Wishing a happy and healthy 2015 to everyone.
i was fortunate to spend quite a lot of time hanging out with my Dad this holiday season, and i hope everyone had as good a time on their own holiday. i was walking through the O'Hare airport yesterday (my connection included a completely-across-the-airport walk, which would've been great had i'd known that my 30 minute layover would be a 2 hour delay instead), and noted that Starbucks was marketing a 'Flat White'. Turns out, it wasn't just an airport-centric nod to Australia (and/or New Zealand, given the minor controversy over where that beverage originated), but this marketing is a nationwide thing. A flat white, btw, is a shot of espresso to which microfoam milk has been added (not frothed to the extent of a latte).
My parents and i passed around a scratch-off lottery ticket after dinner the other night (none of us wanted to scratch off the entire thing, due to typical lack-of-luck), and i was curious what makes up the scratchable silvery stuff. Looking into it, the best documented answer comes from this site; " The
production of scratch-off tickets is a two-step process - a
substrate is covered by a thick, smooth layer of UV ink coating, and
then printed with a special 'scratch-off' black/silver UV ink
(scratch-off inks can sometimes be solvent-based). An optional
third step could involve printing text or images over the scratch-off
area, with yet another type of UV ink. " i like how everyone is quick to reassure folks that it's nontoxic.
While kicking around the internet a few days ago, i came across this really neat article entitled "Carmex president pulls out all the stops with theater organ'. (How can you resist a title like that?!) Turns out, Carmex is manufactured in Milwaukee, and the president and his dad are organ fans. They noticed that their warehouse has awesome acoustics, and decided to install an organ for folks to come in and play. i also recommend watching the video associated with that article.
i spent a lot of time over the break addressing the recent flu outbreak (in 43 states!) - it's an interesting time to be a virologist. In brief, No, the vaccine strain is not a perfect match but it'll still provide some protection (everyone one i know who got vaccinated had one really bad day, versus the 3-ish bad days that unvaccinated folks had), you're contagious from 5-7 days (though some will be contagious longer), including the day before you display symptoms, and if you know you have it (in you have minor symptoms or you're caring for an ill loved one), Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and Zanamivir (Relenza) are what will be prescribed to you. They're neuraminidase inhibitors, which means that it prevents progeny viruses from getting out of an infected cell and spreading to other cells. (This is not intended as medical advice; please consult your medical practitioner if you have the flu.)
i came across the phrase 'mot juste' the other day (having used 'bon mot' the day before, it caught my eye). Mot juste can be defined as the 'exact, perfect word' used in application, for instance, a speech, paper, or argument. i rarely have any verbal mots juste.
From my labmate today, here's an article
about a chocolate 3D printer called the 'CocoJet'. (i appreciate that
they acknowledge that white chocolate is not really chocolate.)
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