Duncan Hines

Cakes paved the way through many of our lives. Birthdays, social gatherings, special events, all were likely celebrated with a cake. Once I learned how to use the mixer I was hooked. I grew up making Bundt cakes, as I liked the shape and the Pillsbury box mixes came with the cake, filling and glaze all in one box.

I never wondered if the Pillsbury Dough Boy was real, but Betty Crocker included a face that I thought belonged to someone. Betty didn't seem to age but did change over the years into other women to keep up with the times. Once I knew that I figured none of the names used were real. Little did I know that Duncan Hines was a real person.

This week, a look at Duncan Hines.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions; but those who kindly reprove thy faults." - Socrates (Greek philosopher, 469 BC - 399 BC)

Duncan Hines by fredwine on Scribd

The Clue to Next Year's Flu Strain Could Be Inside You

Influenza, commonly known as the "flu," is an extremely contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza A or B viruses. Flu appears most frequently in winter and early spring. The flu virus attacks the body by spreading through the upper and/or lower respiratory tract.

Influenza viruses evolve rapidly, making it hard to develop protective vaccines against them. Despite a great deal of effort, scientists have found it difficult to forecast which way the virus’ evolution would take it. But now, thanks to some well-preserved snot, that may be getting easier.

This week, a look a discovering flu strains.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail." -  Abraham Maslow (American psychologist, 1908 - 1970)

The Clue to Next Year's Flu Strain Could Be Inside You by fredwine on Scribd

A brief history of the Kwik Lok Closure

A bread clip is a device used to hold plastic bags closed, such as the ones in which sliced bread is commonly packaged. They are also commonly called bread tags, bread climps, bread tabs, bread ties, bread ribbons or bread-bag clips.

Call them what you will, they end up at the back of a drawer in our kitchen, hardly ever re-used, collecting dust until they are recycled. But enough about my hoarding habits.

This week a look at the Kwik Lok Closure.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "I hate mankind, for I think myself one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am." - Giuseppe Marc'Antonio Baretti (Italian literary critic, poet, writer, translator, linguist and author, 1719 - 1789)

   A Brief History of the Kwik Lok Closure by fredwine on Scribd

One Slippery Character

Tools come and go from my tool box, but there are a few things that have been consistent across the years: a cresent wrench from my father (with his name engraved on the side); a straight-jaw channel lock I found in the middle of the street one day with John Torresan while we were riding our bikes; bailing wire, which has been useful more times than I can even remember; and a roll of thread seal tape, better known as Teflon tape.

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. The best known brand name of PTFE-based formulas is Teflon by Chemours (a spin-off of DuPont, which discovered the compound in 1938). NASA also raised the celebrity status of Teflon when the Agency applied it to heat shields, space suits, and cargo hold liners. Today, the major application of PTFE, consuming about 50% of production, is for wiring in aerospace and computer applications (e.g. hookup wire, coaxial cables).

This week, a look at Teflon.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "When you're through changing, you're through." - Bruce Fairchild Barton (American author, advertising executive, and politician, 1886 – 1967)

   One Slippery Character by fredwine on Scribd

Holy Guacamole

Avocados. Alligator pears. Ahuacate. Call them what you will, they are buttery, not sweet, somewhat nutty and oily in flavor; firm enough to be sliced or diced, yet pliable enough to be mashed into a paste or puree. And apparently hard to cut properly; I don't like to eat them, but even I know how to cut one open without hurting myself.

This week, a look at a definte first world problem - not knowing how to cut an avocado.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane." - Nikola Tesla (US (Serbian-born) electrical inventor, 1857 - 1943

   Holy Guacamole by fredwine on Scribd

Why There Will Never Be Another Einstein

Albert Einstein may be the most famous and beloved scientist of all time. He is revered not only as a scientific genius but also as a moral and even spiritual sage, called by Abraham Pais, Einstein's friend and biographer, "the divine man of the 20th century."

This week, a look at why Albert Einstein may be one of a kind...but then, aren't we all?

TTFN, Fred. 

Quote of the week: "In mathematics you don't understand things. You just get used to them." - Johann von Neumann (US (Hungarian-born) computer scientist and mathematician, 1903 - 1957)

   Why There Will Never Be Another Einstein by fredwine on Scribd

Finding Direction

My first compass was likely from a box of Cracker Jack. My most recent on is in my phone. In-between were various versions of directional assistants, from directions provided by the guy at the service station to maps to Global Positioning System (GPS) units.

Somedays I am still lost, but it isn't due to a lack of assistance in trying to find my way.

This week, a look at the compass.

TTFN, Fred. 

Quote of the week: "Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how…We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark." - Agnes de Mille (US choreographer and dancer, 1909 - 1993)

   Finding Direction by fredwine on Scribd