On This Day in Automotive History, July 31

The end of July, is the time when production stops on many car models.  July 31 is the date that production stopped on the 1970, 1975 Corvettes.  It is also the date in 1981 that the last Corvete was built at  the St. Louis plant. The Corvette Americans Hall of Fame opened in Cooperstown, New York on this day in 1992.

Dog Tip of The Day, July 31

I have an interesting story to tell today.  Yesterday, I had my dog playing in the park and he began to dig a hole.  Normally I would have stopped him because he was digging right by the playground gym that the kids play on, but I let him dig.  I could always fill in the hole later.  We wanted to see what he was digging for.  He dug a hole about the size of a bucket, almost  a foot deep.  It began to fill up with water, then he took a drink.  Now the question is, did he smell that water?  He is only a nine month old German Shepherd.  So my tip for today is, let your dog explore.  We are always so quick to pull them away from everything, “leave it” we say, which is a good policy, but if it doesn’t look like they are getting into any real danger, let them be dogs.

Today’s Birthdays, July 31

Today is the birthday of Friedrich Wohler, born in 1800, he is often considered the founder of organic chemistry, because of the synthesis of urea in 1828 from inorganic compounds, called the Wohler synthesis, it disproved and undermined the Vital Force Theory which was believed for centuries, he died in 1882  at age 82

Today is also the birthday of John Canton, born in 1718, he verified Ben Franklin’s kite experiment and made important discoveries with electricity and artificial magnets.

Richard Oldham, born in 1858, discovered that the earth had a core, he also was the first to describe the existance of p-waves, s-waves and surface waves.

Paul Boyer, born in 1918, described the enzymatic reaction mechanism involved in the biosynthesis of adenosine triphosphate, better known as ATP

Primo Livi, born in 1919, he was an Italian/Jewish chemist who wrote the book, The Periodic Table, The Royal Institute of Great Britain named it the best science book ever written

Dog Tip of The Day, July 30

A dog’s abiltiy to smell is affected by poor dental care.  Your dog’s teeth need daily cleaning and hygiene just like we do.  Dogs really don’t like you messing with their teeth unless you start to do this at a young age.  When the puppy is as young as eight weeks, put your fingers in its mouth everyday and rub and feel it’s teeth.  It isn’t recommended to begin brushing at this early age, but I would suggest putting a pet toothbrush in their mouth very gently around the teeth to get them used to it.  There are gels available from pet stores that aid in keeping the teeth clean.  When the dog gets older, I would recommend using these gels daily and also a light brushing.  Even if your dog is not a working dog, such as an air scenter or trailer, they still rely heavily on their sense of smell.

Birthdays, July 30

Today is the birthday of Henry Ford, born in 1863, he sure had a different belief than most business people of his day and even today, he thought you could make money by making cheap consumer goods and paying your workers a higher wage. Everyone thinks he is famous for inventing the Model T Ford, but it was the assembly line to produce the cars that made him rich and famous.

Today is also the birthday of Vladimir Zworykin, born in 1889, his work on vacuum storage tubes and infrared image tubes in the 1930s made the electron microscope and television possible.

And Regnier de Graff, born in 1641 invented the syringe, he also made important anatomical discoveries of the reproductive system including the testicular ducts, efferent ducts, corpus lutea and fallopian tubes.

Dog Tip of the Day, July 29

Coming up soon in September, I will be starting Turbo’s beginner obedience class.  He has already completed his puppy obedience class.  In the puppy class one of the things I learned was to sit quietly with your dog for about a half an hour every day.  This will be hard to do at first because puppies are so full of energy and older dogs might not be sure how to handle it. I think this is an important activity.  It helps you bond with your dog and solidify that loyalty you expect. All dogs should be good citizens and this ability to lay quietly by your side while you are eating, chatting with a friend or strange or just wanting some quiet time is essential.  Start out with just a few minutes and build up to a half an hour.  Who knows maybe the quiet time will relieve some of your daily stress too.

Dog Tip of the Day, July 28

Sorry I didn’t have a dog tip up yesterday,  I know there are some people who are following that post.  I was away at a BSAR class, that is Basic Search and Rescue.  I could not take my K9 to this and I worried about him all weekend.  I am sure this bothered him also.  I have spoken before about how a dog thinks,  they are pack animals and live by a packing instinct.  I am the alpha male and he had to worry about why I wasn’t with him.  So, my belated tip for yesterday is to always have your K9 partner (that would be your dog) in your mind and always try to think with that pack mentality.  I don’t want my dog to have any undue stress. I am sure you don’t want that for your dog either.  I will put today’s tip up as soon as I take turbo out for some frisbee, ball throwing and play time.

Dog Tip of the Day, July 27

Typically a mature dog will weigh about two times as much as it weighs as a six month old puppy.  So, if your dog weighs 50 pounds at six months of age, it will probably end up weighing about 100 pounds as an adult.  This is something to consider when choosing one of the larger breeds like a German Shepherd.

Birthdays, July 27

Today is the birthday of Friedrich Dorn, born in 1848, he was the first person to discover that a radioactive substance radon was emitted from radium. He called it emanation, it was renamed radon by an international body of scientists.

Today is also the birthday of Hans Fisher, born in 1881, he received the Nobel Prize in 1930 for his synthesis of bilirubin and haemin, he also investigated bile pigments, cholorophyll and pyrrole.

Rocket Building Project, Day 2

Well, I got another kit, so I now have a nose cone for the Wizard. Today we glued one of the fins on. In a future rocket build, I will demonstrate the use of a fin alignment jig. For this one I am demonstrating glueing on the fins without the jig. Most people getting started in rocket building will not have the fin alignment jig. It is easy, mark the tube with the fin marking guide that comes with the kit. I use a door frame to draw straight lines on the rocket tube. Glue on the fins, one at a time with Elmers white glue. That red thing is a rock that my grandson painted. I am using it to hold the rocket tube in place while the glue dries. Two more fins to go, then on to the next step.