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Organized crime consists of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals who intend to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for money and profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist groups, are politically motivated. Sometimes criminal organizations force people to do business with them, such as when a gang extorts money from shopkeepers for so-called "protection".
And while citrus hardly seems like a black market commodity, plenty of blood was spilled in Silicy over it.
This week, a look at how lemons may have lead to the Mafia.
TTFN, Fred.
Quote of the week: "You can't have everything. Where would you put it?" - Steven Wright (US comedian and actor, 1955 - )
We take for it granted that we can fly from one side of the world to the other in a matter of hours, but a century ago this amazing ability to race through the air had only just been discovered. What would the pioneers of powered flight make of an age in which something like 100,000 planes take to the sky each day in the United States alone?
Weather can keep planes on the ground. Snow, wind, extreme rain, these make sense. Who wouldn't prefer to fly in nice weather? But can it be too nice? Yes, if it is hot, "...like Africa hot. Tarzan couldn't take this kind of hot."
This week, a look at why airplanes can't take off in extreme heat.
TTFN, Fred.
Quote of the week: "If a dog jumps in your lap, it is because he is fond of you; but if a cat does the same thing, it is because your lap is warmer." - Alfred North Whitehead (English mathematician and philosopher, 1861 - 1947)
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
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)
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)
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)
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
