Kudos, relics and special days
“To eat bread without hope is still slowly to starve to death.” Pearl S. Buck
Kudos
Emerson Glassey, son of Eric and Alison Glassey, recently received his PHD at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge.
His thesis title was “Design of Post-translationally Modified Peptides by Combining Enzymes from Diverse Pathways.”
While MIT is perhaps best known for its programs in engineering and the physical sciences, other areas — notably economics, political science, urban studies, linguistics, and philosophy — are also strong. Admission is extremely competitive.
Emerson attended Willits Charter School and Mendocino College as well.
Old relic
It all began when a friend’s elementary age child asked her, “why do you say ‘hang up the phone?’” She suddenly realized that young children with cell phones have no idea what that is.
So the Mom would have something to show her children, I took a picture of our old kitchen phone with the 25-foot cord, still attached to the wall. Her response was, “Oh my gosh! They still do exist!! I suggest school history field trips to your house!” Upon sharing this story, someone said, “How much admission will you charge?”
From there, the comments flew when finally, another friend sent this link to young kids trying to figure out a rotary phone. It is a delightful video: “Kids React to Technology” ( https:// youtu.be/xkuirewwezvm ). Kids React breaks out a new format, with kids age 5 to 13 years reacting to technology of the past, this time around, it’s rotary phones. Amazing how technology changes so quickly.
Watch More Kids React to Old Technology!
• Kids React to Old Cameras — http://goo.gl/rt5rgk
• Kids React to Walkmans — http://goo.gl/2swd8g
• Kids React to Old Computers — http://goo.gl/j8cgh8
• Kids React to Game Boy — http://goo.gl/p3f5wd
• Kids React to Typewriters — http://goo.gl/f2dkqz.
Irish ssacks
Then there’s kids reacting to foods from other countries. With St. Patrick’s Day around the corner, perhaps these Irish snacks tried by kids would be fun to view: https:// www.youtube.com/ watch?v=a5hmaqclw8e.
Natiosal Pistachio Day
Today is one of those “huh” kind of celebratory days: National Pistachio Day.
Sometimes great things really do come in small packages. Known as the “happy nut” in China and the “smiling nut” in the Middle East, pistachios have a unique, small shape but pack a powerfully nutritious punch. Aside from having a great smile, these vibrant green nuts let you snack your way to good health by containing as much protein as an egg per serving and myriad of other nutrients.
They are part of a very nutty, yet irritating family of plants, the evergreen family, which includes mangoes, pistachios, cashews, and yup… poison ivy!
Aside from their curious genealogy, pistachios’ incredible health benefits suregiveothernutsarun for the money! Stock up on these gloriously green nuts because today on February 26 we celebrate them with National Pistachio Day.
It’s an excuse for pistachio lovers worldwide to snack on their favorite nut all day long.
Natiosal Pokeros Day Feb. 27
The Pokemon phenomenon never dies — and it doesn’t fade away, either. Just a few years after the Pokemon craze came and supposedly went, it’s still going strong. The origins of the pocket monsters’ fame, started way back on Feb. 27, 1995.
The man who would launch a worldwide phenomenon, Satoshi Tajiri, the inventor of Pokemon, was born in Machida, Tokyo Aug. 28, 1965.
Pokemon meets the world…feb. 27, 1995, The first Pokemon media, Pokemon Red and Green, a pair of video games for the original Game Boy, were released.
Pokemon for the Switch generation — In November 2019, Pokemon Sword and Shield for the Switch were both released bringing the total number of Pokemon to over 875.
Bil Tech
Allum Bokhari, senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News, graduate of University of Oxford, this past November delivered a speech at Hillsdale College in Michigan during a Center for Constructive Alternatives conference on Big Tech.
He presented compelling facts and arguments that “Common threats create strange bedfellows. Socialists, conservatives, nationalists, neoliberals, autocrats, and anti-autocrats may not agree on much, but they all recognize that the tech giants have accumulated far too much power.
“None like the idea that a pack of American hipsters in Silicon Valley can, at any moment, cut off their digital lines of communication.”
Why bring this up, you might ask?
It is because I am tired of all my tech-related online presence being hacked. Yet again hubby and I have required the help of a computer expert to re-do, upgrade safety measures. My password list is two pages long, two columns per page, single spaced.
This is ridiculous. We’ve redone passwords many times, set up every antihacking/virus, security protocol known to mankind and yet, still, we deal with this.
As wonderful as email, Facebook, etc. is for staying in touch with folks near and far, I’m about ready to return to the rotary phone and be done with the angst and insecurity of dealing with those who seem to relish ruining other people’s lives. I want to say to them, “Get a job and work for your money like I did!”
Cheer-i-o!