Archive for October, 2010
Sir Winston Churchill – Early Political Career
Winston Churchill succeeded in entering parliament in 1890 as a conservative MP and proved a controversial figure with a mind very much of his own. He changed sides to the Liberals and achieved office, eventually becoming Home Secretary in 1910. In 1911 he took charge in person when anarchists were cornered in a blazing building and shooting it out with Scots Guards.
Later that year, Churchill became First Lord of the Admiralty and used his great energy to spur on military reform, including naval aviation, tanks, and conversion from coal to oil.
Melamine Toxicity Testing – Practical or Political, Its Here to Stay?
Melamine (1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine) is a very useful organic trimer of cyanide, with the formula C3H6N6. It is used in the resins of many glues, plastics, as a plastic pigment and in some inks. It is relatively non-toxic (with a similar lethal dose as table salt), and was for a time considered as a nitrogen supplement for livestock. Waste melamine is still given to livestock in some areas, a practice which sparked a media frenzy in the United States over melamine contamination of human food supplies and animal fodder. As a result, interest in melamine testing procedures and equipment has skyrocketed in recent months.
Melamine is a very widely used ingredient in common household plastics. It is frequently used in materials and synthetic fibers, clothing, plastic food containers, and as a major constituent of a yellow dye that is found in many plastics and inks. Melamine dinnerware and bowls are all quite common, as its use in food surfaces like plastic wrapping and counter-top surfaces. Chemically, the compound is over 60% nitrogen by weight. The effect this has is significant, as it makes the melamine plastics almost impossible to burn.
Politically Incorrect Turkish Humor — ‘The Lout’ Cartoon-strip Series
Many of you already know how Peri and I like the Turkish cartoon-humor of ‘Maganda’ (The Lout), the cartoon-strip that we first found in Gözcü Gazetesi (The Watchman Newspaper) 6 or 7 years ago. We’ve appreciated the cartoon-series on multiple levels…because of its value in helping us explain the meaning of Turkish idioms and cultural ‘idiosyncrasies’ — and because of its pure cartoonist humor, usually somewhat politically-incorrect, that makes us laugh.
In the typical cartoon example seen here, when The Lout is caught in flagrante dilecto by his wife in their marital bed with a pretty young stranger, the wife shouts, “Whaaat?! You’re in my bed…with another woman, huh?” The Lout, in his usual dim-witted and weaselly way, tries to excuse his behaviour saying, “Don’t be angry, my dear wife…I can explain. You see, while you were away, this young lady dropped by to collect donations for charity. After I gave her some of your old dresses and shoes, she asked, ‘Is there anything else that your wife doesn’t use?’ — So that’s how we landed in bed.”
Learning in a Beautician School – Do Not Force and Be Polite
While I was attending class last night, I was reminded of how important it is for anyone in not only beauty but any industry not to be very harsh. While it is important to tell the client how they look, you should never just come out and force your idea because they may just take it as an insult. While I may be one of the older students in the class and may have a better idea of handling these situations, it seems the younger ladies and gentlemen had a tendency to be rather coarse in their language.
Perhaps the best incidence of this which is freshest in my memory was when one of the models came in to have their nails done. The models who were posing as clients in this case happened to have a very dark skin complexions and wanted darker colors. For my client, (we will call her Jenny), I politely advised on a lighter color for her nails so that way it would provide a beautiful contrast complimenting both her skin color and the nails. It was a positive result: Jenny smiled, agreed and then realized her hands would not look so nice if it was all dark.