Mar 12

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Today’s  Historical  Highlights

1622 - Ignatius of Loyola declared a saint

1755 - 1st steam engine in America installed, to pump water from a mine

1868 - Congress abolishes manufacturer's tax

1884 - Mississippi establishes 1st US state college for women

1933 - FDR conducts his 1st "fireside chat"

1945 - NY is 1st to prohibit discrimination by race & creed in employment

1964 - Malcolm X resigns from Nation of Islam

1970 - US lowers voting age from 21 to 18

2003 - Zoran Đinđić, Prime Minister of Serbia, is assassinated in Belgrade

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪                     

 

Free Rambling Thoughts   

A tad windy with lots of sunshine… We had a great discussion last night. Ever wonder who owns the internet? Well it seems the answer is nobody, everybody, anybody.  The discussion centered around how guidelines, rules, regulations can be placed on it. Since it is global, culture has to play a role in anything that changes the entire Internet. Then one has to look at various governments—theocracy, monarchy, democracy, a combination of varying degrees of each. How does one describe ‘pornography’ beyond ‘I know it when I see it’. In the US the baring of female breasts and/or male or female genitals is considered soft core porn, but in Islamic countries, showing a post puberty woman’s hair, arms or legs is forbidden. Paintings of Jesus are OK for most, but pictures of Mohammad are forbidden. Some countries do not want their population to learn about the world, others think it is necessary. Some countries don’t want ‘hate’ against a group of people available. Then, there is the cyber security issue…is it OK for some governments to pay for programs that might destroy Iranian reactors to stop them from getting an atomic bomb but not OK for others to pay for programs that destroy power grids of their enemies? We discussed the issue of a cyber attack on America. How would everyday Americans get anything from power, to money, to food, to water. When the power goes out, very few business, if any, can serve customers…this includes grocery stores, gas stations, banks, and just about everything else. The Feds have a plan if there is a major cyber attack on our systems…shut down everything at once…and within two weeks to six weeks, slowly bring everything back on line with clean computers. Of course there are many safeguards to prevent any large scale cyber attack…and most of us sure hope they work. Finally we discussed various groups that hack corporate and government computer systems for information they can make public—everything from ‘secret’ memos and deals to personal information. It was a lively discussion to say the least.

I watched Game Change today. Interesting. Reminded me of the ’08 election. Guess the Republicans have as much right to fight it out this year as the Dems did back then. One difference is that in ’08 we knew we were getting a new president, no matter which party won.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

This puzzle involves meditation. Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase that starts with the initials "O-M." For example: protection for the hand while cooking? Answer: oven mitt.

1.      Kid’s card game:

2.      What you should maintain while considering a new idea:

3.      Big name in hot dogs and lunch meats:

4.      A fruity preserve you might put on toast:

5.      It might propel a boat carrying a water skier:

6.      Chain of peaks in Arkansas and Missouri:

7.      Supervisor for secretaries and administrative assistants:

8.      Nickname for a southern University:

9.      What a conservative jurist looks to in the constitution to decide cases:

10.   NBA team that Shaq first played for:

11.   Cry equivalent to ‘good Heavens’:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance     

Planet Earth—Mayan

Found on You Tube         

"R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE"

Harper’s Index         

Percentage of unemployed people in the US who are covered by primary unemployment insurance: ¼

Joke-of-the-day

Peter called his doctor’s office for an appointment. “I’m sorry,” said the receptionist, “we can’t fit you in for at least two weeks.” “But I could be dead by then!” “No problem. If your wife lets us know, we’ll cancel the appointment.”

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

If you see a school of porpoise, the water is free from sharks.

Somewhat Useless Information    

A molecule is the smallest unit of a substance that retains the properties of that substance.

Neutrons are particles with no charge. Protons are particles with a positive charge, and electrons are particles with a negative charge.

"Buckyballs" are microscopic spheres of 60 atoms of pure carbon in a spherelike structure that resembles a geodosic dome. Also called fullerenes or buckminsterfullerenes, they were named after R. Buckminster Fuller who invented the geodosic dome. 

Buckyballs are of great interest to scientists because they contain a cavity large enough to hold other elements, even whole molecules. Once an element has been deposited into the cavity, it cannot emerge without being heated to high temperatures. This technology may someday be used to deliver medication to specific locations within the body.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 

OXFORD, England - Residents of a British town said they are rolling their eyes after workers misspelled the word "school" on the road outside an elementary school. Parents dropping their children off at Wolvercote Primary School in Oxford, England, Thursday said they noticed the crews who replaced the tarmac Wednesday after performing cable work under the road had written "schoul" on the road instead of "school," The Sun reported Thursday. "How embarrassing," said Annalie Cox, who has an 11-year-old and a 6-year-old at Wolvercote. "I hope that by the time my children leave this school they will be able to spell such basic words." An Oxfordshire County Council spokesman said contractors are believed to be behind the error.

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                                                                      

Genealogy Day

Girl Scout Birthday Day--1912

Alfred Hitchcock Day

International Fanny Pack Day

Napping Day 

Gabon: National Day

Lesotho:  Moshoeshoe's Day (commemorate the death of the country’s founder-1870)
Mauritius:  Independence Day (1968 from UK)

Spain: Fiesta de las Fallas (Las Fallas literally means "the fires" in Valencian. The focus of the fiesta is the creation and destruction of ninots (“puppets” or “dolls”), which are huge cardboard, wood, paper-machè and plaster statues. The ninots are extremely lifelike and usually depict bawdy, satirical scenes and current events.)

Today’s Other Events                                                             

1300’s

1350 - Orvieto city says it will behead & burn Jewish-Christian couples

1400’s

1496 - Jews are expelled from Syria 1609 - Bermuda becomes an English colony

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1600’s

1619 - Dutch settlement on Java changes name to Batavia

1664 - 1st naturalization act in American colonies

1700’s

1737 - Galileo's body moved to Church of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy

1800’s

1850 - 1st US $20 gold piece issued

1858: The Ponca sign a treaty (12 stat.997) on this date which grants them a permanent home on the Niobrara River, and protection from their enemies, both white and Indians. For these privileges, the Ponca give up a part of their ancestral lands. Unfortunately, several years later, a mistake by a government bureaucrat will force them to share land with the Sioux.

1900’s

1930 - Mohandas Gandhi begins 200m (300km) march protesting British salt tax

1938 - Nazi Germany invades Austria 

1947 - Pres Truman introduces Truman-doctrine to fight communism

1959 - US House joins Senate approving Hawaii statehood

1969 - 11th Grammy Awards: Mrs Robinson, By the Time I Get to Phoenix wins

1977 - Sadat pledges to regain Arab territory from Israel

1980 - Jury finds John Wayne Gacy guilty of murdering 33 in Chicago

1984 - British ice dancing team, Torvill & Dean, become 1st skaters to receive 9 perfect 6.0s in world championships

1989 - 2 cyanide-contaminated Chilean grapes found (Philadelphia)

1999 - Former Warsaw Pact members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland join NATO

2000’s

2003 - Elizabeth Smart, was found after having been missing for 9 months

2011 - A reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant melts and explodes and releases radioactivity into the atmosphere a day after Japan's earthquake

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 80’s

Edward Albee, playwright (Virgina Woolfe, Zoo Story) is 84

Andrew Young, US ambassador to UN (1977-79)/(Mayor-D-Atlanta) is 80

In their 70’s

Barbara Feldon, actor: Agent 99 - Get Smart is 71

Salvatore "the Bull" Gravano, mobster (testified against Gotti) is 70

Johnny Rutherford, auto racer (26 championship races) is 74

In their 60’s

Liza Minnelli, singer and actor is 66

Mitt Romney, 70th Governor of Massachusetts is 65

Jon Provost, actor (Timmy-Lassie) is 62

James Taylor, vocalist/guitarist (Up on the Roof) is 64

In their 50’s

Darryl Strawberry, LA California, baseball right fielder (Mets, Dodgers, Yankees) is 50

Remembered for being born on this day

George Berkeley, Ireland, philosopher/bishop of Cloyne in 1685

Jane Delano, US, nurse/teacher/founder (Red Cross) in 1862

Tony "Two-Ton" Galento, Orange NJ, boxer/actor (On the Waterfront) in 1910

Jack Kerouac, Beat writer (On the Road, Mexico Blues) in 1922

George W. Mason, American industrialist in 1891

Gordon MacRae, singer/actor (Oklahoma, Carousel) in 1921

William Perkin, inventor (1st artificial dye) in 1838

Walter M Schirra Jr, Capt USN/ast (Mer 8, Gem 6, Ap 7) in 1923

Richard Steele, Irish writer and politician in 1672

Clement Studebaker, automobile pioneer (Studebaker) in 1831

Today’s Obits                                                           

Anne Frank, diarist (Diary of Anne Frank), killed in Belsen Camp at 15 in 1945

Gregory I the Great, Pope (590-604), dies at 64 in 604

Innocent I, Italian Pope (401-417), dies in 417

Charlie "Bird" Parker, US jazz saxophonist, dies of cirrhosis at 34 in 1955

Cherokee Chief Tahchee (Captain William Dutch) dies in 1848

Throughout his life, one of the original groups of Cherokee to move west of the Mississippi river, a major political force in the "old settler party". He fought many fights with the Osage who leaved near the Cherokee. Eventually, he would become a scout for the U.S. Army, where he reached the rank of Captain

George Westinghouse, US engineer (Westinghouse Electric), dies at 67 in 1914

Sun Yat-Sen (孫文) , Chinese revolutionary president, dies of liver cancer at 58 in 1925

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.      Kid’s card game:

a.      Old Maid

2.      What you should maintain while considering a new idea:

a.      Open mind

3.      Big name in hot dogs and lunch meats:

a.      Oscar Mayer

4.      A fruity preserve you might put on toast:

a.      orange marmalade

5.      It might propel a boat carrying a water skier:

a.      outboard motor

6.      Chain of peaks in Arkansas and Missouri:

a.       Ozark Mountains

7.      Supervisor for secretaries and administrative assistants:

a.      Office manager

8.      Nickname for a southern University:

a.      Ole Miss

9.      What a conservative jurist looks to in the constitution to decide cases:

a.      original meaning

10.   NBA team that Shaq first played for:

a.      Orlando Magic

11.   Cry equivalent to ‘good Heavens’:

a.      Oh my

Wuzzle

• Raised eyebrows
• Stayed right around home
• Worry over nothing

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  ☺