Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

I would like to wish a happy Mother's day to my mom, my grandma, my aunts, cousins and all the other mothers out there.


A special thank you to my mom, who has always thought twice for me (and my siblings), supporting me as a parent and a friend, and for loving me unconditionally.

Smart people are born in May...and winners are born in March

Smart people are born in May...and winners are born in March.

I was born on May 10 at 5:28 AM, making Miss Shana Bananas with her guess of 4:33 AM the winner of the official Encyclopedia Branigan Crownie Making Kit. Yay!! I'm guessing I might be getting a Crownie cake this year... haha.

A close runner up was Maven, who guessed 7:13 AM, in third place was LJ with 2:45 AM and honorable mention goes to JAG with 11:27 AM. They will all receive certificates from the University of Branigan for their participation.

I would also like to recognize Paul, and award him the Early Bird Gets the Worm Award, for being the first person to wish me Happy Birthday! Next contest you get three guesses. :)

Thank you for your participation!!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday which celebrates the Mexican defeat of the French army at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. It is celebrated mostly in the region of Puebla and is not a federal holiday in Mexico.

In the U.S., however, Cinco de Mayo is widely celebrated (or has been since I turned 21) by Mexican-Americans, college students and twenty-somethings. So this Cinco de Mayo, get out there, have some fun and commemorate those who fought in Pueblo so many years ago...

For more information on Cinco de Mayo, click here, or visit your local liquor store.

Enjoy!

People who listen to Beethoven have high SAT scores

People who listen to Beethoven have high SAT scores, according to a study by Virgil Griffith, a grad student from Caltech. He took music (and book) preferences from Facebook and crossed them with SAT scores and created this an ingenious cross-section of music and SAT scores, proving what kind of music high SAT scorers (and not so high scorers - sorry wanna-be country singers, rappers and fans of The Used) listen to.

But it's true! I did not score very high on my SATs. (Nope. I did really badly - I am a horrible test taker) BUT I graduated college Summa Cum Laude and I would have to say I enjoy and listen to a lot of the music on the lower end of the spectrum. So while SAT scores do impress colleges (and your mom) they are not a direct reflection of a person's intelligence.

So, all the Lil' Wayne lovers, don't give up! Just make sure you invest in a quality tutor, preferably one that listens to Beethoven.

For more information on Virgil and his awesome work, click here.

Smart people are born in May (and love free stuff)

Smart people are born in May, not to say that people in other months are not intelligent or skilled, but the month of May produces some real talent including:

• Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
• Audrey Hepburn
• Tom Bergeron
• Harry S. Truman
• Billy Joel
• Paul "Bono" Hewson
• Salvador Dali
• George Carlin
• Yogi Berra
• Robert Pattinson
• Stephen Colbert
• Janet Jackson
• Bob Saget
• Tina Fey
• Andre the Giant
• Cher
• Notorious B.I.G
• Mr. T
• Tommy Chong
• LaToya Jackson
• John F. Kennedy

and, last but not least, ME!


The stats are there; two Jacksons, two presidents, and two hosts of America's Funniest Home Videos. How can you argue with that? Take into account Mother's Day and Memorial Day and it's plain to see that May is where it's at.

One week from today, May 10th, will be the birthday of yours truly (it will also be Mother's Day, love you mom). So what better reason to give away FREE STUFF? YES!

Here is the deal. Guess what time I was born. So simple. So easy. What do you win if you guess correctly?


An official Encyclopedia Branigan Crownie Making Kit!!! This all-inclusive baking experience includes:

• Bowl
• Oven mitts
• Dishtowel
• Spatula
• Cookie mix
• Brownie mix
• Pan
• Oil
• Oven timer
• Measuring cup
• Official Encyclopedia Branigan Crownie recipe (you saw it here first, betty)

No, I wasn't kidding when I said all-inclusive. You get everything but the perishables. I don't mess around.

Here are the rules:

• Comment below with your guess in the hour/minute format (time zone not needed) - 0:00
  
• Choose AM or PM - if you do not include you will be disqualified
• No duplicates
• Siblings/family, asking my mom will not help you; Friends, facebooking my dad will not help you
  
• Closest time wins
• Include your e-mail address, robot style, unless you like junk mail
• Submit your guess by 11:59 PM EST on Thursday, May 7th, winner will be announced on Friday, May 8th. Just in time for you to bake for Mom (or give to mom, if you are a lazy child) on Mother's Day!

Happy guessing!!

There is a 1 in 40 chance of winning Mega Millions

There is a 1 in 40 chance of winning Mega Millions, overall. The chances of winning the mega millions jackpot is 1 in 175,711,536 (so there is a 1 in 175,711,536 chance I will not be going to work tomorrow).

I'll turn it all into pennies, and swim in it.

So how is the overall chance of winning 1 on 40? Check out the chart below (courtesy of the NJ Lottery)


So say you only get the power ball, you would still win $2 - that means a $1 profit, not too shabby. While my eye is on the jackpot, I wouldn't turn my nose up at $250,000.


Mega Millions jackpots are usually, well, mega millions of dollars. Where does all the money come from? Mega millions of people. It is the largest multi-state lottery and is available in California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

Now if I win, I promise I will keep on writing (I'll have more time to blog while I'm lying on my island) but I will give out MUCH bigger prizes.

What would you do if you were a mega winner?


Click here for the winning numbers.

You cannot get the swine flu from eating pork

You cannot get the swine flu (H1N1) from eating pork, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.). But you can get it from other people. There are a couple of things you can do to prevent the spread of the disease, including:

• Covering your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze
• Washing your hands often with soap and water
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth
• Strengthening your immune system with good nutrition and vitamins

How do you know if you have the swine flu? Symptoms of the swine flu include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. If you think you may have the flu, do not go to work, school, wherever... go to the doctor. Don't wait, just go. Drugs like Tamiflu and Relenza have been effective in treating the flu. According to U.S. health officials, seasonal flu shots do not prevent the swine flu.

What exactly is the swine flu? According to the C.D.C.:

Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses that causes regular outbreaks in pigs. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do happen. Swine flu viruses have been reported to spread from person-to-person, but in the past, this transmission was limited and not sustained beyond three people.

For more information about the swine flu, visit PandemicFlu.org, or follow the C.D.C. on twitter @CDCEmergency.

It's better to be bitten by a dog than a human

It's better to be bitten by a dog than a human because aside from rabies, the majority of germs in a dogs mouth do not effect humans, whereas all of the germs in a human mouth will get other humans sick. Not to say a dogs mouth isn't dirty, they eat plenty of horrible things, or that a dogs teeth wouldn't do more damage than a person's, but the risk of infection is significantly less for a dog bite than a human bite. Personally, I'd rather not be bitten by anything.

Pick your poison....

According to a reputable source (someone I know with EMT training) a human bite has a 100% chance of becoming infected. I happen to know this from experience. A friend of mine was recently bitten by a human on the PATH train (no lie). The biter was a drunk girl who was yelling and making a ruckus on the train. A male friend of mine told the girl to be quiet, as it was very annoying, and in reply she lunged at him, striking him repeatedly with her purse, and then decided to attack my other friend (an innocent bystander), and went Mike Tyson on her finger. No worries, the crazy cannibal girl was arrested...and the train is safe again. Thank you transit police. It was quite an ordeal, resulting in a trip to the hospital, a tetanus shot and an infected finger.

Friends don't let friends bite strangers.

Human bites are more common than you may think. They are the third most common kind of bite treated in emergency rooms (after evil cats and puppies), with 60% of bites occurring above the waist.

So what should you do if you, or someone you know, is bitten by a human? Here are a few steps to preventing serious infection:

• Wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water (or if you are somewhere that is not available, like a train station, hydrogen peroxide or alcohol)
  

• If the wound is bleeding, apply pressure to help stop the blood flow

• Bandage the wound to protect it from further contamination
  

• Have the wound examined by a medical professional; it is very likely that antibiotics and a tetanus shot will be needed in order to prevent serious infection

For more information on the treatment of human bite wounds, click here.

More than 35 million Americans are hungry

More than 35 million Americans are hungry. Not just, I want a snack hungry, on the verge of hunger. Even worse, 12 million of these Americans are children.

Lets bring it home... according to the Poverty Research Institute, 1 out of every 5 New Jersey families cannot afford the basic necessities of life (food, shelter etc.) even though 85% of these households have one working member. Really? Sitting in my one bedroom apartment, fully stuffed from a Cheesecake Factory dinner, warm, clothed and healthy, it seems almost impossible to believe that 1 in 5 of the people in my state, my neighbors, could be unable to provide food for their families.

Unfortunately this is the reality, but it gets much, much worse. Check out these real-time stats from StopTheHunger.com. Just watch the numbers roll. One sixth of the world is undernourished - and a little more than that are obese. It doesn't make sense.

So right now there is a good possibility you are sitting in front of your computer, jaw a little dropped, and if you're in a position where you can provide food and shelter, feeling grateful for what you have in life.

How about doing something to help?

Fourteen world-famous photographers have banded together to form a coalition called “Photographers Against Hunger.” Each photographer has donated a signed an iconic print of Bruce Springsteen (long time supporter of the Community Food Bank of New Jersey). For a $25 entry fee, you are eligible to win one of these photographs. You can enter as many times as you want (hundreds, thousands of times! kidding, well unless you want to). Proceeds go to the to Community Food Bank of New Jersey. Check it out at www.backstreets.com/hunger.


For more information on how you can help the hungry in your backyard, visit the Community Food Bank of New Jersey.

Max Randall Branigan was born on April 22, 1991

Happy Birthday Max!

I tried to find a picture that correctly represented Max and his ability to make everyone around him laugh...I found something even better, a video...

Welcome to the adulthood! You can now legally vote, go to a strip club, get a tattoo (sorry Mom), get an unrestricted licence and buy lottery tickets. Yay for you!

Hail can grow to the size of a volleyball

Hail can grow to the size of a volleyball. The largest one on record was 7 inches in diameter and 19 inches in circumference.

That's bigger than my head!

Where does hail come from? Hail usually falls during severe thunderstorms. Inside the Cumulonimbus clouds that make up thunderstorms there are strong updrafts of warm air and downdrafts of cool air. Water droplets get caught up by the updrafts and freeze in the high altitude. The frozen droplet then falls with the downdraft. The droplet can then be picked up by another updraft, giving it another coat of ice. Eventually, if the droplet travels up and down through the cloud enough times, it falls to the ground as hail. If for some reason you didn't follow my description (I did take Understanding Weather and Climate in college, but I clearly got nothing from the experience) here is a diagram:

Better?

According to the National Weather Service, hail causes one billion dollars (what!?) in damage each year. Tonight I was caught in a short hail storm, and I am amazed that I made it home without a dent in my car. The mini hail I encountered, while personally frightening (I'm not a fan of thunder or its accessories), is nothing like the hail in Tornado Valley, and could have been much, much worse.



For more information on hail, click here.

One hundred apologies, Mr. Centipede (and other bugs with good intentions)

One hundred apologies Mr. Centipede, I didn't know that you were only here to help me. It's true. While the common house centipede (with its venomous legs and hideous exterior) looks pretty terrifying, its actually something you want in your house. The creepy inch-long beasts feed on bedbugs (eww dead skin-eaters), termites (destructive monsters), cockroaches (overall grossness), silverfish (not even necessary) and ants (filthy food stealers).

Are that many legs really necessary...

If I had only known! Maybe I wouldn't have sucked him up into my Dyson (lies). Centipedes are one of the many bugs with good intentions. Yes, they creep us out, but they are the lesser of two evils. Another commonly killed do-gooder is the spider.




Spiders are another creepy crawler that get the vacuum. Arachnophobia, a fear of spiders, is the most common animal-based phobia. Yes, spiders can bite you and spin webs across paths and old doorways so you walk into them without knowing it, but your everyday house spider eats two of the most annoyingly terrible disease spreading wastes of life bugs ever...mosquitoes and flies. These two flying nuisances bring nothing to the table (and are the reason I own an electric tennis racket). So next time your about to kill that spider on your ceiling, be a gentleman and bring it outside, so it can continue to eat the other bugs you don't want around.

Of all the bugs with good intentions in the universe, there is one I hate/fear the most...the Cicada Killer.

Need I say more?

Cicada killers might look vicious, but male killers can't even sting, and females have to be severely provoked to. However, cicada killers eat a far more annoying bug, you guessed it, the cicada. All cicadas do is sleep for 17 years and then wake up and make vile noise all summer. So cicada killer, while you scare the crap out of me, I'd rather one of you than thousands of googly-eyed noisemakers.

This post was inspired by the centipede I found in my apartment. Ughh

There are over 30,000 McDonald's restaurants on Earth

There are over 30,000 McDonald's restaurants on Earth, and they serve approximately 47 million people per day - that could feed everyone in the state of New York twice in once day with enough left over for everyone in New Jersey (that's a lot of happy meals).


McDonald's can be found everywhere, in malls and shopping centers, chain discount department stores, airports and even hospitals (I lived across the street from a hospital that had a 24 hour McDonald's; we would walk over in the middle of the night and grab happy meals... such rebels...I'm surprised we were never stopped by security).

Don Gorske of Wisconsin has eaten 23,000 Big Macs in the last 36 years. He eats a steady two Big Macs per day, and weighs a mere 185 lbs (really? How is that fair?). Not only that, according to the 2004 documentary, Super Size Me ( I recently watched it on Hulu, which is like YouTube, on steroids) Gorske's cholesterol is at a healthy level (again, really? I eat salad like it's my job and mine is sky-high...maybe he is on to something).


A Big Mac is 540 calories and 29 grams of fat, which means Gorske consumed 12,420,000 calories and 667,000 grams of fat from Big Macs in the last 36 years (how is he not obese?).

I'm not a big fast food eater, unless:

1. It's realllly late at night and I'm starrrrving
2. It's really late at night and I've been drinking
3. I am attempting to recover from a long night out with a dose of grease - nothing beats a sports drink and french fries to cure a hangover
   

I guess the key for normal people is to enjoy fast food, like everything else in life, in moderation.

That includes you, Grimace.

This post was inspired by Super Size Me, which taught me that eating McDonald's for 30 days straight with minimal exercise will, in fact, make you fat. Duh.

The Easter Bunny does not lay eggs

No, the Easter Bunny does not lay eggs. Many wonder why is the Easter Bunny associated with Easter. The name Easter is taken from the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, Eostre. Eostre was associated with fertility, and was symbolized by rabbits and eggs (eggs are a common symbol of birth, and rabbits are extremely fertile, and can get knocked up with a new litter while they are pregnant with a first).

Eostre's feast was celebrated during the Vernal Equinox, just around the time of Jesus' resurrection. When the Anglo-Saxons converted to Christianity, the two holidays combined, and became Easter, bringing the symbolic egg and rabbit with it.

Regardless of why, the Easter Bunny is a fixture in the celebration of Easter, spreading chocolates, hard boiled eggs and bright marshmallow animals to children all over.

Have a happy Easter!


This post was inspired by Katie wanting to know why the Easter Bunny exists.

Passover in the U.S. lasts two nights because of the moon

Passover in the U.S. (and anywhere else outside of Israel) lasts two nights because of the moon. Back in the day, the Jewish people followed a lunar calendar, with each month starting with the new moon. Each month, someone needed to witness the new moon and then passed the word on to others that it was a new month. They didn't have 5 million methods of communication like we have today, so the news of a new month didn't always get there on time - celebrating for two days versus one insured that people outside of Israel got the right day.

And what is Passover you ask? Passover, or Pesach, commemorates the exodus of the Jewish people from 400 years of slavery in Egypt over 3,000 years ago (back, back, back, back in the day, believe it or not it's the year 5769 for the children of Israel). We have a very symbolic dinner called the Seder, which is filled with lots of symbolism...

...four glasses of wine...

and like any other Jewish holiday, way too much food.


During Passover Jews refrain from eating leavened bread (or anything that rises) for seven days, which means I won't be eating anything fun until Sunday (which is when I decide to embrace my Branigan roots, and break Passover for Easter).

For more information on Passover visit Judaism 101.

This post was inspired by Crissy and her questions about Passover.

And the biggest cheese ball is...

Well, most accurate guesser of number of cheese balls, is MAVEN!

The actual number of balls in the barrel was 960 (as determined by serving size, and, no, they were not Utz brand).

Congrats to Maven for his guess of 700 cheese balls and his first Encyclopedia Branigan win. Treasure this moment.

Second place goes to amelia for her scientific estimate of 600 balls...

...third place is awarded to das boot for a guess of 427 balls...

...and last but not least, honorable mention goes to LJ who guessed 327 balls.

I would like to also recognize paulzak2 for his guess of 1,120 balls, which was the closest guess to the actual number of balls (unfortunately, due to complaints on previous contests the "go over and lose" rule was implemented).

Thank you all for your participation and keep an eye out for the next opportunity to win free stuff!

Cheese balls were originally made out of livestock feed (and free stuff)

Cheese balls, cheese curls and other cheese puff snack foods were invented at a factory that made flaked food for livestock. No, I'm not talking about party cheese balls or MTV True Life "where are my cheeseballssssss?", I'm talking about old fashioned processed snack food cheese balls (you know, round, bright orange, puffs of "cheese" -- You've seen them in the supermarket, next to the industrial sized barrels of "party mix").

One day, around 1930 or so, Edward Wilson, a flake machine operator at the Flakall Company noticed that when the flaked food was mixed with water and heated it created a puffy curl of corn. He took the puffs and added oil and flavorings -- thus creating the first cheese puff. Now there are many kinds of processed puffed corn cheese snacks, and it is estimated that 82% of Americans with families have consumed some kind of cheese puff.

Come back!

Planter's Cheez Balls were so popular that a petition was formed when they were taken off the market to bring them back (sign it here, I dare you).

Ever wanted your own barrel of cheese balls but just couldn't make the commitment to eat the the...um... how many balls are in one of those things? That's where I need some help (giving away free stuff). Check out the below photo...

Click and image will enlarge

if you can guess how may cheese balls are in the barrel (estimate based on nutrition label - the barrel will remain sealed) you win...

...drum roll please...

... the barrel of cheese puffs! Yes. Really. No lie.

A few rules:

• Post your guess in the comments section below
• Include your e-mail address (anti-robot style)
• Closest price wins, go over and you loose
• All entries must be in by 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday, April 6 - winner will be posted the following Tuesday
• Runner ups will receive certificates of participation (looks good cube - certificates have a way of making the smallest desk seem a like a corner office)
• No double guesses, first come first serve

Ready, set, say cheese balls!

Thank God for Post-it® Notes

Sorry Michelle, the adhesive for 3M Post-it® Notes was developed in 1968 by Dr. Spencer Silver (genius) it was not combined with paper to create the wonderful Post-it® Note until fellow 3M scientist Art Fry (another genius) came along. Fry came up with the practical use for the re positionable adhesive when trying to keep a bookmark stuck in his hymnal. Thanks to Art Fry's need to keep his place in church, Post-it® Notes were born.

Post-it® Notes were launched in 1977, but did not go national until 1980. Post-it® Notes were produced exclusively by 3M until 1990 when their patent ran out. They are now produced by other companies under the name of "sticky" or "re positional" notes.

I personally LOVE the little yellow squares. I might be my office's number one user (I had a great cube of bright yellow notes that was given to me by our ULINE rep...but it recently vanished).

Besides the obvious posting of a note, there are many uses for re positional notes including:

• Marking you place in a book
• Cutting off the sticky part to use as tape
• Placing the note sticky side into your keyboard to clean between keys
• And last but not least, vandalizing a co-worker's cube...

For more information on Post-it® Notes visit Post-it.com.

Thanks to the individual who post-ited my cube for inspiring this post. Readers, any ideas for payback?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Irish you all a very happy St. Patrick's Day!

People who fear Friday the 13th suffer from Paraskavedekatriaphobia

People who fear Friday the 13th suffer from Paraskavedekatriaphobia (I am one of them...I am very superstitious). The word is made up of three Greek words, Paraskeví ( Friday), dekatreís (thirteen), and phobía (fear). An individual who is unhappy with today's date may also suffer from triskaidekaphobia, a fear of the number 13.


This Friday the 13th has already gotten off to a bad start, (we got lost three times on the way home from the Bacon Brothers concert at Hard Rock Cafe Times Square -- how is that even possible?) making my case of paraskavedekatriaphobia even worse.

The next Friday the 13th will occur on November 13, 2009. For those who suffer from paraskavedekatriaphobia, 2009 is a terrible year with three occurances of the unlucky day. Never fear, there is only one Friday the 13th in August of 2010, so rest easy till then.

Thanks to Katie for bringing this information to my attention.