April 26 - Treasured Memories in our Times

I had a dream last night in which a family with young children were in the grocery store and each was  allowed to buy a package of toilet paper.  They hugged their cuddly treasures, and laughed and ran to the checkout counter. Will this be a treasured childhood memory some day?  According to a survey, these are the top 10 most common first childhood memories: Trip to the dentist Birthday party Vacation First day of school Trip to the doctor Being outside An accident or injury A tooth falling out We can get the happiest memories from The Express - the beach accounts for almost 3/4 of happy memories.  Here are some more: Family holidays  Hide and seek Collecting shells on the beach Hop scotch Sports days Watching children's TV Fish and chips Pic n mix sweets Playground games  Pencil cases Climbing trees Egg and spoon race Collecting toys/ cards/ collectibles etc. Ice creams from the ice cream van Playing outside until it was dark Given these times, we might return to some of these activities and still enjoy ourselves. We'll have to figure out some of the activities with social distancing. Our picture today is a leaf abstract.

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April 8th 2020 - How Clean is Clean Enough?

There's a book with the title The Germ Code and the same author has written The Germ Files.  Jason Tetro is a microbiologist. The Germ Code's Amazon Intro: Since the dawn of the human race, germs have been making us sick. Whether the ailment is a cold, the flu, diabetes, obesity or certain cancers, the likely cause is germs. Our ancient enemies have four families - bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa - and many names: Ebola, E. coli, salmonella, norovirus, gonorrhea. Human beings are engaged in a "war on germs," in which we develop ever-more sophisticated weapons and defensive strategies. But it is a war we can never win. Our best plan for staying as healthy is to choose our battles carefully, and try to co-exist with germs as best we can.  In comparison, The Germ Files will answer your questions about everything from preventing flu to selecting probiotics, while constantly surprising you with revelations about the miraculous workings of the microscopic world. Here's some of the everyday advice we can take from him in an article HERE. Towels:  It depends on the room. Bath towels become loaded with bacteria (including staph and fecal) and if your towel doesn’t fully dry, that bacteria can grow. Plus, dandruff-causing fungi can also grow in them, Rapinchuk recommends swapping out bath towels every other day. Your kitchen towels collect bacteria every time you handle food and wash your hands. Tetro recommends washing those weekly, unless you handled raw meat. In that case, wash the towel immediately. Doorknobs:  Once a week (in some rooms). Though doorknobs accumulate a lot of bacteria, they need only need to be washed infrequently, says Rapinchuk. However, doorknobs in the bathroom and the kitchen are bound to catch a lot more bacteria, so disinfecting them at least once a week might be a good idea, especially if there’s an illness in the house. Sinks:  Every day. Even if they look clean, sinks can get really gross — Tetro says the bathroom sink accumulates fecal matter (from washing your hands after you use the bathroom). Also, bacteria from food, like E.Coli and Salmonella, can contaminate the kitchen sink, especially if you’ve been handling raw meat. When water splashes back up onto your hands, they’re contaminated, too. To stay on the safe side, wipe down your sinks daily. Today's picture comes from Fine Art America, where I have a gallery.  It was taken at Salt Spring Island, where sand and stone meet at the beach to create an abstract image.

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Luxury Yacht in Grimsby

The Ocean Dreamwalker III docked in Grimsby last week.  It is a luxury super yacht valued at 30 million pounds. It docked at the old fishing docks. That means it docked in Grimsby UK.   The owner is Chinese technology pioneer John Deng Zhonghan whose wife is a celebrated singer in China. A helicopter can land on the boat.  It was reported that they are looking for something larger with better helicopter capabilities. Its helicopter was visible on the deck in the pictures. Over here in Grimsby Ontario, there used to be a pier/wharf.  It was significant.  In 1884, fifty thousand people came to Grimsby Park - that was a high point of the Chautauqua era.  Many arrived via steamboats from Toronto.  There are some impressive steamers in the pictures - for example 'Turbina'.  You can see them HERE. The marine traffic today is focused on the Welland Canal.  Last week a luxury cruise ship - the Hamburg - went through the Welland Canal.  That's how I found the Ocean Dreamwalker - it came up in the search for the Welland Canal story.                           The nature abstracts today are from Sacramento.

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Eugene and Delilah

The name Eugene and the the field of eugenics trace from the same origin - Greek - to be 'well-born'.  This seems like a vintage name to me. Baby-naming trends remain somewhat stable: Liam and Emma continue to be the most popular names.  Noah, William, James and Oliver and then Olivia, Ava, Isabella and Sophia. But "vintage" names are moving up. Arthur has jumped back into popular names after almost 100 years since it was last listed.  There's Calvin,  Emerson, Amos, Edgar, Chester, Tucker for boys. What about Ada?  It started a comeback in 2018. Then there's Delilah, Ayla, Zoe, Margot and Felicity. Supposedly researchers had found that names influence the choice of profession, where we live, whom we marry, grades achieved, and so on.  The original study took place in 1948 and was widely repeated, always finding that unusual names were more likely to have 'flunked' out of Harvard or to have exhibited signs of psychological neurosis, and so on.   But the link between names and longevity, career choice and success, geographic and marriage preferences, and academic achievement has been questioned and disproven.  What has been proven is that names 'signal' things - like ethnicity, wealth, and country of origin and give a sense of economic status.  And then the receiver treats the person as such.   So the likely question parents should ask is:  What signals does this name send and what does it imply?    That would be useful for parents who name their daughter Delilah. Today's images are of driftwood on the beach in Salt Spring Island.

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Summer Jokes

When I found these summer jokes online, they made me think of television from the 1950's.  This was a time when television was filled with vaudeville comedians and simple, fun jokes were everywhere - from stars such as Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, George Burns, and so many more. Summer Jokes Q: What did the pig say at the beach on a hot summer's day? A: I'm bacon! Q: What do you call six weeks of rain in Scotland? A: Summer! Q: How do you prevent a Summer cold? A: Catch it in the Winter! Q: What do you call a french guy in sandals? A: Phillipe Phloppe. Q: When do you go at red and stop at green? A: When you're eating a watermelon. Q: How do men exercise at the beach? A: By sucking in their stomach everytime they see a bikini. Q: How hot is a Los Angeles summer? A: So hot that I saw a fire hydrant chasing a pack of dogs! Q: How do you know your city is suffering from a heatwave? A: Every fat guy sweating in the city smells like Bacon!  source: jokes4us.com

On the Surface of Things

Whenever I go to conservatories and to Florida, I seem to take many pictures of the surface of palm branches, trunks, and other tropical plants.  They are unfamiliar and interesting.  They have so many patterns and designs.  Their textures are often in a horizontal pattern, compared to our northern trees which have more in the way of vertical patterns. Today we look at Palm patterns, with a Eucalyptus at the bottom.