October 3rd=

1. Rosh Hashanah, begins @ sunset
2. National Foundation Day: South Korea
3. Day of German Unity
4. There are 89 days left in the year

Some fun science pics: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/05/sci_nat_visions_of_science_/html/1.stm

the more you know...

anyone who has taken econ has probably heard or used the term "widget".  why did this come about and why is it known universally? here's is what wikipedia had to say about it... i cut and pasted from (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widget)

Widget is a general-purpose term, or place holder name, for any unspecified device, including those that have not yet been invented. It is commonly used in textbook and other examples where the identity of the product or function is irrelevant and could be distracting: students may be asked to design a business plan for the XYZ Widget Company. Compare Acme.

The alt.usage.english FAQ gives the origin of "widget" as the 1924 play "Beggar on Horseback", by George Kaufman and Marc Connelly, as an invented term for the product manufactured by one of the characters; that the protagonist never learns just what "widgets" are is part of the point. The Oxford English Dictionary traces its usage only back to 1931, in a volume of American Speech.

Examples of Specific widgets: Though "widget" usually refers to small unspecified devices, it has, in a strange twist, become the name of certain specific ones as well.

1. Marvel Comics: Widget (Katherine "Kate" Pryde of X-Men, Days of Future Past timeline) is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe. She is an older, alternate version of Shadowcat.

2. The floating widget found in cans of beer is a hollow sphere, 3 cm (1.2 in) in diameter. The can is pressurized by adding liquid nitrogen, which evaporates after the can is sealed, forcing gas and beer into the widget's hollow interior through tiny holes. When the can is opened, the pressure in the can drops, causing the pressurized gas inside the widget to jet out from the holes. The holes in the widget are angled slightly so that the widget spins, creating a creamy head inside the can. This imitates the foamy head created when pouring draught beer. The original widget was patented in the UK by Boddingtons.

The word "widget" as applied to this type of device is a trademark of the Guinness brewery.

in other news...

my room is now painted turbo blue and speed machine green

hornets & wasps can sting continuously, but honey bees will die soon after they sting because their stinger is connected to their digestive system.

hornets & wasps generally sting for predatorial purposes, but honey bees use their sting as a defense against animals.

the sting is similar to a syringe.  the venom is stored in the abdomen and injected through a hollow tube.  this was evolved from the egg layer of a female insect ---> only females can sting

i got stung by a hornet on friday morning on the palm-side of my thumb.  it itches like crazy and keeps swelling.  the top of my hand in super fat (my knukles are dimples).  any suggestions to stop the itching??

Tiramisu is an Italian dessert (suspected of originating in Tuscany).  It means "pick-me-up" in Italian.  I never realized how many people have never had or don't know what tiramisu is so here's an "easy" 5 star recipe that everyone can make since you don't have to get alcohol to put in it  (the lady fingers are usually soaked in espresso and like 2 tbsp of rum).  This recipe is from Food Network: Acqua Al 2: $40 a day: Florence, Italy.

Ingredients:
5 fresh eggs, separated
5 tablespoons sugar
17 1/2 ounces mascarpone cheese
30 lady fingers
2 cups espresso coffee (or strong coffee)
2 tablespoons coffee powder

Whip the egg whites until they form hard peaks, set aside. Whip the egg yolks with the sugar until you reach a pale yellow color. Whip in the mascarpone cheese for 5 minutes.

Fold in the egg whites to the mascarpone cream and mix. Pour a layer of mascarpone cream into a large glass bowl or small individual bowls top with a layer of ladyfingers soaked in the espresso coffee. Repeat this operation 2 more times.

Finish with a mascarpone cream layer and sprinkle with the coffee powder

I wish I was playing @ TAF instead of trapped in this office  I don't even know if I can go this weekend anymore.  I left my car at Dave's bc it's been makin funky noises and his dad said it has to be fixed right away.

I had an intense weekend with his family and now I know why he's Crazy Dave. His whole family is crazy in different ways. They took a family vacation in West Virginia to go white water rafting and brought me along. I thought it was kind of odd that I went, but I guess they like me  (Mrs. Kaminsky was the one that bought me Harry Potter 6).  Besides the fact that it is legal to take roadkill home for supper, West Virginia is a nice place.  There are trees everywhere and the weather was perfect. My butt, back, and hips hurt from sitting on the raft and sleeping in tents though.  I got burned for the second time in my life too! Overall it was a great time and I ate way too much junk food  Well, here's the random info for today.  Happy August!!

The custom of lighted candles on cakes started with the Greeks.  Honey cakes round as the moon and lit with tapers were places on the temple altars of Artemis.  Birthday candles, in folk belief, are endowed with special magic for granting wishes.  Lighted tapers and sacrificial fires have had a special mystic significance ever since man first set up altars to his gods.  The birthday candles are thus an honor and tribute to the birthday child and bring good fortune.