3-22-11 Tuesday

TODAY’s HOLY MACKEREL: 1997 Comet Hale-Bopp Closest Approach to Earth (1.315 AU) 

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MY FREE RAMBLING THOUGHTS

Yep, the weatherman was right…been snowing most of the day. I have a good 2” on the ground. Thankfully, it has been ‘warm’ enough that the roads are just wet. Of course, I-17, I-40 and 89S have been closed several times today due to accidents. So many drivers will just not slow down. I went to Sam’s about 11am to get gas and pick up a few essentials. A little chilly when I was doing gas, but that gas was 20 cents/gal cheaper than other places in Flag, so a little cold doesn’t hurt that much. The snow wasn’t sticking at that time, so the trip was easy and quick.

Way back in 1887 Lord Acton made the now famous quote “Power corrupts…”. When Bush II sent troops into Afghanistan, many senators, including Mr. Obama, declared that the president had to have congressional approval before he could send in troops. Bush II disagreed. Since we are still in Afghanistan, I guess Bush II won. Well now Obama has authorized bombs in Libya. And now that he has the ‘power’ he says the President has the authority to do this. Hmmmm

I heard a very interesting discussion on NPR today. The topic was how is Congress different in 2011 that it was fifty years ago? The discussion was that from WWII until 2000, Representative and Senators worked together to get things done. Most major bills had bipartisan support. Some passed, some didn’t. Bipartisan support brought us the interstate highway program, the Peace Corps, Medicare, and hundreds of other programs, the Dept. of Education, The Department Veterans Affairs, and several others. Many of these programs and Departments were set up for the betterment of the human condition of Americans. Then in 2000, with a new century, change in Congress hit full speed. Almost overnight Congress became about power of the party. Very few bills passed with bipartisan support. The phrase ‘voting along party lines…’ is now in most newscasts about bills in Congress. It would be OK, I guess, if there had been any big, long term, new programs had been passed since 2000. We so now have the Dept. of Homeland Security as a reactive measure to 9/11. We have Obamacare, which is still being cried about in Congress, with several representatives and senators being elected with the promise to abolish it. So, it is no wonder that so many American’s are confused. We have never seen this many years of bickering. It has happened before in our history, but that was in the mid to late 1800’s. Yeah, when we had a Civil War to figure out our direction. Back then, the answer to change was the ‘Know Nothing Party’. In 1856 Millard Fillmore--a Whig when elected President--changed parties and joined the Know Nothings. James Buchanan-D, beat Fillmore and John Fremont-R. The Know Nothings were anti-Catholic, anti-Irish, anti-immigration, and pro-slavery. Sure sounds like the current Tea-Party on certain issues.

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DID YOU KNOW THAT…
  Head to the kitchen the next time you need to fix unsightly marks on your wood tables or chairs. Steep 2 tbs. ground coffee in 1/2 cup boiling water for 5 minutes; cool. Dip a soft cloth into the liquid and rub into the nicks. The

tannins in the coffee act as a dye to darken scratches so they blend in.

>Baking Soda can be used for many jobs around the house, scrubbing sinks, 

bath tub, stove, refrigerator and laundry. It leaves everything smelling nice and cleans just as good as any cleanser without scratching enamel.

>Cleaning fish tanks: rub the inside of the fish tanks with salt to remove hard deposits, then rinse well before returning the fish to the tank. Use only plain, not iodized, salt.

SOMEWHAT USELESS INFORMATION…

The only primate to hibernate is the pygmy mouse lemur (Microcebus myoxinus) of Madagascar, discovered in 1994. It weighs just over an ounce, is extremely promiscuous (its testicles are bigger than its brain) and falls asleep at the drop of hat. During the winter it hibernates properly, feeding itself on fat stored in its tail.

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Roughly half of all hibernating hedgehogs fail to reach the spring. Some female bats wake up to discover they are pregnant, having been impregnated in their sleep.

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Technically, bears don’t hibernate as their body temperature doesn’t drop much: instead they fall into a "torpor." On the other hand, they are the only mammals that don’t need to break their sleep. Their bodies recycle their urine into protein and before they settle down for the winter.

PUZZLE:   Trivia Quiz […answers at bottom…] GEOGRAPHY

1. What is the smallest state of Australia?
2. What do Armenia, Georgia, Latvia and Moldavia have in common?
3. What do Catalonia, Andalusia, Cantabri and Galicia have in common?
4. In which country is Mount Aspiring National Park?
5. What is the largest state in the USA?
6. What is the longest river in Italy?
7. What is France's longest river?
8. What is the world deepest lake?
9. Where would you find the Meander River?
10. Caligari is the capital of what island?

UNUSUAL NEWS ITEM:

SAN ANTONIO — A Taco Bell customer enraged that the seven burritos he ordered had gone up in price fired a BB gun at an employee and later fired an assault rifle at officers before barricading himself in a motel room, police said.
As the restaurant's employees and customers hit the floor Sunday, the manager called police and, when officers arrived, the angry patron fired several shots at the police cars, San Antonio Police Sgt. Chris Benavides said.
The man then barricaded himself inside a nearby motel room, sparking a three-hour standoff that ended when police lobbed tear gas inside and the man surrendered.
No one was hurt in the incident.
Store manager Brian Tillerson told the San Antonio Express News that the man "pointed a gun at me, and he fired it. I leaned to the side and there was a pop but nothing happened.”
Police later found a BB, he added, and the following five minutes "were pretty crazy."
The man left and Tillerson saw him put an assault rifle and a handgun on the roof of his car. Fearing he'd return, customers and employees looked for cover as Tillerson locked the doors and called police.

A LITTLE LAUGH:

[Some very funny spelling bloopers caught in local newspapers, publications and various emails.]
> "...an autopsy to determine if the elderly man lost courteousness for medical reasons." (Trenton, N.J.)
> "[An NBA coach] will take charge of a young team still in the throws of a roster overhaul." (Vernon, Conn.)
> "'It's pretty exciting,' according to his material grandmother." (Potsdam, N.Y.)
> "The MCCC fight team won 21 out of 32 awards and brought home nine metals." Including the gold? (Trenton, N.J.)
> "McNabb...exasperated the injury attempting to chase down Dallas Cowboys safety Roy Williams." (Trenton, N.J.)

Top 10 In The World:

CLOSEUP PICTURE: Can you identify this close up picture?

FOUND ON ‘YOU TUBE’: Indira Gandhi Interview 1971

♫ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ♫ Genesis

Click on Song Title to see and hear it.
♪… The Knife

♪… Land of Confusion

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DAYBOOK INFORMATION

►THIS WEEK◄
20-26►  American Chocolate Week  ♣  Consider Christianity Week  ♣  National Agriculture Week  ♣  National Animal Poison Prevention Week  ♣  National Inhalant and Poisons Awareness Week  ♣  National Poison Prevention Week  ♣  Act Happy Week  ♣
21-27► Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Week  ♣  Week of Solidarity with People's Struggling Against Racism & Discrimination  ♣   World Folk Tales & Fables Week  ♣  ‘Wellderly’ Week   (for elderly who don’t act their age)  ♣  Yo-Yo and Skill Toys Week  ♣
►TODAY IS◄
American Diabetes Association Alert Day
As Young As You Feel Day
International Day of The Seal
National Goof-off Day
World Day for Water (aka World Water Day)
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
Jordan, Lebanon: Arab League Day (1945) 
US: Puerto Rico: Emancipation Day (1873) 

■…AUTHORS/COMPOSERS/ARTISTS
1902 Ellin Berlin [MacKay] Mrs Irving Berlin, writer (Lace Curtain) 
James Patterson, 64, author (Kiss the Girls, Along Came a Spider)
Stephen Sondheim, 81, composer (A Little Night Music)
1599 Sir Anthony Van Dyck Flemish painter (Charles I of England) 
■…ATHLETES
Robert Quinlan (Bob) Costas, 59, sportscaster
■…BUSINESS & EDUCATION
--
■…ENTERTAINERS (ACTORS/SINGERS)
George Benson, 68, singer, guitarist
1887 Chico [Leonard] Marx comedian
1912 Karl Malden (Mladen Sekulovich) actor: Streets of San Francisco, Streetcar Named Desire, The Sting, How the West was Won, On the Waterfront
1923 Marcel Marceau (Mangel) mime
1920 Ross Martin (Martin Rosenblatt) actor: The Wild Wild West, Dying Room Only
Matthew Modine, 52, actor (Full Metal Jacket, “And the Band Played On”)
William Shatner, 80, actor (“Star Trek,” “Boston Legal”), author (Tek novels)
Andrew Lloyd Webber, 63, composer (Cats, Phantom of the Opera)
Reese Witherspoon, 35, actress
■…POLITICIANS
1797 Kaiser Wilhelm I German emperor (1871-88) 
■…SCIENCE & RELIGION
1868 Robert A Millikan US physicist (photoelectric effect; Nobel 1923) 
Pat Robertson, 81, television evangelist

Today’s Obits:
1777 John Bartram father of American botany, @ 77 
1931 Ban Johnson founder of baseball's American League, @ 67 
1978 Karl Wallenda falls to death walking high-wire in Puerto Rico, @ 73 

Today’s Events:

■…ARTS
1978 Robert Frost Plaza, Drumm & Market, San Francisco CA, dedicated 
■…ATHLETICS
1997 Tara Lipinski, age 14 years and 10 months, becomes the youngest champion women's World Figure Skating Champion.
■…BUSINESS & EDUCATION
1630 The first legislation to prohibit gambling was enacted -- in Boston  1733 Joseph Priestly invents carbonated water (seltzer) 
1841 Cornstarch patented (Orlando Jones) 
■…INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
1622 1st Indian (Powhattan) massacre of whites, Jamestown VA; 347 slain 
1621 Massasoit, Quadequina, Samoset, Squanto, and 60 warriors visit the Plymouth colony with great ceremony. They will freely give lands to the pilgrims
■…POLITICS (International)
1943 Dutch work week extended to 54 hour 
1977 Indira Gandhi resigns as Prime Minister of India 
1994 South African Government/ANC take power in Ciskei homeland 
■…POLITICS (US)
1872 Illinois becomes 1st state to require sexual equality in employment 
■…SCIENCE & RELIGION
1457 Gutenberg Bible became the 1st printed book 
1822 New York Horticultural Society founded 
1903 Niagara Falls runs out of water because of a drought 
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ANSWERS:
Quiz
1. What is the smallest state of Australia?
Tasmania
2. What do Armenia, Georgia, Latvia and Moldavia have in common?
USSR
3. What do Catalonia, Andalusia, Cantabri and Galicia have in common?
Regions of Spain
4. In which country is Mount Aspiring National Park?
New Zealand (South Island)
5. What is the largest state in the USA?
Alaska
6. What is the longest river in Italy?
Po
7. What is France's longest river?
Loire
8. What is the world deepest lake?
Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia. The Olkhon Crevice, the deepest point of the
lake, has a depth of 5,370 ft
9. Where would you find the Meander River?
Turkey
10. Caligari is the capital of what island?
Sardinia 
Close Up Picture
Red Onion

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