My Time With Ragtime

Recently I have rediscovered ragtime music and today decided to understand it a little better. A fascinating and essential connection from march music to jazz, ragtime had a short popular run in the early 1900s. It's such a large subject that I could never give it enough of a space here but wanted to share these tidbits anyway. A few of the most popular ragtime musicians were Scott Joplin and James Scott, and my favorite so far Fats Waller. Ragtime was one of the first and most popular sheet music to be placed on piano rolls. Some dances using early rag were the two-step, military marches, slow drag and the cakewalk. The cakewalk has its roots during the days of slavery and developed into a competitive two-step dance whose winners would receive a cake. This is supposedly the origin of the terms "piece of cake" and "that takes the cake".

Curling

I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to get back to this. Now that I am unemployed again this exciting blog is back in action.

So the Olympics came and went. Curling has got to be one of the strangest sports in history. The earliest reference comes from Scotland in 1541. The town of Kilsyth claims to have the world's first Curling Club, and I can't see a reason to lie about such things. Kilsyth is also the proud parent of indie rock band The Twilight Sad. Hiram Maxim, excuse me, Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim patented the first curling iron in 1866. He is also credited for inventing the Maxim machine gun, the mousetrap, an inhaler, and possibly the lightbulb.

Feral Cats, Donohue, and Crazy Horse

Oops! So I totally dropped the ball and found it finally covered in dust under the couch. I definitely learned that my process of procrastination is to further it once I get it started. Hmmm. To remedy this I want to start including pictures of places that I find interesting if I am too busy to research my non-visual thoughts. On a positive note I am temporarily employed and hopefully I will learn many fascinating things in the world of the working.

We have 4 healthy feral cats in our backyard that were helped by the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon. Recently, I went to an orientation to volunteer while they were celebrating "fixing" their 40,000 cat. There are an estimated 60 million feral cats in this country alone. More than 20,000 cats were killed last year in Oregon. The FCCO uses a trap-neuter-return process that seems very successful. Because cats are territorial, the trap and remove process rarely works as a new cat colony will replace the old.

Oprah is leaving. This made me wonder about Phil Donahue, remember him? Apparently he hosted a show on MSNBC from 2002-2003, but nobody cared enough to keep it going. He is good friends with Ralph Nader, is an anti-war activist, and yelled at Bill O'Reilly. A couple years ago he helped produce Body of War, which was supposedly good. I may have to check that out.

A conversation about Mount Rushmore reminded me of visiting Crazy Horse Monument when I was a kid. It is a non-profit project and was started in 1948 by sculptor Korczak Ziółkowski, who died in 1982. The monument has received opposition by Native Americans and during the summer you can watch a laser show on the mountain.

Leprosy, Japanese Maple, and Dog Poop

Apparently Lou Dobbs quit CNN yesterday. Years ago he implied that leprosy was on the rise because of illegal immigrants from Latin America. I've always wanted to visit Molokai and possibly tour Kalaupapa, where over 8,000 people with leprosy have been exiled since 1865. Leprosy, or Hansen's disease, has been affecting humans for 4,000 years and can be treated with expensive antibiotics. About 20 former leprosy patients still live in Kalaupapa, and for $175 you can take a mule ride tour of the colony.

There is a beautiful Japanese Maple in my backyard. It is favored by squirrels, supposedly means "baby's hands" and " becomes crimson leaves", and has been cultured intensively for over 300 years.

I am dog sitting this week for a sweet little blind dog who pooped on the doormat. For about $90 you can finally deal with dog poop in an eco-friendly manner. The Doggie Dooley Deluxe Kit includes a galvanized steel tank with lid, an odor reducing solution, supply of digester, and a scoop. Or you could just dig a hole, cover with a lid, and occasionally dump an enzyme-active biological compound which is easily found with other septic tank solutions.

Rajneeshees, Sweat, and The Modern Toilet

Welcome to Oregon. The largest food-related salmonella outbreak in 1984 happened in The Dalles, Oregon. After moving to a ranch outside of Antelope, Oregon, the Rajneeshees plotted to take over the political structure in the region after being denied some building permits. They invented the "Share-a-Home" program, transporting homeless people into the region in order to help their cause and increase votes. To ensure victory they also visited 10 restaurants in The Dalles and infected their salad bars with salmonella. Over 750 people were food poisoned with what the Rajneeshees call "salsa".

Women have more sweat glands than men. The average person has 2.6 million sweat glands and can produce 0.25 to 0.5 liters of sweat per hour walking. "Sweating sickness" struck England in 1485, killing several thousands of people.

The most extravagant toilet seat has to be the TOTO Washlet S400. An automated lid that closes by sensors or by a remote, front and rear washing, air purifier, aerated warm water, heated seat, massage feature, air drying, and more lazy features makes this something I will never come in contact with. It has been recommended as a green alternative to toilet paper, but the huge dependence on electricity makes me seriously question that assertion.

Non-reversing Mirrors, Biodegradable Caskets, and Awareness Ribbons

How is my hair, really? We all ignore the fact that mirrors show our reversed image. By putting two mirrors at a right angle the two images bounce off of each other. You can see the reversed image by looking at each mirror, and the true image by looking in the corner created by the two. The patent for a non-reversing mirror was issued to John Joseph Hooker in 1887 who apparently did nothing else. Oh, vanity.

An Ecopod is a biodegradable casket "made by hand from recycled newspapers and hand finished with paper made from recycled silk and mulberry leaves". Its pea pod design can make you feel alive again. Also available is an "Old Country Style" wicker casket. This makes me cringe and at the same time support this idea as the only suitable place for wicker.

There has been an explosion of awareness ribbons. Orchid and orange is for psoriasis, red and yellow is for teen abstinence, and teal is for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Blue seems to have the most different meanings. The root of symbolic ribbons stems from the yellow ribbon that was associated with the US military, followed by AIDS activists using rainbow and then red ribbons in the late 80's.

Helix Turbine, Pantry Moths, and Melatonin

Wind turbines have always been controversial for me being that they are a great source for renewable energy, but they cause problems for bird migration. The helix system works better than traditional propeller styles because it doesn't require high winds or great heights, is less expensive, and less likely to break down. This seems like a great solution for urban retrofits tied to the grid.

A current infestation in my kitchen led me to learn about the Indian meal moth. The most common pantry pest can lay 100-400 eggs in a 1-18 day period. They are disgusting and love grains, powders, and anything they can burrow through. The best way to get rid of them is to throw away everything contaminated, wipe down the nasty, and stop buying bulk products from Whole Foods.

Melatonin is going to help me sleep. No food increases its levels, so why a pill works is confusing and would require me to learn a bit about biochemistry. Something to look forward to. Pot and acid increase its synthesis.