It’s Element-ary, Number Forty-Eight!

This month we move on to the next of the boron elements: thallium. Thallium consists of a lot of borrowed properties: silver, platinum, and lead. It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and almost impossible to detect. And, thallium is poisonous as well; once inside the body it will imitate potassium and wreak some serious havoc with your cells.

thallium – discovered in 1861 A.D.

Symbol: Tl
Atomic number: 81
Atomic weight: 204.38
Density: 11.85 g/cm³
Melting point: 304°C (579°F)
Boiling point: 1,473°C (2,683°F)
Color: dullish gray
Standard state: solid at 25°C (77°F)
Classification: metallic

Source: The Complete Periodic Table: Elements with Style, by Adrian Dingle and Dan Green.

Cosmic Collage!

Here is a painting that I acquired from a recent dining experience at a local restaurant (the Blockhouse Grill and Pub). I had eaten at this restaurant on a couple of occasions in the past, and had been informed by one of my artist friends that she was currently exhibiting her works there. So, off to lunch I go. I met a couple of my friends, had a lovely lunch, and walked out with this beautiful work of art. The artist: Renee Dotson, the title: Cosmic Collage, the medium: acrylic (collage). This piece is not large by my standards (16″ x16″ framed) and I found the perfect space for it on one of my closet doors.

Quicksand!

Falling into quicksand was a common theme in many movie I’ve seen as well as in some of the books that I have read. Here is a handy video that explains what you need to do to escape from quicksand if you ever find yourself falling into it.

Fun Fact Friday, Number 344!

Today’s real fact (courtesy of http://www.snapple.com) is about 007.  Did you know that . . .

• the term 007 was derived from 20007, the home zip code of many Washington, D.C. agents? (Real Fact #343)

Source: http://www.snapple.com/real-facts

What Would Einstein Say? Number Three!

So, I have found this new treasure trove book of quotations by none other than Albert Einstein. Please enjoy these occasional ramblings . . . in this one, he reflects on America. This particular quotation angered a great many Americans, who did neither forgive nor forget.

“American men, though they are hard working, are nothing more than toy dogs of the women, who like to spend money . . . and wrap themselves in a veil of excess.”

(Note: quoted in the New York Times, July 8, 1921.)

Source: The New Quotable Einstein collected and edited by Alice Caraprice, p. 43.

So, What’ll You Have? Number Seven!

This month I will be sharing the next useful tip for bartending.

Tip: make your bar more welcoming. Clean up as soon as people leave, make the place presentable so the next person will want to drop in.

Recipe: the Classic Daiquit

Ingredients

• 1 ½ ounces (3 tablespoons) best quality light or white rum
• 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) lime juice
• ½ ounce (1 tablespoon) simple syrup or maple syrup
• Lime slice, for garnish

Instructions

1. Add the rum, lime juice, and syrup to a cocktail shaker. Fill it with ice and shake until cold. 
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Serve garnished with a lime slice.

Say What?!

“Sunday was eight hours of listening to Vinnie’s uninformative babble, followed by a TV ball game, a couple or three beers and a steak.” Check out some synonyms for “babble” below.

babble

\ bab–uhl \, verb (used without an object);

1. to utter sounds or words imperfectly, indistinctly, or without meaning.
2. to talk idly, irrationally, excessively, or foolishly; chatter or prattle.
3. to make a continuous, murmuring sound.

verb (used with an object)

1. to utter in an incoherent, foolish, or meaningless fashion.
2. to reveal foolishly or thoughtlessly.

noun

1. inarticulate or imperfect speech.
2. foolish, meaningless, or incoherent speech; prattle.
3. a murmuring sound or a confusion of sounds.
4. babbling (def. 2).
5. Telecommunications. a confused mixture of extraneous sounds in a circuit, resulting from cross talk from other channels.

Other words you may consider using (depending on your context/usage, of course):

• backchat
• galimatias
• prattle

Source: The Highly Selective Thesaurus for the Extraordinarily Literate by Eugene Ehrlich. Definitions courtesy of https://www.dictionary.com, sentence courtesy of https://sentence.yourdictionary.com/

Origami Paper Mask!

Here is an instructional video for making an origami mask (paper). Probably not too functional (breathing may be difficult), but in a pinch, who knows? Happy folding!

Source: https://youtu.be/05GcgZQK6bE

Power Costs in America!

Here is a comparison of the energy costs across America (electricity, natural gas, propane, and fuel oil). And, while energy efficiency in homes continues to improve, in the summer, air conditioning can really impact your energy costs. Believe it or not, more than 25% of households report that they are having challenges paying their electric bill every month. Most households spend more than $150 per month on their energy costs. Here are some comparisons (over time) as well as which states fare the best and which are the worst when it comes to the average energy expenditure.

• The share of households that use air conditioning has increased from 77% in 2001, to 88% in 2020.
• households that skipped necessities to pay energy bills: 20%.
• households that received disconnection notices: 10%.
• households that kept their homes at an unsafe or unhealthy temperature: 10%.
• households that reported any type of energy insecurity: 27%.

States with the highest energy expenditures (average annual expenditure):

• Alaska ($3,018)
• Connecticut ($2,808)
• New York ($2,319)
• Most of the states in the Northeast (above $2,250)

States with the lowest energy expenditures (average annual expenditure):

• Washington, DC ($1,197)
• Colorado ($1,342)
• California ($1,656)
• Florida ($1,654)
• Most of the states in the West (under $1,750)

Source: AARP Bulletin, June 2023, p. 36; U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey.

This Is Pretty Thin, Too!

Last month I posted a limerick about an thin person. Well, here is another courtesy of Elizabeth Gordon. Enjoy!

There was an old maid of Berlin,
Who was most distressingly thin,
She was locked out one day,
But the neighbors all say,
She pushed out the key and crawled in.

Source: A Bundle of Birdbrains…Lots of Limericks (selected by Myra Cohn Livingston)