Jan 14, 2012

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

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

• 1699 - Massachusetts holds day of fasting for wrongly persecuting "witches"
• 1873 - "Celluloid" registered as a trademark
• 1949 - Black/Indian race rebellion in Durban, South Africa; 142 die
• 1990 - "Simpsons" premiered on Fox-TV

♫Happy Birthday To: ♫                     

 

Free Rambling Thoughts   

The last couple of days have been chilly. Yesterday I was in a long sleeve shirt…not enough. Today I broke out a corduroy jacket…perfect. Standing at the gas pump I was really glad I had it on. The wind was very chilly. In Merida and surrounding small towns with gas stations, they still have somebody to fill the tank, and another guy to take your dinero. In the small towns, it cuts down on unemployment.

Made it through Friday the 13^th intact. Kept my eye out for Jason, ladders, and black cats. Didn’t see any. Good day.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

• Using your mind to solve puzzles keeps it active and keeps you young.  Or so I’m told.

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

Note: I must be more tired than I thot…sorry for posting the answers here for the past few days.

Every answer consists of two things in the same category that start with the same pair of consonants. You are given rhymes for the items. For example, given "mean" and "way," the answer would be "green" and "gray." ("Green" and "gray" are both colors and start with the same pair of consonants, G-R.)

1.     Lift, follow: HINT: verbs:

2.     Myna, bad: HINT: countries:

3.     House, taser: HINT: clothing:

4.     Bolder, fin: HINT: body parts:

5.     Picket bouquet:HINT: games:

6.     Waiting being: HINT: winter:

7.     Teacher, feast:

8.     Mess, deckers: HINT:games:

9.     Luck, factor: HINT:farm:

10.  Gas, cons: HINT:alloys:

11.  See, buckle: HINT: joints:

12.  Men, bite: HINT: architects:

Bigot, later

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance      

AZ Centennial is in 31 days: Did you know?…

Found on You Tube         

"Tim Tebow's Fire" by John Parr (St. Elmo's Fire remake)

JOHN PARR - ST ELMO'S FIRE (original-1985)

Harper’s Index         

• Percentage of Americans who say they didn’t always have enough money to buy food last year: 18.2

Joke-of-the-day

If you had purchased $1,000 of AIG stock one year ago, you would have $42 left. With Lehman, you would have $6.60 left. With Fannie or Freddie, you would have less than $5 left But if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all of the beer, then turn in the cans for the aluminum recycling Refund, you would have had $214. Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle. It’s called the 401-Keg…..

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

• There is nothing more expensive than a cheap paint brush. The added coverage you'll get from the first two gallons of paint will easily make up the difference in cost. Plus you get to enjoy using a fine tool!

Somewhat Useless Information   

• All owls have upright posture and forward-facing eyes that give them binocular vision, just like humans.
• Many owl species have asymmetrical ears that are different sizes and different heights on their heads. This gives the birds superior hearing and the ability to pinpoint where prey is located, even if they can't see it.
• Several owl species have "ear" tufts on their heads but they aren't ears at all. These tufts of feathers may indicate the bird's mood, help keep it camouflaged or be used to show aggression.
• The flattened facial disk of an owl funnels sound to the bird's ears and magnifies it as much as ten times to help the bird hear noises humans can't detect.
• An owl's eyes are supported by bony eye sockets and they cannot turn their eyes. Instead, owls rotate their heads up to 270 degrees, but they cannot turn their heads all the way around. 
• Owls have specialized feathers with fringes of varying softness the help muffle sound when they fly. Their broad wings and light bodies also make them nearly silent fliers, which helps them stalk prey more easily.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 

HUTCHINSON ISLAND, Fla. - Florida authorities said a man who stole two golf carts told deputies he took the second cart because it was illegal for the keys to be left in the ignition.

The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office said Tyler Tolle, 25, took a golf cart from a Hutchinson Island home Monday and stole a second cart when the first vehicle ran out of gas, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Friday. Tolle, who was arrested when the owner of the golf cart spotted him driving it, told deputies he would return the cart "when he got back from the store." Deputies said Tolle also said he took the second golf cart because it was illegal for the owner to have left the keys in the ignition.

Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

8-14

• Universal Letter Writing Week
• Home Office Safety and Security Week
• National Vocation Awareness Week

10-13

• International Consumers Electronics Show

11-17

• Cuckoo Dancing Week
• National No-Tillage Week Conference
• National Soccer Coaches of America Week
• International Snowmobile Safety and Awareness Week

Today Is                                                                      

Caesarean Section Day
Miss America PageantNational Dress Up Your Pet Day
Organize Your Home DayRatification Day [1784: ratified Treaty of Paris and made US a foreign  entity, ended Revolutionary War]

Today’s Other Events                                                             

1100’s

1129 - Formal approval of the Order of the Templar at the Council of Troyes

1600’s

1601 - Church authorities burn Hebrew books in Rome

1690 - Clarinet invented, in Nurnberg, Germany

1700’s

1746 - Bonnie Prince Charlie's army leaves Glasgow 

1799 - Eli Whitney receives government contract for 10,000 muskets

1800’s

1833 - Reverend Samuel Worcester is a missionary to the Cherokee Nation in Georgia. The state of Georgia ordered all whites living with Indians to swear allegiance to the state of Georgia. Reverend Worcester refuses to do so. On September 16, 1831, Reverend Worcester was sentenced to 4 years at hard labor in a Georgia prison. Even though the Supreme Court rules that it is unconstitutional for Georgia to jail Reverend Worcester, he will not be released until today.

1847 - Conspiracy in New Mexico against US

1879: Dull Knife's Cheyenne escapees from Fort Robinson, have fortified a position 20 miles from the fort, in northwestern Nebraska. They, again, fight with troops, who use artillery. The artillery is ineffectual, and the Indians escape in the night. The Army estimates their numbers at 45, including 19 warriors. Cheyenne captured on January 22, 1879, will say Dull Knife was probably killed during this fight.

1900’s

1907 - An earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica kills more than 1,000

1914 - Henry Ford introduces assembly line, for T-Fords

1932 - 1st totalisator (to record racetrack bets) in US installed, Hialeah

1953 - Yugoslavia elects it's 1st president (Marshal Tito)

1960 - US Army promoted Elvis Presley to Sergeant

1967 - 20,000 attend Human Be-In, SF

1968 - Superbowl II: Green Bay Packers beat Oakland Raiders, 33-14 in Miami MVP: Bart Starr

1987 - Catfish Hunter & Billy Williams are elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

1989 - 1,000 Muslims burn Salman Rushdie’s "Satanic Verses" in Bradford England

1995 - 10,000s South Africans attend state funeral of Joe Slovo

1998 - Researchers in Dallas, Texas present findings about an enzyme that slows aging and cell death (apoptosis)

2000’s

2004 - The national flag of Georgia, the so-called "five cross flag", was restored to official use after a hiatus of some 500 years

2011 - Ben Ali, former Tunisian president, fled the country to Saudi Arabia after popular protests (dubbed as Jasmine Revolution) requesting his departure

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 40’s

Jason Bateman, actor is 43

Matt Brock, NFL defensive end/tackle (NY Jets) is 46

L L Cool J, [James Todd Smith], St Albans NY, rapper (Bigger & Deffer) is 44

Shepard Smith, Fox news anchor is 48

In their 60’s
Sydney Biddle Barrow, madam/autohr (Mayflower Madam) is 60

Holland Taylor, actress (Bossom Buddies, Camilla-Naked Truth) is 69

Carl Weathers, actor (Apollo Cree of Rocky) is 64

In their 70’s

Julian Bond, (D-Ga) civil rights leader is 72

Faye Dunaway, actor is 71

Jack Jones, singer (Love Boat Theme) is 74

Remembered for being born on this day
Benedict Arnold, US general turned traitor (Revolutionary War) in 1741

William Bendix, actor (Lifeboat, Babe Ruth Story, Life of Riley) in 1906

Mark Goodson, American game show producer in 1915

Andy Rooney, CBS news correspondent (60 Minutes) in 1919

Albert Schweitzer, doctor/humanitarian/organist (Nobel 1954) in 1875

Jean-Baptiste Vanloo, French painter in 1684

Guy Williams, actor (Zorro, Lost in Space) in 1924

Today’s Obits                                                           

Humphrey Bogart, actor (Casablanca, Caine Mutiny), dies of esophageal cancer at 57 in 1957

Lewis Carroll, writer (Alice in Wonderland), dies of flu at 65 in 1898

John Francis Dodge, American automobile pioneer dies of Spanish Flu at 55 in 1920

Peter Finch, actor (Network, Nun's Story, Judith), dies of heart attack at 60 in 1970

Edmond Halley, English scientist dies at 86 in 1742

Ray Kroc, founder of MacDonalds/owner San Diego Padres, dies at 81 in 1984

Ricardo Montalbán, Mexican actor dies at 89 in 2009

Donna Reed, actress (Donna Reed Show, Dallas), dies of cancer at 64 in 1986

Blossom Rock, actress (Grandmamma-Addams Family), dies at 81 in 1978

Shelly Winters, actress (A Place in the Sun, A Patch of Blue & Poseidon Adventure) dies at 85 in 2006

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game

 NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.     Lift, follow: verbs: swift, , swallow

2.     Myna, bad: countries: China, Chad

3.     House, taser: clothing: blouse, blazer

4.     Bolder, finn: body parts: shoulder chin

5.     Picket bouquet: games: cricket, croquet

6.     Waiting being: winter: skating, skiing

7.     Teacher, feast: preacher, priest

8.     Mess, deckers: games: chess, checkers

9.     Luck, factor: farm: truck, tractor

10.  Gas, cons: alloys: brass, bronze

11.  See, buckle: joints: knee, knuckle

12.  Men, bite: architects: wren wright

13.  Bigot, later: ships: frigate, freighter

Wuzzle

• Flowery
• Center field
• Extra special

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  ☺