January 11 first sucessful insulin treatment for diabetes; inventor was Sir Frederick Grant Banting.
February 8 Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio to the White House- this will be the only significant thing worth remembering in Harding's Presidency!
February 27 - A challenge to the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, allowing women the right to vote, is rebuffed by the Supreme Court of the United States.
March 1 -Ice mass breaks the Oder Dam in Breslau, an ancient German city first recorded in the year 1000.
May 5 - In The Bronx, construction begins on Yankee Stadium.
May 30 - In Washington, D.C., the Lincoln Memorial is dedicated.
June 28 - The Irish Civil War begins; August 22, Michael Collins killed, and the Irish free state formed on December 5th-6th.
September 9 - Turkish forces pursuing withdrawing Greek troops enter Smyrna
September 13 - 15 - Fire, probably started by Turkish troops, destroys most of Smyrna. Death toll estimated 100,000
could possibly have happened on September 11th!!! Still controversy as to whom really was to blame for the fire; some say it was the Christians some say the Muslims. Today, 40 hectares of the former fire area is a vast park (Kültürpark) serving as Turkey's greatest open air exhibition center (İzmir International Fair, among others) that is preserved in memory of the great fire which devastated the city as well as its inhabitants.
September 27th- My mother, Catherine Theresa Frey, was born in Stamford, Connecticut. In 43 years and 8 months from this date, her 6th child, namely me, will be born.
October 28 - In Italy, with the March on Rome, Fascism obtains power and Benito Mussolini becomes prime minister
November 4 - In Egypt, British archaeologist Howard Carter and his men find the entrance to King Tutankhamen's tomb in the Valley of the Kings; November 26 - Howard Carter and Lord Carnavon become the first people to enter the tomb of Egyptian King Tutankhamun in over 3000 years.
Novermber 14- the BBC has its first radio station come on the air- 2LO.
November 21 - Rebecca Felton of Georgia takes the oath of office, becoming the first woman United States Senator.
December 30 - Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and the Transcaucasia come together to form the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Other scientific and engineering milestones on or around the year 1922
-high performance materials
1915 Pyrex
Corning research physicist Jesse Littleton cuts the bottom from a glass battery jar produced by Corning, takes it home, and asks his wife to bake a cake in it. The glass withstands the heat during the baking process, leading to the development of borosilicate glasses for kitchenware and later to a wide range of glass products marketed as Pyrex.
-Electricity
Connecticut Valley Power Exchange (CONVEX) starts, pioneering interconnection between utilities.
-Lightbulbs
1925 - The first frosted lightbulbs were produced.
-Postal service
1920- First transcontinental airmail
-Soft drinks
1919 The American Bottlers of Carbonated Beverages formed.
1920 The U.S. Census reported that more than 5,000 bottlers now exist.
Early 1920's The first automatic vending machines dispensed sodas into cups.
-Clocks
A true free-pendulum principle was introduced by R. J. Rudd about 1898, stimulating development of several free-pendulum clocks. One of the most famous, the W. H. Shortt clock, was demonstrated in 1921. The Shortt clock almost immediately replaced Riefler's clock as a supreme timekeeper in many observatories. This clock consists of two pendulums, one a slave and the other a master. The slave pendulum gives the master pendulum the gentle pushes needed to maintain its motion, and also drives the clock's hands. This allows the master pendulum to remain free from mechanical tasks that would disturb its regularity.
-Chocolate
1913 - Swiss confiseur Jules Sechaud of Montreux introduced a machine process for manufacturing filled chocolates.
-Chewing gum
1914- Wrigley Doublemint brand was created. William Wrigley, Jr. and Henry Fleer were responsible for adding the popular mint and fruit extracts to a chicle chewing gum.
-Household appliances
1919 First automatic pop-up toaster. Charles Strite’s first automatic pop-up toaster uses a clockwork mechanism to time the toasting process, shut off the heating element when the bread is done, and release the slice with a pop-up spring. The invention finally reaches the marketplace in 1926 under the name Toastmaster.
-Highway
1920 Yellow traffic lights
William Potts, a Detroit police officer, refines Garrett Morgan’s invention by adding the yellow light. Red and green traffic signals in some form have been in use since 1868, but the increase in automobile traffic requires the addition of a warning signal.
-Water supply and distribution
1919 Formula for the chlorination of urban water
Civil engineer Abel Wolman and chemist Linn H. Enslow of the Maryland Department of Health in Baltimore develop a rigorous scientific formula for the chlorination of urban water supplies. (In 1908 Jersey City Water Works, New Jersey, became the first facility to chlorinate, using sodium hypochlorite, but there was uncertainty as to the amount of chlorine to add and no regulation of standards.) To determine the correct dose, Wolman and Enslow analyze the bacteria, acidity, and factors related to taste and purity. Wolman overcomes strong opposition to convince local governments that adding the correct amounts of otherwise poisonous chemicals to the water supply is beneficial—and crucial—to public health. By the 1930s chlorination and filtration of public water supplies eliminates waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, hepatitis A, and dysentery. The formula is still used today by water treatment plants around the world.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Monday, September 25, 2006
the Iron constitution of the United states of our organs
I was walking downtown and came across something written in chalk along the sidewalk between petersons and the cooking school. "I love the constitution" was the phrase, and I was thinking about the different meanings of the word; first the obvious meaning which the legal encyclopedia online makes a reference to Aristotle:
"The concept of a constitution dates to the city-states of ancient Greece. The philosopher Aristotle (384-322 b.c.), in his work Politics, analyzed over 150 Greek constitutions. In that work, he described a constitution as creating the frame upon which the government and laws of a society are built:
A constitution may be defined as an organization of offices in a state, by which the method of their distribution is fixed, the sovereign authority is determined, and the nature of the end to be pursued by the association and all its members is prescribed. Laws, as distinct from the frame of the constitution, are the rules by which the magistrates should exercise their powers, and should watch and check transgressors."
In the history and development section of the wikipedia entry it states:
Excavations in modern-day Iraq by Ernest de Sarzec in 1877 found evidence of the earliest known code of justice, issued by the Sumerian king Urukagina of Lagash ca. 2300 BC. Perhaps the earliest prototype for a law of government, this document itself has not yet been discovered; however it is known that it allowed some rights to his citizens. For example, it is known that it relieved tax for widows and orphans, and protected the poor from the usury of the rich.
After that, many governments ruled by special codes of written laws. The oldest such document still known to exist seems to be that of Ur-Nammu of Ur (ca. 2050 BC). Some of the more well known among these include the code of Hammurabi of Babylonia, the Hittite code, the Assyrian code, Mosaic law, and likewise the commandments of Cyrus the Great of Persia.
Hey, there is a song by the english musical group Wire called "The King of Ur and the Queen of Um." Umm....er, uhh, yeah. whatever. Then the american heritage stedmans medical dictionary offers this biological definition up:
"1.The physical makeup of the body, including its functions, metabolic processes, reactions to stimuli, and resistance to the attack of pathogenic organisms.
2.The composition or structure of a molecule. "
and from the free online dictionary, (hey, you cannot leave them out of this!) under the second definition of "Iron" as an adjective:
2. Strong, healthy, and capable of great endurance: an iron constitution.
and then, because we have not included a quote yet, in a page of progress quotes and quotations, provided by GIGA, we have something from Emerson:
It is wonderful how soon a piano gets into a log-hut on the frontier. You would think they found it under a pine-stump. With it comes a Latin grammar, and one of those tow-head boys has written a hymn on Sunday. Now let colleges, now let senates take heed! for here is one who, opening these fine tastes on the basis of the pioneer's iron constitution, will gather all their laurels in his strong hands.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
So, geting back to the point of orgin for this post- the person who wrote this in chalk on the sidewalk... was he simply espressing gratitude for his good health??? Probably not. Was he lacking in Iron? I think....no! Is he a constitutional law freak? I dunno! But perhaps I noticed it because it is banned books week and I work in a public library and I feel a little pride and ownership in my usually mindless tasks and duties, because I help keep information accessible, and yes I will gather all the laurels in my strong hands....dammitt!
Stephen, pdx or 2:56:47 a.m.
"The concept of a constitution dates to the city-states of ancient Greece. The philosopher Aristotle (384-322 b.c.), in his work Politics, analyzed over 150 Greek constitutions. In that work, he described a constitution as creating the frame upon which the government and laws of a society are built:
A constitution may be defined as an organization of offices in a state, by which the method of their distribution is fixed, the sovereign authority is determined, and the nature of the end to be pursued by the association and all its members is prescribed. Laws, as distinct from the frame of the constitution, are the rules by which the magistrates should exercise their powers, and should watch and check transgressors."
In the history and development section of the wikipedia entry it states:
Excavations in modern-day Iraq by Ernest de Sarzec in 1877 found evidence of the earliest known code of justice, issued by the Sumerian king Urukagina of Lagash ca. 2300 BC. Perhaps the earliest prototype for a law of government, this document itself has not yet been discovered; however it is known that it allowed some rights to his citizens. For example, it is known that it relieved tax for widows and orphans, and protected the poor from the usury of the rich.
After that, many governments ruled by special codes of written laws. The oldest such document still known to exist seems to be that of Ur-Nammu of Ur (ca. 2050 BC). Some of the more well known among these include the code of Hammurabi of Babylonia, the Hittite code, the Assyrian code, Mosaic law, and likewise the commandments of Cyrus the Great of Persia.
Hey, there is a song by the english musical group Wire called "The King of Ur and the Queen of Um." Umm....er, uhh, yeah. whatever. Then the american heritage stedmans medical dictionary offers this biological definition up:
"1.The physical makeup of the body, including its functions, metabolic processes, reactions to stimuli, and resistance to the attack of pathogenic organisms.
2.The composition or structure of a molecule. "
and from the free online dictionary, (hey, you cannot leave them out of this!) under the second definition of "Iron" as an adjective:
2. Strong, healthy, and capable of great endurance: an iron constitution.
and then, because we have not included a quote yet, in a page of progress quotes and quotations, provided by GIGA, we have something from Emerson:
It is wonderful how soon a piano gets into a log-hut on the frontier. You would think they found it under a pine-stump. With it comes a Latin grammar, and one of those tow-head boys has written a hymn on Sunday. Now let colleges, now let senates take heed! for here is one who, opening these fine tastes on the basis of the pioneer's iron constitution, will gather all their laurels in his strong hands.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
So, geting back to the point of orgin for this post- the person who wrote this in chalk on the sidewalk... was he simply espressing gratitude for his good health??? Probably not. Was he lacking in Iron? I think....no! Is he a constitutional law freak? I dunno! But perhaps I noticed it because it is banned books week and I work in a public library and I feel a little pride and ownership in my usually mindless tasks and duties, because I help keep information accessible, and yes I will gather all the laurels in my strong hands....dammitt!
Stephen, pdx or 2:56:47 a.m.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Humanity is one of our strong points
from wikinews today:
" 'There is not much choice. There is not, because we screwed up. Not a little, a lot. No European country has done something as boneheaded as we have. Evidently, we lied throughout the last year-and-a-half, two years. It was totally clear that what we are saying is not true. You cannot quote any significant government measure we can be proud of, other than at the end we managed to bring the government back from the brink. Nothing. If we have to give account to the country about what we did for four years, then what do we say?'
The prime minister confirmed the authenticity of the recording and uploaded its transcript on his blog..."
My feeling about this is good. It just reads as too sincere to have any hidden agenda behind it; sure it means he messed up, but to open up so much to the world putting his future at risk, admitting the long chain of blunders, well, if only a U.S. President would come clean like that. Any U.S. president. We could start with the ones who are living. Some of their former cabinet members have already in book or in other media either come clean, tried to right their administrations wrongs by being an active participant in current policy shaping, or have waffled or even have come out slightly more on the denial side...well its a beginning- at least that's an admission that something bad did happen. Ann Richards who recently died who was governor for a term before our current leader of the "free world" took that post, had it written in her obit in one online newssource that she was an alcoholic....Don't know if that was said before now. But that only makes her appear stronger- she struggled and overcame it enough to take on a job with a huge responsibility. People are human... Evil is tempting, where god is the devil is close by. In fact the devil was once the most beautiful angel, which , among other things lost his modesty. Jack Benny was quoted as saying Modesty was one of his strong points.
To make that even stranger, after reading a translated blurb which sounds like a first person confessional, I go on later in the evening to put on "Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus" a documentary film about the poor back roads of the deep south, with alt-country Lauka Bop label artist Jim White as our guide, driving in his friends beat up rusty Chevy impala, and going to a Pentecostal church where the rockabilly guitar slingin' preacher conjures up the holy ghost and people go into trances and speak in tongues; go into a prison, into a dive, talk with a biker who is shootin' a stop sign, enter a place where people get spiritual guidance with their fried catfish, drive along a swamp, talk with others too, one scene an old banjo player(Lee Sexton) talking to a young coal miner is particularly interesting. And David Johansen, formerly a New York Doll and Buster Poindexter, sings some very powerfully deep and dark stuff, and tells a story about how Harry Smith, a man who collected old 78s is connected the shape in which rock n roll took. our humanity is one of our strong points, as well as what makes us interesting, and yes being modest is a strength too just not when you are the one admitting to it, obviously!
Stephen pdx 9/23/06 12:44 a.m.
" 'There is not much choice. There is not, because we screwed up. Not a little, a lot. No European country has done something as boneheaded as we have. Evidently, we lied throughout the last year-and-a-half, two years. It was totally clear that what we are saying is not true. You cannot quote any significant government measure we can be proud of, other than at the end we managed to bring the government back from the brink. Nothing. If we have to give account to the country about what we did for four years, then what do we say?'
The prime minister confirmed the authenticity of the recording and uploaded its transcript on his blog..."
My feeling about this is good. It just reads as too sincere to have any hidden agenda behind it; sure it means he messed up, but to open up so much to the world putting his future at risk, admitting the long chain of blunders, well, if only a U.S. President would come clean like that. Any U.S. president. We could start with the ones who are living. Some of their former cabinet members have already in book or in other media either come clean, tried to right their administrations wrongs by being an active participant in current policy shaping, or have waffled or even have come out slightly more on the denial side...well its a beginning- at least that's an admission that something bad did happen. Ann Richards who recently died who was governor for a term before our current leader of the "free world" took that post, had it written in her obit in one online newssource that she was an alcoholic....Don't know if that was said before now. But that only makes her appear stronger- she struggled and overcame it enough to take on a job with a huge responsibility. People are human... Evil is tempting, where god is the devil is close by. In fact the devil was once the most beautiful angel, which , among other things lost his modesty. Jack Benny was quoted as saying Modesty was one of his strong points.
To make that even stranger, after reading a translated blurb which sounds like a first person confessional, I go on later in the evening to put on "Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus" a documentary film about the poor back roads of the deep south, with alt-country Lauka Bop label artist Jim White as our guide, driving in his friends beat up rusty Chevy impala, and going to a Pentecostal church where the rockabilly guitar slingin' preacher conjures up the holy ghost and people go into trances and speak in tongues; go into a prison, into a dive, talk with a biker who is shootin' a stop sign, enter a place where people get spiritual guidance with their fried catfish, drive along a swamp, talk with others too, one scene an old banjo player(Lee Sexton) talking to a young coal miner is particularly interesting. And David Johansen, formerly a New York Doll and Buster Poindexter, sings some very powerfully deep and dark stuff, and tells a story about how Harry Smith, a man who collected old 78s is connected the shape in which rock n roll took. our humanity is one of our strong points, as well as what makes us interesting, and yes being modest is a strength too just not when you are the one admitting to it, obviously!
Stephen pdx 9/23/06 12:44 a.m.
Monday, September 18, 2006
not holding back while being sensitive to others
Deciding to be open and more direct after holding back your feelings about the way certain things were handled by friends or family members is a tricky business; There has to be a method, an ethically and morally proper approach ... besides the obvious choice of just starting out by being up front from the beginning. It is tricky even before you go into the particulars of all the folks involved. Finally deciding after 7 years to be more open and direct with your in-laws, when you are always the quiet one who never puts up a fuss and adapts well on his own, just needing a little more time, preferably quiet left alone time, more than most others; when your in-laws are the second marriage when your dad dies when you are in kindergarten and when the step parent in law has a child who was the same age when they both lost their husband and dad, when they are a cancer survivor and a heart attack survivor and your mom decides not to marry much less date ever again after going through her husbands cancer for most of your childhood life...an interesting set of dynamics here, indeed.
A paradox is set up by allowing this situation of holding in feelings to occur; You fear causing someone hurt with your genuinely felt words expressed out loud so you hold back, say "everything is fine" with the hopes that they will figure it out on their own in due time or through someone or something else. But if they are not as unaware as you think they are, then this person is sensing you feeling a certain way and they are aware that you are choosing not to say anything...arrrrghhh!!!
So you write out your thoughts, choose your words carefully and wait to send it when it all sounds just right- and when is that moment? Aren't you also fearing that you might talk yourself out of writing anything beyond the therapeutic letter, the equivalent of shouting in a pillow, writing something that will actually be a true account of your deepest feelings yet saying it in such a way that the person will not be reactive but will read it over and over again and in time try to respectfully answer each and every concern. you want to do all of this but the other person might not be ready to deal with these things. And even though it is important to you it is not the only thing going on in your life; you will want to avoid getting burned out from spending to much time being absorbed by this, otherwise you might just blow up and spill out what you have been carrying at the wrong time presented in the most inappropriate way. You also cannot say it all with absolute perfect clarity in even the 6th or 7th draft. Just preface it with a " it might not be everything I have to say" or "that's all I can say at the moment" or "please let me know if you do not understand any part of what I have written." Words to that effect. And with that I am posting this sucker and hitting the hay, Ray! Good day!
Stephen PDX 12:27 a.m. 9/20/06
A paradox is set up by allowing this situation of holding in feelings to occur; You fear causing someone hurt with your genuinely felt words expressed out loud so you hold back, say "everything is fine" with the hopes that they will figure it out on their own in due time or through someone or something else. But if they are not as unaware as you think they are, then this person is sensing you feeling a certain way and they are aware that you are choosing not to say anything...arrrrghhh!!!
So you write out your thoughts, choose your words carefully and wait to send it when it all sounds just right- and when is that moment? Aren't you also fearing that you might talk yourself out of writing anything beyond the therapeutic letter, the equivalent of shouting in a pillow, writing something that will actually be a true account of your deepest feelings yet saying it in such a way that the person will not be reactive but will read it over and over again and in time try to respectfully answer each and every concern. you want to do all of this but the other person might not be ready to deal with these things. And even though it is important to you it is not the only thing going on in your life; you will want to avoid getting burned out from spending to much time being absorbed by this, otherwise you might just blow up and spill out what you have been carrying at the wrong time presented in the most inappropriate way. You also cannot say it all with absolute perfect clarity in even the 6th or 7th draft. Just preface it with a " it might not be everything I have to say" or "that's all I can say at the moment" or "please let me know if you do not understand any part of what I have written." Words to that effect. And with that I am posting this sucker and hitting the hay, Ray! Good day!
Stephen PDX 12:27 a.m. 9/20/06
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Home is where the film was set
It is always a strange phenomenon when you are watching a movie, especially when it is a film in which you are immediately absorbed into, and you get this strange feeling that you have been at these locations before. The film was an immensely enjoyable experience before you realized the details of the shots and started saying hey open sewers wooden piers ranch style homes old school street signage ...Either a I have been there or b its very much like where I grew up from 1966-1980, and it still has that look!!! Is it Long Beach, California...No....Turns out it is 34-35 miles south from where I grew up between Warner and Heil avenues, Beach blvd and the San Diego Fwy ....it thanked the students and faculty of San Clemente High School. And I have only been back down there 3 times since I left it, yet somehow that area remains in my memory...sigh.
so, can anyone guess which recently released flick I am talking about? Anyone out there? ...sigh.
Stephen 11:35 p.m. Monday night.
so, can anyone guess which recently released flick I am talking about? Anyone out there? ...sigh.
Stephen 11:35 p.m. Monday night.
Friday, September 15, 2006
How Networking is like a jigsaw puzzle
it started with reading a post from my friend Cyril's blog and it inspired this rant
but to post the rant I had to create my own blog, well...okay!
The puzzle now has another piece but there is no "whole" no "complete" no "absolute" no "defined"
with set parameters; we each offer a piece and in a dialogue between the pieces which are composed expressions of ourselves where the connections may or may not be clear it may operate on many different levels of meaning different languages different areas of interest/expertise sometimes at once not unlike the Paris metro 4-5 underground levels inside the city run with such magnificent efficiency it seems effortless and yet its 100 years old...Our brains capacity and complexity is more like the universe radio cable internet cellphone ipod ivod wireless we cast out the line and hope for some sort of bite a tug at our end a spark a charge a connection...
okay end of rant...beginning of blog.
Stephen 9/15/06 9:33 p.m. pdx, or.
but to post the rant I had to create my own blog, well...okay!
The puzzle now has another piece but there is no "whole" no "complete" no "absolute" no "defined"
with set parameters; we each offer a piece and in a dialogue between the pieces which are composed expressions of ourselves where the connections may or may not be clear it may operate on many different levels of meaning different languages different areas of interest/expertise sometimes at once not unlike the Paris metro 4-5 underground levels inside the city run with such magnificent efficiency it seems effortless and yet its 100 years old...Our brains capacity and complexity is more like the universe radio cable internet cellphone ipod ivod wireless we cast out the line and hope for some sort of bite a tug at our end a spark a charge a connection...
okay end of rant...beginning of blog.
Stephen 9/15/06 9:33 p.m. pdx, or.
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