Days of Gloom

These are days of gloom. December lurks just around the corner. Today, the sky is dark and full of rain-laden clouds. The air outside is cold and moist. A little bit of drizzle falls constantly. Now and then it strengthens into rain for a while, then falls back to a drizzle. It will be like this tomorrow and the next day. Gloom and drizzle, the perfect connector between November and December. Many trees have shed their foliage and are mostly bare now. Some of the trees that keep their leaves are showing off their winter colors.

With the advent of autumn, my appetite always turns to carbs, and like a squirrel putting on fat for the coming winter, my body starts putting on pounds. In the past two months, I’ve gained 10 pounds. It’s a “winter is coming” thing. Over thousands of years of evolution, humans who put on weight as winter approached had a better chance of surviving winter. So I’m okay with adding a few pounds. I tell myself the extra pounds have nothing to do with will power – it’s all evolution’s fault. It’s out of my control; it’s my DNA. Plus, it’s now too cold to go outside and do the walking and other exercise that I had intended to do during warm weather but never got around to doing.

Yesterday I went to BK and bought a Whopper and fries. Upon leaving the restaurant, I bought their 10-chicken-tenders-for-$1.49 special deal and took it home to eat. What better way to finish off a Whopper and fries than with a bag of chicken tenders?

The day before yesterday, I went to a nearby Chinese restaurant. A banner over their door proclaimed “$5.95 Lunch Buffet” and I took full advantage by eating three plates of Chinese food. It made me happy – and a little bit guilty as the plates stacked up on my table.

Fattening up for winter is the best part of autumn. I just have to remember to avoid mirrors. And to drive to Wally World and pick up a couple more pair of knit pants with elastic waistbands. If I’m overweight and feeling guilty about it, at least I can be comfortable.

Zwette ft Molly

The song of the day is 2015's Rush by German DJ/producer Zwette with vocals by British singer-songwriter Molly (Molly Alice Smitten-Downes). An album, Rush (The Remixes), includes remixes by AirDice, Marcapasos, and Rich Vom Dorf.

Redondo & Bolier

The song of the day is Lvndscape’s remix of 2015's Every Single Piece by Dutch tech-house DJ duo Redondo (Freek Geuze and Johan Jacobse) and Dutch DJ and producer Leon Bolier (Leendert Wouter Bolier) featuring Brooklyn rock band She Keeps Bees (vocalist/guitarist Jessica Larrabee and drummer Andy LaPlant). The original mix is here.

Black Friday

The day after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday in the US. I thought everyone knew why Black Friday is called that, but I’ve recently realized that many people don’t. So allow me to enlighten those of you who don’t know, and probably don’t care, how Black Friday got its name.

Many retailers operate at a loss, or in the red, for most of the year and they depend on Christmas shoppers for much of their yearly profit. The Christmas shopping season begins on the Friday after Thanksgiving. That is the day that many retailers begin operating in the black.

The phrases in the red and in the black stem from the terms red ink to indicate a loss and black ink to indicate a profit. But where did those terms come from? Why is a loss called red ink, and why is a profit called black ink?

Before there were electronic calculators, there were mechanical adding machines. These adding machines were big and heavy and were filled with gears and cams and levers (I’m imagining here, as I’ve never actually taken one apart). The only operations they could do were addition and subtraction, but that was enough for most business owners, who needed to know how much money they had made or lost. The business owner would enter the amounts of money taken in that day, adding each amount to arrive at a sub-total, and then subtract the day’s expenses, to arrive at the total profit or loss.

Mechanical adding machines had an ink ribbon that enabled printing the numbers onto a spool of paper. The ribbon had black ink on the top half and red ink on the bottom half. Normally, numbers were printed in black ink. However, if the result of a calculation was a negative number, that number was printed in red ink so that it would stand out and not be mistaken for a positive number. So, a loss was printed in red ink, while a profit was printed in black ink. Though mechanical adding machines have been obsolete for half a century, the phrases red ink, black ink, in the red, and in the black, live on.

Sam Feldt & Kimberly Anne

The song of the day is Show Me Love from the 2015 album Show Me Love by Netherlands artist Sam Feldt featuring English singer-songwriter Kimberly Anne.

MS MR

The song of the day is Criminals from the 2015 album How Does It Feel by indie pop duo MS MR (vocalist Lizzy Plapinger and producer Max Hershenow).

Panthers Edge Past Redskins In 44-16 Squeaker

"No fair!" Redskins say. "The other teams keep taking advantage of our interceptions, fumbles, and miscues."

Redskins owner Daniel Snyder was rumored to have summed up the 'Skins frustration this way: "How in the world are we expected to win games if we have to play teams that are better than us?!"

Well said, Danny-boy. For the 'Skins, there's always next week, when the 4-6 Redskins meet fellow division powerhouse, the 5-5 Giants, to determine which team will be runner-up to the second-best team in the NFC East.

Meanwhile, for the Panthers, the game was another dismal showing in which the team's offense again failed to put 50 points on the scoreboard. If this humdrum string of Panthers' wins continues all the way to a ho hum Superbowl victory, the only course of action may be to disband the team. That would be a shame. Let's hope they learn to play better.

Blinkie & Alahna

The song of the day is 2015's Don't Give Up (On Love), the debut single by English producer Blinkie, featuring vocals by Alahna. The dancer is Olivia-Mai Barret, a recent graduate of Italia Conti, the world’s oldest theater arts training school. The video was shot in Barcelona. It begins by exploring heartbreak but turns into an uplifting homage to summer, love, and dancing through the streets.

The Mendicant Issue

Not long ago, I was approached in the grocery store parking lot by a homeless man who wanted money to buy food. HIs name was Roy and he said he was traveling to Miami. I told him that I couldn’t give him money but I would buy him a meal. I took him to the store’s deli and bought him a simple meal: a hoagie, a bag of chips, and a soft drink. He seemed happy.

Today, I was approached in the same parking lot by a young man who said he came to America three months ago and didn’t have a job. He said his name was Isaac and he was from Romania. He was living at the Salvation Army shelter with his wife, his two kids, and his parents. He said he didn’t like living there because many people smoked and drank and it wasn’t a fit place for his family. He reiterated that he didn’t want money but he needed food. He said he was having a difficult time finding work because of the large number of “Spanish” people who were taking all the low-paying jobs.

I took him into the store and bought him a meal: chicken tenders plus a side of something he picked out, and a roll. I wished him luck and told him he should take any job he was offered. I told him not to be choosey if he was offered work, and that he had to start at the bottom and work his way to a better job. He seemed grateful for the food and several times he wished God’s blessing on my family. I didn’t tell him I don’t have a family.

I never feel I know what is the right thing to do in these situations. I don’t give money because I don’t want to enable bad behavior. But I also don’t want to ignore someone who is genuinely in need. Maybe he was telling the truth, and maybe he was running a scam, but I feel sorry for anyone who has to approach a total stranger and ask for food.

Sigala

The song of the day is Easy Love by British tropical house producer Sigala (Bruce Fielder). The video was shot in Los Angeles and features 12-year-old Canadian/Filipino dancing duo Lucky Aces.

Jasmine Thompson

The song of the day is Do It Now from the 2015 EP Adore by English singer-songwriter Jasmine Thompson. As a solo artist, Thompson has recorded 3 EPs, 2 studio albums, and 3 singles. As a featured artist, she has recorded 3 singles: with German DJ Robin Schulz, with German DJ Felix Jaehn, and with British group The Six. Thompson started out recording covers in 2010, with several becoming worldwide hits. Thompson turned fifteen this month.

Syrian Refugee Numbers

I read this headline on a right-leaning website:

United Nations says 72% of Syrian “refugees” are MEN, only 13% are children!

I’m reasonably sure that other right-leaning websites offer similar numbers.

In order for refugees to be considered for admission to the United States or other countries, they must first be registered with the UNHCR – the United Nations’ Refugee Agency. On its website, the UNHCR provides a demographic breakdown for 2.1 million Syrians registered by UNHCR in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon, and 1.9 million Syrians registered by the Government of Turkey, and more than 26,700 Syrian refugees registered in North Africa. Here are observations drawn from their data:

• 49.7% are male and 50.3% are female.
• 38.4% are under age 12.
• 51.2% are under age 18.
• 22.1% are males of “fighting age” (18 – 59).
• 70% are women and children under the age of 12.
• 76.6% are women and children under the age of 18.

You can view the data here. These figures may change over time. I am using the latest figures updated on 11/17/2015.

To reiterate: over three quarters of Syrian refugees are women and children, and seventy percent are women and children under age 12. These are people fleeing devastated cities and neighborhoods that are being bombed on a daily basis. They just want to live a life somewhere, have jobs, raise families, go to school – things we take for granted. Could a terrorist sneak into the US along with legitimate refugees? Conceivably, yes. But a determined terrorist could sneak into the US regardless of whether the US accepts refugees. Sneaking in may be difficult, but millions of people have already done it. Banning immigrants is like declaring a theater or school to be a “gun-free zone”. It only stops those people who obey the law.

Pentatonix

Pentatonix had the top-selling Christmas album of 2014 (That’s Christmas To Me) – an album that was also the #4 album, across all genres, of that year. For this Christmas, the band has expanded that album with the addition of several more Christmas songs. The new album is titled That's Christmas To Me (Deluxe Edition). One of the newly added songs is Joy to the World. The new music video was released today.

A Great Big World

The song of the day is Say Something from the 2013 album Is There Anybody Out There by indie pop duo A Great Big World (Ian Axel and Chad King) featuring Christina Aguilera.

TV on the Radio

The song of the day is Trouble from the 2014 album Seeds by indie rock band TV on the Radio.

Robin Schulz & Francesco Yates

The song of the day is Sugar from the 2015 album Sugar by German DJ and producer Robin Schulz featuring vocals by Canadian musician Francesco Yates. Schulz began DJ’ing at age 17 and by age 20 he owned a nightclub, which he ran for two years before deciding to produce his own music. Yates began writing music at age 11 and signed to Atlantic Records at 16.

David Guetta

The song of the day is 2015's Bang My Head by French DJ, record producer, and remixer Pierre David Guetta featuring vocals by Australian singer Sia (Sia Kate Isobelle Furler) and American rapper Fetty Wap (Willie Maxwell II).

ABBA

The song of the day is Dancing Queen from the 1976 album Arrival by Swedish band ABBA (Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad). From 1975 to 1982, ABBA’s music topped the charts worldwide and made them the second best-selling music group of all time, after the Beatles.

Lucy Hale

The song of the day is Jolene by actress and singer Lucy Hale (Karen Lucille Hale). Jolene was originally released in 1973 by country singer Dolly Parton.

Ella Henderson

The song of the day is 2014's Glow by British singer-songwriter Ella Henderson (Gabriella Michelle Henderson).

The Lumineers

The song of the day is Ho Hey from the 2012 album The Lumineers by folk rock band The Lumineers.

Leona Lewis

The song of the day is Bleeding Love from the 2007 album Spirit by British singer, songwriter, and animal welfare campaigner Leona Louise Lewis.

Dung Beetle Research

I just found out – by reading Internet news – that dung beetles use celestial chromatic gradients to navigate. They must be pretty smart beetles. Most humans can’t spell celestial chromatic gradients, let alone use them. If you’re a dung beetle, you don’t need a GPS to navigate. You only need the – what I said before.

Here’s a question: why do we care?

So dung beetles can roll a ball of dung in a straight line without visible landmarks. I’ll give the beetles their due: that’s very clever of them.

But who pays for research that studies how they do it? And why? And who is this researcher who thinks, “Let’s see, I have a pot of money, what can I do with it? I know, I’ll study how dung beetles roll balls of dung in a straight line.”? I don’t get it. Wouldn’t almost anything be more interesting? With less eww-factor?

The one thing this new study suggests to me is that we’re running out of things to study.

I could be wrong. For all I know, dung beetle research makes a fascinating conversation starter at a party or on a date. “Let me show you my dung beetle photos.” Nah, I don’t see it.

Other scientists probably call this researcher “dung beetle guy.” I kid dung beetle guy. I know how very important dung beetle research is to the world of science and national security. If you have extra research dollars, please consider studying the impact of global warming on dung beetles. It’s probably the only facet of global warming that hasn’t been studied to death, and you could earn your PhD with it. Quick, before someone else steals this idea!

Cheryl

The song of the day is Parachute from the 2009 album 3 Words by English singer and dancer Cheryl (Cheryl Ann Fernandez-Versini, formerly Cheryl Cole). Cheryl’s dance partner in the video is 5-times Dancing with the Stars champion, Derek Hough.

Alesha Dixon

The song of the day is The Way We Are from the 2015 album Do It for Love by English singer, dancer, rapper, and model Alesha Dixon.

Flight 9268

Recently, a Russian airliner, Metrojet Flight 9268 flying at 31,000 feet, broke into pieces and crashed in a remote area of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing the 224 people on board. An official from the airline said the crash must have been caused by “an external influence” because planes don’t break apart in midair.

The same official, Alexander Smirnov, also said, “We exclude technical problems and reject human error" as possible causes of the crash.

Why would an airline official reject human error as a possible cause of an accident? According to an FAA report, 70 to 80 percent of civil and military plane crashes are due to human error. Sometimes the pilot makes a mistake. Sometimes maintenance people make a mistake.

In 1985, Japan Airlines Flight 123 experienced explosive decompression when an improper repair to the plane’s aft pressure bulkhead led to failure of the bulkhead which then blew the vertical stabilizer off the airplane. The plane  subsequently crashed, killing 505 people. The pressure bulkhead had been damaged seven years earlier during a tail strike. A tail strike happens when the plane is landing or taking off and the pilot rotates the nose too high, causing the tail of the fuselage to strike the runway. A repair was improperly made, and for seven more years the airplane flew without problems, until the defective repair failed.

Like the Japanese airliner, the aircraft called Metrojet Flight 9268 experienced a tail strike that caused significant damage. Was the repair made improperly, causing the aft pressure bulkhead to fail years later? While a few planes have been brought down by “an external influence,” the number is very small compared to the number of planes that have crashed due to technical problems or human error. Ruling out the factors that have caused 99 percent of all airplane crashes – and ruling them out at the beginning of the investigation – is wishful thinking in the extreme.

Magna Carta

The song of the day is Airport Song from the 1970 album Seasons by English progressive rock band Magna Carta with vocals by Australian Lyell Tranter.