TODAY’s HOLY MACKEREL: 1952 - The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey W.A. Dummer.
MY FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS
I really enjoyed the day in Flg. It was warm, it was nice to be outside. I went looking for spring flowers. I didn’t buy any, but am getting ideas for what I want. It is still a little early. Cheryl and Mary both had ‘potted plant’ stories yesterday. Both move their pots outside every morning. One remembers to bring them in at night. One has beautiful plants. I’m not sure I have that great a memory. It has been so nice the past few days, and still pretty cool in the evening.
I watched a great 2nd Amendment segment today. I grew up with guns in the house. The bolt was one place, the gun another, and the ammunition a third place. They certainly would not have been valuable during a home invasion, but back then, we didn’t even know what that was. I took many gun safety courses through the years. The NRA does a great job on that count. I was probably even an NRA member at some time in my younger years. Since those days I have met many others who had the same type experience and handle guns in a safe manner. Sadly I have seen and heard how gun violence has changed since my youth. The times have certainly changed and not for the better regarding gun violence. The real problem with the NRA is that it refuses to change with the change in gun violence. Their attitude is that any chink in the second amendment will lead to the end of the second amendment. And that will lead to the Armageddon or worse. In the inner city or even suburban America the guns are being used to kill innocent people. In rural America, the gun is used more for target practice, hunting ‘wild’ animals, and killing ‘varmints’—the non-human type. The NRA is seems to be making policy as though all of America is living like rural America. I wonder how many NRA policy makers have lost a close innocent relative by gun violence. I wonder why these tunnel-vision policy makers think that any American needs an automatic or semi-automatic assault rifle locked and loaded in their home. I wonder why they believe that those rifles need 70+ clips—to hunt or to have target practice, or even to protect your home and family. So sad.
About three months ago, I got a letter from our HMO stating that our vehicles would need parking stickers to park near our residence. I went in and picked up my mandatory stickers and put one in my car window as instructed. Like most vehicles made after 1970 I have a tinted windshield. From the inside of the vehicle one can easily see through the blue tint the gets gradually lighter from the top to a couple of inches below the top. So I put the sticker in the upper left hand corner. When I got out, I noticed that it was difficult to see unless one was standing right by the car. Fast forward to today. About 9am I saw a young, school age girl putting notices on our doors. I don’t like that as if one is out of town, after a few days, it is obvious to everyone driving through. For the Flag schools today was a ‘snow day’—because they didn’t use snow days for real snow, they are letting kids out so they don’t attend too many days. That means that many of the families in our complex left town last night for a three day weekend someplace. At least 10 doors still have the flyer on their door. Anyway I went downstairs and got my flyer. It was telling me that starting today any vehicle without this stupid little sticker would be towed at the owner’s expense. It also states that each unit has two parking spaces ‘in front of their unit’ for parking. More on that later. So about an hour later I look outside and see a woman standing behind my vehicle and writing something on a piece of paper. I head downstairs to see what is going on. As I opened the door she is putting the post it note on my driver side door. I came out, actually thinking that she may have hit my car and was leaving me a note. I asked if anything was wrong. She said that she was from the HMO and my car did not have a sticker. The post-it said ‘PARKING VIOLATION—your vehicle will be towed today because you don’t have a parking permit.’ I said, hold on, I put the sticker where the letter said to, it is there. She looked and said, I couldn’t see it when I walked by. She said she would make a note and notify the HMO that I had a sticker. I didn’t trust her, or the idiots at the HMO so when I washed my car today, I figured out how to carefully remove the sticker and put it at the bottom of the window so it can be seen by the entire world. Another gripe I have about the sticker is that it has our complex address on the sticker. If I was a little more paranoid, I would be concerned that someone in any parking lot now knows approximately where I live. I do not like that kind of visibility.
Trivia Quiz […answers at bottom…] New Source!
What tool did astronomer Rodger Thompson say is "fundamentally altering our view of the universe"?
What's the most common contributor to chronic bronchitis?
What constellation points to the south celestial pole?
What's the study of materials at very low temperatures?
What unit of length is derived from the Latin word uncia?
What country launched Europe's first super-high-speed passenger train, in 1981?
What's believed by many to be a satellite of Neptune that escaped its primary orbit?
What planet is circled by only two moons?
What artillery weapon was launched upon the world in 400 B.C.?
What procedure is performed on an abscess if the dentist thinks the tooth can be saved?
What Greek advised: "Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine by your food"?
What does an anthropophagic census-taker fear?
CLOSEUP PICTURE: Can you identify this close up picture?
Hmmmm…
>Chance that an unmarried American uner thirty says marriage is ‘becoming obsolete’: 1 in 2
>Chance that he or she wants to get married: 19 in 20
FIRST TIME…
>Richard Lawrence 1835 --- 1st known person to attempt to assassinate an American President. On January 30, 1835, President Andrew Jackson was attending the funeral of South Carolina congressman Warren R. Davis. Lawrence fired two pistols at point-blank range. Both misfired.
>Mary Lyon 1837 --- founded 1st woman's college in US, Mt. Holyoke College.
>Queen Victoria 1837 --- 1st English monarch to live in Buckingham Palace.
>William Henry Harrison 1841 --- 1st US president to die in office. At 32 days, he also had the shortest term in office.
SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION…
>7-Eleven is North America's number one retailer of fresh-grilled hot dogs, selling approximately 100 million each year.
>Mickey Mouse's first words were "hot Dogs" which he said in the 1929 short 'The Karnival Kid'.
UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM:
MADISONVILLE, Ohio — Police said a man narrowly avoided being flattened by a train in Madisonville.
Officers said Terry Stanford jumped onto the tracks and refused to move.
An approaching train made an emergency stop and managed to come to a halt five feet from Stanford, police said.
Stanford then dropped his pants and mooned the train, police said. When a conductor tried to move Stanford, Stanford shoved back, officers said.
Stanford has been arrested more than three dozen times previously, police said.
A LITTLE LAUGH:
My daughter Marina worked in my law office while she attended graduate school. One morning a call came in for her. I said she wasn't in yet and offered to take a message.
The caller said she'd phone back later. At 11:00 a.m., the caller tried again, and I reported that Marina had gone to lunch. The last call came in at 3:30 p.m. "I'm sorry," I said, "she's left for the day. May I take a message?" "Yes," the caller replied. "How can I get a job with you?"
FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’:
♫ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ♫
1987 Inductee: Aretha Franklin is the undisputed “Queen of Soul” and the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She is a singer of great passion and control whose finest recordings define the term soul music in all its deep, expressive glory. http://rockhall.com/inductees/aretha-franklin/bio/
Click on Song Title to see and hear it.
DAYBOOK INFORMATION
«THIS WEEK
1-7
Bread Pudding Recipe Exchange Week * Be Kind To Animals Week * National Correctional Officer's Week * Children's Mental Health Week * Drinking Water Week * Flexible Work Arrangement Week * Goodwill Industries Week * Kids Win Week * National Anxiety & Depression Awareness Week * National Family Week * National Hug Holiday Week * National Pet Week * North American Occupational Safety & Health Week *Update Your References Week
2-8
Astronomy Week * Children's Book Week * Dating and Life Coach Recognition Week * National Wildflower Week * Spring Astronomy Week * Teacher Appreciation Week * Work At Home Moms Week
6-12 National Nurses Day and Week
7-15 National Tourism Week
«TODAY IS
Beaufort Scale Day
Astronomy Day
Child Care Provider Day
Children's Mental Health Awareness Day
Free Comic Book Day
International Tuba Day
Join Hands Day
Letter Carriers "Stamp Out Hunger" Food Drive
Kentucky Derby
Mother Ocean Day
National Babysitter's Day
National Homebrew Day
National Roast Leg of Lamb Day
National Scrapbooking Day
Paste Up Day
Space Day
Spring Astronomy Day
World Asthma Day
World Fair Trade Day
Today’s Events:
… ARTS
1912 - Columbia University approves plans for awarding the Pulitzer Prize in several categories The award is established by Joseph Pulitzer
1928 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Thornton Wilder for (Bridge of San Luis Rey)
1962 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Theodore H White (Making of President 1960)
1973 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Eudora Welty (Optimist's Daughter)
… ATHLETICS
1945 - Branch Rickey announces formation of the US Negro Baseball League
1951 - Intl Olympic committee allows Russia to participate in 1952 Olympics
… BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1660 - Isaack B Fubine of Savoy, in The Hague, patents macaroni
1718 - The city of New Orleans was founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville
1888 - George Eastman patents "Kodak box camera"
1946 - Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded with around 20 employees.
1982 - IBM releases PC-DOS version 1.1
1998 - Mercedes-Benz buys Chrysler for $40 billion USD
… INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1973 - According to the FBI, at 10:19 A.M. this morning, the occupation of Wounded Knee ended. The occupation started on February 27, 1973.
… INTERNATINOAL POLITICS
1429 - English siege of Orleans broken by Joan of Arc
1928 - England lowers age of women voters from 30 to 21
1940 - Winston Churchill becomes PM of Britain
1993 - South Africa agrees to multi-racial elections
… SCIENCE & RELIGION
1355 - 1,200 Jews of Toledo Spain killed by Count Henry of Trastamara
1999 - Pope John Paul II travels to Romania becoming the first pope to visit a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism in 1054
2007 - The tomb of Herod the Great is discovered
… US POLITICS
1700 - William Penn began monthly meetings for Blacks advocating emancipation
1789 - 1st inaugurational ball (for George Washington in NYC)
1800 - Indiana Territory organized
1960 - USSR announces Francis Gary Powers confessed to being a CIA spy
1975 - Pres Ford declares an end to "Vietnam Era"
… ARTISTS: AUTHORS: COMPOSERS…
1812 - Robert Browning, poet (Pied Piper)
1840 - Peter Il'yich Tchaikovsky, composer (1812 Overture)
1833 - Johannes Brahms German composer
…ATHLETES
Dameian Jeffries, NFL defensive end (NO Saints) turns 38
Drew Stanton, American football player turns 24
Shawn Marion, American basketball player turns 22
…BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1711 - David Hume Scottish philosopher, historian, economist and essayist
1909 - Edwin H Land, inventor (instant photography (Polaroid))
1870 - Marcus Loew American film executive and movie theatre chain owner
…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS…)
1923 - Anne Baxter, actress (Myra-Marcus Welby, Victoria-Hotel)
1901 - Gary Cooper, actor (2 Acad Awards-Sgt York, High Noon)
1930 - Totie Fields, American comedienne
1885 - George "Gabby" Hayes, actor (In Old Santa Fe, El Paso)
Robert Hegyes, Actor ("Welcome Back, Kotter"--Epstein), turns 60
Thelma Houston, R&B singer, turns 65
Traci Lords, Actress, turns 43
1922 - Darren McGavin, actor (Night Stalker, Tribes, Turk 182)
1950 - Tim Russert, American television host
…POLITICIANS
1919 - Eva (Evita) Peron-Duarte, Argentina, 1st lady/actress
…SCIENCE & RELIGION
--
Today’s Obits:
1996 - Henry Diamond, Irish Nationalist MP, dies at 87
2000 - Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., American actor dies at 91
1941 - Sir James George Frazer, Scottish anthropologist dies at 87
1998 - Eddie Rabbitt, American musician dies of lung cancer at 57
1876 - William Buell Sprague, American clergyman and author dies at 81
1915 - Alfred G Vanderbilt, US millionaire, dies aboard Lusitania at 38
1989 - Guy Williams, actor (Zorro, Lost in Space), dies of brain aneurysm at 65
ANSWERS:
Trivia Quiz
What tool did astronomer Rodger Thompson say is "fundamentally altering our view of the universe"?
The Hubble telescope
What's the most common contributor to chronic bronchitis?
Smoking
What constellation points to the south celestial pole?
The Southern Cross
What's the study of materials at very low temperatures?
Cryogenics
What unit of length is derived from the Latin word uncia?
The inch
What country launched Europe's first super-high-speed passenger train, in 1981?
France
What's believed by many to be a satellite of Neptune that escaped its primary orbit?
Pluto
What planet is circled by only two moons?
Mars
What artillery weapon was launched upon the world in 400 B.C.?
The catapult
What procedure is performed on an abscess if the dentist thinks the tooth can be saved?
Root canal
What Greek advised: "Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine by your food"?
Hippocrates
What does an anthropophagic census-taker fear?
People
Close Up Picture
…AND THAT’S ALL FOR NOW
