Odds and Ends

Now that summer is over and fall is starting to get into full swing, I'm looking through my desk doing some fall cleanup and finding little interesting stories I've collected the last few weeks. Nothing really to make a whole post over individually, but interesting none the less. So, I present some "Odds and Ends", which you may or may not have missed.



Miss Piggy Goes To Washington

In celebration of Jim Henson's 77th birthday, his daughter Cheryl Henson and other family members have donated over 20 puppets and props to the National Museum of American History. The new collection includes early versions of  Miss Piggy-- Kermit the Frog's girlfriend--among other characters such as Gonzo, Rowlf the Dog, and several Muppets from Sesame Street including Count Von Count and Bert and Ernie.

The announcement included a photo shoot in Smithsonian Magazine, in which Miss Piggy wore a silver evening gown, and posed with Dorothy's ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz" and the real Hope Diamond.



Who Knew? Gates Hates Ctrl-Alt-Del

Well, hate is a bit of a strong word, but he certainly thinks it was a mistake. Speaking at a Harvard fundraiser for his foundation on Sept 26th, Microsoft founder Bill Gates says that he wanted a single-key solution for rebooting a PC,  but "the guy who gave us our IBM keyboard design," referring to IBM engineer David Bradley, "wouldn't give it to us."

Bradley, for his part, says that he invented what Gates calls the "three-fingered salute" because it is too easy to accidentally bump the left side of the keyboard and reboot by mistake. Since Ctrl-Alt-Del has to be typed with both hands, this problem is eliminated.

In any case, Gates is proud of the work the two companies did together. And Ctrl-Alt-Del is one of those things Gates made famous.


Potter Revisited

In mid September, JK Rowling announced she is working on her first movie script, based on the Harry Potter-related book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The spinoff book, written by a character called Newt Scamander, was one of Potter's textbooks at Hogwarts.

The movie's plot will feature Newt's story, and will take place in New York 70 years before the start of Harry's story.

"I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it," said Rowling.


Earthquake Island

After an earthquake off the coast of Pakistan on Sept 24th, a mud island appeared out of nowhere.

Scientists believe the island is a result of the eruption of a "mud volcano", which erupted as the earthquake released trapped gasses.

Based on the history of previous such events, the island should not last more than a year, as erosion from monsoon waves washes it away.



For my chemist friends.....

I'll end with a joke....


Two chemists walk into a bar. The first guy says, "I'll have a glass of H-2-O".

Second guy says, "I'll have a glass of H-2-O, too."

Second guy dies.

An encore for my physicist friends.....

Heisenberg gets pulled over.

Cop says, "Do you know how fast you were going?"

"No," says Heisenberg, "But I know where I am."