Epworth Sleepiness Scale

The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) is a scale intended to measure daytime sleepiness that is measured by use of a very short questionnaire. This can be helpful in diagnosing sleep disorders. It was introduced in 1991 by Dr Murray Johns of Epworth Hospital in Melbourne, Australia.

The questionnaire asks the subject to rate his or her probability of falling asleep on a scale of increasing probability from 0 to 3 in eight different situations.The scores for the eight questions are added to obtain a single number. A number in the range 0–9 is considered to be normal while a number in the range 10–24 is considered to indicate that specialist medical advice should be recommended.

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epworth_sleepiness_scale

What to Carry on a First Date

Hankie 
Mints
Cash
Umbrella
A Sports Coat

See the full article at http://artofmanliness.com/2010/05/19/what-to-carry-on-a-first-date-the-gentlemans-arsenal

What is Vultures Row?

Simply put Vultures Row is the observation area(s) located on the island of an aircraft carrier. From these vantage points you can observe flight deck operations.

from http://vulturesrowaviation.com/whatisvr.html

A Balrog is come

The ranks of the orcs had opened, and they crowded away, as if they themselves were afraid. Something was coming up behind them. What it was could not be seen: it was like a great shadow, in the middle of which was a dark form, of man-shape maybe, yet greater; and a power and terror seemed to be in it and to go before it.

It came to the edge of the fire and the light faded as if a cloud had bent over it. Then with a rush it leaped across the fissure. The flames roared up to greet it, and wreathed about it; and a black smoke swirled in the air. Its streaming mane kindled, and blazed behind it. In its right hand was a blade like a stabbing tongue of fire; in its left it held a whip of many thongs.

'Ai! ai! ' wailed Legolas. 'A Balrog! A Balrog is come! '

Gimli stared with wide eyes. `Durin's Bane! ' he cried, and letting his axe fall he covered his face.

'A Balrog,' muttered Gandalf. `Now I understand.' He faltered and leaned heavily on his staff. `What an evil fortune! And I am already weary.'

The Bridge of Khazad-dûm, The Fellowship of the Ring, the Lord of The Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien

“August Seven”, "August seventh" or "August the seventh"

A reader asks why it is (as it seems to him) increasingly common for Americans to say "August seven" instead of "August seventh" or "August the seventh" for 08/07/09 ("Coming August seven to a theater near you!"). I have done no investigation on this (it would need intensive quantitative corpus study over dated corpora that do not have Google's propensity for collapsing common typographical variants). The reader may be wrong to think the practice has been increasing: the Recency Effect has not been repealed. So I offer nothing but the following observation. For some time there has been a trend toward abolishing typographical clutter in print ("Mr Jones" for "Mr. Jones"; even "ie" and "eg" for "i.e." and "e.g."), particularly though not exclusively in published American English; and American English also idiomatically eliminates various prepositions here and there (as in "See you Tuesday" for "See you on Tuesday"). If such abbreviatory practices led to writing "7″ for "7th" or "the 7th", spelling pronunciation might be responsible for the resultant habit spreading in spoken American English.

from http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=1614

Paprika Hendl

We left in pretty good time, and came after nightfall to Klausenburgh.  Here I stopped for the night at the Hotel Royale. I had for dinner, or rather supper, a chicken done up some way with red pepper, which was very good but thirsty. (Mem. get recipe for Mina.) I asked the waiter, and he said it was called "paprika hendl," and that, as it was a national dish, I should be able to get it anywhere along the Carpathians.
from Jonathan Harker's Journal, Dracula by Bram Stoker

Recipe. Brown chicken in olive oil in large cast iron skillet or stockpot. And add diced onions to skillet/pot. Brown onions and stir in 1/2 the paprika. Add V-8 juice and place chicken over onions. Cover and simmer 1/2 hour. Beat flour and remaining paprika into sour cream. Fold this into chicken. Cover and simmer another 5 to 10 minutes. Serve with dumplings, or pasta, or potatoes.
Full details at http://www.grouprecipes.com/80756/paprika-hendl.html

Am not shewer what tha's on abaht owd lad

There is the West Yorkshire dialect which uses these old forms, as in a conversation that would be heard on many a doorstep in Heckmondwike:

"What's tha got wi thi nah"?
"Nowt"
"Well it dunt look like nowt t'me, it looks a reyt mullock".
"Ah fan it aht laikin".
"Look at at the state of thi, tha'd better get thissen t'bed afore thi fatther cums ooam".
"Am bahn nah. Neet".

It would be understood by most northerners - and probably a lot of non-northerners in the UK in speech, in real life, in a dramatic presentation or in writing.

from alt.usage.english

Steve Wright One Liners

It doesn't matter what temperature the room is, it's always room temperature.

I got a dog and named him 'Stay'. Now, I go 'Come here, Stay!' After a while, the dog went insane and wouldn't move at all.

Right now I'm having amnesia and deja-vu at the same time. I think I've forgotten this before.

Sponges grow in the ocean. I wonder how much deeper the oceans would be if that didn't happen.

In school, every period ends with a bell. Every sentence ends with a period. Every crime ends with a sentence.

I have an answering machine in my car. It says "I'm home now. But leave a message and I'll call when I'm out."

From http://humor.mcf.com/misc/stevenwright.html