Man's Fascination, and yet...

Albino. This anomaly was on my mind so I Googled it and found some pretty cool pictures of some pure white animals. This occurs in nature more often than I thought. I'm sure you all know this, but I'll give you the definition of it anyway since it is, in fact, my blog. (plus it makes me feel smart :P) So albinism is a hereditary inability to produce the pigment melanin which leaves pale or pink skin, white fur, pinkish or light blue eyes and usually impaired vision. To be albino is so not the greatest thing, though we humans seem to see it as a novelty. In fact, albino animals are often caught and bred for that reason. Which I guess is better for the animal because the chances of an albino animal surviving in the wild is very slim. The biggest disadvantage would be the impaired vision. Apparently melanin has a big part in developing the irises, retinas, eye muscles and optic nerves. The animal has problems with focusing, depth perception and tracking...which it would kinda need, especially if its a predator or say a....bird. Did you know that melanin also helps protect you from the sunlight? Ya, or rather melanomas (clusters of melanin) does. So besides not being able to see and dealing with constant sunburns, with that bright white coat of fur or feathers or skin, all thoughts of camouflage disappear! Oddly enough though, some studies have revealed that sometimes predators will avoid albinos, not even recognizing them as prey to begin with, huh. Very interesting. Oh and studies of birds like ravens, barn swallows and penguins, show that albino birds have trouble winning a mate. In fact they were consistently rejected based on the lack of colours and patterns a mate would rely on to make choices, poor little birdies!! Talk about some serious prejudice! (actually sounds like us humans...hmmm lol). So the outcome of my study is that these creatures are to be pitied, and are a result of a fallen world. I am actually now quite sad for the poor albino animals of the world, especially the ones humans take advantage of (a half blind animal is easier to control). But perhaps what has caused me the most grief this day is an article I came upon regarding the human side of albinism. I was shocked to the core to read this title "Seven new albino killings in Tanzania and Burundi" and my heart sunk even more as I continued to read. Recently a 28 year old woman and her 4 year old son were killed and...actually I don't even want to write what they did and continue to do to these helpless people. I cannot even imagine living in that kinda of terror. Sorry to leave you on a sad note....but sometimes thats just the way it is. Now I'm going to go cry a bit

So the Zipper...

We were just finishing dinner when I happened to glance at my brother staring at the zipper on his hoodie, slowly pulling it up and down. I kinda chuckled a bit at the sight and he looked up with an adorable lopsided grin and said something like "Haven't you ever wondered how a zipper works?" (My brother is 24 and married with 9 month old son.) Gotta love it. Anyways it sparked an interest in my brain and I started to wonder where in the world zippers did in fact came from.

Look at your zipper. See the initials YKK? It stands for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushibibaisha, the world's largest zipper manufacturer, located in.....prize for the winning answer!!

But I get ahead of myself.

It may not come as a surprise that the inventor of the sewing machine, Elias Howe, was the first to tinker with the idea of a what is now called the zipper. He received a patent in 1851 for an 'Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closure', but it wasn't until 4 years later that Mr. Whitcomb Judson began to market a 'Clasp Locker', earning the credit of being the 'Inventor of the Zipper'. Judson's Clasp Locker was a complicated hook-and-eye shoe fastener. He launched the Universal Fastener Company which was devoted to creating this design, brilliant idea that wasn't very popular with the public unfortunately.

Enter Gideon Sundback, a guy with a creepy mustache and mad skills. He got a job at the Universal Fastener Co, becoming head designer and vastly improved Judson's lame design. Sadly his dear wife died which caused him to become obsessed with his work (to deal with his grief I assume) and by 1913 he had designed what is now the modern day zipper, the patent issued in 1917 for the 'Separable Fastener'.

Yet we still don't see the word 'Zipper' anywhere....well I have that fascinating information too. It came from the B.F. Goodrich Company who decided to use the Fastener on a new type of rubber boots and renamed it the 'Zipper', the name has stuck ever since. It took a full 20 years before the zipper graduated from boots and tobacco pouches to the fashion industry, beginning with children's clothing. Here's a fun fact, in a "Battle of the Fly" in 1937 the zipper beat the button! Woot! All thanks to the French apparently. who declared the zipper as the "Newest tailoring idea for men". Among its many virtues was that it was said to exclude "the possibility of unintentional and embarrassing disarray" Obviously, they had not yet discovered the experience of forgetting to zip-up ;)

So there you have it my friends, the history of the Zipper if you ever wanted to know.

All information was gleaned from About.com.Inventors

for lack of anything better...

Alrighty! The much anticipated 2nd post! lol (this ones all for you bananas)

So I have a bit of tragic news. My lovely Starbucks mug has been stolen! Yes, stolen. I left it at church two weeks ago and for multiple reasons, one of which was just plain laziness, I hadn't gone back to find it until this Monday. It was much to my dismay to discover that it was not only not in the Lost and Found, but to find out that it had been there at one point (information secured by the church facility guy, so nice that he remembered my dear mug) and was in fact most likely taken by the less reputable folk that frequent the church and apparently like to go shopping in the church Lost and Found. If only I had come sooner! So, after a brief grieving period of about...2 mins, I zipped off to Starbucks to purchase myself another!! It is most unsettling to not have a trusty mug for ones morning coffee, I know someone understands me.....well maybe I'm just weird then, ah well.

So as luck would have it, low and behold there was an equally beautiful mug at Starbucks to replace the old one. I am very pleased with the outcome of this minor tragedy.

Now, you might be wondering what this has to do with behind the desk....I will tell you. As an avid coffee drinker should understand, ones mug is stuck like glue to ones hand until the drink is consumed (quite the phenomenon I know :P). So I have my mug beside me as go about my morning routine of checking emails, mailing letters...writing my blog, chatting with my co-workers...this new one will have to learn the ropes but I'm positive it will do alright.

Speaking of co-workers, I have to give props to Mr. Roly Patrick who very kindly improved my rather foul mood yesterday morning. This video definitely aided him in this, though I really had no idea what it was at the time, somehow watching Kermit the frog at 8 in the morning tickled my brain. Check it out: Danny Boy

Blooper real...

It all started with YouTube mixed with a serious case of boredom. What started as a very focused search for a specific scene from Pirates of the Carribbean 3 turned into me laughing my face off at the bloopers for said film. Its like Lays chips, you can't just watch one. So in chatting with my best friend and sister, Bananas, who sometimes enjoys my randomness, voila! Mots sont apparus comme vous le voyez!

I am the 'voice' of a distribution company. Actually, I am a receptionist, I like to say admin assistant too but that's just to make me feel a bit better. In the endless hours of answering call after call, none of which are for me, in the most animated cheerful voice that to some is akin to nails on a chalkboard, tends to wear on a person. Giving into insanity or apathy are very real fears. So, I have found various ways to entertain myself and created this blog to document them.

What to expect....well nothing at all, yet so much of everything, except the totally detestable, but not excluding the questionable.

The title mentions behind the desk, so it follows that all posts will be done from work (shhh dont tell the boss). For those who read my nonsensical babbling I hope you will be much entertained with stories of the persons, events and other such random things that are witnessed from behind the desk. I will not be using names, and to save on confusion you will begin to know my characters by their apt nicknames. In like manner I will only be known by my ulter-ego Jerusalem. I used to be schizophrenic but we're okay with that now.

On with the show...