Concomitant

Concomitant: existing or occurring with something else, often in a lesser way; accompanying; concurrent
This term is used at time to describe symptoms or medical processes.

"She was not looking forward to the hangover with its concomitant headache."

Found at work: "We can show with serial measurements that there has been an explosion in American body size in the last 20 years. The most frightening aspect is the concomitant growth in the frequency of weight-related diseases." Cheery stuff, that.

Source: "concomitant." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 15 Dec. 2009.

















Image: Concomitant signals act synergistically.

Ancraophobia

Ancraophobia: fear of the wind.

It's pretty safe to say that my cat is ancraophobic, which according to a youtube.com search, isn't all that odd. Props to these fine fellows for their scientific research on the subject.


Source: The Phobia List

Lacking a neat picture of my own annoying pet, here is one of a stranger's cat:



see more Lolcats and funny pictures

15 super foods!

In a time of medical crisis, there is only one hero: Superfood!

WebMD is all kinds of helpful when you want to turn a few symptoms into full-blown panic that you may have a rare, incurable disease. Little did I know it was also pretty sweet in suggesting prevention tactics for both the common cold and the United States enemy #1: the flu.

To save you the trouble of clicking through the pretty pictures of Superfoods (as well as how they work), here is the list:

Elderberry, Button Mushrooms, Acai Berry, Oysters, Watermelon, Cabbage, Almonds, Grapefruit, Wheat Germ, Low Fat Yogurt, Garlic, Spinach, Tea (green AND black), Sweet Potato and Broccoli.

I was sure Blueberries would make the list and am now disappointed in what must just be a Superfood sidekick. That's cool Blue. You're still my boy.

I'm on twitter.

I don't have any idea if anyone is actually reading this blog ever, but I have joined the Twitter universe and am equally awful at updating that online communication.

An Article that fully satisfied my logofascination!

Today while reading my daily web comics I came across a blog that pointed me in the direction of a great article on 20 words that have fallen into desuetude. Among my favorite are:

Chaetophorous: extremely hairy
Agowilt: a sudden and inexplicable feeling of fear
Hebdomadal: something that happens to you every seven days
Loganamnosis: when you forget words and you cannot rest until they have reappeared inside your memory
Antistatis: when an act is defended by saying that, had it not taken place, then something much worse could have happened
Nikhedonia: a word for the anticipation of success

Jing-Bang

I made an effort this week to work the phrase "jing-bang" into one of my master's exam essay. This is a Scottish term: the hail jing-bang means the whole lot or everything. I was able to use in the opening sentence for my International Commerce exam:

In the hail jing-bang of global economics, regional trade agreements (RTAs) have become the most common form of agreement.

Cat Puke Colors and their Meaning

Clear: water
Chunky: food
Yellow: stomach bile
Green: small intestine fluid

Time to go to the vet.

Nigeria... reason to hope?

The Economist: Briefing: Nigeria
You know how when you read about things in Africa.... no wait.

You know how once you learned there was a continent called Africa and all you've heard since then about it is about HIV/AIDS or Bono? Well here is some good news:

Even with a ethnic/resource power struggle in the Niger Delta, Nigeria (one of the oil-rich countries on the continent) seems to have a working democracy. Their leader may be sick, in fact several prominent leaders are calling for his removal or resignation due to how little time he spends governing, but infrastructure is on the rise as violence is declining.

For another bright spot, look to Botswana. It has the best economic growth of any country as well as government stability absent in many of its neighbors.

Brazil is in Poor Company

What is one of the top ten economies (by GDP) doing at the bottom of a list with the Central African Republic, South Africa and Swaziland? Turns out that Brazil, though considered by many to be an extremely important rising economy has an income distribution similar to countries better known for counting on foreign aid as more than 80% of their government expenditures or or are completely surrounded by another country. The global statistic website Nation Master verbs that the richest 10% of people in Brazil hold 48% of the country's income. For comparison, the global average is 31.4% with Sweden towards the best at 20.1%.

Brazil also struggles with corruption, according to Transparency International they are "roughly comparable to Burkina Faso, Saudi Arabia and Panama." With elections looming in 2010, it's important to consider the potential for change in governance and economic policy. Will global attention during the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympic games give Brazil the incentive it needs to promote its tiny middle class or government transparency?

See also: Brazil in 2006

Read more >> Options >>

Every Rose has its Thorn

Aculeate [ê-'kyu-lee-yêt]

Definition: Having a stinger, like a bee or wasp, or sharp prickles, like a rose or thistle.

If you know someone with a prickly personality, you will find today's word handy, "Otto Mattick has aculeate tongue capable of inflicting considerable mental pain if roiled." You could also call Otto's barbed words 'aculeate.'

From YourDictionary.com

Clandestine ≠ Covert

For all you wanna-be spies out there, clandestine activity is not the same as covert activity.
Just an FYI.

La Movida Madrileña

My current Spanish project is about the Movida in Spain, the crazy decade after the end of years of dictatorship. Similar to the free-love, beatnik period of the 60's an 70's in the US, a previously conservative Spain was able to let its hair down and culturally catch up to the world around it. This time period gave the world the musician Alaska and other Spanish punk/pop/rock artists as well as a dramatic increase in drug use. I think the animation  El mamut captures the sentiment nicely, as well as the musical Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar, which is similiar to the popular US musical Rent in its portrayal of young people trying to survive with AIDS during la Movida. To read more, check out madrid-uno.com.

Summer time = biking time

I just discovered MADSEN Cargo Bikes, right after buying a cruiser and attaching a milk crate for my belongings. I'd say this:
  is much prettier and probaby more stable than anything I put together.

Tapestries as DIY sound insulation

In the Middle Ages, many cavernous halls displayed woven tapestries as symbols of status. However, living in a time of fiberglass insulation and central heating, we often forget the lack of sound-deadening qualities these large, cold halls exhibited, making large tapestries more than pieces of art, but a sound-proofing tool that protected againsted the damp, chilly winters. Tapestries had the further advantage of being easily transportable between residences while often depicting historical events.

Source: Dayton Art Institute, Wikipedia

How do they keep from poking each other?

Narwhals (monodon monoceros) are crazy looking creatures known as Artic unicorns. Seen here on BBC New's website, narwhals are rarely captured on film at all. The tusk is actually an over-grown left incisor that can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh over 20 pounds.

Where have all the stunt-ambulance-cycling-aviators gone?

It was a scandal that she didn't wear a corset while flying: 

Hélène Dutrieu (10 July 1877 – 26 June 1961), shown here in her aeroplane ca. 1911, was the fourth woman in the world, and the first from Belgium, to earn a pilot's license and reputedly the first woman to carry passengers and to fly a seaplane. Besides being a pilot, she was a cycling world champion, stunt cyclist, stunt motorcyclist, automobile racer, wartime ambulance driver, and director of a military hospital. After WWI she became a journalist.

Nicknames: The Human Arrow, Girl Hawk

Photo credit: Bain News Service

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A9l%C3%A8ne_Dutrieu