I travel alone
I do not travel with a group… I do not travel on a boat…I choose to travel alone.
Back to the Blog….again
I know it has been a long time since I wrote on this blog but it is hard to find the time and the topics to write about. I have decided that I will write one sentence of a thought provoking topic to solicit feedback. So here it goes:
Fact or Fiction – “You live to work or work to live.”
I’m Back
After a month long absence I am back blogging. although my posts maybe infrequent I will try to have a few new posts each week. Stay tuned….
Classic 80′s
Ok. We had a moment when we were listening to xm radio in the office and the song “Take it on the Run” came on. Who does not remember that classic. For some reason that brought out the 80′s in me and I decided to search a classic of the 80′s – Whitesnake’s song – Here I go Again. Complete with Twany Kataen….need I say more. Enjoy!
The Foot
Interestingly enough I was involved in a conversation about the human foot. Now you would not think that a conversation concerning a foot would be that interesting but I did find out some things I did not know.
- 26 bones (One-quarter of the bones in the human body are in the feet.);
- 33 joints;
- more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments
Now you know too.
100 million volts…not so fun.
Lightning strokes carry up to 100 million volts of electricity and leap from cloud to cloud, or cloud to ground and vice versa. Lightning tends to strike higher ground and prominent objects, especially good conductors of electricity such as metal.
Because light travels at a faster speed than sound, you can see a lightning bolt before the sound of thunder reaches you.
To judge how close lightning is, count the seconds between the flash and the thunder clap. Each second represents about 300 metres. If you can count less than 30 seconds between the lightning strike and the thunder, the storm is less than 10 km away and there is an 80 percent chance the next strike will happen within that 10 km. If you count less than 30 seconds, take shelter, preferably in a house or all-metal automobile (not a convertible top) or in a low-lying area.
Lightning may strike several kilometres away from the parent cloud and precautions should be taken even if the thunderstorm is not directly overhead.
Learn the 30-30 rule
- Take appropriate shelter when you can count 30 seconds or less between lightning and thunder.
- Remain sheltered for 30 minutes after the last thunder.
If caught outdoors:
- Keep a safe distance from tall objects, such as trees, hilltops, and telephone poles.
- Avoid projecting above the surrounding landscape. Seek shelter in low-lying areas such as valleys, ditches and depressions but be aware of flooding.
- Stay away from water. Don’t go boating or swimming if a storm threatens and land as quickly as possible if you are on the water. Lightning can strike the water and travel some distance from its point of contact. Don’t stand in puddles even if you are wearing rubber boots.
- Stay away from objects that conduct electricity , such as tractors, golf carts, golf clubs, metal fences, motorcycles, lawnmowers and bicycles.
- Avoid being the highest point in an open area. Swinging a golf club or holding an umbrella or fishing rod can make you the tallest object and a target for lightning. Take off shoes with metal cleats.
- You are safe inside a car during lightning , but don’t park near or under trees or other tall objects which may topple over during a storm. Be aware of downed power lines which may be touching your car. You are safe inside the car, but you may receive a shock if you step outside.
- In a forest , seek shelter in a low-lying area under a thick growth of small trees or bushes.
- Keep alert for flash floods , sometimes caused by heavy rainfall, if seeking shelter in a ditch or low-lying area.
- If caught in a level field far from shelter and you feel your hair stand on end, lightning may be about to hit you. Kneel on the ground immediately, with feet together, place your hands on your knees and bend forward. Don’t lie flat.
- If you are in a group in the open , spread out, keeping people several yards apart.
Indoor Precautions:
- Before the storm hits , disconnect electrical appliances including radios and television sets. Do not touch them during the storm.
- Don’t go outside unless absolutely necessary.
- Keep away from doors, windows, fireplaces , and anything that will conduct electricity, such as radiators, stoves, sinks, and metal pipes. Keep as many walls as possible between you and the outside.
- Don’t handle electrical equipment or telephones. Use battery operated appliances only.
Source: The Green Lane, Environment Canada’s World Wide Web site
Ever wonder why cheese is orange?
According to cheese historians, the colour originated many years ago in England. Cow’s milk contains varying amounts of beta-carotene, the yellow-orange stuff found in carrots and other vegetables. Milk from pasture-fed cows has higher beta-carotene levels in the spring and summer, when the cows are munching on fresh grass, and lower levels during the fall and winter, when they’re eating hay. The natural color of the cheese varies over the course of a year, so cheese makers began adding coloring agents.
Nowadays the most common of these is annatto, a yellow-red dye made from the seeds of a tree of the same name. Dyeing the cheese covered over seasonal colour fluctuations and also played into the fact (or anyway the belief) that spring/summer milk had a higher butterfat content than the fall/winter kind and thus produced more flavorful cheese.
Figuring that if yellow is good, then orange must be better, some cheese makers began ladling in the annatto in double handfuls, producing cheese that looks like orange play dough. In recent years some smaller operations have rebelled and stopped using colorants. According to one cheese-making text, uncolored cheese is a “sordid, unappetizing mélange of dirty yellow.”
source: http://everything2.com/title/Why%2520is%2520cheddar%2520cheese%2520orange%253F
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