The Alaskan malamute became the Alaska state dog in 2010 after a group of school kids championed the effort through the Alaska Legislature as part of a class project. We think it’s a pretty fitting choice. Here are a few things you might not have known about the official dog of Alaska!
The history of the breed dates back a seriously long time. 5,000 years ago the first settlers of North America kept Alaskan malamutes as their companions and as work dogs.
Some relatives of the Alaskan malamute you might recognize are the Samoyed, the Siberian husky and even the Labrador.
If you want one of your own, keep in mind they need daily exercise (they are sled dogs, after all). They don’t bark much, but they are vocal and love to stretch their vocal chords and howl sometimes.
They’re built to withstand cold temperatures, and were historically used in Arctic expeditions. They helped settlers hunt, track, look out for bears and also helped to haul gear across snowy terrain, pulling heavy sleds.
Alaskan malamutes have even been known to act as babysitters, although we wouldn’t recommend this in 2017.
They’re credited with helping to open Alaska up for settlement and development by performing tasks like carrying mail and transporting supplies.
During World War I, 450 Alaskan malamutes were shipped to France to deliver supplies to French army troops isolated in mountain outposts.
During the Gold Rush, these dogs were in extremely high demand as hopeful prospectors used them to haul massive amounts of food and supplies over mountain passes.
Alaskan malamutes were also used in World War II, this time to sniff for mines, carry weapons and act as search-and-rescue dogs.
Endlessly helpful to their human friends, Alaskan malamutes were also a part of the historic 1925 Serum Run.
Well in my case, it’s a laptop bag that I carry. Funnily enough, I do not carry my laptop in it but I take it to work and I have a desktop instead of a laptop. And this right here on the left is the exact one that I have, which I bought on Amazon IN.
So I have a lock and key which I keep in my bag. This for the locker in which I keep my bag and my phone and lock it when I start my shift and take back at the end of it. I also carry a 1 litre bottle of water for hydration ofcourse. Then I have my regular inhaler and my current two inhalers which I am supposed to have after breakfast and after dinner, which is why I take them to work in my bag.
I also have my apartment keys and the access card to the building so that when I come by post my 1:30 am end of work shift, I can let myself in. Other than that I do not carry anything else in this bag. But if I wasn’t heading to work then I would carry my HP laptop in it.
A social media trend you detest with every atom of your being and why
TikTok. I know that there are many talented people out there who make funny and awesome reels that they upload on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram and TikTok. But of all of these TikTok seems to get the weirdest and stupidest people to make reels all the time. It is banned in India but I get to see the same reels that they share on FB or Instagram.
I am glad to see that the really dumb ones are getting what they deserve for their addiction. These numbnuts are creating TikToks while they are at work – in a store, cafe or retail business – or even when they are working from home. In a lot of cases these people are getting fired from their jobs because their boss or HR finds out. In a couple of cases, it’s because they recorded something they weren’t supposed to in the background or showed too much details of their work and/or workplace. Why would you do that? I mean it’s dumb.
Another stupid thing is saying that you need time off from work because you have pain in your lower back and then upload dancing videos! Seriously? Several retail workers and employers are doing this and it is beginning to be just so dumb. Also, so of the over-acting and smug faced yakking on this platform – Jesus Christ, get a life!
1. It’s Unclear Why It Is Feared : Very little is known about the origins of the day’s notoriety. Some historians believe that the superstitions surrounding it arose in the late 19th century. The first documented mention of the day can be found in a biography of Italian composer Gioachino Rossini, who died on a Friday the 13th. A 1907 book, Friday the Thirteenth, by American businessman Thomas Lawson, may have further perpetuated the superstition.
2. Yet, the Fear Is Very Real : So real that one scientific name wasn’t enough. The fear of Friday the 13th is also called friggatriskaidekaphobia or paraskevidekatriaphobia. Now say that 10 times really fast! Friggatriskaidekaphobia comes from Frigg, the Norse goddess of wisdom after whom Friday is named, and the Greek words triskaideka, meaning 13, and phobia, meaning fear. Paraskevidekatriaphobia is also derived from Greek: paraskeví translates as Friday, and dekatria is another way of saying 13. Many high-rise buildings, hotels, and hospitals skip the 13th floor, and many airports do not have gates numbered 13. In many parts of the world, having 13 people at the dinner table is considered bad luck.
4. Friday the 13th Can Come in Threes : A bit of bad news for all of you who suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia—all years will have at least one Friday the 13th. The good news is that there cannot be more than three Friday the 13ths in any given calendar year. The longest one can go without seeing a Friday the 13th is 14 months.
5. Fittingly, Alfred Hitchcock Was Born on the 13th : The master of suspense was born on August 13, 1899—so Friday, August 13, 1999, would have been his 100th birthday. He made his directorial debut in 1922 with a movie called Number 13. Unfortunately, the film was doomed from the start and never got off the ground due to financial troubles. Other celebrities and well-known personalities born on a Friday the 13th include actors Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen; novelist and playwright, Samuel Beckett; and former President of Cuba, Fidel Castro.
6. It’s an Unlucky Day Only for Some : Friday the 13th is not universally seen as a day of misery. For example, in Italy, Friday the 17th and not Friday the 13th is considered to be a day that brings bad luck. In fact, the number 13 is thought to be a lucky number! In many Spanish speaking countries and in Greece, Tuesday the 13th is seen as a day of misfortune.
7. The Day Inspired One of the Highest-Grossing Film Series : The commercially successful Friday the 13th enterprise includes 12 horror movies, a television series, and several books that focus on curses and superstitions. Even though the films and the television series consistently received negative reviews from critics, they have a considerable following. The mask worn by the key character in the movies, Jason Voorhees, is one of the most known images in popular culture.
8. …And a Country to Raise Safety and Accident Awareness : Since 1995, Finland has dedicated one Friday the 13th in a year to observe National Accident Day. The day aims to raise awareness about safety—on the roads, at home, and at the workplace.
9. An Asteroid Will Safely Fly By the Earth in 2029 : On a Friday the 13th! Friday, April the 13th, 2029, to be exact. When 99942 Apophis was discovered in 2004, it was thought to have a small chance of colliding with Earth. But you can rest easy because since then, scientists have revised their findings which show that there is absolutely no risk of the asteroid impacting the Earth or the Moon.
10. Some bad things happened in history that day :
September 13, 1940: The German bombing of Buckingham Palace
March 13, 1964: The murder of Kitty Genovese in Queens, New York
November 13, 1970: A cyclone killed more than 300,000 people in Bangladesh
October 13, 1972: The disappearance of a Chilean Air Force plane in the Andes
September 13, 1996: The death of rapper Tupac Shakur
January 13, 2012: The Costa Concordia cruise ship crashed off the coast of Italy, which killed 30 people
11. Unluckiest day in history : If you think your Friday the 13th is likely to be bad, be glad you aren’t a 14th-century Knight Templar(opens in new tab). On Oct. 13, 1307, officers of King Philip IV of France raided the homes of thousands of these Crusades warriors, imprisoning them on charges of illegal activities. Though the charges weren’t proven, more than a hundred died of terrible torture, according to “Tales of the Knights Templar”
12.A group was formed to debunk superstition : In the 1880s, the Thirteen Club was formed to debunk the superstition around number 13. Every 13th of the month, 13 members of the group would sit on the table for dinner, do everything that’s otherwise considered ominous — such as breaking mirrors and throwing salt — and record how many members die over time. Eventually, it became a 400-member group, that included a number of US presidents.
13. And finally : Every year has at least one and at most three Friday the 13ths. For a month to have a Friday the 13th, the month must begin on a Sunday. The longest period that can occur without a Friday the 13th is fourteen months.
One of my favourite albums of all time is 1989’s Jeff Beck’s Guitar Shop. My first time listening to Jeff Beck was on a documentary from the late 80s about rock music and there was a clip of him playing the solo to “Just Ambitious“. That was 1987 or 88 I think. Then on a VHS tape of music videos I watched the video for People Get Ready. After that I think it was in the early 90s when, after listening to a lot of Joe Satriani, Steve Morse and Steve Vai, I wanted to get more and Beck was next on the list for more guitar instrumental music.
I bought the 1989 album at a time when I didn’t know what a whammy bar was I was wondering, how the heck did he get these amazing sounds out of the guitar. I listened to this album on cassette many many times and later on in the late 90s when cds were cheaper, I got it on cd. I can remember many weekend morning of me sitting in my room, glass of juice in my hand, with a magazine or novel lying open and teenage me listening to Jeff over and over again. Seriously all I could think about yesterday when I read about his passing, is sitting in the big bedroom, pulling out the cassette and then cd on certain days and playing it (its’ only about 40 mins long) and reading a book.
Great songs like Savoy, the title track, Sling Shot, Behind The Veil, Big Block and the melancholic Where Were You. No wonder he won the Grammy, one of 6 that he has won. But this is my favourite album of his and I play it all the time.
Jeff Beck, one of the most influential rock guitarists of all time, and a personal musical favourite and hero of mine, has died at the age of 78. The English rock guitarist who rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and afterwards fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus on innovative sound, and his releases spanned genres ranging from blues rock, hard rock, jazz fusion, and a blend of guitar-rock and electronica. Beck ranked in the top five of Rolling Stone and other magazine’s list of 100 greatest guitarists. He was often called a “guitarist’s guitarist”.
Born on 24 June 1944 to Arnold and Ethel Beck at 206 Demesne Road, Wallington, London, England he said that he first heard an electric guitar when he was six years old and heard Les Paul playing. Cliff Gallup, lead guitarist with Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps, was also an early musical influence, followed by B. B. King and Steve Cropper. Upon leaving school, he attended Wimbledon College of Art, after which he was briefly employed as a painter and decorator, a groundsman on a golf course and a car paint-sprayer. Beck’s sister Annetta introduced him to Jimmy Page when both were teenagers. He briefly played with shock-rocker Screaming Lord Sutch and the Tridents. When Eric Clapton left the Yardbirds in 1965, Jimmy Page suggested hiring Beck – and he went on to play on hits like I’m A Man and Shapes Of Things, where his pioneering use of feedback influenced musicians like Paul McCartney and Jimi Hendrix.
The guitarist stayed with the Yardbirds for nearly two years, before declaring he was quitting music altogether and releasing his first solo single Hi Ho Silver Lining. However, he quickly returned with the Jeff Beck Band, which included Rod Stewart on vocals, Ronnie Wood on bass, Nicky Hopkins on piano, and Aynsley Dunbar on drums (replaced by Micky Waller). Their first two albums Truth (1968) and Beck-Ola (1969), took a ferocious approach to the blues that laid the groundwork for heavy metal. With new members he reformed the band post an accident and recovery in 1971 he recorded Rough and Ready and a second album Jeff Beck Group. Beck then started collaborating with friends bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice forming the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice.
In April 1973 the album Beck, Bogert & Appice was released (on Epic Records). While critics acknowledged the band’s instrumental prowess the album was not commercially well received except for its cover of Stevie Wonder’s hit “Superstition“. Beck, Bogert & Appice dissolved in April 1974 before their second studio album (produced by Jimmy Miller) was finished. Their live album Beck, Bogert & Appice Live in Japan, recorded during their 1973 tour of Japan, was not released until February 1975 by Epic/Sony. Beck’s solo album Blow by Blow (March 1975) evolved from these sessions and showcased Beck’s technical prowess in jazz-rock. The album reached number four in the charts and is Beck’s most commercially successful release.
In the 1980s he collaborated with Eric Clapton, Sting, Phil Collins, Donovan and Bob Geldof. In 1985 Beck released Flash, featuring a variety of vocalists, but most notably former bandmate Rod Stewart on a rendition of Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready“a big hit. During this period, Beck made several guest appearances with other performers, including the movie Twins, where he played guitar with singer Nicolette Larson. After a four-year break, he made a return to instrumental music with the Grammy Award winning album Jeff Beck’s Guitar Shop (1989), the first album to feature Beck as a fingerstyle guitarist, leaving the plectrum playing style. It was only his third album to be released in the 1980s.
In the 1990s, Beck had a higher musical output. He contributed to Jon Bon Jovi’s solo debut album “Blaze of Glory” in 1990, playing the main solo of the album’s title song, which was also the theme song to the movie Young Guns II. The same year, he was a featured performer on Hans Zimmer’s score for the film Days of Thunder. He played lead guitar on Roger Waters’ 1992 concept album Amused to Death, and on the 1993 albums The Red Shoes by Kate Bush and Love Scenes by Beverley Craven. He recorded the instrumental soundtrack album Frankie’s House (1992), as well as Crazy Legs (1993), a tribute album to 1950s rockabilly group Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps and their influential guitarist Cliff Gallup.
Beck’s next release was in 1999, his first foray into guitar-based electronica, Who Else!. The album also marked Beck’s first collaboration with a female musician, Jennifer Batten. Beck won his third Grammy Award, this one for ‘Best Rock Instrumental Performance’ for the track “Dirty Mind” from You Had It Coming (2000). The song “Plan B” from the 2003 release Jeff, earned Beck his fourth Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, and was proof that the new electro-guitar style he used for the two earlier albums would continue to dominate. In 2007 he appeared once again at Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival, performing with Vinnie Colaiuta, Jason Rebello, and the then 21-year-old bassist Tal Wilkenfeld. Beck announced a world tour in early 2009 and remained faithful to the same lineup of musicians as in his tour two years before, playing and recording at Ronnie Scott’s in London to a sold-out audience.
Beck was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the second time on 4 April 2009, as a solo artist. Beck’s album, Emotion & Commotion, was released in April 2010. Two tracks from Emotion & Commotion won Grammy Awards in 2011: “Nessun Dorma” won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, and “Hammerhead” won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. He released the album Loud Hailer in 2016, his last. Beck lived in a Grade II-listed house called Riverhall, in Wadhurst, East Sussex and is survived by his wife Sandra Cash.
How do you build relationships with other bloggers on your niche?
This is something that it kinda good for people even when you do not have a blog. Just connecting with like minded people online is good for your to share ideas and create a community online. Now for bloggers it is also pretty easy to create that kind of community and forge relationships and friendships.
The thing that you do is first find similar like minded bloggers who have topics along the likes of yours. Mine is a lifestyle / general topic blog and I do not want to be pigeonholed in a particular niche. So I usually to look for similar blogs and bloggers and when I find a blog that I like, I comment and share my details via their comment section. This gives them a chance to look at my blog posts in return. Once you comment a few times that gives them an idea that you are a regular reader and curiosity will make them want to check out your content.
Once they do and start commenting it’s a matter of sharing ideas and links and well you can also move onto other areas like Facebook or Twitter or Instagram and promote each other’s content. This mutual positive thing is very benefital for all concerned, gaining you more traction and readers/followers.
While the rest of society is looking for smarter and tougher security to protect their homes, a village in Ahmadnagar district of the Maharashtra state, India, named Shani Shingnapur has houses and shops with no locks or doors—be it day or night. Shani Shingnapur is home to nearly 4,000 people and all the houses in this village do not have doors or locks. You’ll just find the door frame. This is because of the villager’s immense and undying faith in the Hindu deity, Shani Dev (Lord of the planet Saturn). According to villagers, Lord Shani watches over the village and protects them from the evil eye.
It is said that whoever attempts to steal here will immediately be punished with mental imbalance, blindness or long sickness, and whoever does anything wrong or dishonest will suffer from Sade-Sati, a period of seven-and-a-half years of bad luck—either through an accident, death, or bankruptcy. According to the local folklore, once, a villager tried to put wooden panes at the entrance of his house, and the very next day, he died in a car accident. According to the legends, about 400 years ago, due to incessant rains, a slab of black stone washed up on the banks of the Panasnala River and a local shepard dreamed that the god Shiva came to him and said that the slab of black stone was his own idol.
The shepherd was instructed to install the idol in the village center since then, the whole village got rid of all the locks and doors, leaving their money and jewelry unsecured, with a belief that Lord Shani is watching them and will keep them protected. In fact, the post office and shops in this village also do not have doors. In 2011, the UCO bank opened a lockless branch in Shani Shingnapur, the first of its kind in India. However, the bank has a glass entrance and a remote-controlled electromagnetic lock that is hardly visible, thus maintaining the traditional belief. In 2015, a police station opened in the area, again with no doors. The crime rate in this village is near zero.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes Eddie Nketiah is getting better and better after helping the Gunners set up an FA Cup fourth-round tie at Manchester City by beating Oxford United at Kassam Stadium. Nketiah scored twice in six second-half minutes after Mohamed Elneny’s opener to secure the Gunners’ progression. It is now five goals in his last six games for Nketiah, who has stepped up in the absence of injured striker Gabriel Jesus. The Premier League leaders were frustrated in the first half by a well-organised and disciplined Oxford side before eventually overpowering their League One opponents.
Fabio Vieira was Arsenal’s creator-in-chief, sending in a perfect free-kick for Elneny to head past Oxford goalkeeper Eddie McGinty in the 63rd minute before playing a perfect pass for Nketiah to finish calmly finish seven minutes later. Oxford, who had battled so hard, were now struggling to cope with Arsenal’s attacking threat and Nketiah was on the mark again after 76 minutes with a delicate chip over McGinty from Gabriel Martinelli’s pass to confirm that powerhouse meeting with City at Etihad Stadium. There was concern for Arsenal before Sunday’s north London derby with Tottenham when Bukayo Saka went off with an injury, but Arteta played down the seriousness of it.
Arteta will have been disappointed by the Gunners’ sterile first-half performance but once they clicked into gear they inevitably had too much for Oxford. Nketiah and Vieira were the two stars of the show, the latter coming through a struggle in the first half to show his quality in delivery and passing as the Premier League side finally exerted their authority. Vieira’s free-kick was the perfect invite for Elneny to break the deadlock with a powerful close-range header and his pass for Nketiah to round McGinty was just as good. Nketiah showed his class in front of goal with his third as he continued to deputise so well for the injured Jesus.
Arsenal were not exactly sparkling but that is not the priority in these games. It is getting into the next round and they achieved it with something to spare, Oxford not creating a serious moment of danger in the game.
You wake up and realise that in a Metamorphosis-style twist of fate, you’ve turned into Jeff Bezos. You’ve got £136b ($182b) to splash- how do you spend it?
If I suddenly find myself to come into that much wealth – hold on, I can’t fathom that much math. Let me see $182 billion is 1,49,90,52,10,00,000.00 Indian Rupees. That many zeros. Holy crud, I can’t even imagine that much money.
Anyways, back to the prompt. Here is what I would do. No more working ofcourse. No work or office or business except for some investments and some shares and all that jazz. Retired is what I am. Then I will get all my relatives – dad, mom, sis, bil, nephews and niece, uncles, aunts and first cousins and their kids and buy this big ole palace. Imagine a huge palace with lots and lots of luxuries in each and every room. Make them into suites for everybody. Everyone gets a bunch of money and we all stay in this palace.
And we will all have the best that life can offer and go on expensive night outs and party in the palace. I will arrange a luxury cruise ship just for us so we can go to see all the places we want to and enjoy life. And you are not invited.
Jan 2 – Science Fiction Day – Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction, science or not – is this something that you can write about? Maybe myths and ‘fake news’ that plague your industry? Or have you ‘boldly gone where no-one has ever gone before’? Think laterally and you’ll be surprised what you can come up with. #sciencefictionday
Regular readers will know for sure that I have a deep love for space and science fiction and especially Star Trek. I would love to live in an era where space exploration is done as easily as it is in the fictional 24th century in Star Trek. Heck, let’s go even further and say that it will be even easier. It should be as easy as you getting in your car and traveling from one city to another city.
Although I have different scenarios of this fictional universe that I dreamed up and I wish that we all lived in, I will tell you about just the simplest and sweetest one. One in which I and my late beloved Golden Retriever Shawny are both alive and well and we are traveling in a small starship with a very advanced robot who helps keep us safe and runs the operations of the ships. And our job is to go to various alien planets and beat up the bad aliens and rescue the good ones who need our help. We have so many adventures on our travels and are kept invincible due to a very complicated safety shield that covers our ship as well as the spacesuit we wear.
The other dreams are me as the captain of a StarFleet like ship and a big crew as we patrol the galaxy. Or a smaller ship with just a smaller crew of say 10. Or a large team of a motley crew of citizens who all band together to do good across the star systems in the furthest parts of the galaxy. Or a pleasure cruise across the stars with my extended family. Whichever it is, it’s a lot of fun and Shawny is ever by my side in each. But the simplest one is the one in which it is just me and Shawny and our robot. After all when it comes down to it, it’s as innocent & special as a boy and his dog!
Trying to lose weight like me but craving a good healthy yet filling breakfast to add to your diet? Well my dietician gave me some things that I could do for my meals and one of them is an egg white omelet. So here is a recipe I found online for this delicious & health breakfast.
Ingredients : 10 mins : 1-serving
3 eggs large Whites of (whisked)
2 tablespoons milk skim
40 g Spinach (coarsely chopped) / 1½ oz
40 g Mushrooms (sliced) / 1½ oz .
1 scallion spring onion / (thinly sliced)
40 g tomato (chopped) / 1½ oz .
¼ teaspoon white pepper
salt black pepper and oil
low fat cottage cheese
Combine all of the eggs, cottage cheese, and pepper and beat with a fork.
Spray a skillet with non-stick spray and place over medium heat.
Pour egg mixture into skillet, being sure it spreads evenly over the pan, and sprinkle mushroom and tomato over top.
Cook until eggs are opaque and set. Fold one-half of the omelet over the other.
I already have a part of wireless earbuds that I bought last September and I have been really happy with those. But this last Sunday, the 1st of January, I happened to watch a review of the Boat Immortal 121 and I was hooked. I watched a couple more and then searched the Boat website for the item – the white one that you see here on the left – was out of stock but they had the black one.
I then went to Amazon IN and Flipkart and they were out of stock as well for both colours. I then spent the next 3 days searching and checking. On the 3rd I found one white one available on Amazon but before I could place the order the item went out of stock! Flipkart had the black & the white one but they didn’t have any in the warehouse near me and hence they won’t ship to my address. That is a weird decision by them to now only shop from the nearest warehouse to you. Guess they don’t want enough business.
Finally on the 4th I found a white one and the seller on Amazon had just a couple of them and I was able to place an order for it and it initially said that the delivery estimate was the 13th of January, which was odd, but then it actually got delivered today, in 3 days. And I am loving it!
Well in my case, it’s a laptop bag that I carry. Funnily enough, I do not carry my laptop in it but I take it to work and I have a desktop instead of a laptop. And this right here on the left is the exact one that I have, which I bought on Amazon IN.
This is something that it kinda good for people even when you do not have a blog. Just connecting with like minded people online is good for your to share ideas and create a community online. Now for bloggers it is also pretty easy to create that kind of community and forge relationships and friendships.
If I suddenly find myself to come into that much wealth – hold on, I can’t fathom that much math. Let me see $182 billion is 1,49,90,52,10,00,000.00 Indian Rupees. That many zeros. Holy crud, I can’t even imagine that much money.
Regular readers will know for sure that I have a deep love for space and science fiction and especially Star Trek. I would love to live in an era where space exploration is done as easily as it is in the fictional 24th century in Star Trek. Heck, let’s go even further and say that it will be even easier. It should be as easy as you getting in your car and traveling from one city to another city.
