TODAY’s HOLY MACKEREL: 1845 Congress appropriates $30,000 to ship camels to western US
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MY FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
I got some interesting answers when I talked to the Director of Billing at our local hospital. First she claimed that an itemized bill was sent to me in January. I told her I had never gotten an itemized bill for my last four procedures and that had been done—my gall bladder, my hernia, my throat trimming, and my thyroid operation. She said that itemized bills were automatically sent out. I told her that the billing company said I had to request an itemized bill. She called me back a couple of hours later and said that it appears that while the contract calls for itemized bills to be sent, they aren’t being sent. My second complaint was the evening calls. She said that she agreed with me and said that the company requires that in the contract to do business with the hospital. She said that when she gets evening calls she just tells them that it is not a convenient time to talk and hangs up. Hmmm. Then came the really good news. I have reached my insurance deductible for the year and won’t be seeing any bill for the thyroid surgery. That is a relief. Also, I have met my medication deductible so my prescriptions will be less than $2 each for the rest of 2011. We had a good discussion and she certainly provided me with good information.
I went to get a haircut this morning, only to find that the lady I like wouldn’t be in until 2pm. So I went back at 2pm and then found she wouldn’t be in until 3pm. The place is only about 10 minutes from my house so it wasn’t a big deal. When I got there at 3pm she wasn’t there but got there about 3:20. It turns out that her late arrival had nothing to do with her. The salon had called her and told her to come in at 3:30. She explained that somehow, their arrival time is based on how busy they are. They don’t want the stylists just standing around so they decide how many people are waiting one hour before the stylist is to be there. If it is slow, they will have them come in later. So when I went in at 10a there was one stylist and one person getting a haircut and one waiting. When I returned at 2p there were 2 stylists and four people waiting. When I got there at 3p there were 5 stylists with a long list of people waiting. Luckily I was on the list so just walked in with stylist, sat down and got my haircut. A strange way to run a business from the customer’s point of view, but probably does make the salon more money. So we now have a plan.
When I need a haircut, I go in at 10, put my name on the list, leave, call Terri and she will call me when she is heading to the mall.
My facial hair continues, but today was a little itchy. Hopefully that won’t last much longer. If it does, out with the razor. I did look for a beard trimmer today, but didn’t find one I liked and wasn’t ready for that step. If I do buy one, I will feel obligated to keep the facial hair so that I haven’t wasted any money.
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DID YOU KNOW THAT…
Sponges that have a stale odor can be made fresh again by adding a bit of lemon juice and then putting in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Make giant ice cubes in muffin tins or plastic margarine bowls. These are perfect for using in picnic coolers or punch bowls. They look pretty and keep your drinks or food cold longer.
SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION…
YouTube was created by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim in 2005. They already knew each other from working together on the Internet site PayPal. The funding for the start up of YouTube came from bonuses received following the eBay buy-out of PayPal.
The inspiration for YouTube as we know it today is credited to two different events. The first was founder Karim's inability to find footage online of Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction," and the second when Hurley and Chen were unable to share video footage of a dinner party due to e-mail attachment limitations.
The domain name YouTube.com was registered on Valentine's Day in 2005. This caused a huge misunderstanding for Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment based in Perrysburg, Ohio. Its company domain, "utube.com," was overwhelmed with traffic from people that tried to spell the video site's name phonetically. The manufacturing company sued YouTube claiming its business was damaged by the video site, but the claims were dismissed.
PUZZLE: Trivia Quiz […answers at bottom…]
1. The 'Weir of Hermiston' was whose last, unfinished novel?
2. Chalus the Greek was prophesied to die on a certain day. How did he die?
3. Tempera is made up of water and what other ingredient?
4. What is it illegal to pawn in Las Vegas?
5. Collective nouns - A sute of what?
6. The Sam Maguire Trophy is played for in which sport?
7. Raquel Welch was once held what job?
8. 37% of women prefer what to sex?
9. What pet did Florence Nightingale carry with her?
10. What animal would you find in a form?
UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM:
MSMBC:Science-In addition to making you walk funny and drop your keys five or six times while trying to get inside your house, a full bladder may actually do something useful: help you make better decisions.
According to an upcoming study in Psychological Science, researchers at the University of Twente in the Netherlands performed experiments on more than 500 college students to determine if the inhibitory signals sent to a full bladder would “spill over” into other inhibitory responses, such as holding out for a larger monetary reward rather than going with a smaller immediate one.
According to lead author Mirjam Tuk, researchers had test subjects drink either five cups of water or sip a bit from each cup. After about 40 minutes -- the amount of time it takes for the water to reach the bladder -- the subjects were asked to participate in a choice test.
“We asked them to choose between a small, but soon-to-be-received reward or a large but later-to-be-received award, e.g., $18 tomorrow or $30 in 25 days,” says Tuk in an e-mail interview. “The number of times respondents opted for a later but larger reward was higher for people who experienced high bladder pressure.”
Subjects also participated in other tests that seemed to indicate a full bladder helped with impulse control.
“These findings seem to suggest that people possess a general inhibition system,” Tuk writes in her paper. “The inhibition of various behaviors (motor and cognitive) seems to have its origin in the same neural area. Once inhibitory signals are sent, they are not completely bound to the focal task requiring inhibition, but spill over to other domains.”
What does this mean for those of us in the real world, especially that part of the world where there are no public restrooms?
Tuk says since people make better decisions when they have a full bladder, they may want to drink a bottle of water before making a decision about their stock portfolio (or that big-screen TV).
“This is of course a generalization of experimental evidence, but any type of financial decision-making might benefit from increased bladder control,” she says. “People might be more likely to invest money in retirement funds instead of spending it on more short-term benefits, for example.”
Interestingly, Tuk says that if the inhibitory signal is less present -- i.e., if you don’t have to go potty -- then there will be less inhibitory spillover. In other words, if you’ve already gone to see that man about a horse, you may have a tendency to make more impulsive and unwise decisions.
After shopping for weeks, I finally found the car of my dreams. It was only two years old and in beautiful condition. The salesman asked if I would like to take it for a test drive. We had traveled no more than two miles when the car broke down. The salesman called for a tow truck.
When it arrived, we climbed into the front seat. While the driver was hooking up the car, the salesman turned to me with a smile and said, "Well, now, what is it going to take to put you behind the wheel of that beauty today?"
Top 10 In The World:
CLOSEUP PICTURE: Can you identify this close up picture?
FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’:
♫ 60’s Rock ♫
Click on Song Title to see and hear it.
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DAYBOOK INFORMATION
►THIS WEEK◄
2/27-3/5 ► Telecommuter Appreciation Week ♥ Peace Corps Week
1-7 National Cheerleading Week ♣ National Ghostwriters Week ♣ National Write A Letter of Appreciation Week ♣ Universal Human Beings Week ♣
5-20► Iditarod Race ♣
►TODAY IS◄
Multiple Personalities Day
Potty Dance Day
Memory Day
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Brazil: Carnival begins
Cornwall: Saint Piran's Day (Patron St. of Tinworkers)
China: Learn from Lei Feng Day (People's Liberation Army hero )
French West Indies: Carnival begins
Malta: Carnival begins
US: Crispus Attucks Day: 1st person to die in American Revolution
US: Boston MA : Boston Massacre Day (1770)
■…AUTHORS/COMPOSERS/ARTISTS
1852 Lady Isabella Gregory Irish writer/playwright (Golden Apple)
1824 James Merritt Ives lithographer (Currier & Ives)
■…ATHLETES
1977 Wally Szczerbiak, basketball (Timberwolves, Celtics, Supersonics, Cavaliers)
■…BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1893 Emmett J Culligan founder of water treatment organization
1824 Elisha Harris US, physician/found American Public Health Association
■…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS)
1927 Jack (John Joseph Edward) Cassidy actor: The Eiger Sanction, The Andersonville Trial; Broadway’s She Loves Me; David and Shaun’s father; Shirley Jones’ husband
Kevin Connolly, 37, actor (“Entourage”)
Samantha Eggar, 72, actress (“Samantha and the King,” The Collector)
1908 Rex [Reginald Carey] Harrison English actor (My Fair Lady, Dr Doolittle)
Penn Jillette, 56, magician
Dean Stockwell, 75, actor (The Boy with Green Hair, “Quantum Leap”)
Marsha Warfield, 57, actress (“Night Court,” “Empty Nest”)
■…POLITICIANS
1898 Zhou Enlai, Premier of the People's Republic of China
1897 Mei-ling Soong Madame Chiang Kai-shek
■…SCIENCE & RELIGION
1637 John van der Heyden Dutch painter/inventor (fire extinguisher)
1920 Leontine Kelly 1st black female bishop (Methodist)
1512 Gerardus Mercator Belgium geographer/mapmaker
1574 William Oughtred English mathematician/inventor (slide rule)
Today’s Obits:
1982 John Belushi comedian (Sat Night Live), drug overdose @ 33
1992 Andrew Samuel child actor (Our Gang), dies @ 82
1953 Josef V Stalin soviet leader responsible for 11 million murders, @ 73
Today’s Events:
■…ARTS
1917 1st jazz recording for Victor Records released
1960 Elvis Presley returned to civilian life after a two-year hitch in the U.S. Army
■…ATHLETICS
1991 Reggie Miller (Indiana) begins NBA free throw streak of 52 games
■…BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1623 1st American temperance law enacted, Virginia
1836 Samuel Colt manufactures 1st pistol, 34-caliber "Texas" model
1934 Mother-in-law's day 1st celebrated (Amarillo TX)
■…INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1831 Supreme Court decided the case of the CHEROKEE Nation v. Georgia. The court decided that the CHEROKEEs are not a "foreign state", and therefore the court has no jurisdiction in the dispute. However, the court does decide that the CHEROKEEs are a distinct political society capable of governing itself, and managing its own affairs.
1861 The Confederacy appoints Albert Pike, of Arkansas, to negotiate treaties with the Indians in the region.
1891 The city of Phoenix offers a $200 bounty for dead Indians
■…POLITICS (International)
1496 English King Henry VII hires John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) to explore
1836 Mexico attacks Alamo
1945 Allies bombs The Hague, Netherlands
1946 Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech (Fulton MO)
■…POLITICS (US)
1770 Boston Massacre, British troops kill 5 in crowd; Crispus Attackus becomes 1st black to die for American freedom
1923 Old-age pension laws were enacted in the states of Montana and Nevada.
1933 FDR proclaims 10-day bank holiday
■…SCIENCE & RELIGION
1868 Stapler patented in England by C H Gould
1979 Voyager I's closest approach to Jupiter (172,000 miles)
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ANSWERS:
Quiz
1. The 'Weir of Hermiston' was whose last, unfinished novel? Robert Louis Stevenson
2. Chalus the Greek was prophesied to die on a certain day. How did he die?
He died laughing because he thought the prophecy was wrong and he was still alive.
3. Tempera is made up of water and what other ingredient? Egg Yolk
4. What is it illegal to pawn in Las Vegas? Your Dentures
5. Collective nouns - A sute of what? Bloodhounds
6. The Sam Maguire Trophy is played for in which sport? Gaelic Football
7. Raquel Welch was once held what job? Weathergirl
8. 37% of women prefer what to sex? Shoe shopping
9. What pet did Florence Nightingale carry with her? An Owl (in her pocket)
10. What animal would you find in a form? Hare
Close Up Picture
Electric Drums
________AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW________
