Mar 7

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

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

1798 - The French army enters Rome: the birth of the Roman Republic

1862 - The Battle of Pea Ridge takes place through tomorrow. Many Indians will be fighting on both sides of the Civil War battle.

1911 - US sent 20,000 troops to Mexican border

1939 - Guy Lombardo & Royal Canadians 1st record  "Auld Lang Syne"

1942 - 1st cadets graduated from flying school at Tuskegee

1974 - 1st general striking in Ethiopia

1975 - Senate revises filibuster rule, allows 60 senators to limit debate

Thomas Aquinas, Italian theologian/saint, dies after long illness at 48 in 1274

Aristotle, Greek philosopher dies of natural causes at about 61 in 322 BCE

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪                     

 

Free Rambling Thoughts   

Wind, wind, and more wind. I went out to get new tires and succeeded, but had to maneuver with 50+MPH winds everywhere. Tires for my Xterra weren’t cheap, but now I am safer, and the old ones lasted 6 years, so not that bad. And the new ones are guaranteed for the life of the tread not to separate. 

Super Tuesday…wow…4 years ago I really cared about the results…this year, not so much.

Some good news from AZ today—our governor said that the sheriff’s birth certificate issue is a non-issue. Good for her. 

Been getting ready for our discussion group on cyber security. Very frightening stuff. Our electrical grid, power grid, land line telephones, banks, cell phones, gas pumps, just about everything are tied into some kind of internet grid. Hackers within and outside the US are busy trying to disrupt them. A few months ago, a hacker was able to get into the NASA computers and steal lots of stuff. The US had a hand in gaining access to the Iranian nuclear plants and planting some bugs. It’s amazing how this world has become do dependent on computers. And how scary it is that every computer is open to hackers.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

For each clue, the answer is a four-letter word. The word is an anagram of one of the words in the clue. For example, if the clue is "main line through Egypt," the answer would be "Nile," because Nile is a rearrangement of the letters in "line."

1.      Group that acts in a play:

2.      Cheese made in Holland:

3.      Person one likes very much:

4.      Musical tone:

5.      Clothing item worn inside a shoe:

6.      Overrule as a Congressional vote:

7.      Bit of land that lies in the ocean:

8.      Vile:

9.      Ayes:

10.   Wander over:

11.   What freezers do when the electricity is turned off:

12.   Drinks for sale at a pub:

13.   Source of money used by clubs:

14.   Last thing added to buttered popcorn:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance     

Planet Earth—Mayan

Found on You Tube         

 Lord Snowdon's photographs

Harper’s Index         

Estimated percentage of Americans aged 17 to 24 who are ineligible to join the military: 75Of some 32 million Americans now in this group, the Army deems the vast majority too obese, too uneducated, too flawed in some way, according to its estimates for the current budget year. The Census Bureau estimates that the overall pool of people who would be in the military's prime target age has shrunk as American society ages. There were 1 million fewer 18- to 24-year olds in 2004 than in 2000, the agency says.

Joke-of-the-day

The Top 10 Signs You Have A Bad History Teacher

Constantly gets Indonesia and Outdonesia confused.
As incentive for learning, when you name a state capital, you get to take a shot.
Insists that one of Popes during the Roman empire was Pope Bubba.
Thinks that Mussolini was Hitler's favorite pasta.
Counts Puerto Rico, Mexico and Canada as "technically" U.S. States.
Tells you that its Napoleon that's the ice cream that comes in 3 flavors in one box.
Insists that the Great Depression could have been stopped with the right amount of Lithium.
Threatens to renact Salem Witch Trials/Burnings if homework is not turned in on time.
Claims that it was Martin and Lewis that were the great explorers of the West.
Credits David Hasselhoff and not Democracy for the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

Homeowners should plan on paying about $100 a month for a repair fund. Total net housing cost can be 40-45 percent more than the base mortgage.

Somewhat Useless Information    

Real cellophane, as opposed to "cello" or polypropylene, is made from natural cellulose that comes from wood. Cellophane is a natural product and is 100% compostable with nearly zero environmental impact.

Cellophane also has high permeability that allows moisture to pass thus preventing condensation and reducing the risk of mold.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 

A New York woman has filed a lawsuit against her former Roman Catholic college in Boston, claiming administrators didn't do enough to help her when she complained that her roommate was having too much sex in their dorm room.Lindsay Blankmeyer said in a federal lawsuit that she suffered from depression and attention deficit disorder before she enrolled at Stonehill College, but was driven into a suicidal depression after school officials wouldn't give her reasonable housing alternatives to get her away from her roommate at the school in Easton, Mass.Blankmeyer said her roommate had sex with her boyfriend while she was trying to sleep just feet away and also participated in "sexually inappropriate video chatting" while Blankmeyer was in the dorm room. After trying unsuccessfully to persuade school officials to force her roommate to move out or to give her an acceptable private room, Blankmeyer ended up living at a hotel, according to the lawsuit filed earlier this week.
"Stonehill refused Lindsay's request for a single room and in the following weeks and months Lindsay fell into a dark and suicidal depression requiring her to take a leave of absence from school and undergo extensive psychiatric and medical treatment," the lawsuit states.Stonehill spokeswoman Kristen Magda said the college responded "swiftly and professionally" to Blackmeyer's complaints about her roommate, first trying to resolve the dispute through mediation with a residence director, then by giving Blankmeyer "multiple options" for campus housing, including a private room."At no time did the student notify college staff that her concerns involved her roommate's sexual activity," Magda said Friday.In the lawsuit, Blankmeyer says the college offered her two options, one was moving to another dorm where she would live in a room that was previously used as a study lounge and was a "small cubicle-like space." The other option was to move to a dorm with a reputation as a "party dorm" to live with a girl Blankmeyer did not know.

Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

1-7

National Cheerleading Week

National Ghostwriters Week

National Write A Letter of Appreciation Week

Universal Human Beings Week

3-18

Iditarod Race

4-10

Celebrate Your Name Week

National Consumer Protection Week

National Procrastination Week

National Schools Social Work Week

National Words Matter Week

Professional Pet Sitters Week

Save Your Vision Week

Read an E-Book Week

Return The Borrowed Books Week

Teen Tech Week

Women in Construction Week

5-8

American Council on Education

5-9

Newspaper in Education Week

National School Breakfast Week

Share A Story - Shape A Future Week

5-11

National Sleep Awareness Week

Today Is                                                                      

Cereal Day

Learn What Your Name Means Day

National Be Heard Day

National Crown Roast Of Pork Day

World Math Day

Australia/Tasmania: Eight Hour or Labor Day

Guam: Discovery Day / Magellan Day (1521)

Iceland: Bun Day (Children are armed with a colorful tissue wrapped wand and will be rewarded with a cream bun for each spank given to your parents before they get out of bed. You shout "Bolla, bolla!" ("Bun, bun!") as you wake your parents. Afterwards you all go downstairs for bollur/cream puffs for breakfast.)

Today’s Other Events                                                             

Before 1000CE

321 - Roman Emperor Constantine I decrees that the dies Solis Invicti (sun-day) is the day of rest in the Empire.

1500’s

1560 - Christian fleet under Gian Andrea lands at Djerba, N Africa

1600’s

1644 - Massachusetts establishes 1st 2-chamber legislature in colonies

1700’s

1774 - British close port of Boston to all commerce

1778 - Capt James Cook 1st sights Oregon coast, at Yaquina Bay

1782 - Monrovian missionaries had converted many Delaware, Majocam, and Mimsee Indians to Christianity. They had established villages in Pennsylvania in 1746, but moved to the Muskingum River in Ohio in 1773 after their old villages were attacked by other Indian tribes.

1800’s

1843 - 1st Catholic governor in US, Edward Kavanagh of Maine, takes office

1896 - Gilbert & Sullivan's last operetta "Grand Duke," premieres in London

1900’s

1917 - 1st jazz record "Dixie Jazz Band One Step," recorded by Nick LaRocca Original Dixieland Jazz Band, released by RCA Victor

1926 - 1st transatlantic telephone call (London-NY)

1933 - Game of "Monopoly" invented

1939 - Glamour magazine begins publishing

1945 - Yugoslavia government of Tito forms

1955 - Mary Martin as "Peter Pan" televised

1971 - Egypt refuses to renew the Suez cease fire

1981 - 1st homicide at Disneyland, 18 year old is stabbed to death

1993 - Diff'rent Stroke actor Todd Bridges arrested for stabbing a tenant

1994 - The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. that parodies of an original work are generally covered by the doctrine of fair use

1996 - Magic Johnson is 2nd NBA player to reach 10,000 career assists

2000’s

2004 - New Democracy wins the national elections in Greece.

2005 - Mass protest outside the National Assembly of Kuwait building for women's voting rights in Kuwait

2007 - British House of Commons votes to make the upper chamber, the House of Lords, 100% elected

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 70’s

Willard Scott, weather forecaster (Today Show) is 78

Lord Snowdon, [Anthony Armstrong-Jones], London, photographer is 72

Daniel J Travanti, actor (Frank Furillo-Hill St Blues) is 72

In their 60’s

Peter Wolf, rock singer (J Giels Band-Centerfold, Freeze Frame) is 66

In their 40’s

Wanda Sykes, comedian, actor is 48

Remembered for being born on this day

Anthony Comstock, anti-vice crusader/philatelist in 1844

Robert Roy MacGregor (Rob Roy), Scottish folk hero in 1671

William Rockhill Nelson, founder of The Kansas City Star and patron of Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in 1841

Ephraim Williams, American philanthropist in 1715

Today’s Obits                                                           

Stanley Kubrick, American film director dies of heart attack at 70 in 1999

Divine, [Harris Milstead], female impersonator (Pink Flamingos), dies of enlarged heart at 42 in 1988

Hinsdale Smith, developer of roll-down auto windows, dies at 88 in 1959

Alice B. Toklas, American companion to Gertrude Stein dies in poverty at 89 in 1967

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game

Oops: yesterdays answer: the list on the left begin with a vowel, the ones on the right, a consonant.

 Today’s answer

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.      Group that acts in a play:

a.      cast

2.      Cheese made in Holland:

a.      edam

3.      Person one likes very much:

a.      chum

4.      Musical tone:

a.      note

5.      Clothing item worn inside a shoe:

a.      hose

6.      Overrule as a Congressional vote:

a.       veto

7.      Bit of land that lies in the ocean:

a.      Isle

8.      Vile:

a.      evil

9.      Ayes:

a.      yeas

10.   Wander over:

a.      rove

11.   What freezers do when the electricity is turned off:

a.      thaw

12.   Drinks for sale at a pub:

a.      ales

13.   Source of money used by clubs:

a.      dues

14.   Last thing added to buttered popcorn:     

a.      salt

Wuzzle

• Three months overdue
• Exterminate
• Off and on relationship

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  ☺

Mar 6

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

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

1788 - The First Fleet arrives at Norfolk Island in order to found a convict settlement

1831 - Edgar Allen Poe removed from West Point milt academy

1857 - Dred Scott Decision: Supreme Court rules slaves cannot be citizens

1899 - "Asprin" patented by Felix Hoffmann Bayer registers aspirin as a trademark

1964 - Elijah Muhammad renames Cassius Clay, Muhammad Ali

1992 - Founding of the Council of the Baltic Sea States

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪                     

 

Free Rambling Thoughts   

Sad news today…Martha’s brother Mickey passed away this morning. He was a great musician and shared his music with anyone who wanted it. He has been in poor health the last few years, but always kept a positive attitude. He will be missed my many. Time for new tires on my ride…not from driving, but from age. They are six years old and the mechanic says they are starting to separate. Guess I’ll be busy tomorrow and by the end of the day much poorer. This is the first time I’ve had tires get too old, so I can’t really complain. A friend sent me a video in preparation for my Uganda trip. It is  gorilla-human contact.. I don’t expect anything like this on my trip but sure got me excited about my trip next January.
 Flag has another wind advisory for tomorrow. Whee!!!! 35+mph winds with 55+mph gusts. Sadly, no precipitation is expected until maybe Wednesday.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

This puzzle is in honor of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Because U.P. is short for Upper Peninsula, each answer has "U" and "P" in it. The first clue is: "U" and "P" are the initials of a common two-word phrase naming something holding a street lamp. What is it?

1.      Something holding a street light:

2.      2 word phrase, starts with ‘u’, ends with’p’ and provides black light:

3.      4 letter word that ends with ‘up’ and the ‘p’ is silent:

4.      The letters ‘u’ and ‘p’ rhyme with loopy and soupy, what kind of doll do they rhyme with:

5.      Foreign currency that rhymes with ‘u’, ‘p’:

6.      Part of a newspaper, add ‘up’ after the first letter and the word means ‘holds up’:

7.      Common 6 letter exercise that contains 2 u’s and 2 p’s:

8.      What Greek classical name starts with the syllable ‘u’ and ends with the syllable ‘p’:

9.      Civil war general that has an ‘h’ in his name, change the ‘h’ to ‘up’ and name another hero:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance     

Planet Earth—Mayan

Found on You Tube         

 Perry Como Live - Kewpie DollDifferent Types of Kewpie Dolls

Harper’s Index         

Estimated annual cost of rust and other corrosion to the Defense Department each year: $23,000,000,000

Joke-of-the-day

A farm boy accidentally overturned his wagonload of corn. The farmer who lived nearby heard the noise and yelled over to the boy, "Hey Willis forget your troubles. Come in and visit with us. I'll help you get the wagon up later."
"That's mighty nice of you," Willis answered, "but I don't think Pa would like me to."
"Aw come on boy," the farmer insisted.
"Well okay," the boy finally agreed, and added, "but Pa won't like it."
After a hearty dinner, Willis thanked his host. "I feel a lot better now, but I know Pa is going to be real upset."
"Don't be foolish!" the neighbor said with a smile. "By the way, where is he?"
"Under the wagon."

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

To make an alcoholic punch, figure one of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, 4 weak.

Somewhat Useless Information    

In Japan, "drive-in" refers to a rest area.

In the German-speaking world, the term "drive-in" is often used instead of "drive-through" when referring to restaurants that offer those services.

At their peak in the baby boomer years after World War II, there were more than 4,000 drive-in movie theaters across the U.S. Today, there are fewer than 500 still in operation.

In 2003 and 2004, people began to organize "guerrilla drive-ins" and "guerrilla walk-ins" in parking lots and empty fields. The movie showings were often organized online, and participants met up at pre-determined locations to watch films projected on bridge pillars or warehouse walls.

Starting in 1933, when the first drive-in theater opened, Variety magazine used the term "Ozoner" to describe an outdoor movie theatre in which patrons viewed a film from their automobile. The term was also used to describe the people that attend drive-in movie theaters.

Richard Hollingshead Jr.'s motive behind the invention of the drive-in was actually to sell more auto products, as this was his business in the 1930s. He wanted to establish a place where people could park their cars, enjoy a meal, and watch a movie outdoors.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 

NANTES, France — A Frenchman took Google to court Thursday over a photo published online by its Street View application showing him urinating in his front yard which he believes has made him the laughing stock of his village in rural northwest France.The man, who is aged around 50 and lives in a village of some 3,000 people in the Maine-et-Loire region, is demanding the removal of the photo, in which locals have recognized him despite his face being blurred out.He also wants about $13,300 in damages."Everyone has the right to a degree of secrecy," his lawyer, Jean-Noel Bouillard, told Reuters. "In this particular case, it's more amusing than serious. But if he'd been caught kissing a woman other than his wife, he would have had the same issue."Google's Street View, covering some 30 countries and available in France since 2008, enables users of Google Maps to also view photos of streets taken by its camera cars, which have cameras hoisted on frames on their roofs.The man thought he was hidden from view by his closed gate as he relieved himself in November 2010. But Google's lens caught him from above his gate as it passed by. Bouillard did not explain why the man chose to urinate outside.Google's lawyer in the case, named by local daily Ouest France as Christophe Bigot, was not immediately reachable, but the newspaper said he was pleading that the case should be declared null and void.The court, in the nearby city of Angers, is due to give its verdict on March 15.

 Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

1-7

National Cheerleading Week

National Ghostwriters Week

National Write A Letter of Appreciation Week

Universal Human Beings Week

3-18

Iditarod Race

4-10

 Celebrate Your Name Week

National Consumer Protection Week

National Procrastination Week

National Schools Social Work Week

National Words Matter Week

Professional Pet Sitters Week

Save Your Vision Week

Read an E-Book Week

Return The Borrowed Books Week

Teen Tech Week

Women in Construction Week

5-8

American Council on Education

5-9

Newspaper in Education Week

National School Breakfast Week

Share A Story - Shape A Future Week

5-11

National Sleep Awareness Week

Today Is                                                                      

Namesake Day

National Frozen Food Day

Peace Corp Birthday

Sofia Kovalevskaya Math Day [first major female mathematician in Russia

Unique Names Day

U.S. Snowshoe Day

Ghana: Independence Day (1957 from UK)

Today’s Other Events                                                             

1500’s

1521 - Magellan discovers Guam

1600’s

1646 - Joseph Jenkes, MA, receives 1st colonial machine patent

1700’s

1775 - 1st Negro Mason in US initiated, Boston

1777-  70 SHAWNEE warriors, led by Chief Blackfish, will attack some settlers near Harrodsburg, Kentucky. One of the men, James Ray, managed to escape and warn the settlement of the war party. The SHAWNEE will attack Harrodsburg tomorrow.

1800’s

1808 - 1st college orchestra in US founded, at Harvard

1834 - Toronto incorporated

1836 - 3,000 Mexicans beat 182 Texans at the Alamo, after 13 day fight

1873: After hearing from Hooker Jim of the "trap" at the Fairchild ranch, Captain Jack has his sister Mary Write a letter to the commissioners. The letter states Captain Jack's wish for both sides to forget the killings on both sides and for the slate to be wiped clean. Captain Jack wants no more killing, but he will not give up his people to be hanged. He states he has not asked for the whites who have killed his people (Mocdoc).

1886 - 1st US nurses' magazine, The Nightingale, 1st appears, NYC

1900’s

1918 - US naval boat "Cyclops" disappears in Bermuda Triangle

1922 - Babe Ruth signs 3 years at $52,000 [2010USD $670357] a year NY Yankee contract

1950 - Silly Putty invented

1962 - US promise Thailand assistance against communist aggression

1964 - Tom O'Hara runs world record mile (3:56.4)

1966 - Barry Sadlers' "Ballad of the Green Berets" becomes #1 (13 weeks)

1970 - Beatles release  "Let it Be" in UK

1972 - Jack Nicklaus, passes Arnold Palmer as golf's all-time money winner

1978 - Hustler publisher Larry Flynt shot & crippled by a sniper in Ga

1981 - Walter Cronkite signs-off as anchorman of "CBS Evening News"

1982 - NBA highest scoring game: San Antonio beat Milwaukee 171-166 (3 OT)

1997 - Picasso's painting Tête de Femme is stolen from a London gallery, and is recovered a week later

2000’s

2006 - South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds signs a bill into legislation that would ban most abortions in the state

2007 - Former White House aide I. Lewis Libby, Jr. is found guilty on four of five counts of perjury and obstruction of justice trial

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 90’s

Lewis Gilbert, London England, director/actor (You Only Live Twice) is 92

In their 80’s

Thomas S Foley, (Rep-D-WA, 1965-94)/majority whip/speaker of house is 83

Alan Greenspan, economist/presidential advisor (FRB) is 86

In their 60’s

Martin Kove, actor (Cagney & Lacey) is 66

David Gilmore, Cambridge England, guitarist (Pink Floyd) is 68

Rob Reiner, Bronx NY, actor/director (All in the Family, Stand By Me) is 67

Mary Wilson, vocalist (Supremes-Where Did Our Love Go) is 68

In their 50’s

Tom Arnold, actor is 53

In their 40’s

D.L. Hughley, comedian is 49

Shaquille O'Neal NBA center (Magic, Lakers, Oly-gold-96) is 40

Remembered for being born on this day

Cyrano de Bergerac, famous nose, playwright (Voyage to the Moon) in 1619

[Walter] Furry Lewis, father of the blues in 1893

Ed McMahon, TV host (Johnny Carson Show, Star Search) in 1923

Michelangelo, Italian painter (David) in 1475

Today’s Obits                                                           

Louisa May Alcott, US author (Old-fashioned Girl), dies of autoimmune disease, or acute mercury exposure at 55 in 1888

Jim Bowie, American pioneer and soldier dies at Alamo at 40 in 1836

Pearl S[ydenstricker] Buck, author (Good Earth-Nobel 1938), dies at 80

Davy Crockett, US pioneer killed at Alamo at 49 in 1836

Nelson Eddy, US baritone/actor (Phantom of the Opera), dies after stroke at 65 in 1967

William Hopper, actor (Paul Drake-Perry Mason), dies after stroke at 55 in 1973

Georgia O'Keefe, US painter (Flowers), dies at 98 in 1986

Ayn Rand, author-philosopher (Atlas Shrugged), dies in NY at 77 in 1982

John Philip Sousa, US composer (Stars & Stripes Forever ), dies at 77 in 1932

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.      Something holding a street light:

a.      utility pole

2.      2 word phrase, starts with ‘u’, ends with’p’ and provides black light:

a.      ultraviolet lamp

3.      4 letter word that ends with ‘up’ and the ‘p’ is silent:

a.       coup

4.      The letters ‘u’ and ‘p’ rhyme with loopy and soupy, what kind of doll do they rhyme with:

a.      Kewpie

5.      Foreign currency that rhymes with ‘u’, ‘p’:

a.      rupee

6.      Part of a newspaper, add ‘up’ after the first letter and the word means ‘holds up’:

7.                     supports

8.      Common 6 letter exercise that contains 2 u’s and 2 p’s:

a.      push ups or pull ups

9.      What Greek classical name starts with the syllable ‘u’ and ends with the syllable ‘p’:

a.      Euterpe—muse of music

10.   Civil war general that has an ‘h’ in his name, change the ‘h’ to ‘up’ and name another hero:

a.      superman

Wuzzle

• Right here and now
• Preadolescent
• Oddball

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  ☺