Weather ~ Picture of the Day ~ Butterflies ~ All-in-one Breakfast Toast ~ Computer Security Day

  

Good 36º rainy morning. 

 

 

Yesterday we topped at 53º after starting at 24º.

 

 

Picture of the Day....I love oranges! 😁

 

 

Interesting about butterflies ....

 

 

Butterflies (Rhopalocera) are insects that have large, often brightly coloured wings, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises the superfamilies Hedyloidea (moth-butterflies in the Americas) and Papilionoidea (all others). The oldest butterfly fossils have been dated to the Paleocene, about 56 million years ago, though they may have originated earlier.

 

Butterflies have a four-stage life cycle, as like other holometabolan insects they undergo complete metamorphosis. Winged adults lay eggs on the food plant on which their larvae, known as caterpillars, will feed. The caterpillars grow, sometimes very rapidly, and when fully developed, pupate in a chrysalis. When metamorphosis is complete, the pupal skin splits, the adult insect climbs out, expands its wings to dry, and flies off.

 

Some butterflies, especially in the tropics, have several generations in a year, while others have a single generation, and a few in cold locations may take several years to pass through their entire life cycle.

 

Butterflies are often polymorphic, and many species make use of camouflage, mimicry, and aposematism to evade their predators. Some, like the monarch and the painted lady, migrate over long distances. Many butterflies are attacked by parasites or parasitoids, including wasps, protozoans, flies, and other invertebrates, or are preyed upon by other organisms. Some species are pests because in their larval stages they can damage domestic crops or trees; other species are agents of pollination of some plants. Larvae of a few butterflies (e.g., harvesters) eat harmful insects, and a few are predators of ants, while others live as mutualists in association with ants. Culturally, butterflies are a popular motif in the visual and literary arts. The Smithsonian Institution says "butterflies are certainly one of the most appealing creatures in nature".

 

Etymology

Possibly the original butter-fly. A male brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) in flight.

 

The Oxford English Dictionary derives the word straightforwardly from Old English butorflēoge, butter-fly; similar names in Old Dutch and Old High German show that the name is ancient, but modern Dutch and German use different words (vlinder and Schmetterling) and the common name often varies substantially between otherwise closely related languages. A possible source of the name is the bright yellow male of the brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni); another is that butterflies were on the wing in meadows during the spring and summer butter season while the grass was growing.

 

Paleontology

The earliest Lepidoptera fossils date to the Triassic-Jurassic boundary, around 200 million years ago. Butterflies evolved from moths, so while the butterflies are monophyletic (forming a single clade), the moths are not. The oldest known butterfly is Protocoeliades kristenseni from the Palaeocene aged Fur Formation of Denmark, approximately 55 million years old, which belongs to the family Hesperiidae (skippers). Molecular clock estimates suggest that butterflies originated sometime in the mid-Cretaceous, but only significantly diversified during the Cenozoic, with one study suggesting a North American origin for the group. The oldest American butterfly is the Late Eocene Prodryas persephone from the Florissant Fossil Beds, approximately 34 million years old.

 

Declining numbers

Declining butterfly populations have been noticed in many areas of the world, and this phenomenon is consistent with the rapidly decreasing insect populations around the world. At least in the Western United States, this collapse in the number of most species of butterflies has been determined to be driven by global climate change, specifically, by warmer autumns.

 

^{If you want to read a whole lot more, go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly}

 

 

 

From Mr. Food

 

 

We can’t think of a better way to start your day than with our simple-as-can-be rise & shine favorite. One bite of it and you’ll understand why we love this so much. And although we love the combination of ingredients, we think the whipped cottage cheese, which is super trendy, is what makes this so special.

 

 

• 4 slices thick-cut bacon
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• Coarse black pepper for sprinkling
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 2 slices rustic sourdough bread or any hearty bread
• 2 eggs
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced (optional)

 

1. Preheat the oven to 375º. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place bacon on baking sheet and sprinkle evenly with brown sugar and pepper. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until bacon is crisp.
2. Meanwhile, place cottage cheese in food processor or blender and process until smooth. Toast bread and spread evenly with about 1/4 cup whipped cottage cheese.
3. Cut bacon in half and place on cottage cheese. Top with an egg cooked to your preference (fried, scrambled or even poached). Sprinkle with scallions and black pepper, if desired.

 

This makes enough whipped cottage cheese for 4 servings, so save the rest in the fridge for later in the week and try experimenting with different toppings.

 

 

Historically this date......

1902 – American Old West: Second-in-command of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch gang, Kid Curry Logan, is sentenced to 20 years imprisonment with hard labor.

 

1940 – Lucille Ball marries Desi Arnaz in Greenwich, Connecticut.

 

1954 – In Sylacauga, Alabama, United States, the Hodges Meteorite crashes through a roof and hits a woman taking an afternoon nap in the only documented case of a 
human being hit by a rock from space

 

1982 – Michael Jackson's second solo album, Thriller, with producer Quincy Jones was released worldwide and became the biggest-selling album worldwide and still is to this day.

 

2004 – Longtime Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings of Salt Lake City, Utah finally loses, leaving him with US$2,520,700, television's biggest game show winnings.

 

 

And births this date include...

 

1835 – Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), American writer (d. 1910)

 

1874 – Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Nobel laureate (d. 1965)

 

1918 – Efrem Zimbalist Jr., American actor (d.2014)

 

 

 

1926 – Richard Crenna, American actor (d. 2003)

 

1927 – Robert Guillaume, American actor (d.2017)

 

 

 

1929 – Dick Clark, American television host (d. 2012)

 

1952 – Mandy Patinkin, American actor and singer

 

1965 – Ben Stiller, American actor

 

 

 

All I know. Nuff said. Have a good Thursday. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bobo

Computer Security Day is observed annually on November 30.

Identity theft, fake frauds, ransomware viruses and more can make our online experiences challenging.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Below is a checklist you can follow to help secure your computer. Help spread the word on social media using #ComputerSecurityDay to inform others how they can secure their data!

• Windows Update is enabled.
• Antivirus software is installed and running.
• Windows Firewall is turned on.
• The software on my computer is up to date.
• Strong passwords are always used.
• Passwords are not shared or written down.
• A password is required to access my computer.
• Unused programs are removed.
• My home wireless network is secured.
• My important data is regularly backed up.
• I use caution when I browse the Internet.
• I log off the computer when I’m not using it.
• My web browser does not store or remember my passwords.
• Temporary Internet files are periodically removed.

HISTORY

The first Computer Security Day was in 1988 started by the Association for Computer Security to raise awareness concerning computer security issues.

Weather ~ Picture of the Day ~ Butler History ~ Cheesy Stuffed Meatballs ~ National Lemon Cream Pie Day

  

Good 25º frozen morning. 

 

Yesterday we had clear skies and sunshine and topped at 59º.

 

 

Picture of the Day😁

 

 

Interesting about a butler.........

 

A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlor floor and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its appearance. A butler is usually male and in charge of male servants while a housekeeper is usually a woman and in charge of female servants. Traditionally, male servants (such as footmen) were better paid and of higher status than female servants. The butler, as the senior male servant, has the highest servant status. He can also sometimes function as a chauffeur.

 

In older houses where the butler is the most senior worker, titles such as majordomo, butler administrator, house manager, manservant, staff manager, chief of staff, staff captain, estate manager, and head of household staff are sometimes given. The precise duties of the employee will vary to some extent in line with the title given but, perhaps more importantly, in line with the requirements of the individual employer. In the grandest homes or when the employer owns more than one residence, there is sometimes an estate manager of higher rank than the butler. The butler can also be assisted by a head footman or footboy called the under-butler.

 

The word butler comes from Anglo-Norman buteler, a variant form of Old Norman *butelier, corresponding to Old French botellier 'officer in charge of the king's wine bottles', derived from boteille 'bottle' (Modern French bouteille), itself from Gallo-Romance BUTICULA 'bottle'. For centuries, the butler has been the attendant entrusted with the care and serving of wine and other bottled beverages, which in ancient times might have represented a considerable portion of the household's assets and led to the position becoming chief steward of a household.

 

In Britain, the butler was originally a middle-ranking member of the staff of a grand household. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the butler gradually became the senior, usually male, member of a household's staff in the very grandest households. However, there was sometimes a steward who ran the outside estate and financial affairs, rather than just the household, and who was senior to the butler in social status into the 19th century. Butlers used always to be attired in a special uniform, distinct from the livery of junior servants, but today a butler is more likely to wear a business suit or business casual clothing and appear in uniform only on special occasions.

 

A silverman or silver butler has expertise and professional knowledge of the management, secure storage, use and cleaning of all silverware, associated tableware and other paraphernalia for use at military and other special functions.

 

The modern butler

Beginning around the early 1920s (following World War I), employment in domestic service occupations began a sharp overall decline in western European countries, and even more markedly in the United States. Even so, there were still around 30,000 butlers employed in Britain by World War II. As few as one hundred were estimated to remain by the mid-1980s. Social historian Barry Higman argues that a high number of domestic workers within a society correlates with a high level of socio-economic inequality. Conversely, as a society undergoes levelling among its social classes, the number employed in domestic service declines.

 

Following varied shifts and changes accompanying accelerated globalisation beginning in the late 1980s, overall global demand for butlers since the turn of the millennium has risen dramatically. According to Charles MacPherson, President of Charles MacPherson Associates and owner of The Charles MacPherson Academy for Butlers and Household Managers, the proximate cause is that the number of millionaires and billionaires has increased in recent years, and such people are finding that they desire assistance in managing their households. MacPherson emphasises that the number of wealthy people in China has increased particularly, creating in that country a high demand for professional butlers who have been trained in the European butlering tradition. There is also increasing demand for such butlers in other Asian countries, India, and the petroleum-rich Middle East.

 

Higman additionally argues that the inequality/equality levels of societies are a major determinant of the nature of the domestic servant/employer relationship. As the 21st century approached, many butlers began carrying out an increasing number of duties formerly reserved for more junior household servants. Butlers today may be called upon to do whatever household and personal duties their employers deem fitting, in the goal of freeing their employers to carry out their own personal and professional affairs. Professional butler and author Steven M. Ferry states that the image of tray-wielding butlers who specialize in serving tables and decanting wine is now anachronistic, and that employers may well be more interested in a butler who is capable of managing a full array of household affairs‒from providing the traditional dinner service, to acting as valet, to managing high-tech systems and multiple homes with complexes of staff. While in truly grand houses the modern butler may still function exclusively as a top-ranked household affairs manager, in lesser homes, such as those of dual-income middle-class professionals, they perform a full array of household and personal assistant duties, including mundane housekeeping. Butlers today may also be situated within corporate settings, embassies, cruise ships, yachts, or within their own small "Rent-a-Butler" business or similar agency.

 

Along with these changes of scope and context, butlering attire has changed. Whereas butlers have traditionally worn a special uniform that separated them from junior servants, and although this is still often the case, butlers today may wear more casual clothing geared for climate, while exchanging it for formal business attire only upon special service occasions. There are cultural distinctions, as well. In the United States, butlers may frequently don a polo shirt and slacks, while in Bali they typically wear sarongs.

 

In 2007, the number of butlers in Britain had risen to an estimated 5,000. That number rose to 10,000 by 2014, consistent with increased worldwide demand.

 

If you want to read more, go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butler

 

 

 

From Mr. Food

 

We haven't met many people who don't love the meatball. But, we think the only thing better than meatballs, are easy meatballs! So, for a special treat, take a bite out of these stuffed meatballs and enjoy the flavorful surprise of cheese in every tasty bite. Whether cocktail or main dish-sized, these scrumptious Cheesy Stuffed Meatballs will become a loved meatball recipe that never disappoints.

 

 

• 1 pound ground beef
• 3/4 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 (8-ounce) block mozzarella, cut into 20 (1/2-inch) cubes

 

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. 
    
2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except mozzarella cheese; mix well.
    
3. Divide mixture into 20 meatballs, then form each meatball around a mozzarella cube, making sure to cover cheese completely. Place on prepared baking sheet. 
    
4. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until no longer pink in center. Serve immediately.

 

***Don't worry if the cheese starts to ooze out. That just means your meatballs are going to be extra ooey-gooey delicious!

 

 

 

Historically this date..........

1877 – Thomas Edison demonstrates his phonograph for the first time.

 

1929 – U.S. Admiral Richard Byrd becomes the first person to fly over the South Pole.

 

1990 – Gulf War: The United Nations Security Council passes two resolutions to restore international peace and security if Iraq did not withdraw its forces from Kuwait and free all foreign hostages by January 15, 1991.

 

And births this date include...

1896 – Yakima Canutt, American actor and stuntman (d. 1986)

Interesting how he got his name, it sounds American Indian, not.

 

 
1927 – Vin Scully, American baseball announcer (d.2022)

 

 
1955 – Howie Mandel, Canadian comedian

 

 

 

 

All I know. Nuff said. Have a good Wednesday. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bobo

We hope your sweet tooth is ready to celebrate National Lemon Cream Pie Day on November 29th. We know this time of year is more typically associated with pumpkin pie, but honestly we’ll take any excuse to celebrate any kind of pie—especially a pie that's been around for thousands of years. Historians say lemon desserts have been around since the Middle Ages! Whipped cream, on the other hand, is a relative newcomer: it didn’t show up until the 16th century. It first appeared in recipes in Italy in the mid-1500s and then traveled to France and showed up in recipes there just after 1600. Somewhere between then and now, someone had the brilliant idea to marry them together in a way that’s basically sunshine baked into a pie dish. So grab your fork and let’s dig in to this delectable holiday