P.E.T.A. Alert

Have you ever heard of "Project Pigeon"?  Haw about "Bat Bombs"; ever heard of that before?  I suspect that, like me, you have no memory of anything like those Top Secret military projects from the World War II era, even from the time after the war when they were declassified.

There is reference material on the Internet on each of these projects, neither of which ever came to fruition, but let me briefly describe them to you to save you the possible trouble of reading all about them.

"Project Pigeon" was the brainchild of a Harvard Psychologist, B. F. Skinner, who was a well-known animal behaviorist.  He worked mainly with pigeons and, when WWII came along, he wanted to help the war effort.  He obtained a $25,000 grant from the Federal Government to develop a bullet-shaped explosive projectile that would contain three tube chambers, each with a pigeon in it.  The pigeons had been trained to peck at images that resembled ships and would be rewarded with food treats. The main focus was to have the missiles launched over enemy waters where the pigeons would be seeing actual ships in the frontal tube glass and their pecking would guide the missile to the ship where it would explode on impact, damaging and possibly sinking the ship.  Of course, the three birds would die in the explosion, but that was the consequence of war, collateral damage, so to speak.

Fortunately for the pigeons, the project never got "off the ground" when radar became a reliable means of guiding unmanned projectiles.  "Project Pigeon" died its own quiet death without taking any of the birds with it.

Now, the "bat bomb" was a little different.  This one was conceived by a dentist friend of Eleanor Roosevelt named Lytle S. Adams.  They were also a form of projectile that was to be dropped from the belly of an aircraft.  Each of the "bombs" would contain a whole army of bats, all equipped with incendiary devices strapped to their bodies. This project was designed for the invasion of Japan, and was designed to start thousands of fires in the nooks and crannies that were known to exist in the buildings of Japan.

The plan was to have a timer that would open the device and release the bats. This would be done during the daylight hours over populated areas, so the bats would fly down to find places of darkness. The incendiary devices would then ignite and start fires in the eaves and walls where the bats roosted.  Again, the bats would be consumed by the fire, but hey, that's war!

The bats got as lucky as the pigeons did when President Harry Truman decided to drop the atom bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima instead of invading the homeland of Japan.  Of course, the people of those two cities weren't as lucky as the bats were, but at the time, I think the American people liked bats better.

Now you know the story of two of the many weird and wacky half-baked projects that were initiated during WWII that never got into the history books.  Can you just imagine what a stink P.E.T.A. would have raised if they had been in existence at that time?

The Lace-lock Shoe Tie Revisited

 I intended to write a follow up column right after our return from the road trip, but I got sidetracked, so this is my conclusion.

I've been using the lace-lock tying method with both pairs of athletic shoes, which were the only footwear I took with me on our fourteen-day trip out west.  I continue to use it now, three weeks after our return home and I think that says something about how much I like it.

My feet are more comfortable than they have been in years with the laces tied in the locking position.  I didn't get any blisters and the shoes have no slippage.  Heck, I don't even have any instance where the laces come untied anymore.

That said, I believe that I'll quit buying shoes with the Velcro closures.  We. Old fogey types have our problems stooping down to tie shoes, but this is a game changer.  I love the feel of a close-fitting shoe, so I'll sacrifice for it.

I also found that I can use the top two lace holes on dress shoes to create a 'lace-lock' that works similar to that tying method on athletic shoes with similar results; there is no slippage and the shoe provides better support.

Now, just in case you missed the first column when I introduced the 'lace-lock' shoe tie, it is merely use of the extra hole on most athletic shoes - sneakers - at the top and parallel to the topmost inline lace hole.  I linked that column in case you would like to read it over again.

As the old time (1972) Alka-Seltzer commercial said, "Try it, you'll like it!"

Word Origins

Have you ever wondered why a ground beef patty on a bun is called a hamburger?  Or why another fast-food favorite, the hot dog is called a frankfurter, or frank for short?  How about steak tartare?  Where the heck did that name come from?

One thing all three of these meat treats have in common is that they are ground, or minced, and there is a very good reason for that; in their original form, they were not derived from the best cuts of the meats.  One way to make a tough, gristly or fatty cut into a more tender and chewable meal is to grind it up.  And believe me, the first of the hamburgers or frankfurters were composed of the worst parts of the cow or pig.  They were, in short, the poor man's steak.

As to the name origins, there are several stories, myths, or claims as to how they came to be known as hamburger, frankfurter, or steak tartare.  The last one is maybe the easiest to reveal. 

Classic steak tartare is seasoned raw ground beef with raw egg and chopped onion mixed into it.  I've only had it one time, and it is almost impossible to find on any menu nowadays due to the danger of salmonella or bacteria poisoning when using raw materials, plus the risk associated with mad cow disease.  As to the name, it was first eaten by and introduced to Europeans by the Tartars who came from Asia in a hostile time to conquer and enslave.  If you can find it, and you're willing to take the risk - and what sushi eater isn't - it is a really good, and quite filling meal.

The frankfurter; well, that one is a lot easier, because it is merely one form or another of the sausage that was first made in Frankfurt-am-Main in Germany.  We haven't called them Franks, or Frankfurters, in a long time, as hot dog rolls off the tongue so much easier.  As to their resemblance to the originals, that is obscure.  There are so many different varieties of hot dogs today that the original one probably isn't even close.

And then there's the myth that the original was made from all the table and floor scraps of meat in the processing plant after the good stuff was all cut and packaged.  I doubt that there is any truth to that, but it was a popular tale back when I was a kid, along with the story that scrapple (a Pennsylvania Dutch breakfast treat) was also made from all the leftover scraps on the floor and in the equipment at meat processing plants.

Now we come to that wonderful all-American fast food, the hamburger.  How did it come by its name?  Did it really come from that city in Germany, or was it invented here in America?

I won't bore you with all the claims to fame for the hamburger, but I do believe that the first ones did come from Hamburg, Germany when sailors and immigrants from that city came to New York.  They had a primitive version of today's ground beef patty, but it probably wasn't in a bun with all the toppings.  It was more likely a simple plain beef patty similar to a salisbury steak (OMG - another one to track down!) 

Regardless of your belief in how the hamburger came by its name, we can all agree that it is one of the most loved hand-to-mouth taste treats in the history of food.  Call it a hamburger, hamburg, burger, or any one of the trademarked names the fast food chains use - ever notice that all of them have their own special name for it? - but unless your a  vegetarian, you can't resist one.

Potpourri

 A couple of years ago, a bill was passed that requires hotel and motels with swimming pools and hot tubs to install chair assists for the disabled.  If there are both swimming pool and hot tub, the mechanical chair lift must be installed next to each one.  The cost of these chairs is approximately $5,000 each.

I stay in hotels about 30 to 40 nights a year, and the nightly cost has steadily increased from around $70/night to over $100.  I know that the prices have risen for other reasons than just the cost of installing the assist chairs for disabled people, but they have to be a part of the increase.

I have yet to see anyone using a mechanical chair to get into or out of the pool or hot tub. I have also talked to other hotel guests and not one of them has seen the chair lift used either.

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Are you tired of trying to read an online article that is surrounded by ads and other unrelated material?  Wouldn't you rather just read the article?  Well here are two ways to get rid of the junk and get to the basics.

On iPads and maybe some other tablets, there is a 4-bar menu icon to the left of the URL in the address field.  If you click on it after the article downloads it will re-display it as a document.  Some tablets will even give you the option to enlarge the print.

On IBM/Microsoft PC's, you might see a printer icon above the first paragraph on the right side of the page. There are other locations for it, too, so look for it if you don't find it there.  It is an option for printer friendly copying.  However, if you click on it and then click the cancel button when the print window pops up, it will remain on your screen in document format.  Voilá!  No ads and no junk distraction.

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We recently bought some bottled water with the label Niagara on it and, since I was born and raised near the famous waterfalls with that name, I was curious as to whether or not the water was from there.

Well, imagine my surprise when I read the label and learned that the water was bottled in Ontario, California.  I may be wrong but isn't Ontario in Southern California, where they are currently in the midst of a huge drought?  And unless the water in those bottles was trucked in from some distant source, aren't the people who bottle it taking it out of the already drained supply there?  Hmm, something is wrong with this procedure, don't you think?

Themed Rest Areas

One of the primary rules of road tripping is that we should take frequent rest breaks.  The ideal is to make a rest stop every hour, or as close to that as possible.  Everyone should get out of the vehicle and walk or stretch.  Of course, nature calls on some of the rest breaks, so a clean restroom is also essential.

In all of my travels in America, I've found that most interstate highway rest areas have well maintained restrooms, but failing that, McDonalds' restrooms are always a good choice, and their coffee isn't bad either.

Rest areas on the interstate highways are sometimes a pleasant surprise.  In addition to providing restrooms, pet exercise areas and picnic tables, some have been placed in areas of historical or natural interest.  For example, the rest area on I-40 about 60 miles east of Amarillo is a Route 66 themed one.  It is even built in a 60's period style and has lots of signs and logos from that era.  There are sidewalk plaques describing Route 66 history.  It's a fun place to stop and take a break and is well worth stopping even if you don't need a rest.

This art deco building is the Route 66 Rest Area on I-40 near Amarillo

Other themed rest areas include one on I-15 just south of Idaho Falls named 'Hell's Half Acre'.  It has all facilities, plus a walking trail onto its main feature; a lava bed.  I'm not recommending that you skip the side trip to Craters of the Moon west of there, but this is a neat glimpse of the attraction for those who can't spare the time to visit this national monument 40 miles distant.

A rest area built over a lava field is a cool stopping place

We discovered yet another cool rest area along Utah Highway 6 between Spanish Fork and Price.  It is named 'Tie Fork Rest Area' and is a miniature railroad station and roundhouse complete with a small engine.  The station has vending machines and restrooms, while the roundhouse contains picnic tables and history signs about the area.  We stopped for a break and spent half an hour there.  

How about a railroad-themed rest area between a real RR and highway?

I really like themed rest areas, as they are so much more interesting than a drab place to get out of the car and maybe use the restroom.  They're like mini-parks.  I only featured three, but there are a lot of them around the country, especially on the interstate highways near their historical or natural counterparts that the locals want you to visit.

Do We Celebrate The Wrong Independence Day?

I decided to write a column this week after all, even though I’m on vacation.  This is one I wrote a few years ago, so it is a repeat, but I think you’ll see why I chose to send it out this week.

We in America all receive numerous email messages around this time of year relating to our celebration of the 4^th of July, or Independence Day.  This year, we will come close to celebrating the day on the correct date, although we’ll still be a day off. 

There was an email message that circulated several years ago titled, “John Adams writing about the 4^th of July.” Of course, John Adams, our second president was a very important figure among the Founding Fathers. Therefore, any of his writings had to be important and sacrosanct.

Here is the exact quote from a letter to Adams’ wife, Abigail:

The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not. (The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family, 1762-1784, Harvard University Press, 1975, 142).

I don’t know about you, but I did a literal double take when I saw that date at the beginning of the quote. Why would John Adams consider July 2, 1776 to be our Independence Day? So I did some research and here is what I found.

It turns out that the above quote was taken from a letter John Adams wrote on July 3^rd, after the Continental Congress voted in the affirmative on a resolution by Richard Henry Lee calling for independence from Great Britain. That vote took place the day before on July 2^nd. 

Here is his resolution of July 2, 1776:

Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.

After the vote tally, a committee was appointed to draft the actual statement.  It consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston. They in turn appointed Jefferson to draft the document.

While John Adams was penning his letter to his wife, Abigail, Thomas Jefferson was penning a more important document that would eclipse the events of July 2^nd. He was drafting the Declaration of Independence, which he presented the following day for reading and signing.  Thus July 4^th became the true day of independence. 

Richard Henry Lee, the person who first wrote and proposed independence, wasn’t even present two days later when the Jefferson document was signed.  He had gone back to his home in Virginia. He did, however, sign later.  Eventually he became the president of the Second Continental Congress and later a senator from Virginia in the United States Senate. His name has never been closely associated with the Declaration of Independence and he faded into obscurity in history.

As to the true date of our independence, I can understand why it became July 4^th instead of July 2^nd.  It’s a lot harder to say “The Second of July” than it is “The Fourth of July.” The latter expression just kind of rolls off the tongue.

So now you’ve had a history lesson that I hope will motivate you to think about the true meaning of Independence Day and how far we’ve come from that fateful day 239 years ago.

God bless America!

Airlines Under Attack

News Flash - EPA Wants to Regulate Airline Emissions.  If you are either a Democrat, or you truly believe that mankind is solely responsible for destroying the earth, then you need read no further.  This article is not for your eyes or your mind.  Enjoy your day.

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I see where the EPA, that most divine of our Federal Agencies, has decreed that the airlines must limit their emissions.  OMG, our airlines are polluting the skies with their nasty JP4 residue.  Can you spell G-L-O-B-A-L  W-A-R-M-I-N-G?  How about
C-L-I-M-A-T-E  C-H-A-N-G-E?

Well, being a retired airline employee, I agree!  It's high time we got off the love of turbines in our airplanes and developed a good hybrid, like the auto industry has.  After all, jets have all the necessary components to produce unlimited power from the two elements they fly through with ease - sunlight and wind. 

Not only do the airlines have an abundance of solar and wind potential due to the altitude and the speed at which they cruise, but the pilots don't even have to concern themselves with clouds or calm air.  They fly above the clouds and they create their own wind with their forward thrust.  What more could you ask?

Here's my plan for Boeing.  Build a jetliner that uses its two engines to lift off and get up to altitude above the clouds.  Then a computer shuts down the engines and the wings, which have solar panels built into the top convert sunlight into electrical power.  That is assisted by the now silent turbines, which are gathering and absorbing the air passing through them (i.e. - wind) and also converting that into power.  Those two sources of natural power are used to propel several blades that can be extended from the tail cone and the wings on either side of the turbine engines.

In effect, we will have a hybrid jet that becomes a propeller plane once it reaches flight level.  Of course, it will fly a heck of a lot slower than today's air transports, but we'll be saving the planet.  That is, if there is a reason to "save" it.  Oh yes, I forgot.  That the planet is disintegrating is "settled science" according to Al Gore and NPR.  And then, according to our president, "climate change constitutes a serious threat to global security," (and) "Denying it or refusing to deal with it endangers our national security. It is a dereliction of duty." (Actual quotes from his speech to the Coast Guard Academy graduating class on May 20, 2015)

Now, can you spell I-N-S-A-N-E?