‘Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them?’ – Rose Kennedy

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As It Stands: OK ... so what's in a nickname, anyway?

By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 05/15/2011 02:40:24 AM PDT

Do you have a nickname?

When I was in elementary school back in the stone age when we used stone tablets instead of texting, there was one kid who literally stood out from the rest of us. He was at least a head taller than any other kid in school. He was as tall as the teachers. Everyone but the teachers called him “Bean Pole.”

We always asked him what the weather was like “up there,” chuckling all the while at our cleverness. I can't recall his real name. He was a mild-mannered individual who took the daily razzing, and his nickname, in easy stride.

Bean Pole's story illustrates one way we get a nickname: someone gives us one based upon our physical characteristics. How many 300- pound “Tinys” have you known? Sometimes it's desirable to have a nickname. It can symbolize acceptance, affection, and a form of endearment.

Nicknames have a long history in Indian society where most people have a nickname (call name or affection name) that's not related to their proper name. One of my favorite is “Bablu.” I just like saying it. “Bablu ... Bablu,” it flows like poetry.

And how about those Aussies? From poetic to ironic, they're known for nicknames like “Bluey” for a person with red hair.

Usually, someone else gives us our nickname. During the Vietnam war, American soldiers and Marines used nicknames a lot. The most common came from your home state. For example, if you were from Texas, you were called “Tex.” And a lot of other things, but I won't go there.

The guys in my squad had some interesting nicknames. There was “Swamp Rat” from Louisiana; “Crow” (a non-Native American skinny little white guy who was older than the rest of us) from Missouri; and “King” who had a hard-to-pronounce last name and was a Native American (Comanche) with a regal bearing. You didn't want to call him “Chief” however.

They just called me “Stan.” Part of my last name. That was a common practice. We called our company clerk, “Klod,” because his last name was a tongue-twister (German I believe) and too difficult for dumb grunts like us to pronounce.

Sometimes nicknames come from ethnic backgrounds. When I worked at Ford Motor company as an automation tender/welder in 1972, I noticed we had a lot of foreign-sounding (translation: Eastern European) names on the timecards when I punched in and out.

I often called for one electrician, whose nickname was “Ski,” to come see what was wrong on our production line when something wasn't working properly. Or, if the line went down for unknown reasons.

If I'd had to say his full last name every time we needed help, we wouldn't have made our production quotas! “Ski” was neatly stitched on his white uniform pocket just above his real name, signaling he was okay with the nickname. He pronounced his full last name for me once and I asked him if anyone ever got it right? “My wife,” he replied happily.

Right about now you're probably asking, “Dave, what is the origin of the term “nickname”? Where does it come from?”

In a nutshell, after extensive hours of research and repeated caffeine binges, I discovered the compound word for nickname is ekename, literally meaning “additional name,” and first mentioned in European manuscripts in 1303.

It came from an old English phrase eaca (increase) and by the fifteenth century, the syllables of the phrase became “an ekename” which led to “nekename.” A spelling transformation over the ensuing years eventually gave us “nickname.”

Of course it's more complicated than that, but you get the idea. I was going to share my wife's and my endearing nicknames for each other, but when I mentioned that to her the room suddenly got cold!

As It Stands, did you know that John Wayne's nickname “The Duke” came from a dog his family owned that used to follow him about?

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

As It Stand’s first “What Gall!” award goes to Jack Gerard

I’m not in the least surprised to see the oil barons go into spin overdrove on their obscene record profits last year. But to listen to Gerard, we should all be happy the Energy Industry is holding us hostage at the pumps! I don’t think so. 

After Exxon Mobil posted first-quarter 2011 profits of $10.7 billion - $6.3 billion more than it earned last year by this time - the company put out a defensive statement arguing that it is not to blame for gasoline exceeding $4 around the country.

So who is to blame?

Jack Gerard, CEO (above)

of the American Petroleum Institute

Instead, the company blamed skyrocketing gas and oil prices on the U.S. government, saying Exxon makes about seven cents on a gallon of gasoline, while state and federal governments collect 40 to 60 center a gallon in taxes.

Jack Gerard, CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil and gas industry's lobbying group, spun his industry's record income as a positive, saying high oil company profits signal a stronger U.S. economy. Gerard said Americans "should be proud" of a high-earning oil industry, since it supports millions of jobs and provides income for retirees in the form of profits paid on shares in people's retirement accounts.”

Exxon vice president Ken Cohen portrayed the push to eliminate $4 billion in government subsidies for the industry as an attempt to raise taxes on the industry, saying the subsidies help keep jobs from being exported to other countries.

Sourced

Here’s 10 websites that might get your brain to sit up and listen

Supposedly browsing the internet requires more brain power than watching television. Although judging from some of the websites I’ve come across that assumption is cast into doubt. Here’s some of the sites I like that might get your brain to sit up and listen:

TED -

A conference that started in 1984 bringing together experts in technology, entertainment and design quickly grew into so much more. The conference itself is invitation only, but the website features all the talks at the conference in high res video format.

 

 New Scientist

The New Scientist website carries new articles from the magazine as well as the NS archive of over 76,000 pieces

 

Big Think

The Big Think website is a collection of ‘global thought leaders’ who offer their thoughts and analysis on world events and other important developments

 Cafe Scientifique

‘for the price of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science and technology’ The idea behind Cafe Scientifique is that anyone can go to one of the many events organized throughout the world for a layman’s explanation of a scientific subject by a scientist involved in the area.

 

 Breathing Earth

This fantastic website by David Bleja demonstrates CO2 emissions and world population growth in real time on a global map

 

 

  XKCD

It is a web comic, but it’s in a league of its own. XKCD by Randall Munroe (A former NASA contractor). The comics follow a theme of ‘romance, sarcasm, math and language.’

 

 

Arts & Letters Daily

A great collection of articles, essays, disputes and reviews by a select collection of bloggers and publications.

 

How Stuff Works

An enormous website that explains the workings of everything from electronics to déjà vu.

 

Academic Earth

Free university video courses spanning a range of subjects including history, chemistry and computer science.

Eyewitness To History

A collection of eyewitness accounts and media from the ancient world through to modern history

Sourced

Time for coffee and sharing this Saturday…

Good morning. Pull up a chair and have some coffee or tea with me while I share some news and views.

How about the Mysterious boom in parakeets — in England?  Native to the Indian subcontinent and sub-Saharan Africa, the rose-ringed parakeet is enjoying a population explosion in many London suburbs, turning a once-exotic bird into a notorious pest that awakens children, monopolizes garden bird feeders and might even threaten British crops.

Look out liars! This article, Pants on fire: Scientifically proven ways to catch a liar lays out all the ways you can use to catch liars. Politicians in particular should be sweating their asses off if the general population learns how to tell when they’re lying!

Big Brother is alive and well in Texas. This story cracks me up: Cameras in Texas schools to keep eyes on fries The next time children in some elementary schools in Texas try to sneak extra French fries onto their tray in the cafeteria line, the eye in the sky will be watching them!

Here’s a story that’ll get you. Talk about long odds. Talk about Dad having to do some explaining! Excuse me, but aren’t we brothers? Luck, fate, kismet -- whatever you want to call it, two guys named Joe and Rick got hit by all three on a beach in Hawaii.

It started innocently enough: Joe Parker was walking on the beach one day. He saw a family taking pictures and offered to take a group photo of Rick Hill and his family. Rick and Joe get to talking, one thing leads to another -- and voila: Turns out they're related! And not as 13th cousins twice-removed -- the pair discovered they were from the same part of Massachusetts, which led them to find out that they had something else in common: Dad.

This story make me wonder if the White House has a wine cellar? Cost-cutting government to sell its best wines Cost-cutting government plans to sell off some of its stock of fine wines to pay for cheaper bottles that will be offered to visiting dignitaries to England.

The way I look at this cost-saving move is visitors are now going to know they’re not getting the best wines when they visit leaders in England. This might be a big break for some cheaper wines , like Ripple and Boones Farm!

Busy day ahead. I’m meeting with a man at Niveen’s in Mack Town at 10 a.m. He is a regular reader of my column and says he has a method (not surgery) of strengthening my eyes so I don’t have to wear glasses for long distance! Should be an interesting conversation. I might even write about this meeting.

Meanwhile, It’s time for me to head on down the road…

Today is a special Friday the 13th…do you know why?

May 13, 2011 is the only Friday the 13th of the whole year! And believe it or not, the superstitious may feel even more out of luck on this Friday the 13th in particular. Why? In the science of Numerology, the exact date of May 13, 2011 reduces to ... you guessed it: the number 13.

Did you know that:

--The 13th day of the month is slightly more likely to be a Friday than any other day of the week.
-- Every year has at least one and at most three Friday the 13ths.
-- Just as many people are born on Friday the 13th as any other day, but there are slightly more people who die on Friday the 13th. The theory is that fear, with or without reason, can kill.

Image source

Another manic Friday…the 13th! What me worry?

Good Morning Humboldt County! What a crazy world we live in. Pull up a chair and have a cup of coffee with me as you look over the news of the day:

A man dressed as Batman was arrested after police in a small Michigan town found him hanging off the side of a building and carrying concealed weapons including a baton and a can of chemical irritant spray.

Andy Warhol's very first self-portrait was sold a couple of days ago when it soared to $38.44 million at Christie's post-war and contemporary art auction.

I never could appreciate Andy’s work. Campbell Soup cans aren’t my idea of art. I’m trying to wrap my mind around the person who bought this self-portrait. My guess is it’s King Midas, or a Wall Street stock trader.

 Musicians' memories really sing, according to study.All those years of playing an instrument, practicing scales, and rehearsing regularly can payoff in midlife and beyond, new research finds. The advantage musicians have may well be between their ears.

This study found that people with four or more decades of musical training appear to have sharper thinking and hearing skills than their less musically inclined peers. Better yet, these benefits seem to buffer against some age-related memory and auditory declines later in life.

A glowing mystery surrounds the first American in orbit Suddenly John Glenn was no longer alone.

Surrounding Friendship 7, like tiny light motes from some fable of fairyland, were thousands of tiny creatures.  Some came right to his window, and he stared in wonder at the tiny specks.  Then he saw they were frost and ice. Some were shaped like curlicues. Others were spangled and starry, like snowflakes sailing and dancing and swirling in an incredible swarm about the spacecraft.Glenn was beside himself with awe and curiosity and fascination.  He had no idea where this stunning phenomenon had originated.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I never heard this story of the colorful fireflies in space before.

Southwest tells woman, mother they are 'too fat to fly'

Kenlie Tiggeman is impressive, to say the least. She's a budding gardener at her mother's home in Galliano, a political strategist working in New York City, a blogger, and in the last two years — she's lost 120 pounds. But unfortunately, some people only look skin deep.

"It doesn't matter how far I have come. I have a long way to go, but no one sees that. All they see is my exterior — someone who is fat," explained Tiggeman.

She said that's what happened during a layover in Dallas on Easter Sunday, when she and her mother were singled out by a Southwest employee for their weight.

Southwest's "Customers of Size" policy states passengers are required to buy a second seat if they cannot fit between the armrests, which measure 17 inches across.

That’s about all this morning. Time for me to head on down the road…

 

Cyber War: Facebook's Google smear campaign outed

Cyber wars spill over into the mainstream media more often than ever these days. Now Facebook, working hard to shore up its own reputation as a company that plays loose with users' privacy, admits to using a PR firm to spread malicious information about Google's privacy practices to the media.

The social networking giant has been trying to get newspapers and websites to run stories saying that the search giant is invading users' privacy. Those bad boys and girls. What will they do next? It’s really a nasty little battle they have going, complete with people defecting from one company and going to the other one.

Dan Lyons, of The Daily Beast, said that when "confronted with evidence, a Facebook spokesman last night confirmed" that the company hired PR giant Burson-Marsteller to do the dirty work. USA Today, which was pitched as well by the PR firm, looked into the story, and found it meritless, that "the claims were exaggerated," said Lyons.     Photo source

Thursday Morning musings…

Good Morning Humboldt County! What a crazy world we live in. Pull up a chair and have a cup of coffee with me as you look over the news of the day:

A man dressed as Batman was arrested on Wednesday after police in a small Michigan town found him hanging off the side of a building and carrying concealed weapons including a baton and a can of chemical irritant spray.

Andy Warhol's very first self-portrait was sold Wednesday when it soared to $38.44 million at Christie's post-war and contemporary art auction.

I never could appreciate Andy’s work. Campbell Soup cans aren’t my idea of art. I’m trying to wrap my mind around the person who bought this self-portrait. My guess is it’s King Midas, or a Wall Street stock trader.

 Musicians' memories really sing, according to study.All those years of playing an instrument, practicing scales, and rehearsing regularly can payoff in midlife and beyond, new research finds. The advantage musicians have may well be between their ears.

This study found that people with four or more decades of musical training appear to have sharper thinking and hearing skills than their less musically inclined peers. Better yet, these benefits seem to buffer against some age-related memory and auditory declines later in life.

A glowing mystery surrounds the first American in orbit Suddenly John Glenn was no longer alone.

Surrounding Friendship 7, like tiny light motes from some fable of fairyland, were thousands of tiny creatures.  Some came right to his window, and he stared in wonder at the tiny specks.  Then he saw they were frost and ice. Some were shaped like curlicues. Others were spangled and starry, like snowflakes sailing and dancing and swirling in an incredible swarm about the spacecraft.Glenn was beside himself with awe and curiosity and fascination.  He had no idea where this stunning phenomenon had originated.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I never heard this story of the colorful fireflies in space before.

Southwest tells woman, mother they are 'too fat to fly'

Kenlie Tiggeman is impressive, to say the least. She's a budding gardener at her mother's home in Galliano, a political strategist working in New York City, a blogger, and in the last two years — she's lost 120 pounds. But unfortunately, some people only look skin deep.

"It doesn't matter how far I have come. I have a long way to go, but no one sees that. All they see is my exterior — someone who is fat," explained Tiggeman.

She said that's what happened during a layover in Dallas on Easter Sunday, when she and her mother were singled out by a Southwest employee for their weight.

Southwest's "Customers of Size" policy states passengers are required to buy a second seat if they cannot fit between the armrests, which measure 17 inches across.

That’s about all this morning. Time for me to head on down the road…

 

Cops To Attend Candlelight Vigil and Say "Legalize Drugs" to Honor Fallen Colleagues

In conjunction with Peace Officers Memorial Day, some police are pointing out how too many law enforcers are killed in the line of duty enforcing a senseless and unwinnable "war on drugs."  The group, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), is calling for the legalization and regulation off all drugs, and they're telling stories about their fallen friends and colleagues to back up their case.

"When one of my best friends was killed doing an undercover drug purchase, it opened my eyes to the fact that not only are these drug laws ineffective, but they lead to brave and dedicated law enforcers losing their lives," said Neill Franklin, a 34-year veteran of the Maryland State Police and the Baltimore Police Department, now LEAP's executive director. "Ed Toatley was one of the best narcotics agents the state of Maryland ever had, but this failed drug war wasn't worth him losing his life over."

See http://copssaylegalize.blogspot.com/2011/05/remembering-our-fallen-comrades.html for more information about Ed Toatley's story.

Here's a piece we have on Huffington Post today on this topic: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neill-franklin/lets-legalize-drugs-to-sa_b_860473.html

WHO: Former police officers who support legalizing drugs

WHAT: Candlelight vigil in remembrance of fallen colleagues

WHEN: Friday, May 13 @ 7:30 PM EST

WHERE: National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial; on E St. between 4th and 5th Sts., NW, Washington, DC

The candlelight vigil, which officially begins at 8:00 PM, is sponsored by the National Law Enforcers Memorial Fund and is part of National Police Week. 25,000 to 40,000 police officers and family members are expected to attend official events over the course of the week. The group of pro-legalization police officers will be available for on-site press interviews around 7:30 PM, before the start of the vigil.

CONTACTS: Tom Angell - 202-557-4979 or media@leap.cc or Neill Franklin - 443-286-6737 or neill.franklin@leap.cc