Apr 5

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♪Happy Birthday To: ♪ 

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

1614 - American Indian princess Pocahontas, daughter of chief Powhatan marries English colonist John Rolfe

1768 - 1st US Chamber of Commerce forms (NYC)

1792 - George Washington casts 1st presidential veto he vetoed the Apportionment Bill on 5 April 1792 on constitutional grounds.

1887 - Anne Sullivan teaches "water" to Helen Keller

1896 - 1st modern Olympic Games officially opens in Athens

1927 - Johnny Weissmuller set records in 100 & 200 m free style

1951 - Julius & Ethel Rosenberg, atomic spies, sentenced to death

1962 - St Bernard Tunnel finished-Swiss/Italians workers shake hands

1967 - '76er Wilt Chamberlain sets NBA record of 41 rebounds

1974 - Then tallest building, World Trade Center opens in NYC (110 stories)

1984 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar breaks Wilt Chamberlain's all-time career scoring record of 31,419 points (31,421)

1990 - Paul Newman wins a court victory over Julius Gold, to keep giving all profits from Newman foods to charity

 

Free Rambling Thoughts   

Another windy day, raising the concern for forest fires. We need moisture, soon. I stayed home today, caught up on home stuff—mail, light cleaning, etc.  I’ll be out and about tomorrow, with or without wind. Hangin’ around the house is OK but getting out is much better.

I am understanding the Republican candidates refusal to drop out…and I’m beginning to hope none do drop out. The more delegates the far right crazy and far right crazier, and the far right craziest candidates are just gaining leverage for the convention. Not necessarily for the nomination, but for the platform and VP selection. With Romney as the nominee, he will appease those crazies. That is good for Obama.  While our country is centrist, the general population isn’t going to vote far right.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game—A close up picture of what?

NPR Sunday Puzzle

You are given some quotes with the ending, "Tom ________." The word that goes in the blank is a synonym for "said" that completes the statement in a punny way. For example, given, "'That was the best all-night dance party ever,' Tom ________," the answer would be "raved."

1.     “That’s too much whale fat Tom ____”:

2.     “You wrecked my Swedish car Tom ____”:

3.     “Well I wouldn’t say that a breakfast dish made on an iron is my favorite Tom ____”:

4.     “The best barrier between yards wouldn’t have to be a fence Tom ____”:

5.     “For the thousandth time, stop betting on the race horses Tom ____”:

6.     “Don’t you hate plumbers who bend over with their pants too low Tom ____”:

7.     “Somehow you have to get the water from the basement to the top floors Tom ____”:  (2 words):

8.     “This ellipsis only has two dots Tom ____”:  (2 words):

Riddle of the day

A man was just doing his job when his suit was torn. Why did he die three minutes later? 

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

Lifestyle  Substance     

Harper’s Index         

Estimated number of US public schools will fail this year under the standards set by NO Child Left Behind: 83

Found on You Tube 

    Tomb sweeping day in Taiwan   

Planet Earth—

Joke-of-the-day

While taxiing at London Gatwick, the crew of a US Air flight departing for Ft. Lauderdale made a wrong turn and came nose to nose with a United 727. An irate female ground controller lashed out at the US Air crew, screaming: "US Air 2771, where the hell are you going! I told you to turn right onto Charlie taxiway! You turned right on Delta! Stop right there.

 I know it's difficult for you to tell the difference between 'C' and 'D', but get it right!" Continuing her rage to the embarrassed crew, she was now shouting hysterically: "God! Now you've screwed everything up! It'll take forever to sort this out! You stay right there and don't move till I tell you to! You can expect progressive taxi instructions in about half an hour, and I want you to go exactly where I tell you, when I tell you, and how I tell you! You got that, US Air 2771?"

"Yes ma'am," the humbled crew responded. Naturally, the ground control communications frequency fell terribly silent after the verbal bashing of US Air 2771. Nobody wanted to chance engaging the irate ground controller in her current state of mind. Tension in every cockpit out in Gatwick was definitely running high. Just then an unknown pilot broke the silence and keyed his microphone, asking: "Wasn't I married to you once?"

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

The best months to sell something by mail are September, November, and January. Of those, September and January are best.

Yeah, It Really Happened

 WALTHAM, Mass. - The U.S. Army has tested a reconnaissance robot that can jump 30 feet into the air, high enough to vault into a second story window, its maker says. Developed by Massachusetts firm Boston Dynamics, with U.S. Army funding, the tiny robot -- looking something like a radio-controlled model car minus its body -- can stop, stand up and launch itself with a CO2-powered piston, The Christian Science Monitor reported.

Dubbed the Sand Flea, the robot can jump 25 times on a single charging with CO2, its developers said. The Sand Flea is an updated version of the Precision Urban Hopper, which was developed by Sandia National Laboratories. Unlike it predecessor, the Sand Flea has a gyroscopic stabilization system to keep it oriented as it jumps, making for steadier video in mid-flight. After evaluation by the Army Test and Evaluation Command, the Army could ship nine of the robots to Afghanistan to join about 2,000 others already being used by U.S. forces, CNET reported.

Somewhat Useless Information   

By 2010, no state had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%. 36 states had a prevalence of 25% or more; 12 of these states (Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia) had a prevalence of 30% or more.

Historically, obesity primarily afflicted adults, but this has changed in the last 2 decades. 15-25% of American children and adolescents are now obese. Children and adolescents who are obese are likely to be obese in adulthood and to develop obesity-related health problems.

Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

1-7

The APAWS Pooper Scooper Week
Golden Rule Week

Holy Week
International Pooper-Scooper Week
Laugh at Work Week
National Blue Ribbon Week
National Public Health Week
National Week of the Ocean
National Window Safety Week
Medication Safety Week

2-7

Testicular Cancer Awareness Week

Explore Your Career Options
The Masters Tournament

4-10

Hate Week

Today Is                                                                      

Go For Broke Day

National D.A.R.E. Day  

National Deep Dish Pizza Day

National Fun at Work Day

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China: National Tomb-Sweeping Day/Qing Ming Festival
Taiwan: National Tomb-Sweeping Day

Today’s Other Events                                                             

Before 1000CE

456 - St. Patrick returns to Ireland as a missionary bishop

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1600’s

1603 - New English king James I departs Edinburgh for London

1621 - Mayflower sails from Plymouth on a return trip to England

1700’s

1722 - Jacob Roggeveen discovers Easter Island

1800’s

1818 - In the Battle of Maipú, Chile's independence movement - led by Bernardo O'Higgins and José de San Martín - win a decisive victory over Spain, leaving 2,000 Spaniards and 1,000 Chilean patriots dead

1832 - After being removed from Illinois in 1831, Black Hawk, and his SAC followers lived in Iowa. Wanting to return to their old home land, today, Black Hawk, and almost 1000 of his tribe, will cross the Mississippi River back into Illinois. Not much later, they will be attacked by the whites

1874 - Johann Strauss Sr's opera "Die Fledermaus," premieres in Vienna

1900’s

1902 - In Glasgow, Scotland the Ibrox disaster occurs after a section of a grandstand collapses killing 25 and injuring 517

1922 - KOB-AM in Albuquerque NM begins radio transmissions

1923 - Firestone Co put their inflatable tires into production

1932 - Dominion of Newfoundland: 10,000 rioters seize the Colonial Building leading to the end of self-government

1936 - Tupelo Mississippi virtually annihilated by a tornado

1948 - WGN TV channel 9 in Chicago, IL (IND) begins broadcasting

1949 - Fireside Theater debuts on television

1954 - Elvis Presley records his debut single, "That's All Right"

1961 - Barbra Streisand appears on "Jack Paar Show"

1962 - NASA civilian pilot Neil A Armstrong takes X-15 to 54,600 m

1964 - 1st driverless trains run on London Underground

1969 - Vietnam War: Massive antiwar demonstrations occur in many U.S. cities

1972 - Baseball season is delayed due to a strike

1987 - Fox TV network premieres showing Married With Children &  Tracey Ullman

1988 - Democratic convention picks Michael Dukakis as their pres candidate

1992 - Several hundred-thousand abortion rights demonstrators march in Washington, D.C.

1993 - Colorado Rockies 1st game - lose to NY Mets 3-0

1993 - Florida Marlins 1st game - beat LA Dodgers 6-3

1999 - Two Libyans suspected of bringing down Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 are handed over for eventual trial in the Netherlands.

2000’s

2009 - North Korea launches its controversial Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 rocket. The satellite passed over mainland Japan, which prompted an immediate reaction from the United Nations Security Council, as well as participating states of Six-party talks.

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 70’s

Michael Moriarty , actor (Bang the Drum Slowly, Q, Stuff) is 71

Colin Powell, Bronx NY, general/asst to president (Nat Sec Affairs) is 75

In their 60’s

Max Gail, Detroit, (Barney Miller, Whiz Kids, DC Cab, Normal People) is 69

Remembered for being born on this day

Robert [Albert] Bloch, US, sci-fi author (Hugo, Psycho) in 1917

Bette Davis, Lowell Mass, famous eyes (Of Human Bondage, Jezebel) in 1908

Frank Gorshin, Pittsburgh Pa, comedian/impersonator (Riddler-Batman)  in 1933

Thomas Hobbes, England, philosopher (Leviathan) in 1588

Joseph Lister, England, physician (founded aseptic surgery) in 1827

Samuel Freeman Miller, U.S. Supreme Court Justice in 1816

Alexander Muir, Lesmahagow Scotland, poet (Maple Leaf Forever) in 1830

Gregory Peck, La Jolla California, actor (To Kill a Mockingbird, MacArthur) in 1916

Bianca Maria Sforza, wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1472

Gale Storm, Bloomington Tx, actr (My Little Margie, Gale Storm Show) in 1922

Spencer Tracy, Milwaukee, actor (Father's Little Dividend, Adam's Rib) in 1900

Booker Taliaferro Washington, pioneer educator (1st black on US stamp) in 1856

Today’s Obits                                                           

Saul Bellow, Canadian born writer, Nobel laureate dies at 89 in 2005

Allen Ginsberg, beat poet, dies of liver cancer at 70 in 1997

Charlton Heston, American Actor dies at 84 in 2008 Douglas MacArthur, US general (Pacific theater-WW II), dies at 84 in 1964

Howard Hughes, reclusive billionaire, dies of kidney failure at 72 in 1976

John Tower, (Sen-R-Tx), dies in a plane crash at 65 in 1991

Sam Walton, Billionaire CEO (Wal-Mart), dies of cancer at 74 in 1992

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game: Close Up Picture

Riddle of the day

He was an astronaut on a space walk, doing repairs.

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.     “That’s too much whale fat Tom ____”:

a.      blubbered

2.     “You wrecked my Swedish car Tom ____”:

a.      sobbed

3.     “Well I wouldn’t say that a breakfast dish made on an iron is my favorite Tom ____”:

a.      waffled

4.     “The best barrier between yards wouldn’t have to be a fence Tom ____”:

a.      hedged

5.     “For the thousandth time, stop betting on the race horses Tom ____”:

a.      nagged

6.     “Don’t you hate plumbers who bend over with their pants too low Tom ____”:

a.      cracked

7.     “Somehow you have to get the water from the basement to the top floors Tom ____”:  (2 words):

a.      piped up

8.     “This ellipsis only has two dots Tom ____”:  (2 words):

a.      pointed out  

Anagrams

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  ☺