Origins of Tannin

'Tannins' are a class of chemicals that bind to proteins. Many plants produce tannins, including the oak species I'm studying this summer. The name 'tannin' comes through French from the Latin 'tannum,' which means 'oak bark.' The German word 'tannenbaum'  (Christmas tree) is apparently related; 'tanne' means 'fir' and 'baum' means 'tree.'

Kleenex Limerick

There once was a fellow from Bissues
Who had many runny nose issues
It is safe to say
That most every day
He used at least two dozen tissues

Fun With Crosswalks

I really like crossing crosswalks. After years of dashing across roads through breaks in traffic, it's nice to be in a place where a system of lights keeps intersections organized. As soon as I get the go-ahead from the pedestrian light, I start walking, looking around at all the cars and enjoying my few seconds of right-of-way. I always feel bad, though, when a light gives me 30 seconds to cross a street when I only need 10, leaving cars at a red light for an unnecessary 20 seconds.

I was out walking today when I came to an intersection that already had the go-ahead pedestrian light shining. I didn't need to cross the street, but I did anyways because it would be a shame to waste the opportunity.

Screenshot of the Day: Borderlands 2

Compare the detail level of the gun with everything else.

Borderlands 2 is a first-person shooter set on an alien planet that's a bit like the wild west. Things are broken down and people generally fend for themselves. As far as I can tell, it's a game about finding increasingly better guns and using them to shoot at increasingly tougher enemies. The combat is very dynamic; players can hide behind cover and snipe or run in, punching enemies or anything in between.

The story, unfortunately, is very linear and based on the assumption that the player wants revenge on the game's antagonist. A cast of wacky characters exists to help the player, and so far I've ended up disliking all of them. Borderlands 2 is in many ways designed as a multiplayer cooperative game and I would probably enjoy it a lot more if I was playing it that way.

History of Flossing

I've heard dentists say that flossing might be even more important than brushing as far as dental health is concerned. Dental floss was apparently invented in 1819 and was made of silk. In the US, flossing became more popular around World War II when nylon floss was developed.

The floss picks that I'm trying to use, plastic prongs that hold a short length of floss, have their origin in the late 19th century in a complicated sort of notched toothpick. As far as I can tell from my package of picks, the newest innovation is the "Patented Fold-Away Pick Protector" that "provides greater safety." I can only imagine what flossing will be like in the future.

New Cafeteria

A new catering company has taken charge of the cafeteria here and they're making waves with new food, new layouts, and new silverware. As far as I can tell from the few times I've been to the new cafeteria, this company is very good at food presentation.

At first, I couldn't quite say what felt different about the cafeteria, but once I had gone through and grabbed a bit of everything that looked tasty, I realized that I had on my tray a well-balanced meal with several servings of fruit and vegetables. Had the decorative squashes around the salad bar encouraged me to pick up some lettuce? Maybe the rustic bread basket put me in the mood for some applesauce that was available on the next counter over. In any case, the future of dining here looks promising.

Color Names

The English names for colors come from a variety of sources. My source for all this information is Wiktionary, the Wikipedia dictionary.

'Green' is from the Proto-Germanic 'groana,' which refers to plants becoming green or growing.

'Blue' is also Germanic, and apparently always referred to the color.

'Purple' comes from the Ancient Greek 'porphura,' the name of the shellfish that purple dye was made from.

'Red,' like blue, is Germanic and referred to the color.

'Orange' comes from the Arabic 'naranj,' the name for the fruit.

'Yellow' is of Germanic origin and referred to the color.

Is it a coincidence that all the primary colors have the same sort of origin? 'Black' and 'white' are also Germanic, one coming from a word meaning 'burnt' and one coming from a word meaning 'white.'