Apr 13

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♪Happy Birthday To: ♪ 

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

1829 - English Emancipation Act grants freedom of religion to Catholics

1860 - 1st Pony Express reaches Sacramento CA

1882 - Anti-Semitic League forms in Prussia

1883 - Alfred Packer convicted of cannibalism1902 - J C Penney opens his 1st store in Kemmerer, WY

1940 - Cornelious Warmerdam became 1st man to pole vault 15 ft

1954 - Robert Oppenheimer accused of being a communist

1958 - Van Cliburn is the first American to win the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow

1970 - Apollo 13 announces "Houston, we've got a problem!" as Beech-built oxygen tank explodes en route to Moon

1976 - $2 bill re-introduced as US currency issuing $2 bicentennial notes

 

Free Rambling Thoughts   

Another windy day here in Flg, without precipitation. Darn. Cheryl and I had lunch at a ‘new’ restaurant. It opened a few months ago as ‘Ponderosa’…after our trees in the National Forest. Today it’s now ‘Northern Pines’. Same good lunch…still locally owned. We asked the owner why the name change, since it just opened a few months ago. Turns out the chain ‘Ponderosa’ told them to join up or change the name. They go all new signs, and the new name. Lots of bucks, I’m sure, since they have a huge roof sign, and etchings on the four windows in the doors. Anyway, still great food. 

Cheryl is still getting ready for her surgery. Looking for a rehab center, rather than a hotel, since the insurance will pay for minimal care, which is what she needs. Problem is neither the Phx doctor nor anyone else she called has any suggestions…strange. She tried to google it, but only found lots of drug rehab. She doesn’t really need medical care, just someone to prepare food. Her son is coming out to take her from Williams to the surgery, then coming back to take her back to Williams. She says she hates to bother him, but I reassured her that sons like to help out moms.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game—A close up picture of what?

NPR Sunday Puzzle

Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name, in which the first word starts with "PA" and the second word ends in "N." For example, if the clue is, "namesake of a popular pizzeria chain," the answer would be, "Papa John," because it starts with "PA" and ends in an "N."

1.     Body of water along the west coast:

2.     Socialite and Hotel Heiress:

3.     Once the most common bird in N. America, it became extinct in 1914:

4.     Fictional lumberjack famous in tall tales:

5.     1^st lady after Lady Bird Johnson:

6.     When police arrest a lot of people, what they take them away in:

7.     Container at a Benjamin Moore or Sherman Williams store:

8.     Actress and sex star who was on ‘Baywatch’:

9.     1973 film starring Ryan and Tatum O’Neal:

10.  Writing instrument that competes with Shafer and Cross:

11.  Arcade game with chomping colored dots:

12.  What a meter maid gives a ticket for:

13.  Listen Up!:

Riddle of the day

I am that which is hunted, and this panes me. Do you dig, Stone? What am I?

Hint: the Flintstones

Anagram: unscramble—numbers represent the number of letters in each answer word

Lifestyle  Substance     

Harper’s Index         

Portion of the ‘Millennial Generation’ that is ‘absolutely certain’ that God exists: 2/3

Found on You Tube

Eudora Welty's "A Worn Path" 

Planet Earth—

Joke-of-the-day

A young man studying in a college abroad sent this SMS to his father: Dear dad, no mon, no fun, your son. The father replied: Dear son, too bad, so sad, your dad.

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

Rub linseed oil into new woodwork once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year, and once a year from then on.

Yeah, It Really Happened

DUSSELDORF, Germany - German police said a 72-year-old man who allowed his 9-year-old granddaughter to ride in the trunk of his car forgot she was there and went for a walk. The man told police his granddaughter had asked to ride in the trunk of his car on the way to Sorpe Lake in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and when he arrived at the lake he was so distracted by the scenery that he forgot she was in the vehicle and went for a walk, The Local reported Tuesday. A police spokesman said passersby heard the girl pounding and calling for help from inside the trunk and summoned officers, who were able to open the trunk with the help of firefighters. The spokesman said the grandfather was "visibly affected by the whole situation" when he returned to the car and realized what had happened. The man was given a warning and promised not to let anyone ride in his trunk in the future.

Somewhat Useless Information   

Not only is the ostrich egg the largest in the world, it is also the toughest egg. It can withstand a person weighing slightly over 253 pounds.

The least amount of spider eggs is laid by the Oonops domesticus, a tiny pink spider living in the walls of European homes. It only lays two eggs.

The older an egg is, the easier it is to peel once it is hard-boiled. After cooking your eggs, you should also run it under cold water to chill the shell and keep it under the water while you peel it. It makes the shell come off more easily and prevents the greenish tinge from foaming around the yoke.

Generally, fresh eggs will lie on the bottom of the bowl of water. Eggs that tilt so that the large end is up are older. The tilting is caused by air pockets in the eggs that increase over time as fluid evaporates through the porous shell and oxygen and gases filter in. A rotten egg will actually float in the water and should not be eaten.

Some hens will actually lay double-yolked eggs as the result of unsynchronized production cycles. A double-yolked egg will be longer and thinner than an ordinary single-yolk egg.

Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines, Cambodia, and Vietnam, enjoy balut, which is a fertilized duck (or chicken) egg with a nearly developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in the shell...with a little salt. It is high in protein and is reputed to be an aphrodisiac.

Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

7-15

National Robotics Week
Passover Week
Bat Appreciation Week
National Library Week
National Networking Week
Orthodox Holy Week
Pan American Week
Consider Christianity Week

10-16  

Health Information Privacy and Security Week

National Animal Control Appreciation Week

Today Is                                                                      

Blame Somebody Else Day

Scrabble Day

Thomas Jefferson Day

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Sri Lanka: Sinhala and Tamil New Year

Today’s Other Events                                                             

Before 1000CE

837 - Best view of Halley's Comet in 2000 years

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1200’s

1250 - The Seventh Crusade is defeated in Egypt, Louis IX of France is captured

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1500’s

1556 - Portuguese Marranos who revert back to Judaism burned by order of Pope

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1700’s

1742 - George Frederic Handel's "Messiah" performed for 1st time (Dublin)

1796 - 1st elephant arrives in US from India

1800’s

1846 - The 2 Cherokee factions (old settlers and new emigrants) continue to feud over who has legal control of the Cherokee Nation. Based on appeals from the old settlers and the agreement of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, President James Polk asks Congress to approve the creation of separate reservations for the two sides.

1869 - Steam power brake patented (George Westinghouse)

1900’s

1904 - Congress authorizes Lewis & Clark Expo $1 gold coin

1920 - 1st woman US Civil Service Commissioner, Helen Hamilton appointed

1933 - 1st flight over Mount Everest (Lord Clydesdale)

1943 - FDR dedicates Jefferson Memorial

1946 - Congress will create the Indian Claims Commission today. The commission is established to hear and decide claims made by Indians based on land losses from treaties.

1946 - Eddie Klepp, a white pitcher signed by defending Negro League champ Cleveland Buckeyes, is barred from field in Birmingham Alabama

1957 - Due to lack of funds, Saturday mail delivery in US is temp halted

1961 - UN General Assembly condemns South-Africa's apartheid

1964 - New Zealand Colin Bosher shears a record 565 sheep in 1 work day

1972 - 1st baseball players' strike ends after 13 days

1984 - Pete Rose becomes 1st NL to get get 4,000 hits in a career

1990 - Final episode of Pat Sajak's late night TV show on CBS

1992 - Great Chicago Flood - Chicago's underground tunnels flood

2000’s

2002 - Pedro Carmona, interim president of Venezuela, resigns one day after taking office

 2006 - Powerful tornadoes rip through Iowa City, Iowa

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 70’s

Bill Conti, Providence RI, composer (For Your Eyes Only, Rocky IV) is 70

Ben Nighthorse Campbell, (Sen-D Colorado) (Northern Cheyenne) is 79

Paul Sorvino, actor (Chiefs, Dick Tracy) is 73

In their 60’s

Tony Dow, Hollywood California, actor (Wally-Leave it to Beaver ) is 67

Ron Perlman, actor (Quest for Fire, Beauty & the Beast) is 62

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In their 40’s

Gary Kimovich Kasparov, USSR, world chess champion is 49

Rick Schroder, actor (Ricky-Silver Spoons, Champ, Earthling) is 42

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Remembered for being born on this day

Don Adams, American actor and comedian (d. 2005) (Maxwell Smart -Get Smart, Check it Out) in 1923

Samuel Beckett, French playwright (Waiting for Godot, Nobel 1969) in 1906

Butch Cassidy, [Robert LeRoy Parker], American desperado in 1866

Guy Fawkes, English Catholic conspirator in 1570

Thomas Jefferson, Virginia, (D-R) 3rd President of the United States (1801-09) in 1743

Catherine de' Médici, Queen of Spain/daughter of Henry II in 1519

Madalyn Murray O'Hair, American atheist (opposed prayer in school) in 1919

Sir David Robinson, British philanthropist and entrepreneur in 1904

Harold Stassen, St Paul, (Gov-R-Minn) perennial pres candidate in 1907

Jon Stone, co-creator of Sesame Street in 1931

Eudora Welty, Jackson Ms, novelist (Optimist's Daughter-Pulitzer 1973) in 1909

F.W. Woolworth, American businessman in 1852

Today’s Obits                                                           

Robert Fortune, Scottish botanist best known for introducing tea plants from China to India dies at 68 in 1880

 John Wheeler, American physicist and educator responsible for reviving interest in general relativity in the United States after World War II dies at 96 in 2008

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game: Close Up Picture

Riddle of the day

Quarry

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.     Body of water along the west coast:

a.      Pacific Ocean

2.     Socialite and Hotel Heiress:

a.      Paris Hilton

3.     Once the most common bird in N. America, it became extinct in 1914:

4.                    Passenger Pigeon

5.     Fictional lumberjack famous in tall tales:

a.      Paul Bunyan

6.     1^st lady after Lady Bird Johnson:

a.      Pat Nixon

7.     When police arrest a lot of people, what they take them away in:

a.      Paddy Wagon

8.     Container at a Benjamin Moore or Sherman Williams store:

a.      Paint can

9.     Actress and sex star who was on ‘Baywatch’:

a.      Pamela Anderson

10.  1973 film starring Ryan and Tatum O’Neal:

a.      Paper Moon

11.  Writing instrument that competes with Shafer and Cross:

a.      Papermate or Parker Pen

12.  Arcade game with chomping colored dots:

a.      Pac Man

13.  What a meter maid gives a ticket for:

a.      parking violation

14.  Listen Up!:

a.      Pay attention

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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  ☺