October 30, 2021

Tonight is Goosey Night

It's the night before Halloween, when kids and teenagers roam around soaping windows, ringing doorbells and then hiding, throwing toilet paper into trees and so on. Here's some information about it.

Excerpts by permission of the author, from her blog offeringstone

"If you grew up anyplace in the U.S. other than Passaic or Sussex (and possibly Bergen) counties in northern New Jersey, you’ve probably never heard of Goosey Night. Goosey Night always takes place on the night before Halloween, October 30.

...

When I went to college some 40 miles south, in Middlesex County, I found out that Central Jersey folks called October 30 Mischief Night, and had never heard of Goosey Night. Some years later, in 1977, a magazine called N.J. Monthly published an article about the many localisms that distinguished the speech of New Jersey residents. Among other things, the article said you could tell what part of New Jersey someone grew up in by what they called the night before Halloween. I don’t recall the details, but in some parts of New Jersey it was called Cabbage Night (Bergen County) or Tick Tack Night (Trenton area). Years later I read that this was called Devil Night in Detroit. Goosey Night was confined to Passaic and Sussex counties, and maybe a few spots in Bergen County. And none of us had the faintest idea where the name came from, or what it means.

...

Other names for Goosey Night include Corn Night*, Doorbell Night, Mickey Night*, Trick Night*, Miggy Night*, Mischievous Night*, Egg Night, Moving Night, Beggar’s Night, Damage Night (Cincinnati, OH), Mat Night (Quebec, Canada), Mizzy Night (Liverpool, UK), and Hell Night. Those marked with asterisks come from Yorkshire, England, along with Tick Tack Night, mentioned earlier. Tick Tack Night has an interesting origin, having nothing whatever to do with tiny breath mints.

...

So where did the term Goosey Night come from? My best guess is that it evolved from the custom of guising or mumming, which dates back to the Middle Ages, when it usually took place during the Christmas season. Guising means dressing up in disguise."

https://offeringstone.wordpress.com/page/3/

October 29, 2021

Meta: Facebook's new name ridiculed by Hebrew speakers

BBCNews

Facebook's announcement that it is changing its name to Meta has caused quite the stir in Israel where the word sounds like that for "dead".

To be precise, Meta is pronounced like the feminine form of the Hebrew word.

A number of people have taken to Twitter to share their take on the name under the hashtag #FacebookDead.

The emergency rescue volunteers Zaka even got involved, telling their followers on Twitter: "Don't worry, we're on it".

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-59090067

October 28, 2021

Metamucil changes its name to Facebookmucil

CEO admits the move was difficult, since both firms deliver crap

September 15, 2021

Saudi Arabia camel carvings dated to prehistoric era

BBC News

A series of camel sculptures carved into rock faces in Saudi Arabia are likely to be the oldest large-scale animal reliefs in the world, a study says.

When the carvings were first discovered in 2018, researchers estimated they were created about 2,000 years ago.

This was based on their similarity to reliefs at Jordan's famous ancient city of Petra.

But a fresh study puts the camels at between 7,000-8,000 old.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-58570259

September 3, 2021

Saw this and HAD to share

Buzzfeed has an article with some bizarre Australian news headlines. This:





Link: https://www.buzzfeed.com/jemimaskelley/australian-news-headlines?origin=web-hf

August 24, 2021

WTF in NJ People not wearing masks

We are visiting friends in NJ and have been shocked to find almost nobody is wearing masks. There is no mask mandate. It seems the mandate was lifted around Memorial Day, so could this be in order to cater to the tourism industry?

I checked on the state COVID info site and the last update was in JULY.

August 18, 2021

Tornado watch in DC area

NBC4Washington

A tornado watch is in effect for the D.C. area as heavy rain and possible flooding are expected.

The tornado watch is in effect until at least 8 p.m. in D.C.; 16 Maryland counties including Frederick, Montgomery and Prince George's counties; and 20 Virginia counties including Arlington, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun and Prince William counties; and the Virginia cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park.

A flash flood watch is in place for parts of the D.C. area until at least 10 p.m. The greatest risk for flash flooding will be along and west of Interstate 95.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/weather/weather-stories/wednesday-weather-forecast-dc-maryland-northern-virginia/2776065/

August 13, 2021

Interesting voting maps

August 10, 2021

Just asking

What happened with the Alpha, Beta and Gamma variants?

July 28, 2021

From ports to rail yards, global supply lines struggle amid virus outbreaks in the developing world

Oh-oh

By David J. Lynch
July 26, 2021 at 6:46 p.m. EDT
Washington Post (paywall)

Fresh coronavirus outbreaks are forcing factory shutdowns in countries such as Vietnam and Bangladesh, aggravating supply chain disruptions that could leave some U.S. retailers with empty shelves as consumers begin their back-to-school shopping.

The overseas work stoppages are just the latest twist in almost 18 months of pandemic-related manufacturing and transportation woes. The new infections come as two of the largest U.S. railroads last week restricted shipments from West Coast seaports to Chicago, where a surge of shipping containers has clogged rail yards.

Supply headaches stretching from Asian factory towns to the American Midwest are intensifying as the economic recovery tries to outrun the highly infectious delta variant. Aftershocks from earlier limits on a major Chinese port following a rash of covid-19 cases are expected later this month to worsen backlogs at U.S. West Coast facilities.

Chronic shipping delays also are feeding inflation, just as consumers prepare to stock up for the coming school year. Spot shortages of clothing and footwear could appear within weeks, and popular toys may be scarce during the holiday season. Even as the U.S. economy is slated to enjoy its fastest growth since 1984, supply lines now are expected to remain snarled through the first half of next year or longer, according to corporate executives.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/07/27/supply-chains-freight-rail-ports/



My daughter saw an unusual number of empty shelves at the Giant supermarket yesterday.

I couldn't get a new filter for the kitchen faucet water filter. Customer service said they were all out and had no idea when or if it would be available again.

Been trying to buy a new refrigerator for months, but the brand and model remain unavailable.

I'm getting a worried feeling.