I am not one bit impressed. I am actually rather in awe of the pathetic display by those over this fossil:

The fossil is an impressive fossil from the standpoint of how complete it is. The real debate going on is how the fossil will be classified by scientists. Those proclaiming it to be “The Missing Link” say it is a lemur-monkey. Others say it is just a kind of lemur. What is disclosed is this lemur is an immature female. In human years, it would be the equivalent of a 6 year old. This lemur is projected to be about 9 months old before it got squished like Scrat in the opening of Ice Age. However, lemurs do not mature until 2.5 to 3 years of age.

Here is the greatest problem these brilliant scientists have overlooked. All they have is a dead animal. There is no proof the animal had offspring much less offspring that were different from it. No one was there to observe it. No observation means the first step of science has not been met. But the observation that this is an immature female carries with it an even bigger whammy. Even if evolution could be true (easily disproven), we know this dead animal didn’t get old enough to have kids. No offspring means the line ended when this little lady got squished. This can’t possibly be any kind of a “missing link.” They’ll need a different mature skeleton to even try to make an argument. Even then, it is impossible to determine if the dead animal had kids much less kids different than itself.

The best question that I can see that comes out of this is based on the lemur itself. It was found in Germany. Most lemurs are found on Madagascar and the surrounding islands. What was it doing in Germany?

I think I can try to guess at that with the same skill level as these so-called scientists. I think she tried to escape from the antics of King Julian.

Who am I to say all of this? I’m just someone who isn’t dumbstruck enough by a science fiction story to be able to understand 2+2 still equals 4.

Recorded history only goes back 5000 years. Before that, we have no recordings of any observations. Step one of the scientific method is observation. No one was there to observe this lemur getting squished. If they were, they didn’t write it down on something we found. Science ended before this pure speculation began.

Still don’t like what I wrote? Then please answer this question: What is the difference between Science and Science Fiction?

There are two other options that are possible. It is possible that those in Congress and the Federal Government are so detached from the real world (Hoy Gising!!) that they are clueless. It would explain why so many things they are doing only end up ruining the country instead of helping it.

The other option is the school systems and universities have gotten so bad here that those who run for office have become profoundly retarded. I really can’t think of a good way of spinning the insanity we hear. They sure are not following basic logic. Here are some examples of their treason / cluelessness / profound stupidity:

Despite massive numbers of the American population being highly opposed to Amnesty for those who break the law in coming here, the Senate leader still wants to push it through. Despite 2.4 million layoffs in 2008 and a current rate of 500,000 more layoffs a month, Senate leader Harry Reid wants to INCREASE the amount of legal foreign workers by 138,000 a month. Naturally, you want more workers when your existing workers are getting laid off in the hundreds of thousands. Far fewer jobs and a deepening recession as companies go into survival mode, home sales continue to plunge and foreclosures rise, obviously mean we need more workers. Someone needs to send Dr. Phil to Congress and examine them all.

But hey, they aren’t done yet. Congress and the President have opted to nearly unanimously make certain there are many more layoffs, bankruptcies and foreclosures. To “protect the children,” the children must suffer. The Consumer Product Safety Commission created by the HR 4040 bill nearly single-handedly will break the backs of schools, businesses and households by increasing the cost to ridiculous levels on all items sold for use with children 12 and under.

Want to start up a business and build it from bottom up? Don’t bother making anything for kids though. You will be out of business before you start. But when the government is busy killing off the businesses of 1.9 million farmers, jacking up the cost of food, and making the cost of raising a child incredibly high (cost of the tests being absorbed into the cost of the product or the bankruptcy that kills off small business and promoting the giant companies), we can pretty much start giving up on the American Dream of ensuring a brighter future for our children. The government is too busy destroying the country.

The US Government should keep in mind another quote from Albert Einstein. Look to the photo for it.

Thank you,

Anah

In the article, the claim is dengue fever, typhoid fever, and cholera are all going to spread because of global warming. The sad part is the claim is made by the Philippine Health Secretary. Mr. Duque seriously needs to learn to read a thermometer and science articles, but all of this is to be expected in this upside-down age.

Photo from ireporter.tv

Science is no longer governed by evidence but by political whim and control no matter how dangerous and foolish the politicians are. Ten years of global cooling is somehow evidence for warming. This goes perfectly with how atheism and immorality is deemed good and morality and Christianity bad despite the extensive lessons of the past.

But who cares about facts and evidence anymore? Let us all just follow everyone’s opinions no matter how blatantly stupid they are. In the link listing things blamed on Global Warming, we can find many treasures contained within.

According to that collection, did you know that Earth is spinning faster and slower at the same time because of cow farts? Antarctic ice is growing and shrinking because of the warming that is really cooling but called warming. The Atlantic Ocean is getting more and less salty. Avalanches are reducing and increasing. Coral reefs are shrinking and growing. Deserts are retreating and advancing. Glaciers are growing and shrinking. The cooling called warming is even impacting the sexual prowess of cats and crocodiles!

But wait!! That is not all!!

The Garden of Eden is wilting even though the atheists don’t believe it existed and the Bible says it got trashed in Noah’s flood. The Loch Ness Monster is dead even though we weren’t certain it existed. More UFO’s are coming and the Green Bay Packers will lose their home field advantage even though I couldn’t get here because of a blizzard!!

All 598 and now this one for 599 things attributed to an event likely caused by the sun and people not knowing where to stick a thermometer. All this from a fraction of a percentage of a gas called CO2 that is shown to be the effect of temperatures changing and not the cause. (Yah know warmer temps leads to more plants which leads to more animals and more CO2 produced. Cooler temps and lower of everything else.)

But when cooling is warming and everything else is backwards, it makes total sense that an obvious effect is called a cause for the sake of greater taxation. After all, we live in the times when politicians think they can control nature with a law and guide the economy to do the opposite of what history says happens.

My head hurts now. Pass the tuba please hehe.

Brrrr it is freaking cold here!

Thank you,

Anah

The lessons from my father in the terms of fishing are rather obvious ones. If the fish or eel has a means of injecting poison, avoid it. If it has sharp spines or sharp teeth, be very careful and avoid it. If it weighs one-tenth of what you do, be extremely careful as it can knock you on your rear if it catches you just right.

Taking such lessons to the land is not that hard to do. Anything that has sharp teeth, fangs, claws, hooves, horns or antlers is an animal to be cautious around. Any animal that weighs half of what you do can easily take you down because of momentum and the little detail of they have four legs and we have two. As I have found out in the USA, a friendly dog can take you down just as easily as a wild animal when they get a running start. Since I’m the standard size for a Filipina, the dog doesn’t have to be that big.

I also know that you don’t try to pet a wild rabbit. They may look cute but they have sharp teeth that can bite deeply.

What about hunting in the USA? Obviously, you respect the predators and what they can do. You also need to respect the plant eaters too. This time of the year in Wisconsin and many other states is deer hunting season. As one man found out, you have to be careful even when you think you successfully shot and killed the deer.

I don’t know much about how big the guy was but the deer was 240 lbs. He shot the deer twice and approached the downed deer only for it to spring up and kick his rear end. A knockdown and then a beating on his head with 9 point antlers left the guy with a concussion and a need for 7 staples in the head to close his wounds.

What makes this a Did You Know topic? Just in case you didn’t know, this is a case where facts trumped opinion again. In his opinion, he thought the deer was dead. His opinion didn’t matter as the deer kicked his rear. File this in the category of information you should know. The hunter didn’t.

And the photo included here? A 7th grade kid was turned into a running salt lick by a wild deer. So as a bit of caution, Bambi was friendly in the movies. Let the wild be alone.

Thanks,

Anah

First, Hawaiian pizza has nothing to do with Hawaii. It was invented in Germany as a modification to Italian food. Yes, there is a website devoted to tracking down all of the truth related to pizza.

Here is where it gets interesting. When I was in the Philippines, I liked having pizza there. I wasn’t fond of pizza when I came to the USA and now I know why.

The first difference lies in the crust. The difference comes in the ingredients used to make the dough. Obviously, I didn’t ask the Philippine pizza stores for their recipes so if anyone can correct me that would be great. In any case, any oil that is used in the creation of the pizza batter is dependent on the area you are from. Coconut oil would be the likely ingredient in the Philippines whereas the USA would be using Canola or vegetable oil most likely. Olive oil runs expensive and is not likely to be used in either place. Then comes what is the flour used. Wheat flour is the norm in the USA. Rice flour or Yam flour in the Phils?

Then the sauce comes next. I found the USA pizza to be bitter or nowhere near as sweet as what I was used to in the Philippines. The sauce has a base of tomatoes which are acidic or definitely not sweet in the USA just like their ketchup. In the Philippines, our ketchup and likely pizza sauce is based on bananas.

What version of cheese and how much depends on the place that makes the pizza.

The kind of ham and taste depends on the breed and what it was fed.

But at least the pineapples are safe right? That has to be a native Philippine food right? Well, it isn’t.

Pineapples are originally from the Americas. They were cultivated by the Native Americans in the Brazil and Paraguay areas and spread out from there.

Now you know that a pizza isn’t necessarily what you think it is.

Thanks,

Anah

That is normally the cry for those getting bombarded in their email inbox with mountains of useless and unsolicited emails. However, I will focus more on the pork in a can.

What does SPAM have to do with Did You Know? Well SPAM is produced and sold in the Philippines. It is a functional and very long lasting form of pork meat. You can stock up on it for emergency situations and not worry about your protein supply. There are a couple of recipes where it actually tastes quite good.

However, it isn’t just regular SPAM anymore. There are now 11 varieties of that lovely can of not quite ham called SPAM.

But that isn’t the main reason for this article. Life here in the USA can get quite interesting when people are allowed to be creative. Hormel Foods, the maker of SPAM, has a museum devoted to SPAM. I’ve got a guide of the museum because Goryo’s parents took a tour of it recently. I must say that they have some truly unique personalities in charge of that company.

I know most of my readers will not be able to tour the SPAM museum in person but they can visit it at SPAM.com. For those of us who are fans of Twilight, we can also get some of the products from SPAM such as the SPAM hats, SPAM teddy bears, SPAM ties, SPAM stuffed pigs, and SPAM stuffed socks in memory of all of the wild pigs Edward and his family hunted over the years.

Even though the clip is not quite the same as watching Edward and Bella contemplating the life of a pig, we do have Vikings in this clip. How are they related? Vikings have their fangs on their helmets (I know they are horns).

Everyone sing after me, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, and SPAM!!

Thanks,

Anah

The tradition I am speaking of is what a couple is to receive from other or give each other (Has to be one of those two.). The entire list is located at this website that gives suggestions on what you are supposed to give on a certain anniversary. You can check out the list at Traditional Wedding Anniversary gifts.

Is this a tradition in the Philippines? Do the Philippines have its own version? My answers are that I have no idea. I never cared about it so I never paid attention. However, it wouldn’t surprise me that there is a different version in the Philippines. Hopefully it has nothing to do with lice spontaneously growing on your head due to sunlight or sticking bamboo sticks in your ear for earwax. hehe If anybody does know, please send me a link.

Now, I’m not going to disclose which anniversary of ours is coming up but it is safe to say it isn’t our fiftieth or sixtieth since neither of us is anywhere near 50 years old. When you look at the list though, the first 15 anniversaries have their own interesting gift categories.

“Traditional Anniversary Gifts by Year

First: Paper
Second: Cotton
Third: Leather
Fourth: Fruit or Flowers
Fifth: Wood
Sixth: Candy or Iron
Seventh: Wool or Copper
Eight Bronze or Pottery
Ninth: Pottery
Tenth: Tin
Eleventh: Steel
Twelfth: Silk or Linen
Thirteenth: Lace
Fourteenth: Ivory
Fifteenth: Crystal”

So if it is your 4th anniversary could you count it as the 2nd anniversary of your 2nd anniversary? Does that mean you can get two sets of cotton underwear as long as they are from Fruit of the Loom?

Thank you and have a wonderful weekend,

Anah

If you have followed the issues much, there is plenty of talk and opinions on “Big Oil” and usage of fossil fuels such as coal and more. When most talk about their opinions about “Big Oil,” they focus on gasoline going into vehicles. What is missed though is the majority of the oil does NOT go into the gas tank. Depending on the state, 65-70% of the oil used in a state goes into non-automotive related products commonly used. Curious as to what your state does? Click on the link and find out.

What kinds of products use oil directly in their production? The answers are found here but cover things such as crayons, nylon, dentures, fertilizers, glue, toothbrushes, deodorants, shoes, telephones and a total of 128 common products. So are you really ready to join on the bandwagon and say Oil is bad?

When you hear of the talk of shifting to “greener” resources, they are ignoring a few key details. First, the technology is not ready yet to handle the loads needed. The issues involved are basic practical challenges. How about electric cars? Well, they are working on batteries and engines that can keep a significant enough charge to get you much of anywhere. The standard range is about 100 miles before you need a 10 minute recharge. In most of the USA, that doesn’t get you very far. These range upwards of $50,000 per car which is problematic in a bad economy when loans are tight and the average annual income is only $33,000.

That doesn’t cover the problem of the electrical utility bill you would get. Some are campaigning to seriously crimp the use of coal in the USA when they hold more than most nations. Coal makes up 49% of the electricity production as noted in this chart from the Energy Information Association. If you noticed, according to the chart the solar and wind account for a big whopping 0.3% contribution. To adjust the power plants to using different fuel sources would require extensive investments and a lot of time to transition. Turning off your lights a little bit more will do nothing to impact the electrical usage since the biggest culprits are the hot water heater, air conditioner, and the oven / stove (check the itemization of your electrical bill online). The costs of refitting nearly half of the power plants would be an expense factored into your utility bill. Just trying this at a time when loans are not available for such projects would be highly ill advised. (Common sense)

U.S. Electric Power Industry Net Generation, 2006

What about hydrogen fuel cell cars? They have been talked about quite a bit. California has a few of them. But the rest of the nation does not because of a Catch-22. Why would anyone purchase a hydrogen fuel cell car when there is no place to refill it? Why would any gas station fork out the expense of refitting when no one has a hydrogen fuel cell car in an area? They wouldn’t be approved for such a loan as you can’t make a business case for it especially in these tight times.

None of that factors in the low income, medium income families and the elderly who have a tendency to purchase used vehicles.

What it comes down to is gasoline still provides the best power supply for propulsion over all of the other choices currently available. You aren’t flying a jet on ethanol. An electric battery probably wouldn’t even get it into the air. You can’t refuel hydrogen in mid-air.

The Army is taking the initiative of turning biodegradable waste into oil. That means any plant matter can be used to make oil and converted into diesel fuel. If it works, it will reduce landfill usage, greenhouse gases and pollution.

Where did they come up with this idea? You may not believe this but the idea came to the person from a cow pasture. He was downwind of a cow when it farted (utoted hehe!). The smell triggered the idea of using smaller stomachs (bacteria) to digest the plants into a more usable form.

Interesting noh?

Anyway, Thanks for reading!

Have a wonderful weekend,

Anah

Photo from http://www.eia.doe.gov

52 is the product of 2×3x3×3.

52 is the number of cards in a standard deck of playing cards

52 is the age of anyone born in 1956

52 years ago Don Larsen of the Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees threw the only perfect game in the World Series

52 years ago Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” went #1

52 Pickup is a game when you have some volunteer to play, shoot the entire deck of cards into the air leaving the volunteer to pick up all of the 52 scattered cards

B-52 is the name of a both a rock band and a bomber aircraft

52 Cupcakes is a blog site devoted to … cupcakes

52 is the number of “Proven” Stress Relievers

52° is the latitude of Amsterdam, Berlin and Warsaw to the North and no significant cities to the South

52 is also the number of things you can do on Google that you may not have known about. For all the bloggers out there, #40 is of the most importance. It covers how to have your blog translated into thirteen languages. I know 40+13=53 but since I can’t read one of them that get it back down to 52 Ah, just watch it.

Thank you,

Anah

When you type “origin of the word shampoo” in the search bar, one of the best answers is found here.

For those who aren’t into following links, let me summarize what they go over. When the Spanish, French, and English thought they could race to claim the rest of the world as theirs, one of the British colonies was in India where we find the origins of the word “shampoo.” The word “shampoo” comes from the Hindi word “campo” which means “to press or knead.” That in turn traces back to the Sanskrit language.

If you remember your history, the British were wearing wigs and wouldn’t really care about what we know as shampoo. The term referred to a full massage with oils that are commonly used in regular massages today. “Shampoo” ended up meaning a massage for the scalp in 1860 often with oils for the scalp. The noun for the “liquid soap for the hair” originated in 1866. That in turn led to the next question.

What is the origin of the bottle of shampoo and what is it? I won’t summarize that entry but here are a few other details. The first man-made or synthetic shampoo was introduced in the 1930’s but it had a few problems with it. What is commonly known as shampoo today originated in the 1960’s.

The second half to this entry was originally going to be a different Did You Know all to itself but another website beat me to it and did an excellent job. The topic was going to be why do we do Day Light Savings time? But that website has the full batch of information on it. To quote the important part for my readers:

” If you live near the equator, day and night are nearly the same length (12 hours). Elsewhere on Earth, there is much more daylight in the summer than in the winter. The closer you live to the North or South Pole, the longer the period of daylight in the summer. Thus, Daylight Saving Time (Summer Time) is usually not helpful in the tropics, and countries near the equator generally do not change their clocks.”

Translation: It gets dark early here in Wisconsin in December. It doesn’t in the Philippines as they are so close to the equator. For Wisconsin and the USA, it serves a purpose. In the Philippines, it would be silly.

So ends this days adventure into little details you may never know or care about until your child asks you a question and stumps you.

Thank you,

Anah

Photo credits: http://sakinlangto.wordpress.com and http://www.mrdowling.com