Monday

4 days so far this year…361 days remain in 2010

►Provocative Quote

"The best way to keep your friends is not to give them away."

~Wilson Mizner, playwright

►Free Ramblings

Elephants in Africa are being slaughtered by poachers. Every place we stayed in Botswana and South Africa had camo-ed out armed guards who spent their days and nights walking the area, looking for poachers. The poachers want nothing but the ivory. They kill the elephant, remove the tusks, and leave the rest. All of that was very disturbing. I just watched an amazing story on 60 Minutes about elephant communication. Many are studying the sounds they make. It was obvious in Africa that the elephants are very social and it is not surprising that their noises were really communication. What was fascinating in the 60 Minutes story is that it has just been learned, within the last 5 years, that there is a whole range of sub-vocalization that we never knew about. The largest land mammal, like the whale, communicate through sounds that humans cannot hear. Fascinating study. It will take decades for us to figure out this new communication. A group from Cornell has already started an Elephant Dictionary for the sounds we can hear. Now they are using technology to add the sounds we can’t hear to this dictionary. Man knows so little about the animals we share this planet with. Science continues to learn more and more, while others look only at the profit motive.

While my football teams were both getting wiped out, I worked on the ice on my front sidewalk. Slowly I am getting through it. It is all drippings off the roof, which freeze and make a thick hump that even ice-melt can’t break up easily. I also made it to the car wash to get the chemicals off the paint on my ride. So I am just about ready for the next snow storm. A clean car and a clean sidewalk should do the trick. The weatherman doesn’t predict any snow for the next seven days. We will have to see if my clean car will change all that weather forecast stuff.

It did drop to 9° last night, and only warmed up to 40° today. The 20mph breeze kept it a little cooler than I like, but not enough to keep me inside.

►Quotes from Values.com—LIVE LIFE

“A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”

~Maya Angelou Poet, Dancer, Producer, Playwright, Director, Author

►Unusual News

BOSTON - A Boston mother said her frustration at her 14-year-old son's late night video game playing led her to call police emergency for help in speaking to him. Angela Mejia, 49, said she has been concerned about the amount of time her son spends playing games in the violent "Grand Theft Auto" series and her frustration reached a head when she found him playing at 2:30 a.m. Saturday, hours after he had been instructed to go to bed, the Boston Herald reported. "I woke up in the middle of the night and saw the light on in his bedroom," she said. Mejia said she and her son engaged in an argument that culminated with her unplugging his PlayStation and calling 911. "I called (police) because if you don't respect your mother, what are you going to do in your life?" she said. The mother said police officers responded and were able to convince her son to call it a night. "They (police) were just like, 'Chill out. Go to bed,'" the boy said.

►Random Fact
When young and impoverished, Pablo Picasso kept warm by burning his own paintings.
§ Interesting Statistics
*Note: I realize that statistics can be made to say just about anything.

~30 states in the US have laws that require children to pay for the medical care of indigent parents.

~At least 2 states have Nursing Homes that have used these laws to sue children for non-paying residents.

§ January Month Long Observances

Birthstone: Garnet …Flower: Carnation

Book Blitz Month * Bath Safety Month * Birth Defects Month * California Dried Plum Digestive Month * Celebration of Life Month * Cervical Cancer Screening Month * Financial Wellness Month * High Tech Month * International Creativity Month * International Quality of Life Month * International Wayfinding Month * International Wealth Mentality Month * National Be On-Purpose Month * National Bird Feeding Month * National Clean Up Your Computer Month * National Get Organized Month * National Glaucoma Awareness Month * National Hot Tea Month * National Mail Order Gardening Month * National Mentoring Month * National Personal Self-Defense Awareness Month * National Poverty in America Awareness Month * National Radon Action Month * National Skating Month * National Soup Month * National Volunteer Blood Donor Month * Oatmeal Month * Rising Star Month * Self-help Group Awareness Month * Senior Women’s Travel Month * Shape Up US Month * Thyroid Awareness Month

§ Observance Weeks in January
Celebration of Life Week: 1-7
Diet Resolution Week: 1-7
National Lose Weight/Feel Great Week: 1-8
Someday We'll Laugh About This Week: 2-9
Home Office Safety and Security Week: 3-9
Women's Self Empowerment Week: 4-10
§ 3 January Observances—US/UN/WorldTrivia Day and Humiliation Day
Dimpled Chad Day
Pop Music Chart Day
“Thank God It's Monday" Day
Utah: Admission Day (1896)
World Braille Day
World Hypnotism Day
§ 3 January Observances—by country
Burma (Myanmar): Independence Day (from UK-1948)

Sri Lanka: Tamil Thai Pongal Day: To give thanks to farmers, farm animals and the spirits of nature for a fruitful year.

Nigeria: Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP): Indigenous Tribe in their struggle for ethnic and environmental rights mainly against Shell Oil in the 1990’s.

Zaïre: Martyrs' Day: Honoring Martyrs of Independence from Belgium in 1960.

► Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1915…1st elected Jewish Governor, Moses Alexander, takes office in Idaho
►Who was born on this day?
     ~ The Arts
Charles Stratton [General Tom Thumb] in 1838-3’ dwarf with PT Barnum
Jesse [Marc Weidenfeld] White in 1917-actor (Maytag Repairman)
Jane Wyman (Sarah Fulks) in 1914 – actress; 1st Mrs. Ronald Regan
     ~Athletics
Tito (Rigoberto Peat) Fuentes in 1944 - baseball: Giants, Padres, Tigers, Athletics
Joe Kleine in 1962 - NBA center (Suns, Bulls)
Floyd Patterson in 1935 - heavyweight champ (gold-1952)
Don Shula in 1930 - winningest NFL coach (Colts, Dolphins)
     ~Business, Education, Politics
Louis Braille in 1809 in France - developer (reading system for blind)
Everett (McKinley) Dirksen in 1896 - politician
Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm in 1785-librarian (fairy tale collector)
Sir Isaac Pitman in 1813 - inventor (shorthand)
J Danforth Quayle in 1947 - 44th Vice President
     ~Science/Religion
Wilhelm Beer in 1797-amateur astronomer (constructed 1st Moon map)
►Who Died on this day?
Caligula in 0041 murdered @ 29
Albert Camus in 1960 French author (Stranger), auto accident @ 46
T S Eliot in 1965 poet @ 76
Elizabeth Ann Seton in 1821 1st native-born American saint, TB @ 47
Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1877 US robber baron, @ 82
►What happened on this day?

1493…Columbus left new world on return from 1st voyage

1884…Last sighting of an eastern cougar (Ontario)

1887…Thomas Stevens is 1st man to bicycle around the world (San Francisco-San Francisco); 21,700km

1893…US President Harrison grants amnesty to Mormon polygamy

1896…Following Mormon abandonment of polygamy, Utah admitted as 45th state

1925…French psychologist Emil Coué brings his self-esteem therapy to US "Every day in every way I am getting better & better"

1936…Billboard magazine publishes its 1st music hit parade

1944…Ralph Bunche appointed 1st Negro official in US State Department

1965…LBJ's "Great Society" State of the Union Address

1995…Newt Gingrich (R) becomes speaker of the House

1999…Minnesota inaugurated pro wrestler Jesse Ventura as its 38th governor.

2007…Nancy Pelosi is elected as the first female Speaker of the United States Congress in U.S. history.

►Rhyme & Reason Puzzle
Answer the following clue in two rhyming words (e.g. an obese feline is a fat cat) If only one number is given, the answer is a word featuring internal rhyme (e.g. voodoo)
1. post-secondary learning and lore (7,9):
2. hipper leader (6,5):
3. big credit card bill (5,6):
4. consummation of college fees (7,8):
5. glowing piece of wood in the fireplace during the 12th month (8,5):

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ANSWERS
1. post-secondary learning and lore (7,9): college knowledge
2. hipper leader (6,5): cooler ruler
3. big credit card bill (5,6): large charge
4. consummation of college fees (7,8): tuition fruition
5. glowing piece of wood in the fireplace during the 12th month (8,5): December ember