Notifiblog: Why Are So Many Hockey Players Named "Brooks"?

In the past couple of years, I began to notice Doc Emerick, the hockey play-by-play​ guy for NBC Sports, often said the first and last names of a couple of players, both of whom are named Brooks.  A couple of weekends ago, he explained it...and I did a classic, "Oh dur!" facepalm.

Brooks Laich currently plays for the Washington Capitols, alongside Alexander Ovechkin.  If you're not listening too closely, his name sounds like a brand of CDB (Cheap Domestic Beer).

Brooks Orpik currently plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins, alongside the oft-injured Sidney Crosby.

Brooks Macek plays Right Wing for the Calgary Hitmen, which is part of the  Western Hockey League (same league as the Winterhawks).  Thanks to his overtime goal on Sunday, he and his team need to play Game 7 in their playoff series vs. the Edmonton Oil Kings to determine which team goes up against the Portland Winterhawks this Friday night for the last round of playoffs before the Memorial Cup finals.

Okay, back to the point.  Why are all these kids named "Brooks"?  Simple answer:  their parents didn't want to name them Herbert for Herb Brooks, coach of the legendary 1980 "miracle on ice" US Olympics Hockey Team.

"You can't be common, the common man goes nowhere; you have to be uncommon." - Herb Brooks

Notifiblog: J2's First iPhone

I have joined the 21st century.  I upgraded my cell phone from a model that apparently I should send to the Smithsonian Institution to an iPhone 5.

I'm finding many uses for this phone.  I have discovered Apps...these App things are kinda nifty.

SimpleCount is awesome:  just a big button that says "Tap" and another that says "Reset."  It just counts.  Whatever you want to count.  I plan to use it for my current knitting project, which requires attention to number of rows between increases!

With my Fred Meyer app, I can see what's on sale, what has a coupon, and make a shopping list.  Apparently, I can also refill prescriptions, but I'm not up to sending PHI via smartphone just yet.

I also added a QR code scanning app.  Now I can see where those mysterious boxes take me!

Oh, and Siri...she was a bit snippy with me at first, but I think we're making friends.  And I took my first selfies...of my own feet, as promised.

BTW, of course I bought the only Hello Kitty in the shop for it.  It has little rhinestones on it.

Notifiblog: How Stuff Works Thursday!

As I write this sentence, I have not yet opened www.howstuffworks.com to see what inspires me.  Aren't you just on the edge of your chair with anticipation?  Okay, I guess that's just me.

Let's go with the article, Top 10 Hobbies That Can Pay Off today!  I'll give you three; you read the rest, k?

Dog Walker:  Can you imagine getting PAID to spend time getting exercise with some four-pawed cuties?  Or you can be a cat sitter!

Anything Crafty:  It's true!  Have you ever perused www.etsy.com or Must Have Cool (formerly Must Have Cute)?  If you knit, sew, or are an accomplished marksman with a glue gun, you may have a hobby that can pay!

Photography:  That's a good one, especially now that, unless you do it as a full-time profession, chances are you don't have to develop film.

Okay, now try to concentrate on work today, eh!

Notifiblog: National Guitar Month

Master of timing that I am, I just learned April is National Guitar Month (US) when the month is nearly over.  Ah well, this is a good time to look at three types of guitars!

Wow!  I always thought Les Paul invented the electric guitar.  No siree: it was invented in 1931.

There is a specific Flamenco guitar, which is different from the Classical and Parlor guitar styles.  The fiery Andalusian art is a blend of singing, guitar, dancing, and hand claps.  One of my two aunts studied flamenco and could have gone professional...but she declined for several reasons.  But she could work those castanets!

A Harp guitar is a combination guitar and harp.  I've seen two artists playing the harp guitar in concert:  Stephen Bennett and fellow Oregon-denizen John Doan.  Both are very nice people who are dedicated to sharing music.

Extra:  Check this article on the Pedal steel guitar.  It doesn't fit the idea I get in my mind when someone says, "guitar."  But it IS that sound I think of when someone says, "Hawai`i."

Enjoy some music today!

Notifiblog: Happy Talk Like Shakespeare Day! (BTW, I got the job!)

It's kinda creepy: we don't know exactly what day Bill the Playwright (he could have had such a nickname!) was born, but we do know he became as dead as a doornail on 23 April 1616.​  Sadly, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel and many others apparently think today would be Billy's 449th BIRTHday.  Let's not fight a battle we can't win and just feel smugly superior.

Let's enjoy some phrases coined or popularized on Talk Like Shakespeare Day!  It's fun to see a few phrases we still use today to clever-up our speech.

When you're in a troublesome situation,you are in a pickle!  The Tempest, 1610.

Do you know someone who thinks he is the be-all and end-all?  I think that's what people meant in the 1990s when they said, "She's all that and a bag of chips."  Macbeth, 1605

Certainly, we can thank Shakespeare for sending us on many a wild goose chase.  Romeo and Juliet, 1592.  I'm sure this is what Haruki Murakami was thinking of when he titled a novel, "A Wild Sheep Chase."

I'm sure you can find more that may surprise you!

Notifiblog: Happy Karaoke Week!

I've never had the nerve or enough alcohol all at once to try karaoke.  ​Now I learn there's a week that celebrates it.  And this would be that week.

The word, Karaoke (カラオケ^?, bimoraic clipped compound of Japanese kara 空 "empty" and ōkesutora オーケストラ "orchestra," is pronounced "carry-okee" in the US.

In the US, we usually find karaoke opportunities in restaurants, lounges, or bars.  Culturally, we don't have the same confidence about singing--even if it's off-key--as they do in Japan.  This probably explains why I'm having trouble thinking of anyplace outisde Japan where karaoke and alcohol are not available side-by-side.

Famous singer, Jewel, pulled an elaborate prank (thanks to Funny or Die.com) on several unsuspecting people when she disguised herself as a shy businesswoman named Karen, who was "persuaded" to sing at the karaoke microphone.  People commented on how much this lady sounded like Jewel!  I don't know if the video is SFW or NSFW, but here is a likely link my Net Nanny won't let me see.  If it has Jewel, it's probably sweet:  http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/4a87d48fdd/undercover-karaoke-with-jewel

This just learned:  According to the New York Times, the dozens of karaoke bars in Portland, Oregon make it not just "the capital of karaoke" in the United States, but "one of the most exciting music scenes in America."  Who knew!

Oh, and happy Earth Day, too!

Notifiblog EXTRA: 2nd Interview Complete

Background:
The perfect-est job, right along the lines of what I've done at my company for the past 5.5 years, has come available.  The contractor who was doing the work took a fabulous job with another company.  (She's a doll--I'll miss her, but I'm very happy for her.)  Best part:  the temporary assignment I've been privileged to have these past four months ends probably one week from today.  They need someone NOW in the other department.  The mathematical improbabilities of this job and this timing are tremendously huge.
***
The interview has been a very nice conversation, if nothing else.  A chance to compare work ethic and philosphy with someone I've worked with/for indirectly over the past years, and heard so many good things about.

We talked for a bit more than our allotted 30 minutes (his next meeting was cancelled, so we could take a little extra time) about the needs of the position, how success appears for this position, ...it almost didn't feel like an interview. 

The two nicest things he said to me were:

• We're making the decision very soon.
• You did well on this interview; you have said nothing to damage yourself.

That second one is HUGE with me.  I already liked this interviewer by reputation; I respect him and want to work for his team even more, now.  He trusts the opinion of the first interviewer, we'll call her Janet, who will be working with (me?) side-by-side.  Anyone who trusts whatever our Janet says is okay by me!

But for now, we wait.  It's out of our hands.  Thankfully, I have existing work to do.

Thank you for your positive thoughts and well wishes!  More when I know either way.​

Notifiblog: How Suff Works Thursday!

I think I found a good one this week:  How Verbal Self-Defense Works.  We've all been there:  we feel slighted by something someone says and immediately feel the need to retaliate.  It's a human thing that is rooted in something competetive that has kept our species going this long.
I think this isn't about how to out-insult your verbal opponent...
There are three parts to verbal self-defense.  Cool!  Three paragraphs make a Notifiblog post!

Understand what's really going on.  The amygdala (brain bit) goes to work whenever we feel threatened.  Even by verbal threats.

Listen instead of leaping to conclusions.  When someone says something to us, we tend to believe it's true before we sort out the real logic.  And there we get into, "He's just saying that because he's (fill in the blank with something catty)."  Instead, we really need to overcome that knee-jerk reaction and think about the context and logic of what is said.

Know how to respond.  We humans make three major mistakes more often than not:

1. Attacking back - "How DARE you say that to me!"
2. Pleading - "I can't BELIEVE you're going to start that again when you KNOW how much work I have to do today!"
3. Debating - "There are three reasons why what you say is ridiculous. First..."

And then the article references a web page that is no longer updated but still looks pretty cool:  http://www.adrr.com/aa/

In brief (definitely read the HSW article!), when someone poses an offensive question, feel free to bore 'em to death.  Or, you can toss 'em a vague platititude, "Not being able to win a battle of wits IS annoying." It's not so personal.  Except when I do it. (wink)  And then there's my personal favorite strategy:  kick 'em with the Cute.

Notifiblog: Marathons

Today, let's look at what so many people had gathered to do and celebrate on 4/15/13:  the Boston Marathon.​

The Boston Marathon is held very year on the third Monday of April, when Patriots' Day is celebrated.  Patriots' Day commemorates the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775.

The Boston Marathon, the world's oldest annual marathon was inspired by the success of the marathon event in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first Olympics of the modern era.

A marathon is a distance run that commemorates the possibly-fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens.  He is said to have run the distance without stopping, arrived at the Athenean legislative assembly, uttered, "We won," (in Greek, of course), and then collapsed.  The actual distance he is said to have run was disputed, depending on the route hemay have taken.  The distance, 42.195 kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards), was standardized after the first few Olympics marathons, which were about 40km (25 mi).

BTW:  John J. McDermott of New York won the first Boston Marathon on April 19, 1897 with a time of 2:55:10.  You knew I'd look that up, eh!

A lot of hard work and training goes into any marathon.  What that coward or those cowards did to Boston was just rotten.  For that very reason, we need to keep our runners running.  Don't let the cowards win: we will always outnumber them.

Notifiblog: Bad Things Happen to Good People. We Can Help.

Yesterday's cowardly attack on good people in Boston reminds us that bad things happen to good people.  I wish it weren't that way, but it's true.  Innocent families are mourning people who never hurt anyone.

The American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts is the local chapter of the American Red Cross. Please remember that not only money is needed, blood, plasma, and platelets are needed, too.

The Boston Marathon Athlete Tracker lets you find a participant by name or bib number. You can find out if your loved one finished the race and when.​

The Red Cross also runs a Safe & Well website where disaster survivors and familes can connect.

Meanwhile, please do whatever your custom or tradition dictates to support the good people to whom this terrible thing happened.

Afternoon update:  I've made an appointment to donate platelets this Sunday morning.  Couldn't tell you to do something and not do something, myself!

Notifiblog: Update and a Topic!

I've done it.  Managed to complete the interview without completely babbling or coming across as a total marshmallow.  I hope.  I feel like I'm just waking up from a dream.  Did I have that nice meeting with my co-worker?  Did she really tell me there's a second interview with the actual decision maker--if he invites me, of course I'll be thrilled.

In the meantime, she gave me pointers about the types of accomplishments I should be sure to mention if that second interview happens.

So, let's not worry further about that and get on with a topic for today.  One of my favorite subjects is food.  This weekend, whilst following a Wikipedia trail, I learned about Canadian cuisine.

Of course, if you've ever watched SCTV or seen Strange Brew, you have heard of back bacon.  If you're ordering pizza in the US, you'll be happy calling it Canadian bacon.

Poutine is a Quebec specialty.  And I'm sure they devised this recipe to wipe out the British portion of Canada.  It's essentially french fries with cheese curds, smothered in thin brown gravy.  Have a cardiologist on speed-dial if you intend to indulge in this dish more than once in a great while.
The one I learned about this weekend is Fish and Brewis.  This dish is from Newfoundland and Labrador, where cod and hard tack biscuits were readily found.  The addition of scrunchions makes it sound just evilly delish.

Notifiblog: How Stuff Works Thursday!

This morning, on our way to our bus, The Handsome One found a plastic giraffe.  It's seems to be an educational toy.  What it was doing out in the alley that runs behind our duplex, we may never know.​
Of course, you know it's really a sign.  We're looking at the stately giraffe today, courtesy of www.howstuffworks.com.

The article titled "If a giraffe's neck only has seven vertebrae, how is it so flexible?" poses a good question.  So, there's fact #1 for today:  a giraffe's neck has only seven vertebrae!

I've often wondered why we have any animal that has such a tall stature and a long neck.  This article on Natural Selection may provide some clues.  It probably has something to do with the giraffe's competition for food growing on trees.

The circulatory system required to keep a giraffe from fainting is maintained by a large heart, which can weigh more than (gulp!) 25lbs (11kg).  The pressure required to get blood to the brain is about double what a human needs.

The little plastic giraffe is now sitting on my desk.  Whilst checking to see where she was made, I learned she's a she...the manufacturer bothered to equip her with four little...er...mammary outlets.  If you have any recommendations for a nice name for her, please tell me in the Comments.

Notifiblog: EXTRA

I have a job interview this Friday morning at 9:30 local time.

Good things about this event:

1. It's within my company.
2. I applied yesterday; heard from HR today.  Top candidates are contacted first.
3. It's for a project coordinator position.  One of my various titles over the past five years I've spent in our Enterprise Program Management Office (RIP!) was "project coordinator." 
4. I've helped with project coordination tasks.
5. I have vast experience with the project time tracking software.  In fact, I've been a functional administrator, which is one step aside from system administrator.  Yeah, I'm that good!
6. The interviewer, I found out when HR called, is one of the first people I met when I arrived at my company about five years ago.  She's the interviewer.
7. I've done project coordination tasks specifically for/with her over the past five years.
8. BEST OF ALL, I happened to mention her BY NAME in my response to the application question about why I think I'd be the best candidate.  Synch moment!
9. Okay, there's a 9th good thing:  the contractor who is doing the job currently (a doll of a lady!) is leaving on 4/22.  This temporary gig I have probably ends 4/26.  How cool is that for timing?

To be fair, I can't assume I'm a shoo-in.  I trust her implicitly NOT to hire me if she thinks the job and I aren't a good match.  But it would be awesome working with her again.

It's at least fun to think there's a chance I can be of service to her and her latest team!

Notifiblog: Happy World Farm Animals Day!

Have you ever called someone a "pig" or a "cow" and meant it to hurt?  Have you been accused of being "chicken" when you showed signs of (very healthy) reluctance to do something ​dangerous?  We shouldn't do that!  Farm animals feed us!  And now I learn there's a whole day devoted just to them!

Pig, Cow, and Chicken, when used pejoratively, are common insults.

Livestock have benefited humans for thousands of years.  They provide us meat, wool, honey, milk, transportation, help with hard work...the list isn't completely endless, but it's pretty long.

Temple Grandin (yes, that's her name...cool, huh!) is an American doctor of animal science, professor, and author.  She feels her experiences with her own autism have given her a special sympathy for animals.  She has been instrumental in changing meat production standards to place less stress on the animal during its life and its impending slaughter.  I've read her book,  "Animals Make Us Human," and I'm happy to recommend it.  The insights in this book have brought me a little closer to my dog and cat friends, I like to think.

Notifiblog: Hockey vs. Not-Hockey (Basketball Version)

I'm a little later than usual with today's post.  Good Excuse du jour:  I was applying for a permanent(er) job (than I have now).
So, how 'bout those Louisville Globetrotters, eh.  We watched this not-hockey exhibition last night.  Some of my coworkers are rather pleased with the outcome.​  I was more interested in the differences between basketball and ice hockey.

For one thing, the playing surface is totally different and the dimensions of the playing area are different, too.  The North American ice hockey rink NHL standard is 61 metres (200 ft) × 26 metres (85 ft).  The NBA basketball court standard is 94 feet by 50 ft (28.65m by 15.24m).  Watching time-lapse video of the transition from rink to court is nifty.

Scoring is entirely different.  A goal from parts of the basketball court gets accolades from the fans and two or three points.  A goal from ANYWHERE on the ice gets one point.  One hard-earned point.  Hint: no time for team hugs in basketball.

The greatest difference is that basketball has a lot of fouls and free-throws based on its non-contact sport status.  LOL!

Congratulations to the Louisville Men's Basketball Team!  Time to root for the Louisville Women's Basketball Team tonight.

Notifiblog: These Are Real Team Names

I'm out of ideas this morning.  Let's have a look at three sport teams that, rather than instill insecurity in the opponent, leave us scratching our heads saying, "huh?"

Thailand Tobacco Monopoly.  I had no idea until this very morning that there really IS a footy team named for a company that really existed.  I think I question the company's marketing team before I even think about the footy team's name.​

Scottsdale Community College Fighting Artichokes.  I think of artichokes as more passive-aggressive than fighting.  I think it's entirely cool that a community college has a mascot in the first place, however.

I'm torn for the third between two Japanese baseball teams:  the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. 

Ooh, that's scary, kids!

Notifiblog: How Stuff Works Thursday!

I'm fat.  Not morbidly obese by today's American standards, but I am carrying around more of me than I should.  Though, it's not entirely bad:  when I donate platelets I can donate up to two units based on my heft.  (Three is the maximum.  Sorry, I don't know what a unit is for platelets.  Maybe some other Thursday, eh.)

Today's exploration:  How do calories work?

A calorie as a unit of energy--not limited to food energy.  But to complicate matters, there are two types of calories:  small and large.  Shamelessly borrowed from Wikipedia:

• the small calorie or gram calorie (symbol: cal) which is the approximate amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius.
• large calorie, kilocalorie, kilogram calorie, dietary calorie, nutritionist's calorie or food calorie (symbol: kcal or Cal), equal to 1000 small calories.

Scientists have done the caloric breakdown homework for us: 

Caloric Breakdown

1 g Protein: 4 calories
• 1 g Fat: 9 calories
• 1 g Carbohydrates: 4 calories

The key to losing weight is to take in fewer calories than we burn. However, we need certain nutrients daily, which is why we can't just stop eating until we reach our goal weight.  Instead, if I really want to drop this extra thirty-or-so pounds I'm lugging about, I need to practice portion control and exercise more.  And probably stop eating dinner right before bedtime.  Ya think?

Darn.  (Pardon my French.)

Notifiblog: Can One Play a Dirge on a Banjo?

I'm still thinking about how music can influence moods.  I remember a time when Steve Martin was hosting SNL and he had his banjo.  He explained it was impossible to play a sad song on a banjo.  Is that true? Hmm...

According​ to this article from the Toronto Sun, Steve was just kidding!  He's WRITTEN some mournful tunes for banjo!

Mumford & Sons has brought "rockin' banjo" into our lexicon at my house.  Lesson learned:  banjos can be terribly cool.

The Foggy Mountan Boys, starring guitarist Lester Flatt and banjoist Earl Scruggs are best known for The Ballad of Jed Clampett.  Contrary to what I thought all along, Flatt and Scruggs did NOT write or perform the bluegrass music that was used for the opening to Car Talk!  Their song was "Dawggy Mountain Breakdown," not "Foggy Mountain Breakdown!"

Ya learn something every day.  If you're lucky!

Notifiblog: Fight Songs That Rock (to me, anyway)

I love having a job.  I also happen to love the job I have presently.  Some days, though, I feel like I need a few "prepare for battle" songs to get my day started.  An opera has an overture.  A movie has its theme song.  I have my warm-up songs!

Today, we'll think about three of them, in the style of Notifiblog!
This is War by 30 Seconds to Mars has been my favorite, so far.  IMHO, the Winterhawks' intro video is better than the "official" one.  It's also more SFW than the official one.  Flashing lights alert:  There are lots of visual flashes in the video.  I'm surprised no one complained or had a seizure.​  I hope.

One song that actually sounds more like a mid-70s pre-disco tune is called "Kessen no Kinyoubi" (loosely interpreted, I think it means "Friday Showdown") by J-pop band Dreams Come True.  The horn and bass line reminds me of Earth, Wind & Fire.  It's actually a song about a girl who is throwing off all caution to let a boy know she really likes him and won't be denied his attention.  (More Brass in Pocket than stalker.)  They don't play this one at hockey games.  Though I think they should!

No hockey game is really complete for me if there isn't at least one good hockey fight.  You may be surprised by this, but I'm not going to suggest Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)."  I think Sarah Brightman's song written to celebrate a boxer's retirement is better.  "A Question of Honour" gets the blood going.  The version I have on my mp3 player is a little bouncier than the linked video.

Hey, World...let's do this!

Notifiblog: Mum's 80th Birthday Done RIGHT!

We (my sister, niece, our men, and I) pulled off the ULTIMATE 80th birthday for Mum.  She was very surprised.  Multiple times.

Friday, 29th March, she got the BIG surprise:  her "One and Only" (granddaughter) was presented to her in the car on the way to lunch at Cheescake Factory.  It took her a few ticks to figure out a) there was someone else in the car, and b) that it was her granddaughter!  Big, sneaky  grins.  She got her iPhone 4 that day, too, even though we didn't get it activated 'til yesterday.  More on that later.

Saturday was THE BIG DAY.  Her real 80th birthday.  Also the most GORGEOUS day of the entire year, thus far.  The entire day was sunny and warm, but not too warm (77F, 25C)​ and the humidity in our part of the world is rarely an issue.  Thanks to The Management for that one!  We completely surprised Mum with--not a trip to Downtown Portland, Oregon for shopping, though I thought it was a brilliant ruse my sister devised--a limousine and an excursion to tours at two Oregon wineries:  Domaine Drouhin and Rex Hill / A to Z.  Our driver, Ted, was fantastic.  Last surprise of the day was dinner at Sayler's Old Country Kitchen, which was selected for its dining faire AND because this Portland classic restaurant serves steak.  Everyone in our family can eat that.  (We have tons of food intolerances and allergies in our family.)

Sunday, Easter, we took Mum to brunch at the Red Lion Jantzen Beach hotel.  With lots of jiggery-pokery and a call to Joe at Verizon Wireless Customer Service, Nana's One and Only got the iPhone running.  By 7PM that evening, Mum figured out for herself how to take photos!  That's our Mum!

She'll never be your typical anything.  Especially not your typical 80-year-old!  Lesson here:  NEVER act your age