2,006 Things I Learned in 2006

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2,006 Things I Learned in 2006

Wednesday, January 3rd, 2007 | Best Of, Misc |

1. You should thank someone for a gift before you open it. You’re thanking them for the thought, not the gift.

2. I learned a great way to sear meat in an iron skillet from this post at Jane Galt. I use that technique all the time now. It’s easy and makes ground beef chops delicious. I usually cook it with chunks of coarsely-chopped onion.

3. I discovered I need to learn more about camera exposure if I want to take good pictures in bad light.

4. An historical blockhouse isn’t a house made of blocks. It’s a block-shaped house used for defense against raids, typically Indian raids in pioneer America. I finally put that together a while after visiting Fort Loudon (which was across the Tennessee River from the Tellico Blockhouse) and realizing that Blockhouse Road in Maryville must have been the way to the site of a pioneer settlement.

5. There are a lot of nicknames for Margaret.

6. British Cordite gunpowder was in the shape of cords (rods).

7. Abercrombie and Fitch used to sell guns.

8. Kind words, good manners, and a sense of humor are the lubricants for smooth relations.

9. Using Clorox 2 instead of Clorox keeps me from ruining a couple of pieces of clothing a year because it doesn’t cause bleach spots.

10. The Victorinox Cadet is an extremely handy pocket knife. The aluminum scales make it thinner than Swiss Army knives with the usual red plastic scales.

11. There’s a lot going on in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory that I didn’t realize as a kid.

12. Even though I’m not a clotheshound I’m very picky about pajamas and robes and I’m happier now that I realize that.

13. Libby canned sausage gravy is shockingly good. It and Pillsbury frozen biscuits will carry Southern culture into the 21st century.

14. A handkerchief or bandana is handy and hardly takes up any space in a backpocket. No wonder oldtimers carried them.

15. You can drill a square hole and do lots of other neat things with a Reuleaux triangle.

16. Most people quit counting after awhile.