Who is George Santayana?

Philosopher, poet, literary and cultural critic, George Santayana is a principal figure in Classical American Philosophy. His naturalism and emphasis on creative imagination were harbingers of important intellectual turns on both sides of the Atlantic. He was a naturalist before naturalism grew popular; he appreciated multiple perfections before multiculturalism became an issue; he thought of philosophy as literature before it became a theme in American and European scholarly circles; and he managed to naturalize Platonism, update Aristotle, fight off idealisms, and provide a striking and sensitive account of the spiritual life without being a religious believer. His Hispanic heritage, shaded by his sense of being an outsider in America, captures many qualities of American life missed by insiders, and presents views equal to Tocqueville in quality and importance. Beyond philosophy, only Emerson may match his literary production. As a public figure, he appeared on the front cover of Time (3 February 1936), and his autobiography (Persons and Places, 1944) and only novel (The Last Puritan, 1936) were the best-selling books in the United States as Book-of-the-Month Club selections. The novel was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, and Edmund Wilson ranked Persons and Places among the few first-rate autobiographies, comparing it favorably to Yeats's memoirs, The Education of Henry Adams, and Proust's Remembrance of Things Past. Remarkably, Santayana achieved this stature in American thought without being an American citizen. He proudly retained his Spanish citizenship throughout his life. Yet, as he readily admitted, it is as an American that his philosophical and literary corpuses are to be judged. Using contemporary classifications, Santayana is the first and foremost Hispanic-American philosopher.

Read more here...

(Resource - http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/santayana)

What the hell is Crohn's Disease?

Crohn’s disease is an ongoing disorder that causes inflammation of the digestive tract, also referred to as the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Crohn’s disease can affect any area of the GI tract, from the mouth to the anus, but it most commonly affects the lower part of the small intestine, called the ileum. The swelling extends deep into the lining of the affected organ. The swelling can cause pain and can make the intestines empty frequently, resulting in diarrhea.

The digestive system.

Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease, the general name for diseases that cause swelling in the intestines. Because the symptoms of Crohn’s disease are similar to other intestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerative colitis, it can be difficult to diagnose. Ulcerative colitis causes inflammation and ulcers in the top layer of the lining of the large intestine. In Crohn’s disease, all layers of the intestine may be involved, and normal healthy bowel can be found between sections of diseased bowel.

Crohn’s disease affects men and women equally and seems to run in some families. About 20 percent of people with Crohn’s disease have a blood relative with some form of inflammatory bowel disease, most often a brother or sister and sometimes a parent or child. Crohn’s disease can occur in people of all age groups, but it is more often diagnosed in people between the ages of 20 and 30. People of Jewish heritage have an increased risk of developing Crohn’s disease, and African Americans are at decreased risk for developing Crohn’s disease.

Crohn’s disease may also be called ileitis or enteritis.

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/crohns/#what

The Texas DWI Sucks

Going out drinking is fun. We just need to start using our brains before we start get drunk. Here is a little info that might help you start thinking before you start drinking.

Real quick, let's point out that if a law enforcement officer asks you to submit to a breath or blood test to determine the alcohol content of your blood, and if you refuse, your license will probably be taken away from you on the spot and suspended for six months. This is in addition to any suspension you might get later if you're convicted of DWI.

Below are the basic penalties for various DWI violations. However, in addition to these, DWI convictions carry an additional financially devastating penalty called conviction-based surcharges. This is an ongoing additional fine that must be paid each year for three years, and it can run you thousands of dollars. We discuss this program more fully in our article about the driver license point system.

Drivers 21 and Over

• First offense:

• Up to a $2,000 fine

• Possibly 72 hours to 180 days in jail

• Driver license suspension: 90 days to one year

• Second offense:

• Up to a $4,000 fine

• Thirty days to one year in jail

• Driver license suspension: 180 days to two years

• Third offense:

• Up to a $10,000 fine

• Two to 10 years behind bars

• Driver's license suspension: 180 days to two years

Drivers Under 21

The threshold for an alcohol-related driving conviction is lower for drivers under 21. If you're not of legal drinking age, then it's against the law to operate a vehicle with any measurable amount of alcohol in your blood (this is what "zero tolerance" refers to). If you're busted for driving after having had only one beer, here's what can happen to you the first time:

• Any measurable amount of alcohol:

• Sixty-day driver's license suspension
  

• Up to a $500 fine

• Twenty to 40 hours of community service

• Mandatory attendance in alcohol-awareness classes

• BAC of 0.08% or higher:

• If you're caught driving with a BAC of 0.08% or higher and you're under 21, you can count on the same DWI penalties as apply to those over 21 (see above), plus a conviction for underage drinking.
• 
  

Driving With a Child

Driving drunk with a child passenger is considered a felony. If caught, your license will be immediately suspended.

So the lesson here is, don't drink and drive. Call a cab, it's cheaper!

(Info from: http://www.dmv.org)

Argos' Law

Argos' Law will be a new beginning to a slew of posts to come. Stay tuned to see these mixed in with the regular rants. These might be just a little more edgy.

Thanks!
Argos The Dog

The History of Nerf

Parker Brothers originally developed Nerf, beginning with a four-inch (102 mm) polyurethane foam ball. In 1969, Reyn Guyer, a games inventor, came to the company with a volleyball game that was safe for indoor play. After studying the game carefully, Parker Brothers decided to eliminate everything but the foam ball. In 1970, the Nerf ball was introduced as the "world's first official indoor ball". Marketed that one can "Throw it indoors; you can't damage lamps or break windows. You can't hurt babies or old people." The ball filled a strong consumer need and by the year's end more than four million Nerf balls had been sold. The four-inch (102 mm) ball was followed closely by a large version called "Super Nerf Ball". Shortly after, in 1972, a basketball game called "Nerfoop" and the Nerf football joined the family. The football quickly became the most popular Nerf ball.

The company continued to add to the Nerf line until they handed the ball to Kenner Products, a sister company, in 1991, when Hasbro acquired the Nerf line through the acquisition of the Tonka Corporation. Over the years, the company has continued to expand the line, adding new looks to existing products. The current line of Nerf products range from various sport balls, blasters with both dart, rocket, arrow and ball ammunition, and, now, onto even video game accessories.

(Info from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerf)

A Little Something on Darts

The dartboard may have its origins in the cross-section of a tree. An old name for a dartboard is a 'butt', which might imply that the bottoms of wine barrels were the original dartboards; but the word in fact comes from the French word butte, meaning target. In particular, the Yorkshire and Perrigo Manchester Log End boards differ from the standard board in that they have no treble only double and bullseye, The Perrigo Manchester board being of a smaller diameter, with a playing area of only 25 cm across with double and bull areas measuring just 4mm. The London Fives board is another variation. This has only 12 equal segments numbered 20,5,15,10,20,5,15,10,20,5,15,10 with the doubles and triples being a quarter of an inch wide.

There is speculation that the game originated among soldiers throwing short arrows at the bottom of the cask or at the bottom of trunks of trees. As the wood dried, cracks would develop, creating "sections". Soon, regional standards emerged and many woodworkers supplemented bar tabs by fabricating dart boards for the local pubs.

The standard numbering plan with a 20 on top was created in 1896 by a Lancashire^[4] However, a great many other configurations have been used throughout the years and in different geographical locations. Gamlin's layout was devised to penalise inaccuracy. Although this applies to most of the board, the left-hand side (near the 14 section) is preferred by beginners, for its concentration of larger numbers. Mathematically, removing the rotational symmetry by placing the "20" at the top, there are 19!, or 121,645,100,408,832,000 possible dartboards. Many different layouts would penalise a player more than the current setup; however, the current setup actually does the job rather efficiently. There have been several mathematical papers published that consider the "optimal" dartboard. carpenter called Brian Gamlin.

Height and distance

In the standard game, the dartboard is hung so that the bullseye is 5 ft 8 in (or 173 cm) from the floor—eye-level for a six-foot (183 cm) person. The oche (IPA: /'ɒki/)—the line behind which the throwing player must stand—is generally 7 ft 9¼ in (or 237 cm) from the face of the dartboard measured horizontally. This is the recognized world standard as set by the World Dart Federation and is used in most areas.

The London 5 board or narrow 5's board set up is slightly different from the standard board. The height is set at 5 feet 6 inches to the centre of the bull and the oche is at 9 feet from the face of the board.

(Info from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darts and http://www.cyberdarts.com/basics/dartsbasics.html)