Since summer, I’ve debated splitting my software out onto an old laptop and letting the kids use my desktop system solely. Last month, Mom was saying how she wanted to save for a new computer, I offered her this laptop, instead of spending money on a computer she would use only for internet and mail anyway.

As kismet dictates, the desktop decided to fry it’s processor chip, moving on to the motherboard. While at Mom’s on Friday, apparently there was a power surge and it’s now gone. Hmmm….. I came home to a no-longer blinking, but steady orange glow from the front panel. When we unplugged the power cord, the lights stayed on.

Anway, I decided to just hop around the net tonight. It’s 3:56 am now, and decided to share my travels because I had a good time!

It started at Butterick’s new pattern catalog for the winter 2008 season, remembered to check out Ottobre patterns for boys.

While at Ottobre, I ran into a source in Finland for organic underwear. Looking at their catalog, they discussed a cream they sell for diaper rash, made from marigold extract. I decided it would be fun to search for how to make an extract. Any extract! wouldn’t that be kewl?

Using Google Books search took me to an 1881 book called “Health at Home, Or Hall’s Family Doctor
By William Whitty Hall” That was interesting in an of itself! But he discussed calomel as one of the “home medicines” to have on hand. I searched for that, turns out it’s a mercury based? mineral made from minerals found in Germany and Texas. Well, so much for Dr. Hall’s statement that “these items can be found readily within a farmer’s acreage!”

Somehow, I remember to search for extracts, and found that email DID exist in the 1800′s.

Here is an excerpt from the Techno-chemical Receipt Book written in 1887:

The Techno-chemical Receipt Book Containing Several Thousand Receipts, Covering the Latest, Most Important and Most Useful Discoveries in Chemical Technology, and Their Practical Application in the Arts and the Industries. Ed. Chiefly from the German Od Drs. Winckler, Elsner, Heintze [et Al.] By William Theodore Brannt, William Henry Wahl

See – Techno and email were terms in 1887. Wonder if nerd or geek is in there somewhere too?

It’s a really fun book to read – after an hour, I still haven’t gotten through the table of contents. If it was made – they can tell you how! It’s a web journal all unto itself.