TODAY’s HOLY MACKEREL: 1979 Extensive reevaluation of the safety of nuclear power-generating operations in the U.S. began in earnest this day. The reevaluations were prompted by a series of accidents that began at 4 a.m. at Three Mile Island
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MY FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
Whoa…we had a very educational discussion last night. The presenter is a retired astronomer who was born in Germany, lived in France, moved to Italy after the war, then to Canada, and finally to the US. This is about all I knew about him. Last night he talked about his father, who was in the German Navy during the war and was a POW in France. He and his mother were living in Germany with her parents. As the forces started moving into Germany, he and his mother escaped to France. He was about 5 years old. They had hired a ‘coyote’ to get them to France. After many problems, they got to France, the war ended, they found his father and moved to Italy. He just turned 70 and his mother is 94. His father died many years ago. An amazing story.
The discussion was on Germany’s role today in the EU and the relation of the EU, Germany, and the US. It is certainly a complicated matter. All in all it was a very stimulating discussion.
Tax time is upon us. Let’s assume you want to legally pay the taxes you owe and your tax rate is at 35%. Your tax guy tells you that if you move your money your tax rate will legally be 15%. What would you do? It turns out that is the question that many CEO’s have to answer. Since they are beholding to their stock holders, they are moving their money—to Switzerland and Ireland where tax rates are very low. The business doesn’t move, just the address. They open a small office, with one or two people from that country to answer phones. Everything else stays here. The Senate is talking about ending this practice, as it is costing the US billions in tax money each year. So now, the companies are moving their CEO and CFO to that country to prove they actually work there. I have always hated tax time. I have to gather up papers, make sure I have all my deductions. I have made investments in energy to cut my tax bill. We all do that. I don’t know anyone who works hard to pay the least amount of tax that is legally possible. The EU and many other countries just have a VAT—value added tax. When anyone buys something, the VAT is included in the listed price. A tourist can get the VAT back as you leave the country. It is a hassle and unless you have spent a couple of thousand on goods, it is hardly worth the long line and forms. Here in the US we have such a complicated tax system, everyone with enough money tries to find ways to not pay as much. In AZ there is no tax on grocery store food, but there is tax on restaurant food. We pay property tax, income tax, ‘sin’ taxes, city sales tax, county sales tax, and…. On the rez, visitors pay tax, but Natives don’t, on food, gas, etc.
I think its time for all these Congress people who want to go back to the ‘good old days’ just propose either a flat tax or a VAT. Lots of lawyers would have to get a new job, lots of IRS and tax accountants would have to get another job but the American people would know how much tax they were paying.
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DID YOU KNOW THAT…
~If a screw and nut have rusted into place, soak a soft cloth with cola and wrap around the rusty pair. Leave on for a couple of hours. The phosphoric acid in the cola will eat away the rust so they'll come apart easily.
~When you fill muffin pans with batter, fill one of the cups with water and the other muffins won't scorch during baking.~Add a cup of apple cider vinegar to your bath water to sooth itchy, dry, or cracked skin.SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION…
There is evidence that suggests the Etruscans made pasta as early as 400 B.C. A carving was found in a cave about 30 miles north of Rome that depicts instruments for making pasta, including a rolling-out table, pastry wheel and flour bin.
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Legend has it that noodles were first made by 13th century German bakers who fashioned dough into symbolic shapes, such as swords, birds and stars, which were baked and served as bread.
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Thomas Jefferson is credited with introducing macaroni to the United States. It seems that he fell in love with a certain dish he sampled in Naples, while serving as the U.S. Ambassador to France. In fact, he promptly ordered crates of "macaroni," along with a pasta-making machine, sent back to the States.
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Legend has it that noodles were first made by 13th century German bakers who fashioned dough into symbolic shapes, such as swords, birds and stars, which were baked and served as bread.
***
Thomas Jefferson is credited with introducing macaroni to the United States. It seems that he fell in love with a certain dish he sampled in Naples, while serving as the U.S. Ambassador to France. In fact, he promptly ordered crates of "macaroni," along with a pasta-making machine, sent back to the States.
PUZZLE: Trivia Quiz […answers at bottom…]
1. What does a manometer measure?
2. What is the correct name for a Hawaiian Goose?
3. What is the only bone in the body that is not attached to any other bones?
4. What is a baby rabbit called?
5. What are the only two mammals that lay eggs?
6. In 1643 Evangalisa Torichelli invented the first what?
7. What common word in Morse code is -- --- --?
8. Who invented the television?
9. What's the difference between sleeping gorillas and men?
10. What is mainly extracted from pitchblende?
2. What is the correct name for a Hawaiian Goose?
3. What is the only bone in the body that is not attached to any other bones?
4. What is a baby rabbit called?
5. What are the only two mammals that lay eggs?
6. In 1643 Evangalisa Torichelli invented the first what?
7. What common word in Morse code is -- --- --?
8. Who invented the television?
9. What's the difference between sleeping gorillas and men?
10. What is mainly extracted from pitchblende?
UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM:
MONTICELLO, N.Y. - A New York state judge ordered a drunken driving suspect who showed up to court intoxicated with a bag full of beer to be held without bail. Authorities said Keith Gruber, 49, of Swan Lake, arrived for his 10:30 a.m. Monday pretrial hearing in Judge Frank LaBuda's courtroom in Monticello holding an open can of Busch beer and carrying a bag containing four more cans, the Times Herald-Record of Middletown reported Wednesday.
"It was obvious he was intoxicated," LaBuda said of Gruber, who is facing a felony driving-while-intoxicated charge. Gruber, who has previous DWI convictions and was out on $30,000 bail at the time of his Monday court appearance, was ordered held without bail.
"It was obvious he was intoxicated," LaBuda said of Gruber, who is facing a felony driving-while-intoxicated charge. Gruber, who has previous DWI convictions and was out on $30,000 bail at the time of his Monday court appearance, was ordered held without bail.
A LITTLE LAUGH:
Differences between men and women: Part II
CATS
Women love cats.
Men say they love cats, but when women aren't looking, men kick cats.
DRESSING UP
A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the garbage, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.
A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.
FUTURE
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife
SUCCESS
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.
MARRIAGE
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, and she does.
Women love cats.
Men say they love cats, but when women aren't looking, men kick cats.
DRESSING UP
A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the garbage, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.
A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.
FUTURE
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife
SUCCESS
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.
MARRIAGE
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, and she does.
Top 10 Hotels / Resorts In The World:
Click and see hotel and rates
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CLOSEUP PICTURE: Can you identify this close up picture?
FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’: Emmett Kelly
♫ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ♫
2009 Inductee: Metallica
Click on Song Title to see and hear it.
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DAYBOOK INFORMATION
►THIS WEEK◄
21-27► Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Week ♣ Week of Solidarity with People's Struggling Against Racism & Discrimination ♣ World Folk Tales & Fables Week ♣ ‘Wellderly’ Week (for elderly who don’t act their age) ♣ Yo-Yo and Skill Toys Week ♣
►TODAY IS◄
►TODAY IS◄
Something On A Stick Day
Weed Appreciation Day: the ones in the garden, not the illegal ones.
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Czech Republic: Teachers' Day
Libya: Evacuation Day (1970 British leave Libya)
US:Alaska : Seward Day (1867)
US Virgin Island : Transfer Day (1917)
■…AUTHORS/COMPOSERS/ARTISTS
1483 Raphael Urbino Italian painter (School of Athens)
■…ATHLETES
Jerry Sloan, 69, basketball coach
Keith Tkachuk, 39, hockey player
■…BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1905 Marlin Perkins TV host (Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom)
1899 August A. Busch Jr. beer magnate; St. Louis Cardinals owner
■…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS)
1921 Dirk Bogarde (Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde) actor
Conchata Ferrell, 68, actress (“Two and a Half Men”)
Kate Gosselin, 36, television personality
Kate Gosselin, 36, television personality
Ken Howard, 67, actor (“Crossing Jordan,” “The White Shadow”)
Lady Gaga, 25, musician
Lady Gaga, 25, musician
1924 Frank Lovejoy actor: House of Wax, Strategic Air Command
Reba McEntire, 57, singer, actress
Julia Stiles, 30, actress
Vince Vaughn, 41, actor
■…POLITICIANS
1914 Edmund S. (Sixtus) Muskie Governor of Maine; Senator; Democratic nominee for vice-president; Secretary of State
1914 Edmund S. (Sixtus) Muskie Governor of Maine; Senator; Democratic nominee for vice-president; Secretary of State
■…SCIENCE & RELIGION
--
Today’s Obits:
1969 Dwight D Eisenhower 34th President/General (WWII), @78
1979 Emmett Kelly circus clown (Weary Willy), @ 80
1980 Jesse Owens (Olympics-gold-36), cancer @ 66
1953 James Francis Thorpe (Wa-Tho-Huk, Bright Path) decathlete (Olympics-gold-12), heart failure @ 64
Today’s Events:
■…ARTS
1794 Louvre opens to the public (although officially opened since August)
■…ATHLETICS
1891 The first world championship for amateur weightlifters was held in London
1957 1st National Curling Championship held
1963 Sonny Werblin announced that the New York Titans of the American Football League was changing names. Instead of Titans, the team would be known as the New York Jets
1990 Michael Jordan scores 69 points, 4th time he scores 60 points in a game
1990 U.S. President George Bush (I) presented the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously to Jesse Owens for his humanitarian contributions.
■…BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1797 Nathaniel Briggs of New Hampshire patents a washing machine
1866 1st ambulance goes into service
■…INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1513 According to some sources, Ponce de Leon lands in Florida.
1957 A court rules today that Montana State Courts "are without jurisdiction to try an Indian for the crime of larceny committed somewhere within the external boundaries of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation
■…POLITICS (International)
1738 English parliament declares war on Spain (War of Jenkin's Ear)
1959 11 days after Tibet uprising, China dissolves Tibet's government & installs Panchen Lama
■…POLITICS (US)
1799 New York State abolished slavery
■…SCIENCE & RELIGION
1922 Bradley A. Fiske of Washington, D.C. patented a microfilm reading device
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ANSWERS:
Quiz
1. What does a manometer measure?
Gas pressure
2. What is the correct name for a Hawaiian Goose?
2. What is the correct name for a Hawaiian Goose?
Nene
3. What is the only bone in the body that is not attached to any other bones? Hyoid in throat
4. What is a baby rabbit called?
3. What is the only bone in the body that is not attached to any other bones? Hyoid in throat
4. What is a baby rabbit called?
Kit or Kitten
5. What are the only two mammals that lay eggs?
5. What are the only two mammals that lay eggs?
Duck-billed platypus and Spiny anteater
6. In 1643 Evangalisa Torichelli invented the first what?
6. In 1643 Evangalisa Torichelli invented the first what?
Barometer
7. What common word in Morse code is -- --- --?
7. What common word in Morse code is -- --- --?
MOM
8. Who invented the television?
8. Who invented the television?
John Logie Baird
9. What's the difference between sleeping gorillas and men?
9. What's the difference between sleeping gorillas and men?
Gorillas don't snore
10. What is mainly extracted from pitchblende?
10. What is mainly extracted from pitchblende?
Uranium
Close Up Picture
Close Up Picture
Balloons
____________AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW__________
