Birthdays Jamila Banks - August 3 Melissa Lacount - August 3 Ava Encarnacion - August 12 Carolee Corbitt - August 14 Lindsay Zasada - August 16 Maisha Drayton - August 22 Jillian Nowak - August 23 Patrick Hildenbrandt - August 28
Anniversaries Cord Stone – 1 year Jessica Lehsten – 2 years Cecil Sutton - 2 years Lizzie Vazquez – 4 years Murray Wire - 4 years Kate Gallivan – 6 years Cathy Alvarez – 8 years Maisha Drayton – 8 years Patricia Hopkins – 8 years Richard Smiley – 12 years
Your Continued Dedication and Hard Work Are Noticed and Appreciated! – The Management Team
CONNECTIONS CONTRIBUTORS PUBLISHER/LAYOUT JOHN CAROCCI EDITOR KIMBERLY HARDING CONTRIBUTORS SHEILA MARCHESON HAVE AN IDEA FOR CONNECTIONS? E-MAIL SUBMISSIONS FOR FUTURE ISSUES TO KIMBERLY HARDING OR JOHN CAROCCI
CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS MONTH’S GIFT CARD WINNER LINDSAY ZASADA!
When thinking about the greatest inventions of human history, a lot of different things come to mind. Paper gives us the ability to transcribe ideas for distribution; light bulbs give us a safe way to see in our homes and outside past dusk; cars and airplanes make our world smaller, allowing us to travel great distances in short periods of time; antibiotics allow us to live longer lives‌ the list goes on and on. However, one invention has become a part of the fabric of being human – language. I know, it’s a little out of the box. When most people think of inventions, they think of something physical; something made with tools. But in my opinion, language is the number one innovation of humanity for a very good reason: it is in many ways the definition of humanity. Our ability to communicate, whether via voice or writing, lets us join our minds
together so as to go from bands of individuals to become a true culture. All animals communicate somehow, and some are quite sophisticated, but humanity is the king of communication. No one knows how old true language is, but it is old enough that our brains have developed around it and become specialized in its use. It trumps other inventions because no other technology would be able to develop reliably without language to teach it to the next generation. The ripple-effect of humans’ creation of language can be seen in everything we do/everything we are. Best yet, this invention process is not over. Aside from just the spoken word, humans continue to consciously and deliberately invent languages. Examples of this can be found in math and music, computer languages and hypertext markup language, etc. More importantly, I find that
considering how language may have been invented offers insights into invention and creativity. The direct and indirect benefits our culture has seen due to our ability to communicate makes language the most important step in our species’ evolution. For that reason, in my opinion, language is easily the greatest invention of all time. ~ Patrick Butler The greatest invention of all time is the teleporter. I’m told it hasn’t been invented yet, but I know this to be nonsense. ~ Susanna Cardoso The Bend and Snap…(thank you Legally Blonde) it really has made the world a better place. ~ Bennett Everett, Jr.
Antiseptics extended our average lifespan but I think transistors have had a huge effect on our lives. Computers used to be the size of large warehouses and we can now carry them around in our pockets all because of transistors. ~ Brendan Orrange Condoms are the greatest invention of all time. After discarding the myth that babies were brought home by a stork, mankind decided to prevent pregnancy and other infections related with sex by using diverse materials such as linen, animal tissues and even tortoise shells or horns. The time, place and person who invented the condom is unknown, but whoever invented them, a monument should be erected in his/her name. ~ Johnny Mora
1.
I have been on several scuba dives, including one with over 30 10-foot grey sharks.
2.
I have a dog named Ginger who sometimes thinks she is a cat.
3.
I used to work at Yahoo! in Burbank, California and lived in West Hollywood for 4 years.
4.
I love music from the 60s and 70s including the Grateful Dead, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Van Morrisson and more.
5.
I bought my first Mac in the 90s and have been an avid Apple nerd ever since.
6.
I have won several New York State gold medals and a national bronze medal for crew (rowing).
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I think that cats can be jerks sometimes.
8.
I am a season ticket holder with the Bills and try to go to as many Sabres games as possible during the season.
9.
I can’t whistle even though I’ve been trying to learn since the age of 5.
10. I performed the “Bye Bye Birdie” dance with 3 other guys at my high school prom. My “girlfriend” said we did an awesome job.