Occam's Razor

Occam on a Wigu t-shirt

So this guy, Ockham, never actually said, "the simplest explanation is usually the correct one." That is kind of what he was implying though. What Father William de Ockham actually said was "entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity." In other words, do not add what is not needed.  He also said "Frustra fit per plura quod potest fieri per pauciora [It is futile to do with more things that which can be done with fewer]."

As for the razor? It's what you use to cut down to the essential idea, "shaving away unnecessary assumptions."

My favorite part of the Occam's Razor wikipedia page was the "See Also" section.

 Don't mind if I do...

Time and Peanut Butter

Turns out that a "jiffy" is an actual unit of time, though it has a different definitions depending on context, but it's usually the time it takes light (or energy) to travel a short distance.  It might have originated as the length of time it takes for light to travel one centimeter (which is measured in picoseconds). Now physics sometimes defines it as the time it takes light to travel the smallest imaginable space.

When I hear "jiffy" I now think of it as the time it takes for the smell of peanut butter produced at the local Jif plant to reach my nose.  Jif is a brand of peanut butter owned by Smuckers and their factory in Lexington, KY is the largest producer of peanut butter in the world. I am lucky enough to live roughly 500 meters from the plant, which makes smells that vary from burnt popcorn to a mild nutty scent.

GDP by State!

GraphJam is an amusing site over at Cheez Burger (aka lolcats). While usually breaking down things like How Lady Gaga likes her steaks, every now and then there is an economic gem such as if the states were renamed by GDP:

Click to zoom

Source

Horse Capital of the World

There are five horse capitals of the world. Four of them are in the United States (the other is in France, go figure). I'm pretty happy to live in one of them, especially as the World Equestrian Games approach.

Source: wikipedia

Love: the Verb. as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary

verbatim (not including phrases or usage, though that is arguably the best part):

love, v.1 DRAFT REVISION June 2010

Etm. /lv/, U.S. /lv/  Forms: . OE hlufian (rare), OE lufian, OE luuian (rare), lOE lofodest (2nd singular past indicative, perh. transmission error), lOE louian, eME louie, eME lufie, eME luuige, eME luuie, ME lofuie, ME loueie, ME louie, ME louy, ME louye, ME lovy, ME lovye, ME lowie, ME lufie, ME luuie, ME luuye.. ME lof, ME lofe, ME loffe, ME lofue, ME looue, ME louf, ME lovue, ME low, ME lowe, ME lowfe, ME luf, ME lufe, ME luff, ME luffe, ME luud (past tense), ME luue, ME-16 loue, ME- love, 15 lub, 15 lubbe, 15 luve, 15-16 loove, 18- luv

Definitions after the jump

Surgery is less scary...

...now that I know that it is standard procedure to count the cotton balls before and after. Television shows like ER and Grey's Anatomy and the comic strip The Far Side always have mishaps of various items being left inside the patient after they are sewn up, but there is a checklist for such things, even as small as cotton.

Count 'em up!

Coconut Water

It's the best cure. Always will be, always has been.

Nature's Gatorade, used by soldiers in the South Pacific when they ran out of sterile saline, this stuff is made to go in your body. It is full of electrolytes and liquid, with none of the sugar (or worse, fake sugar) that plagues modern sports drinks. Plus, thanks to the Tetra Pak, coconut water is not easily found in grocery stores from Brazil to Alaska.

Drink it, Love it.


You'll notice I saved this post for my birthday. Some secrets are worth sharing on special days.

Some crazy smoothies for your hangover

Many people recommend a hangover remedies of all the other remedy mixed together in a cure-all. If my blender worked, I would maybe try one of these. Ok, probably not.  If you do want to try to find the silver bullet of remedies, be sure to include some of the following items:

Bananas: remember the day we talked about electrolytes? Potassium is important and bananas are chock full of it.

Looks gross, tastes worse...

Other fruits: try the frozen strawberries leftover that somehow didn't make it into last night's margaritas. Strawberries are an excellent source of Vitamin C and flavonoids. I'm not sure what those are, but I'm pretty sure they are good. Other good fruits are oranges, cherries, blueberries (antioxidants in the last two are terrific), and peaches.

Milk/yogurt/ice cream: Calcium was another one of those electrolytes. Dairy it up.

Tomato juice: might not be your first choice to put in your smoothie, but it's good for you. Besides, you're hungover. You already feel like crap. Just drink it already.

Ice: it's made of water. You need water.

Links to some recipes:

ehow.com
this one suggests herbs
This one looks decent
From a TV station
this uses apples

Pickle Juice: drink it if you dare

When I was (much, much) younger, I was known to occasionally imbibe a bit more alcohol than recommended the night before I had a shift at a coffee shop. While lying on the dirty floor mats during my breaks, I would vacillate between cursing my lack of moderation and pathetically pining for pickle juice. Fortunately I was well-loved by my coworkers who would occasionally call the next person coming in to pick up some pickles on their way.  After a while, we took to keeping a jar of pickles in the extra-milk fridge at all times (though safely separate from any customer-destined products) and everyone who worked with me swore that pickle nectar was the best hangover cure.

I know the last thing that you want to hear when you're hungover is a suggestion you try drinking something you wouldn't even consider when you're drunk, but hear me out. Pickle juice, or brine, is full of the healthy salts that encourage re-hydration. If you like pickles at all, it isn't that big of a leap to try the brine. Though temperature won't matter for effectiveness (I don't think), I prefer the brine to be chilled.

Medicating a Hangover

There are some things in life that should be avoided: evil mothers-in-law, law school, curdled milk, IRS audits, knowing that cat urine glows in the dark and mixing aspirin with alcohol. The phrase "take two aspirins and call me in the morning" does not apply to hangovers; it could damage your liver if mixed with alcohol.

If you must have pain relief in the form of a little white pill the morning after a bend, reach for ibuprofen, but only after eating a little something. Your liver will thank you. While you're in the medicine cabinet, grab a multi-vitamin or some vitamin C. Can't hurt!

Sleep: the body's favorite cure

If you are lucky enough to be hungover on a day that you have nothing better to do, after drinking a glass or two of water (and maybe a snack), go stretch out on the couch and get another couple hours of life-giving sleep. While you were enjoying Jäger bombs to the sound of a 90's cover band last night, you beat up your body pretty badly. It deserves a day of rest, even if that means that you don't get the laundry done or you end up having breakfast at three in the afternoon.

Hungover? Run through it.

I had a cross country coach who both preached and lived by the line "Run through it." Have a cold? Run through it. Cut your hand off? Run through it. Sprain your ankle? Run through it.

This same "wisdom" can be applied to a hangover. Go out and get some exercise. This might not be ideal if you can't move, but just getting the blood flowing can go a long way towards recovery, especially if you have things you need to be doing today (aka work).

Hangover cure: eat something already!

You're hungover and you've already had a glass of water. Good start, champ. Get yourself another, but while you're in the kitchen, go ahead and make a little breakfast. The alcohol still in your system needs to be absorbed by something.

What to eat? Fruits and vegetables should be your first choice to replenish those nutrients, but don't discount proteins and healthy carbs. Eggs are great, oatmeal is swell. Plus this step will help with the tip for tomorrow.

Just as a reminder: eat before you drink to avoid this situation in the future. Also, try to incorporate eating with the drinking so that you maintain a little something in your stomach to greet the whiskey when it gets there.

Ginger Ale: my favorite fizzy cure all

Remember when you had the flu and your mom gave you ginger ale? No? Well my mom is more awesome than your mom because she knew that ginger (even that found in a natural ginger ale) helps calm the stomach.

Ginger ale is good for a hangover because it helps with one of the more annoying symptoms while rehydrating you back to health. Might I recommend Vernors?

Don't forget to recycle the can!

Gatorade and other electrolyte drinks

Electrolytes specific functions are a mystery to me, but I know they are important to curing hangovers or just helping your body to recover from any kind of rigorous event. A few you might recognize are potassium, sodium and calcium and they are basically essential to allowing your body to rehydrate.

You could get these by drinking "a simple electrolyte drink made by using the correct proportions of water, sugar, salt, salt substitute for potassium, and baking soda" (thanks Wikipedia). Or you could keep sports drinks like Gatorade on hand.

Your choice.

Juice: a step beyond water

Not only are you dehydrated when you are hungover, but the tequila you were happily downing last night took its time happily sucking your body's nutrients. Now you need some vitamins. Though any juice will help your situation, aim for the ones that will benefit you the most.

Tomato: go ahead and grab a V8. Stocked with a mix of vegies, this is a great way to get vitamins and minerals to get you back on your feet.

Orange: Vitamin C is your friend. Any extra your body doesn't use will help flush out the toxins you worked so hard to incorporate into your drowsy morning.

Eating fruit is also good, but seriously, you need liquid.

Water: the obvious hangover cure

You have a hangover. This means many things, but most importantly:

You drank alcohol.
You didn't drink enough other fluids.
You are now dehydrated.

Get thee to a glass of water. Drink. Repeat.

Replenish your body's fluids or you might go to bed as uncomfortable as you woke up.

Next time, try chasing those shots with some H20 instead of the icky light beer.

June is Hangover Remedy Month!

During the month of June I will research all of the hangover remedies I can in celebration of the first annual Hangover Remedy Month. I'll start with the more common cures and get more fun from there, maybe even creating a few of my own by the end of the month.

Why am I doing this? There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of untraditional holidays out there, I figured it was about time that I created one. Why June? I figure this is a good time because we are five whole months away from National Hangover Day (January 1). Also, I hope to come across the perfect cure in time for my birthday, which is also in June.

Today's cure is a cop-out; it isn't really a hangover remedy at all:

Don't get drunk in the first place.

It will be more fun tomorrow. In the meantime: Frogs don't drink.

National Bike Month + Lexington = Car Free Downtown 5/31

Pump up your tires and dust off your helmet, it's National Bike Month.  Combine that with one of the friendlier bike cities in the country, and we have a party in the Bluegrass. Bike Lexington is throwing a bash on Memorial Day, food, drink and live music included, just BYOB (bring your own bike).  Here is a description from the event's Facebook page:

• 10 AM. Fun Ride registration.
• 10 AM. Kids Bike Safety Rodeo.
• 11 AM. 10 mile Family Fun Ride
• 12 Noon. Mountain Bike Stunt Show.
• 1 PM. Downtown Bike Races.

"And, that is just the start. There will be music, food and drinks. Booths. There will be tall bikes, small bikes, fast ones and some that go very slow. There will even be one with a piano. Make a day of it with us."

Celebrate National Library Week

This week (April 11-17) is National Library Week, a celebration observed every April by all types of libraries across the country since 1958.  The idea originated in the mid-1950s as radio, television and musical instruments became more popular diversions and people devoted less time to reading.  Originally conducted by "a nonprofit citizens organization called the National Book Committee," the American Library Association took on sponsorship of NLW in 1974.  This year's theme is "Communities thrive @ your library," encouraging citizens to take advantage of the various resources made available at school, public, academic and special libraries. 

In honor of this week, I'm highlighting a couple state and local laws that regulate and protect our libraries.  Most of the Kentucky Revised Statues (KRS) and Lexington-Fayette County Code of Ordinances (LFUCG Code) regarding public libraries outline the funding, taxes and the library boards structure.  

The most entertaining section of LFUCG Code is conceivably Chapter 14: Offenses and Miscellaneous Provisions, which at Section 14-32 ("Library, damaging books") so explicitly defines which damages are considered to be offenses as to satisfy the most persnickety of librarians:

• Any person who may use the books, pamphlets, newspapers, periodicals, manuscripts and other literary property of the Lexington Public Library (...) are forbidden to mark, mutilate or, in any manner, deface or injure or destroy such property; and any books, pamphlets, newspapers, periodicals, manuscripts, or other literary property, so used or withdrawn, shall be returned to the library in as good condition as when received, unavoidable wear and tear alone excepted.

The punishment is also explained, though some book lovers may feel that here the Code is not harsh enough.  The potential penalties include denial of privileges of the library for up to one year and replacing the damaged or destroyed materials for the first offense, and a fine of up to twenty-five dollars (in addition to replacing materials) for the second or subsequent offense.

The state of Kentucky devotes an entire chapter (KRS 173) to libraries, with separate laws for first class cities and second through sixth class cities (KRS 81.010).  My favorite of these is KRS 173.380: Free use of libraries:

• Every library established or maintained under KRS 173.300 to 173.390 shall be free for the use of the inhabitants of the governmental unit in which it is located, subject to such reasonable rules and regulations the trustees find necessary.

Free.  Cities are required to allow people to have free access to municipal resources.  Though it's true citizens provide for this service through tax dollars and donations, libraries are one of the most accessible benefits.  I couldn't walk into the mayor's office and borrow his pens (at least not without an appointment), but any day of the week I can walk into one of the six branches of the Lexington Public Library and read a magazine, check out a book, volunteer, take a class, or do one of many other activities — all for free.  Who knows?  They might even let me borrow a pen.


Future National Library Weeks:

• 2011 - April 10-16
• 2012 - April 8-14
• 2013 - April 14-20

Source: American Library Association

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Photo: LA Times

You don't have to be Irish to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Heck, even the Obamas show a little holiday spirit by dying the White House fountain green (then again, the Obamas might be Irish [vid]). Here are a few ways to celebrate America's favorite Irish holiday:

Have a pint. It's no surprise that the country that gave us Guinness also gave us one of the most alcohol-related celebrations after Marti Grais. There are plenty of Irish beers to choose from: the aforementioned Guinness, Smithwicks, Harp (both owned by Guinness), Murphy's or Beamish Irish Stouts and a bunch of Irish red ales. Not a fan of reds or stouts? While you have my scorn, you can also have a pint of green lager, specially produced annually by the big domestic companies such as Miller and Budwiser. If you are lucky enough to be in Kentucky, Alltech makes a few green batches of their tasty amber Kentucky Ale.

Watch hurling [vid]. I'm not talking about what might follow the first activity. Hurling is a fast-paced sport with dangerous looking sticks and a small ball that resembles a baseball with inside-out seams. The All-Ireland championship takes place every March 17th, this year won by the Ballyhale Shamrocks of County Kilkenny.

Dye some body of water green. Many cities celebrate St. Patrick's Day by dying their river or canal system green with organic food coloring. Chicago's tradition actually started as a way to check the sewer system, but now is a famous annual event.

Pinch people (and wear green). For some reason, Americans enjoy tormenting people who don't conform to traditional dress, and St. Patrick's Day is no exception. Though I wouldn't recommend pinching random strangers who aren't displaying green, this activity can be fun. Caution! Be wary of who you pinch: if your friend turns out to be wearing green socks, he can pinch you back.

Plant peas. Because you can finally see the ground by the middle of March, St. Patrick's day is a good time to plant cool-weather seeds such as peas.

Fill out your bracket. The NCAA men's basketball tournament starts tomorrow. Because it's St. Patrick's day, why not pick Notre Dame to make the Sweet 16? Go Irish!

Life, Sweetness, Hope

I only recently noticed that the Seal of the University of Notre Dame has three Latin words at the center: Vita, Dulcedo, Spes. This is from the "Salve Regina," one of four Marian anthems, and is the official motto of the school. Here is the first line:

"Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,

our life, our sweetness and our hope."

It has a slightly different ring than "Tender, Strong and True" or "God Country Notre Dame," but is just as inspiring.

Whiteboard: a cleaning adventure

Years of scribbling by visiting children had left the office whiteboard anything but white. Inspired after a thorough office cleaning, I decided to attack the marker stains last week in hopes of creating a workspace for organizing tasks by matter.

First I dragged the 8x4 board into my office and turned it so it stood on its side so that I could lean it against a wall.

Second, I did a Google search for advice then rooted around the firm for cleaning products for experimenting on the tough stains. Here is what I tried:

• Windex wipes: faded the marks a little
• Pine Sol: smelled great, no discernible difference
• Vinegar-water solution: didn't smell so great, did seem to take away some "ghosting"
• Pledge multi-surface: nada
• Hand sanitizer: cut through the stains, but required a blog per inch or so
• isopropyl rubbing alcohol (70% ): saw significant improvement, elbow grease necessary
• "magic eraser" (brand unknown): worked decently, especially in combination with the alcohol

The problem was that none of these were getting the board back to white, and those that had any effect took more effort than it was worth. At this point I looked into whiteboard sheets to recover the surface. This stick-on material would be a quick fix if it worked, but could be a pain in the neck if not applied smoothly or kept fairly clean. Having exhausted the cleaning products at the office, I came back to work the next day armed with stuff from home:

• Toothpaste (this happened to be Colgate Cavity Protection): worked really well, but took a toothbrush amount per foot or so. Also, the room smelled minty fresh.
• Bar Keeper's Friend: worked like a charm. On a clean cloth, make a paste with water and work in circular motions. I combined it with the toothpaste a few times for accelerated results. Add more paste as necessary, then clean the powdery residue with water and a new towel. It may take a few goings-over to get the powder off.

Finally, a clean, white whiteboard! Unfortunately, all the abrasive cleaning left the board without its shiny surface, so I brought in my trusty WD-40. As recommended by www.wikihow.com I sprayed the board, let it sit for about five minutes, then wiped the board dry. After that I added some electrical tape for lines and began writing. WD-40 is also great for removing less-than-stubborn marks when applied with a cloth.

All kinds of things ... about Kentucky.

35.6% of Lexington, KY work force has a Bachelor's degree or higher! This city has 15 golf courses and over 3000 acres of parks! Thank you Commerce Lexington for these delightful tidbits, but what really caught my attention was bourbon.

Even more than horses, bourbon distilling is what helps make the state of Kentucky tick. According to Business Lexington magazine, "Kentucky hosts nearly half — 43 percent — of all distilling jobs in the United States. With a high job multiplier of 3.29, distilling creates more spin-off jobs than other signature industries, such as tobacco farming(1.267), horse farms (1.181) and coal mining (2.142)." That's pretty impressive, perhaps made even better when you consider that booze is on industry that continues to do well during economic downturns. Combine those numbers with the upcoming World Equestrian Games (more on those later), and the humble state of Kentucky is in for some good times.

New Year's Resolutions

Going off of my brother's example, I think it's time to create a list of goals for 2010. Here's a start:

1. Tweet less, blog more
        I'm learning things but not retaining them! For example, it would take 1400 Gummy bears to equal this 5-pound Gummy bear!

2. Eat more vegetables
        I don't think I've consumed one yet this year.

3. Use my library card!
       The Lexington Public Library is a great resource and super close to both my work and home.

Alcohol Wish List

At the moment I reside in a state that doesn't allow consumers to purchase alcohol online. This makes it more difficult for me to buy different wines/beers/liquors that I can't find locally. In a few cases this isn't a bad thing: Sagatiba Preciosa is a cachaça that would run me nearly $300 if I acted on all my desires. That same company's two year cachaça however, is only around $35 and probably far superior to any similar product I can find in Lexington, KY. So I have two wish lists: one that is ridiculous, and one for which I might need an out-of-state mailing address.

The ridiculous list:

Sagatiba Preciosa

According to alcademics.com, a distiller put 10,000 liters of cachaca into five giant cognac mixing casks (2,500 liters each) in 1980 to see what would happen, but then died in 1982. Over 20 years later in 2006 the Sagatiba folks pulled it out, filtered, and bottled it. There were 3,300 liters remaining out of the original 10,000, hence the steep price tag of $300 if not much higher.

Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve 23 Year Bourbon. $300
or
Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve 20 Year Bourbon $170

Some of the oldest bourbon on the market, and definitely the oldest wheat bourbon available (when you can find it), Pappy Van Winkle's line is known for being the highest quality bourbon. I'm a big fan of wheat bourbon, of which there are only five lines. My favorite, W.L. Weller 12-year, was recently taken off the market to expand their 7-year sales. Though it probably wouldn't be able to replace the Weller 12-year cost-wise, sipping on Pappy 23 year would be a sweet way to celebrate (eventually) leaving Kentucky.

Regular old list:
W.L. Weller 12 year.

Pitu Cachaça

Santa Barbara Winery Syrah
More to come