tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-209922032011-12-14T18:58:01.826-08:00Articles, Stories, and Poetry. A trivia file, began in 1974, that just won't quit.owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.comBlogger361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-72131661902100628052011-10-29T17:12:00.000-07:002011-10-29T17:20:32.971-07:00

Have you ever had a really bad interview? The following incidents really happened during interviews (reported by Robert Half of Robert Half International).The Job Candidate...Dozed off and started snoring during the interview.Wore a Walkman and said she could listen to the interview and the music at the same time.Challenged the interviewer to an arm-wrestle.Said if he were hired, he would

owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-64680023948954770632011-02-21T19:38:00.000-08:002011-02-21T19:41:03.074-08:00

Laws Concerning Food and Drink;Household Principles;Lamentations of the Fatherby Ian Frazier1997Part II.Laws When at TableAnd if you are seated in your high chair, or in a chair such as a greater person might use, keep your legs and feet below you as they were. Neither raise up your knees, nor place your feet upon the table, for that is an abomination to me. Yes, even when you have an interesting

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Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.Every sentence must do one of two things -- reveal character or advance the action.Start as close to the end as possible.Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent

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A computer was something on TVFrom a science fiction show of noteA window was something you hated to leanAnd ram was the cousin of a goat.Meg was the name of my girlfriendAnd gig was a job for the nightsNow they all mean different thingsAnd that really mega bytes.An application was for employmentA program was a TV showA cursor used profanityA keyboard was a piano.Memory was something that you

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You are assisting a primary nurse with charcoal administration down an orogastric tube. The room measures eight feet by twelve feet. The patient starts to retch before the tube is pulled. Knowing that charcoal can spew out of a tube in a five foot radius (even with a thumb over the opening) and the stretcher is two feet wide, how many feet per second do you have to back up to get less charcoal on

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The Theory of Breakfast Similarity states that: "Although most people want variety in their midday and evening meals, for breakfast they are content to eat the same thing day after day after day after day after day."From a survey conducted by mini-AIR, which asked:Do you like to eat the same thing for breakfast day after day after day after day after day?The result:YES 52%NO 47%NOTE: 7% of "YES

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there's a bluebird in my heart thatwants to get outbut I'm too tough for him,I say, stay in there, I'm not goingto let anybody seeyou.there's a bluebird in my heart thatwants to get outbut I pur whiskey on him and inhalecigarette smokeand the whores and the bartendersand the grocery clerksnever know thathe'sin there.there's a bluebird in my heart thatwants to get outbut I'm too tough for him,I

owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-10629040139000362412010-04-25T21:53:00.000-07:002010-05-03T22:17:50.311-07:00

Among the many notable achievements of Einstein's work, was the discovery of his coworker in Berlin, S.B. Preuss, though it received little publicity.A review article about cosmology stated: "The discovery ... of Hubble's law ... led Einstein to ... reject the notorious cosmological term (Einstein and Preuss, 1931)".The curious reader who has followed Einstein's life story and knows of his

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Tony Blair is being shown round a hospital, and towards the end of his visit he is taken to a ward to meet some of the patients.He approaches one man, who has no obvious signs of injury, and asks him how he feels. The man replies: `Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the pudding-race!'Perplexed, the PM approaches the man in the next bed and asks him why he is in hospital. `

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English chaps selling chapbooksTo grasp the meaning of Chapman, consider the history. The original English spoke German as one would expect Germanic people to do. The key is the phrase 'Anglo-Saxon'. The Anglo component comes from the Angle people who came from Angeln and Engle. Its nearest modern equivalent would be southern Denmark. The language of the Angles was Englisc from which we get

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The Winchester Mystery House is one of the strangest houses in history and a prime tourist destination if you are ever in San Jose, California. It was built at the end of the 1800s to house the ghosts of those killed by Winchester rifles and, as you might expect, is rather bizarre.It was built by Sarah Winchester, the widow of William Winchester and heir to the Winchester Rifle fortune. She

owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-39613899706582634872010-01-01T22:32:00.000-08:002010-01-01T22:36:28.565-08:00

You go to a party and you see a sexy girl across the room. You go up to her and say "Hi, I'm great in bed, how about it?"That's direct marketing.You go to a party and you see a sexy girl across the room. You give your friend a tenner. He goes up and says "Hi, my friend over there is great in bed, how about it?"That's advertising.You go to a party, you see a sexy girl across the room. She comes

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Although we credit Google, Yahoo, and other major search engines for giving us the system we use today to find information, the concept of hypertext came to life in 1945 when Vannaver Bush urged scientists to work together to build a body of knowledge for all mankind. He proposed the idea of a virtually limitless, fast, reliable, extensible, associative memory storage and retrieval system. In

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Alain Delisle at the Robert-Sauve Occupational Health and Safety Research Institute in Montreal, Canada, asked 27 right-handed volunteers to control their mouse using their left hand for a month. He found they were able to complete standard computing tasks using much smaller movements of their shoulders, arms and wrists (Applied Ergonomics, vol 35, p 21). It is these movements that can lead to

owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-60244246412251351302009-09-09T12:56:00.000-07:002009-09-09T12:57:07.916-07:00

VERSION 1:According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Ollamalitzli was a 16th century Aztec precursor of basketball played in Mexico. If the rubber ball was put through a fixed stone ring on one side of the stadium, the player was entitled to the clothing of all the spectators. The captain of the losing team often lost his head (by execution).VERSION 2:Modern basketball was devised by

owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-1927227404724401982009-09-09T12:55:00.001-07:002009-09-09T12:55:36.633-07:00

Diane: How can you compare Disneyworld and Tibet, where we might possibly unravel the mysteries of life?Sam: Well, there are a lot of mysteries you can unravel at Disneyworld.Diane: For example?Sam: Um, all right, all right. Why is it that uh Donald Duck wears a top and no bottom whereas Mickey wears a bottom and no top?Cliff: Uh well, Sammy, it's because you know,

owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-30380603891324726262009-09-09T12:52:00.000-07:002009-09-09T12:53:15.303-07:00

At the University of Alberta, graduate students were required to act as laboratory demonstrators in the Physiology courses given to medical, science, and nursing students. One of the laboratory sessions was about "respiration," and experiments involved measuring such things as tidal volumes, functional residual capacities, vital capacities, etc. The students had to obtain samples of oxygen and

owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-8216360098754983402007-08-19T14:00:00.000-07:002010-05-03T14:44:45.272-07:00

1. Money isn't made out of paper; it's made out of cotton.2. The 57 on Heinz ketchup bottle represents the varieties of pickles the company once had.3. Your stomach produces a new layer of mucus every two weeks - otherwise it will digest itself.4. The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper.5. The dot over the letter 'i' is called a "tittle".6. A raisin dropped in a glass of fresh

owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-40126075331810602222007-01-10T02:09:00.000-08:002009-09-09T18:29:39.824-07:00

Highlighting Skills and Qualities from Non-Work ActivitiesYou do have the leadership, teamwork, or organizational experience for that great job your friend told you about. But your resume doesn't show it, because you didn't acquire the experience from work. You acquired it from community service. Or participation with a theater ensemble. Or teaching Sunday school. Or political activism. Or

owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-1162609331460102672006-11-03T19:01:00.000-08:002010-05-03T14:53:45.381-07:00

New Scientist, 17:08 03 October 2006A new drug, designed with its own built-in antidote, could revolutionise drug safety, allowing effective use of potentially risky drugs. Researchers have designed an anti-clotting drug that becomes inactive – allowing blood to form clots – when light of a specific frequency is shone on it.Anti-clotting drugs are widely used in medicine, including in situations

owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-1160955292048747742006-10-15T16:34:00.000-07:002010-05-03T14:54:28.469-07:00

IF YOU are trying to commit something to memory, take a nap. Even a short daytime snooze could help you learn.A good night's sleep is known to improve people's ability to learn actions such as mirror writing. REM sleep, when most dreaming occurs, is thought to be particularly important.The role of sleep in factual learning has been less clear. Now Matthew Tucker at The City University of New York

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"Never use a humungous word when a diminutive one will suffice." (anon)"Magnetism is one of the Six Fundamental Forces of the Universe, with the other five being Gravity, Duct Tape, Whining, Remote Control, and The Force That Pulls Dogs Toward The Groins Of Strangers." (Dave Barry)"Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like."

owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-1158649551391110292006-09-19T00:05:00.000-07:002010-05-03T14:45:33.858-07:00

Recently, the Owl editor asked a group of copywriters:What is the feeling about using 'shared' when one person seems to be telling, explaining, describing, or otherwise, speaking to another?Is the word only used in counseling-therapy situtaions?The copyeditors replied:Mary wrote:I recently copyedited a book that was based on research and interviews the author had done with members of a church in

owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-1158446648612147432006-09-16T15:43:00.000-07:002010-05-03T14:51:26.331-07:00

Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what was considered important to the people. Since there were no telephones, TV's or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs and bars who were told to "go sip some ale" and listen to people's conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at different times. "you go sip here" and

owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-1157938925530154502006-09-10T18:40:00.000-07:002010-05-03T14:42:40.118-07:00

Theodore Witte was the typical home handyman. Like every DIYer who has ever used a butter knife as a slot screwdriver or a soup spoon to stir paint, Witte looked to the kitchen for more than sustenance. In 1894, when he patented the idea of using a ratcheted piston to force window putty through a nozzle to effect a smooth, weatherproof seal, Witte owed an inspirational debt of gratitude to his

owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-1157248042979046122006-09-02T18:46:00.000-07:002010-05-03T14:50:47.348-07:00

Call it yellow ginger, haldi, turmeric or E100, the yellow root of Curcuma longa, a staple ingredient in curry, is turning out to be gratifyingly healthy. Now Tze-Pin Ng and colleagues at the National University of Singapore have discovered that curry eating seems to boost brain power in elderly people.Curcumin, a constituent of turmeric, is an antioxidant, and reports have suggested that it

owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-1155653608745230622006-08-15T07:52:00.000-07:002010-05-03T14:43:39.766-07:00

In 1897, the word "Kodak" sparkled from an electric sign on London's Trafalgar Square -- one of the first such signs to be used in advertising.Today, company advertising appears around the world and the trademark "Kodak," coined by George Eastman himself, is familiar to nearly everyone.The word "Kodak" was first registered as a trademark in 1888. There has been some fanciful speculation, from

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"Words are often seen hunting for an idea, but ideas are never seen hunting for words." (Josh Billings, author)"If I have learned anything, it is that life forms no logical patterns. It is haphazard and full of beauties which I try to catch as they fly by, for who knows whether any of them will ever return."(Margot Fonteyn (1919-1991), dancer)"A leader is best when

owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-1149057518724809102006-05-30T23:38:00.000-07:002010-05-03T14:46:14.082-07:00

From a 1994 news article: It used to be the only things you worried about finding in the sewer lines were alligators, old love letters or motel keys. And maybe an occasional rat that took the wrong turn downstream and ended up in someone's toilet. But the Roto-Rooter guys rooting around in average house drains find everything from Barbie Dolls to rattlesnakes. Every year, the

owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-1143358357950140202006-03-25T23:31:00.000-08:002009-09-09T18:32:51.863-07:00

ARE you a real grump in the mornings? Do you wake up every day feeling tired, embittered, aggrieved, and all too ready to hit the snooze button? If so, then a new alarm clock could be just for you.The clock, called SleepSmart, measures your sleep cycle, and waits for you to be in your lightest phase of sleep before rousing you. Its makers say that it should ensure you wake up feeling refreshed

owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-1140067606956035352006-02-15T21:24:00.000-08:002010-05-03T14:47:53.208-07:00

Fissure opens up in Ethiopian desert; process could take a million yearsResearchers stand on the brink of a steep slope leading down to a fissure in the Ethiopian desert, in a barren region called Boina or Dabbahu.ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Ethiopian, American and European researchers have observed a fissure in a desert in the remote northeast that could be the "birth of a new ocean basin."

owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-1138973103803633442006-02-03T05:24:00.000-08:002006-02-03T05:37:37.040-08:00

A few words ending in "ing" (such as concerning, considering, pending, and regarding) have now become established as prepositions. Therefore, when they introduce phrases at the start of a sentence, they do not necessarily have to refer to the subject of the sentence.For example: "Considering how long the lawsuit has dragged on, it might have been wiser not to sue."Please rewrite the following

owledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04616474462694663361noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20992203.post-1138182472136423582006-01-25T01:41:00.000-08:002006-02-03T05:35:39.033-08:00

Use this format for taking informal memo-style minutes.A. Memo to:B. Subject Line—You can use a new line for each topic.C. Attendance Data—This indicates who was present at the meeting (the person who presided is listed first), who was absent, and who attended as a guest.D. Content Considerations — List each topic in the order in which it was discussed.E. Topics--Each topic is listed in

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Feminists eager to remove references to sexuality from discussions of females and males not involving mating or reproduction revived an older meaning of “gender,” which had come to refer in modern times chiefly to language, as a synonym for “sex” in phrases such as “Our goal is to achieve gender equality.” Americans, always nervous about sex, eagerly embraced this usage, which is now standard. In

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These articles, news stories, and poems are available for review and for comments by subscribers to the Owlette Gazette or Porcupine News. This e-newsletter was created as the Grey Owl Newsletter and Poem of the Week in 1996, and is managed by Owl Editing.Enjoy!

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