What Would Jimmy Do?

Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday — the game will take place tomorrow at 6:30 (ET) at State Farm Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals, in Glendale, Arizona. This will be Super Bowl number 57 (LVII.)

The “home” team will be the Philadelphia Eagles. The designated home team alternates each bear between the NFC and AFC champions. If it is an odd-numbered Super Bowl, the NFC team is the designated home team. If it is an even-numbered Super Bowl, the AFC is the designated home team.

The Green Bay Packers were the first team to ever win a Super Bowl — in 1967. The Packers won over the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10. The MVP of that game was Bart Starr, the Packers quarterback. The game was played was played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. 

Twelve NFL teams have never won the Super Bowl, and four teams have never even been to the game. The four teams that have never been to the Super Bowl are the Houston Texans, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cleveland Browns. The other seven teams that been to the game but never won are the Minnesota Vikings (4 appearances,) Buffalo Bills (4,) Atlanta Falcons (2,) Carolina Panthers (2,) Arizona Cardinals (1,) Tennessee Titans (1,) and Los Angeles Chargers (1.)

So who’s won the most Super Bowls? The Pittsburg Steelers and New England Patriots are tied with six championships apiece. Interestingly, The New England Patriots have also lost the most Super Bowls — along with Denver…. they’ve both lost five apiece.

The winning team will receive the Lombardi Trophy — it weighs seven pounds and costs $50,000. 
More than 100 million people worldwide watch the Super Bowl every year. In fact, Super Bowl XLIV, in 2010 unseated M*A*S*H’s series finale as the most-watched show in television history.
So the odds are, you’ll be watching tomorrow night…..
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The last issue of TIME magazine had an interesting article on quantum computers — the acknowledged future of computers. IBM is the recognized leader in the development of these machines and a number of IBM employees were interviewed for input to the article. IBM was once synonymous with computers, but over the years kind of got left behind by companies like Apple and Microsoft. During their interviews, they acknowledged that IBM had fallen behind by not seizing the initiative with cloud computing and Artificial Intelligence and said, “It’s no secret that we let things slip by not jumping on the cloud.”

Of course we often don’t see the future clearly. I remember a famous quote made by Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM in 1943 — “I think there is a world marked for maybe five computers.” 
But Watson wasn’t alone — I dug up a few more quotes from fairly knowledgeable people, not that many years ago:
“But what … is it good for?” Those words were spoken by an engineer at the Advanced Computing System Division of IBM in 1968 (commenting on the microchip.)
Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, in 1977, said: “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”
From an article in a 1949 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine — “Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons.”
In 1981, Bill Gates said, “640K ought to be enough for anybody.”
And Steve Jobs wrote about attempts he and Steve Wozniak made to interest Atari and Hewlett-Packard in the personal computer that they created….
“So we went to Atari and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us? Or we’ll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary, and we’ll come to work for you.’ And they said ‘No.’ ‘So then we went to Hewlett-Packard and they said, “Hey, we don’t need you. You haven’t got through college yet.’”

So I guess even those who should know, don’t always. Someone once said that prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.
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I was cleaning out and rearranging things downstairs a few weeks ago and I ran across some memorabilia that I hadn’t forgotten about, but haven’t thought about for a long time. There’s a story behind them that I can’t tell and even if I could, I wouldn’t be comfortable talking about it. 

Anyhow, the objects were various things like coffee and beer mugs, belt buckles, etc. with the KGB logo or symbol on them. I realize that not everyone is as old as I am, so for the younger readers — KGB stands for Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti, or Committee for State Security, an organization of the old Soviet Union. The KGB was a military service and it operated under army laws and regulations. It had several main functions: foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, the exposure and investigation of political and economic crimes committed by Soviet citizens, guarding the leaders of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and Soviet Government, organization and security of government communications, protecting Soviet borders, and thwarting nationalist, dissident, religious, and anti-Soviet activities. The organization existed form March 13, 1954 to December 3, 1991. When the Soviet Union ceased to exist, so did the KGB.

The Soviet Union’s KGB and the United States’ CIA are intelligence agencies synonymous with the Cold War. They were often viewed as being pitted against one another — each agency sought to protect its status and maintain its dominance in its own sphere of influence. The question of who was better, the KGB or CIA, is difficult, probably impossible, to answer objectively. 

There’s an old expression that you should “keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” In some instances, that’s exactly what the two organizations did — and a major reason that I wound up with the memorabilia I mentioned above.
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One of the few magazines we subscribe to, that I actually read, is TIME. In the last issue, there was an article that caught my eye — it was about people that are “overtalkers.”
Often times I think that maybe I talk too much — I always speak up in meetings or when I’m in a group of people and I’m not hesitant to express my opinion. And sometimes later, I think that I should have just kept quite, or that maybe I said too much. 

The TIME article basically indicated that the world is filled with overtalkers and went on to talk about a number of famous people — some that probably talk too much, but many that choose their words carefully and and use pauses at the appropriate place in their conversation.

Not too surprisingly, men claim the title of champions of overtalking. There’s a word to describe problem of overtalking — talkaholism. The term was coined by a pair of communication-studies scholars (Virginia P. Richmond and James C. McCrosky) at West Virginia University to describe a form of extreme overtaking. They described talkaholism as an addiction, and said that while a talkaholic’s gift with words can help them advance in their careers, their inability to rein in their overtalking can lead to personal and professional difficulties. 

So after reading the article, I wondered if maybe I was a talkaholic. The article listed a self-scored questionnaire that supposedly can identify people who suffer from the condition. The article indicated where the test could be found online, so I took the test. (You can find it on the TIME website if you’re interested.)

It turns our that I’m not a talkaholic. The most you can score on the test is 50 and my score was 25. If you score between 30 and 40, you’re a “marginal” talkaholic. 
So when people tell me I talk too much, I can say that maybe I do, but at least I’m not a talkaholic.
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A few days ago the subject was balloons — specifically the Chinese “reconnaissance” balloon that flew over the U.S. recently. I got to thinking that maybe more time should have been spent on the “early” balloons….

It appears that back in the 18th century sometime, some inventors turned their attention to balloons. They began by attaching something heavy to something filled with lighter than normal air — like hot air. The very first balloons were hot air balloons. My extensive research uncovered a story about a Brazilian priest (turned inventor, I guess) that some think may have “invented” the hot air balloon. I mentioned the other day that the first recorded use of reconnaissance balloons was during the French revolutionary wars. Apparently the French were among the first to show an interest in balloons. French brothers Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier experimented with hot air balloons and in the late 1700s were ready to send up passengers — a rooster, a duck, and a sheep. The experiment went well… if you don’t count a minor injury to the rooster when he was kicked by the sheep. After that successful “flight,” the brothers sent up a man in a balloon that was tethered — the balloon was attached to a line that was anchored to the ground. 
Soon afterwards a couple of Frenchmen went aloft in a balloon, cut the line and sailed over Paris at an altitude of about 3,000 feet. They burned wood and straw to maintain a supply of hot air and were aloft for about 25 minutes and covered about five and a half miles. The flight caused quite a stir in Paris and created a frenzy over balloons throughout Europe.

Balloon mania was on — inventors kept working on balloons. Heated air could get a balloon up, but when the fuel for the fire ran out, the air cooled and the balloon came down — wherever it happened to be. Keeping the fire going in the air was complicated and dangerous. So the inventors began to fill balloons with hydrogen gas. That worked well, but it was very flammable. 

In 1783, Jacques Charles launched a hydrogen filled balloon from the site of what today is the Eiffel Tower and it flew for two hours, covering 27 miles. Among the crowd of onlookers was the American philosopher-statesman — and inventor — Benjamin Franklin. Ben called called the flight “a most beautiful spectacle.” Of course not everyone was impressed or understood what all the fuss was about. Someone asked Franklin what those floating things could possibly be used for. His reply was, “What use is a newborn baby?” 
It turns out that a use was found soon. In 1793 the first airmail letter was sent from London to Paris by balloon — the letter was addressed to B. Franklin.

Another famous American, President Abraham Lincoln, got interested in balloons on June 17, 1861, when he received a telegraph message from high up in the air. A balloon enthusiast named Theodore Lowe had taken several representatives of the American Telegraph Company up over Washington, D.C. in a tethered balloon. They ran a wire down the tether and sent the first air-to- land telegram. It was forwarded to Lincoln.

Later that night, Lowe’s balloon was tethered over the White House while Lincoln asked about military possibilities. Lowe’s conversation with Lincoln very probably led to the use of balloons by the Union troops during the Civil War. Tethered balloons provided a high platform from which to spy on the enemy. An added psychological benefit was that the balloons looked scary lurking above the battle zone. The Confederacy was unsuccessful in trying to shoot down the Union’s balloons, so they decided they needed some of their own.
 (As an added bonus for taking time to read this, here’s some additional information…. the balloons the Confederacy came up with were made of silk — providing a nice elegant Southern touch to the project. In fact, it gave rise to the tale that Southern belles had donated their best dresses to the air-war effort.)

Of course the one problem that plagued the advancing balloon technology was that they couldn’t be steered. They could only go up and down and were at the mercy of the wind as to which direction and how far they moved sideways. Balloon “pilots” were just passengers, so a lot of effort was put into devices to make the balloons go where the pilots wanted. Inventors came up with oars, sails, wings, parachutes and propellers, but nothing worked. One inventor suggested harnessing a team of vultures, but that idea never panned out. Nothing really succeeded until the development of a lightweight gasoline engine. By the beginning of World War I, balloons were using motors, propellers and rudders.
And the rest, as they say, is history……
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Today is National Chopsticks Day – a fun holiday that we usually celebrate. Actually, we often use chopsticks at home — mostly because it’s just a fun thing to do. But today, being National Chopsticks Day, it’s almost mandatory.

Chopsticks were developed about 5,000 years ago in China. There is a famous tale that Confucius advised people not to use knives at the table because knives would remind them of the slaughterhouse. Chinese chopsticks are usually 9 to 10 inches long and rectangular with a blunt end. 

Over a quarter of the world’s population use chopsticks as their primary utensil for eating. However, the first chopsticks were probably used for cooking, stirring the fire, serving or grabbing bits of food, and not as eating utensils.

Chopstick shapes and lengths vary according to region or country. Generally Chinese versions are tapered with blunt ends and Japanese chopsticks are shorter and more pointed.

So put the silverware away today — eat whatever you’re having with chopsticks and have a Happy Chopsticks Day!
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Today, February 5, is the end of the Chinese New Year celebration. Chinese New Year, known as the Spring Festival, typically lasts 15 or 16 days and always ends with the Lantern Festival — that’s today/night. Chinese New Year begins with the first new Moon of the year and ends with the following full Moon

Tonight’s full Moon is commonly known as the Full Snow Moon because February is usually the snowiest month in the United States. Various cultures, of course, had their own names for each month’s moon. The Cherokee tribe called February’s full moon the Bone Moon because by this time of the year, the tribe’s winter food supplies had usually dwindled down to the point where people had to gnaw on bones and cook bone marrow soup in order to survive.

Last evening the Moon was spectacular — I expect nothing less when tonight’s full Moon rises.
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Since I’ve been writing this blog, there are certain subjects that I’ve deliberately avoided. It seems there is enough classified information floating around in public already….
But the news has been full of stories — and speculation — about the “Chinese spy balloon” flying over the United States. 

I’m going to ignore the political and international relations ramifications, but the subject of balloons themselves is interesting and deserving of a blog by me…..
Modern-day “spy” balloons consist of a piece of spying equipment, like a camera, suspended beneath a balloon that floats above a given area, usually carried along by wind currents. Balloons in this day and age usually (possibly) carry radar equipment and and are probably solar powered. The balloons usually operate above 70,000 feet — that’s well above where commercial airlines operate.

If you have an inquisitive mind (like me) you probably wonder why balloons are still used today, what with all the advanced technology, like satellites, readily available. Well, there are probably lots of reasons, but balloons are much cheaper than satellites, much cheaper to launch and if you need to retrieve them — well, that’s easier and cheaper, too.

I remember during the Civil War (no, I wasn’t there) the Union sent soldiers, equipped with binoculars,  up in hot air balloons to gather information about Confederate activity further away. They relayed their information back via morse code or a piece of paper tied to a rock. I did some extensive research on balloons and found that the first recorded use of reconnaissance balloons was at the Battle of Fleurus against Austrian and Dutch troops during the French revolutionary wars. 

So again, trying to not be political or contribute to worsening international relations, what’s the deal with the Chinese balloon? 
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the object is merely a civilian weather observatory blown off course. I guess if you don’t think about that too much, it sounds feasible. But — from what I’ve read, this particular balloon has the ability to maneuver. How much this balloon can maneuver seems important to me — most balloons just go up and down and are at the mercy of the winds. If this balloon can be controlled toward specific destinations, that puts it a step or two above any balloon I’m familiar with. Another thing that doesn’t compute with the Chinese Ministry’s explanation is that this balloon has been “up there” for at least days, maybe months. Weather balloons usually only remain aloft for a number of hours. I also read that the Chinese balloon is roughly the size of three buses — the weather balloons I’ve seen are probably no more than 20 to 30 feet in diameter.

Even though it appears that the Chinese balloon is “controllable,” what if it isn’t? Do wind patterns at different altitudes make it possible to send a balloon over a specific location? At those altitudes, the prevailing winds are west to east. So a balloon launched in China can end up in the United States, but if a balloon is launched in the U.S., it wouldn’t be able to go west (to China.) So it’s possible to choose a specific place to launch a balloon and have a reasonable chance it’ll go over the area of interest. But it’s location certainly can’t be controlled with a lot of accuracy. So what will happen to the Chinese balloon? If it’s not controllable, eventually it’ll come down — somewhere.

There’s no limit to what kind of modern technology you can stick on the bottom of a balloon, whose technology is very old. Just like during the Civil War, the whole point is “higher ground.” Military leaders alway talk about capturing or dominating the higher ground. Higher ground recently has been space, but that’s becoming congested and satellites are vulnerable to attack. So maybe balloons are the high ground of the future. 

Anyhow, it’ll be interesting to see how the Chinese Spy Satellite Story plays out. The good news is that it’s keeping the mass shootings out of the headlines for a few days…..
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Well here it is the second of February already and time for my annual Groundhog Day Blog.
On this date every year the townsfolk in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania gather in Gobbler’s Knob to watch as a furry marmot is plucked from his burrow to predict the weather for the rest of the winter.
Some people get confused about what it means if the groundhog sees his shadow — or doesn’t. According to folklore if Phil (the groundhog) does see his shadow (meaning the Sun is shining, I guess) winter will not end early, and we’ll have 6 more weeks of it. If Phil (the groundhog) doesn’t see his shadow (cloudy, I guess) we’ll have an early spring. 

Members of Punxsutawney Phil’s “inner circle” claim his predictions are 100% accurate. However that claim isn’t 100% accurate. According to sources that track these sorts of things, the accuracy number is more like 39%.
Before Punxsutawney Phil came into vogue, people relied on the Old Farmers’ Almanac for their weather predictions. The Farmers’ Almanac uses a mathematical and astronomical formula to make their long-range weather predictions — not, as they say, folklore. People that are fans of the Almanac say their weather forecasts are accurate 80-85% of the time. So apparently division of opinions exists in weather forecasting as well as politics.
Whether you’re a fan of Phil, or not, over the years he has gained respect and we celebrate a “holiday” that’s stuck around for more than a century.

The date of the celebration coincides with the medieval feast of Candlemas and its pre-Christian predecessor —Imbolc.(Imbolc is also called Saint Brigid’s Day and is a Gaelic traditional festival. It marks the beginning of spring and for Christians it is the feast day of Saint Brigid, Ireland’s patroness saint.)
An old Scottish prophecy ties Candlemas to the weather….
As the light grows longer
The cold grows stronger
If Candlemas be fair and bright
Winter will have another flight
If Candlemas be cloud and snow
Winter will be gone and not come again
A farmer should on Candlemas day
Have half his corn and half his hay
On Candlemas day if thorns hang a drop
You can be sure of a good pea crop

Even though Punxsutawney Phil is the focal point of the oldest and largest annual Groundhog Day celebration, there are other celebrations and other groundhogs….
West Virginia has their own famous groundhog — French Creek Freddie. In case you want to attend sometime, French Creek is between Hacker Valley (Webster Countty) and Buckhannon (Upshur County.) It is the location of the WV Wildlife Center.
So no matter what the weather, spring will officially arrive with the Vernal Equinox on March 20, 2023 at 5.24 pm EST.
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Today is not only Groundhog Day, it’s also Candlemas Day…. some proverbs link the day to the weather, much like Groundhog Day. For example: “If Candlemas Day be fair and bright, winter will have another light” and “If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain, winter won’t come again.”

The word Candlemas derives from candela meaning candle — Candlemas is also known as the festival of light. The day is celebrated on February 2 to honor light warding off evil and death and assuring prosperity. It is a Christian festival commemorating the presentation of Jesus at the Temple of Jerusalem and his role as a light to enlighten pagan nations. 

The first written records of this day’s celebration date back to the 5th century. They  narrate the journey Mary and Joseph made to the temple with the infant Jesus. The Church created Candlemas Day to replace pagan cults that placed light at the heart of their rituals. The Romans held torchlight processions in February to purify the Earth at the end of winter. It was also the month of Lupercalia — a festival of purification held in Rome to revive fertility by releasing vital forces. 

Over time, the Lupercalia became more involved with scandalous excess and the Christian community looked on the activities with a disapproving eye. In the year 494, Pope Gelasius I decided to ban this festival and replace it with Candlemas processions and the blessing of candles in churches. The blessed candles serve as a symbol of Jesus Christ, representing his day of induction into Judaism.

For most of us, Christmas ends when we take down out Christmas decorations or have to go back to work, but Candlemas, which comes 40 days after Christmas, is officially the end of Christmas. 
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