Feb 16

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

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

600 - Pope Gregory the Great decreea saying "God bless You" is the correct response to a sneeze

1838 - Kentucky passes law permitting women to attend school under conditions

1878 - Silver dollar became US legal tender

1880 - American Society of Mechanical Engineers forms (NYC)

1937 - DuPont Corp patents nylon, developed by employee Wallace H Carothers

1968 - Country's 1st 911 phone system went into service in Haleyville, AL

1968 - Beatles George Harrison & John Lennon & wives fly to India for transcendental meditation study with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

1978 - 1st Computer Bulletin Board System (Ward & Randy's CBBS, Chicago)

2005 - The Kyoto Protocol comes into force, following its ratification by Russia

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪                     

Free Rambling Thoughts   

Another good lunch today. Another semi-retiree met Mary and I for lunch. John had some great pics of his family, including the grandkids. It’s tax season so John is busy with clients, but had today off. So glad he and his family are doing so well. His wife is talking about retiring next year, but time will tell. I kinda think she has a few more years of teaching in her.

My PCP’s fax machine is not liking my pharmacy fax machine…such a hassle. I called to refill a script on Monday. They told me it needed Doc’s approval. They would fax him. Called this morning and they said they hadn’t gotten a fax. Called the Dr. and left a message. The nurse called me to tell me that she faxed the approval on Monday. Called the pharmacy this afternoon again and they said the script was ready. Hmmm. No apology from anybody…but the nurse was very vehement that it was faxed on Monday. Oh well. Got the script. 

I never understood the Caucus system when their votes were not worth any votes at the convention. Now I’m even more confused…first Iowa changed its results, now it looks like Maine is going to change its results….really??? Don’t miss the links: Elvis singing a great gospel song, a good Edgar Bergin/Charley McCarthy sketch, the Vienna Waltz, and more. Just click on the blue typed links.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

Every answer is a word whose second syllable is "pen." For example, given the clue, "a child, say, on one's tax return," the answer is, "de-pen-dent."

1.     Costly:

2.     Capital of Denmark:

3.     Something at the end of a book:

4.     Book that is a compilation:

5.     Worker with hammer and nails:

6.     Things that hold the pants up:

7.     Fluid used in thinning paints:

8.     Pez candy has a fancy one:

9.     Snake-like or winding:

10.  Event that occurs by accident:

11.  Device that puts a point on a pencil:

12.  Experiencing regret for one’s actions:

13.  Fantastic:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Yesterday’s puzzle picture didn’t show up…oops. Yesterday’s picture is in the answers

Lifestyle  Substance     

Daffynitions: :-)

FORTUNE TELLER — A bank employee who only deal with large accounts

 GOSSIP: A person who will never tell a lie if the truth will do more damage—OR An independent news source.

Found on You Tube         

Perfect Pitch Test

Harper’s Index         

Chances that a child born to a mother without a college degree: 1 in 2

Joke-of-the-day

I never knew one word in the English language that can be a noun, verb, adj., adv. and a prep.

UP

This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is 'UP.' It is listed in the dictionary as an [adv.], [prep], [adj], [n] or [v]. It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP, and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP, the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and fix UP the old car. At other times, this little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special. And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.We open UP a store in the morning but we close itUP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look UP the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out, we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it soaks UP the earth. When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP. One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now . . . my time is UP! Oh . . . one more thing: What is the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing you do at night?UP! Did that one crack you UP? Don't screw UP. Send this on to everyone you lookUP in your address book . . . or not . . . it's UP to you. Now I'll shut UP!

Planet Earth

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

To stay married, patch up your arguments before you go to bed.

Somewhat Useless Information    

On February 23, 1905, Paul P. Harris, Gustavus Loehr, Silvester Schiele, and Hiram E. Shorey gathered in Chicago for what would become known as the first Rotary club meeting. A second club was formed in San Francisco in 1908, and soon after, clubs began to pop up across North America.

On August 1, 1912, the Rotary Club of London became the first club chartered outside of North America. The Rotary Club of Dublin, Ireland, had been organized earlier, but didn't receive its charter until 1 May 1913.

Paul Harris was elected as first president of the National Association of Rotary Clubs (which later became Rotary International) in 1910, and is the only president to have served two terms.

In 1929, The Rotary Foundation gave its first gift, 500 dollars, to the International Society for Crippled Children (later Easter Seals), which was founded in 1921 by Rotarian Edgar F. Allen, of the Rotary Club of Elyria, Ohio.

Rotary's first convention in Asia was held in Tokyo in 1961. Among the record-setting 23,366 paid and unpaid registrants was the emperor of Japan.

The largest convention to date, based on the number of paid registrants, was the Rotary centennial convention, held in Chicago in 2005.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 

NASHVILLE - A Chicago man is celebrating Valentine's Day by giving his girlfriend one of the most precious gifts he has -- his kidney. Terry Lee said his girlfriend, Trisha Beckwith, was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease Lupus after they had been dating for about four months and soon discovered her kidneys were not functioning, The (Nashville) Tennessean reported Tuesday. Lee said "the decision was easy" whey they found out his blood type was a match. "I care about her, love her, and want her to live a normal life," he said. "The way I measure love is this: If you take the person out of the equation, and don't like the way your life looks without them, you are probably in love." The couple traveled to Nashville for the Valentine's Day surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

12-18 

Celebration of Love Week

Children of Alcoholics Week

Jell-O Week

Love a Mench Week

Random Acts of Kindness Week

International Flirting Week

14-16

World AG Expo

14-21

 National Condom Week

National Nestbox Week to provide bird houses for winter

NCCDP Alzheimer's & Dementia Staff Education Week

16-19

National Conference on Education

Great Backyard Bird Count

Today Is                                                                      

Innovation Day

Kyoto Protocol Day

Do A Grouch A Favor Day

***

Lithuania: Independence Day (1918—from Russia and Germany)

Today’s Other Events                                                             

Before 1000CE

374 - 9th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet

1600’s

1659 - 1st known check (£400) (on display at Westminster Abbey)

1700’s

1741 - Benjamin Franklin's General Magazine (2nd US Mag) begins publishing

1760 - Native American hostages killed in Ft Prince George SC

1800’s

1852 - Studebaker Brothers wagon company, precursor of the automobile manufacturer, is established.

1857 - Gallaudet College (Natl Deaf Mute college) forms (Wash DC)

1859 - The French Government passes a law to set the A-note above middle C to a frequency of 435 Hz, in an attempt to standardize the pitch

1868 - Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks forms (NY)

1883 - "Ladies Home Journal" begins publishing

1887 - 1st newspaper convention (Rochester NY)

1900’s

1909 - 1st subway car with side doors goes into service (NYC)

1911- President Taft issues several Executive Orders which allow the sale, use or manufacture of alcoholic beverages in former Indian Reservations which have been ceded to the United States.

1913 - President Taft agrees not to intervene in Mexico

1914 - 1st airplane flight (LA to SF)

1923 - Howard Carter finds Pharaoh Tutankhamen

1932 - 1st patent issued for a tree, to James Markham for a peach tree

1936 - 4th Winter Olympic games close at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

1943 - Withdrawing Africa Corps reaches Mareth-line in North-Africa

1943 - Sign on Munich facade: "Out with Hitler! Long live freedom!" done by "White Rose" student group, caught on 2/18, beheaded on 2/22

1948 - Miranda, famous moon of Uranus, photographed for 1st time

1959 - Fidel Castro named himself Cuba's premier after overthrowing Batista

1968 - Elvis Presley receives gold record for "How Great Thou Art"

1972 - 1st NBA to score 30,000 points (Wilt Chamberlain in 940 games) during a game with Phoenix Suns

1985 - The founding of Hezbollah--literally "Party of God" is a Shi'a Muslim militant group and political party based in Lebanon.

1989 - Orel Hershiser, Dodger pitcher signs $7.9M-3 year contract Roger Clemens, Red Sox pitcher signs $7.5M-3 year contract

2000’s

2005 - 2004-05 NHL season is canceled by league commissioner Gary Bettman. This was the first time that a North American professional sports league had to cancel a season due to a labor dispute

2006 - The last Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 60’s

William Katt, actor is 61

In their 50’s

LeVar Burton will be 55

Ice-T, singer, actor is 54

John McEnroe, Tennis (US Open 1979-81, 84 Wimb 1981, 83, 84) will be 53

Roberta Williams, computer game designer is 59

Remembered for being born on this day
Hugh Beaumont, actor (Ward Cleaver-Leave it to Beaver) in 1909

Edgar Bergen, ventriloquist (Charlie McCarthy) in 1903

Sonny Bono, vocalist (Sonny & Cher)/(Rep-R-Ca, 1995-98) in 1935

Robert Flaherty, father of documentary film (Nanook of North ) in 1884

Margaux Hemingway, actress (Lipstick, They Call Me Bruce) in 1954

Mr Jefferson (names after Pres. Thomas Jefferson), 1st cloned calf in 1998

Johann Strauss, Austria, composer (Vienna Waltz) in 1866

Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, American philosopher in 1802

Henry Wilson, (R) 18th VP (1873-75) in 1812

Today’s Obits                                                           

Angela Carter, British novelist (Magic Toyshop), dies of cancer at 51 in 1992

Howard W. Koch, American film director dies at 85 in 2001

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game

1.     Costly: expensive

2.     Capital of Denmark: Copenhagen

3.     Something at the end of a book: appendix

4.     Book that is a compilation: compendium

5.     Worker with hammer and nails: carpenter

6.     Things that hold the pants up: suspenders

7.     Fluid used in thinning paints: turpentine

8.     Pez candy has a fancy one: dispenser

9.     Snake-like or winding: serpentine

10.  Event that occurs by accident: happenstance

11.  Device that puts a point on a pencil: sharpener

12.  Experiencing regret for one’s actions: repentant

13.  Fantastic: stupendous

NPR Sunday Puzzle

All on the left have the letter ‘e’; none on the right have an ‘e’

Wuzzle

Read between the line

Railroad crossing

Curve ball

Yesterday’s puzzle, somehow didn’t show up—so here it is

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  ☺