Hi Mike - great article. Your words capture how we can still have fun and comradery in a stressful world. Dave From: Mike Buetow <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Date: 02/08/2013 08:01 AM Subject: Re: [TN] NTC Friday Element Quiz - The Question Sent by: TechNet <[log in to unmask]> Folks, I've enjoyed the FEQ (and especially the related banter) from a distance since the beginning, so much so I wrote a short piece about it. http://circuitsassembly.com/cms/component/content/article/5-current-column s/14104-in-their-element Best, Mike Mike Buetow PCD&F/Circuits Assembly w/m: 617-327-4702 @mikebuetow BOARD TALK: The online community for the PCB industry www.theprintedcircuitboard.com PCB CHAT: A new way to engage the experts: www.pcbchat.com The 2013 CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY Directory of EMS Companies: circuitsassembly.com/dems -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Douglas Pauls Sent: Friday, February 08, 2013 8:48 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] NTC Friday Element Quiz - The Question The answer, of course, is Talcium (Tk), another of the half fractional elements (amazing how many there are, eh?). It is an odd half fractional as it appears between Sulfur and Selenium in the periodic table. It has the lubricating characteristics of a sulfur rich compound (e.g. Polysulfones) and the dandruff fighting characteristics of Selenium. Almost all parents are familiar with Talcum powder, a blend of corn starch (and we in Iowa just love corn products) and Talcium. It's what makes a baby's butt so smooth. Also helps fight pediatric dandruff. I happen to know Ma Hillman (she likes me better than Dave) who said Dave has fought that dandruff thing all his life. His hair is actually black, but that whitish/gray coloration - Dandruff. Could also be from raising two teenage sons. The jury is still out. The Chaldeans were indeed the first ones to make productive use of Talcium and it helped ensure that their military dominance continued for a long period in the ancient world. The capital city of Ur was located on a good sized hill. The surrounding area was rich in Talcium deposits. Attacking armies continually slipped and slided, making them easy targets for the archers. When the Chaldean armies invaded other areas, they took powdered Talcium with them, liberally seeded the battlefield during the night and then sat back to watch the fun. The dominance continued until the Babylonians discovered a counter-strategy. They waited until the wind was at their backs, then the soldiers would beat the ground with massive brooms, causing the light Talcium to rise, coating the Chaldeans with the material. It is actually where the term "clean sweep" comes from. True story. I do all this so that Hillman has to hire additional staff on his drunken Board to research reasons to disqualify me. Oh, just to wrap up the first Round, when the boys got back to Cedar Rapids, I sent them and their wives to a wonderful bed and breakfast up in Red Wing, Minnesota for a long weekend. Got my Boy Scout Troop (handy being a Scoutmaster) and did all the home maintenance tasks which had accumulated in two years. The wives were very pleased and the Scouts got Merit Badges in Home Repair and Gnome Lore. And I sampled Clumpy's store of Akavit. Everyone wins. Doug Pauls ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service. For more information please contact helpdesk at x2960 or [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service. For more information please contact helpdesk at x2960 or [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service. For more information please contact helpdesk at x2960 or [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________