Feb 28

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

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

1692 - Salem witch hunt begins

1759 - Pope Clement XIII allows Bible to be translated into various languages

1849 - 1st boat load of gold rush prospectors arrives in SF from east coast

1861 - Colorado is organized as a United States territory

1951 - Senate committee reports of at least 2 major US crime syndicates

1974 - Ethiopian government of Makonnen forms

1977 - 1st killer whale born in captivity (Marineland )

1995 - Denver International Airport opens

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪                     

 

Free Rambling Thoughts   

Windy, windy, windy…not a day to be out and about. But I did it anyway. Big mistake. I went to the bank and being the geek that I am, drove up to the ATM and as usual stuck a few checks into the machine. It had problems and spit them back out. I stuck them in again and it tried to spit them out. All but one check came out. I could see it but couldn’t grab it. The little door closed. I got a receipt that the machine had an unexpected error and a number to call. I drove around to the front of the bank and called, the guy couldn’t help me because I didn’t know the amount of the check….note to those who don’t deposit this way…you don’t need to do a deposit slip. I had a total amount of the deposit that I had made before leaving home, but no tape. So I go inside. The lady spent about 10 minutes playing with her computer and said that there was a pending check for $80.10 and that was 15 cents different than my total deposit. She called the manager because the pending check was ‘posted’ at 5am. I told the asst. manager that that wasn’t my 1:35p deposit. Her response: “The post is on Eastern Time.” I told her that Eastern time was only 2 hours different, not 8 hours different, and that since the bank isn’t in Egypt, it must be a different deposit.” Get this, she said, “Oh, were you expecting a deposit from Egypt?” She said not to worry, that they would straighten it out tomorrow or Wednesday—the day the guy comes to open the machine.” They will call me. She assured me that the check is in the machine, and can’t come out when someone else makes a deposit. So I guess I’ll just wait. And no, I didn’t learn my lesson, I’m sure I will continue to deposit at the ATM. I’m sure this happened because of the wind. I ran the rest of my errands and was glad to get home. Driving in 50+MPH winds is no fun. Walking into the stores isn’t that much fun either. Glad I didn’t have to be out very long. Winter Weather Advisory says expect 3”-8” of snow after dark. Hmmmm. I will never understand politicians. AZ semi-infamous Gay sheriff now has new stories…he was a head schoolmaster back East years ago, and some of this former students have claimed that he had an inappropriate relationship with a 17 year old male student. No facts yet, just stories. Really?!?

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

Every answer in today's puzzle is a familiar phrase in the form BLANK of BLANK, where the first word starts with the letter T. Given the last word of the phrase, the player must give the first word. Example: For "departure," the answer would be "time," as in TIME of DEPARTURE.

1.      Events:

2.      War:

3.      Fate:

4.      Endearment:

5.      Cancer:

6.      Athens:

7.      Duty:

8.      Babble:

9.      Thought:

10.   Iodine:

11.   Versailles:

12.   Wills:

13.   Voice:

14.   Knowledge:

15.   Contents:

16.   The morning:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance     

Planet Earth—Mayan

Found on You Tube         

Fine dining from Tom Jones

Harper’s Index         

Percentage of US video-game players who are over the age of 50: 29

Joke-of-the-day

Day 752 - My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while I am forced to eat dry cereal. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope of escape, and the mild satisfaction I get from ruining the occasional piece of furniture. Tomorrow I may eat another houseplant. Day 761 - Today my attempt to kill my captors by weaving around their feet while they were walking almost succeeded; must try this at the top of the stairs. In an attempt to disgust and repulse these vile oppressors, I once again induced myself to vomit on their favorite chair...must try this on their bed.Day 762 - Slept all day so that I could annoy my captors with sleep deprivation, incessant pleas for food at all hours of the night.Day 767 - Decapitated a mouse and brought them the headless body in an attempt to make them aware of what I am capable of, and to try to strike fear into their hearts. They only cooed and condescended about what a good little cat I was...Hmmm. Not working according to plan.Day 768 - I am finally aware of how sadistic they are. For no good reason I was chosen for the water torture. This time, however, it included a burning foamy chemical called "shampoo." What sick minds could invent such a liquid? My only consolation is the piece of thumb still stuck between my teeth.Day 771 - There was some sort of gathering of their accomplices. I was placed in solitary confinement throughout the event. However, I could hear the noise and smell the foul odor of the glass tubes they call "beer." More importantly I overheard that my confinement was due to MY power of "allergies." Must learn what this is and how to use it to my advantage. Day 774 - I am convinced the other captives are flunkies and may be snitches. The dog is routinely released and seems more than happy to return. He is obviously a half-wit. The bird, on the other hand, has got to be an informant. He has mastered their frightful tongue, something akin to mole speak, and speaks with them regularly. I am certain he reports my every move. Due to his current placement in the metal, room his safety is assured. But I can wait, it is only a matter of time...

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

One thousand to 1,500 bees die per day under normal summer conditions. All or most are removed from the vicinity of the hive. An accumulation of 3 or 4 dead bees per day in front of the hive entrance is cause for suspicion.

Somewhat Useless Information    

In ancient times, without interference from streetlights or urban pollution, comets could be seen by everyone. Their sudden appearance was interpreted as an omen of nature and was used by astrologers to predict flood, famine, pestilence, or the death of a king.

Comets are composed mostly of ice and dust that grows tails when they approach the sun. All comets have a nucleus made of hard rock/ice. As the comet approaches the sun, solar energy begins to heat the ice and vaporize it.

The longest comet nucleus ever recorded had a measurement of 42 miles. The shortest comet nucleus measured 0.3 miles.

The first usable photographs of a comet's nucleus were taken by the European Space Agency's Giotto spacecraft as it flew close to Halley's Comet in 1986.

Compared to the solar system, comets are tiny. Like asteroids, they are bits of debris left over from when the Universe first started.

A comet can have more than one tail. The DeCheseaux comet fanned out like a peacock and had seven.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 

Miami, FL: Wildlife officials say three big cats have been removed from home of an actor who played Tarzan in a 1970 remake of the film.Steve Sipek had two tigers and a leopard taken from his home Monday morning because he didn't have a federal permit for them at his Loxahatchee home, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Carli Segelson was quoted as saying by the South Florida Sun Sentinel.Apparently there were violations related to the caging and fencing of the big cats, and also another violation related to commercial activity on the property. Authorities said they had been trying to get Sipek and his partner to comply, but they repeatedly failed to do so.Officials said the cats weren't being fed the appropriate food, and there had been escapes and injuries, the newspaper reported. It wasn't clear who had been bitten."It got to the point that we felt it was a safety hazard to the public but also there were concerns about the well-being of the animals, Segelson was quoted as saying.Sipek was arrested for having the animals without a federal permit and having them as pets, and the cats are being taken to a wildlife sanctuary.The newspaper reports that in 2004 a Bengal tiger of his escaped and was shot by FWC.

Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

26-3/3

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week

National Secondhand Wardrobe Week

Telecommuter Appreciation Week

Peace Corps Week

Today Is                                                                      

Public Sleeping Day

Floral Design Day

National Tooth Fairy Day

Rare Disease Day Spay Day USA

Today’s Other Events                                                             

1000’s

1066 - Westminster Abbey opens

1600’s

1638 - Scottish Presbyterians sign National Convent, Greyfriars, Edinburgh

1667 - English colony Suriname in Dutch hands

1675 - The Mission Santa Cruz de Sabacola El Menor is dedicated. The mission is for the Sawoklis Indians on the Apalachicola River.

1700’s

1704 - Indians attack Deerfield, Mass, kill 40, kidnap 100 1708 - Slave revolt, Newton, Long Island NY, 11 die

1749 - 1st edition of Henry Fieldings' "Tom Jones" published

1784 - John Wesley charters Methodist Church

1800’s

1827 - 1st commercial railroad in US, Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) chartered

1837 - A few Creek Indians attack the Alberson homestead on the Alabama-Florida. The Creeks are reported to have killed the entire family.

1850 - The University of Utah opens in Salt Lake City

1900’s

1925 - "Tea For Two" by Marion Harris hit #1

1933 - 1st female in cabinet: Francis Perkins appointed Secretary of Labor

1940 - Richard Wright's "Native Son" published

1960 - 8th winter Olympic games close at Squaw Valley

1961 - JFK names Henry Kissinger special advisor

1970 - Bicycles permitted to cross Golden Gate Bridge

1974 - US & Egypt re-form diplomatic relations after 7 years

1983 - Final TV episode of "M*A*S*H" airs (CBS); record 125 million watch

1988 - 15th Winter Olympic games close at Calgary, Canada

1998 - Kosovo War: Serbian police begin the offensive against the Kosovo Liberation Army in Kosovo

2000’s

2004 - Over 1 million Taiwanese participating in the 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally form a 500-kilometre (300-mile) long human chain to commemorate the 228 Incident [anti-gov’t uprising] in 1947

2007 - Jupiter flyby of the New Horizons Pluto-observer spacecraft.

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 80’s

Gavin MacLeod, actor (Murray-Mary Tyler Moore, Love Boat) is 81

In their 70’s

Mario Andretti, Italian American race-car driver (1969 Indianapolis 500, 1978 Formula One World Champion) is 72

In their 60’s

Charles S. Frazier III, teacher, supervisor, international traveler, blog writer in 63

Bernadette Peters, [Lazzara], Queens NY, actress (Jerk)  is 64

Charles "Bubba" Smith, Tx, NFLer (Balt Colts)/actor (Police Academy) is 67

In their 50’s

Rae Dawn Chong, actor is 50

Gilbert Gottfried, comedian (Beverly Hills Cop) is 57

John Turturro, director is  55

Remembered for being born on this day

Milton Caniff,  Dutch cartoonist (Terry & Pirates) in 1907

Brian Jones, [Lewis Brian Hopkins Jones], English rock guitarist (Rolling Stones) in 1942

Mary Lyon, US, educator (Mt Holyoke) (Hall of Fame) in 1797

Margaret of Scotland, queen of Norway in 1261

Vincente Minnelli, director (American in Paris, Gigi) in 1910

Zero "Samuel" Mostel, actor (Fiddler on the Roof) in 1915

Thomas Newcomen, English co-inventor (steam engine) in 1663

Bugsy Siegel, gangster created casinos in Las Vegas in 1906

Today’s Obits                                                           

Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, comedian (Jack Benny Show), dies of heart disease at 71 in 1977

Mr Ed, talking horse, dies

Paul Harvey, American radio broadcaster dies at 91 in 2009

Ishiro Honda, Japanese director/producer (Godzilla), dies at 81 in 1993

Henry James, US/British writer (Bostonians), dies of stroke at 72 in 1916

Charles Nicolle, French bacteriologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine  dies at 70 in 1936

Mike Smith, English musician (The Dave Clark Five) dies of pneumonia at 64 in 2008

Answers                    

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.      Events:

a.      Turn of events

2.      War:

a.      Tug of war

3.      Fate:

a.      Twist of fate

4.      Endearment:

a.      Terms of Endearment

5.      Cancer:

a.      Tropic of Cancer

6.      Athens:

a.      Timon of Athens

7.      Duty:

a.      Tour of Duty

8.      Babble:

a.      Tower of Babble

9.      Thought:

a.      Train of thought

10.   Iodine:

a.      Tincture of iodine

11.   Versailles:

a.      Treaty of Versailles

12.   Wills:

a.      Test of wills

13.   Voice: tone

14.   Knowledge:

a.      Tree of Knowdlege

15.   Contents:

a.      Table of contents

16.   The morning:

a.      Top of the morning

Wuzzle

• Unfinished business
• Staying ahead of the game
• Falling rain

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 27

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

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

1801 - Washington DC placed under Congressional jurisdiction

1827 - 1st Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans

1908 - Sacrifice fly adopted (repealed in 1931, reinstated 1954)

1951 - 22nd amendment ratified, limiting president to 2 terms

1970 - NY Times (falsely) reports US army has ended domestic surveillance

1984 - Carl Lewis jumps world record indoor (8,675 m)

1992 - Tiger Woods, 16, becomes youngest PGA golfer in 35 years

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪                     

 

Free Rambling Thoughts   

A good Sunday. A walk in the morning. Caught up on some DVR shows this afternoon. A little laundry done. Relaxing Sunday, for sure The world has been holding its breath to find out who our infamous governor was going to endorse. NOT! She did it today, on Meet the Press…it’s Mitt. Her squeaky voice, her crazy giggle when excited may or may not help Mitt. She was invited to the White House while in DC for a Governor’s Conference. In true Jan style, she refused, saying she was there for business, and an event at the White House is not for business. Wheee…soon the song  ‘They’re coming to take me away, hee hee haa haa’ will be her campaign song…
 Our discussion group was amazing last night. We all had a lot to say about the mess in Mexico. It was agreed that the current drug situation needs to be slowed, so the people of Mexico can feel safer.  People agreed with Tony’s scenario of the bee hive I heard in Merida. We had a new participant, who was vacationing in Ensenada in the mid ‘90’s. He was a software designer and under a lot of business pressure. His cab driver said he couldn’t understand the Northerners who are totally stressed and come to Mexico to unwind for a week or so, just to go back and get totally stressed again. It hit home for him and he sold his software firm, for a tidy profit, and began relaxing. Now he, at 50+, is pursuing a degree in astro-physics at NAU. He sure had some good discussion points. A good evening for sure. Next discussion is on Cybersecurity in a couple of weeks. I’ll be the moderator and sure hope he make that meeting.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase that includes the letters N-E-T consecutively. Specifically, the letters N-E will end the first word, and T will start the second. For example, if the clue is "cause of a breakdown on the road," the answer would be "engine trouble."

1.      A person with a crystal ball:

2.      What M stands for in roman numerals:

3.      Plant with cones:

4.      Kind of party that might be held in Napa:

5.      A purchase from American or Delta:

6.      It’s located between and incisor and a pre-molar:

7.      Company with slogan ‘where the rubber meets the road’:

8.      What’s filled up in a ‘fill-up’:

9.      When you call someone and miss them, they call back and miss you, and on and on:

10.   What the 10 Commandments were written on:

11.   Steel cutting tool that has a flame: acetylene torch

12.   Activity of the NWS on the Atlantic and Gulf coast:

13.   Last day before the summer solstice:

14.   What Sacagawea was a member of:

15.   Tiny adjustments to make something perfect:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance     

Planet Earth—Mayans

Found on You Tube         

Halley's Comet

Harper’s Index         

Number of the 48 wrestlers who participated in 1991’s WrestleMania who are now dead: 13

Joke-of-the-day

A kindergarten teacher handed out a coloring page to her class. On it was a picture of a duck holding an umbrella. The teacher told her class to color the duck in yellow and the umbrella green, however, Bobby, the class rebel, colored the duck in a bright fire truck red. After seeing this, the teacher asked him: "Bobby, how many times have you see a red duck?"
Young Bobby replied with "The same number of times I've seen a duck holding an umbrella."Rules of Thumb  
Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guessThe more arctic an animal's habitat, the greater the danger in eating its liver.

Somewhat Useless Information    

Pablo Picasso was born Pablo Ruiz on October 25, 1881, the son of Don José Ruiz Blasco. In his early years, he signed his name Ruiz Blasco after his father, but later decided to take his mother's maiden name, Picasso, because he liked the unusual sound of it.

Picasso once said, "Art is not the application of a canon of beauty but what the instinct and the brain can conceive beyond any canon. When we love a woman we don’t start measuring her limbs."

Picasso's earliest and most famous "period" is known as the Blue Period and, aside from the obvious color reference, features works with moving depictions of acrobats, harlequins, prostitutes, beggars and artists.

After the Second World War, Picasso joined the French Communist party. His political beliefs, which evolved from his early experiences growing up in near poverty, opened him to sharp criticism, but he didn't budge in his commitment to the ideal of communism.

 Yeah, It Really Happened                 

SAN DIEGO - A California woman accused of stealing about 2,000 items from various libraries and selling them online pleaded guilty to felony burglary. San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Marnie McGee said Maria Nater, 45, pleaded guilty Tuesday and will likely receive a probation sentence at an April 25 hearing, KSWB-TV, San Diego, reported Thursday.
Authorities said an investigation was opened when workers at a Carlsbad library noticed significant book loss and a search of Nater's Vista home turned up thousands of missing library books and DVDs, worth an estimated $5,400, with some packaged to be shipped. Nater, who was arrested in September, admitted taking the books from libraries in Carlsbad, Oceanside and San Diego. She said she was selling the pilfered items on Amazon.com.

Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

26-3/3

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week

National Secondhand Wardrobe Week

Telecommuter Appreciation Week

Peace Corps Week

Today Is                                                                      

International Polar Bear Day

Orthodox Green Monday--Orthodox Lent Begins

Dominican Republic: Independence Day 1844 from Haiti

Today’s Other Events                                                             

Before 1000CE

837 - 15th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet

1500’s

1557 - 1st Russian Embassy arrives in London

1600’s

1699 - Fearing an English take over of the Mississippi Valley, Frenchman Pierre le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville is granted permission to establish a series of forts along the lower Mississippi River. He begins his voyage up the Mississippi.

1800’s

1813 - 1st federal vaccination legislation enacted

1854 - Composer Robert Schumann saved from suicide attempt in Rhine

1864 - Near Andersonville GA, rebels open a new POW camp "Camp Sumpter"

1883 - Oscar Hammerstein patents 1st cigar-rolling machine

1900’s

1906 - France & Britain agree to joint control of New Hebrides

1922 - Supreme Court unanimously upheld 19th amend woman's right to vote

1927 - For 2nd Sunday in a row golfers in SC arrested for violating Sabbath

1950 - General Chiang Kai-shek elected president of Nationalist China

1956 - Elvis Presley's releases "Heartbreak Hotel"

1956 - Female suffrage in Egypt 1957 - Premiere of only prime-time network TV show beginning with an "X":  "Xavier Cugat Show" on NBC (until  X-Files)

1964 - The government of Italy asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over

1973 - American Indian Movement occupy Wounded Knee in South Dakota. It lasts until May 8, 1973

1974 - "People" magazine begins sales

1988 - Katarina Witt (GDR) wins 2nd consecutive Olympic figure skating

1990 - Exxon Corp & Exxon Shipping are indicted on 5 criminal counts (Valdez)

1994 - 17th Winter Olympic games closes in Lillehammer, Norway

2000’s

2003 - Former Bosnian Serb leader Biljana Plavsic is sentenced by the U.N. tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, to 11 years in prison

2003 - Rowan Williams is enthroned as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury in the Anglican church

2004 - A bombing of a Superferry by Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines worst terrorist attack kills 116

2010 - Central Chile is hit with an 8.8 magnitude earthquake

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 80’s

Joanne Woodward, actress (3 Faces of Eve, Rachel) is 82

In their 70’s

Howard Hesseman, actor (Dr Johnny Fever -WKRP, Head of Class) is 72

[Navarre] Scott Momaday, US author (House Made of Dawn, Pulitzer 1969) is 78

Ralph Nader, consumer advocate (Unsafe at Any Speed) is 78

Van Williams, actor (Green Hornet, Tycoon) is 78

In their 50’s

Adam Baldwin, actor (Full Metal Jacket, My Bodyguard) is 50

In their 30’s

Chelsea Clinton, daughter of President Clinton is 32

Josh Groban, American singer is 31

Remembered for being born on this day

Walter Briggs, Sr., American entrepreneur and sports team owner in 1877

John Connally, (Gov-D/R-Texas), shot in Kennedy motorcade in 1917

William Demarest, actor (Uncle Charlie-My 3 Sons) in 1892

Hiram Bond Everest, American cofounder of The Vacuum Oil Company in 1831

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, poet (Hiawatha) in 1807

John Steinbeck, author (Grapes of Wrath-Nobel 1962) in 1902

Elizabeth Taylor, London, actress (Cleopatra) violet eyes in 1932

Today’s Obits                                                           

Marius Barbeau, French Canadian folklorist dies at 86 in 1969

Pat Brady, American actor and singer (Roy Rodgers Show) dies at 57 in 1972

William F. Buckley, Jr., American conservative author and commentator dies at 83 in 2008

Lillian Gish, US actress (Birth of a Nation), dies at 96 in 1993

S I Hayakawa, (Sen-California, 1977-83), dies at 85 in 1992

Henry Cabot Lodge, (Sen-R)/diplomat, dies at 82 in 1985

Pat J O'Malley, actor (My Favorite Martian, Maude), dies at 83 in 1985

Ivan P Pavlov, Russian physiologist (reflexes, Nobel 1904), dies at 86 in 1936

Fred Rogers, American children's television actor dies at 75 in 2003

Louis Vuitton, French luggage maker dies at 71 in 1892

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.      A person with a crystal ball:

a.      fortune teller

2.      What M stands for in roman numerals:

a.      one thousand

3.      Plant with cones:

a.      pine tree

4.      Kind of party that might be held in Napa:

a.      wine tasting

5.      A purchase from American or Delta:

a.      airline ticket

6.      It’s located between and incisor and a pre-molar:

a.      canine tooth

7.      Company with slogan ‘where the rubber meets the road’:

a.      Firestone tires

8.      What’s filled up in a ‘fill-up’:

a.      gasoline tank

9.      When you call someone and miss them, they call back and miss you, and on and on:

a.      telephone tag

10.   What the 10 Commandments were written on:

a.      stone tablets

11.   Steel cutting tool that has a flame:

a.      acetylene torch

12.   Activity of the NWS on the Atlantic and Gulf coast:

a.      Hurricane tracking

13.   Last day before the summer solstice:

a.      June twentieth

14.   What Sacagawea was a member of:

a.      Shoshone Tribe

15.   Tiny adjustments to make something perfect:

a.      fine tuning

Wuzzle

• Jumbo jet
• Two under par
• Cut in two pieces

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  ☺