Feb 24

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

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

1541 - Santiago, Chile founded by Pedro de Valvidia 

1836 - 3,000 Mexicans attack 182 Texans at Alamo, lasts 13 days

1857 - 1st perforated US postage stamps delivered to government

1863 - Arizona Territory created

1868 - 1st US parade with floats (Mardi Gras-Mobile Alabama)

1924 - Mahatma Gandhi released from jail

1942 - Voice of America begins broadcasting (in German)

1974 - Pakistan officially recognizes Bangladesh

1988 - South African apartheid regime bans the UDF

1998 - Elton John knighted

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪                     

 

Free Rambling Thoughts   

Kinda windy this morning. Strangely it was warm. It was OK to be out and about, as it wasn’t so windy that things couldn’t be done.

Speculation on Wall Street isn’t something I have never really understood. Today’s story that Wall Street speculators are making money on every tank of gas hit hard. The speculators make bids on the cost of the crude oil. Their actions are not regulated by anyone. Today the chair of the committee that watches over energy speculation told us that about $15/tank goes directly to speculators. Imagine stopping this—well the speculators are suing the committee to keep the current status quo. Really?!? 

A committee in AZ has just sent to the floor of the House a new law that will require all college students to pay $2000 out of pocket to attend any college or university/year. The money cannot be part of a scholarship, PAL grant or any other source except the student. The author says there are just too many students not taking college seriously because they are getting a free ride. He believes if the $2000 fee is an appropriate amount for the student to pay each year so they will take their education seriously. Really?!?

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase in which the first word starts with S-H and the second word starts with H. For example, if the clue is "restraining device with a diagonal strap across the chest," the answer would be "shoulder harness."

1.     What you usually do when you meet someone:

2.     A detective who debuted in ‘A Study of Scarlet’:

3.     What a crew cut results in:

4.     Where the water comes out when you are washing yourself:

5.     A person in charge of a flock:

6.     They might be from 9am to 9pm at a mall:

7.     One who might go looking for Great Whites:

8.     Medical facility overseen by members of an organization who wear a red fez:

9.     He played George Jefferson on ‘The Jeffersons’:

10.  Author of report on Female Sexuality:

11.  To play basketball, informally:

12.  Suburb of Cleveland, Ohio:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance     

Planet Earth—Orkney Islands

Found on You Tube         

Winslow Homer paintings

Harper’s Index         

Date on which the federal government declassified the Pentagon Papers: 6/13/2011

Joke-of-the-day

There was a little old lady who was nearly blind. She had three sons and they wanted to prove which one was the best son to her.
So son #1 bought her a 15-room mansion thinking this would surely be the best any of them could offer her.
Son #2 bought her a beautiful Mercedes with a chauffeur included thinking he would surely win her approval.
Son #3 had to do something even better than these so he bought her a trained parrot. This parrot had been trained for 15 years to memorize the entire Bible. You could mention any verse in the Bible and the parrot could quote it word for word. How useful his nearly blind mother would find that!
Well, the old lady went to the first son and said, "Son, the house is just gorgeous but it's really much too big for me. I only live in one room, and it's much too large for me to clean and take care of. I really don't need the house, but thank you anyway."
Then she explained to her second son, "Son, the car is beautiful, it has everything you could ever want on it, but I don't drive and I really don't like that driver, so please return the car."
Next, she went to son number three and said, "Son, I just want to thank you for that thoughtful gift. The chicken was small, but delicious."

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

A male who changes his sex to female will look like a woman who is five years older because men's faces look more rugged than women's. On the other hand, female to male sex-change patients will look 10 to 12 years younger. A 30-year-old woman will look and sound like a boy of 18 or 20. We call it the "Peter Pan" effect.

Somewhat Useless Information    

One of the first cities in the country to industrialize, Providence, Rhode Island became noted for its jewelry and silverware industry. Today, the City of Providence is home to eight hospitals and seven institutions of higher learning, which has shifted the city's economy into service industries, though it still retains significant manufacturing activity.

Montpeiler, Vermont is the only US state capital without a McDonald's.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 

NEW YORK - A New York man said the museum he created in his apartment to honor 1988 film "Beetlejuice" has more than 75 pieces. Bruce Christensen, 48, said his Hell's Kitchen apartment contains items including plastic toys, bobble head dolls, trading cards, a beach towel, a full copy of the movie script and even a six-pack of wine coolers called Dr. Thirsty's Beetlejuice Alcoholic Fruit Crush, the New York Daily News reported Monday.

"This is definitely one of the top 10 attractions in New York City," said Christensen, who said more than 200 people have toured the "Bruce & His Beetlejuice Collection" museum since he opened just before Halloween."The absolute highlight of our recent trip to New York City was the private viewing of the Beetlejuice Museum," tourist Melodee Hill of Maryland told the Daily News. Christensen said he would love to have director Tim Burton or some of the film's stars tour his collection, but he joked about being wary of Winona Ryder. "I'd have to keep an eye on that klepto!" he quipped.

Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

19-25 

National Entrepreneurship Week

Brotherhood / Sisterhood Week

Build A Better Trade Show Image Week

National Engineers Week

National Pancake Week

National Justice for Animals Week

National Future Farmers of America Week

Read Me Week

Texas Cowboy Poetry Week

Today Is                                                                      

Gregorian Calendar Day 1582

National Personal Chef Day

National Tortilla Chip Day

Estonia: Independence Day (1919 from Russia)

Mexico: Flag Day

Today’s Other Events                                                             

Before 1000CE

303 - 1st official Roman edict for persecution of Christians issued

1500’s

1510 - Pope Julius II excommunicates the republic of Venice

1530 - 1st imperial coronation by a Pope, Charles V crowned by Clement V

1700’s

1730 - With both sides running out of ammunition, the French, and the Natchez Indians agree on a peace settlement. The Natchez release all of their prisoners, and the French withdraw to the Mississippi River.

1800’s

1803 - Supreme Court 1st rules a law unconstitutional (Marbury v Madison)

1848 - As a part of the war against the Cayuse who attacked the Whitman Mission in Oregon Country, a fight takes place. The Cayuse lose eight men, including Chief Gray Eagle, and have five warriors wounded. Lieutenant Colonel Waters, and four other soldiers are wounded.

1857 - LA Vineyard Society organized

1876 - Henrik Ibsen's "Peer Gynt," premieres in Oslo

1895 - Cuban war for independence begins

1900’s

1909 - The Hudson Motor Car Company is founded

1938 - Du Pont begins commercial production of nylon toothbrush bristles

1946 - Juan Peron elected President of Argentina

1966 - Coup ousts Pres Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana

1968 - 1st pulsar discovered (CP 1919 by Jocelyn Burnell at Cambridge)

1977 - Pres Carter announces US foreign aid will consider human rights

1983 - A special commission of the U.S. Congress releases a report that condemns the practice of Japanese internment during World War II

1989 - Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini offers $1M-$3M bounty on Salman Rushdie's death due to his novel, "Satanic Verses"

1996 - Cuba downs 2 US planes

1998 - NHL resumes season since Feb 8th to accomodate the Olympics

1999 - The State of Arizona executes Karl LaGrand, a German national involved in an armed robbery, in spite of Germany's legal action to attempt to save him

2000’s

2002 - XIX Winter Olympics closes in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

2008 - Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba after nearly fifty years

2011 - Final Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103)

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 90’s

Abe Vigoda, actor is 91

In their 60’s

Barry Bostwick, actor is 68

Edward James Olmos, actor (Miami Vice, Stand & Deliver, Triumph) is 65

George Thorogood, American singer and guitarist (The Delaware Destroyers- Bad to the Bone) is 62

In their 50’s

Paula Zahn, news anchor (ABC, CBS This Morning)  is 56

In their 40’s

Kristin Davis, actor is 47

Billy Zane, actor is 46

In their 30’s

Floyd Mayweather, featherweight boxer (Oly-br-96) is 35

Remembered for being born on this day

Catherine I, Empress of Russia in 1684

William Fairbank, physicist (superconductivity) in 1917

Wilhelm Karl Grimm, Hanau Germany, story teller (Grimm's Fairy Tales) in 1786

Winslow Homer, US, painter (Gulfstream) in 1836

George A Moore, Ireland, painter/novelist (Esther Waters) in 1852

Chester Nimitz, US admiral (commanded Pacific fleet in WW II) in 1885

John Vernon, Canada, actor (Animal House, Chained Heat, Dirty Harry) in 1932

Today’s Obits                                                           

Malcolm Forbes, CEO (Forbes Publishing), dies of a heart attack at 70 in 1990

George Gobel, Chicago, comedian (George Gobel Show), dies following heart surgery at 71 in 1991

Don Knotts, American actor die at 82 in 2006 

Dinah Shore, singer (Chevrolet), dies of cancer at 76 in 1994

Dennis Weaver, American actor dies at 82 in 2006

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game

The R runs into the single letter A, the initial S and A turn into the pairs of letter CO and IS

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.     What you usually do when you meet someone:

a.     shake hands

2.     A detective who debuted in ‘A Study of Scarlet’:

a.     Sherlock Holmes

3.     What a crew cut results in:

a.     short hair

4.     Where the water comes out when you are washing yourself:

a.     shower head

5.     A person in charge of a flock:

a.     sheep herder

6.     They might be from 9am to 9pm at a mall:

a.     shopping hours

7.     One who might go looking for Great Whites:

a.     shark hunter

8.     Medical facility overseen by members of an organization who wear a red fez:     Shiners’ Hospital

9.     He played George Jefferson on ‘The Jeffersons’:

a.     Sherman Hemsley

10.  Author of report on Female Sexuality:

a.     Shere Hite

11.  To play basketball, informally:

a.     Shoot Hoops

12.  Suburb of Cleveland, Ohio:

a.     Shaker Heights

Wuzzle

• Highway overpass
• Agony
• Flattering write-up

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  ☺

Feb 23

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

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

1822 - Boston is incorporated as a city

1836 - Alamo besieged by Santa Anna; entire garrison eventually killed

1870 - Mississippi is readmitted to US

1886 - Aluminum manufacturing process developed

1916 - Congress authorizes McKinley Memorial $1 gold coin

1968 - Wilt Chamberlain becomes 1st NBAer to score 25,000 points

1983 - The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri

1993 - Gary Coleman wins $1,280,000 lawsuit against parents for high fees

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪                     

  Returns tomorrow

Free Rambling Thoughts   

We had a good lunch today. Cheryl is busy getting ready for her Hawaii trip next month. None of us has done our taxes and none of us seems to be in a hurry to get them done. We are all enjoying the good weather in N. AZ. Next week is my birthday, so we are going fancy and doing it on my birthday. There is a cool bistro here in town that does great lunches and has become our go-to for special days. Nice. The Mexican food today was very good and so was the conversation.

Tonight is the Republican debate in Phx. I’ll be watching it…just to see if the crazy rhetoric continues. I remember the Dems four years ago, with the battle between Hillary and Barack. Either one seemed to be ready to support the American people. These guys in the Republican debate seem to be more interested in big business. Now they have moved into social issues of which they seem to know little about. Should be interesting…even though it is the 20^th debate.

Last year, there was a webcam on an Eagle nest, and we were able to watch the eaglets from egg to flying. Well the cam http://www.farmyou.com/falcon_cams/index.html is back.  Not a lot happening now, but in a few weeks, it should be very exciting.

Some problems with the internet connection. Everything should be back tomorrow.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

Every answer is a familiar phrase in the form ____ to ____, as in "bored to tears" or "year to date." Each clue is a compound word or common two-word phrase in which the first part rhymes with the first word in the answer and the second part rhymes with the last word in the answer. For example, if the clue is "rear gate," the answer would be "year to date."

1.     Line drive:

2.     Small farms:

3.     White sheet:

4.     Black pool:

5.     Head lights:

6.     Flip for:

7.     Book smart:

8.     Hot curry:

9.     West hill:

10.  Cricket side:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance     

Planet Earth—Orkney Islands

Found on You Tube         

Returns tomorrow

Harper’s Index         

Number of suspected leakers of classified information who have been prosecuted since Obama too office: 5

Joke-of-the-day

Larry was startled to see the nonchalant way Jason was taking the fact that his girlfriend was seen with another man. “You said you loved her and yet you saw her with another man and you didn’t knock the guy down?” “I’m waiting.” “Waiting for what?” asked Larry “Waiting to catch her with a smaller feller.”

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

You can check the fit of new pants without trying them on. With the top of the pants closed and the button snapped, the waistband should just wrap around your neck.

Somewhat Useless Information    

His name "Dickens" was a curse, possibly invented by Shakespeare. Instead of saying, "What the devil?" as a profanity, people exclaimed, "What the dickens?" The first usage of that word, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, was William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor.
According to the New York Times, Dickens was on a train that derailed over a bridge, in the only first-class carriage that didn't plummet into a river. He not only found the key that freed his friends, he went to the carriages below and gave water and brandy to those who needed it.Dickens helped create "Urania House" where former prostitutes could learn to read and write, as well keep house. He searched prisons and workhouses for potential candidates and interviewed them personally.He probably had obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). According to a Dickens biography, the writer, said that Dickens "had a habit of rearranging furniture whenever he stayed in a hotel room and inspecting his children's bedrooms every morning, leaving behind notes when he was not satisfied with their tidiness."Dickens had written half of a novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, but left it unfinished when he died of a stroke in 1870. Dickens left no clues behind as to who killed his protagonist, although many suspect his uncle. There have been multiple radio, television, and theater reworkings of this story, each with different endings.Hans Christian Andersen was Dicken's close friend and mutual influence. Andersen even dedicated his book Poet's Day Dream to Dickens in 1853.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 

BRAUNLAGE, Germany - Organizers of the 2012 Nude Luge World Championships in Germany said 25,000 people watched 30 lugers throw themselves down the slopes. The organizers said 17 men, including former Calvin Klein cover model Marcus Schenkenberg, and 13 women, including porn star Mia Magma, slid down the mountainside in Braunlage Saturday for the fourth-annual event, The Local reported Monday. The participants were required by safety rules to wear helmets, shoes and underwear, but were otherwise unclothed when they took their turns sledding. "With a lot of German beer and Jagermeister, I'll be able to keep myself warm," Schenkenberg said. A 37-year-old Hannover man was declared the winner of the event and was awarded $1,300.

Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

14-21

National Condom Week

National Nestbox Week to provide bird houses for winter

NCCDP Alzheimer's & Dementia Staff Education Week

19-25 

National Entrepreneurship Week

Brotherhood / Sisterhood Week

Build A Better Trade Show Image Week

National Engineers Week

National Pancake Week

National Justice for Animals Week

National Future Farmers of America Week

Read Me Week

Texas Cowboy Poetry Week

Today Is     

Curling is Cool Day

Diesel Engine Day

International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day

Introduce A Girl to Engineering Day

Iwo Jima Day (flag raised)

National Chili Day

Brunei Darussalam: National Day

Russia: Army and Navy Day

Today’s Other Events                                                             

1400’s

1455 - Johannes Gutenberg prints 1st book, Bible (estimated date)

1500’s

1540 - According to some sources, the Coronado expedition begins preparations to get underway.

1700’s

1792 - Humane Society of Massachusetts incorporated (erected life-saving stations for distressed mariners)

1800’s

1813 - 1st US raw cotton-to-cloth mill founded in Waltham, Mass

1821 - College of Apothecaries organized in Phil; 1st US pharmacy college

1861 - By popular referendum, Texas becomes 7th state to secede from US

1861 - Pres-elect Lincoln arrives secretly in Wash DC to take office

1874 - Major Walter Winfield patents game called "sphairistike" (lawn tennis)

1877 - Lieutenant J.F. Cummings, and Troop C, Third Cavalry, attack a group of "hostiles" near Deadwood, Dakota Territory. One Indian is killed. 624 head of live stock are recovered.

1883 - Alabama becomes 1st US state to enact an antitrust law

1886 - London Times publishes world's 1st classified ad

1892 - 1st college student government forms at Bryn Mawr Penn

1896 - Tootsie Roll introduced by Leo Hirshfield

1900’s

1903 - Cuban state of Guantanamo leased to USA

1904 - US acquired control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million

1905 - Rotary Club International formed by 4 men in Chicago

1910 - 1st radio contest held (Philadelphia)

1915 - Nevada enforces convenient divorce law

1917 - February revolution begins in Russia

1927 - Pres Coolidge creates Federal Radio Commission (FCC)

1940 - Walt Disney's animated movie "Pinocchio," released

1954 - 1st mass inoculation with Salk vaccine (Pittsburgh)

1960 - Demolition begins on Brooklyn's Ebbets Field (opened in 1913)

1967 - 25th amendment (presidential succession) declared ratified

1967 - US troops begin largest offensive of Vietnam War

1970 - Holy Eucharist given by women for 1st time in Roman Catholic service

1974 - Patty Hearst, daughter of publisher Randolph Hearst, kidnapped by SLA

1975 - In response to the energy crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly two months early in the United States.

1980 - 13th Winter Olympic games close at Lake Placid, NY

1992 - 16th Winter Olympic games closes in Albertville, France

1997 - NBC TV shows "Schindler's List," completely uncensored, 65M watch

2000’s

2005 - Slovakia Summit 2005 begins, marking the first occasion when a sitting American President visits Slovakia; George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin are in attendance

2006 - Dubai Ports World agrees to postpone its plans to take over management of six U.S. ports after the proposal ignited harsh bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill

 2007 - Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea

2010 - Unknown criminals pour more than 2.5 million liters of diesel oil and other hydrocarbons into the river Lambro, in Northern Italy, causing an environmental disaster

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 70’s

Sylvia Chase, newscaster (ABC Weekend News, 20/20) is 74

Peter Fonda, actor is 73

In their 60’s

Ed "Too Tall" Jones, NFL linebacker (Dallas Cowboys) is 61

In their 40’s

Niecy Nash, actor is 42

Under 30 years old

Dakota Fanning, actor is 18

Remembered for being born on this day

William E B Du Bois, civil rights writer (Souls of Black Folk) in 1868

Barney Dreyfuss, baseball owner (Pittsburgh Pirates) in 1865

Victor Fleming, American director (Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind) in 1889

George Friedrich Handel, Halle Germany, organist/composer (Messiah) in 1685

Josiah Hornblower, American statesman in 1729

Paul Tibbets, US Air Force retired Brigadier General and Pilot of B-29  "Enola Gay" over Hiroshima in 1915

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shogun in 1646

Today’s Obits                                                           

John Quincy Adams, 6th US pres (1825-1829), dies of a stroke at 80 in 1848

John Keats, Romantic poet, dies of tuberculosis at 25 in 1821

Stan Laurel, comedian (Laurel & Hardy), dies of heart attack at 74 in 1965

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.     Line drive:

a.     nine to five

2.     Small farms:

a.     call to arms

3.     White sheet:

a.     bite to eat

4.     Black pool:

a.      back to school

5.     Head lights:

a.     dead to rights

6.     Flip for:

a.     ship to shore

7.     Book smart:

a.     took to heart

8.     Hot curry:

a.     not to worry

9.     West hill:

a.     dressed to kill

10.  Cricket side:

a.     ticket to ride

Wuzzle

• Are you lonesome without me?
• Encircled
• Wet behind the ears

 

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  ☺