Mar 14

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Today’s  Historical  Highlights

1493 - Columbus writes a letter today describing the generous nature of the Indians he has encountered. He will describe them as "men of great deference and kindness."

1647 - Thirty Years' War: Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden sign the Truce of Ulm

1889 - German Ferdinand von Zeppelin patents his "Navigable Balloon"

1900 - US currency goes on gold standard

1923 - Pres Warren G Harding becomes 1st pres to pay taxes

1936 - Federal Register, 1st magazine of the US government, publishes 1st issue

1958 - South Africa government disallows ANC

1967 - JFK's body moved from temporary grave to a permanent memorial

1968 - CBS TV suspends Radio Free Europe free advertising because RFE doesn't make it clear it is sponsored by the CIA

1984 - Gerry Adams, head of Sinn Féin, is seriously wounded in an assassination attempt in central Belfast.

1995 - 1st time 13 people in space

1997 - The Chinese city of Chongqing (formerly Chunking) is upgraded to a centrally administered municipality

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪                     

 

Free Rambling Thoughts  
Today is Flag’s Primary Day for mayor. It is a mail in ballot, but I didn’t mail it, so headed downtown this morning to drop it off. Learned a lesson…even though it is a city election, the ballots are turned in at the county building. Makes sense, since the county has a recorder and the city doesn’t.  Two ladies were sitting in the county parking lot, soaking in the sunshine and taking ballots so you didn’t even have to get out of the car.  It’s spring break, so the local TV news isn’t on, so I guess I’ll check some websites tonight to see who made the May ballot.

 There has to be more to the story about the big theft of Tide detergent across the US. I’m not buying the street value being used to buy drugs. I mean really? That bright orange bottle can’t be that easy to steal. But just saw a story that CVS pharmacy is putting those theft locks on Tide. What a strange world we live in. I’m waiting for the cartoons that are sure to appear in papers, on Facebook, and on the internet.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

Every answer is a familiar proverb or saying. Given a two-word phrase, one of the words is in that proverb or saying, and the other is an anagram of a word in it. The anagram can be either word in the phrase. Example: MORE ROADS. The answer would be: "All ROADS lead to ROME."

1.      Rolling notes: Rolling Stone gathers no moss

2.      Gold ton: all that glitters is not gold

3.      Two hubs: a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

4.      Raw love: make love not war/ all is fair in love and war

5.      Bed layer: early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise

6.      Diet time: time and tide wait for no man

7.      Fiction granters: truth is stranger than fiction

8.      Nights end: all good things come to an end

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance     

Planet Earth—Mayan

Found on You Tube         

Billy Crystal (Opening Skit Monologue Intro) - The 84th Annual Academy Awards 2012

Harper’s Index         

Chances that a US corporation is considering ending health benefits when federal insurance exchanges begin: 3 in 10

Joke-of-the-day

Jay went to a psychiatrist. “Doc, he said, “I’ve got trouble. Every time I get into bed I think there is somebody under it.  I get under the bed; I think there’s somebody on top of it. Top, under, under top. I’m going crazy!”“Just put yourself in my hands for two years,” said the shrink.  “Come to me three times a week and I’ll cure you.” “How much do you charge?” “A hundred dollars per visit.” “I’ll think about it.” Jay never went back. Sometime later he met the doctor on the street.  “Why didn’t you ever come to see me again? Asked the psychiatrist. “For a hundred buck a visit? A bartender cured me for 10 dollars.” “Is that so! How?” “He told me to cut the legs off the bed.”

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

When they're unhappy at a restaurant, the French call the headwaiter and abuse him in front of everyone. The English call the manager and abuse him quietly and with dignity. The Americans don't say a thing. They just never come back, nor do their friends.

Somewhat Useless Information    

A 2001 Swedish study revealed that males whose mothers had additional scans later in pregnancy had a 30 percent chance of being left-handed, compared to overall odds of 11 percent.

Babies are born with what is called a "stepping reflex." An infant held upright with his or her feet on a flat surface will automatically place one foot in front of the other as if trying to walk. This reflex disappears by about four months of age.

Scientists have identified certain characteristics that contribute to "cuteness": large, bright, forward-facing eyes; a large round head; and chubby cheeks. Some anthropologists believe that human babies developed these "cute cues" as a survival mechanism, compelling mothers to hold and nurture them.

At three months old, a baby has usually learned to recognize facial features. The baby can identify parents by their eyes and nose and overall shape of their face.Modern research has shown that babies may smile earlier than six weeks as a response to physical comfort. The brain stem, which doesn't respond to external stimuli, triggers the reaction.

Part of the reason that infant car seats are designed to face backwards is that a baby's neck muscles aren't strong enough to support the head for about the first year of life. By facing away from the direction of travel, the baby's head is prevented from abruptly jerking forward in the event of a collision.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 

ROME (AP) — Since the start of the month it has been illegal to die in Falciano del Massico, a village of 3,700 people some 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Naples in southern Italy.Mayor Giulio Cesare Fava issued the tongue-in-cheek decree because the village has no cemetery and it is feuding with a nearby town that has one — creating a logistical problem about what to do with the deceased.The mayor told newspapers that villagers are content."The ordinance has brought happiness," he was quoted Tuesday as saying. "Unfortunately, two elderly citizens disobeyed."

Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

3-18

Iditarod Race

8-14

Universal Women's Week

11-17

Girl Scout Week

Turkey Vultures Return to the Living Sign

National Agriculture Week

12-18

International Brain Awareness Week

Wildlife Week

13-19

Campfire USA Birthday Week

Today Is                                                                      

International Ask A Question Day

Potato Chip Day

Pi Day—3.14 

Registered Dietitian Day

UK: Commonwealth Day

Today’s Other Events                                                             

1400’s

1489 - The Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, sells her kingdom to Venice

> 

1600’s

1629 - England granted a royal charter to Massachusetts Bay Colony

1644 - England grants patent for Providence Plantations (now Rhode Island)

1689 - Scotland dismisses Willem III & Mary Stuart as king & queen

1700’s

1794 - Eli Whitney patents cotton gin

1800’s

1812 - Congress authorizes war bonds to finance War of 1812

1833 - The Secretary of War has the Indian Department issue orders, again, to U.S. Marshals to remove whites from Creek lands

1870 - California legislature approves act making Golden Gate Park possible

1885 - "Mikado" opera premieres in London

1900’s

1903 - 1st national bird reservation established in Sebastian, FL

1933 - Civilian Conservation Corp, begins tree conservation

1950 - FBI's "10 Most Wanted Fugitives" program begins

1953 - Nikita Khrushchev succeeds Malenkov as Secretary Communist Party

1964 - Dallas jury sentences Jack Ruby to death in Lee Harvey Oswald murder

1967 - 1st NFL-AFL common draft, Balt Colts pick Bubba Smith

1972 - NBA's Cincinnati Royals announce they are moving to KC

1976 - Jockey Bill Shoemaker wins his 7,000th race

1992 - Soviet newspaper "Pravda" suspends publication

1993 - 3,000th performance of  "Nunsense"

1997 - Pres Clinton trips & tears up his knee requiring surgery

2000’s

2003 - Start of weekend of protests against war in Iraq that are attended by millions

2005 - Cedar Revolution, where over one and a million Lebanese went into the streets of Beirut to demonstrate against the Syrian military presence in Lebanon, and against the government, following the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 90’s

S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A is 91

> 

In their 70’s

Michael Caine [Maurice J Micklewhite], actor (Alfie) is 79

Quincy Jones Jr, composer/singer (We Are The World ) is 79

In their 60’s

Billy Crystal, actor, comedian is 65

Remembered for being born on this day

Les Brown, orchestra leader (& his band of renown) in 1912

Charles Ammi Cutter, US librarian (Expansive classification) in 1837

Albert Einstein, German-born theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate (theory of relativity) in 1879

Adolph Gottlieb, American painter in 1903

[John] Casey Jones, RR engineer (Ballad of Casey Jones) in 1864

Hank Ketcham, cartoonist (Dennis the Menace) in 1920

Lee Petty, American race car driver in 1914

Today’s Obits                                                           

George Eastman, US industrialist (Kodak-camera), suicide at 77 in 1932

Peter Graves, American actor dies at 84 in 2010

Susan Hayward, actress (Young & Willing), dies of cancer at 56 in 1975

Karl Marx, German philosopher (Communist Manifesto), dies of bronchitis and pleurisy at 64 in 1883

C V Wood Jr, theme park developer (Disneyland), dies of cancer at 71 in 1992

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.      Rolling notes:

a.      Rolling Stone gathers no moss

2.      Gold ton:

a.      all that glitters is not gold

3.      Two hubs:

a.      a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

4.      Raw love:

a.      make love not war/ all is fair in love and war

5.      Bed layer:

a.      early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise

6.      Diet time:

a.      time and tide wait for no man

7.      Fiction granters:

a.      truth is stranger than fiction

8.      Nights end:

a.      all good things come to an end

Wuzzle

• Quit following me
• The seven seas
• Search high and low

 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  ☺