| Pancakes on Wednesdays 
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Welcome to Pancakes on Wednesdays. Wednesday, January 14, 2004 |
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Here is an amalgamation of trivial facts and seemingly useless data. Do not forget to hit the hyperlinks. We have links, lots of them. 
From the Radixionary |
| SOPHROSYNE |
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Soundness of mind, moderation, prudence, self-control. The Greeks had a word for it, at least classical Greeks like Plato did. Translating the idea into English, however, has always posed a difficulty, since we don’t have one word that summarizes his ideal of excellence of character and soundness of mind combined in one well-balanced individual. He defined it as “the agreement of the passions that Reason should rule”. It’s usually translated as temperance, moderation, prudence, self-control, or self-restraint. The idea of this harmonious balance is the basis of two famous Greek sayings: “nothing in excess” and “know thyself”—it’s the exact opposite of arrogant self-assertion or hubris. The word has only appeared in English within the past sixty years (W H Auden used it in 1944) but it has resonated with some moderns because the idea is quite close to that of wholeness. Note the word has four syllables, not three. It derives from Greek sophron, of sound mind, prudent. |
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A poem about Pancakes
by Jonathan Keiper
As I stood in the kitchen,
A pioneer in new lands.
My new friend, Mr. Teflon
Introduced and shook hands. Saddled up my white apron,
And donned my cooking face.
Like a knight going to battle,
My spatula was my mace. Jug of milk, three cups flour;
Break two eggs, gently beat;
Baking soda, butter, sugar;
Mix the batch and add some heat. Pour the batter on the stove.
Not too much - Just a drop!
Watch it spread, cook, and bubble.
Flap the jacks, flip and flop. Crispy edges, moistened middle,
Golden brown, spher-i-cal;
Soft as butter, light as air.
Silver dollar mir-a-cle! Berries: blue, black, or straw;
Chocolate chips, pecan nuts;
Apples, peaches, banana raisins,
Topping King, the "Breakfast Muts." Maple syrup, sticky sweet!
Drown my precious in your lake.
Early morning, late at night,
How I love thee, Pancake! |
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Happy Birthday Benedict Arnold 1741 "...By rendering a cardinal service to the British, he might hope to attain a position of such eminence as to conduct these negotiations, end the war, and restore America to her old allegiance, with her freedom from parliamentary control guaranteed. In order to realize these ambitious dreams, Arnold resorted to the blackest treachery. In July, 1780, he sought and obtained command of West Point in order to surrender it to the enemy. When his scheme was detected by the timely capture of Andre, he fled to tile British at New York, a disgraced and hated traitor...." 
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Gordon Lightfoot Love and Maple Syrup Love and maple syrup goes together
Like the sticky winds of winter when they meet
When lonely lovers come to rest
Beneath the trees they do their best
But still they can't be free
Looking for the world to be
Anything but what they see
Longing to be understood
By the heart that shapes the wood
If you go into the forest, gaze up through the leaves
And see the sky that's almost wild
You must learn to understand
What makes the forest greet the man
Like a mother's only child
In the north when when winter's claw
Relaxes now to keep the laws of nature in control
People come and stand in line
To rob the forest of her wine
But they don't feel the cold
Looking for the world to be
Anything but what they see
Longing to be understood
By the heart that shapes the wood
Love and maple syrup goes together
Like the sticky winds of winter when they meet
When lonely lovers come to rest
Beneath the trees they do their best
But still they can't be free
Love and maple syrup shine like
Embers warm, like thoughts divine
They tell us it is spring
Love and maple syrup stir
The thoughts of people into words
Of songs that they can sing
Looking for the world to be
Anything but what they see
Longing to be understood
By the heart that shapes the wood |
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Happy BirthdayHenri Fantin-Latour 1836 French Realist Painter Fantin-Latour, Henri (1836-1904). French painter and lithographer. He is best known for his luxurious flower pieces, but he also painted several group portraits that are important historical documents and show his friendship with leading avant-garde artists. 
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A man was caught for speeding and went before the judge.
The judge said, "What'll it be....30 days or $30."
The man replied, "I think I'll take the money." |
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Happy BirthdayAlbert Schweitzer 1875 Albert Schweitzer (January 14, 1875-September 4, 1965) was born into an Alsatian family which for generations had been devoted to religion, music, and education. Schweitzer's Struggle to Find Life's Meaning ...  |
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Pancake Puzzle You must help the pancake chef! He's desperately trying to sort his pancakes by size. How many flips will it take? 
Solution below via link |
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Happy Birthday Jack Jones 1938 
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Happy Birthday Allen Toussaint 1938 
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Happy BirthdayJulian Bond 1940 From his student days to his current Chairmanship of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Julian Bond has been an active participant in the movements for civil rights, economic justice.
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For a given N, what is the least number of flips with which you can guarantee that you will correctly sort the stack? For every N, for every initial position, can it be done in N flips? How many flips could be required for a given N and the worst possible initial position?
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we are counting lottery number possibilities It is all about permutations and combinations. |
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Happy Birthday Faye Dunaway 1941 
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Todays Wednesday field trip takes us to Area 51. |
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I AM AN EXCELLENT SOPHROSYNIST |
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Would you like some Quarks with your pancakes? Quarks are fundamental matter particles that are constituents of neutrons and protons and other hadrons. There are six different types of quarks. Each quark type is called a flavor . 
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Don't forget the Maple Syrup 
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We are counting cards 
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I am an excellent driver 
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| On this day: 1960 - Elvis Presley was promoted to Sergeant in the U.S. Army. 
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On this day: 1954 - Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio were married. The marriage only lasted nine months. 
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18 uses for Toothpicks 18 is not a prime number 18 is the sum of two cubes The square root of 18 is 4.2426406
Apply glue.
Dip one end of a toothpick into the glue to apply small drops. Improvise a bookmark.
Keep your place with a toothpick. Plug small nail or thumbtack holes in wood.
Dip the end of a toothpick in glue, insert into the hole, slice flush with a single-edge razor blade, sand smooth, and refinish the wood. Decorate cake frosting with ease.
Use a toothpick to draw your design on the cake, then squeeze the frosting over your lines. Paint small crevices or repair scratches in furniture.
Dip a toothpick in paint to retouch fine scratches or reach small nooks and crannies Root a potato or avocado.
Securely insert four toothpicks equidistantly around the equator of the potato or avocado. (You can use a nail to punch starter holes in the avocado.) Fill a glass with water, set the potato or avocado in the glass so the toothpicks allow only the bottom half of the potato or avocado to sit in the water. Place the glass on a window ledge to get sunlight. When roots and shoots appear, pot the plant in soil. Repair broken eyeglasses temporarily.
If you lose a screw from your eyeglasses, substitute a toothpick in its place until you can get it fixed properly. Mark the starting point of a roll of masking tape or packaging tape.
Stick a toothpick under the lose end of the tape so you can find it easily the next time you use the tape. Clean tight crevices.
Dip a toothpick in alcohol to clean tight spaces Make a garlic clove easy to handle.
Stick a toothpick into a clove of garlic before tossing it into a marinade, so you can remove it easily. Give a broken plant stem first aid.
Make a splint with a toothpick and Scotch Tape. Identify rare, medium, and well-done steaks on your barbecue grill.
Use colored toothpicks to mark steaks on the barbecue. Cook sausages with ease.
Use two toothpicks to skewer two or three sausages together to make them easier to turn and brown evenly. Tighten a loose screw.
Insert a toothpick into the screw hole, break it off at the surface, and rescrew the screw. Push fabrics through the pressure foot of a sewing machine.
Use a toothpick to free fabric that gets stuck under the pressure foot. Determine whether a cake is baked.
Insert a toothpick in the center of the cake and remove. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready. Clean a dog brush.
Run a toothpick through the rows of bristles. Repair a pinhole in a garden hose temporarily.
Insert a toothpick into the hole, snap it off flush with the hose¹s outer skin, then wrap Scotch Mailing Tape around the spot. The wood toothpick will absorb water, swelling to seal the hole.
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We are counting cards.
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| 1973 - The Miami Dolphins defeated the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII and became the first NFL team to go undefeated in a season. Whether or not they are the greatest team of all time is debatable, but this accomplishment stands out as the greatest ever. Seventeen wins, no losses, and a Super Bowl championship put the Dolphins on a plane that has yet to be reached by any other NFL team.  
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On this day: 1986 - "Rambo: First Blood, Part II" arrived at video stores. It broke the record set by "Ghostbusters", for first day orders. 435,000 copies of the video were sold. 
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| Pancakes Wednesdays |
| Definitely |
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