What I Learned This Week - 1/3/14

1.  Hundreds of people in Connecticut participated in several days of kindness at a local Starbucks. Each person in the drive through paid for the car's order behind them from 8am Christmas Eve Day to 9am the Day after Christmas (yes this location was open on Christmas).  That makes me warm and fuzzy inside….and not from the Venti Peppermint Mocha.
2. I have no idea what the sizing criteria is at Starbuck's and must use my hands to indicate my desired beverage size "fishing style".
3. My kids love the fact I never use my real name when ordering Starbucks. 
4. Most kids these days have no idea who Isaac Asimov is, but believe in one of his ideals, “Do not fear computers, fear the lack of them”
5. The Facebook Friends icon looks like Luke Skywalker standing with Darth Vader. I can’t unsee this.
6. Scientists have revealed that it is impossible to fry foods in zero gravity. The good news is that fried food gets better when cooked in a centrifuge with forces greater than 3 g's.  *cough* my birthday is coming up.
7. Some of the best made-up words come from my kids playing the game “Boggle”.
8. The only thing better than a Boggle made-up word is the response that two other people at the table had the same word.
9. If it wasn’t for Facebook, I don’t think I’d have contact photos for ¾ of the people on my phone.
10. My youngest is convinced she has super powers but doesn’t know how to activate them yet.
11. According to the Oxford dictionary, the word “muggle” is defined as someone with no particular skills. I no longer consider myself a muggle.
12. Those little SD cards you use on a daily basis aren’t just sticks of memory. They actually have a small inexpensive micro-controller in them that allows for manufacturing deficiency work-arounds  - basically they are little mini-computers. Yes, those controllers can be hacked to create funny jokes or steal information.
13. No the Colorado state flag has not been changed to a bag of Doritos with a pot leaf on it……yet.
14. Whenever someone calls me their “Peep”, I poke my stomach and state something about trying not to be so marshmallowy.
15. You can make new adjectives or adverbs by using a word and adding “Y” to the end…this makes some English professors I know all uptighty and restlessy.
16. A couple in their 60s set a world record in Australia after running a marathon each day for 366 consecutive days. All of my questions for them revolve around logistics and funding.
17. Dr. Seuss’ book, “Green Eggs and Ham”, contains only 50 unique words because of a bet he made with his editor.
18. Dr. Seuss’ book, “Yertle the Turtle” is a representation of Hitler, but the controversy the book stirred up was the due to the first appearance of the word “burp” in a children’s book.
19. My kids forget I answer Dora….and the Captain at the beginning of Spongebob.