Some facts about the Detroit Lions

There's going to come a time when we don't celebrate going to the playoffs or getting into the playoffs, but that's not going to be tonight. It's been a long time coming and obviously it's something that we haven't done as an organization for a long time. Especially to do it at home in front of a great home crowd on Christmas Eve.
~Jim Schwartz, Lions Head Coach

In 1934 the then Portsmouth Spartans (of Ohio) were purchased by Dick Richardson and moved to Detroit. The cost of the team was just under $8K. The team was renamed the Detroit Lions. The first game the Lions ever played was on September 23, 1934 when they beat the New York Giants 9-0.

In 1935 the Lions won the NFL Championship. The 1935 season was 7-3-2. They won the Championship game against the New York Giants 26-7. The quarterback on that winning team was Earl Clark.

It has been up and down for Lions fans ever since.



Teams that have never played in a Super Bowl:

• Cleveland Browns
• Houston Texans
• Jacksonville Jaguars
• Detroit Lions

There is a longer list of teams that have never won a Super Bowl, and obviously, the Lions are on that list too. The Lions have had only 1 playoff victory since the year 1957 when they kicked the sh ...beat the Dallas Cowboys 38-6.

The Lions have played on Thanksgiving day since 1934 (except during WWII).  The 1934 Thanksgiving game was played against the Chicago Bears. Dick Richards arranged for the game to be televised nationally. The Lions lost the first ever Thanksgiving Day game. The now traditional game was played against the Bears for the first 5 years. In the 50s and 60s, the Lions played Green Bay. As time has gone on, most teams have challenged the Lions on Thanksgiving. It is thanks to the Lions and Dick Richards that football has become a part of our Thanksgiving tradition.

 In 2008 was the bottom of the barrel for the Lions. It was a perfect season at 0-16. An NFL record.

Note: The Dallas Cowboys were granted the privilege to play on Thanksgiving in 1966.

Something else I learned: The Detroit Lions have no official cheerleaders. There is Detroit Pride - I hope the Lions do not continue to ignore them.

The Latest in Televisions - LG Announces 55" OLED TV Panel

Television is chewing gum for the eyes.
~Frank Lloyd Wright

Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED), are more efficient than Liquid Crystal Display  (LCD) displays. They

• Consume less power
• Are brighter and have better contrast
• Can be extremely thin and flexible 

OLEDs are made from carbon and hydrogen - thus organic. This is a pioneer product for eco-friendly electronics. OLEDs are semiconductors made of a couple of layers of organic compounds between electrodes. OLEDs emit light through a process called electrophosphorescence. Applying a voltage across the OLED causes an electric current to flow through the organic layers from the cathode to the anode. The current gives appears as visible light. The light color depends on the type of the organic molecules in the layers.

OLEDS are very thin. Very, very thin!  Less than 1/4".  They are currently used in small displays - smartphones, cameras, MP3 players. The hopes for the future of OLED include:

• Flexible televison screens
• Wearable OLEDs
• OLEDSs embedded in windows and car windshields

 Last month, LG announced the upcoming release of a 55" OLED TV panel that has a contrast ratio of 100,000:1. It will be approximately .20" thick (thin). Thry have not yet announced the cost. OLEDS have been historically cost prohibitive, but there has been a concerted effort to bring the cost down. We shall see.




Here is a list of the advantages and disadvantages of OLED.

Note: I want one of these! I am not particularly enthralled by or addicted to teevee, so i will probably hold out for the affordable roll-up one, but still - VERY COOL!

Something else I learned: OLEDs may also become the cost efficient lightbulb of the future.

Wisconsin the Mitten State? Yeah, Right! The Michigan Mitten Will Not Be Usurped!

I don't think Wisconsin should become known as a state where we shoot cats.
~Jim Doyle

Wisconsin started a tourist attraction campaign calling themselves "The Mitten State." One look at a map debunks this so completely, so effortlessly, so unimpeachably!


Where do you see the mitten state?

Try as you might, you simply cannot turn the shape of Wisconsin into a mitten. But they did TRY!

I don't see it. I do, however, belong to a Facebook group called Being able to point at a part of your hand and say, "I live right there."  Maybe if Wisconsin was not right next to the actual mitten state... Even so, it's a stretch.

Michigan residents were, in equal parts, outraged, disdainful, and amused by Wisconsin's attempt to portray itself as a mitten.

• Wisconsin as the Mitten State: What are they drinking over there?
• Michigan gives thumbs-down to Wisconsin mitten campaign ("We're America's high five!")
• Mitten envy: Examining Wisconsin's argument that it is the Mitten State (“Home is Where the Hand Is.”)

Note: I also belong to a Facebook group called Meowing back at a cat when it meows at you.

Something else I learned: People really get into their man-defined boundaries!

Speed Demos Archive Awesome Games Done Quick (Cancer Prevention Foundation)

A large gap exists between the public's perception of video games and what the research actually shows. ~Henry Jenkins, MIT Professor 

I would add that the same perception gap exists where gamers are concerned.

Speed Demos Archive presents Awesome Games Done Quick 2012! 100+ live speedruns for the Prevent Cancer Foundation!

A collection of the world's best gamers livestream over 100 "speedruns" of popular games over a 6 day period (January 4-9 this year). The gaming runs 24/7 for the duration of marathon. Viewers watching the stream make donations to the Prevent Cancer Foundation.

Some of the speedruns this year will include:

• Final Fantasy VII
• Pokemon Red/Blue
• Halo Reach
• Demon's Souls
• Sonic 1, 2, S3&K & Sonic Adventure 2
• Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
• Super Mario RPG
  

See complete list and schedule here.



The event includes special events including prizes, donation battles,  co-op runs, and races. These are all things that are exciting for the gamers and viewers and helps with the fundraising. And it seems to work. In 2011, Speed Demos Archive “Awesome Games Done Quick” Marathon Fundraiser raised over $53K for the Foundation. 

For the next 6 days, world class gamers are donating their time, and average gamers are donating some serious cash to help prevent cancer. It's remarkable really, that most people have never heard anything about it.  This is the third annual Awesome Games. All gamers (and their mothers) know about it.

View speedruns livestream. 

**Update**  (January 11) Total raised $ Donation Total: $146,472.50! Not bad!

Note: The Awesome Games Done Quick event started this afternoon at 3:00PM ET. They have already raised (at 9:30PM ET) well over $10,000.

Something else I learned: Ok, so you want to know what speedrun is. So did I. A speedrun is a play through of a video game, in it's entirety, played with the intent of completing the game as quickly as possible.

Mosquitoes Love the Way You Smell!

The billions of microscopic critters that cloak your skin are a bit like fashionable threads—the ones you're wearing today may be out by next season.
~Ben Harder

A recent study found that mosquitoes are drawn by the scent of bacteria on our skin. Bacterial microbes on human skin have a plethora of variations. This explains why some people seem like mosquito bait, while others shrug carelessly and smugly say, "Really? They aren't bothering me."

There are a couple of hundred microbes present on human skin at any given time. Over 1K unique nonhuman DNA have been identified on a random sampling of volunteers skin. There is a large amount of variation in each individuals sample - not eveyone has the same set of microbes, and the types on each individual can vary from samples taken at different times.

Every person seems to carry a signature microbe habitat.  Although some of the microbe colonies may be long term (perhaps permanant), others seem to come and go. Soap or laundry detergent can effect the type of microbes present, as can fabric of the clothes we wear. And the microbes, it seems, affect body odor.


Mosquitoes prefer to bite those with the odor of abundant bacterial communities, but with less diversity. There is also the possibility that some microbe colonies produce an odor that repels mosquitoes. Further research into the microbes on human skin must be conducted to answer that question.

The full study is available here.

Note: I would like to know more about the microbe colonies on skin, why they are there, what purpose they may be performing, etc, before the latest mosquito repellant containing the right microbes and eliminating the wrong ones hits the shelves.

Something else I learned: Pillows are gross.

The Miracle Material - Graphene, the Strongest Material of All Time

It would take an elephant, balanced on a pencil, to break through a sheet of graphene the thickness of Saran Wrap.
~James Hone, Mechanical Engineer

Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, first isolated graphene in 2004 when the pair used plain sticky tape to to strip a single layer of carbon from graphite. They were awarded the Nobel Prize in 2010 "for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene." Graphene conducts electricity better than copper and conducts heat better than any  known material. Graphene is 200x stronger than structural steel, and much stronger than a diamond. It is also flexible. Consider a laptop you could roll up and slip in to your pocket.

Graphene is being compared to plastic - electricity conducting, flexible, extremely strong plastic. Although still in the early stages of research, the potential ranges from strengthening tires to replacing silicone. The hopeful future of electronics, using graphene:

The military and the business community have become interested in the R&D of graphene. Patents are being filed, and graphene is being produced with the ultimate goal of inexpensive mass production. The "graphene industry" is emerging. The future of technology and electronics hasn't been radically altered for a few years. I can't wait to see where graphene will take us.

Please follow the links provided below to learn more about graphene.

• Columbia Engineers Prove Graphene is the Strongest Material
• THE RISE OF GRAPHENE, by A.K. Geim and K.S. Novoselov
• What is graphene?
• Scientists make magnetic new graphene discovery
• Knighthoods for Nobel-winning graphene pioneers

Note: The predictions about graphene are still only predictions, serious R&D has only just begun. Due to the commercial possibilities, there is now a significant amount of money behind development.

Something else I learned: In addition to the consumer electronics potential, graphene could also make solar panels more efficient, semiconductors faster and aircraft much lighter weight.

New Year's Day Bonus Post - Pictures from Celebrations Around the World

Wow! The World celebrates the start of 2012.

The Temple of Heaven in Beijing, during a countdown event for new year 2012:


More awesome pictures here. I especially like the 1st sunrise of 2012 (at the end).

New Year's Superstitions - Things to Bring Health and Wealth and Happiness in the New Year

Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account.
~Oscar Wilde

Make A Resolution for the New Year
Resolutions for the new year are traditional.

Leave some Money Outside
Before New Year's day, leave some money outside (best if it is money that has not been in your house). Bring it inside on New Year's day. This is for wealth in the coming year.

New Clothes
Red is a good color to wear on New Year's Day, even better if it is a new garment. Red is considered a happy color and attracts brightness.

Keep Your Money
Do not let money, jewelry, or other valuables leave the house on New Year's Day. This is so nothing goes out of the home during the year. (Apparently some people don't even take their trash out on New Year's Day!)

Let the Old Year Out
Open the doors at midnight, to let the old year escape (works in conjunction with another superstition, to open all the doors to let good luck in).

Do not Wash Dishes
Washing dishes or doing laundry on New Year's day is said to lead to a death in the family during the year. This one seems kind of grim and specific, but I like the don't wash dishes! :-)

Do a Small Amount of Work
Doa token amount of work on New Year's Day to ensure advancement in career. Don't begin a major project - that is said to be unlucky on the first day of a new year.

Eat Black-Eyed Peas
In Southern part of the United States it is said that eating of black-eyed peas on New Year's Day will attract both general good luck and.

Eat Cabbage and/or Greens
Eat cabbage or greens on New Year's day. The green is symbolic of money, and assures wealth throughout the year.

Dance in the Open Air
To dance in the open air, especially round a tree, on New Year's Day ensures luck in love and prosperity and freedom from ill health during the coming twelve months.

Get A New Cup/Mug
Before New Year's Day, get a new mug. Set it on the counter, but don't use it until New Year's day. Use it for your first beverage of the new year. This is for good health and good luck through the new year.

Note: I don't actually believe any of this, but there are a few New Year's superstitions we traditionally follow. The new ones I found this year I really like - don't clean too much (definitely don't wash dishes or do laundry!), don't do too much work. I can easily add those to the ones already in place! I also like the food superstitions.