From the Internet:
It is not really accurate that the keys on a QWERTY keyboard are set out based on how much letters are used. It is an old format that dates back to the 1870's. It was created by a gentleman named Christopher Latham Scholes, a newspaper editor who sought to arrange a keyboard in a way that keys on a typewriter keyboard would not jam. Typewriter letters were arranged on big metal bars that would jam up on early models because they would strike against each other if they were in close proximity to each other.
To that end, Scholes actually arranged the keys based on LESS probable word combinations, not most probable. So, for example, in typing the word "the", although the T, H, and E are fairly close to one another, they are arranged so that on an old typewriter, the metal bars that held the inked letter, that would strike the page, would not smack into one another and cause jams.
The popular theory behind QWERTY is that the English language makes the most use of the letters in the middle of the "home row" and less use of the letters at the ends of the keyboard. That is not exactly true. The wisdom behind the QWERTY keyboard was to actually SEPARATE letters that frequently appear together in words, so that their keys would not hit against each other and cause keys to jam. After many years, people got so used to the QWERTY keyboard that we have yet to change over from it, although superior typing models have been introduced.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Gone With The Passing Of The Wind
Tonight we attended a fabulous fund raiser for the Penguin Project, which gives handicapped children a chance to act in a play.
The 200-person event was hosted in a ballroom of the new Mariott hotel in uptown Normal, just a stone's throw away from the hotel's restaurant that we dined in last week. The food was just as delicious as before, even more so in fact. Juicy steak chops, chicken breasts and potatoes, finished off by a slice of cake so rich that I may be giving Dena chocolate kisses for a week.
This was a murder mystery dinner theater featuring two professional actors and a couple of costume changes. Various guests had also been handed scripts with modest speaking parts and, in the case of the person playing the pregnant woman, a few props. The plot itself was adequate, and the mystery somewhat less than riveting, but the actors were fun and much appreciated for traveling such a long way.
Dinner was served during the intermission, and 50/50 tickets were sold up to a $591 pot. It was also a good time to peruse the twenty or so silent auction items, including a 12-seater suite for the men's NCAA basketball championship game. But we passed the time bonding with our good friends Rosann Diedrich, Julie Marcy, and Chad and Miranda Kemp.
I'm sure that the event raised plenty of money for the fortunate children. And I'm especially happy for Dena, whose graphic design skills were put to maximum use in designing the program and coordinating various other niceties. What a terrific use of life, and exciting way to kick off the weekend!
The 200-person event was hosted in a ballroom of the new Mariott hotel in uptown Normal, just a stone's throw away from the hotel's restaurant that we dined in last week. The food was just as delicious as before, even more so in fact. Juicy steak chops, chicken breasts and potatoes, finished off by a slice of cake so rich that I may be giving Dena chocolate kisses for a week.
This was a murder mystery dinner theater featuring two professional actors and a couple of costume changes. Various guests had also been handed scripts with modest speaking parts and, in the case of the person playing the pregnant woman, a few props. The plot itself was adequate, and the mystery somewhat less than riveting, but the actors were fun and much appreciated for traveling such a long way.
Dinner was served during the intermission, and 50/50 tickets were sold up to a $591 pot. It was also a good time to peruse the twenty or so silent auction items, including a 12-seater suite for the men's NCAA basketball championship game. But we passed the time bonding with our good friends Rosann Diedrich, Julie Marcy, and Chad and Miranda Kemp.
I'm sure that the event raised plenty of money for the fortunate children. And I'm especially happy for Dena, whose graphic design skills were put to maximum use in designing the program and coordinating various other niceties. What a terrific use of life, and exciting way to kick off the weekend!
Dr. Friendly on Sports
Dr. Friendly is a non-certified medical amateur, whose advice column appears exclusively in Hidden Blog.
Dear Dr. Friendly,
My son's lacrosse coach is such a first class bum!
All Timmy's life he's been the go-to guy on his teams. His skills with that stick-thing are better than anyone else. When he gets the ball in that scoopy part of the stick-thing, no one can get it away from him. He may be a little slow, sure, but he's going to grow out of that, any coach can see that. Come on. Sure, he only catches a few passes in the games that are thrown his way, and when he whips the little ball toward the net-man it usually bounces off someone's head or into the stands. Who's perfect?
He always gotten more playing time than his buddy Skip. And now Skip's on the senior team. And Timmy's on the bench, whining and complaining. And why not? His teammates chew him out all the time. Can't Coach Monkeybrains see Timmy's leadership skills? Every day it gets harder for him to put on that facemasked helmet and matching shorts with the same joy that he used to. If the coach isn't careful, he's gonna lose him, and have to find someone else to replace those two goals and one assist. How do you get through to a guy who just doesn't see the obvious?
Driven Dad
Dear Dad,
If I knew, I'd write a longer response. Winners change themselves. Losers try to change others.
Dear Dr. Friendly,
My son's lacrosse coach is such a first class bum!
All Timmy's life he's been the go-to guy on his teams. His skills with that stick-thing are better than anyone else. When he gets the ball in that scoopy part of the stick-thing, no one can get it away from him. He may be a little slow, sure, but he's going to grow out of that, any coach can see that. Come on. Sure, he only catches a few passes in the games that are thrown his way, and when he whips the little ball toward the net-man it usually bounces off someone's head or into the stands. Who's perfect?
He always gotten more playing time than his buddy Skip. And now Skip's on the senior team. And Timmy's on the bench, whining and complaining. And why not? His teammates chew him out all the time. Can't Coach Monkeybrains see Timmy's leadership skills? Every day it gets harder for him to put on that facemasked helmet and matching shorts with the same joy that he used to. If the coach isn't careful, he's gonna lose him, and have to find someone else to replace those two goals and one assist. How do you get through to a guy who just doesn't see the obvious?
Driven Dad
Dear Dad,
If I knew, I'd write a longer response. Winners change themselves. Losers try to change others.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
SAC 30th Year Reunion
I'm hoping that my ISU Facebook friends will see this one and let me know if they're going. This just in via e-mail, from one of my favorite clubs during my ISU days:
------------------------------
30th Anniversary Student Alumni Council Reunion
Save the date: Saturday, April 24–Sunday, April 25, 2010
A lot has changed and yet stayed the same since the founding of Student Alumni Council (SAC) in 1979. Please join us for a weekend of memories and fun with SAC alumni and current members. We hope you and your family will be able to join us.
Formal invitation and schedule of events to follow.
------------------------------
30th Anniversary Student Alumni Council Reunion
Save the date: Saturday, April 24–Sunday, April 25, 2010
A lot has changed and yet stayed the same since the founding of Student Alumni Council (SAC) in 1979. Please join us for a weekend of memories and fun with SAC alumni and current members. We hope you and your family will be able to join us.
Formal invitation and schedule of events to follow.
Election Judging
The primary elections were yesterday, and with it the increasingly familiar 16-hour work day that is election judging.
This was my third time manning the tables for my home precinct Normal 04, over at New Beginnings Church (which has changed in name just about every time I've been there and, incidentally, is the church where Dena and I were married).
The day usually kicks off with a 4 a.m. wake-up. Hidden Bloggers are shocked that I would do anything which includes this requirement, as my idea of sleeping in is 11:00 a.m. and of early rising is 7:00. But the sense of serving country (not for free, mind you, but $145 - a bit under ten bucks an hour) and the variety from the normal work week are enough to raise me with groggy enthusiasm.
I'm starting to understand why people do this for decades, especially in a fairly sleepy precinct like ours. The small fellowship hall houses two precincts' polling places, including Normal 05. Out of 784 listed eligible voters from our precinct, 206 made the trip to see us. That overall pace of one voter every five minutes plays out in reality as stretches of librarian quiet and three or four bursts of grocery store bustle around breakfast, lunch and dinner. It allows plenty of time to do some private reading/paperwork, to bond with fellow judges, and possibly even to take a step out of the room for a midday power nap.
The first hour is a dash of foggy-brained efficiency, clearing our eyes when the doors open at 5 a.m. to squint at the twenty-step checklist and prepare all stations for the polls to open. Of the five judges, one verifies the voter's name against a list, two more obtain voter signature and record their presence (including, for primaries, which party's ballot they'd like to complete). A fourth provides and explains the ballot and voting process.
The fifth judge's spot is usually the easiest - check to make sure the ballot is real and not snuck in somehow, and then assist (i.e. watch) the voter slide it into the automatic counting machine. But a new law this year was determined to prevent people from accidentally failing to vote for all the positions being contested. As a result, the voting machine initially rejects any ballot unless all races have been voted for. This had the desired effect of saving about 1% of voters from the outrage of not having their carelessness double-checked. Another 75% of voters actively chose to skip a race because there's only one candidate, or because neither candidate for Assistant to the 83rd District Council Chairman's Manicurist decided to do any campaigning. These folks gained a tiny and momentary psychological feeling of abject failure as the ballot disappeared smoothly into the slot and then spit out like tobasco from a toddler. In the next instant the election judge assured in a soothing voice (or for the hundredth voter, a blister-tongued rasp) that everything was fine as long as the skips were intentional. Unbeknownst to the voter, the judge also enjoyed a shuffle-sized electric mini-shock while re-inserting it. This might explain the absence of the nap.
This was Dena's first time as a judge, and she was assigned to work a different precinct. We both volunteered (as two judges must, from each precinct, one Democrat and one Republican) to drive the ballots to headquarters. The atmosphere in the waiting area, after depositing our materials and waiting for the collection team to inventory everything, had the festivity of a post-game tailgate. Slap-happy election judges from all across the county and age spectrum babbled like kindergartners munching on snacks during the last day of school. That unwinding time gave Dena and I time to trade stories of the fun day. At last the cheery and, by nature of her job, intensely popular woman stepped up front and announced which precincts were free to leave for the day. And two American patriots sped home for an early 10:00 bedtime!
This was my third time manning the tables for my home precinct Normal 04, over at New Beginnings Church (which has changed in name just about every time I've been there and, incidentally, is the church where Dena and I were married).
The day usually kicks off with a 4 a.m. wake-up. Hidden Bloggers are shocked that I would do anything which includes this requirement, as my idea of sleeping in is 11:00 a.m. and of early rising is 7:00. But the sense of serving country (not for free, mind you, but $145 - a bit under ten bucks an hour) and the variety from the normal work week are enough to raise me with groggy enthusiasm.
I'm starting to understand why people do this for decades, especially in a fairly sleepy precinct like ours. The small fellowship hall houses two precincts' polling places, including Normal 05. Out of 784 listed eligible voters from our precinct, 206 made the trip to see us. That overall pace of one voter every five minutes plays out in reality as stretches of librarian quiet and three or four bursts of grocery store bustle around breakfast, lunch and dinner. It allows plenty of time to do some private reading/paperwork, to bond with fellow judges, and possibly even to take a step out of the room for a midday power nap.
The first hour is a dash of foggy-brained efficiency, clearing our eyes when the doors open at 5 a.m. to squint at the twenty-step checklist and prepare all stations for the polls to open. Of the five judges, one verifies the voter's name against a list, two more obtain voter signature and record their presence (including, for primaries, which party's ballot they'd like to complete). A fourth provides and explains the ballot and voting process.
The fifth judge's spot is usually the easiest - check to make sure the ballot is real and not snuck in somehow, and then assist (i.e. watch) the voter slide it into the automatic counting machine. But a new law this year was determined to prevent people from accidentally failing to vote for all the positions being contested. As a result, the voting machine initially rejects any ballot unless all races have been voted for. This had the desired effect of saving about 1% of voters from the outrage of not having their carelessness double-checked. Another 75% of voters actively chose to skip a race because there's only one candidate, or because neither candidate for Assistant to the 83rd District Council Chairman's Manicurist decided to do any campaigning. These folks gained a tiny and momentary psychological feeling of abject failure as the ballot disappeared smoothly into the slot and then spit out like tobasco from a toddler. In the next instant the election judge assured in a soothing voice (or for the hundredth voter, a blister-tongued rasp) that everything was fine as long as the skips were intentional. Unbeknownst to the voter, the judge also enjoyed a shuffle-sized electric mini-shock while re-inserting it. This might explain the absence of the nap.
This was Dena's first time as a judge, and she was assigned to work a different precinct. We both volunteered (as two judges must, from each precinct, one Democrat and one Republican) to drive the ballots to headquarters. The atmosphere in the waiting area, after depositing our materials and waiting for the collection team to inventory everything, had the festivity of a post-game tailgate. Slap-happy election judges from all across the county and age spectrum babbled like kindergartners munching on snacks during the last day of school. That unwinding time gave Dena and I time to trade stories of the fun day. At last the cheery and, by nature of her job, intensely popular woman stepped up front and announced which precincts were free to leave for the day. And two American patriots sped home for an early 10:00 bedtime!
German Man Saved On Frozen Sea By Webcam Watcher
BERLIN – Watch the sunset, save a life.
A woman admiring the sunset on a tourist webcam in northern Germany spotted a man who was lost on the frozen North Sea and probably saved his life by alerting authorities, police said Wednesday.
The man had climbed over pack ice off the coast to photograph a sunset near the town of St. Peter-Ording, then became disoriented on the ice, Husum police spokeswoman Kristin Stielow said.
Unable to locate the beach, the man began using his camera to flash for help. That got the attention of a woman hundreds of miles (kilometers) away in southern Germany who was watching the sunset over the sea on her computer.
The woman contacted police, who located the man's signals and guided him into shore by flashing their car lights. Officers then lectured him on the dangers of trekking on the ice.
Police would not identify the man or the woman who spotted him. Stielow said he was a German tourist in his forties.
She said locals are well aware of the risk of disorientation as darkness falls and the beach becomes hard to identify, but vivid sunsets over frozen landscapes often draw people away from the shore.
At the time the man lost his bearings, the air temperature was below freezing. He could have frozen to death or fallen through the ice, Stielow added.
St. Peter-Ording is popular tourist destination known for its beaches and sailing, and the local tourism board runs a Web site with a webcam. The board, however, said images from the webcam are routinely erased and the dramatic flashes from the man's camera were not saved before the story came to light.
A woman admiring the sunset on a tourist webcam in northern Germany spotted a man who was lost on the frozen North Sea and probably saved his life by alerting authorities, police said Wednesday.
The man had climbed over pack ice off the coast to photograph a sunset near the town of St. Peter-Ording, then became disoriented on the ice, Husum police spokeswoman Kristin Stielow said.
Unable to locate the beach, the man began using his camera to flash for help. That got the attention of a woman hundreds of miles (kilometers) away in southern Germany who was watching the sunset over the sea on her computer.
The woman contacted police, who located the man's signals and guided him into shore by flashing their car lights. Officers then lectured him on the dangers of trekking on the ice.
Police would not identify the man or the woman who spotted him. Stielow said he was a German tourist in his forties.
She said locals are well aware of the risk of disorientation as darkness falls and the beach becomes hard to identify, but vivid sunsets over frozen landscapes often draw people away from the shore.
At the time the man lost his bearings, the air temperature was below freezing. He could have frozen to death or fallen through the ice, Stielow added.
St. Peter-Ording is popular tourist destination known for its beaches and sailing, and the local tourism board runs a Web site with a webcam. The board, however, said images from the webcam are routinely erased and the dramatic flashes from the man's camera were not saved before the story came to light.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Healthy Adults Sleep Less As They Age: Study
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Healthy older adults need less sleep than their younger counterparts and, even with less sleep under their nightcaps, are less likely to feel tired during the day, a study published Monday showed.
The time spent actually sleeping out of eight hours in bed declined progressively and significantly with age, the study published in SLEEP, the official journal of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society, said.
Older adults, aged 66-83, slept about 20 minutes less than middle-aged adults (40-55 years), who slept 23 minutes less than young adults aged 20-30, the study said.
The older adults woke up significantly more often and spent more time awake after initial sleep onset than younger adults.
Deep, or slow-wave sleep, thought to be the most restorative phase of sleep, decreased with age, the study said.
But although older adults slept less deeply and less overall, and their sleep was less continuous than their younger counterparts', they also showed less need for a quick kip during the day.
The study was conducted at the Clinical Research Centre of the University of Surrey in England and involved 110 healthy adults without sleep disorders or complaints.
Forty-four of the participants were young, 35 middle-aged and 31 older adults.
They slept normally one night, the baseline night, then had two nigths where their sleep was interrupted, followed by one recovery night.
During the baseline night, younger adults spent an average of 433.5 minutes asleep compared to around 410 minutes for middle aged adults and 390 for older adults.
On the same night, the younger adults had 118.4 minutes of deep sleep, compared to 85.3 minutes for middle-aged adults and 84.2 minutes for older adults.
But when asked to lie in a comfortable position on a bed during the day and try to fall asleep, young adults nodded off in an average of 8.7 minutes, compared with nearly 12 minutes for middle-aged adults and just over 14 minutes for older adults.
The time spent actually sleeping out of eight hours in bed declined progressively and significantly with age, the study published in SLEEP, the official journal of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society, said.
Older adults, aged 66-83, slept about 20 minutes less than middle-aged adults (40-55 years), who slept 23 minutes less than young adults aged 20-30, the study said.
The older adults woke up significantly more often and spent more time awake after initial sleep onset than younger adults.
Deep, or slow-wave sleep, thought to be the most restorative phase of sleep, decreased with age, the study said.
But although older adults slept less deeply and less overall, and their sleep was less continuous than their younger counterparts', they also showed less need for a quick kip during the day.
The study was conducted at the Clinical Research Centre of the University of Surrey in England and involved 110 healthy adults without sleep disorders or complaints.
Forty-four of the participants were young, 35 middle-aged and 31 older adults.
They slept normally one night, the baseline night, then had two nigths where their sleep was interrupted, followed by one recovery night.
During the baseline night, younger adults spent an average of 433.5 minutes asleep compared to around 410 minutes for middle aged adults and 390 for older adults.
On the same night, the younger adults had 118.4 minutes of deep sleep, compared to 85.3 minutes for middle-aged adults and 84.2 minutes for older adults.
But when asked to lie in a comfortable position on a bed during the day and try to fall asleep, young adults nodded off in an average of 8.7 minutes, compared with nearly 12 minutes for middle-aged adults and just over 14 minutes for older adults.
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