More Soda Madness

Over the past week, I had the opportunity for the first time to try the new overload of flavors, known as Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper. The rumor is that Dr. Pepper is a cola with prune juice added. Now they were not content with just adding cherry flavor but they have also added vanilla. We should be thankful that they didn't add Lemon. (I tend to not like my soft drinks "on the rocks with a twist, anyway.)

There is, of course, also a Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper. I suppose its motto should be "Tastes more like the original that any other cherry vanilla doctor-based* soda than any other. I have not heard if there were plans for any Caffeine Free versions in the future. To add to the fun, Dr. Pepper on their website offers this tease: Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper is the first in a series of exciting new fountain classics from Dr. Pepper coming soon to a soda fountain near you. I am awaiting the new unreleased old classics that they are developing!

*Footnote: a doctor-based soda would be Dr. Pepper or any clone, such as Dr. Thunder, Dr. Slice, Dr. Perky, Docterrific, Dr. K, Dr. A+, Dr. Diablo, etc… Included in this list would be Mr. Pibb, who I am assuming is still working on his PhD. Excluded from this list should be the otherwise appropriately named Dr. Enuf which tasted like a Sprite with dissolved vitamins added. One bottle and I thought, Enuf! For more information on this topic, visit your local library or consult these webpages:
http://www4.stat.ncsu.edu/~bmasmith/drpepper.html
http://members.tripod.com/lchristensen/drs/

Play Sad Libs!

Play Sad Libs!
(Sad Libs plays just like M-- L---, but I think M-- L--- is trademarked, or something...)

There's not much more too much difference between Sad Libs and the other one, is that Sad Libs is more geared towards adults from the standpoint that the resultant stories are going to be things that grown ups understand better, like income tax forms or stories ripped from the headlines.

<- Click the image to play.

So far, I have 2 games posted.
The shorter game is called "Spin Cycle"
The longer game is called "Sponsored by the Letter N"



If you like the games, I am always open for suggestions on new topics to turn into Sad Libs.

10 words you can't say on television

There are ten words you can't say on television, or anywhere else for that matter, but it has nothing to do with George Carlin's reason.

In Robert Ripley's second Believe It or Not book, written in 1931, he claims that he wrote down 10 common words on a note card and showed the words to many people that he met. Over 100,000 people were shown the list, and according to Ripley, nobody ever pronounced all 10 words correctly.

Here's the list: (try to pronounce them in your mind)

Data
Gratis
Culinary
Cocaine
Gondola
Version
Impious
Chic
Caribbean
Viking

Now, to be fair, Data and Caribbean, have both been mispronounced for so long that either pronunciation has become acceptable. It used to be that Data was supposed to be pronounced "Daa-tuh" and not "DAY-tuh" and I can't find a dictionary old enough to show me correct pronunciation of Caribbean, but I suppose "CARE-ib-be-un" is correct and "Cuh-RIB-be-un" is not. (Caribbean is based on the word Carib, pronounced "Care-ib", the name of the type of people that live there.)

Also, to be fair, Gratis and Impious are rarely used anymore. Gratis, which is a fancy way of saying "Free" is properly pronounce "Grah-tiss" and not "Gray-tuss." Impious does not mean imp-like and is not pronounced "Imp-ee-us". Instead it means "not pious" or "not reverent" and is pronounced "im-PIE-us."

The problem with Cocaine is do you stress the CO or the CAINE, but if you are high, it doesn't matter. Gondola has the same problem, as we usually say "GONE-doh-lah" but it is really "gon-DOH-lah"

I admit you have to be picky with Version as most people these day say "Ver-zhun" and not "Ver-shun" and I am still not convinced I can tell a difference.

I am not sure how you could say Viking improperly.

When you first see Chic, you want to pronounce it like Chick, but really should pronounce it like Sheik.

Finally, I have been listening to people mispronounce Culinary for ten years now. Instead of "cuh-lih-NAIR-ee" it is "CUE-lih-nair-ee."

Feel free to check it out at the Merriam-Webstersite at m-w.com, but by now the improper pronunciation is accepted as alright. Also feel free to be overly critical over anything I put in print. By now I deserve it.

Physics and Glucose

Here are two concepts that I submit for your consideration:

The Dual Nature of Caffeine Theorem

The Dual Nature of Light Theorem, simplified says that light is neither a particle or a wave. I propose that caffeine is neither a stimulant drug or a non-stimulant.

If (especially as a college student) you need to stay up late to get work done, you are likely to drink lots of sodas (or coffee, tea, or whatever your intake method of choice might be) in hopes that you can stay up late. However, invariably, thirty minutes later, the buzz has worn off and you are more tired than before you drank the Mountain Dew.

Yet, if you drink a Mello Yello right before bedtime, you will squirm in bed half the night (and have lots of good thinking time).

You might find that I talk about soft drinks often.

My final thought on this topic:
Jolt Cola = Twice the Caffeine, Twice the sugar, Twice the disappointment.

Potential vs. Kinetic Candy.

Kinetic energy deals with how much energy an object, perhaps an anvil, has while it is moving. Potential energy deals with how much energy an object, perhaps a VW Beetle caught in a palmetto tree, is storing when held at an elevated position (or the energy it could have when crashing to the ground).

If you loathe physics, ignore this paragraph:
lets say that the anvil weighs 1kg and has been falling for 5 seconds. The acceleration of gravity is 9.8m/s/s, so after 5 seconds, a falling anvil's velocity would be 49m/s. Kinetic Energy is measured as KE=1/2*m*v(^2), this anvil would be 1/2*1*(49*49)=1200.5 Joules. I will not calculate the potential energy of a VW in a tree. Let this be an exercise for the reader!

When I was a child and would go trick-or-treating on Halloween night, I would always gleefully go over my stash and carefully examine what and how much I had. Kinetic candy would be how much enjoyment I would get when eating a piece of candy. Potential candy is the amount of candy I had on the table when I got home that night.

Over the next week, each night I would eat 3 or 4 items, but I would never eat the last fun-size bag of M&Ms, because then, I would lose the potential for eating it in the future. To me, I gained more enjoyment over knowing how much I had left compared to how much I enjoyed eating that item. Then, by mid November, I would put the bag of everything in the fridge, never to be opened again. By next October, it will have all been thrown away. In some weird way, the thought that I could go get any of that candy at any time during those months was more important to me.

Except for Skittles. I hated Skittles. I also hated Mary Janes and those peanut-butter flavored candies that were in the black and orange wrappers but didn't have a name. Their candy potential would cancel out a Sugar Daddy.

And, what have we put in the pay phone coin return slots?

There are two urban legends I have had passed on to me several times over the years. The most common one is that the FCC is considering making it illegal to show anything religious on television, citing separation of church and state, but I am not here to talk about this one.

The other one I have seen is that gangs have a new initiation process, where the new gang member drives around at night with their headlights off. Then, when the first person flashes their headlights at the gangmember, the gangmember will turn their car around and hunt down the other motorist and shoot and kill the driver.

Now, thanks to websites like snopes.com, people like us can check the validity of these urban legends. By now, if you have ever checked out these urban legends, you have probably stumbled across this headlights hoax. The well-informed people will now not be wary of flashing their headlights at cars with their beams off.

If I were to start a gang....(hold on for a moment, I don't like gangs, so I would start a well organized militia) If I were to start a militia, I would want my militiamen to target only the well-informed people. As part of the initiation into my militia, when they are flashed by headlights, they would need to turn around and... (hold on for another moment, I don't condone violence, either) and catch up to the driver and give a really good noogie! That'll show 'em!

Can we spell your city?

According to ePodunk.com, the following list is of the 15 most misspelled cities in the United States. Instead of listing them in the order in which they are frequently misspelled, they are re-arranged in alphabetical order.

1) Albuquerque, NM
2) Ashville, NC
3) Chattanooga, TN
4) Cincinnati, OH
5) Culpeper, VA
6) Detroit, MI
7) Fredericksburg, VA
8) Gloucester, MA
9) Manhattan, NY
10) Niagara Falls, NY
11) Philadelphia, PA
12) Phoenix, AZ
13) Pittsburg, PA
14) Tuscon, AZ
15) Worcester, MA

However, to be evil, I have myself intentionally misspelled three of these cities on the list. Did you catch on? Also, can you now find the three cities on the list that I misspelled. If you can't decide, feel free to check the link to ePodunk at the top.