Have you ever wondered why half dollars, quarters, and dimes have rough edges (called Reeding) but nickels and pennies don't? I doubt it, but here is the answer anyway.
All money used to be in coin form, and each coin was made of a precious medal. Originally people could just trade the raw medals, but this was risky because there was no standardization of quality in the medal, plus you needed to bring a scale with you to business deals in order to know how much money you were getting. This was burdensome, so around 700 BC countries began making coins that had a fixed amount of quality and weight. This worked for about 10 minutes, then dirty thieves found a way to cheat the system. Early coins were made by pounding a piece of medal with some kind of hammer, shaping it, then stamping it with whatever emblem was appropriate for that denomination. The process was less that an exact science, so each coin turned out a little different. Tricky people began to shave the edges of the coins, melt the shavings into new coins/blocks of medal, and put the original coins back in circulation. These coins would circulate until someone weighed them; If you were the unlucky guy who tried to use a shaved or clipped coin, you were going to have a bad day.
This went on for about 2000 year until someone got the bright idea to ask Da Vinci to get involved. He thought about it while taking his afternoon constitutional and invented the milling process. Milling allowed us to make coins that were exactly alike and highly detailed. This also made it possible to add Reeding. With a hundred or so little notches on it's edge, it would be very obvious if someone tried to shave or clip the coin. Reeding was one of the first anti-counterfeiting and vandalism deceives used on effectively on money. Thanks to Leonardo, countries could now make money and guarantee it's value.
Fast forward a bit. It's now 1793. The United states has declared it's awesomeness to the world, and now it's time to printing money. Dollar coins, half dollars, quarters and dimes were made of either silver or gold. Pennies were made of copper, and nickels... well you probably can guess. Reeding was placed on any coin with silver or gold in it, where as copper and nickel coins weren't worth the effort.
In 1900s the United States decided that since we were now a super power, there was no need to keep putting valuable medal in our coins. By 1965, most US coins were made of common medals and had no intrinsic value. Instead coins, and dollars, now have their value defined by the strength of our national economy. (I'm sure this seemed like a good idea at the time.) So why do we keep the reeding on our coins if there is no need to protect the medals they are composed of? Because we want people to think that their money is actually worth something, like in the good old days. It's a tribute to times past. Of course now that you know what it's there for, those rough edges will probably serve as a reminder that your money isn't worth the material it's made out of. Sorry to ruin your world.
Some fun coin facts:
Coin: Number of Reeds:
Dime 118
Quarter 119
Half Dollar 150
Silver Dollar 189
Susan B.'s 133 (I'm guessing her dollar gets less because she was a woman. They were sexist times.)
5.04.2012
5.03.2012
A dirty expression made clean again
I haven't written anything for a couple weeks. Most of my time has been taken up trying to get enrolled in another degree program, but I'm back for a bit, so enjoy.
I don't know if you ever heard the expression, but it was popular with the older generations: "It's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey!" Now before anyone assumes I'm being crass, let me explain. Until today I thought this was some weird old people form of vulgarity. At one point I even asked my uncle about it. He told me it had something to do with the brass monkeys on the Heidelberg bridge in German. (It is worth noting that my uncle spent most of my childhood telling me lies for fun. Once he talked my 8 year old cousin into kissing said monkey on the behind because it's the German version of the blarney stone.) It turns out there is a real story behind this odd euphemism.
When sailing ships where the kings of the oceans, they used to get themselves into fights. It could be with ships from waring countries, pirates, or the occasional sea monster. Sailing ships generally had two types of weapons - swords and cannons. Since using swords meant that you were being boarded, cannons became the weapon of choice. The problem: cannon balls were heavy, and liked to roll around. If a cannon ball got loose on the deck there would be a 30lb ball of iron rolling at your ankles which would most likely ruin your morning. Sailors found that the best way to avoid cannon balls rolling around was to stack them pyramid style on top of a metal plate called a "monkey." This plate had a bunch of divots in it to keep the cannon balls from moving. Since iron is prone to rusting, most ships went with brass monkeys. Brass is awesome; it doesn't rust much and when it tarnishes hipster pirates could take pictures of it to feel artsy. The only bad thing about brass is that when it gets cold, it contracts. If it was cold enough, the contraction in the brass would collapse the pyramid and send the cannon balls rolling hence coining the phrase, "it's cold enough to freeze the balls of a brass monkey!"
I don't know if you ever heard the expression, but it was popular with the older generations: "It's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey!" Now before anyone assumes I'm being crass, let me explain. Until today I thought this was some weird old people form of vulgarity. At one point I even asked my uncle about it. He told me it had something to do with the brass monkeys on the Heidelberg bridge in German. (It is worth noting that my uncle spent most of my childhood telling me lies for fun. Once he talked my 8 year old cousin into kissing said monkey on the behind because it's the German version of the blarney stone.) It turns out there is a real story behind this odd euphemism.
When sailing ships where the kings of the oceans, they used to get themselves into fights. It could be with ships from waring countries, pirates, or the occasional sea monster. Sailing ships generally had two types of weapons - swords and cannons. Since using swords meant that you were being boarded, cannons became the weapon of choice. The problem: cannon balls were heavy, and liked to roll around. If a cannon ball got loose on the deck there would be a 30lb ball of iron rolling at your ankles which would most likely ruin your morning. Sailors found that the best way to avoid cannon balls rolling around was to stack them pyramid style on top of a metal plate called a "monkey." This plate had a bunch of divots in it to keep the cannon balls from moving. Since iron is prone to rusting, most ships went with brass monkeys. Brass is awesome; it doesn't rust much and when it tarnishes hipster pirates could take pictures of it to feel artsy. The only bad thing about brass is that when it gets cold, it contracts. If it was cold enough, the contraction in the brass would collapse the pyramid and send the cannon balls rolling hence coining the phrase, "it's cold enough to freeze the balls of a brass monkey!"
4.06.2012
Some things I didn't know about taxes
Everyone these days is talking about taxes and what the Government can do. I'm not going to take sides in that debate right now, but here is a quick/depressing look at history.
1776 - 1861: NO TAXES! That's right, no income tax. Our founding father truly loved us so much that they didn't want to subject us to government based thievery.
1862 - 1872: Abraham Lincoln had to pay for the civil war, so he made a 3-5% income tax. In 1872 when the war was paid for, it was repealed.
1873 - 1912: NO INCOME TAXES!
1913-1916: Income taxes are reinstated and rise from 1-17% in 4 years.
1917-1920: taxes (for the upper class) range from 67-77%! I don't know the exact number for the middle class, but I'm sure they are equally upsetting.
1921: President Harding comes to office and drops tax rates down to 56%
1923 - 1931: More republican presidents drop the tax rates down to 24% on the high end.
1932 - 1939: Due to the Great Depression, the IRS hikes the upper class tax bracket to 63%, then later to 79%
1939 - 1945: Due to WWII, a couple things happened here. Taxes were raised to 81-94% to cover war costs, and they also began requiring employers to take money out of pay check before they make it to the employee.
1945 - 1963: Taxes drop to 81% for a few years, then back up to 91%.
1964 - 1980: Taxes drop to 77%, then to around 70%
1981 - 1988: RONALD REAGAN! Say what you will about him, but here is what I know - this president dropped taxes from 70% to 28%!
1989 - 1996: Under Bush #1 and Clinton taxes go back up to near 40%. So much for "No New Taxes."
1997 - 2012: Bush #2 brought it down to 35% where it remains today.
I don't know about you, but I cannot fathom the idea of paying 94% in taxes! Can you? Well here is a thought for you: The only things stopping this from happening in our lifetime are the people we vote into office. So take a look at people's tax plans before you vote, or the people that you vote for might be taking money from your pocket!
1776 - 1861: NO TAXES! That's right, no income tax. Our founding father truly loved us so much that they didn't want to subject us to government based thievery.
1862 - 1872: Abraham Lincoln had to pay for the civil war, so he made a 3-5% income tax. In 1872 when the war was paid for, it was repealed.
1873 - 1912: NO INCOME TAXES!
1913-1916: Income taxes are reinstated and rise from 1-17% in 4 years.
1917-1920: taxes (for the upper class) range from 67-77%! I don't know the exact number for the middle class, but I'm sure they are equally upsetting.
1921: President Harding comes to office and drops tax rates down to 56%
1923 - 1931: More republican presidents drop the tax rates down to 24% on the high end.
1932 - 1939: Due to the Great Depression, the IRS hikes the upper class tax bracket to 63%, then later to 79%
1939 - 1945: Due to WWII, a couple things happened here. Taxes were raised to 81-94% to cover war costs, and they also began requiring employers to take money out of pay check before they make it to the employee.
1945 - 1963: Taxes drop to 81% for a few years, then back up to 91%.
1964 - 1980: Taxes drop to 77%, then to around 70%
1981 - 1988: RONALD REAGAN! Say what you will about him, but here is what I know - this president dropped taxes from 70% to 28%!
1989 - 1996: Under Bush #1 and Clinton taxes go back up to near 40%. So much for "No New Taxes."
1997 - 2012: Bush #2 brought it down to 35% where it remains today.
I don't know about you, but I cannot fathom the idea of paying 94% in taxes! Can you? Well here is a thought for you: The only things stopping this from happening in our lifetime are the people we vote into office. So take a look at people's tax plans before you vote, or the people that you vote for might be taking money from your pocket!
Another assumption I had wrong.
Even though they are not outlined in The Constitution, there
are a couple of rights that I assume are unalienable facts. Today I found out
that on at least one of these things, I am wrong.
I was under the assumption that unless you have committed a crime,
a warrant has been issued, or there is a clear and immediate life-threatening
emergency no one is allowed to enter a locked vehicle without the consent of
the owner. Today however, I watched a tow truck driver break into someone’s car
to straighten the wheels out. I called two different police departments to ask
about this and both of them told me that this was legal, although no one could
tell me where this is found in the VA law books. So I did some research.
First off lets look at one of the laws about breaking into a
car:
§ 18.2-147. Entering or setting in motion, vehicle, aircraft, boat,
locomotive or rolling stock of railroad; exceptions.
Any person who shall, without the consent of the owner or person in
charge of a vehicle, aircraft, boat, vessel, locomotive or other rolling stock
of a railroad, climb into or upon such vehicle, aircraft, boat, vessel,
locomotive or other rolling stock of a railroad, with intent to commit any
crime, malicious mischief, or injury thereto, or who, while a vehicle,
aircraft, boat, vessel, locomotive or other rolling stock of a railroad is at
rest and unattended, shall attempt to manipulate any of the levers and starting
crank or other device, brakes or mechanism thereof or to set into motion such
vehicle, aircraft, boat, vessel, locomotive or other rolling stock of a
railroad, with the intent to commit any crime, malicious mischief, or injury
thereto, shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor, except that the foregoing
provision shall not apply when any such act is done in an emergency or in
furtherance of public safety or by or under the direction of an officer in the
regulation of traffic or performance of any other official duty.
The problem – Every law I could find about entering a
vehicle without permission has this simple catch: INTENT TO COMMIT. I’m
certainly hoping I missed something, but I could not find a single instance
where it was punishable to simply enter a locked car without permission. You
have to show intent to commit a crime. Since tow truck drivers are not
intending to commit a crime (one hopes), and they did not damage the car in the process, it is argued that this does not apply to them.
So what does the Law say specifically about tow truck
drivers entering your car? NOTHING! I read the entire section of law regarding tow trucks today
and not once does it even discuss entering the vehicle. But it does show some
other concerning facts:
Prior Convictions:
According to § 46.2-2814.1, no person can be denied
the right to be a tow truck driver simply because they happen to be a felon,
unless their conviction is directly related to theft of cars, or sexual assault.
But if you’re a murderer, art thief, con
artists, or arms dealer you can still have a job, which allows you to break
into people’s cars.
I’m hoping to talk to some other legal
peeps and get to the bottom of this, but until then…
GOOD NEWS FOR YOU!
There is some light at the end of this
tunnel. I did find one law that is actually in your favor: If you get to a tow
truck before he tows your car away, he legally has to give it back and can only
charge you $25. If he tries say no, here is the law.
§ 46.2-1231.
Notwithstanding the
foregoing provisions of this section, if the owner or representative or agent
of the owner of the trespassing vehicle is present and removes the trespassing
vehicle from the premises before it is actually towed, the trespassing vehicle
shall not be towed, but the owner or representative or agent of the owner of
the trespassing vehicle shall be liable for a reasonable fee, not to exceed $25
or such other limit as the governing body of the county, city, or town may set
by ordinance, in lieu of towing.
4.04.2012
More than 13 hours is illegal!
While researching something else (I'll post it sometime soon), I ran across this little gem of knowledge: In the state of Virginia (and many other states) it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle more than 13 hours a day. (This includes any time you spent driving in other states.) So lets says Rachel and I go on a road trip to see my mother in Iowa. On the way back to VA, If I start driving and go for 8 hours then let Rachel drive for 4 hours while I sleep, it would still be illegal for me to finish the drive since there would be more than 5 hours of driving left.
So my advice to you: If you are ever stopped by a cop and asked how long you have been driving don't say anything more than 12hrs or he can details you till 24 hours have past from the first minute you started driving.
Here is the law if you want to see for yourself:
§ 46.2-812. Driving more than thirteen hours in twenty-four prohibited.
No person shall drive any motor vehicle on the highways of the Commonwealth for more than thirteen hours in any period of twenty-four hours or for a period which, when added to the time such person may have driven in any other state, would make an aggregate of more than thirteen hours in any twenty-four-hour period. The provisions of this section, however, shall not apply to the operation of motor vehicles used in snow or ice control or removal operations or similar emergency situations.
No owner of any vehicle shall cause or permit it to be driven in violation of this section.
4.02.2012
Feel like a techie and write one line of code!
Okay I'm sorry about all the computer posts, but this is something I learned recently and it brought so much joy to my world that I have to share it.
If you've been a mac user for any amount of time you have probably learned two thing:
1. Your mac lets you do the same action, a hundred different way. This lets you customize your computer to behave how you think it should behave.
2. Sometimes these options can drive you crazy.
Let me posit a scenario: You open your documents folder, and it appears in the mother of all beautiful views, column view. (if you prefer any other view, this trick will work for you as well but you should know that everything you're doing is wrong.) But then, you double click a folder on your desktop only to find it opens in the evil Icon view!
If you are a good person in right standing with God, this sort of chaos can drive you crazy. There are a few ways of fixing this problem, but here is the quickest one I have found:
A) While in Finder, click Command+Shift+U.
B) Your Utilities folder should have opened. Double click on the program AppleScript Editor. If you have never opened this program before, don't get scared. It will be okay.
C) In the top box type the following all in one line:
*If you are not a column view user, you can propagate your sin by replacing column view with list view, flow view, or icon view.
D) Hit Compile. This will make some words change colors and check to make sure your code is good. If there are any problems make sure you typed it correctly.
E) Then hit Run.
Now every folder under your user name will be the same view! (This does not change your applications folder, or anything in your system library. Unfortunately those require a bit more effort and I don't want to get into right now)
If you've been a mac user for any amount of time you have probably learned two thing:
1. Your mac lets you do the same action, a hundred different way. This lets you customize your computer to behave how you think it should behave.
2. Sometimes these options can drive you crazy.
Let me posit a scenario: You open your documents folder, and it appears in the mother of all beautiful views, column view. (if you prefer any other view, this trick will work for you as well but you should know that everything you're doing is wrong.) But then, you double click a folder on your desktop only to find it opens in the evil Icon view!
If you are a good person in right standing with God, this sort of chaos can drive you crazy. There are a few ways of fixing this problem, but here is the quickest one I have found:
A) While in Finder, click Command+Shift+U.
B) Your Utilities folder should have opened. Double click on the program AppleScript Editor. If you have never opened this program before, don't get scared. It will be okay.
C) In the top box type the following all in one line:
tell application "Finder" to set the current view of the window of every folder of home to column view
*If you are not a column view user, you can propagate your sin by replacing column view with list view, flow view, or icon view.
D) Hit Compile. This will make some words change colors and check to make sure your code is good. If there are any problems make sure you typed it correctly.
E) Then hit Run.
Now every folder under your user name will be the same view! (This does not change your applications folder, or anything in your system library. Unfortunately those require a bit more effort and I don't want to get into right now)
3.31.2012
Let me google that for you...
Someone told me about this the other day and I thought it was brilliant. Do you ever have someone, say your boss, ask you a question and you think to yourself, "Why don't you just Google it? That's what I'm going to do." Well now you can answer their question and get your point across all at the same time.
Step one: Go to http://lmgtfy.com/ It will look like Google. Don't be alarmed.
Step two: Type in your question in the field and hit enter.
Step three: Copy the link it created at the bottom of the page.
You can now email this link to the person that asked you the question, and it will send them to a video that shows how to type their question in Google. I wouldn't advise doing this to anyone who takes themselves too serious and is your employer, but I'm sure you'll find a situation where it is applicable.
Step one: Go to http://lmgtfy.com/ It will look like Google. Don't be alarmed.
Step two: Type in your question in the field and hit enter.
Step three: Copy the link it created at the bottom of the page.
You can now email this link to the person that asked you the question, and it will send them to a video that shows how to type their question in Google. I wouldn't advise doing this to anyone who takes themselves too serious and is your employer, but I'm sure you'll find a situation where it is applicable.
3.30.2012
Mac things
So I've learned a couple tricks for mac recently. None of them warrant a full post, but together... well brace yourself.
The Boss is coming!
Okay, so there are times for being sneaky. We all know it. It's always when you're shopping for your wife's Birthday present, you're goofing off in class, or your IMing about your boss, when the person of interest walks by and looks at your computer. Well The great people at apple have thought ahead for you! Just hit Control+Shift+Eject for an instant black screen. Just FYI, things go back to normal as soon as you move your cursor, so I would recommend playing it cool till the situation resolves itself.
Oh no I closed that tab!
Safari has a cool tool in it that I only heard of recently. If you closed a tab by accident, don't panic! Just ⌘+Z that thing, and safari will bring it back!
Mail Shortcuts:
It is a horribly annoying thing to have to hit the buttons to send, reply, reply all or forward in mail. Unfortunately the shortcuts are not intuitive. So here are they are. If you don't know then, memorize them, then send gift cards to say thanks:
Send - Command+Shift+D
Reply - Command+R
Reply All - Command+Shift+R
Forward - Command+Shift+F
Mail like you're on an iPhone
Some people have really come to love the whole thread view that Mail for iPhone uses. Personally, I hate it, but that's just me. If you happen to be a fan, simply click on View in mail, and hit "Organize by Thread." Then you're $2000 computer can feel like a $500 phone.
Screen shots + Full window captures.
We all know that Command+Shift+4 will let you draw an area to capture as a screen shot. What I recently learned is that if you hit spacebar after releasing Command+Shift+4, it switched it so it captures the entire window you select.
What does that word mean again?
In most OSX programs you can look up the meaning of a word simply by highlight it, then hitting Command+Control+D. For some of you I just reduced the amount you use Google by half. You're welcome.
Geeking out.
Most people can skip right over this, but if you're a super geek this one is for you. Go download Geek Tool from the app store. This lets you overlay your desktop background with all kinds of goodness such as system logs, activity reports, and other things that help you live like a true genius. It even interfaces with some Linux software for those of you who only dabble in OSX for something fun to try between ruling the internet.
Login Items
Remember that one time in high school when you told Skype it was okay to load on start up? Yeah... fast forward a couple years and rebooting your computer has turned into a game of trying to force quit Skype before it has time to start sucking up all your RAM. Well, luckily this is one mistake you can undo. Go to System Preferences > Accounts. Click on your name, and above your picture to the right you will see a button that says Login Items. Click there, and turn those unwanted programs off! Just make sure not to turn off anything you don't understand.
Quitting a program without being in the program
Wanna switch between programs? Everyone knows you hit Command+Tab and it brings up a list of all the programs on your computer. While holding down Command, you can hit tab again and again to scroll through the programs. BUT I BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW that while a program is highlighted, you can hit Q to quit the program or H to hide it and all of it's windows from sight. This has revolutionize my shut down process.
Finally, Switching between windows within a program
If you're like me you often have multiple windows of the same program open. You can switch between them by hitting Command+` (that is the button above Tab).
Alright that is enough for now. I'll post more later. LLAP
The Boss is coming!
Okay, so there are times for being sneaky. We all know it. It's always when you're shopping for your wife's Birthday present, you're goofing off in class, or your IMing about your boss, when the person of interest walks by and looks at your computer. Well The great people at apple have thought ahead for you! Just hit Control+Shift+Eject for an instant black screen. Just FYI, things go back to normal as soon as you move your cursor, so I would recommend playing it cool till the situation resolves itself.
Oh no I closed that tab!
Safari has a cool tool in it that I only heard of recently. If you closed a tab by accident, don't panic! Just ⌘+Z that thing, and safari will bring it back!
Mail Shortcuts:
It is a horribly annoying thing to have to hit the buttons to send, reply, reply all or forward in mail. Unfortunately the shortcuts are not intuitive. So here are they are. If you don't know then, memorize them, then send gift cards to say thanks:
Send - Command+Shift+D
Reply - Command+R
Reply All - Command+Shift+R
Forward - Command+Shift+F
Mail like you're on an iPhone
Some people have really come to love the whole thread view that Mail for iPhone uses. Personally, I hate it, but that's just me. If you happen to be a fan, simply click on View in mail, and hit "Organize by Thread." Then you're $2000 computer can feel like a $500 phone.
Screen shots + Full window captures.
We all know that Command+Shift+4 will let you draw an area to capture as a screen shot. What I recently learned is that if you hit spacebar after releasing Command+Shift+4, it switched it so it captures the entire window you select.
What does that word mean again?
In most OSX programs you can look up the meaning of a word simply by highlight it, then hitting Command+Control+D. For some of you I just reduced the amount you use Google by half. You're welcome.
Geeking out.
Most people can skip right over this, but if you're a super geek this one is for you. Go download Geek Tool from the app store. This lets you overlay your desktop background with all kinds of goodness such as system logs, activity reports, and other things that help you live like a true genius. It even interfaces with some Linux software for those of you who only dabble in OSX for something fun to try between ruling the internet.
Login Items
Remember that one time in high school when you told Skype it was okay to load on start up? Yeah... fast forward a couple years and rebooting your computer has turned into a game of trying to force quit Skype before it has time to start sucking up all your RAM. Well, luckily this is one mistake you can undo. Go to System Preferences > Accounts. Click on your name, and above your picture to the right you will see a button that says Login Items. Click there, and turn those unwanted programs off! Just make sure not to turn off anything you don't understand.
Quitting a program without being in the program
Wanna switch between programs? Everyone knows you hit Command+Tab and it brings up a list of all the programs on your computer. While holding down Command, you can hit tab again and again to scroll through the programs. BUT I BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW that while a program is highlighted, you can hit Q to quit the program or H to hide it and all of it's windows from sight. This has revolutionize my shut down process.
Finally, Switching between windows within a program
If you're like me you often have multiple windows of the same program open. You can switch between them by hitting Command+` (that is the button above Tab).
Alright that is enough for now. I'll post more later. LLAP
Don't believe the lies!
Last night I was exposed to a revisionist lie. My wife, whom I love and trust, looked at me
during the course of editing something and said, “You shouldn’t use Oxford
commas! It’s not proper!” Now, as I’ve
mentioned before, I don’t claim to be a grammar expert but I did pay attention
in elementary school so I know that an Oxford comma is the way of the world.
After discussing this for a few minutes, I found out that people are actually
being taught that you shouldn’t use this magnificent punctuation because “It’s not
proper anymore. It’s unnecessary.” In order to preserve my childhood, find out who lied to my wife, and defend
the truth itself, I decided to do some research on the topic to find out what
is really going on here.
If you don’t know what an Oxford comma is (also called a serial
comma), it is the comma before the final conjunction in a series of items. Here
is an example:
“I went to the store to buy eggs,
milk, and cheese.” (Oxford comma in bold)
Now I admit that in this example the second comma is not
needed. But lets look at another one:
With:
“Last summer I went on a trip where I encountered two
priests, a skateboarder, and an alcoholic.”
Without:
“Last summer I went on a trip where I encountered two
priests, a skateboarder and an alcoholic.”
This time, that little comma, that wonderful little comma,
changes everything. With it you have a clear and concise list of four people.
Without it the sentence implies that one priest was a skateboarder while the
other was a drunk. Not only is this misleading, but without an oxford comma
this sentence just killed two people. The skateboard probably had a family, and the alcoholic might have been in the program, but we will never know because they have been "erased.. from history!" (said in my best Christopher Lloyd voice)
Our forefathers understood that some sentences might not need
the extra comma, but many do. Since authors could unintentionally confuse
their readers it was decided that all lists must use an Oxford comma. This is for
the protection of your readers, and potentially your eternal soul.
You may be asking, “Why would anyone try to get rid of such
an easy to use and all around wonderful mark of punctuation?” Well here is the
dirty little answer: Most people don’t want it to go anywhere! Here is a list
of people supporting its use, all claiming it is essential to avoiding confusion:
Team Oxford Comma: Harvard Press, The United States
Government, Oxford Press, The American Medical Association, The Chicago Style
Guide, The Council of Scientific Editors, the American Psychological
Association, a majority of college writing handbooks, and most respectable
publishers.
So who is causing all this commotion? The Associated Press, of course. Now I understand their point. Newspapers and magazines have limited space so every little mark they can remove helps. Because of this the AP doesn't use Oxford commas unless they have to. The
AP does however recognize that Oxford commas have their place! (According to the 2010 AP
style guide you should avoid using the comma and save space unless the sentence
requires it for clarity.)
Bottom line, don’t believe the lies! Unless you are writing
for a newspaper or some other form of limited space publication, you should use
an Oxford comma. Imagine how this sentence could
have been had our old friend the Oxford comma not been there to save the day:
“Juan accepted the award and immediately thanked his
parents, Rachel, and Jehovah God Almighty.”
3.29.2012
The Death of Television
I’m a little angry with TV networks. They keep making fun, well-produced
shows and then cancelling them once I get interested. This is nothing short of
emotional abuse and it needs to stop. But why is this happening? I know people
are watching the shows, but their ratings are pathetic. So I decided to do some
research. Here is what I found:
There is a guy named Nielsen, well at least there was.
(Actually I don’t know if he was a real person, but that point is moot.) Since
the 1950s a company called Nielsen has been installing monitoring boxes in a
small percentage of people’s home, watching what they watch, and then saying
this is an accurate survey of what the American people care about. This has
become the industry standard of judging how well a show does, and they are the
only company doing it. So if Nielsen says no one is watching your show, it is
taken as gospel and the network cancels it. This would make sense except that…
NEILSEN is a dirt liar! They claim to have an accurate
depiction of what Americans are watching, but this isn’t true. What’s worse is
that everyone knows it. Lets take a look at the data:
How the system works: From what I could find, Nielsen tracks
around 20,000 households (approx. 0.0002% of American households according to
the last census). Here is the interesting part: They track DVR usage
differently than live TV. So lets say you want to watch two shows that are on
at the same time, so you DVR one of them. If you don’t watch it the same day,
your numbers are not counted right away. Then when you do watch it, you fast forward through the commercials (like all good Americans with a DVR
would do). You are counted as watching the show, but your show is docked points
because you didn’t watch the commercials.
Ratings are about the ads not the views: The networks want people to watch
the shows, because they make money off the ads. If a show has a lot of views,
but they are all skipping the ads (Fast forwarding on DVR, or changing the
channel) the shows C3 rating drops, and it gets cancelled.
Then we come to the internet. A large percentage of people
under 35 are ditching cable. It’s simply cheaper to watch TV on Hulu or a
variety of other online services. Nielsen does keep track of online viewers,
but there is a catch:
1) People usually have to wait to see the shows on Hulu.
Nielsen only keeps track for 7 days, so all of those shows that make you wait a
week to see the online broadcast don’t really count the online views. If you
wait to watch your show till the weekend, you probably won’t be counted either because
most studios go off the number from the day after the TV broadcast. Since the online world is designed to work
around your schedule, it isn’t fast enough for Nielsen and is marginalized.
2) When you watch a show online, you don’t see the same
commercials. Because of this online views are counted separately, and their
voice doesn’t count for much. For example, a show that 9 million online views
and 1 million TV views doesn’t count as much as a show with 2 million TV
watchers.
It basically boils down to this: Since technology is moving
fast than our ability to track it, shows that appeal to technologically savvy
people are handicapped. This explains why shows featuring spoiled rich kids are
doing well, and shows with a plot line are on the verge of extinction.
3.28.2012
Be Prepared!
A couple nights ago, there was a huge storm that passed through the area. I was working on my computer, and Rachel was working on a water color painting for work. Then, as if tempting fate, Rachel said, "Wouldn't it be horrible if the power went out right now? We would never get this stuff finished!" No more than 20 seconds later the room went dark. There was silence, followed by a simple retort: "You just had to say it..."
The power was back up a couple seconds later and we went about our evening, but it started me thinking about what would happen if the power was out for a couple days. Between natural disasters, mechanical errors, and all the craziness the sun has been spewing out recently, I decided it was time to build an emergency kit for the house. You should make one for yours. Hopefully you won't ever need one, but if you do a little bit of effort now might just save your life.
A good natural disaster kit includes four categories of item: Food/Water, Medical/Hygienic items, and Survival gear.
Food/Water: Bottled water is cheep and might be the most essential part of your kit. You need clean water for everything! Just think about how much water you have used today. You hopefully showered, brushed your teeth, had coffee, etc... In a survival situation you need about a gallon of water per person, per day to accommodate all of your needs.
I once read that you can survive 3 weeks without food, but personally I don't want to try it. You should plan for 2 high calorie meals a day, per person. Think about energy bars, granola, peanut butter, etc... Beyond that, stock up on some extra canned goods. They are cheap and you are going to buy them anyway. So buy a couple extra and replace them as you use them. Plan to have enough food and water for one week.
Medical/Hygienic items: Have an extra bottle of shampoo, body wash, and hand soap in the house. It will keep you from running out, and in an emergency they can help stave off all kinds of bad things.
Get a first aid kit! It's foolish not have one. I found ours on sale for $11 and it has everything we need in it. If you don't have one, go get one right now. If you are on an prescriptions, it's a good idea to refill them before you completely run out, and keep them in a place you can get to quickly.
Survival gear: There are basically two types of emergencies. Either you bunker down in your house, or you are forced to travel. Be ready for either. Bare minimum you will need waterproof matches, a good knife, rope, extra clothes, duct tape, flashlights, batteries, cash, and your ID.
Most importantly, HAVE A PLAN! We have fire drills in schools. This week there are tornado drills throughout Virginia. We have plans for our offices and schools, so make sure to have one for your home. Talk it over with your family and friends. Make sure everyone knows what to do if there is an emergency.
Here is a great checklist I found to help you get your your survival kit in order.
Master Supply List
You can also get more information from these site:
Ready.gov
72hours.org
Red Cross
The power was back up a couple seconds later and we went about our evening, but it started me thinking about what would happen if the power was out for a couple days. Between natural disasters, mechanical errors, and all the craziness the sun has been spewing out recently, I decided it was time to build an emergency kit for the house. You should make one for yours. Hopefully you won't ever need one, but if you do a little bit of effort now might just save your life.
A good natural disaster kit includes four categories of item: Food/Water, Medical/Hygienic items, and Survival gear.
Food/Water: Bottled water is cheep and might be the most essential part of your kit. You need clean water for everything! Just think about how much water you have used today. You hopefully showered, brushed your teeth, had coffee, etc... In a survival situation you need about a gallon of water per person, per day to accommodate all of your needs.
I once read that you can survive 3 weeks without food, but personally I don't want to try it. You should plan for 2 high calorie meals a day, per person. Think about energy bars, granola, peanut butter, etc... Beyond that, stock up on some extra canned goods. They are cheap and you are going to buy them anyway. So buy a couple extra and replace them as you use them. Plan to have enough food and water for one week.
Medical/Hygienic items: Have an extra bottle of shampoo, body wash, and hand soap in the house. It will keep you from running out, and in an emergency they can help stave off all kinds of bad things.
Get a first aid kit! It's foolish not have one. I found ours on sale for $11 and it has everything we need in it. If you don't have one, go get one right now. If you are on an prescriptions, it's a good idea to refill them before you completely run out, and keep them in a place you can get to quickly.
Survival gear: There are basically two types of emergencies. Either you bunker down in your house, or you are forced to travel. Be ready for either. Bare minimum you will need waterproof matches, a good knife, rope, extra clothes, duct tape, flashlights, batteries, cash, and your ID.
Most importantly, HAVE A PLAN! We have fire drills in schools. This week there are tornado drills throughout Virginia. We have plans for our offices and schools, so make sure to have one for your home. Talk it over with your family and friends. Make sure everyone knows what to do if there is an emergency.
Here is a great checklist I found to help you get your your survival kit in order.
Master Supply List
You can also get more information from these site:
Ready.gov
72hours.org
Red Cross
3.27.2012
Who knows when to use whom?
Recently as I was typing an email and I couldn’t decide whether to use “Who” or “Whom.” Since my life aspirations include never sounding like the guy who works behind the counter at Bass Pro, I decided to look it up. Here is what you need to know:
WHO – This is a subjective pronoun (or nominative pronoun for you foreign language lovers). This means the person in question is the subject of the sentence, which means he/she/it is committing the action described by the verb. Here are some examples:
“Who brought the chips to the party?” (Steve brought the chips to the party.)
“Becky is the girl who runs the whole office.” (Becky runs the office)
WHOM – is a direct object. This means it is the recipient of the verb’s action. This can be tricky because most of us get this part wrong. A good rule of thumb is to answer the question or rephrase the statement in a complete sentence. Here are some examples:
“This is my son, of whom I am well pleased” (I am pleased with my son)
“Whom can we ask to call for help?” (We can ask her to call for help)
* Beware of prepositions! I can’t prove this, but I think they were originally designed to make you hate your life. Think of them as literary gremlins; they are everywhere and are trying to ruin your day. Observe:
“Everyone had a different opinion as to who they thought would succeed”
You might think this should be "whom," but this is where disappointment sets in. That pesky preposition changes everything. Since "who" is now the object of the preposition, it acts like a noun. (They thought He would succeed). If you get this wrong, don’t worry about it. Just avoid this sentence construction while speaking in libraries, English lit classes, or formal tea parties.
3.26.2012
64 what?! BITS!
My lovely wife called me the other day because her work computer kept crashing Photoshop CS5. She was working with a freaking huge file, but her computer should have been able to handle it. After doing some research I learned two things:
1. CS5 (and the upcoming CS6) work best in 64 bit mode. In 32 bit mode (all macs prior to mid 2011) CS5 cannot use more than 2.5 gigs of RAM, even if your computer is pimped out with 512,000 gigs.
2. Most macs after 2008 have the ability to switch to 64 bit mode, if they are running snow leopard or later. (if you don’t know what your mac is, go here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3696 )
**DISCLAIMER: I don’t know what you do with your computer, but research the software you use before changing anything. Most everything plays well with 64 bit, but if you have any doubts, look it up. For instance, if you’re a musician, you will most likely have to reinstall your Avid drivers if you switch to 64 bit. (I had to, but it was easy). If you switch to 64 Bit and it’s a problem, you can always switch it back, but do your homework first.
**IF YOU HAVE A PC I can't help you, but you shouldn't be using it for graphics or audio anyway; get on ebay and buy a mac.
If you mac is able to run 64 bit, you can check to see if your computer has 64 bit turned on by clicking on “About this Mac” then hit “more info”. Scroll down and click on “Software” (left hand column). In the right column you will see a line that says:
64 Bit Kernel and Extensions: (Yes or No)
If it says yes, congrats! You can stop reading. You’re already a cool kid. If it says no, keep going!
Switching to 64 bit mode isn’t hard. There are three ways to do it.
1. Shut down your computer, and reboot it while holding the “6” and the “4” keys. This will put your computer into 64 bit mode until you shut it down again. I recommend testing it out this way, and if you like it make it permanent by doing one of the steps below.
2. I haven’t tries this, but you can open terminal and type:
sudo systemsetup -setkernelbootarchitecture x86_64
To revert back to 32 Bit type:
sudo systemsetup -setkernelbootarchitecture i386
3. Go to MacHD/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist
Open the file and read through the the text until you find:
Change it to look like this: (add arch=x86_64 to the string phrase)
Then save (this will require authentication) and reboot. When I did this I had to save the file to my desktop, rename it with the .plist extension and place it into the folder. (OSX wouldn’t let me modify the document in the folder, but I could replace it)
So there you go! You can now join the 2010+ crowd and rock it like a Nintendo 64.
3.25.2012
Bringing Back the Blog
I hate blogs. They are usually the worthless ramblings of overly opinionated, under qualified, individuals who use the internet as their personal soap box. I have no aspirations of joining their ranks, so I’m using this blog for a different purpose - Me. Let me explain:
There is an old adage that, “you learn something new every day.” It’s unfortunate, but I have to admit guilt in using this cliché once or twice in my life. Today, as I was squandering my existence on netfix, I began to ponder if this was actually true. More specifically, do I learn something worthwhile everyday? To that end, I have decided to take 5-30 minutes of my day, everyday, and learn something. This blog is going to serve as an archive of neat things I have learned so that when I forget it (an inevitable outcome of age) I can find it easily. So, this blog is for me but if you want to join me on my intellectual endeavor, feel free to check back for updates. You will be educated and entertained, but as the great philosopher Lavar Burton, “You don’t have to take my word for it.”
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