Because there are billions of stars in our galaxy that could support life on a planet, astrophysicists estimate that there may be as many as million people in the universe named Barney Fife.
(All trivia verified by the International Trivia Foundation.)
Reminds me of Grab Bag, by L. M. Boyd. For those of you who are uninitiated, Grab Bag was a daily feature in the SF Chronicle. The Sunday columns was bigger than the weekday columns.
A particular piece of trivia that has stuck with me and set me on a path to learn more about the Gregorian calendar was posed as follows: New Year's Day in century years always falls on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday. Can you dispute that?
By that logic, there is also millions of International Trivia Foundations. I wonder how they feed up through the Interstellar, Intergalactic, and Interdimensional trivia administrative hierarchy.
Electrocute is a portmanteau of electro- and execute. It means to cause death by contact with an electric current. The term dates to the 1880s (Wikipedia says 1889).
There is some disagreement as to whether or not it also includes the instance of severe injury by electric shock. I take the bright line position that electrocute *always* means death by contact with an electric current. Sever injury would be simply as a result of electric shock.
My recent and brief fascination with the word "electrocute" came about on Sunday as I was considering the distinct usefulness of toaster tongs and the realization that hundreds, possibly thousands of people were electrocuted using a knife or fork to retrieve toast from a toaster. A recent Google search yields the result of US Patent 3,957,298
In May 1889 the state of New York sentenced its first criminal, a street merchant named William Kemmler, to be executed in their new form of capital punishment. Tabloid newspapers, trying to describe this new form of electrical execution, started settling on "electrocution," a portmanteau word derived from "electro" and "execution".[11]
It was not the only choice of word people were considering. The New York Times editorial column noted words such as "Westinghoused" (after the Westinghouse Electric alternating current equipment that was to be used), "Gerrycide" (after Elbridge Thomas Gerry, who headed the New York death penalty commission that suggested adopting the electric chair), and "Browned" (after anti-AC activist Harold P. Brown).[12] Thomas Edison preferred the words dynamort, ampermort and electromort.[12] The New York Times hated the word electrocution, describing it as being pushed forward by "pretentious ignoramuses".[11]
I lived with two Indian guys at Cal and we would go to McDonalds and say we were throwing a cultural event and they would let us use this giant beverage dispenser thing that we would use to make an extremely strong punch. My roommate would put a sign on it saying “warning: strong (but good)”
In one of my friend groups, there still tends to be punch at the "fancy" parties (NYE, showers, engagement parties etc). Helps that one now two people have punch bowls they are happy to pass around. And yes, fancy ice rings accompany the punch.
How many people that you know own a punch bowl? Even in its heyday, I doubt that very many folks owned a punch bowl. Most punch bowls available for sale nowadays are also plastic, which I find inelegant. I bet I'm not the only one to feel that way.
I didn't realize many people with even an average assemblage of housewares might NOT have a punch bowl. Lots of uses besides the traditional ones, and inevitably one usually is needed for at least an occasional occasion.
After having made this comment, I will 'fess up: we own a punch bowl. It's made from cut glass with matching cups.
We inherited that punch bowl from my grandmother. I think she may have inherited it from her mother-in-law (my paternal great-grandmother). It would not surprise me to know that it was used at my grandparents' wedding in 1932.
I was thinking about the scene in Grease during the televised dance party where someone emptied a flask into the punch bowl. Unless I'm mixing it up with a different movie.
The Celtics played the Wizards last evening. The Celts bus was out front of the Four Seasons early in my run but it was gone on my way home. I’d thought about taking some Cal gear to get signed by Jaylen Brown if it looked like they were still there. According to the Post the crowd was about all dressed in green since it was the Celtics on St. Patrick’s Day. Jaylen didn’t
STANFORD – California men's gymnastics ended the 2024 regular season in spectacular fashion on Saturday afternoon at Stanford's Burnham Pavilion, posting a season-high score of 404.950 – the fifth best in modern program history – and set two program records to set the tone for the team heading into the MPSF Championships.
LOS ANGELES – The No. 6 California beach volleyball team ended the East Meets West Invitational on Saturday with its third straight win over a top-15 team, coming back to defeat No. 13 Hawaii 3-2 several hours after picking up a 4-1 win over No. 15 Georgia State.
MALIBU – California women's tennis junior Lan Mi earned her team-best 29th singles win of the season, but the 12th-ranked Golden Bears fell to fourth-ranked Pepperdine, 6-1, on Sunday at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.
BERKELEY – The No. 3 California women's gymnastics team wrapped up the regular season on Sunday afternoon, picking up another couple of victories and completing a perfect home slate in the process.
The Golden Bears (18-3) registered wins over No. 25 Stanford and Sacramento State with a team score of 197.925, bettering the Cardinal's mark of197.675. The Hornets placed third at 195.400.
EUGENE, ORE. – The California baseball team got the leadoff runner aboard in six of the nine innings but could not get the clutch hit it needed to mount a rally as host Oregon took the series with a 10-3 win on Sunday afternoon at PK Park.
Cal (12-5, 4-2 Pac-12) hit just 4-for-22 with runners on base and was 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position. The Bears got the leadoff man aboard in the first four innings but were held to a single run.
BERKELEY – The 18th-ranked California men's golf team will continue a competitive spring slate at the Pauma Valley Invitational on Monday and Tuesday.
The two-day, 54-hole tournament will be hosted by Loyola Marymount at Pauma Valley Country Club, located just 50 miles north of San Diego. Cal is one of three top-20 squads playing in the event along with No. 3 Vanderbilt and No. 10 Oklahoma, while 10 of the 15 teams in the field are ranked in the top 50 (Clippd).
SACRAMENTO – California track & field closed out its second outdoor meet of the season on Saturday with decisive team victories over its competition, as the men finished with 201.33 points (123.33 above second place) and the women with 169.50 (74.50 over second place) at the Hornet Invitational.
BERKELEY – California rugby put up a dominant 47-24 win over reigning national champion and top ranked Navy, handing the Midshipmen their first loss of the season. The Golden Bears scored seven tries and two penalty kicks whilst holding Navy to only three tries and one penalty kick.
BERKELEY – Lucas Magnaudet won in straight sets to clinch the California men's tennis team's 4-1 victory over 52nd-ranked Oregon on Saturday in the Golden Bears' Pac-12 Conference opener at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
Cal – bouncing back from its loss at Southern Methodist last week – improved its record to 5-6 (1-0 Pac-12). Oregon is now 11-7 (0-2).
EUGENE, Ore. – Kennedy Mason took a pass in front of the net from Josie Lillquist and slammed it home to lift the Cal lacrosse team (4-5, 1-0 Pac-12) to its third straight victory in a dramatic 8-7 comeback win over Oregon (6-2, 0-1 Pac-12) on Saturday at Papé Field. Cal trailed 7-5 in the conference opener for both teams before scoring three times in the final four minutes and 19 seconds. Mason also scored a free position goal with 2:28 to play to tie the game while Lillquist assisted on Alyssa Studdert's goal with 4:19 to go that started the comeback and got the Golden Bears within one.
BERKELEY – A balanced offensive attack and a season high-tying performance by goalkeeper Isabel Williams saw the No. 2 California women's water polo team cruise to a 17-5 win over No. 12 Indiana in Saturday's MPSF opener at Spieker Aquatics Complex.
California men's gymnastics senior Noah Newfeld has been named by the College Gymnastics Association (CGA) as a finalist for the Nissen-Emery Award. Established in 1966 as the Nissen Award, the Nissen-Emery Award is presented each year to the most outstanding senior collegiate gymnast in the United States, taking into consideration not only gymnastics prowess but also academic success and leadership. Newfeld is the first Golden Bear finalist since Kevin Wolting in 2016.
Lots of bid thieves in the conference tournaments this year! The bubble was super tight, as is evidenced by the First Four games being filled by 10 seeds. It's too bad Indiana State lost their conference title game, because Robbie Avila would have been quite a show in the tournament.
Hey, I went to that one, we ended up #8 after smashing Clemson (great game to fly all the way across the country for). Now we'll get (semi-) regular shots at them.
Sorry I'm late publishing the DBD today. It's not who I am. I want to thank the community for their support in honoring my privacy at this time. This is a private matter between my family and me. I did not have sexual relations with that woman.
OSKI DISCIPLE’S TRIVA FUN, A DAILY DBD FEATURE
Because there are billions of stars in our galaxy that could support life on a planet, astrophysicists estimate that there may be as many as million people in the universe named Barney Fife.
(All trivia verified by the International Trivia Foundation.)
Reminds me of Grab Bag, by L. M. Boyd. For those of you who are uninitiated, Grab Bag was a daily feature in the SF Chronicle. The Sunday columns was bigger than the weekday columns.
A particular piece of trivia that has stuck with me and set me on a path to learn more about the Gregorian calendar was posed as follows: New Year's Day in century years always falls on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday. Can you dispute that?
https://i0.wp.com/www.americantheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/little-man.jpg?resize=90%2C77&ssl=1
Loved L.M. Boyd and the Grab Bag.
And the Sunday Pink section!
By that logic, there is also millions of International Trivia Foundations. I wonder how they feed up through the Interstellar, Intergalactic, and Interdimensional trivia administrative hierarchy.
As a licensed trivia curator I am compelled to say that you just blew my mind.
A small task that's on your to-do list
I've been meaning to get some art into the WC. And not that some gauche like these:
https://www.etsy.com/market/bathroom_art
Portmanteau
Electrocute is a portmanteau of electro- and execute. It means to cause death by contact with an electric current. The term dates to the 1880s (Wikipedia says 1889).
There is some disagreement as to whether or not it also includes the instance of severe injury by electric shock. I take the bright line position that electrocute *always* means death by contact with an electric current. Sever injury would be simply as a result of electric shock.
My recent and brief fascination with the word "electrocute" came about on Sunday as I was considering the distinct usefulness of toaster tongs and the realization that hundreds, possibly thousands of people were electrocuted using a knife or fork to retrieve toast from a toaster. A recent Google search yields the result of US Patent 3,957,298
https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/47/99/28/dba3b9d64c19a9/US3957298.pdf
issued to Herbert K. Purchase for the invention of toaster tongs on May 18, 1976. Mr. Purchase applied for the patent on Dec. 3, 1974.
I'm vastly more comfortable with toaster ovens!
Chopsticks FTW
ETYMOLOGY (as per Wikipedia)
In May 1889 the state of New York sentenced its first criminal, a street merchant named William Kemmler, to be executed in their new form of capital punishment. Tabloid newspapers, trying to describe this new form of electrical execution, started settling on "electrocution," a portmanteau word derived from "electro" and "execution".[11]
It was not the only choice of word people were considering. The New York Times editorial column noted words such as "Westinghoused" (after the Westinghouse Electric alternating current equipment that was to be used), "Gerrycide" (after Elbridge Thomas Gerry, who headed the New York death penalty commission that suggested adopting the electric chair), and "Browned" (after anti-AC activist Harold P. Brown).[12] Thomas Edison preferred the words dynamort, ampermort and electromort.[12] The New York Times hated the word electrocution, describing it as being pushed forward by "pretentious ignoramuses".[11]
Lovely sounding word.
Something that you're losing at
My battle with age. Regardless of my best efforts I keep getting older.
Punch
does Kool-Aid count as punch? one of my favorite things.
once i dressed up as the Kool-Aid Man for Halloween. i served some to any kids that came by and tried not to knock brick walls over.
Punch at a party used to really a thing. People really don't seem to serve it anymore. I guess it's too much of a hassle.
I lived with two Indian guys at Cal and we would go to McDonalds and say we were throwing a cultural event and they would let us use this giant beverage dispenser thing that we would use to make an extremely strong punch. My roommate would put a sign on it saying “warning: strong (but good)”
In one of my friend groups, there still tends to be punch at the "fancy" parties (NYE, showers, engagement parties etc). Helps that one now two people have punch bowls they are happy to pass around. And yes, fancy ice rings accompany the punch.
How many people that you know own a punch bowl? Even in its heyday, I doubt that very many folks owned a punch bowl. Most punch bowls available for sale nowadays are also plastic, which I find inelegant. I bet I'm not the only one to feel that way.
I didn't realize many people with even an average assemblage of housewares might NOT have a punch bowl. Lots of uses besides the traditional ones, and inevitably one usually is needed for at least an occasional occasion.
After having made this comment, I will 'fess up: we own a punch bowl. It's made from cut glass with matching cups.
We inherited that punch bowl from my grandmother. I think she may have inherited it from her mother-in-law (my paternal great-grandmother). It would not surprise me to know that it was used at my grandparents' wedding in 1932.
one time we had a Halloween punch bowl and we had a floating hand in the punch made of ice. i think we borrowed the punch bowl!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/tHxbGYT4MaMZAmrTA
That's cool. Where does one get a hand-shaped mold for making ice?
i think we got one of those sterile medical gloves and filled it with water
But of course. Inventive use of an object intended for a different use.
Too risky? (wide open “container”)
I was thinking about the scene in Grease during the televised dance party where someone emptied a flask into the punch bowl. Unless I'm mixing it up with a different movie.
sounds like your typical frat party
What food will you eat because of health/politeness, but you enjoy the least.
waldorf salad
Radicchio. It's a little bitter for my taste, but I'm not picking it out of my salad.
Kale.
Vile weed.
I don't think you're supposed to smoke kale
pqtm.
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
RFK Jr picks his VP running mate - a person of the people. Your standard working class multi-millionaire.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharyfolk/2024/03/17/who-is-nicole-shanahan-rfk-jrs-possible-running-mate-is-a-tech-lawyer-once-married-to-google-founder-brin/
PRO
The Celtics played the Wizards last evening. The Celts bus was out front of the Four Seasons early in my run but it was gone on my way home. I’d thought about taking some Cal gear to get signed by Jaylen Brown if it looked like they were still there. According to the Post the crowd was about all dressed in green since it was the Celtics on St. Patrick’s Day. Jaylen didn’t
play due to an ankle.
[MGYM] Bears Break Records To Close Out Regular Season
https://calbears.com/news/2024/3/16/mens-gymnastics-bears-break-records-to-close-out-regular-season.aspx
STANFORD – California men's gymnastics ended the 2024 regular season in spectacular fashion on Saturday afternoon at Stanford's Burnham Pavilion, posting a season-high score of 404.950 – the fifth best in modern program history – and set two program records to set the tone for the team heading into the MPSF Championships.
[SB] No. 17 Bears Bested By No. 6 Cardinal
https://calbears.com/news/2024/3/16/softball-no-17-bears-bested-by-no-6-cardinal-in-game.aspx
BERKELEY – The No. 17 California softball team fell 5-2 to No. 6 Stanford in Game 2 of the Big Series on Saturday at Levine-Fricke Field.
[BVB] Bears Take 3 Of 4 At Manhattan Beach
https://calbears.com/news/2024/3/16/beach-volleyball-bears-take-3-of-4-at-manhattan-beach.aspx
LOS ANGELES – The No. 6 California beach volleyball team ended the East Meets West Invitational on Saturday with its third straight win over a top-15 team, coming back to defeat No. 13 Hawaii 3-2 several hours after picking up a 4-1 win over No. 15 Georgia State.
I had visitors from Japan so I took them to Manhattan Beach for dinner and passed by the Cal BVB girls. I gave them Go Bears and got Go Bears back!
CAL
Women's basketball team selected for inaugural WBIT post season tournament. Host Hawaii on Thursday as a number two seed. Tip off time TBA. If the Bears win they'll host the winner of St. Joseph's and Seton Hall on Sunday. https://calbears.com/news/2024/3/17/womens-basketball-cal-invited-to-inaugural-wbit.aspx
Hope it goes better than the last time a Cal BB team played Hawaii in a postseason tournament.
[WTEN] No. 12 Cal Falls To No. 4 Pepperdine
https://calbears.com/news/2024/3/17/womens-tennis-no-12-cal-falls-to-no-4-peppedine.aspx
MALIBU – California women's tennis junior Lan Mi earned her team-best 29th singles win of the season, but the 12th-ranked Golden Bears fell to fourth-ranked Pepperdine, 6-1, on Sunday at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.
[WGYM] No. 3 Bears Wrap Up Perfect Home Season
https://calbears.com/news/2024/3/17/womens-gymnastics-no-3-bears-wrap-up-perfect-home-season.aspx
BERKELEY – The No. 3 California women's gymnastics team wrapped up the regular season on Sunday afternoon, picking up another couple of victories and completing a perfect home slate in the process.
The Golden Bears (18-3) registered wins over No. 25 Stanford and Sacramento State with a team score of 197.925, bettering the Cardinal's mark of197.675. The Hornets placed third at 195.400.
[BASE] Ducks Take Series
https://calbears.com/news/2024/3/17/baseball-ducks-take-series.aspx
EUGENE, ORE. – The California baseball team got the leadoff runner aboard in six of the nine innings but could not get the clutch hit it needed to mount a rally as host Oregon took the series with a 10-3 win on Sunday afternoon at PK Park.
Cal (12-5, 4-2 Pac-12) hit just 4-for-22 with runners on base and was 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position. The Bears got the leadoff man aboard in the first four innings but were held to a single run.
[MGOLF] Cal Tees Off At Pauma Valley Invitational
https://calbears.com/news/2024/3/17/mens-golf-cal-tees-off-at-pauma-valley-invitational.aspx
BERKELEY – The 18th-ranked California men's golf team will continue a competitive spring slate at the Pauma Valley Invitational on Monday and Tuesday.
The two-day, 54-hole tournament will be hosted by Loyola Marymount at Pauma Valley Country Club, located just 50 miles north of San Diego. Cal is one of three top-20 squads playing in the event along with No. 3 Vanderbilt and No. 10 Oklahoma, while 10 of the 15 teams in the field are ranked in the top 50 (Clippd).
[T&F] Bears Post Four Program Top 10s, Win Men’s And Women’s Meets
https://calbears.com/news/2024/3/16/track-field-bears-post-four-program-top-10s-win-mens-and-womens-meets.aspx
SACRAMENTO – California track & field closed out its second outdoor meet of the season on Saturday with decisive team victories over its competition, as the men finished with 201.33 points (123.33 above second place) and the women with 169.50 (74.50 over second place) at the Hornet Invitational.
[RUGBY] Bears Dominate No. 1 Navy On Homecoming
https://calbears.com/news/2024/3/16/rugby-bears-dominate-no-1-navy-on-homecoming.aspx
BERKELEY – California rugby put up a dominant 47-24 win over reigning national champion and top ranked Navy, handing the Midshipmen their first loss of the season. The Golden Bears scored seven tries and two penalty kicks whilst holding Navy to only three tries and one penalty kick.
[MTEN] Cal Rolls Past Ducks 4-1
https://calbears.com/news/2024/3/16/mens-tennis-cal-rolls-past-ducks-4-1.aspx
BERKELEY – Lucas Magnaudet won in straight sets to clinch the California men's tennis team's 4-1 victory over 52nd-ranked Oregon on Saturday in the Golden Bears' Pac-12 Conference opener at the Hellman Tennis Complex.
Cal – bouncing back from its loss at Southern Methodist last week – improved its record to 5-6 (1-0 Pac-12). Oregon is now 11-7 (0-2).
[LAX] Cal Starts Pac-12 With Dramatic Win At Oregon
https://calbears.com/news/2024/3/16/lacrosse-cal-starts-pac-12-with-dramatic-win-at-oregon.aspx
EUGENE, Ore. – Kennedy Mason took a pass in front of the net from Josie Lillquist and slammed it home to lift the Cal lacrosse team (4-5, 1-0 Pac-12) to its third straight victory in a dramatic 8-7 comeback win over Oregon (6-2, 0-1 Pac-12) on Saturday at Papé Field. Cal trailed 7-5 in the conference opener for both teams before scoring three times in the final four minutes and 19 seconds. Mason also scored a free position goal with 2:28 to play to tie the game while Lillquist assisted on Alyssa Studdert's goal with 4:19 to go that started the comeback and got the Golden Bears within one.
[WPOLO] No. 2 Cal Wins MPSF Opener
https://calbears.com/news/2024/3/16/womens-water-polo-no-2-cal-wins-mpsf-opener.aspx
BERKELEY – A balanced offensive attack and a season high-tying performance by goalkeeper Isabel Williams saw the No. 2 California women's water polo team cruise to a 17-5 win over No. 12 Indiana in Saturday's MPSF opener at Spieker Aquatics Complex.
[MGYM] Noah Newfeld Named Finalist For Nissen-Emery Award
https://calbears.com/news/2024/3/16/mens-gymnastics-noah-newfeld-named-finalist-for-nissen-emery-award.aspx
California men's gymnastics senior Noah Newfeld has been named by the College Gymnastics Association (CGA) as a finalist for the Nissen-Emery Award. Established in 1966 as the Nissen Award, the Nissen-Emery Award is presented each year to the most outstanding senior collegiate gymnast in the United States, taking into consideration not only gymnastics prowess but also academic success and leadership. Newfeld is the first Golden Bear finalist since Kevin Wolting in 2016.
Go Bears!
ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE
[Your team here] got snubbed
Based on Bracket Matrix, it seems like the team most pundits thought would get in and did not was Oklahoma. Virginia took that spot.
http://www.bracketmatrix.com/
Lots of bid thieves in the conference tournaments this year! The bubble was super tight, as is evidenced by the First Four games being filled by 10 seeds. It's too bad Indiana State lost their conference title game, because Robbie Avila would have been quite a show in the tournament.
NC State going on a 5 game run in 5 days screwed someone over.
And Oregon beating Colorado, and New Mexico beating SDSU.
Cal football in '91 going to Citrus Bowl instead of Sugar Bowl.
HAG and i had plane tix to Pensacola so we could have gone either way depending on the decision.
still, it was a great year and a great trip and a great way to end the season.
Hey, I went to that one, we ended up #8 after smashing Clemson (great game to fly all the way across the country for). Now we'll get (semi-) regular shots at them.
Sorry I'm late publishing the DBD today. It's not who I am. I want to thank the community for their support in honoring my privacy at this time. This is a private matter between my family and me. I did not have sexual relations with that woman.
BUT ARE YOU ALIVE? DID YOU GET A BRAZILIAN BUTT LIFT?
Had to explain this to my husband the other day. Same husband who asked if I knew Will and Kate were dating when they got engaged, ha.
I think it's time to move forward and put this behind us.