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Saturday, 12 January 2013

INTERESTING STUFF: 12 January 2013

JACK LEW'S SCRIBBLEY SIGNATURE
Okay, I'll admit my signature is not readable either, but I have not been nominated to be Secretary of the Treasury. If Lew is confirmed by Congress his signature, previewed by New York magazine, will appear on all U.S. paper money:

The media has been having fun with Lew's doodle-sig and even President Barack Obama took a whack:

MARKETING GUNS
With gun safety now the front-and-center controversy in the U.S. for a few more days, Mother Jones showcased about 20 print advertisements for guns – present and past. Here is one:

Apparently I do not read publications that advertise guns; I have no memory of ever seeing one and they even target kids:

I was shocked at these and others from Mother Jones which you can see here.

HILLARY CLINTON'S WELCOME BACK PARTY
Following the fall and concussion that landed her in the hospital, Secretary of State Clinton returned to work last Monday and her staff welcomed her with some gifts:

The number 112 football jersey that goes with the helmet is to commemorate the number of countries Clinton has visited as secretary of state.

JERUSALEM – HEAVIEST SNOWFALL IN 20 YEARS
It's been half a dozen years since any snow worth speaking of has fallen in Jerusalem but the Israeli city got hit with a big one this week. I like this image with the Dome of the Rock in the background. Don't overlook the foregound snowman. [credit: Abir Sulton/EPA]

More Jerusalem snow images here.

Extreme weather is busting out all over the globe from paralyzing cold – 50F below zero in Russia - to such terrible wildfires in Australia and Tasmania that a new descriptive category had to be created: catastrophic.

The New York Times has a slide show of extreme weather photos from around the world including this one from Tasmania of Tammy Holmes and her grandchildren clinging to a jetty while flames raged around them Wednesday. [Credit: Tim Holmes/Holmes Family, via Associated Press]

BABY ARIA RIDES THE ROOMBA
I've seen probably a dozen cats riding Roombas, but this is the first kid I know of. Her name is Aria.

ETAOIN SRHLDCU
Wondering if that headline is another language? Or a typo I didn't notice? Wrong on both counts. It is the order of frequency of those letters in the English language. Here is a chart of the entire alphabet.

There is a long and fascinating story about who did this research, how it was done and more about the distribution and length of words.

The most common word is what you would expect: the. But do you think you know the second most popular word? Check it out here to see if you're correct, and word lovers? Enjoy.

THE UNSEEN BEAN
Master coffee roaster Gerry Leary runs the Unseen Bean coffee cafe in Boulder, Colorado, where he does all the roasting. Nothing unusual about that except that Mr. Leary has been blind since birth.

Here's the story of his coffee cafe in his own words.

You can buy Mr. Leary's coffee online via his website where you can also watch some videos on the proper way to make an American or a latte.

LIFESPAN CALCULATOR
Darlene Costner sent along this lifespan calculator from The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.

Answer about a dozen questions and watch the number of your years change up and down depending on what you tell it. According to my answers, you're stuck with me on this blog for another 20 years. Please remember, this is a toy.

You can play with the calculator and see your lifespan here.

MAGNIFICENT DOLPHIN HERD
The folks on this boat were expecting a whale watching tour and got instead an amazing display of dozens of dolphins leaping through the ocean near Dana Point, California.

It is beautiful and the thrill expressed by the passengers is contageous. But beginning at about :45 seconds, you might want to turn off the audio. The damned tour guide seems to think his never-ending chatter is an improvement on nature.

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Interesting Stuff is a weekly listing of short takes and links to web items that have caught my attention; some related to aging and some not, some useful and others just for fun.

You are all encouraged to submit items for inclusion. Just click “Contact” in the upper left corner of any Time Goes By page to send them. I'm sorry that I probably won't have time to acknowledge receipt and there is no guarantee of publication. But when I do include them, you will be credited and I will link to your blog if you have one.

Posted by Ronni Bennett at 05:30 AM | Permalink | Email this post