Jan 25, 2012


FYI: Click on any blue text for a link to more information!

Today’s  Historical  Highlights
1554 - Founding of São Paulo city, Brazil
1755 - Moscow University established
1851 - Sojourner Truth addresses 1st Black Women's Rights Convention (Akron)
1877 - Congress determines presidential election between Hayes-Tilden
1924 - 1st Winter Olympic games open in Chamonix, France
1955 - Columbia U scientists develop an atomic clock accurate to within one second in 300 years
1981 - 52 Americans held hostage by Iran for 444 days arrived back in US
1998 - Superbowl XXXII: Denver Broncos beat Green Bay Packers 31-24 MVP: Terrell Davis

♫Happy Birthday To: ♫                     
 
Free Rambling Thoughts   
A windy day, but I was out and about running errands. I did get my phone fixed…finally. It took about 30 minutes and we changed some settings. Not sure, but my Google calendar had a yahoo sign in because I’ve had the calendar longer than there was g-mail. While the calendar has been attached to the g-mail address since I got my Android phone, something somewhere changed that caused a conflict with the yahoo sign in. Now the Google calendar is attached to a g-mail address and everyone is happy. Crazy. We did a lot of signing in and out of the Google account from a tablet with a keyboard. Must say…tablets are the future. I really liked it…it was fast, easy to use, and easy to read. Hmmm. I’ll wait a little while longer before I get a tablet…iPad still has the most features and the Android one I was using may be pushed out by iPad.  Hard to tell at this point. If I get an iPad, then my next phone will be an iPhone. Don’t need to guess if I’m thinking in Microsoft or in Apple.

I pay my taxes. Being single puts me in a higher tax bracket…I’m at about 33%. The tax code needs reform. How could a wealthy politician pay at 15%? It’s not about the amount of money either of us pay…it’s about the percentage of our income that runs this country. I have used H & R Block forever. I do have a very complicated taxing with my ‘alternative’ investments. I get that. I don’t mind paying for a good job. Last year, my H&R bill was almost the same at my refund from the Feds. That upset me. I don’t think the very wealthy should be paying a higher percentage than I do, just the same percentage. The middle class is disappearing…some are moving into the upper class; most are moving into the lower class. Some of my investments gave me a tax break, because I was doing alternative energy…something that should be good for the country. The Feds even said it was good. Even in those days my tax rate was at about 25%. I have never been at a 15% tax rate…never. Since I started working as a grocery clerk while in school, I have been paying much more than 15%. It is OK, as long as others are paying the same rate.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)
Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle
Every answer is a familiar phrase or title in the form of "____ of ____," where the word before "of" starts with the letter R. You are given the word that follows "of" and must come up with the phrase. For example, given "Saturn," the answer would be "rings."
1.     Hope:
2.     Passage:
3.     Gibraltar:
4.     Applause:
5.     Law:
6.     Fortune:
7.     Terror:
8.     Fire:
9.     No return:
10.  The mill:
11.  The road:
12.  The Jedi:
13.  The ancient mariner:
14.  The lost ark:
15.  Order [two words, both beginning with R]:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance     
AZ Centennial is in 23 days:  Did you know?…
  •  A saguaro cactus will take between 50 and 100 years to grow an arm. The saguaro cactus flower is the official state flower of Arizona.
  • An ordinance prohibits the wearing of suspenders in Nogales, Arizona.
Found on You Tube         
 Robert Burns – Documentary
Harper’s Index         
Percentage of non-interest federal spending that is dedicated to programs for the elderly: 1/3
Joke-of-the-day
1. A day without sunshine is like night.
2. On the other hand, you have different fingers.
3. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
4. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
5. Remember, half the people you know are below average.
6. He who laughs last; thinks slowest.
7. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
8. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.
9. Support bacteria. They're the only culture most people have.
10. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
11. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.
12. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.
13. How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.
14. OK, so what's the speed of dark?
15. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
16. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.
17. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?
18. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
19. What happens if you get scared half to death, twice?
20. Why do psychics have to ask you your name?
21. Inside every older person is a younger person wondering, 'What the heck happened?'
22. Just remember -- if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off.
23. Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
24. Life isn't like a box of chocolates. It's more like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today, might burn your butt tomorrow.

Planet Earth

Rules of Thumb   
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess
If you play centerfield, wear a billed cap and keep your head level. Go in on any ball that is hit so that it never disappears over the top of the bill; go out on any ball that disappears over the bill. If the ball is hit high and shallow, you will have time to recover.
Somewhat Useless Information   
  • The enormous number of the figures in the Parthenon, probably exceeding 500, of which 50 were colossal, and the size and complexity of the Athene, which was of gold, ivory, wood, and precious stones, standing 40 feet in height, make it impossible that these vast works could have been executed by the hand of a single artist.
  • While studying at the Academy of Ancient Art in the Medici Palace, Michelangelo not only developed his genius as a sculptor, but also excited the wrath of his rival, Torregiano, who struck him with a mallet, crushing the nose on his face and disfiguring him for life.
  • Lysippus of Sicyon, in the Peloponnese, was a contemporary of Alexander the Great, who made him his court sculptor, decreeing that no one should paint his portrait but Apelles, and no one should make his statue but Lysippus. His works were all in bronze, and are said to have amounted to 1,500 in number. They represented Alexander and his generals in various characters, Hercules in many aspects, and celebrated athletes of the most naturalistic type.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean customs officials say they have arrested eight men over a scheme to allegedly smuggle gold out of the country by hiding it in their rectums.The Korea Customs Service said Monday the men allegedly transformed $260,000 in gold bars into small beads and smuggled them in their rectums to Japan two times in 2010 to avoid import taxes.South Korea says Japanese custom officials caught the men on their second attempt and sent them home after imposing fines. Later, one of the suspects allegedly orchestrated an unsuccessful bid to smuggle gold bars from Mongolia to Hong Kong using a similar method.Meanwhile, South Korean officials gathered evidence against them at home. They say the suspects recently admitted to the smuggling after initial denials.
Calendar Information        
…Happening This Week:
20-30
Sundance Film Festival
21-27
World Leprosy WeekNational Activity Professionals WeekKid Film FestivalNational Nurse Anesthetists WeekClean Out Your Inbox WeekNational Handwriting Analysis WeekNational Medical Group Practice WeekNational Nuclear Science WeekNo Name Calling WeekNational Take Back Your Time Week
Today Is                                                                      
A Room of One's Own Day
Macintosh Computer Day
National Speak Up and Succeed DayOpposite Day
World Leprosy Day
Today’s Other Events                                                             
1500’s
1554 - Sir Thomas Wyatt gathers an army in Kent, rebels against Queen Mary
1600’s
1692- Just before dawn, the village of York, Maine, is attacked by 150 Abnaki warriors, led by Chief Madockawando. The Abnaki will kill more than 4 dozen settlers, and almost 8 will be taken as prisoners, and then sold or used as slaves. The village and surrounding farms were burned for miles.
1700’s
1721 - Czar Peter the Great ends Russian-orthodox patriarchy
1775 - Americans drag cannon uphill to fight British (Gun Hill Road, Bronx)
1799 - 1st US patent for a seeding machine, Eliakim Spooner, Vermont
1800’s
1825 - 1st US engineering college opens, Rensselaer Polytechnic, Troy, NY
1856 - Battle of Seattle; skirmish between settlers & Indians
1870 - Soda fountain patented by Gustavus Dows
1890 - Nellie Bly beats Phileas Fogg's time around world by 8 days (72 days)
1900’s
1905 - Largest diamond, Cullinan (3106 carets), found in South Africa
the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever found at 3106.75 carats (621.35 g). It was cut into 105 diamonds including the Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa, 530.2 carats (106.04 g), and the Cullinan II or the Lesser Star of Africa, 317.4 carats (63.48 g), both of which are now part of the British Crown Jewels.
1915 - Transcontinental telephone service inaugurated (NY to SF)
1939 - Earthquake hits Chillan Chile, 10,000 killed
1945 - Grand Rapids, Michigan becomes 1st US city to fluoridate its water
1951 - UN begins counter offensive in Korea
1955 - US & Panama sign canal treaty
1961 - 1st live, nationally televised presidential news conference (JFK)
1961 - Walt Disney's "101 Dalmatians" released
1971 - Military coup in Uganda under Gen Idi Amin Dada
1979 - Pope John Paul II's 1st overseas trip as supreme pontiff
1981 - Superbowl XV: Oakland Raiders beat Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10 MVP: Jim Plunkett
1983 - Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie arrested in Bolivia
1985 - "We are the World" is recorded
1987 - Superbowl XXI: NY Giants beat Denver Broncos, 39-20 MVP: Phil Simms
1989 - Michael Jordan scores his 10,000th NBA point in his 5th season
1992 - Dan Jansen skates world record 500m in 36.41"
1992 - Hubble space telescope optics finds NGC3862/3C264
1993 - Puerto Rico adds English as its 2nd official language
1998 - Spice Girl Victoria Adams (Posh) & soccer David Beckham get engaged
2000’s
2011 - Egyptian Revolution of 2011 begins in Egypt, with a series of street demonstrations

Today’s Birthdays                                                           
In their 30’s
Alicia Keys, singer is 31
Christine Lakin, actor is 33
In their 50’s
Dinah Manoff, actor is 54
In their 80’s
Dean Jones, Disney actor is 81
Remembered for being born on this day
Corazon Aquino, 11th President of the Philippines in 1933
Robert Burns, Alloway Scotland, poet (Auld Lang Syne) in 1759
Charles Curtis, 31st US VP (1929-33) in 1860
Rusty Draper, American country and pop singer [Mule Skinner Blues ] in 1923
Etta James, [Jamesette Hawkins], US singer (Roll With Me Henry ) in 1938
Shirley Mason, American psychiatric patient (Commonly known as "Sybil") in 1923
[William] Somerset Maugham, Paris, British novelist/poet (Of Human Bondage) in 1874
Steve Prefontaine, Coos Bay Oregon, 5K (Olympics-4th-1972 ) in 1951

Today’s Obits                                                           
Al Capone, Chicago gangster, dies of syphilis at 48 in 1947
Jean Dixon, psychic (Gift of Prophecy), dies of a heart attack at 79 in 1997
Ava Gardner, actress (Barefoot Contessa), dies of pneumonia at 67 in 1990

Answers                                                                                                                                            
Brain Game
AnteAntsyAnticsAntennaAntidoteAntiquityAnticipateAntagonistsAnthropology
Bonus: resistant

NPR Sunday Puzzle
1.     Hope: ray of hope
2.     Passage: Rite of passage
3.     Gibraltar: rock of Gibraltar
4.     Applause: round of applause
5.     Law: rule of law
6.     Fortune: reversal of fortune
7.     Terror: reign of terror
8.     Fire: ring of fire
9.     No return: river of no return
10.  The mill: run of the mill
11.  The road: rules of the road
12.  The Jedi: Return of the Jedi
13.  The sphinx: riddle of the sphinx
14.  The ancient mariner: Rhyme of the ancient mariner
15.  The lost ark: Raiders of the Lost Ark
16.  Order [two words, both beginning with R]: Robert’s Rule of Order

Wuzzle
  • Rub the wrong way
  • Elbows
  • Multiple choice

Disclaimer: All opinions are mine…feel free to agree or disagree.
All ‘data’ info is from the internet sites and is usually checked with at least one other source, but I have learned that every site has mistakes and sadly once out the information is out there, many sites simply copy it and is therefore difficult to verify. Also for events occurring before the Gregorian calendar was adopted [1582] the dates may not be totally accurate.
    And That Is All for Now 

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Flagstaff, Arizona, United States
I retired in '06--at the ripe old age of 57. I enjoy blogging, photography, traveling, and living life to it's fullest.