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A Most Regrettable Absence Of The Pithy Gene

4/26/2019

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GENETIC DISORDERS AND THE ABSENCE OF THE “PITHY” GENE
According to the National Human Genome Research Institute, any change in whole or part of the DNA sequence away from the norm causes a genetic disorder. Such a disorder can be inherited from a parent or caused by mutation in one or more genes resulting from a number of events such as environmental factors.

In my case, I’m convinced that I have a multifactorial inheritance disorder, from both parents, resulting in my regrettable lack of a “Pithy” gene. In non-medical terms, my body produces too much of a word enzyme which accumulates in my finger tips and saliva glands, making me extremely sensitive to silence. Silence without words can cause extreme pain.
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My only relief comes when the enzyme oozes out of my finger tip when I touch a computer keyboard or out of my saliva glands when I open my mouth to speak. Typewriters used to provide some level of respite, but no one makes those anymore.
​
Photo source: https://www.londontypewriters.co.uk/product/1920s-working-smith-corona-4-manual-typewriter-black-new-ribbon-case/

I LOVE LONG WORDS
I love words. Lots of words. Long words. I am vociferous and a sesquipedalian (long winded), and have never written or spoken a short, concise, to-the-point sentence in my life. It’s too painful.

Besides, the English language is rich and filled with vivid, clever, and delightful ways to express one’s thoughts. Writers should learn to take advantage of that. I squirm when I hear authors, editors, and agents say we should write to fourth grade vocabulary.
 
God forbid. Let them all contract pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
 
Of course, I come by it honestly. After all, I did inherit the genetic defect. Both my parents had substantial vocabularies and used them in their normal conversation. We used to discuss my father’s law cases and legal and political issues at the dinner table. A little of that rubbed off on me.
 
In particular, my father used to quote poetry … just of the fun of it. Not the high-brow stuff, but more contemporary, and often humorous. I learned the following poem at a young age, only because I heard it often enough. In the eighth grade, at thirteen, I had to recite a poem in class, and the one that follows was my choice.
 
I knew it was written during WWII but my father didn’t know the author, and neither did anyone
else at the time. I only learned recently, in a blog post by Ron Clark and Merritt Clark, that it was written by W. Sterling Atwater and first published on April 13, 1943, in The Boston News Bureau, credited to W.S.A.                                W. Sterling Atwater in 1934
                                                                                                                                                                                         Photo source: http://www.echatham.com/quirk/   
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It was widely published (without crediting the author) in newspapers from 1943-45. In 1991, the poem appeared in a book, edited by Carmine A. Prioli, entitled “The Poems of General George S. Patton, Jr.: Lines of Fire”. Eventually, the true authorship was established.

Back to my story. Always a buzz-kill, my father told me I couldn’t recite it in class unless I looked up and knew the meaning of every word. I did that, and I never forgot the poem. I can still recite it by heart after 65 years. Note that after the war, my father wrote the last three verses and tagged them onto the original.

MERTON QUIRK
 
The head of the Division of Provision for Revision
Was a man of prompt decision, Merton Quirk.
PHD in calisthenics,
PDQ in pathogenics,
He had just the proper background for the work.
 
From the pastoral aroma of Aloma, Oklahoma,
With a pittance of salary in hand,
His acceptance had been whetted,
Even aided and abetted,
By emoluments that netted some five grand.
 
So with energy ecstatic this fanatic left his attic
And hastened down to Washington D.C.
Where, with verve and vim and vigor,
He went hunting for the tiger
In the woodpile of the W.P.B.
 
After months of patient process, Merton’s spicular proboscis
Had unearthed a reprehensible hiatus
In the reply of Blair and Blair
To his thirteenth questionnaire
In connection with their inventory status.
 
They had written, “Your directive when effective was defective
In its ultimate objective, and what’s more,
Neolithic hieroglyphic
Is to us much more specific
Than this drivel you keep dumping at our door.”
 
The sacrilege discovered, Merton fainted, but recovered
Sufficiently to write, “We are convinced that
Sabotage is camouflaged
Behind perverted persiflage.
Expect me on the twenty-second inst!”
 
But first he sent a checker,
And then a checker’s checker,
Still nothing was disclosed as being wrong.
So a checker’s checker’s checker
Went to check the checker’s checker
And the process was laborious and long.
 
Then followed a procession of the follow-up profession
Through the files of the firm of Blair and Blair,
And from breakfast time to supper
Some new super-follow-upper
Tore his hair because of Merton’s questionnaire.
 
Now that file is closed, completed, but our hero, undefeated
Carries on in some department as before,
And victory hove in sight,
Not because of, but in spite,
Of Merton’s mighty efforts in the war.
            ``                                              W. Sterling Atwater (1943)
 
Now with the start of reconversion the diversion for dispersion
Made diversion for a man of Merton’s mettle.
And he plunged with wild elation
Into contract termination
With a firm determination not to settle.
 
But sagacious legislation clarified the obfuscation
Of the contract termination situation,
Leaving Merton empty handed,
Slightly desperate, nearly stranded,
Till someone organized United Nations.
 
Now under the compulsion of atomic jet propulsion,
With a modicum of tax exempted wages,
Our Merton, with sagacity
And unexcelled tenacity,
Is settling the problems of the ages.
                                                            William E. Coombs (1950s)


Cartoon by Tom Ruse of the Milwaukee Journal / Photo source: http://www.echatham.com/quirk/​
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P.S. I guess I made up for the lack of the “Pithy” gene by having a good memory. I also memorized, and can still recite, both the Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Wynken, Blynken, and Nod by Eugene Field □

​
Note: According to Google, the longest word in any of the major English language dictionaries is a word that refers to a lung disease contracted from the inhalation of very fine silica particles, specifically from a volcano; medically, it is the same as silicosis: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, 
 
Now in contention for the title of longest word is aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolic (52 letters), created by Dr. Edward Strother to describe the unique ancient Romans baths located in Bath, England. The word is a mashup of other words that describe the properties found in the Roman Baths, like cooper, salty and rich.


Sources:
http://www.echatham.com/quirk/
 

 
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ODE TO THE JELLY BEAN

4/19/2019

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WILL THE CREATOR OF "NATIONAL JELLY BEAN DAY" PLEASE STAND UP
April 22 is National Jelly Bean Day, a fun celebration created to honor that bean-shaped candy treat with a thick gel interior, whose origins are as illusive and mysterious as the person who created the national day. [I couldn’t find anything about the originator]

​BIRTH OF THE JELLY BEAN
As nearly everyone in America knows, Jelly beans are small candies shaped like beans with a candy shell and a thick gel interior.

Candy experts – yes, candy experts really do exist -- believe the soft center of the jelly bean is the progeny of Turkish Delight or Lokum, a family of candies created in the middle east thousands of years ago. It is concocted of a gel made from starch and sugar and dusted with icing, sugar, copra, or powdered cream of Tartar, to prevent clinging. The Turkish term for the confection, rahat lokum, literally means "throat's ease". Lokum is really yummy and now comes in all sorts of shapes and flavors.


Turkish Delight - Photo Source:                  Photo licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 
 ▼ Wikipedia Public domain                      
▼
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

Oh, I’m gaining weight just writing this.

​The Jelly Bean offspring bears little resemblance to its ancestors and is coated with a firm shell through a process called “panning”. French confectioners in the17th century used this process to make Jordan almonds for the Royal court by rocking the almonds in a pan of sugar and syrup until coated.                                             
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Somehow the Lokum and “panning” got together. The earliest documented appearance of a jelly bean in America was an advertisement for William Schrafft of Boston in 1861 promoting sending jelly beans – his product, of course -- to soldiers in the Union Army during the Civil War.
They didn’t show up again in any documentation until 1905 in an advertisement in the Chicago Daily News selling them in volume at nine cents a pound in a small variety of colors. Today, Candy Concepts offers them for $7.00 a pound. [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelly_bean citing the book The Century in Food: America's Fads and Favorites]. 

There is nothing complicated about the shape. Candy makers in those day shaped many candies into familiar forms, and this one happened to be shaped like a bean.

THE JELLY BEAN GROWS UP
As the candy grew in popularity, its name became a part of American slang. In the early 1900s, “Jellybean” was the slang word meaning “a young man who dressed stylishly but had little else to recommend.” In other words a fop or dandy. The term appeared in both fiction and music.                               
Cover of Sheet Music written by Jimmie Dupre, Sam Rosen,
                                                                                                                                        and Joe Verges (1920) Photo source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelly_bean
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They became popular as a penny candy. Around the 1930s someone realized that the jelly bean had an ovate shape resembling an egg and began to promote it an Easter confection. In the 1940s, Phil Harris made the song “Jellybean” a hit and revitalized the slang terminology … and the candy.
​
The jelly beans made by Herman Goelitz Candy Company were popular with President Ronald Reagan. Goeltiz even created a new flavor [blueberry] just for the President, who sent Jelly Bellys into space in the 1983 Challenger Mission as a surprise for the astronauts. As that became known and publicized, sales leaped. Goelitz established a new factory and renamed the company Jelly Belly.

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IT’S ALL ABOUT TASTE

● Ingredients
According to Wikipedia, the jelly beans are made from sugar, tapioca or corn syrup, and pectin [a starch from fruit]. There are small amounts of lecithin, an emulsifying agent, anti-foaming agent, carnauba wax or beeswax, salt, and confectioners glaze [an alcohol-based solution of food-grade shellac derived from sticklac, a resin scraped from tree branches left when the small insect Kerria lacca, creates a hard waterproof cocoon.
​

That last ingredient – characterized by janelangille.com as bug feces -- doesn’t sound too appetizing, but I don’t believe there is any fatality recorded as jelly bean poisoning. Americans have an “attitude” when it comes to eating insects, but many are a good source of protein.
 ▼Photo by iStock/constantgardener                        
Photo source:
www.rd.com/food/jelly-beans               
▼Photo source: www.businessinsider.com/jelly-beans

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That last ingredient – characterized by janelangille.com as bug feces -- doesn’t sound too appetizing, but I don’t believe there is any fatality recorded as jelly bean poisoning. Americans have an “attitude” when it comes to eating insects, but many are a good source of protein.

Back to jelly beans. For all practical purposes, jelly beans are almost pure sugar. According to Eloise Kirn, writing for Businessinsider.com, the interior gel is made by heating liquid sugar to 350 degrees, then mixing in starch and glucose. The cornstarch layer is removed from the center gel and sprayed with sugar, then poured and set aside for 24 to 48 hours.

Next the jelly bean centers go into giant rotating machines. Gradually, sugar, color and flavor are added building up the candy shell. After the confectioner’s glaze is added, the beans are polished, a process which can take up to four days. Fortunately, they are not made one at a time. Jelly Belly, one producer, reports selling over 15 billion a year. Lined up they could circle the earth five times.
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​● Flavors
If clothes make the man, then flavors make the Jelly Bean.

In 1965 the Herman Goelitz Candy Company [now Jelly Belly] began reenergizing this traditional candy by adding new flavors. By 1976 Jelly Belly produced two varieties of jelly beans – gourmet and traditional.

The gourmet type is smaller and softer, and the flavor is in the center jell as well as the shell coating. The flavors added in 1976 were Very Cherry, Root Beer, Cream Soda, Tangerine, Green Apple, Lemon, Licorice and Grape. Jelly Belly now produced over a hundred different flavors in twenty groupings, most of which contain few of the original flavors plus some odd, or disgusting, ones. For example, The Harry Potter™Bertie Bott's category has the following flavors.

▪Black pepper             ▪Booger                       ▪Candy Floss               ▪Dirt
▪Earthworm                 ▪Ear Wax                     ▪Grass                         ▪Vomit
▪Soap                          ▪Sausage                     ▪Rotten Eggs  
 
I can’t begin to imagine what the flavors for any of these things could be, except maybe sausage. I’ve never eaten any of the others and don’t intend to. 
However, I was relieved to find a chart showing that the flavors with the yucky names are the same as those with more appealing ones. i.e. the flavor “spoiled milk” is actually the coconut flavor, “rotten egg” has the same flavor as buttered popcorn, and so on.
​

The Jelly Belly original flavors category sounds normal and “jelly bean worthy.” However, the staff of PasteMagazine.com  takes nothing for granted and did a taste test of their own in 2017 to rate each flavor. Here are the ratings of the ten worst and the ten best flavors per the test. www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/.
 
●The Worst Ten Flavors (starting with the worst)
▪ Buttered Popcorn - “The absolute worst bean ever inflicted on mankind.”
▪ Carmel Corn
▪ Chocolate Pudding
▪ Tropical Punch
▪ Licorice - “Good, if you like licorice.”
▪ Coconut
▪ Mixed Berry Smoothie - “We found it to be a big disappointment; tastes like grass.”
▪ Juicy Pear
▪ Island Punch
▪ Mango

●The Ten Best Flavors 
(ending with the highest rated flavor)
▪ Pomegranate 
▪ Crushed Pineapple 
▪ Raspberry 
▪ Top Banana 
▪ Sunkist® Tangerine 
▪ Wild Blackberry 
▪ Sizzling Cinnamon 
▪ Strawberry Daiquiri 
▪. Sunkist® Pink Grapefruit 
▪ Piña Colada
 
Be that as it may, according to the Jelly Belly Company, their most popular flavors are Very Cherry, Buttered Popcorn and Licorice. I usually eat them by the handful, so the less savory flavors are mixed into the overall taste. 
They’re only 4 calories per bean, after all.
​

JELLY BEAN ART
Jelly beans and an artist name Kirsten Cumings came together in 2009 when she was named the official Jelly Belly artist. She has been painting in jelly beans ever since and loves it. Together they have crafted some of the most fascinating art I’ve seen in a while.

According to Elizabeth Rayne, writing for SyFy.com, Cumings feels that “painting” in jelly beans is remarkably similar to traditional art in terms of elements such as light, shadow and perspective.” In an interview with CBS she said, “I like making things out of weird stuff."

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Rosie the Riveter - In Jelly Beans by Kirsten Cumings
Photo source: https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/its-national-jelly-bean-day/

Her work is seen often at conventions, particularly SyFy conventions. She glues the beans, one by one, onto to the canvas over a blueprint she previously painted. “Her palette consists of 50 classic flavors and some 40 others that rotate in and out of the flavor lineup depending on popularity. If she needs a shade that doesn’t exist, Cummings will mix several to give the appearance of, say, the murky greens and browns abundant in the more shadowy areas of her Yoda portrait. Because (at least for Jelly Belly) swamp-colored jelly beans really don’t sound too appetizing.”

After reading the names of some of the putoffish flavors, that comment surprised me.                                               
                                                                                                                                      Yoda - Photo source:
                                                                                             https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/stuff-we-love-kristen-cummings-literally-makes-sweetest-fandom-art-ever

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While the painting is on a flat surface, Cuming says, "I want it to look three-dimensional as much as possible, so using more than one different kind of blue or different kind of red will allow me to create a sense of depth, of three-dimensionality even though it's a two-dimensional surface "

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The Great Wave                                                                                    President Ronald Reagan                                         Vincent van Gogh - Starry night              Source of Photos: https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/art-made-with-jelly-beans/   

At any rate, whether you eat them or paint with them or do something else, Jelly Beans are an American favorite that’s here to stay.
□

References:
https://news.jellybelly.com/origin-of-the-jelly-bean-or-why-are-they-called-beans/?msclkid=be73e464ae1b188b301eb8f1c3b1a42f&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ECI%20-%20WP%20-%20DSA%20-%20RLSA&utm_term=jellybelly&utm_content=All%20Web%20Pages
https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/stuff-we-love-kristen-cummings-literally-makes-sweetest-fandom-art-ever
http://www.candyblog.net/blog/item/candy_encyclopedia_the_difference_between_gummi_and_jelly
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelly_bean
https://www.jellybelly.com/fun-facts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schrafft%27s
https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/its-national-jelly-bean-day/
https://www.candyfavorites.com/shop/jelly-bean-history.php
https://americacomesalive.com/2017/11/02/jelly-beans-candy-history/
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-jelly-beans-are-made-2016-4
http://jellybabiescantrunawaywhenyoubiteofftheirlegs.co.uk/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelly_Babies
https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/03/judgment-comes-to-candytown.html
https://www.jellybelly.com/flavor-guides
https://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/1034305/the-most-disgusting-jelly-bean-flavors-ever/
https://nationaldaycalendar.com/days-2/national-jelly-bean-day-april-22/
https://www.awarenessdays.com/awareness-days-calendar/national-jelly-bean-day-2019/
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/24/magazine/candy-world-favorite.html
https://janelangille.com/10-freaky-facts-about-food/
https://news.jellybelly.com/bean-counting-fun-facts-and-figures-for-jelly-belly-jelly-beans/
https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/kirsten-cumings





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YOU’RE THE SMARTEST PERSON I KNOW!

4/12/2019

1 Comment

 
​​​If someone tells you that, just smile and take it as a compliment. That’s most likely what the speaker intended, even though the meaning of the word “smart” is somewhat vague.
​
Oh? You’re surprised there’s anything to question? Well, think about it. What does “smart” really mean? It is akin to the words writers search their manuscripts for -- so they can be eliminated. Big, small, pretty. Indistinct almost to the point of uselessness.

“Ahh…I’m kinda real smart…I think.”
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But it’s a tag children often hang on other children early in life, and the label may stick mentally for a long time. Kids grow up believing they are smart or stupid – which is cool or not cool depending on when and where they grew up – and that can affect an entire life.

Ask your kids or grandkids how they know someone is smart. You’ll hear things like:
     “School is easy for them.”
     “They finish tests fast.”
     “They never have to study.”
     “They already know everything.”
                                 “They can memorize anything.”
                                 “They read all the time.”
Are those the characteristics you mean when you say someone is “smart”?

SMART
One dictionary defines the word as: “having or showing a quick-witted intelligence.” The Merriam-Webster definition of Smart is, “Having an alert mind.” The synonyms listed are “witty”, “clever”, “bright”, and “appealing to sophisticated taste.” I’m not sure what this last one means.

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Setting aside the definitions of Smart related to making sarcastic or sassy remarks or being well dressed, Smart can be defined as an earned status which infers that effort was put in to learn. Studying and learning makes an individual smarter (more informed and aware) in relation to a specific subject matter, either book smart, like mathematics, or street smart, like how to slit someone’s tires without getting caught.

​Being smart is something you have to work at by studying and learning.
 

SMART VS. INTELLIGENT
Intelligence
i
s a different matter. Our friend Merriam-Webster defines Intelligence as “the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations, and is also the skilled use of reason.”
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​Therefore, we can conclude that someone who is Intelligent is capable of learning, has the capacity for understanding, applies reason and logic, deals with new situations around them, is self-awareness, has emotional knowledge, and has the capacity for problem-solving, creativity, and planning.

Intelligence is something you have or don’t have and cannot be taught. It is based on the speed with which your brain makes connections, how easily you understand emotions, and how your memory and memory retrieval system works.
​

In terms of measure on intellect, intelligence is a higher level than smart. While the word also suggests a higher level of education and more exposure to learning, that isn’t necessarily true. People can be highly intelligent without being educated.

However, within today’s education systems, one assumes there is a certain amount of intelligence required to complete courses at an institution of higher learning.
                                                                                                   
Source of Chart: http://pediaa.com/difference-between-smart-and-intelligent/
Intelligence is a gift of nature.

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INTELLIGENT VS. KNOWLEDGEABLE
The experts seem to agree that Intelligence refers to one’s potential to acquire and apply knowledge. Knowledge refers to information and facts, as well as skills, that one acquires through either education or experience undertaking a certain task; the understanding related to a specific subject. Knowledge forms its existence around an idea, statement, or event, and is, therefore, contextual. I again called on Merriam-Webster for the definition of Knowledge.
      1.a. The fact/condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association;
              acquaintance with or understanding of a science, art, or technique.
      1.b. The fact/condition of being aware of something; the range of one's information or understanding.
      1.c. The circumstance/condition of apprehending truth/fact through reasoning.
      1.d. The fact/condition of having information or of being learned.

Because intelligence is linked to one’s capabilities more than to what and how much a person knows, I see a strong relationship between being smart and being knowledgeable. Both require accumulating information and skills through study, learning and, in the case of skills, practice. Neither one is a gift of genetics.
​
It is important to remember that intelligence is not necessarily linked to the morals of an individual. Many criminals are highly intelligent and use their intelligence to break the law. Also, intelligence is not tied to memory. Intelligent people can have poor memories.

Source of Chart: http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-intelligence-and-knowledge/

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DifferenceBetween.net points out characteristics of knowledge as:
     “Beneficial only if applied.”
     “Its values may change over time.”
     “Developed through a learning process.”
     “Knowledge is dynamic.”
     “Depends on memory, expertise, exposure, past
     experiences, opportunities, and the transfer mechanisms.”


The difference between intelligence and knowledge is that the former, Intelligence, is inborn and unique to each individual. Knowledge is acquired through experience, training, books, practice, materials, and research and is an ongoing process.
​

Knowledge can be the same in different people.

​INTELLIGENT VS. EDUCATED
Merriam-Webster lets me down on this one. Educated is defined as “having an education.” Well, yes. That’s correct, and I can’t argue with it, but I really hate it when a word is used to define itself.
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The dictionary goes on to indicate as secondary definitions, “having an education beyond the average”, “giving evidence of training or practice”, and “based on some knowledge of fact.”
​
I see the condition of being educated similar to acquiring knowledge by studying and learning, so I’m going to use Knowledgeable/Educated even though there may be subtle differences.

INTELLIGENT VS. WISE
Intelligence and wisdom are abstract concepts and difficult to comprehend, and they are both attributes of the mind that inevitably cross paths. Unless you were raised by wolves in the deepest forest, and probably even then, it’s impossible to imagine an intelligent person living an entire lifetime without gaining some wisdom.

​Although the terms are sometime used interchangeably, there are clear observable differences linked to the way the brain operates on a lower and upper level. The lower level of the mind is highly rational and predominantly concerned with our immediate environment. The upper level of the mind, in contrast, engages in higher order thinking by connecting knowledge from mental, emotional, and physical experiences. Lower-level and higher-level thinking are
inked to intelligence and wisdom respectively. 
Source: http://www.differencebetween.net/language/differences-between-intelligence-and-wisdom/ 
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Don’t get me wrong. Being an intelligent person does not necessarily mean that you are a wise person. Intelligence holds the potential to manifest into wisdom over a long period of time, substantiating why we tend to associate wisdom with the elderly. [I know from my own experience, you can be intelligent and still not be wise.]

Characteristically, wisdom is the ability to determine the truth and validity of accumulated knowledge which usually comes from undergoing negative and positive experiences that develop one’s values and moral compass. Therefore, wisdom is the pairing of one’s accumulated knowledge and the capability to synthesize this knowledge using their moral understanding of the world.


Although wise people often have a personal growth’ mentality, a characteristic of most spiritual and religious practices, neither intelligence nor wisdom is tied to spirituality just as it is independent of moral grounding.

Experts indicate it is impossible to be exclusively wise or exclusively intelligent. Most people will exhibit characteristics of both, often within different areas of interest, and both affect how a person engages with their immediate physical environment. Wise people often relate to the world by understanding the variation of possibilities and opportunities that contribute to obtaining knowledge.

A wise individual is often self-aware and a firm believer in striving for what that individual believes is right.

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BE SMART ABOUT SAYING “SMART”
Ian, at ian@byrdseed.com asks us – begs, maybe – to ditch the word Smart, because it’s too vague, and give compliments to children in particular, and others, based on specifics. He suggests praise like:
     “You made an unexpected connection!”
  •                           “You understood that very quickly.”
  •                           “You used some information that no one else knew!”
  •                           “You noticed something that I didn’t notice.”
  •                           “You explained that idea so clearly, a five year old could understand it.”
Further, he writes that “if it’s easy, don’t call it Smart.”□
 

Sources:
https://www.byrdseed.com/what-is-smart/
https://www.byrdseed.com/the-burden-of-being-called-smart/?icn=srs
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100101144308AAz1haK
http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-smart-and-intelligent/
http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-intelligence-and-knowledge/
http://www.differencebetween.net/language/differences-between-intelligence-and-wisdom/
pediaa.com/difference-between-smart-and-clever/
https://www.englishforums.com/English/IntelligentVsSmart/vqhmr/post.htm
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/what-does-being-smart-really-mean
https://cathcart.com/media-press/motivation-articles/7-intelligences-what-does-it-mean-to-be-smart/
http://pediaa.com/difference-between-smart-and-intelligent/


 

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ARE WE ON VENUS YET? Other-worldly Relics of WWII

4/5/2019

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Not long ago, I was involved in a discussion about how much more the British seem to know about American history than Americans know about British history, particularly contemporary events. Whether or not that’s true, it made me think of some surprises I had in England, and what I learned about British history that I never heard in school.

If you follow my blogs, you know I like to write about the unusual; things which don’t seem to be common knowledge among my peers. I’m not super interested in knowing what someone is cooking for dinner or what happened on the way to the kid’s soccer practice, and I'm not going there.

​
What I want to know is who built these towers in the ocean and why? And why have they been left to fall into ruin?
Picture
Photo by  Steve Cadman / Flickr (CC) Photo Source:https://explorethearchive.com/maunsell-sea-forts

​THE MAUNSELL SEA FORTS: A SHORT BUT BUSY LIFE
No, this has nothing to do with Venus, although this does appear other-worldly, like something out of Star Wars.

These bizarre-looking structures were erected off shore on the Thames estuary, England, and were named after the civil engineer who designed them, Guy Maunsell. They were born in the early 1940s during WWII as part of the United Kingdom’s defenses. They were operated by the British army and navy and, having served their purpose, were decommissioned in 1958, abandoned in the early 1960's, and left to die a slow, lonesome death surrounded by the North Sea. A
few were destroyed in collisions with ships. Of the original seven, only three survive. Although most of the actual forts may be gone but the design of contemporary oil platforms is largely based on Maunsell’s ingenuity.


Two types of fort – army and navy -- were built on the coast and moved, virtually intact, to carefully chosen spots guaranteed to provide maximum protection. Innovative in concept and design, they were also heavily armed.
Shivering Sands Army Fort - Photo source:                      Red Sands Army Fort - Photo source:                          Locations of the seven Maunsell Forts - Photo source
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shivering_Sands_Army_Fort          gizmodo.com/exploring-abandoned-sea-forts               en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maunsell_Forts
                       
NAVAL FORTS
​
Four naval-style forts, operated by the Royal Navy -- named Rough Sands, Sunk Head, Tongue Sands, and Knock John – were placed off-shore near the Thames Estuary. The intent was to guard against bombers, report German air raids, and prevent enemy aircraft laying mines in this vital shipping channel.     Picture credit: http://harwich-society.co.uk/old/info_rough_towers.htm

                                                                                                                                        Photo source: web.archive.org/web/20140818011956/harwich-society.co.uk 
Picture
The platform base of a naval station was fixed to the sea bed and consisted of a 168’ by 88’ platform for a superstructure 60 feet tall. The pontoon base supports two giant pillars 24’ high. Each pillar had seven floors for crew housing, dining, operational areas, storage for fresh water, generators, and munitions.

The towers were joined above the waterline by a steel platform which sustained living spaces, officers’ quarters, galley, medical office, and a gun/radar tower. Supplies were lifted from ships onto a steel landing platform by a crane. Knock John Fort was manned by around 100 men and was self sufficient for a month. The platform base of a naval station was fixed to the sea bed and consisted of a 168’ by 88’ platform for a superstructure 60 feet tall. The pontoon base is supports two giant pillars 24’ high.

Each pillar had seven floors for crew housing, dining, operational areas, storage for fresh water, generators, and munitions.The towers were joined above the waterline by a steel platform which sustained living spaces, officers’ quarters, galley, medical office, and a gun/radar tower. Supplies were lifted from ships onto a steel landing platform by a crane. Knock John Fort was manned by around 100 men and was self sufficient for a month.

      Naval style Fort  - Photo source:                                Fort Tongue 1992 – Totally collapsed in 1996 all that remains is a single 18 foot stump
   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maunsell_Forts  
                 of the Southern  - Photo source:
/www.bobleroi.co.uk/ScrapBook/ 
Picture
Picture
​One of the survivors, Fort Roughs [photos right], was taken over in 1967 by Paddy Roy Bates and his family [by ousting a pirate radio station], and self-proclaiming it as an independent nation. 

tos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand                       Ryan Lackey - originally posted to Flickr as sealand-sky  Link to License:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand                                              
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand

Although Bates tried to have the Principality of Sealand recognized officially and legally, it is not accepted by anybody and legally lies within the territorial waters of the United Kingdom. Bates later moved to Suffolk, and in 2012, before he died at 91, he named his son as regent. The statement about the legal status on the site is as follows.
 
“The forts were abandoned in the early 1950’s and, due to their illegal construction in international waters in a time of world crisis, they should been destroyed to comply with international law. Except for the aforementioned fortress [Fort Roughs], similarly located fortresses were subsequently pulled down. The result of this was the portentous uniqueness of the fortress. Fort Roughs Tower, situated on the high seas, had been deserted and abandoned, res derelicta and terra nullius. From a legal point of view, it therefore constituted extra-national territory.”
https://www.sealandgov.org/

The Principality of Sealand has a website, and at the online gift shop you one purchase Sealand stamps, passport, T-shirts … even a knighthood.
ARMY FORTS
The Army forts had a more complicated design, comprising separate platforms linked by catwalks and carrying more guns than their naval counterparts. Each fort consisted of a central control tower linked to six satellites. The thirty fot towers took eight weeks to build but could be put in position in less than eight hours.
Army Style Fort when in use                                             Forts under construction on shore                                    Alignment of Army Fort  
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maunsell_Forts                               Public Domain                                                                   
www.bobleroi.co.uk/TongueTower/
The Red Sands army fort is made up of seven forts that were linked by walkways. There is an on-going effort to restore the Red Sands army forts because they are considered to be in the best condition. During its short life, Red Sands shot down 22 Nazi warplanes, more than 30 V1 flying bombs, and sunk one submarine. Later, in the 1960‘s pirate radio stations operated from the Fort, “transmitting pop hits deemed too risqué for Britain's then-monopoly broadcaster the BBC.” Peter Shadbolt, for CNN
 
WHERE HAVE ALL THE TOURISTS GONE?

In the early 2000’s a consortium called Project Redsands was planning to conserve the fort situated at Red Sands. In the summers of 2007 and 2008 Red Sands Radio, a station commemorating the pirate radio stations of the 1960s, operated from the Red Sands fort on 28-day Restricted Service Licenses. The fort was subsequently declared unsafe, and Red Sands Radio has moved its operations ashore.
                                                                                                              
Photo source: http://x-pilot.co.uk/supporting-project-redsand/ 
Picture
In 2015 there was a serious proposal to turn the towers into a luxury hotel. The forts themselves have no owners but Crown Estates – which manages all land under the control of the British sovereign – owns the seabed and any construction would require their permission.

Alan Harmer, part of Project Redsands, the registered charity that maintains the site, said interest for charter tours of the forts from German and Japanese tourists was particularly strong. "We've always had ideas to turn it into some type of accommodation and while this latest proposal seems a bit extreme -- I'm not sure it will turn out exactly as proposed -- it's always been something we've had on the cards. It seems the world is interested in these forts." www.cnn.com/travel/article/red-sands-sea-forts
As far as I could find out, four years later, nothing has happened.□

Photo Courtesy Aros Architects, London
Source: www.cnn.com/travel/article/red-sands-sea-forts

Picture
Sources:
http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/military-history/world-war-two/art528082-hotel-plan-could-save-world-war-two-redsand-forts-off-kent-coast
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maunsell_Forts
https://explorethearchive.com/maunsell-sea-forts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand
https://maunsellseaforts.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand
https://russ.garrett.co.uk/2011/08/21/red-sands-sea-fort/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shivering_Sands_Army_Fort
https://twistedsifter.com/2012/10/maunsell-sea-forts-and-towers-wwii/
http://www.bobleroi.co.uk/ScrapBook/TongueTower/TongueTower.html
http://gizmodo.com/exploring-the-amazing-abandoned-sea-forts-of-world-war-512874771
http://www.gulbekian.plus.com/knockjohnhistory.html
https://www.sealandgov.org/
https://www.discoveringbritain.org/activities/east-of-england/aerial-2/britain-from-the-air-redsands-sea-fort.html
Photos:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maunsell_Forts#/media/File:The_Royal_Navy_during_the_Second_World_War_A26878.jpg
ontheworldmap.com/north-sea/


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maunsell_Forts#/media/File:Fortlocations.gif
Royal Navy official photographer - http://media.iwm.org.uk/iwm/mediaLib//31/media-31026/large.jpg This is photograph A 26878 from the collections of the Imperial War Museums
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIYNJ3Lwftg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand#/media/File:Sealand-sky_(cropped).jpg
http://www.bobleroi.co.uk/ScrapBook/TongueTower/TongueTower.html
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Royal_Navy_during_the_Second_World_War_A13259.jpg
http://harwich-society.co.uk/old/info_rough_towers.htm                                                                                                 


Sources:
http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/military-history/world-war-two/art528082-hotel-plan-could-save-world-war-two-redsand-forts-off-kent-coast





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maunsell_Forts
https://explorethearchive.com/maunsell-sea-forts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand
http://www.bobleroi.co.uk/ScrapBook/TongueTower/TongueTower.html
https://maunsellseaforts.com/
https://russ.garrett.co.uk/2011/08/21/red-sands-sea-fort/
http://gizmodo.com/exploring-the-amazing-abandoned-sea-forts-of-world-war-512874771
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shivering_Sands_Army_Fort
https://twistedsifter.com/2012/10/maunsell-sea-forts-and-towers-wwii/
Photos
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maunsell_Forts#/media/File:The_Royal_Navy_during_the_Second_World_War_A26878.jpg
ontheworldmap.com/north-sea/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maunsell_Forts#/media/File:Fortlocations.gif
Royal Navy official photographer - http://media.iwm.org.uk/iwm/mediaLib//31/media-31026/large.jpg This is photograph A 26878 from the collections of the Imperial War Museums
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIYNJ3Lwftg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand#/media/File:Sealand-sky_(cropped).jpg
http://www.bobleroi.co.uk/ScrapBook/TongueTower/TongueTower.html
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Royal_Navy_during_the_Second_World_War_A13259.jpg


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    Author R. Ann Siracusa

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