Jan 5 2012

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

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

• 1993 - The oil tanker MV Braer, on the coast of the Shetland Islands, spills 84,700 tons of crude oil
• 1972 - Pres Nixon signs a bill for NASA to begin research on manned shuttle
• 1970 - 23,000 Belgian mine workers strike
• 1961 - US breaks diplomatic relations with Cuba
• 1940 - FCC hears 1st transmission of FM radio with clear, static-free signal
• 1905 - National Association of Audubon Society incorporates
• 1887 - 1st US school of librarianship opens at Columbia University

♫Happy Birthday To: ♫                     

 

Free Rambling Thoughts   

This blog is taking a break until January 11^th.

I had a great lunch with our retirement group. Cheryl traded in her two vehicles for a new RAV4…very cool. We shared Christmas stories with the various kids we were around. Also cool. We all agree that 2012 is going to be a great year.

I’m ready for my Merida trip. Mail on hold, paper donated, plants watered, passport ready. This trip is going to be short, but should be a lot of fun. Laura, my brother’s wife, has put together quite an itinerary. Each of us is being picked up by a driver holding my name…muy bueno. Never had that happen in all my travels. When I travel with Focus, our guide usually has a sign saying Focus Travel…that is used only at the airport. One of the things I like about Focus is that we aren’t following a sign everywhere we go. Our guide learns all our names, by the end of day one. Anyway, Merida is beautiful during the day and cool at night…I’m ready.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

NEW—Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

2010.. You are given names you've probably never heard of before 2010, but that became famous during those 12 months. You must identify each person.

1.     Scott Brown: Senator from Mass who won Ted Kennedy’s seat

2.     Tony Hayward: Chairman of BP who said it ruined his vacation

3.     Shirley Sherrod: Ag dept released her over the phone while on duty in GA

4.     Elena Kagan: supreme justice appointee

5.     Steve Slater: jet blue steward who made news for quitting

6.     Julian Assange: Wikileak founder

7.     Kathryn Bigelow: best director for Hurt Locker

8.     Liu Xiaobo: Chinese Nobel winner

9.     John Tyner: ‘don’t touch my junk” to TSA guy

10.  Marc Mezvinsky: married Chelsea Clinton

11.  Paul the Octopus: world cup predictor

12.  Eyjafjallajökull: volcano in Iceland

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance      

AZ Centennial is in days: Did you know?…

• The amount of copper on the roof of the Capitol building is equivalent to 4,800,000 pennies.
• Wyatt Earp was neither the town marshal nor the sheriff in Tombstone, Arizona at the time of the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral. His brother Virgil was the town marshal, who had temporarily deputized Wyatt, Morgan and Doc Holliday prior to the gunfight.
• Arizona observes Mountain Standard Time on a year round basis. The one exception is the Navajo Nation, located in the northeast corner of the state, which observes the daylight savings time change.

Found on You Tube         

• Ultimate Pistol Pete Maravich MIX

Harper’s Index         

• Percentage of the current US debt that was accumulated during Republican presidential terms: 71

Joke-of-the-day

With high-definition TV everything looks bigger and wider. Kind of like going to your 25th high school reunion!

--

Man: Excuse me Miss, but were you born in Tennessee?

Woman: No, why?

Man: Because you’re the only ten-I-see!

Old-er people in the News

SUNSHINE Coast great-grandmother Terry Horder got the fright of her life when she accidentally stuck her eyes shut with super-strength glue.

The 78-year-old Wurtulla resident was defrosting the fridge when her eyes started watering and she reached for a bottle of allergy eye drops. But instead of grabbing the medicated drops she got Loctite 401 instant glue. The powerful adhesive was being kept in the fridge to avoid heat damage.

"That second my eyes were glued shut and I realised the glue was next to the drops in the fridge," Mrs Horder said.

Her husband of 57 years, Joe Horder, said his normally outspoken wife was suddenly very quiet. "Normally you can't shut her up but she went very silent and I just heard this little voice say 'Dad, I think I've glued my eyes shut'," Mr Horder said.

Mr Horder called Triple-0 and paramedics soon arrived to take her to Caloundra Hospital's emergency ward. Nurses then used vegetable oil to try to remove the glue, which had fused Mrs Horder's eyelashes together and seeped under the lids.

"There was a pool of glue against the eyeball itself but lucky it couldn't dry because of the water on the eye," Mrs Horder said.

"They soaked my eyes for around five minutes and then tried to pry the lashes apart, which wasn't pleasant. But about 10 minutes later I was good as new."

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

• As a rule, the distance between your fingertips, with your arms outstretched at shoulder height, is equal to your height.

Somewhat Useless Information   

• The popular toy company Lego began in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen (7 April 1891 - 11 March 1958), a carpenter from Billund, Denmark, who began making wooden toys in 1932. In 1934, his company came to be called "LEGO", from the Danish phrase leg godt, which means "play-well".
• Each Lego piece must be manufactured to an exact degree of precision. When two pieces are engaged they must fit firmly, yet be easily disassembled. The machines that make Lego bricks have tolerances as small as 10 micrometers.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 

CHARLTON, Mass. - A Massachusetts woman said her 5-year-old daughter burst into tears when police officers showed up at her door and demanded her overdue library books. Shannon Benoit of Charlton said she was shocked when Charlton Police Sgt. Dan Dowd showed up to her door and informed her that her daughter, Hailey, had two overdue library books and needed to either return the tomes or pay for them, WBZ-TV, Boston, reported Tuesday.

"I thought it was way overboard," Benoit said. "I closed my door, I looked at my daughter and she started crying." She said her daughter asked if the police were going to arrest her.

Dowd said the duty was not his choice. "Nobody wanted to, on this end to get involved in it," the sergeant said. "But the library contacted us, and the chief delegated, and apparently I was one of the low men on the totem pole." Benoit said she located and returned the books.

Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

1-7

• Celebration of Life Week
• Diet Resolution Week
• Silent Record Week
• National Lose Weight/Feel Great Week
• Someday We'll Laugh About This Week
• New Year's Resolutions Week

5-9

• Women's Self Empowerment Week

Today Is                                                                      

• Asara B'Tevet  (Jewish fast commemorating the siege of Jerusalem)
• Bean Day (a day to celebrate beans in every way)
• Elvis' Birthday Celebration Day
• Twelfth Night

Today’s Other Events                                                             

1500’s

1527 - Felix Manz, a leader of the Anabaptist congregation in Zürich, is executed by drowning

1700’s

1709 - Sudden extreme cold kills 1000s of Europeans

1781 - British naval expedition led by Benedict Arnold burns Richmond, VA

1800’s

1806 - Sacajawea tells Lewis and Clark she wants to see a dead whale washed up on the beach in Oregon.

1834 - Kiowa Indians record this as the night the stars fell

1852 - One in a series of treaties with California Indians is signed today at Temecula. The treaty is to set aside land and to protect the San Luis Rey Indians from Europeans.

1896 - German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen's discovers x-rays

1900’s

1900 - Irish leader John Edward Redmond calls for a revolt against British rule

1911 - Portuguese expel Jesuits

1914 - Ford Motor Co wages jump from $2.40/9-hr day(US2010- $53.53) to $5.00/8-hr day (US2010-$107.49)

1930 - Mao Tse-tung [Mao Zedong] writes "A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire"

1937 - Only unicameral state legislature in US opens 1st session (NE)

1944 - The Daily Mail becomes the first transoceanic newspaper

1959 - "Bozo the Clown" live children's show premieres on TV

1976 - Cambodia is renamed "Democratic Kampuchea"

1981 - "Nightline" with Ted Koppel extended from 20 mins to 30 mins

1982 - Arkansas judge rules against obligatory teaching of creation

1993 - Reggie Jackson elected to Hall of Fame

1996 - Miami Dolphin coach Don Shula announces his retirement

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 40’s

Marilyn Manson, entertainer is 43

Renaldo Turnbull, NFL defensive end (NO Saints, Carolina Panthers) is 46

In their 50’s

George Tenet, American CIA director is 59

In their 60’s

Diane Keaton, actor is 66

In their 70’s

Charlie Rose, newscaster is 70

In their 80’s

Robert Duvall, actor is 81

Walter Fritz Mondale, (Sen-MN)/42nd VP (1977-81) is 84

Remembered for being born on this day

Jeane Dixon, American astrologer in 1904

Paul C la Fargue, cartoonist/painter in 1729

King Camp Gillette, inventor (safety razor) in 1855

Sam Phillips, musician/record founder (Sun) in 1923

Zebulon Montgomery Pike, explorer (Pike's Peak) in 1779

George Reeves, [George Lescher Bessolo], actor (Superman) in 1914

Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, Holy Roman Emperor in 1209

Jane Wyman, American actress (Magnificent Obsession) and 1st Mrs Ronald Reagan in 1917

Xu Xiake, Chinese geographer in 1587

Today’s Obits                                                           

Sonny Bono, (Rep-Ca)/singer (Sonny & Cher), dies skiing at 62 in 1998

Max Born, German/British physicist (Nobel 1954), dies at 87 in 1970

George Washington Carver, scientist, dies at 81 in 1943

Calvin Coolidge, 30th President (1923-29), dies of heart attack at 60 in 1933

Amelia Earhart, American aviator declared dead after disappearance in 1937 at 42 in 1939

Rogers Hornsby, baseball player, dies of a heart ailment at 66 in 1963

Arthur Kennedy, actor (Air Force), dies of a brain tumor at 76 in 1990

‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich, American basketball player dies of heart failure at 41 in 1988

Tug McGraw, American baseball player, father of Tim McGraw dies of brain tumor at 60 in 2004 Thomas P "Tip" O'Neill, (MA)/Speaker of House (1977-86), dies at 81 in 1994

Don Wilson, pitcher (Astro), dies at 29 of carbon monoxide poisoning in 1975

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.     Scott Brown: Senator from Mass who won Ted Kennedy’s seat

2.     Tony Hayward: Chairman of BP who said it ruined his vacation

3.     Shirley Sherrod: Ag dept released her over the phone while on duty in GA

4.     Elena Kagan: supreme justice appointee

5.     Steve Slater: jet blue steward who made news for quitting

6.     Julian Assange: Wikileak founder

7.     Kathryn Bigelow: best director for Hurt Locker

8.     Liu Xiaobo: Chinese Nobel winner

9.     John Tyner: ‘don’t touch my junk” to TSA guy

10.  Marc Mezvinsky: married Chelsea Clinton

11.  Paul the Octopus: world cup predictor

12.  Eyjafjallajökull: volcano in Iceland

Wuzzle

• A drop in the ocean
• Away from home
• Pieces of the puzzle

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  ☺

Jan 4, 2012

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

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

1863 - 4 wheeled roller skates patented by James Plimpton of NY

1884 - Last sighting of an eastern cougar (Ontario)

1915 - 1st elected Jewish governor, Moses Alexander, takes office in Idaho

1958 - Sputnik 1 reenters atmosphere & burns up

1975 - Ice thickness measured at 4776 m [15,669 ', 3.49 "], Wilkes Land, Antarctica

1995 - Newt Gingrich (R) becomes speaker of the House

♫Happy Birthday To: ♫                     

 

Free Rambling Thoughts   

Greg stopped by after school today and we worked on his T-Shirt design. It was enjoyable, and will be a great T-shirt once it is done. It’s the architectural drawing of a cataract boat. Very cool.

Getting ready to head to Merida…I leave the 5^th. Should be a fun trip…and warm??? I sure hope so.

It looked like it was going to be cold today, waking to an overcast sky…but just a nice day. Ran some errands, got the toilet fixed, and the maintenance guy said it was an ‘easy job’. Maybe for him.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

NEW—Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

Every answer is a made up two-word phrase in which the two words look like they should rhyme, but they don't. For example, given the clue "desires trousers," the answer would be "wants pants."

1.     Listens to grizzlies:

2.     Exhibits cattle:

3.     Holds tightly stinging insects:

4.     Provides mates for husbands:

5.     Outlaws graceful birds:

6.     Wheels out Barbies:

7.     Cuts plumbing items in two:

8.     Takes the rough edges off magician sticks:

9.     Interrupts series of wins:

10.  Is a pedicurist:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance      

AZ Centennial is in days: Did you know?…

• Arizona is a right-to-work state. The law states no person shall be denied the opportunity to obtain or retain employment because of non-membership in a labor organization.
• Arizona leads the nation in copper production.
• Arizona is home of the Grand Canyon National Park.

Found on You Tube         

DANCE OF 1000 HANDS...

Read the paragraph below before you watch the videoThere is an awesome dance, called the Thousand-Hand Guanyin, which is making the rounds across the net. Considering the tight coordination required, their accomplishment is nothing short of amazing, even if they were not all deaf. Yes, you read correctly. All 21 of the dancers are deaf-mutes. Relying only on signals from trainers at the four corners of the stage, these extraordinary dancers deliver a visual spectacle that is at once intricate and stirring. Its first major international debut was in Athens at the closing ceremonies for the 2004 Paralympics. ad long been in the repertoire of the Chinese Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe and had traveled to more than 40 countries. Its lead dancer is 29 year old Tai Lihua, who has a BA from the Hubei Fine Arts Institute. The video was recorded in Beijing during the Spring Festival this year. 

Harper’s Index         

• Opening weekend box office draw in Hong Kong of Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy, a 3D prono movie: $1,660,031
• For Iron Man 2: $1,529,782

Joke-of-the-day

Why is 6 afraid of 7?

Because 7,8,9.

Old-er people in the News

Helen Koton said she didn't hear any warning signals before the bridge started opening with her nearly halfway across. She said she was able to grab the railing. "I was holding onto the railing and I went up in the air," Koton later told WSVN-TV in Miami.

As the bridge rose to its full height, shocked motorists got out of their cars and told the bridge attendant, who lowered the span after several minutes. "Finally, I came down. When I came down, I fell on my face," she told the Fox affiliate. "So I bruised my forehead and my nose."

Those were the only injuries she suffered, and she was released after treatment at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood. Koton, a winter resident, also lives in Massachusetts.

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

• The distance between an alligator's eyes in inches is its length in feet.

Somewhat Useless Information   

• Virginia Dare was the first child born in the American colonies, on August 18th, 1587, on what is now Roanoke Island, North Carolina.
• Anne Bradstreet was the first published American woman writer (1650). Her published work was called The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America.
• In 1762, Ann Franklin became the first woman to hold the title of newspaper editor, "The Newport Mercury" in Newport, RI.
• Edward Smith was the first indicted bank robbed in the U.S. In 1831, he was sentenced to five years hard labor on the rock pile at Sing Sing Prison.
• Mary Walker was the first (and only) woman to receive the US Medal of Honor, in 1865. She was a Civil War surgeon. Her medal was rescinded in 1916, however, when the Army purged its files to cut down on what they thought were "unwarranted" issues. It wasn't re-instated until 1976.
• In 1892, Annie Moore became the first immigrant to pass through Ellis Island. She was 15 years old and from County Cork, Ireland.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 

LOS ANGELES - Transportation Security Administration workers at Los Angeles International Airport serenaded travelers with holiday classics and other tunes. The TSA Chorus entertained passengers at Terminal 4's American Airlines gates Tuesday with seasonal fare as well as tunes including "America the Beautiful" and "I Believe I Can Fly," the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

 "I love lifting spirits," TSA worker Ernest Perez III said. "And there is no better way to do this than with music." The chorus said they will be performing again Thursday, this time in the publicly accessible area of the Tom Bradley Terminal.

Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

1-7

• Celebration of Life Week
• Diet Resolution Week
• Silent Record Week
• National Lose Weight/Feel Great Week
• Someday We'll Laugh About This Week
• New Year's Resolutions Week

Today Is                                                                      

• Dimpled Chad Day
• Humiliation Day
• Pop Music Chart Day
• Tom Thumb Day
• Trivia Day
• World Braille Day
• World Hypnotism Day
•  Utah: Admission Day (45^th state: 1896)
• Myanmar: Independence Day (1948: from UK—as Burma)

Today’s Other Events                                                             

Before 1000CE

46 BC - Titus Labienus defeats Julius Caesar in the Battle of Ruspina

1400’s

1493 - Columbus left new world on return from 1st voyage

1600’s

1698 - Most of the Palace of Whitehall in London, the main residence of the English monarchs, is destroyed by fire

1700’s

1725 - Benjamin Franklin arrives in London 

1754 - Columbia University founded, as Kings College

1800’s

1847 - Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government

1885 - Dr W W Grant of Iowa, performs 1st appendectomy (on Mary Gartside, 22)

1887 - Thomas Stevens is 1st man to bicycle around the world (SF-SF)

1900’s

1904 - Supreme Court rules Puerto Ricans cannot be denied admission to US

1925 - French psychologist Emil Coué brings his self-esteem therapy to US "Every day in every way I am getting better & better"

1965 - LBJ's "Great Society" State of the Union Address

1971 - Congressional Black Caucus organizes

1982 - Bryant Gumbel became co-host of NBC's "Today Show"

1984 - "Night Court" starring Harry Anderson premieres on NBC TV

1989 - US F-14s shoot down 2 Libyan jet fighters over Mediterranean

1998 - A massive ice storm hits eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, continuing through January 10 and causing widespread destruction

2000’s

2004 - Spirit, a NASA Mars Rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC

2007 - The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history

2010’s

2010 - The Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building is officially opened

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 40’s

Dave Foley, comedian, actor is 49

In their 50’s

Joe Kleine, NBA center (Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls) is 50

In their 70’s

Dyan Cannon, actor, Mrs Cary Grant (Heaven Can Wait) is 75

Gao Xingjian, Chinese-born French novelist and dramatist, Nobel laureate is 72

Remembered for being born on this day

Louis Braille, French developer (reading system for blind) in 1809

Everett Dirksen, American politician (Sen-Ill) in 1896

Jakob Grimm, German philologist and folklorist in 1785

C. L. R. James, writer and journalist in 1901

Isaac Newton, English physicist, mathematician and astronomer in 1643

Floyd Patterson, heavyweight champ (1956-59, 1960-62) (Oly-gold-1952) in 1935

Isaac Pitman, British inventor (stenographic shorthand) in 1813

Maureen Reagan, President’s daughter in 1941

Charles Stratton, [General Tom Thumb] in 1838

Today’s Obits                                                           

Waverley John Anderson, Scot, viscount/governor of Bengal, dies at 75 in 1958

Peggy Bacon, author/illustrator (Off With Their Heads), dies at 91 in 1987

Les Brown, American bandleader dies at 89 in 2001

Iron Eyes Cody (Espera Oscar de Corti), Native American actor dies at 95 in 1999

T S Eliot, poet (Washed Country), Nobel laureate dies of Emphysema at 76 in 1965

Harry B Helmsley, owner (Empire State Building), dies at 87 in 1997

Gerry Rafferty, British musician and songwriter (Baker Street) dies of liver failure (alcoholism) at 64 in 2011

Elizabeth Ann Seton, 1st native-born American saint, dies of TB at 46 in 1821

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.     Listens to grizzlies: hears bears

2.     Exhibits cattle: shows cows

3.     Holds tightly stinging insects: clasps wasps

4.     Provides mates for husbands: gives wives

5.     Outlaws graceful birds: bans swans

6.     Wheels out Barbies: rolls dolls

7.     Cuts plumbing items in two: halves valves

8.     Takes the rough edges off magician sticks: sands wands

9.     Interrupts series of wins: breaks streaks

10.  Is a pedicurist: does toes

Wuzzle

• Bermuda Triangle
• High employee turnover
• Upward mobility

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  ☺