Heitah's New Writeups

sick as a dog (idea)

2009-12-21T23:14:17Z

Dogs eat anything, and I mean ANYTHING. But that leads to some troublesome consequences. Dogs get sick when they eat something unusual, like chocolate for instance - which can even cause death.

But where did the phrase, "Sick as a dog" come from?

Arf!

The English language is always changing, so to pinpoint the original use is impossible. But one can infer that because dogs frequently get sick from consuming items that don't digest well, that the same goes for us humans. You're as sick as a dog when you just don't feel right.

Some interesting analysis by World Wide Words: "There are several expressions of the form sick as a ..., that date from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Sick as a dog is actually the oldest of them, recorded from 1705; it is probably no more than an attempt to give force to a strongly worded statement of physical unhappiness. It was attached to a dog, I would guess, because…

Every Dog Has Its Day (idea)

2009-11-18T00:40:33Z

As years pass this once revengeful phrase (or as some say, idiom) has turned into a phrase of opportunity. Ie, every dog has the chance to make it. But it's original context was far more bitter.

"According to the medieval Dutch scholar Erasmus, the saying came about as a result of the death of the Greek playwright Euripides, who in 405 B.C. was mauled and killed by a pack of dogs loosed upon him by a rival. Thus the saying is usually taken to mean that even the most lowly person will at some time get revenge on his oppressor, no matter how powerful the man may be. The Greek biographer Plutarch recorded the proverb for the first time in 'Moralia' (A.D. c. 95) rendering it as 'Even a dog gets his revenge,' and Richard Taverner included the first version in English - 'A dogge hath a day' - centuries later in his 'Proverbes' or Adages' (1539).What was virtually the modern form appeared in John Ray's 'A collection of English Proverbs' (1670) as '

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October 27, 2009 (personal)

2009-10-27T04:28:57Z

I've been wondering how to get more hits on YouTube. Honestly, nothing has been on my mind so feverishly in the past few weeks. I have over 150 videos online, and some are really good. I don't mean to make this a "come view my videos" daylog, but unless you do, your advice in helping me may not be as good. And you may not understand why my complaints are justified, if you don't view a couple of them. Or you could just skip to my YouTube rant.

For instance, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq6-9O4ZRcE

That's a prime example of a really good video that isn't getting views. It's a truck hitting a barrier at a military base at 50mph. The barrier wins, suffice it to say. And the truck explodes.

Here's a few others of the "fail" genre:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPrULVa17q0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGgJsMkcRNA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_bufSz5poo

I also have video of and interviews with Glenn Beck, Dawn Wells, Henry Winkler and video of…

EPT (idea)

2009-09-26T05:17:52Z

Dictionary.com doesn't even have the word "ept" listed on its website. That's why ept is the sister of a orphan negative, inept. Logically the two must both exist for either to exist. Inept remains an unpaired word as a result. You can blame ept for orphaning inept... That, or the human race orphaned the word inept by limiting the use of the word ept out of existance. (Proof of this being the fact that if you Google "ept" you will find pregnancy tests offered to you.) You never hear the word "ept" used, ever. That's why inept is the orphan negative.

The Oxford English Dictionary mentions that ept is "Used as a deliberate antonym of 'inept': adroit, appropriate, effective."

Ept is synonymous to adept. And since it is the positive form of inept, and is not used in standard practice any more, it is an example of a positive phrase that remains elusive to the English language. While it's negative counter part is used by everyone.

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Dawn Wells (person)

2009-08-04T02:54:53Z

Dawn Wells: born October 18, 1938, in Reno, Nevada. She is a famous actress, most notably as Mary Ann Summers on Gilligan's Island. When I met her for our interview, which can be watched at this link, she was 71-years-old, and she looked 50 - if that.

The sound of an auction is the same wherever you go. But at Dawn Wells's home, it's something a bit more special.

Dawn Wells has quite the collection of items only an actress could get their hands on, and she auctioned many of them on August 1, 2009, and left Idaho.

"Just looking at there thinking its ridiculous one person has so many things. You know, it was George Carlin, you get stuff, then you gotta get a bigger house for your stuff then you gotta take your stuff with you when you travel! I'm a stuff person!" said Dawn Wells.

Stuff like chairs used in World War II. A trunk that you could, well, put more stuff in. And even a variety of…

July 3, 2009 (log)

2009-07-03T03:11:54Z

One of the coolest things I've ever done in my life is fly in a stunt airplane, and I have footage to remember it for the rest of my life.

Stunt Air Plane Footage Here

Now I've flown in airplanes before, but I haven't flown in something quite like this. One of the most advanced stunt airplane in the world, the MX-2.

"Lot of G's... Lot of G's!" exclaimed world class pilot Greg Poe.

"What he can do with an airplane defies physics... and Greg Poe is nuts, he is absolutely certifiable insane, and when you see him fly you'll understand why I say that," said John Bagley, who is coordinating the event.

I wish someone had told me that before I got into the MX2 with Greg Poe.

"How are you doing?" Asked Poe.

"I'm handling it okay," I replied.

"Look out to the side, at the wing tip," Poe told me.

"Yeah I'm definitely blacking out a little bit," I admitted.

"This weekend is not going to be your…