TODAY’s HOLY MACKEREL: 2003 - The Human Genome Project is completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99%.
MY FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
I’ll try adding graphics again…wish I knew why the postings are usually so easy and then for several days they become very difficult and then return to easy. Still don’t know what is going on and don’t like the way the font keeps changing.
Our HMO groundskeepers showed up today and cleaned up the front areas for the entire complex. How nice. 99% of the dried pine needles are gone. And it was all don’t in the early morning before the winds really came forth. They were working at 7am and when I left to run errands about 9 they were still working. The parking lot had been cleaned up, and when I moved my vehicle, there were more pine needles under the car. Then I got back about noon, they looked like they were leaving. I parked so that the pine needles were still very visible and low and behold, they came back and cleaned them up. Very cool.
I’m not sure if it is the fact that spring is giving us more daylight and therefore I have more energy, or if one pill raised my energy, or if it is all psychosomatic. Whatever it is, I did have a lot more energy today. I hope it stays. I sure got a lot done today. Feels good.
Obama gave a very interesting speech today. He was very low key. Yet his points on the budget sounded right on to me. The Republican budget is simply moving money—not making cuts. Cutting the taxes of the very rich will be passed down to the middle and lower class seniors in increased Medicare payments. For one rich guy to save $200K in taxes, it will hit 33 seniors each with a $6K increase in Medicare payments. Hmmm. That sounds fair. The Republican budget also basically ends Medicare as we know it, and will let seniors find their own comprehensive insurance with vouchers. Hello!!!! The insurance companies don’t like to cover sick old people and do whatever they can to make it impossible to get coverage. The for-profit insurance companies want to—duh…-- make a profit. In most cases, young people with no major medical problems make the companies money. It is the older people who develop more and more health problems and therefore more and more costs for insurance companies. So the Republican proposal believes that the private companies will gladly accept seniors with more medical costs that cut into their profit. I’m sure that is gonna happen. I’m sure that there will be lots more talk about seniors, Medicare, etc. Our AZ district Rep in Congress sent out an email today toting how he had voted to cut the budget to the bone and would continue to vote that way because the people in his district elected him to do that. Well, 50% of the voters picked him, 44% of the voters voted Dem and 7% voted Libertarian. Of course way less than half of the registered voters actually voted. The point being, our Representative did not clean up at the election—he did win, but not by a huge margin. His emails are always interesting and his staff is doing a better job of keeping us informed than his predecessor.
DID YOU KNOW THAT…
When cleaning your computer or TV screens never spray directly on to the glass. The cleaner may drip down the screen and damage the components. Spray the cleaner onto a soft cloth and then wipe the screen.
SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION…
America’s first large pasta factory was built in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1848 by a Frenchman who would spread out his spaghetti strands on the roof to dry in the sunshine.
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Our bodies convert Beta-Carotene into Vitamin A which is important for good eyesight, helps your body fight infection, and keeps your skin and hair healthy.
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The darker green varieties of lettuce are more nutritional than the light green varieties.
PUZZLE: Trivia Quiz […answers at bottom…]
1. Who steals the Pink Panther in the original film?
2. If you were in Lou Grant's office what city are you in?
3. Who played the part of the scarecrow in the movie 'The Wiz'?
4. James H. Pierce was the last silent film actor to play which role?
5. On M*A*S*H what is Radar's favorite drink?
6. What movie cast featured James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and Donald Pleasance?
7. Gene Hackman played sheriff Big Whiskey in which film?
8. What star had a job as an aircraft factory inspector?
9. Who started life as 'Dippy Dawg'?
10. Roy Scherer Jr became famous using what name?
UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM:
LOS ANGELES — A Chinese man was accused Tuesday of creating a fake U.S. Army unit and selling immigrants on the idea that joining the squad was a path to citizenship, authorities said.
Yupeng Deng, 51, allegedly gave his "recruits" military uniforms, had them parade in a Los Angeles suburb and took them to the decommissioned USS Midway aircraft carrier, which is a museum in San Diego.
Deng charged more than 100 fellow Chinese nationals between $300 and $450 to join the fake Army unit, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office.
He called his bogus squad the U.S. Army/Military Special Forces Reserve unit, or MSFR for short, and gave himself the lofty title of "supreme commander," prosecutors said.
As well as telling recruits that belonging to the unit was a path to U.S. citizenship, Deng urged them to pay him cash for higher military rank, according to prosecutors. He also allegedly provided them with fake documents and phony military identification cards.
Deng, a resident of the Los Angeles suburb of El Monte, was arrested Tuesday by sheriff's deputies. He was charged with theft by false pretenses, manufacturing deceptive government documents and counterfeit of an official government seal.
Deng faces up to eight years in prison if convicted. He was scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday and was being held on $500,000 bail. Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office, declined to comment on how Deng was caught. "All the details and evidence will come out in a preliminary hearing," she said.
A LITTLE LAUGH:
A fellow and his wife living in Houston, Texas, where the people are all patriots, were blessed with the birth of twins, two identical girls. These twins were born on the 4th of July, and the father, being patriotic, said to his wife, "We will name them Liberty and Justice, after the pledge of alligence".
His wife said, "Are you nuts? You can't have girls going through life with names like Liberty and Justice. We are going to name them regular girl's names like Mary or Jane".
Well, the argument went on for about a month, when a compromise was reached. They would each name one of the girls. The man chose Liberty and the wife picked Elizabeth.
As the girls grew, they were so identical, they kept pulling tricks on people who couldn't tell them apart.
Finally, when they were about 18, a young man took interest in them. He would take one out on a date but he was never sure which one he was with.
He decided he would marry at least one of them, but he wasn't sure which one he would marry.
He went to the girls father and explained his quandry. "I love your daughters and want to marry one of them, but I can't tell them apart, so I will leave it up to you... Give me Liberty or give me Beth."
CLOSEUP PICTURE: Can you identify this close up picture?
FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’: Silent Spring Part One
♫ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ♫
2006 Inductee: The O’Jays: The O’Jays were at the forefront of Seventies soul music. Racking up a lengthy string of modern R&B classics, including “Back Stabbers,” “Love Train,” “For the Love of Money,” “I Love Music” and “Use Ta Be My Girl,” they helped put the “Philly Soul” sound (so named for Philadelphia-based producers, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff) on the map. In fact, the O’Jays were the backbone of Gamble and Huff’s Philadelphia International label, which released some of the greatest and most influential Seventies records. MORE INFO
Click on Song Title to see and hear it.
DAYBOOK INFORMATION
«THIS WEEK
10-16
Consider Christianity Week
Health Information Privacy and Security Week
National Animal Control Appreciation Week
National Environmental Week
National Inspirational News Week
National Library Week
National Volunteer Week
Pan American Week
Passion Week
Week of The Young Child
11-17
National Personal Training Week
14-17
Fiddler's Frolic
National & Global Youth Service Days
«TODAY IS
Children with Alopecia Day
International Moment of Laughter Day
National D.A.R.E. Day
National Pecan Day
Pan American Day
§ § § §
Honduras: Dia De Las Americas ()
India: Vaisakhi (Ancient Harvest Festival marking new Solar Year)
… ARTISTS: AUTHORS: COMPOSERS…
Arnold Toynbee 4/14/1889 - 10/22/1975 English historian; wrote 12-volume "Study of History"
…ATHLETES
Brad Ausmus, Baseball player, turns 42
Greg Maddux, Baseball player, turns 45
Pete Rose, Baseball player, turns 70
…BUSINESS & EDUCATION
Anne Sullivan Macy 4/14/1866 - 10/20/1936 American teacher of Helen Keller
…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)
Ritchie Blackmore, Rock musician (Deep Purple), turns 66
Julie Christie, Actress, turns 71
Brad Garrett, Actor ("'til Death," "Everybody Loves Raymond"), turns 51
Sarah Michelle Gellar, Actress ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), turns 34
Loretta Lynn, Country singer, turns 76
…POLITICIANS
Francois Duvalier 4/14/1907 - 4/21/1971 Haitian president (1957-1971)
John Paul Stevens, 91, Supreme Court Justice
…SCIENCE & RELIGION
1904 Reinout W van Bemmelen, Dutch geologist
1629 Christian Huygens, Holland, astronomer, discovered Saturn's rings
Today’s Obits:
1964 - Rachel L Carson, US biologist/author (Silent spring), heart attack at 56
1759 - Georg Friedrich Handel, organist/composer (Watermusic), dies at 74
2007 - Don Ho, American musician dies at 77
1995 - Burl Ives, folk singer/actor (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), dies at 85
1975 - Fredric March, actor (Inherit the Wind), dies at 77
Today’s Events:
… ARTS
1841 - Edgar Allen Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue," published
1939 - John Steinbeck novel "The Grapes of Wrath" published
1961 - 1st live television broadcast from Soviet Union
… ATHLETICS
2002 - Tiger Woods becomes the third golfer to win The Masters in two consecutive years
… BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1775 - 1st abolitionist society in US organizes in Phila
1894 - 1st public showing of Edison's kinetoscope (moving pictures)
1927 - The first Volvo car premieres in Gothenburg, Sweden.
… INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1528 - Panfilo de Narvaez, with 4 or 5 ships, and approximately 400-500 men, including Cabeza de Vaca, sight land, on the western coast of Florida. This will be the first significant exploration of Florida.
1614 - John Rolfe marries Pocahontas.
… International POLITICS
1814 - Napoleon abdicated and was banished to Elba
1980 - 1st Cubans of the Mariel boatlift sail to Florida
1988 - U.S.S.R., U.S., Pakistan and Afghanistan sign Afghanistan treaty
1989 - 1,100,000,000th Chinese born
… SCIENCE & RELIGION
1611 - Word "telescope" is 1st used (Prince Federico Cesi)
1958 - Sputnik 2 (with dog Laika) burns up in atmosphere
1986 - Desmond Tutu elected Anglican archbishop of Capetown
1994 - Branch Davidian cult leader David Koresh promises to surrender after completion of his Seven Seals manuscript
2010 - Icelandic Volcano Eyjafjallajökull begins erupting from the top crater in the centre of the glacier
… US POLITICS
1818 - US Medical Corp forms
1865 - US Secret Service created to fight counterfeiting
1865 - President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater
ANSWERS:
Quiz
1. Who steals the Pink Panther in the original film?
The Phantom
2. If you were in Lou Grant's office what city are you in?
Los Angeles
3. Who played the part of the scarecrow in the movie 'The Wiz'?
Michael Jackson
4. James H. Pierce was the last silent film actor to play which role?
Tarzan
5. On M*A*S*H what is Radar's favorite drink?
Grape Nehi
6. What movie cast featured James Garner, Richard Attenbourough, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and Donald Pleasance?
The Great Escape
7. Gene Hackman played sheriff Big Whiskey in which film?
Unforgiven
8. What star had a job as an aircraft factory inspector?
Marilyn Monroe
9. Who started life as 'Dippy Dawg'?
Goofy
10. Roy Scherer Jr became famous using what name?
Rock Hudson
Close Up Picture
Grater
…AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW
