October 2018 - DEW Consulting

October 31, 2018October 31, 2018

Easy

Easiest quiz you’ll ever see on This Day in History, October 31st.

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Question #1:

On this day in 1941, Mount Rushmore is completed after 14 years of work. Can you name the 4 Presidents carved on it? Hint:

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Question #2:

On this day in 1517, the priest and scholar Martin Luther approaches the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. There he nails a piece of paper containing how many revolutionary opinions (or “theses”) that would begin the Protestant Reformation?

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Question #3:

4 + 95 = ?

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“All Hallows Eve” – or Halloween – is celebrated October 31st, the evening before All Saints Day, November 1st. Halloween is a time for trick-or-treating, pumpkin carving, dressing in costume, and telling scary stories.

Bonus Question:

What’s your favorite scary movie? (Trailer for mine, here.)

Death's-head Hawkmoth — Death’s-head Hawkmoth

October 30, 2018October 31, 2018

Type II

For those whose Hemoglobin A1C (a marker for Type II Diabetes) is in the normal range (<5.7%), this story is for you. For those, like me, above 6.5%, enjoy your oatmeal. Still, they do look good, don’t they?

In this photo from 2008, Johnson’s Corner employee Alex Stolpz brings out a tray of the Johnstown truck stop’s famous cinnamon rolls, which — Type II Diabetes on a plate at Johnson’s Corner

October 29, 2018October 29, 2018

My Kinda Town

Nope, not Chicago, not New York, and not L.A. Also not Boston, although tip of the hat and a hearty high five on your World Series win last night, Beantown!

No, it’s Happy Birthday today to “The Queen City of the Plains.” You can read all about it here. I love that the name derives from a shameless ploy to curry favor with the territorial governor of Kansas. I love that it was built at the confluence of two non-navigable rivers – the South Platte and Cherry Creek. And I love that, before the 100-mile spur to Cheyenne was built, it was totally isolated from transcontinental rail traffic.

All’s well that ends well. Today, the state of our fair city would do Bill Larimer proud. Construction cranes dominate the skyline. Tech-boom Millennials are are driving rents and real estate sky high. And the Broncos, Rockies, and Nuggets… well, let’s quit while we’re ahead, shall we? 🙂

October 27, 2018October 29, 2018

RIP Dorcas

Thanksgiving will be here before you know it. In that spirit, this item caught my eye recently. RIP Dorcas Reilly. You made the world a better place.

The 2 Thanksgiving must-haves at our house (besides turkey, of course) are mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. Recipes below.

Dorcas Reilly’s original recipe for Green Bean Casserole.

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp. soy sauce

Dash of pepper

4 cups canned (drained) or frozen green beans

1 1/3 cups canned french-fried onions

Mix soup, milk, soy sauce, pepper, beans and 2/3 cup onions in a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until hot. Stir. Arrange remaining onions around edge of casserole. Bake 5 minutes longer.

Makes 6 servings.

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Mashed potatoes a la Dan.

Peel potatoes with a paring knife, slice thin, then boil in water on stove top for 1 hour – use as many potatoes as will fit in whatever sized pot you have handy.

Drain hot water, then mash potatoes well adding as much salt, milk or cream, and butter as your cardiologist will allow. Optional: Whip to creamy perfection with electric mixer.

Serve with gravy made from meat drippings. Use fork or spoon to indent the top of your personal mound to hold the gravy. Think: “Volcano crater filled with molten lava” and you won’t go far wrong.

Schedule followup appointment with cardiologist in three weeks.

Remember: You don’t have to wait for Thanksgiving to enjoy!

October 26, 2018October 26, 2018

Shootout

This Day in History, October 26, 1881 – Shootout at the OK Corral.

I’ve only been to Arizona once and that was several years ago – to the Superstition Mountains in the Tonto National Forest. The landscape there is both striking and unforgettable.

Also, no shortage of colorful stories, both with and without firearms.

Hmmm – think maybe I will dress as Doc Holliday for Halloween this year.

October 24, 2018October 24, 2018

Gotta Play To Win

The results are in. Did you win? More importantly, did you play?

5-28-62-65-70 (5)

Washington Post story here.

Details, details, details…

Mega Millions officials count on enormous jackpots to draw in players who would ordinarily avoid participating. Last October, those officials made two big changes: They doubled ticket prices to $2 — and tweaked the formula to make it easier to win smaller prizes but harder to win the jackpot.

Here’s how Mega Millions used to work: Players picked five numbers from 1 to 75 and a Mega number from 1 to 15. The odds of winning the top prize were 1 in 258,890,850.

Since Mega Millions modified the formula, players now pick five numbers from 1 to 70 and a Mega number of 1 to 25. The odds of winning the jackpot are now 1 in 302,575,350.

In other words, reducing the number of balls for the first five numbers increases the chances of winning a smaller prize. But raising the number of Mega Balls makes it harder to win the jackpot. (Powerball made similar changes to its rules in 2015.)