April 24, 2013: Fishycle

There was once a man who owned a particularly large fish, one that was bigger than him.  He had a system of large containers filled with water grafted on top of the fish's gills, along with pumps to keep the water moving, so that the fish could breathe without needing to stay in a tank.  He also had wheels, handles, and bicycle pedals added on to the creature.  In the end, he had a large mobile fish that he could use for his personal transport from work to home.

Soon, however, the fish grew tired of being used as a wheeled mount.  On a Thursday that very week, the fish knocked it's owner off of it's back and repeatedly ran him over.  The man was sent to the hospital with severe injuries, and the fish escaped scot-free.

April 19, 2013: Opporteeuuneahteee

Opportunity describes a chance to do something important.  Truly great opportunities are known to be exceedingly rare, and to be able to recognize and act on one is one of the wisest things a person can do.  They appear to everyone, but they are more often than not left unrecognized.

Opportunity invariably came to all major figures in history.  Had not a fortunate opportunity shown itself to, say, George Washington or Thomas Edison, we would be without our government or reliable ways to control electricity.  Opportunities can also come more mild to most, providing a short increase in providence for those who happen across them.

April 18, 2013: Shocking!

Lightning is a natural phenomenon attributed to strong storms, and is always accompanied by it's sound counterpart, thunder.  It is the result of titanic electrical charges building up inside certain clouds, with the only place it can ground itself to usually being the ground.  Lightning is extremely lethal, being known to take more lives per year than tornadoes.

Lightning bolts are known to be hotter than the surface of the sun, a testament to their intensity.  In large sandy areas, such as deserts, lightning is able to instantly solidify the sand it strikes into glass.  Should we be able to harness lightning for personal use, 'twould be a great boon indeed.

April 12, 2013: WONDERFUL BUTTER CANDY

Caramel is the result of cooking down sugar, which becomes a smooth, thick liquidous substance that makes for an excellent candy.  Pictured above is the old man from one of the old Werther's Original commercials, the brand name being that of a type of hard caramel candies, and a good example of what can be done with caramel.  The title of this entry is from a line from the same commercial.  Caramel even works wonders on apples.

The creation of caramel is a process known as caramelization, achieved by heating sugars to 340 degrees Farenheit (170 degrees Celsius), which melts the sugars down into their sticky confectionary form.  Adding water to the mix creates caramel sauce, a thinner variety useful for toppings.  Milk caramel is similar, created by heating sugars and milk together to only 120 degrees Celsius, which causes the milk to caramelize, but not the sugars.

April 11, 2013: Caught in a Snare

The snare drum is a principal member of the percussion family.  It is used in nearly every music genre, from orchestra to rock, to even marching bands.  It can be used to put down an excellent rhythm, especially if you don't want your drumline to be too bass-heavy.  It blends so well with most genres, likely due to the range of music it works in despite the fact it is unpitched.  The warm, punchy sounds are something I always find satisfying.

Snare drums operate by using snares made of various materials, usually spiraled metal cords, that vibrate against the bottom head when the drum is hit.  It is also possible to move the snares off of the bottom head, in which case the drum has a tonal similarity to a tom.  The snares can also be adjusted to alter the sound when the drum is stricken.  The size and depth of the drum also influences the sound - drumkit snares and standalone orchestral snares are usually similar in size, while marching snares are much larger and have a distinctly different sound.

April 10, 2013: Horrible Hammer-Watching Dog

There was once a zombie dog, one that owned his own dog house with electricity and television.  He enjoyed watching old Hammer horror films, for obvious reasons.  He also still had some nice thick fur on his head from his living days, and very much enjoyed to brush it, although he had to be careful to not pull his flesh off of his skull for it was too rotten to be handled roughly.  He also liked to pelt intruders with hammers.  He led a happy un-life, although he couldn't go out very much due to being a zombie, so he hired a human to act as a supplier, who would go to the nearest prison and request death row inmates for the dog's food, and who would also buy new movies for him.

The happiness would soon end, however.  The neighborhood became fully aware of the undead animal, and with no regard for the fact that it was placid and only wanted to eat dangerous criminals and watch movies in peace, they marched upon the hapless beast, got into it's supply of hammers, and tried to kill it.  The supplier luckily returned at this time and explained everything to the angry mob, calming them considerable and making them return to their homes.  The dog invited several people over as an apology for scaring them, and had a massive marathon of his movies.  They just had to cope with the smell.

April 9, 2013: Freewriteception

Freewriting is the act of writing about whatever one wants.  It is great for encouraging creativity, for it allows students to do whatever they please with their assignment.  Creativity is good, and thus freewriting must also be good!  This assumption is only logical when you take into account the slow decline of creativity in students...at least, that's what I see, MOST of the time.  Thusly, I like freewrites and am freewriting about them!

When one freewrites, it gives a sense of freedom, free of any non-free assignments that suffocate and discourage freeness.  Freewriting makes it so that if you want to write about something, you can without worry of the authority coming down upon you.  It's truly writing free of outside intervention.  Free free free free free free free free free free.