAAAAAAdM/nkbipyGJD9Q/s320/untitled.bmp" border="0" /></a> <p><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Q:</span></strong> Dear e-Filer of Knowledge,</p><p>From old people jokes to pictures of Obama not pledging allegiance to the flag...where do forward e-mails originate from? Who sits down and decides, "I'm going to create this e-mail that will be forwarded across the world"? </p><p>From,</p><p>Over-stuffed inbox</p><p><strong><span style="color:#3366ff;">A:</span></strong> Dear overwhelmed, oversold, overpitched and overemailed patron of the 100 Hour Board,</p><p>There are three main theories attributed to the source of most email forwards, and it is up to the reader (or the 100 HB's bottomless well of knowledge) to find the answer. </p><ol><li>The emails all originate from sham companies in Nigeria. If you've ever received an email addressed to "Dear most honorable sir" regarding hidden funds, inherited wealth and a need to wire money you know what we're talking about. Given the shear volume of these emails, it is quite possible all email forwards come from Dr Klement Okon III esquire.</li><li>Emails may or may not be true, but are generated by the Syndicate (the secret government ala X-Files) as an elaborate mass-information / disinformation campaign to generate public interest, concern or to drive policies. This leads to a lot of unclear political and corporate information. Although it may be hard to imagine why a shadow government hiding the arrival of extra-terrestrials are interested in the size of any one's...umm.."endowment".</li><li>Irma Walton of Ft Lauderdale, Florida. Although that is her alias. But if you happen to be on a certain Aunt's email list - you know what I'm talking about.</li></ol><p>On a more serious (ok factual note), your question depends on the content. Of course a lot of scams originate from specific countries (and yes Nigeria tops that list), but scams actually share a lot in common with other emails. They are nothing new. the 419 Nigerian scams began as letters, telexes and faxes long before email became ubiquitous. And a lot of forwards describing laws, companies, politicians, sick people, photos, are old (really old) urban legends or hoaxes that have found new life in the internet age. A quick look at snopes.com will lead the reader to a good number of histories and authentications of these emails.</p><p>Even a lot of the political junk we hear about politicians are just recycled, yesterday's news. Some reach back to the muckraker's days. Of course a lot of things are new, and the majority is fake - or at least largely taken out of context. So who writes that? People with agendas. People with little else to do with their time. Probably the same people who think it's funny that scissors come in plastic packages you cannot open without a laser - or at least the scissors you were buying.</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5228266471188428050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SI6Ip65FdRI/AAAAAAAAAdE/dKWMQRsb6Wc/s320/skeleton.bmp" border="0" /> <p>But if you ask us at the 100 Hour Board. We'll go with Irma Walton. Although, she may also be the originator of the Nigerian scams too. And now you'll wonder if she's checking for your credit cards the next time she pinches your cheeks.</p><p>100HB</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>HRPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09090518698010984212noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-24472855828269629102008-07-13T21:08:00.003-04:002008-07-13T21:56:01.769-04:00Yes...We Have No Bananas<strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Q:</span></strong> Dear 100hrb<br /><div>You've shown time and time again that you truly know all the answers. so i will turn to you for another solution... where do seeds from lettuce, radishes, and carrots come from? </div><br /><div>Regards,</div><div>a green thumb...</div><div></div><br /><div><strong><span style="color:#3366ff;">A:</span></strong> Dear Vermilion Opposable Digit,</div><br /><div></div><div>Ah, we at the 100 Hour Board love when our readers begin thinking more about their food (we also love the unabashed ego-stroking). There is so much wonder to be found in what we eat. Amazing things really. For example, that broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, broccoli rabe, cauliflower, etc. are all really just slightly differently developed plants. Man has been at it for quite a while.</div><br /><div>So before we get too far, lettuce take a look at your question. A little anatomy is needed first. Plants have roots, stems, leaves and flowers - usually. A vegetable is really the part of a plant we eat that is not either fruit or seed (like wheat or rice). Fruits come from the plants ovary and surrounds the seeds. And then we use herbs (green parts) and spices (non-green parts). Vegetables are leaves, stems, pods, roots, storage vessels, bulbs, etc. Fruits are unique in that they are specifically grown to be yummy, in order to spread seeds. Veggies are things we have either become used to eating (bitterness), or we alter in some way to make them safe (soak, cook, beat, pound, etc.)</div><br /><div>So in the case of all vegetables, there is another part of the plant that is an ovary and produces seeds. These then grow into other vegetables. We usually eat around these fruits, or eat the veggie before the flowers/seeds develop. There are few plants to we eat almost everything on it, usually we develop a breed for a specific part. Like beets and chard are the same plants, but we develop them differently to get good, big beets, or large leaves. </div><br /><div>Take lettuce then. If left to grow it sprouts flowers - lots of them - this is called bolting. Of course we eat lettuce before it gets to this point, usually. Dandelion greens are delicious, and you are quite familiar with the flower.</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222682461079356114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SHqyBwNMQtI/AAAAAAAAAc0/BZWuL2Q4lts/s320/gomphrena-globosa-against-lettuce-australian-yellow-early-july-05.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>Radishes are not roots - although some will dangle off. They are mostly a swollen stem, like a turnip, that isn't starchy like potatoes. But radishes are relatives of the cabbage family (even mustards too - which you may be more familiar with the seeds and flowers). They get flowers too - nice white ones with four leaves. </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222682465319457106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SHqyCAAHEVI/AAAAAAAAAc8/sp5XuiFcgLI/s320/Radijs_bloemen_Raphanus_sativus_subsp._sativus._jpg.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>What does this mean for veggies then? You usually harvest - and kill - the ones you eat, and then dedicate another crop for developing seeds. There are a few perennials - like rhubarb, asparagus (grow from underground rhizomes) and Good King Henry. But many of these are not grown now because it is easier to harvest plants completely than parts of them.</div><br /><div>Fruits are perennial, essential to the plants reproduction. So things we think of as having seeds (or eating them) are fruits: peas, beans, tomatoes, squash, artichoke - ok really a flower, etc. Fruits come from the plants ovary - usually in a flower - that has 4 steps: is fertilized (male pollen + female ovule - thank you bees!), fruit development, storage growth and ripening. There are exceptions. And thus are born "seedless" fruits. </div><br /><div>Seedless plants are either 1) bred to be sterile - chromosomes prevent seed growth, like melons (though the sterile triploid plant must grow next to the unsterile diploid plant to get pollen) or 2)they are created without fertilization - like bananas, pineapples, grapes and naval oranges. </div><br /><div>The issue with seedless fruits is they are a target for parasites or diseases b/c they are usually clones of each other.</div><br /><div>Plant cultivation for food is a fascinating topic. We take for granted the years of cultivation, technology, breeding and science in what we eat. The 100 Hour Board for one is very interested in getting their own garden growing. But Community Supported Agriculture is also a good idea. </div><br /><div>So - happy eating. Olive you to your food.</div><br /><div>100 Hour Board</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>HRPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09090518698010984212noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-16345012056605362312008-06-28T11:13:00.004-04:002008-06-28T11:34:27.621-04:00But Officer...<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SGZZxTq2JaI/AAAAAAAAAcs/sLfGk1UQe9w/s1600-h/400px-SPEEDLIMIT2535.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216955921983743394" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SGZZxTq2JaI/AAAAAAAAAcs/sLfGk1UQe9w/s320/400px-SPEEDLIMIT2535.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Q:</span></strong> Dear 100 HRB,<br /><div>All right, time to put you back to work hrb... when does an enforced speed limit go into effect, at the sign itself, or when you lay eyes on it?</div><br /><div>Pat</div><div> </div><div><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">A:</span></strong> Dear Speedy,</div><div></div><br /><div>A local, municipal police officer pulls over a young businessman driving a new, shiny BMW. Behind mirrored shades, he approaches the window of the car. "Son, I've been waiting for you all day."</div><br /><div>"Well officer. I tried to get here as quickly as possible."</div><br /><div>In order to answer your question, the 100 Hour Board undertook several approaches. General research helped some. So did asking others. We even decided to speed and get caught so we could ask the officer. Several tickets, multiple points, one or two cans of mace, a couple of bail bonds and a new boyfriend named Chuck later, the 100 Hour Board can proudly share what it has learned.</div><ul><li>Police officers find no humor in pork, pig or porcine jokes</li><br /><li>Although it takes a while to dissipate, a constant stream of cool water helps eyes feel better from a direct hit of pepper or mace spray</li><br /><li>Since speed limit signs are posted at highway entrances, it is hard to find opportunity to ask the question</li><br /><li>Judges do not take kindly to answers in the general form of, "well that's stupid..."</li></ul><p>But most importantly, speed limit signs mark the exact beginning of a speed limit zone. Not before or after. This is important to remember as you shift zones. For example, if you see a faster speed limit sign and speed up before you get to it, yep - you are speeding. I suppose some officers conveniently forget this fact as they catch you just before the speed limit drop.</p><p>So, the 100 HB does not know on what end of the speed limit and whether a ticket is involved in this question. But you can definitively know - and the bruise marks from the nightsticks remind me - that speed changes at the signage. </p><p>The real question though (or debate) is that many speed limits are well below the engineered safe speed limit as it offers a significant revenue stream for towns and states. And in the end also insurance companies that are state certified (you pay points). And in recent times, with budget shortfalls, towns and states are increasing their activity and decreasing tolerence for speeding. Is it fair? Probably not. Does it save you in taxes? Maybe a little. Just don't speed. Or at least go the correct speed under conditions - which in many states allows for faster driving given the 'safe flow of traffic'. </p><p>Oh - and those shiny CDs used to deter radars only serve as annoying mirror jewelry. No use.</p><p>100HB</p><p>PS - the 100HB apologizes for the slow speed in response, mostly attributed to the delinquent behavior by one member of the board. They will be appropriately ticketed and the apt punishment meted out. Probably forced to sit in a disabled vehicle on the Cross-Bronx Expressway during rush hour.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>HRPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09090518698010984212noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-50401086978470128482008-06-07T20:23:00.007-04:002008-06-28T11:36:57.401-04:00Your Turn with "E" - UPDATED!Things have been quiet at the 100 Hour Board. I suppose all of our fans must be moving or doing yardwork. So in light of this downturn in activity the 100 Hour Board offers you two puzzles, both headlining the letter "E". Please comment with your answers. <div><br /><ol><li><div align="center">What starts with E, ends with E, usually contains only one letter, and is not E?</div></li><p align="center"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Yep - Nikki you are right. Envelope.</span><br /></p><li><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209302214377993906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_JEYsMtU2ous/SEsow4-n9rI/AAAAAAAAAcM/PVLyrjokvYs/s400/EZ+Box.gif" border="0" /></li></ol></div><p align="center"><span style="color:#ff0000;">The correct answer is "seven". Although "5" could work.</span></p><p>100 HB</p><p>(Thanks to Mental Floss for inspiration)</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>HRPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09090518698010984212noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2951922135518447089.post-42161595194051880372008-05-21T13:15:00.004-04:002008-05-21T13:57:03.190-04:00Though Mountains Divide...<strong><span style="color:#ff6600;">Q:</span></strong> Dear 100 Hour Board:<br /><div></div><br /><div>How many times does "Its a Small World" play during one time on the ride in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">WDW</span>??</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Animatronic</span> Anonymous (AA)</div><br /><div></div><div></div><br /><div><span style="color:#000099;"><strong>A:</strong></span> Dear Global <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Animatron</span>,</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>At the 1964 New York World's Fair, Disney released his "Children of the World" pavilion ride in an effort <span style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">to</span> promote global unity and peace. After the fair the ride became <a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SDRhT9Y5SlI/AAAAAAAAAdc/Im4yg4Vqg6c/s1600-h/small_world_opening.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202890465044154962" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SDRhT9Y5SlI/AAAAAAAAAdc/Im4yg4Vqg6c/s320/small_world_opening.jpg" border="0" /></a>"It's A Small World" due to the popularity of the song. To this day the ride consists of over 300 Audio-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Animatronics</span> figures and 100 international dolls. It is featured in Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disney and Euro Disney.</div><br /><div></div><div>But what about that song? You know the one that plays continuously during the ride. The song was written by the Sherman brothers, Richard and Robert, specifically for the New York World's Fair ride. The original idea was to have a cacophony of audio-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">animatronic</span> children singing their own national anthems. Disney told the Sherman brothers to write ONE song, a "roundelay" as he put it. He wanted people to remember it.</div><br /><div></div><div>So the brothers created a song that you just can't get out of your head. As Robert puts it:</div><br /><div>"Like many songs, It's A Small World has a verse and a chorus. One thing which makes this song particularly 'catchy' is that the verse and chorus work in counterpoint to each other. This means that you can play the same chords over and over again, but with different melodies. The repetitive, yet varied pattern tricks your mind into absorbing the work without it becoming tiresome to your ear."</div><br /><div></div><div>To have an image of "counterpoint", imagine laying the chords of the chorus on top of the chords of the verse. Measure for measure, the chords would be the same. This makes the capacity to harmonize and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">countersync</span> the chorus with the verse.</div><a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SDRhUNY5SmI/AAAAAAAAAdk/W-OLeHkkzZ4/s1600-h/Dance_Dance_Revolution_Disney_Mix_North_American_PlayStation_cover_art.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202890469339122274" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SDRhUNY5SmI/AAAAAAAAAdk/W-OLeHkkzZ4/s320/Dance_Dance_Revolution_Disney_Mix_North_American_PlayStation_cover_art.png" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><div>The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">counterpuntal</span> juxtaposition makes the song more interesting to the ear. The Sherman Brothers wrote many songs this way including Doll On A Music <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Box</span>/Truly Scrumptious from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Chitty</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Chitty</span> Bang Bang. </div><br /><div></div><div>In 1985 Michael Eisner, Disney CEO, created a huge controversy by stating at the Hollywood Bowl that "It's A Small World" is the most played song of all time. Record companies baulked. Robert Sherman came to the rescue by explaining that the song plays non-stop, 16 hours a day on an endless loop in five locations worldwide. It is always playing in at least two locations on the globe. The song has been remixed several times and was part of the Dance Dance <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Revolution</span> mix.</div><br /><div></div><div>The song's duration is 2 minutes and 41 seconds. Disney lists the ride as lasting 15 minutes. Thus we can safely say that you will hear the song at least 6 times during a ride. This does not however include time waiting in line. Also this does not include the stops on the ride. </div><br /><div></div><div>According to <a href="http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.12/rebuilding.html">Wired News </a>the "It’s A Small World" ride at Disneyland regularly bottoms out because today’s riders, um, displace more water than did patrons of the 1960s, when the ride debuted. </div><div></div><a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SDRhUdY5SnI/AAAAAAAAAds/ISIEhInpmBU/s1600-h/medium.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202890473634089586" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_ijb69DGEYqI/SDRhUdY5SnI/AAAAAAAAAds/ISIEhInpmBU/s320/medium.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>So I think it is safe to say that you will hear the song at least 12 times while waiting, riding and bottoming out on "It's A Small World" ride. Remember the song says, "It's a world of laughter...a world of tears" so whether you like the song or not the writers will illicit one of these two responses. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>100<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">HB</span></div><div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Courtesy of 100 Hour Board. (c) 2007
Come with questions. Leave with wisdom.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2