Issue 8 by Blunite's Graphic & Design

Volume 1 Issue 8

The Neatest Little Paper Ever Read®

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TIDBITS® “SEES” THAT

THE EYES HAVE IT!

by Patricia L. Cook If you see things 20/20, you have good eyes to observe our world and be amazed! Let’s see what we can learn about our amazing human eyes and some other eyes as well. • Seeing things with 20/20 vision is commonly considered good vision in the United States. In Canada and the rest of the world that uses the metric system, normal vision is 6/6 (6 meters as opposed to 20 feet.) This term basically means that you 1618 St. Joe Center Road; Fort Wayne, IN 260.481.9223 have “good visual acuity at 20 feet” (6 30 days unlimited m), which is normal distance vision. tanning only $19.95 • The Snellen chart was Large variety of lotions developed by Dr. Hermann Snellen, Teeth Whitening a Dutch ophthalmologist, in 1862. 4 levels of tanning This “eye” chart has 11 lines of block Locally owned/operated letters, beginning with a single letter Mon-Sat 8-11; Sun 10-7 at the top, usually E. The size of the letters gets smaller from the top of the chart to the bottom, so there are more letters on the bottom row than on the top. The eighth row of letters is usually Blunite Graphic and Design the line for 20/20 (6/6) vision. Sixty-one percent of Americans wear corrective Call (260)469-2417 lenses to get to “normal” vision. • So, are all letters of the alphabet on the chart? No. The letters used are only Logo’s C, D, H, K, N, O, R, S, V and Z. These Computer Graphic are the Sloan letters, which were designed by Louise Sloan in 1959. These letters are called “optotypes.” Websites turn the page for more! ●

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Tidbits® of Fort Wayne, Allen County The EYES (continued):

www. Entertain Fort Wayne .com

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KFWS • MindGym

February 21, 2011

• Babies’ eyes are about 75 percent of the size of adult eyes at birth. The optic nerve, internal eye structures and visual function continue to develop in the first two years of life. • Each component of the eye has a special function, and together the components are necessary for good vision. Eye professionals have to spend a lot of time figuring out all of the ways to “fix” vision problems. Imagine the days before eyeglasses, contacts and surgeries were available! Today, we are able to see well into old age. • The Chinese claim to be the inventors of eyeglasses but apparently used them initially only to ward off evil spirits. These eyeglasses were for protection and probably lacked the ability to improve vision. Historians are unsure who invented the first eyeglasses used to improve vision. • The first known artistic representation of eyeglasses was a painting by Tommaso da Modena in 1352. The glasses in his painting were perched on the nose of his subject even though most known early glasses for improving sight were not. Monocles, scissors-glasses and lorgnettes used for improving vision were either worn around the neck on ribbons or chains, clipped to clothing or just hand-held. • Monocles were framed lenses attached to a chain or ribbon and used for one eye when needed. Lorgnettes were two lenses in a frame that the user would hold up to the eyes. They were somewhat of a fashion statement, especially for ladies. They were popular at the opera and masquerade parties. Scissors-glasses were two lenses on a Y-shaped frame that, like a monocle, were hung on a ribbon or chain. • Have you ever heard the term “pincenez?” These were two-lens glasses that “pinched” the nose in order to stay on. The name comes from French: pincer, to pinch, and nez, which means nose. They too were in frames and attached to a cord, ribbon or chain. • London optician Edward Scarlett perfected the use of sidepieces or arms that attached to lenses in 1730. His new style eyeglasses that slipped over a person’s ears, eliminating the need for chains, also freed the hands. They were popular and rapidly spread worldwide. • Contact lenses are not as “new” as you may think. The idea goes back to the late 1800s when glassblower F.E. Muller, a German known for making glass eyes, blew a protective lens for a man who had cancer. The patient wore the lens for 20 years until his death, without losing his vision.

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term “contact lens” actually is attributed to a Swiss physician, Dr. A. Eugen Fick, who published the results of experiments with the lenses in 1887. Sometimes there is confusion over which eye professional to see for eye problems. Opticians manufacture and dispense glasses and contacts. They often deal with patients after they have seen an optometrist or ophthalmologist. An optometrist is a vision professional who can diagnose vision problems, prescribe contacts and eyeglasses, provide treatment before and after eye surgery and prescribe drugs for various eye problems. Ophthalmologists are licensed medical doctors and can do everything performed by optometrists plus they can perform eye surgery. An ophthalmologist must complete four years of medical school following a college degree and an internship that focuses on their desired specialty. Animal eyes are varied in their placement, size and acuity. Many animals have vision that is far superior to humans. Maybe that is why we never see animals with eyeglasses! Do you know which animal has the largest eyeballs on earth? That would be the giant squid, whose eyes are about the size of beach balls (about 18 inches, 45.7 cm). Imagine meeting those underwater! Ostriches have the largest eyes of any land animal, measuring about two inches (5 cm) across. Ostrich eyes are bigger than their brains, which are about the size of a walnut. If someone says you are “blind as a bat,” consider this: Bats are not blind, but they don’t use their eyes to see. They use sound waves instead. They make high-pitched sounds and listen for the echoes when the sounds bounce off objects. This is called echolocation. Whales, dolphins, some shrews and a few species of birds also use echolocation. Horned toads (short-horned lizards) are interesting little reptiles that have a couple of very odd talents to help them ward off predators. They can inflate their bodies up to twice their size, looking like little spiny balloons, and some of the species have the most bizarre ability to shoot blood from their eyes. The blood comes from ducts in the corners of their eyes and can travel up to three feet (one meter). This “talent” is used to confuse predators and contains a chemical that is noxious to coyotes, wolves and dogs. Have you ever been told you have “eagle eyes?” If so, you must have great vision. An average person can see a rabbit at about 550 yards (503 m), while an eagle can see it at about a mile (1,760 yards or 1,609 m). So, protect your vision and enjoy what you see!

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TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH By Paul G. Donohue, M.D. Are Getting Chilled, Catching Cold Linked? DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My friend and I have an ongoing discussion about how we catch colds. I believe the only way is by being exposed to a germ. My friend agrees, but also says you can become chilled, and that results in a cold. Please settle this once and for all. -- L.G.

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By Chris Richcreek

ANSWER: The only way to catch a cold is to meet up with a cold virus. But let’s kick this around a little while it lies there quivering. Rhinoviruses are responsible for many colds. This virus is passed from one person to another most often via the hands and fingers. An infected person invariably will have virus on his or her hands and fingers. If that person touches another person’s hands or fingers, the virus is transferred. All the second person has to do is touch his or her nose or eyes and the virus has found a new home. (The drainage channel for tears siphons viruses into the nose.) It’s also possible to spread a cold through sneezing or coughing, but that’s a secondary route. Many colds are preceded by a body chill. That’s part of the infection symptoms, and that might be what your friend refers to. Once a virus lands in a person’s nose, the time till the development of cold symptoms is short -- eight to 12 hours. Runny nose, nasal stuffiness, scratchy throat, cough and sneezing are typical symptoms. They peak in 48 hours and are gone in about one week. A person is most contagious during the first three days of symptoms, when nasal discharge is at high volume and when it contains the most viruses. If by “chilling” your friend means being in a cold blast of air or getting your feet wet in frigid weather and shivering as a result, she has a slight point. That kind of chilling constricts the nose’s blood vessels and decreases mucus production. It might, therefore, permit cold viruses to mount a more effective attack and can contribute to the ease of catching a cold. All the same, without the virus there is no cold. *** Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.

1. Who is the only player in major-league history to have at least 500 doubles, 100 triples, 600 home runs and 300 stolen bases? 2. How many consecutive seasons did Joe Torre manage a team to the major-league playoffs? 3. Which NFL team has appeared in the most conference championship games? 4. In 2010, Eric Bledsoe hit eight 3-pointers in an NCAA Tournament game to set a University of Kentucky record. Who had held the mark? 5. Jarome Iginla entered the 2010-11 NHL campaign with the longest current streak of at least 20 goals in consecutive seasons, with 11. Name three of the five players tied for second with 10 seasons? 6. In 2010, Sebastian Vettel became the youngest driver (23 years, 133 days) in Formula One history to win the season championship. Who had been the youngest? 7. Name the last left-handed men’s tennis player before Rafael Nadal in 2010 to win the U.S. Open. Answers 1. Willie Mays. 2. Fourteen seasons with the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers (1996-2009). 3. Pittsburgh has appeared in 15, beginning in the 1972 season. 4. Tony Delk hit seven in the championship game in 1996. 5. Daniel Alfredsson, Milan Hejduk, Marian Hossa, Vincent Lecavalier and Joe Thornton. 6. Lewis Hamilton was 23 years, 301 days old when he won the world title in 2008. 7. John McEnroe, in 1984. (c) 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.

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Tidbits® of Fort Wayne, Allen County

AGAINST ALL ODDS:

CAPTAIN SCOTTY SMILEY

Scott Smiley graduated from The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 2003. He took the motto of “Duty, Honor, Country” very seriously — and still does. His life changed drastically on April 6, 2005. • Smiley had been through Army Ranger training and was a combatdiver qualified infantryman with plans to serve in special operations. He was a lieutenant in charge of a Stryker Brigade Combat Team platoon in Iraq when his future plans were altered. • On that April day when Smiley’s platoon came upon a nervous-looking man in a suspicious car, he ordered the man to get out of the car. The man hesitated but got out with his hands up and then set off a massive bomb. The last thing Smiley remembers seeing was, “that man’s face, and his hands in the air.” The bomb sent shards of metal through his left eye into his brain, also damaging his right eye socket. Smiley was the only soldier hurt of the eight in the armored vehicle. • The story of Scotty Smiley is not really about the accident but about his dramatic perseverance and determination. He could have taken disability retirement from the Army and sat around feeling sorry for himself. • Instead, Captain Scotty Smiley has set a fine example, showing his abilities and not bemoaning his disability. Since his injury he has climbed Mount Rainier, surfed in Hawaii, skied in Vail, Colorado, gone sky-diving, completed a triathlon, and graduated from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business with his MBA (Masters of Business Administration).

• Captain Smiley has won many awards and honors, both civilian and military, in the five years since he was wounded. He was named Soldier of the Year in 2007 by The Army Times. He was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for service to our country through the U.S. Army. • He won an ESPY award for Best Outdoor Athlete for mountain climbing in 2008. (ESPY awards are presented by ESPN television network. ESPY stands for: Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards.) • He also was awarded the MacArthur Leadership Award in 2009. This award honors officers who demonstrate the ideals for which General Douglas MacArthur stood. Recently Captain Smiley taught the core course in leadership at West Point, and on February 1, 2010, he accepted command of the Warrior Transition Unit at West Point’s Keller Army Medical Center. He is only the second wounded warrior to hold a command position and the U.S. Army’s first blind active-duty officer. • Smiley is married to Tiffany, his high school sweetheart, and they now have two sons. He attributes his recovery and determination to his family, faith and friends. “It was my wife, my family and friends who were in my hospital room singing songs and reading the Bible that gave me the strength during my recovery,” he says. • September 14, 2010, was the release date for “Hope Unseen,” written by Captain Scotty Smiley with Doug Crandell. The book chronicles his struggles and triumphs. His inspirational story helps us see that we can make the best of any situation that comes our way. Grab a copy at a bookstore or library near you.

Banana Pudding That innocent-looking pudding you grew up with is, alas, packed with calories and fat. But here’s a sweet reprieve: By halving the cream and sugar, replacing four egg yolks with two whole eggs, and swapping in low-fat milk for whole, you save 243 calories, 19 fat grams and 95 milligrams of cholesterol per serving. Go ahead, have a dollop. 1/3 cup sugar 1 tablespoon sugar 1/4 cup cornstarch 1 pinch salt 3 cups low-fat (1 percent) milk 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 40 reduced-fat vanilla wafers, about half of an 11-ounce box 3 medium ripe bananas, thinly sliced 1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream Chopped walnuts, for garnish Banana slices, for garnish

February 21, 2011

King Features Weekly Service

1. In 4-quart saucepan, combine 1/3 cup sugar with cornstarch and salt. Whisk in milk; heat to boiling on medium, stirring frequently. Gradually add eggs in thin, steady stream, beating vigorously to prevent curdling. Cook 1 minute, stirring. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. 2. In shallow 1 1/2- to 2-quart casserole or serving dish, place 20 vanilla wafers; top with 1 1/4 cups pudding, spreading evenly, and half of banana slices. Repeat layering once. Top with remaining pudding, making sure to coat banana slices. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight. 3. When ready to serve, in medium bowl, with mixer on medium speed, beat cream and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread whipped cream over pudding. Garnish with walnuts and banana slices if you like. Serves 8. Each serving: About 290 calories, 10g total fat (5g saturated), 77mg cholesterol, 180mg sodium, 45g total carbs, 1g dietary fiber, 7g protein. For thousands of triple-tested recipes, visit our website at www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/. (c) 2011 Hearst Communications, Inc. All rights reserved

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Down on the Farm

Speed -- in twos -- is the new name of the game for the upcoming Daytona 500 at the newly repaved Daytona International Speedway. (John Clark/NASCAR This Week photo)

Speedway Dance Lessons DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- What is clearly understood at Daytona International Speedway is that no one understands it clearly. The Daytona 500 shapes up as an indecipherable quandary wrapped up in a riddle. Each time NASCAR changes rules, particularly at Daytona and Talladega, more changes than the rules. Some changes are completely unexpected. The latest changes, which also involve the installation of new pavement at the track, have NASCAR’s best drivers pondering just what they are going to do and smartest mechanics feverishly analyzing what just happened. After test sessions in December and January, drivers spoke of the track’s $20 million surface as if it were a present under a tree on Christmas morning. A common claim was that the Daytona 500 was going to be “just like Talladega.” If that’s true, Talladega Superspeedway is really going to have to change. The racing in the Budweiser Shootout was, in fact, like absolutely nothing that preceded it. Talladega has been described as dangerous, thrilling, nuts, off the wall (literally) and even random in nature, but what transpired at Daytona on Friday night was weird. If the Budweiser Shootout had been featured on the menu at Waffle House, it would have been ordered scattered and smothered. The cars only seem to race in groups of twos. Not two-by-two, down through the pack. Two here, two there, two everywhere. If a drivers loses his partner, his car falls into what might as well be an abyss. If he pulls in front of two cars, they run over him. If he tries to pull in behind, they leave him. Until he finds a partner of his very own, he might as well be coasting to a stop on the Highway to Hell. In the Shootout, the various and sundry duos dynamic, guided by the various and sundry captains courageous, drafted at more than 206 mph. Alone in qualifying on Sunday, the fastest car, driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr., was 20 mph slower. “It’s all about getting locked on,” said the second fastest qualifier, Jeff Gordon. “When you’re the lead car, you feel as if you’re constantly being pushed. You feel a little tap. If you’re not getting that tap, I mean, you drop 5 mph instantly. “We always thought, in drafting, four cars were better than two cars, and eight cars were better than four. That’s over. Three cars would actually go faster than two if you could get them together, but you can’t do it because the second car becomes the middle of a sandwich and it gets out of control.” Sort of like a heavy coat of mayonnaise ... squirting out. “Trust me,” said Gordon. “You’ve got to have a partner.” NASCAR officials seem to have been caught as unawares as anyone. Now it appears likely that rules are going to change again -- they already limited the carburetor restrictor plates once -- meaning that in the Gatorade Duel qualifying races on Thursday, new mysteries will crop up. Some say “let ‘em race,” or, more likely, “have at it.” Unfortunately, everyone seems still to be learning how. *** Monte Dutton covers motorsports for The Gaston (N.C.) Gazette. E-mail Monte at nascarthisweek@yahoo.com. (c) 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.

The sun on the back of the neck, the feel of the earth in your hands, seeing the first green shoots growing out of the ground ... all of this can be quite healing for a veteran who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or a brain or physical injury. All across the country, large and small farms have opened their doors to veterans who want (or need) to get back to the land. Veterans who have gone into farming enjoy a sense of purpose in the physical work, while taking the time to heal. While thousands of veterans are signing up for education benefits or funds to start a new business, other veterans are digging in the soil. The opportunities are varied: weeks-long training classes, farms where veterans are working, transition camps for those who want to try it out. Some farms are wheelchair accessible, with elevated beds that are easy to reach. Some are CSA farms, with crops grown for a specific market, with the customers paying in advance. If becoming a farmer sounds like something you’d like to explore, here are some ideas: • The Farmer-Veteran Coalition [www. farmvetco.org] matches returning veterans with farmers and funding, and also hosts two-day farm retreats. • The Veterans Farm [www.veteransfarm. giving.officelive.com] is an accessible farm for disabled veterans. It hosts 14week horticultural therapy programs to learn how to grow organic fruits and vegetables. • Vet Farms [315-863-5143] in upstate New York offers instruction in planting, tractor operation, marketing and more. • Combat Boots to Cowboy Boots at the University of Nebraska’s Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture [ncta. unl.edu], in coordination with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Agriculture, offers training and career placement for veterans wishing to become farmers or ranchers. The typical American farmer is nearly 60 years old. Where will the next generation of farmers come from? It could be you. Write to Freddy Groves in care of King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475, or send e-mail to columnreply@gmail.com. (c) 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.

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Tidbits® of Fort Wayne, Allen County

SNOWFLAKES

level of the Old Red Mill in Jericho. much more fascinating snowflake Bentley captured 5,000-plus snow information. Nature provides us with a plethora of crystal photomicrographic images • Another physicist, Ukichiro Nakaya, beautiful things to observe. Snowflakes during his lifetime. More than 2,000 who is actually a nuclear physicist, falling from the sky on a cold winter’s of his images are in his book, “Snow has studied snow crystals (or day are an amazing sight. Crystals,” published in 1931. snowflakes) for many years and • Is it really true that it can be too cold was the first person to make artificial to snow? According to “Farmers’ • The first research grant ever awarded by the American snow in 1936. His development Almanac,” that is false. The better Meteorological Society was given made it possible to extend ski statement is: “It can be too cold to to “Snowflake” Bentley in 1924 for seasons all over the world. The snow heavily.” As long as there is a his 40 years of “extremely patient Ukichiro Nakaya Museum of Snow source of moisture and some way work.” He had articles published and Ice in Katayamazu in Kaga to cool the air, it can snow. Most in National Geographic, Country City, Japan, is about 311 miles heavy snow events happen when Life, Popular Mechanics, Monthly (500 km) west of Tokyo. Another air temperature near the ground is Weather snow museum in Japan is located at or above 15º F (-9.4ºC). at Hokkaido, the northernmost • Wilson A. Bentley of Jericho, • Kenneth Libbrecht, professor of physics at Caltech in Pasadena, island of Japan. The Snow Crystals Vermont, was an early pioneer California, has a website that Museum of Asahikawa looks like an in the study and photography shows diagrams of the 35 most Austrian castle. of snowflakes. An exhibit of the common types of snowflakes. The • Snowflake, Arizona, is a place “Bentley Snow Crystal Collection” February 21, 2011 website, snowcrystals.com, has you might expect to be covered at the Buffalo Museum of Science some interesting facts and figures with a large amount of snow in the at the University of Buffalo in and even information on some winter. The town, the northernmost Buffalo, New York, shows the deep great places for snowflake touring. community in Arizona’s White interest in snow of the man known Mountains, actually receives less as “Snowflake” Bentley. A farm boy • You may recall a set of four commemorative snowflake stamps than a foot (30.5 c) of precipitation who was mostly home-schooled, in 2006. The four stamps issued by per year. Snowflake was not named Bentley had a great interest in the U.S. Postal Service used four for the winter flakes that fall but after nature, and being in one of the original photographs taken by Dr. two Mormon settlers, Erastus Snow snowiest areas of the country, he Libbrecht. The photos were taken and William Flake, who started the spent a lot of time studying snow. in Fairbanks, Alaska, Houghton, community in 1878. He photographed snowflakes Michigan, and two in Northern using photomicrography, which is Ontario. Dr. Libbrecht also has photography through a microscope. published a number of books about • The Jericho Historical Society has snowflakes. Look for them at a mementos of “Snowflake” Bentley bookstore or your local library for in its Museum opened in the lower

KFWS • MindGym

February 21, 2011

4. What “type” water did Jesus offer the Samaritan woman at the well? Fresh, Cool, Living, Clean 5. From John 10, to what type animals are Christians compared? Camels, Sheep, Lions, Serpents 6. Which of these was a type of food? Yoke, Manna, Prodigal, Mina 1. Is the Book of 1 Thessalonians in the Old or New Testament or neither? 2. To keep Adam and Eve away after the Fall, what did God place around the Tree of Life? Smoking pits, Deep moat, Cherubim with flaming swords, Walking vipers 3. In 2 Samuel 12, what personality did God name Jedidiah? David, Amos, Solomon, Joab

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ANSWERS: 1) New; 2) Cherubim with flaming swords; 3) Solomon; 4) Living; 5) Sheep; 6) Manna Wilson Casey’s new book, “Firsts: Origins of Everyday Things That Changed the World,” is available from Alpha/Penguin publishing. (c) 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.

KFWS • MindGym

February 21, 2011

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KFWS • MindGym

February 21, 2011

ANSWERS