Wednesday

3 February 2010--Week 5 of 2010: 34 days this year…331 remain

» Quote Times Two «

"She`s learned to say things with her eyes that others waste time trying to put into words." ~unknown

“Love your neighbor as yourself.” Bible Matthew 22:39

» Free Ramblings «

The Adoption Drama continues in Haiti. A good lesson to all to give the story time to come out, and it is still coming out. These Americans were denied their goal of taking 100 ‘orphans’ from at least three Port-au-Prince orphanages because they did not meet minimum approval paperwork. This group then moved into the hills about 35 miles from the Capital and away from the quake zone to a remote village. They used flyers showing American homes to have people send their children to the US. That’s where they got the so-called orphans. Today some parents of these children said they wanted their children to go to the US. If these missionaries had never lived without electricity, running water, in a shack I am sure they saw these conditions as deplorable and believed that anything could be better. A little arrogant from my view. If their goal was to help these children, they should have gone into this isolated village, asked the people what they wanted/needed for their village. Then they should have taken the time, money, and whatever else to give the village what they want. Removing children from the village will not help the village and will most likely place scars on these children that will last for life.

The underwear bomber is talking again—without torture. The government, under President Obama, sent non-military people to his family in Nigeria. The family came to the US and talked to the guy. Remember, it was the father who first told the US Embassy in Nigeria that he was worried about his son’s behavior. The underwear bombmer agreed to start talking. No waterboarding, no torture, just family. Our system of laws seems to work.

After our huge snow fall, the local weatherman is saying another storm in on the way. He says we’re expecting “light snow fall of 1-3 inches.” Amazing, for most of the last ten years that would have been considered a big storm. So here’s to more moisture that won’t trap us in our homes, but will help the forest. One of the worst things about our drought is the infestation of the bark beetle. Now NAU may have an answer. Turns out that these tiny ½” beetles have decent hearing. The male makes sounds and calls the females in for breeding. In the NAU lab, loud heavy metal music confuses both the male and female during breeding season. The females head for the music, the males head for the music. Both are trying to find a ‘super-male’ to either breed with, or to destroy. Hmm. Our quiet forest might only survive with the blasting of heavy metal music. Of course, no work has been done on what this will do to the larger residents of the forest. Maybe NAU will develop an iPod type player that will play the music into the infested trees without bothering any other animals. Until then, the only thing that may save the forest will be more moisture, a lot more. So here’s to more moisture—in the form of RAIN.

»* Winter Olympics* «

The Vancouver Olympics open on Feb 12.

Did you know…

Each of the five Olympic rings is a different color. Together, they represent the five inhabited continents, although no particular ring is meant to represent any specific continent. (The Americas are treated as one continent.) The rings are interlaced to represent the idea that the Olympics are universal, bringing athletes from the entire world together.

»Side Show Stories—«

GEORGIA Laws

It is illegal to use profanity in front of a dead body which lies in a funeral home or in a coroner’s office.

You have the right to commit simple battery if provoked by "fightin'" words.

In Kennesaw, every head of household must possess a firearm of some kind. The city, a suburb of Atlanta, pop 31,000, put this on the books in 1982. In 2007, Family Circle named it one of the 10 best towns to raise a family””

In Atlanta, one man may not be on another man's back.

Signs are required to be written in English.

No one may carry an ice cream cone in their back pocket if it is Sunday.

In Quitman, population 4600, it is illegal for a chicken to cross the road.

»Random Fact«

An average adult produces about half a liter of flatulent gas per day, resulting in an average of about fourteen occurrences of flatulence a day.

» Puzzle «

A list of words is given. To solve the puzzle, think of a single word that goes with each to form a compound word or word pair that functions as a compound word. For example, if the given words are volley, field, and bearing, the the answer would be ball, because the word ball can be added to each of the other words to form volleyball, ball field, and ball bearing. Answers are at the end of blog.

1. theme, trailer, ball

2. thumb, ever, onion

3. hog, board, mouth

» Calendar Information «

☼ February’s Month Long Observances ☼

Birthstone: Amethyst …Flower: Violet and Primrose

Adopt A Rescued Rabbit Month^AMD/Low Vision Awareness Month^American Heart Month^Bake for Family Fun Month^Fabulous Florida Strawberry Month^Grapefruit Month^International Boost Self-Esteem Month^International Expect Success Month^Jobs in Golf Month^Library Lovers Month^Marijuana Awareness Month^National African American History Month^National Bird Feeding Month^National Black History Month^National Care About Your Indoor Air Month^National Cherry Month^National Condom Month^National Children's Dental Health Month^National Laugh-Friendly Month^National Mend A Broken Heart Month^National Parent Leadership Month^National Pet Dental Health Month^National Senior Independence Month^National Time Management Month^Plant the Seeds of Greatness Month^Pull Your Sofa Off The Wall Month^Relationship Wellness Month^Responsible Pet Owner's Month^Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket Month^Spiritual Teachers Month^Spunky Old Broads Month^ Sweet Potato Month^Wise Health Care Consumer Month^ Youth Leadership Month^

☼ Observance Weeks in February ☼

Children's Authors & Illustrators Week: 1-7

National Patient Recognition Week: 1-7

National School Counseling Week: 1-5

Solo Diners Eat Out Weekend: 1-7

Women's Heart Week: 1-7

International Networking Week: 1-5

Intimate Apparel Market Week: 1-4

International Hoof Care Week: 2-5

Boy Scout Anniversary Week: 3-9

International Snow Sculpting Week: 3-6

☼ 2 February Observances—US/UN/World ☼

Alaska: Cordova Ice Worm Day—1898 story much like that of the jackalope or snipes

National Girls & Women in Sports Day

Four Chaplains Memorial Day: Sinking of the Dorchester in 1944 men gave up life jackets to save others

☼2 February Observances—by country ☼

Japan : Bean throwing Festival/Setsubun (last day of lunar calendar winter)

Mozambique: Heroes' Day

Paraguay : Patron's Day/San Blas, patrón

Puerto Rico : Fiesta de San Blas, protector of harvest

☼ Holy Mackerel: On this day in 1990…Jockey Willie Shoemaker raced for the 40,352nd and last time. That is like one race a day for 110+ years.

☼ Born on this day ☼

     » The Arts

Authors, Artists and Composers

Horace Greeley, in 1811, editor ("Go west, young man")

Sidney Clopton Lanier, in 1842 US, composer/poet (Hall of Fame)

Felix Mendelssohn (Bartholdy), in 1809, composer: Wedding March

James A Michener, in 1907, writer (Hawaii, Centennial, …)

Norman Rockwell , in 1894, artist/illustrator (Sat Evening Post covers)

Entertainers in Cinema, Music, Theater, and TV

Shelley Berman, 84, comedian (“Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”)

Joey Bishop [Gottlieb], in 1918, comedian/talk show host

Blythe Danner, 67, actress (Butterflies Are Free, Brighton Beach Memoirs

Morgan Fairchild (Patsy McClenny), 60, actress (“Dallas,” “Falcon Crest,” “Flamingo Road”)

Nathan Lane, 54, actor (Tony for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Producers; The Birdcage)

     »Athletes

Robert Allen (Bob) Griese, 65, sportscaster, Hall of Fame football player (Dolphins)

Francis Asbury (Fran) Tarkenton, 70, Hall of Fame football player(Giants, Vikings)

     »Business, Education, Politics

Charlie "Pretty Boy" Floyd, in 1904, FBI Most Wanted criminal

     »Science/Religion

Arthur Arfons, in 1926, auto racer/designer (Green Monster 1964-536.71 MPH)

Elizabeth Blackwell, in 1821 (England), 1st woman physician

☼Today’s Obits ☼

Belle Starr, in 1889, US female gangster, murdered @ 40

Woodrow Wilson, in 1924, 28th President @ 67

The Day the Music Died in plane crash, in 1959 : The Big Bopper [Jiles Perry Richardson] @ 28, Buddy Holly (Charles Hardin Holly) @ 22, Richie Valens (Richard Valenzuela) @ 17

Nancy Kulp, in 1991, actress (Jane Hathaway-Beverly Hillbillies), @ 69

Audrey Meadows, in 1996, actress (Alice-Honeymooners), @ 69

☼What happened on this day? ☼

     » The Arts

1953…J Fred Muggs, a chimp, becomes a regular on NBC's Today Show

     »Athletics

1876…Albert Spalding with $800 starts sporting goods company, manufacturing 1st official baseball, tennis ball, basketball, golf ball, & football

1948…Dick Button becomes 1st world figure skating champion from US

     »Business, Education, Politics

1690…1st paper money in America issued (colony of Massachusetts)

1740…Charles de Bourbon, King of Naples, invites Jews to return to Sicily 1783 Spain recognizes US independence

1847…General Sterling Price reaches the fortified TAOS Pueblo. Cannonade proves unfruitful, so Price retreats to the city of Taos.

1864…Sherman's march through Georgia

1870…15th Amendment (Black suffrage) passed

1882…Circus owner PT Barnum buys his world famous elephant Jumbo

1913…16th Amendment, federal income tax, ratified

1930…Vietnamese Communist Party forms

1947…1st black reporter in Congressional press gallery (Percival Prattis)

1962…President Kennedy bans all trade with Cuba except for food & medicine

1966…1st soft landing on the Moon (Soviet Luna 9)

1973…President Nixon signs Endangered Species Act into law

     »Science/Religion

1815…World's 1st commercial cheese factory established, in Switzerland

1918…Twin Peaks Tunnel longest (11,920') streetcar tunnel begins service

1947…Snag, Yukon records the lowest temperature for North America of −63 °C (−81.4 °F).

1953…The well known oceanographer Jacques Cousteau’s last and most famous book The Silent World is published.

1984…1st baby conceived by embryo transplant born in Long Beach CA

1986…The Pope meets Mother Teresa, and visited her refuge for the sick and dying

» Number One Songs in…

1946…Let It Snow - Vaughn Monroe

1954…Oh! My Pa-Pa - Eddie Fisher

1962…Peppermint Twist - Joey Dee & The Starliters

1970…Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin

1978…Stayin’ Alive - Bee Gees

» ANSWERS to puzzle «

1. PARK: theme park, trailer park, ballpark

2. GREEN: green thumb, evergreen, green onion

3. WASH: hogwash, washboard, mouthwash