Name change

So I've decided to change the name of the blog since I am creating another one for one of my courses at Queens. I am known to change my mind quite often so I'm sure this won't be the last time I change the name.

The holidays are finally over and Rachel and I had a very hectic, eventful and enjoyable holiday. We spent a week in Michigan and a week in Wisconsin. In Michigan it snowed just about every day (I"ll include some pictures soon). Living in North Carolina Rachel and I miss the snow so it is nice when we can have a white Christmas. However, we are glad we don't have to do all the shoveling!

However, the best part of Christmas was some very good news that I can't quite share yet, but will after Monday! Although, since no one probably reads this blog I could spill the beans and no one would really know.....Well, we'll just wait till Monday.

How to speak 'Scansin

As I mentioned in my first post I'm originally from Wisconsin. I was born and raised in West Allis, a suburb of Milwaukee. It was on a trip to the east coast when I was younger that someone first told me I had an accent....I thought they were crazy. Well, when I moved to Kansas I realized I did have a a northern midwestern accent. Some call it a "Fargo" accent in reference to the movie Fargo. Well, after living in Kansas, Georgia and now North Carolina for 9 years it appears I've lost some of my accent....but not completely....

So, as a service to my friends and colleagues I have provided some 'Scansin pronunciations...According to the site How to Speak 'Scansin

"The "ah" sound in Wis-cahn-sin, becomes more of a short "a" sound as in cat. When saying the word Wisconsin, one forms the W with one's lips but never fully articulates it. What is heard by the listener is a very soft "Wuh" sound followed by a hard "Scansin." Hence the term Scansin

(These all come from a variety of websites including Facebook)

AIN'A (Ayna)
Used in much the same manner as the Canadian HEY, this term is usually found at the end of a sentence, such as "We should get us a coupla cold brews, aina?" Closest literal translation would be "Isn't that so?"

BELIEVE-YOU-ME
Attached to the beginning or end a statement make it more credible; as in, "really!"

BETATAH (Buh-TAY-tuh)
This is a starchy tuber grown and eaten in Wisconsin. Known as a potato outside of the state, this vegetable is usually eaten with meat.

BLAZE ORANGE
What deer hunters and cold-weather Packers fans wear at Lambeau.

BOHLLIN
A game played indoors, usually involving a ball weighing between 8 and 16 pounds. The goal is to knock all ten pins at the end of the lane down.

BORN IN A BARN?
A sarcastic question which usually means you left the door open in da middle of winter.

BORROW ME
In Wisconsin, we don't lend things to someone, we borrow them something.
Example: "Hey, borrow me five bucks then, OK?"

BOUGHTEN
Saying you bought something in past tense.

BRAT (Braht)
Short for Bratwurst, Wisconsin's favorite sausage. Brats contain pork, beef, and spices. Lots of spices. A brat-fry is the social equivalent of the New England Clambake or the Texas Barbeque. Brats are not fried at a brat-fry, they are grilled over charcoal, simmered in a beer-and-onion broth, then served on a bun with mustard, onion, kraut, and a cold brew.

BREW (or Brew-Ha, Brewski, Brewster)
A bottle, can, or glass of beer. Also known as SUDS, BARLEY-POP, BARLEY-SODA, GOLDEN FOAMY, and MALTED MOTHERS MILK.

BUBBLER
A drinking fountain. Originally named after the valve, which caused the water to "bubble up" when turned on. Ask where the water-fountain is, and the Wisconsinite will probably point and laugh at you before directing you to the nearest bubbler.

BUDGE
To merge without permission; cut in; as in "Don't chu budge in line for a brat, I was here first!"

BY
Meaning to, at, in. As in "I'm going over by John's house tonight." Originates from the German word "bei".

CHEDDARHEAD
See "CHEESEHEAD."

CHEESE CURDS
Fresh Cheese consumed straight up. Comes in small curd-like pieces, and are still squeaky.

CHEESEHEAD
Originally coined as a derogatory term by the flatlanders to the south, the name has been adopted and may be used freely.

COME WITH
Instead of "come with me."
"I am goin to da store, you wanna come with?"

COOLER BY THE LAKE
Meteorological condition where temperatures are lower in the immediate vicinity of Lake Michigan (the big pond). Most uttered phrase during summer weather reports.

CRICK
Used in place of "Creek", a body of water; or a small, thin river. Rhymes with "pick."

DA COWS ARE GETTIN OUT
Pull dat jeans zipper up, will ya?

DAIRY AIR
Also known as HEIFER-MIST. Although some may think that this natural by-product of the dairy industry smells like manure, to a dairy-farmer it smells a lot like money. Just watch where you're walking.

DAVENPORT
What gramma called the sofa; a couch.

DEER HUNTING
The Wisconsin version of Marti Gras. Each November, thousands of male (and female) residents go up north to drink a brewski and bag a bambi.

DON'T CHA' KNOW?
Similar to the Canadian "eh". Made famous by Mrs. Generic from the cartoon show "Bobby's World."

FAIR-TO-MIDDLIN'
Not bad or great,but just "ok"

FER
Used in place of the word "for."
"Fer chrissake!", "Fer Pete's sake!", or "Fer cryin' out loud!"

FLEET FARM, or FARM & FLEET
A Cheddarhead's answer to Bloomingdales; the store that offers EVERYTHING.

FOND DU LAC
REALLY pronounced "Fon du (long u) lack." Many people (especially weather reporters) refer to it with the pronunciation of Fon-jew-lack.

FROZEN CUSTARD
A sinfully rich form of ice cream made with real cream, real eggs, and real good! Not to be confused with "soft-serve," true frozen custard bypasses the digestive process and converts directly to body fat.

FROZEN TUNDRA
Lambeau Field (Home of the Green Bay Packers-- Wisconsin's joy and pride.)

GEORGE WEBB'S
Bar-time four star restaurant. Most often populated from 6:00AM to 11:30PM by police officers. Open 24 hours a day and known for all-day, All-American breakfast and the double clocks.

GO AHEAD/GO HEAD
Proceed; as in, "go head and back up your car."

GOTS
Used in place of "have."
"I gots my tickets to watch da Packers play on da Frozen Tundra."

GREENBAY
Said as only one word, real fast. Is the city home to the Green Bay Packers, as well as UW-Green Bay.

GULDARN or GULDAMN
A Wisconsin expletive; similar to "Awww, SHIT!"

IMPORTED BEER
This is any variety of brewski that is not produced in Milwaukee. When you ask for an imported beer in a Milwaukee tavern, you'll probably get a Coors.

HEIFER-MIST
See "DAIRY AIR."

HEY
Placed at the beginning or end of phrases for emphasis.
"Hey, how 'bout them Packers?" or
"How 'bout them Packers, hey?"

HOW'S-BY-YOU?
A greeting; the same as, "How's everything?"

HUMDINGER
A beauty; as in "dat crappy youse caught up-nort is a real humdinger."

JOHN DEERE
A Cheddarhead's other vehicle. Brand of lawn mowers, tractors, other farm equip.

KAPUTT
What you say when your tractor has seen it's day. Pronounced "KUH-PUT."
"My tractor jus broke down. It's kaputt."

KETTLE-MORAINE
A geological feature of Southeastern Wisconsin caused by the melting of the glacier. A kettle is a sharp depression, and a moraine is a hill or ridge composed mostly of mixed loose rocks. It makes for great scenery, but it's hell for road workers.

KRAUT
What goes good on a brat. Fully known in other parts as "Sauerkraut," and can be defined as cabbage cut fine, salted, and allowed to ferment until sour.

MANTWOC
The city of Manitowoc... duh.

M'WAKEE/MUHWAUKEE
Wisconsin's largest city (Milwaukee); located just down the lake from Trivers and Mantwoc.

MOO JUICE
Simply put, milk.

N' SO?
A word inserted at the end of a statement. Short for "And so?" Used as a substitute for "right?" or "correct?"

NEXT THURSDAY
In Wisconsin, that meant if it were Tuesday, you would skip this Thursday and go to the next one - 9 days away. In any other state, they are talking about the very next Thursday - 2 days away.

NOAH
The Cheddarhead way to respond "no."

OH, YAH?
Depending on emphasis, it's either used as acknowledgment (as in "That's correct") or skepticism (as in "That's bull!").

POTLUCK SUPPER
Where a group of people (generally church/parish members) get together for a meal that every person brings part of.

ROONED
Equivalent of "ruined." What you say when someone dumps something messy on your shirt- "You rooned my shirt!"

RUFF (pronounced like a dog "ruff")
A word Wisconsinites will say instead of "roof."

RUT
A word Wisconsinites will say instead of "root."

SKEETER
Wisconsin state bird. Well not really, but it translates to "Mosquito."

SODA
If you want a carbonated soft drink, ask for a soda. If you really want soda (plain carbonated water) ask for seltzer. If you ask for pop, you'll get that smug grin that says "not from 'round here, are ya?"

STAND UP IN A WEDDING
Instead of saying "in the wedding party," Wisconsinites "stand up" in weddings.

STOP 'N GO LIGHTS
Traffic signals to you, but isn't that dull? After all, one light means stop, the other means go, so what else would you call them?

STOP TO DA PIG
Means you're going to stop "at" the "Piggly Wiggly" grocery store.
"Stop to da pig, pick up some brewskis, den go by me, eh?

TAILGATING
What Wisconsin Professional sports (i.e. Packers, Brewers) do before the game. Involves sitting in parking lot in lawn chairs behind the Wisconsinite's vehicle with a grill, brats, kraut, and a couple-two-tree brewsters.

THAT THUR
As in "Can ya hand me that thur hammer once?"
Meaning "Could you please hand me that hammer?"

THE DELLS
Wisconsin's prime place to vacation. Known in other parts as "Wisconsin Dells," it is known to be the Waterpark Capital of the World. People from all over come to visit (especially from Illinois).

THE LAKE
Refers to Lake Michigan. Basically a compass to determine where you are going. If anyone is trying to determine which direction to go in, they must first locate "the lake" and proceed from there.

TYME MACHINE
No, it's not time travel. It's what the rest of the country calls an "ATM" machine. T.Y.M.E. stands for Take Your Money Everywhere. TYME IS MONEY!

UCKER/EUCHRE
Pronounced "You-ker." As in "Bob Ucker," a famous Brewer's radio announcer. Euchre is a popular card game.

UFF-DA
A Norwegian expression which does not translate well. The closest equivalent would be the Jewish "Oy Vey".

UN-THAW
To defrost something.
"Johnny, can you pull dem brats outada freezer so day can unthaw?"

UP-NORT
Where people go for vacation, fishing, or hunting. A very general term, up north is sometimes reached by traveling East or West. Anywhere 100 miles or more from where you are, and in a generally northern direction may be considered "up nort".

UPer ("Yooper")
A native of Michigan's upper peninsula (UP). For these people, 'up nort' is Canada.

WARSH
What you do to your hands in the zink (see ZINK) - you wash them.

WELL... I S'POSE... or WELL... I RECKON...
A Wisconsinite way of hanging up the phone. Whenever you're ready to end the conversation, saying "Well... I s'pose..." or "Well... I reckon..." after a long phone conversation signals to the other person that you're ready to hang up. "I should probably go _______" usually follows this, then a "bye."

WINTER (Also known as a "WISCONSIN WINTER")
This is one of Wisconsin's two seasons which lasts approximately 9 months. The other season is Road Construction (see ROAD CONSTRUCTION) lasting roughly 3 months.

WHERE-ABOUTS
Locality; proximity; as in, "where-abouts are youse guys from?"

YA DER HEY!
One can judge the sobriety of a Wisconsinite by the way he answers this question: "Hey Stan, wanna Brewski?" If the answer is "Ya Der Hey!", then Stan is only on his first six pack of Blatz. If he answers "Not now no more, eh?!" then he could only bowl a 110, and probably would not pass a blood-alcohol test (even if he studied for it).

YAH-HEY
Simply an affirmative.

YOU-BETCHA
Affirmative- like "sure."

The start of Geosmin

Welcome to my blog that I have so appropriately named Geosmin.....Geosmin is the chemical responsible for the very "earthy" smell of soil after a fresh rain or shortly after a field has been plowed... I love that smell and I really like the name Geosmin. If you want to learn more about this compound you can read about it here. As an environmental chemist I felt this was an appropriate name for my blog...Who knows, I may change the name over time...

I have a couple of reasons for starting a blog. First, I hope to use this blog to keep our friends and family updated on our daily adventures . My wife and I are from the northern midwest (Michigan and Wisconsin, respectfully) and are at times disconnected from our families. I also see this blog as a way to ramble on a variety of topics I think about on a daily basis. Even if no one ever really views this blog I think it is neat to document the events, issues, and general happenings in our lives.

So with all of that, welcome to Geosmin....