Jan 19, 2012

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

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

• 1861 - Georgia becomes 5th state to secede
• 1903 - New bicycle race  "Tour de France"  announced
• 1929 - Acadia National Park, Maine established
• 1955 - "Scrabble" debuts on board game market
• 1977 - World's largest crowd-12.7 million-for Indian religious festival

♫Happy Birthday To: ♫                     

 

Free Rambling Thoughts   

Tonight may have a smaller blog. I use Wikipedia as the secondary source for much of the information I find. I use google for the pictures and other necessary pictures. I spent some time today learning about SOPA and PIPA. Our current do-nothing congress has really stirred up a hornet’s nest with these two bills. The bills seem to be trying to stop on line piracy. That is a good thing. But it will also harm legitimate sites and the language could prevent everyday people from getting certain information, either by requiring the blocking of sites or requiring sites to pull down certain pages.  This is a very complicated issue for sure…and to be honest I don’t trust this do nothing congress when they are talking about censoring. These two bills seem to be playing to the lowest common denominator with an atomic bomb. There is way too much information out there, and some of it is pretty much over the top lies. I have found some sites that are kinda scary, really scary, and downright heart stopping. But I am able to decipher those. If SOPA and PIPA take down the sites I list…great. But wait, you might have a different list and I’m sure some of those shouldn’t be taken down. With SOPA and PIPA, we don’t get to decide what to read and what not to read…someone else does. That is wrong.

Greg stopped by and the T-shirt is getting there. Getting more exciting every time we work. The design just now need some clean up. Very cool.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

You are given a compound word and a clue. The answer is another compound word whose halves rhyme, respectively, with the halves of the original compound word. For example, given "lamplight," with the clue "a place to sleep outdoors," the answer would be "campsite."

NOTE: While Will Shorts thinks the first word is a compound word, Bill Gates and I don’t; however the answers, we all agree are common compound words

1.     Bootlace: a piece of luggage:

2.     Breadbox: Rastafarian hairdo:

3.     Housedad: an item beside a computer:

4.     Tintype: traditional design on a man’s suit:

5.     Hoecake: no two examples are exactly alike:

6.     Blowdart: diagram showing step by step process:

7.     Sheepdog: a children’s game:

8.     Tailgate: Chess game where no one wins:

9.     Kneesock: a bird with a fancy tail:

10.  Townhall: to collapse:

11.  Black face: reverse on a typewriter:

12.  Screwpine: A stand at airport or train station:

13.  Handbill: a complete stop:

14.  Handbill:A place were refuse is buried:

15.  Backbuster: dull:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance     

AZ Centennial is in 26 days: Did you know?…

At one time camels were used to transport goods across Arizona.

One must be 18 years old to buy spray paint in Tempe, Arizona.

Phoenix originated in 1866 as a hay camp to supply Camp McDowell.

Tombstone, Ruby, Gillette, and Gunsight are among the ghost towns scattered throughout the state.

The Grand Canyon is 227 miles long, 1 mile deep, and has an average width of 10 miles.

Found on You Tube         

Grand Canyon River Trip: Native American Perspectives

Harper’s Index         

Average amount the tooth fairy left for a tooth in 2010, according to a survy by VISA: $3

For 2011: $2.60

Joke-of-the-day

A salesman telephone a household, and a four-year-old answered.

Salesman: May I speak to your mother?

Child: She is not here.

Salesman: Well, is anyone else there?

Child: My sister

Salesman: O.K., fine. May I speak to her?

Child: I guess so.

There was a long silence on the other phone. Then:

Child: Hello?

Salesman: It’s you. I thought you were going to call your sister.

Child: I did. The trouble is: I can’t get her out of the playpen.

BONUS

Q: What do you call a woman who knows where her husband is 24 hours a day/seven days a week?

 A: A widow.

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

When in doubt, use the semicolon; the average reader won't understand its use and will give you credit for erudition.

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Initially referred to only to tightrope walking, acrobatics is a blanket term for nearly any performance or sport which involves full-body activity - especially in short, highly controlled bursts.
• Generally, a wire over 20 ft high will be regarded as a high-wire set.
• Stephen Peer, a seasoned tightrope walker, died on June 22, 1887 when he fell into Niagara Falls after drinking with friends.
• In China, around 100,000 students are currently studying at schools dedicated to the art of acrobatics. High honor is conferred upon those skilled enough to become acrobats because of the unusual and difficult nature of the feats involved.
• Seeking a career in the performing arts, Cirque de Soleil founder Guy Laliberte toured Europe as a folk musician and street performed after quitting college. By the time he returned back home to Canada in 1979, he had learned the art of fire breathing and by 1983, the Quebec government granted him 1.5 million Canadian dollars to host the first Cirque de Soleil production.
• In China, acrobatics have been a part of the culture since the Western Han Dynasty, over 2000 years ago. During the Tang Dynasty, acrobatics saw much the same sort of development as European acrobatics saw during the Middle Ages, with court displays during the 7th through 10th century dominating the practice.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 

NEW YORK - An unemployed New York doorman was cured of pneumonia, but says the $44 million hospital bill almost gave him asthma. Alexis Rodriguez, 28, was one of several hundred patients to receive wildly inflated bills because of a computer error, the New York Daily News reported. The bill from Bronx-Lebanon Hospital should have been for no more than $300, but instead was listed as $44,776,587. Rodriguez told the newspaper, "I almost had an asthma attack." The billing firm, PHY Services, said it wasn't too hard to find the problem -- a subcontractor that prints the bills put the invoice number into the "amount due" space, the Daily News reported.

NEW!!! Planet Earth

Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

15-21

Healthy Weight Week
International Printing WeekNational Fresh Squeezed Juice WeekWeek of Christian Unity

Today Is                                                                      

Get to Know Your Customers Day
Healthy Weight Day Confederate
National Popcorn Day
Tin Can Day
Women in Blue Jeans Day Women's
 Ethiopia: Timket (commemorates Jesus' baptism in the River Jordan and his revelation as the son of God)US: Texas: Heroes Day 

Today’s Other Events                                                             

1700’s

1746 - Bonnie Prince Charlies troops occupy Stirling

1800’s

1840 - Antarctica discovered, Charles Wilkes expedition (US claim)

1847 - In Don Fernandez de Taos (now just called Taos, New Mexico), recently installed Governor George Bent is trying to keep Mexican and Pueblo Indians from revolting (an earlier revolt was prevented)

1853 - Verdi's opera "Il Trovatore,"  premieres in Rome

1870 -Brevet Col.E.M.Baker, and troops F,G,H, and I, 2nd cavalry, and 55 mounted infantry, leave Fort Shaw, near Great Falls, Montana. Their goal is to find, and punish, Mountain Chief, and his band of Piegan, believed to be on the Marias River.

1883 - The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey

1900’s

1903 - 1st regular transatlantic radio broadcast between US & England

1915 - 1st German Zeppelin attack over Great Britain, 4 die

1920 - US Senate votes against membership in League of Nations

1953 - Jesse Owens named Illinois Athletic Commission secretary

1955 - "Millionaire"  TV program premieres on CBS

1955 - 1st presidential news conference filmed for TV (Eisenhower)

1970 - UCLA fires Angela Davis for being a communist

1972 - Sandy Koufax, Yogi Berra, & Early Wynn elected to Hall of Fame

1977 - Pres Ford pardons Iva Toguri D'Aquino (Tokyo Rose )

1983 - Klaus Barbie, SS chief of Lyon in Nazi-France, arrested in Bolivia

2000’s

2006 - The New Horizons probe is launched by NASA on the first mission to Pluto

2006 - Terrorist blows himself up in Tel Aviv, killing only himself but injuring 20 people

2007 - Armenian Journalist Hrant Dink assassinated in front of his newspaper's office 

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

Under 30 years old

Shawn Johnson, Olympic gymnast is 20

In their 30’s

Jodie Sweetin will be 30

In their 40’s

Martin Bashir, Pakistani-born reporter is 49

In their 50’s

Katey Sagal, Los Angeles, California, singer/actress (Peggy Bundy; Sons of Anarcy) is 58

In their 60’s

Paula Deen, American chef and restaurateur is 65

Dolly Parton, singer, actor is 66

Dan Reeves, NFL Coach (NY Giants, Denver Broncos, Atlanta Falcons) is 68

In their 70’s

Phil Everly, singer (Everly Bros-Wake Up Little Susie) is 74

Shelly Fabares, actress (Donna Reed Show, Coach) is 70

In their 80’s

Tippi Hedren, American actress (Birds) is 82

Jean Stapleton, actress (Damn Yankees, Klute, All in the Family) is 89

Remembered for being born on this day

Lester Flatt, country musician (Flatt and Scruggs) in 1914

Janis Joplin, bluesy rock singer (Down on Me) in 1943

Guy Madison, [Robert Moseley], actor (Wild Bill Hickok) in 1922

Mohammed, Islamic prophet (Koran) in 570

Isaiah Thomas, printer/editor/publisher/historian in 1749

Edgar Allan Poe, author (Pit & the Pendulum) in 1809

James Watt, Scottish inventor (steam engine) in 1736

Today’s Obits                                                           

William O Douglas, member US Supreme court (1939-75), dies at 81 in 1980

Hedy Lamarr, Austrian-born actress dies at 87 in 2000

Suzanne Pleshette, American actress dies at 71 in 2008

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.     Bootlace: a piece of luggage: suitcase

2.     Breadbox: Rastafarian hairdo: dreadlocks

3.     House dad: an item beside a computer: mouse pad

4.     Tintype: traditional design on a man’s suit: pinstripe

5.     Hoecake: no two examples are exactly alike: snowflake

6.     Blowdart: diagram showing step by step process: flowchart

7.     Sheepdog: a children’s game: leapfrog

8.     Tailgate: Chess game where no one wins: stalemate

9.     Knee sock: a bird with a fancy tail: Peacock:

10.  Townhall: to collapse: downfall

11.  Black face: reverse on a typewriter: backspace

12.  Screwpine: A stand at airport or train station: shoeshine

13.  Handbill: a complete stop: standstill

14.  Handbill:A place were refuse is buried: landfill

15.  Backbuster: dull: lackluster

Wuzzle

• A needle in a haystack
• Vanish into thin air
• Forthright anwswer

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  ☺