Mar 13

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

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

1656 - Jews are denied the right to build a synagogue in New Amsterdam1781 - Sir William Herschel sees "comet" (really discovered Uranus)

1864 The first group of Navajo finish the "Long Walk" to Fort Sumner on the Bosque Redondo Reservation, in east-central New Mexico, on this date. During their march, 13 of the 1,430 who started the trip will be kidnapped by Mexicans or will die.

1884 - US adopts Standard Time

1930 - Clyde Tombaugh announces discovery of Pluto at Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ

1961 - JFK sets up the Alliance for Progress

1980 - Ford Motor Co found innocent in death of 3 women in a fiery Pinto

1991 - Exxon pays $1-billion dollars in fines & cleanup of Valdez oil spill

2008 - Gold prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange hit $1,000.00 an ounce for the first time

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪                     

 

Free Rambling Thoughts   

I am shocked and saddened by what is going on in Afghanistan. While I have never been a supporter of that war, I now see the military establishment quickly destroying whatever has been accomplished.  The idea that it was an unfortunate mistake to burn the Koran might have been understood to some degree by Americans. I didn’t buy that ‘mistake’ either. Now an American soldier leaves his post in uniform and slaughters 16 Afghanistan women and children in the middle of the night, while many were sleeping. And now the military hasn’t released his name, only his rank. Something is wrong…very wrong. The idea that the military and our President can blame this on rogues or mistakes cannot be an easy pill to swallow for the people of Afghanistan or the Islamic world. As Ricky Ricardo would say “You got a lot of splainin to do.” We must simply read our own American headlines about ‘terrorists’. When a terrorist attempts to kill Americans he is always part of a larger group of terrorists and is never seen as a rogue. Yet when an American does this, we scream ‘rogue’. Really ?!? 

It was a nice day here in Flag. A little windy at times, but still nice to be able to be outside. Even got to open the windows for a little while this afternoon. Spring is getting here…slowly.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

It's a game of completing analogies. Each involves wordplay. For example, "pink" is to "pen" as "plead" is to "pencil," because by removing the "p" from "pink," you get "ink," which goes inside a pen. And by removing the "p" from "plead" you get "lead," which goes inside a pencil.

Pumpernickel is to five as headquarter is to :

Flow is to cub as reed is to :

Comparison is to France as timberline is to:

Raise is to ram as spices is to :

Ordinary is to Iraq as shrubles is to:

Recipe is to Franklin as tracer is to:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

                                              * there are two possible 3-word answers

Lifestyle  Substance     

Planet Earth—Mayan

Found on You Tube         

WARNING: This video has several graphic photos while of calling for action to stop the slaughter of Rhinos for their horns—see story below in Yeah, it really happened

United We Stand

Harper’s Index         

Percentage change since 2001 in applications for Social Security disability benefits: +50

Number of Americans currently receiving them: 13,600,000

Joke-of-the-day

Mrs. Swanson declined to serve on the jury because she was not a believer in capital punishment and didn’t want her beliefs to get in the way of the trial.
“But, Madam,” said the public defender, who had taken a liking to her kind face and calm demeanor, “this is not a murder trial. It is merely a civil lawsuit being brought by a wife against her husband. He gambled away the fifteen thousand dollars he’d promised to spend on a chinchilla coat for her birthday.”
“Hmmm,” reflected Mrs. Swanson. “Okay, I’ll serve, I could be wrong about capital punishment.”

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

Castrate a calf when his testicles are the size of a squirrel's head.

Somewhat Useless Information    

Jimmy Dean Foods is a food company that was founded in 1969 by the late country singer and actor Jimmy Dean who died in the summer of 2010. It was purchased by Consolidated Foods, later renamed Sara Lee Corporation.

Originally founded in 1945 in rural Johnsonville Wisconsin, Johnsonville sausage products are now sold in 16 National Football League stadiums and in stores in 39 countries, including France, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and China.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 

PBS- All five of the world’s diverse species of rhinoceros have been brought to the edge of extinction because of human appetite for their distinctive horns. The horns have been prized for tens of centuries for their beautiful translucent color when carved, and their supposed healing properties.

In the Middle Eastern country of Yemen, the horn continues to be coveted by Muslim men, although imports were banned in 1982. The material, whose luster increases with age, is used for the handles of curved daggers called “jambiya,” which are presented to Yemeni boys at age 12. Jambiya are considered a sign of manhood and devotion to the Muslim religion, and are used for personal defense. Yemeni men place great value on the dagger handles, which are commonly studded with jewels. In China, the ornamental use of rhino horn dates back to at least the 7th century AD. Over the centuries, rhino horns have been carved into ceremonial cups, as well as buttons, belt buckles, hair pins, and paperweights.

Far more pervasive, however, is their use in the traditional medicine systems of many Asian countries, from Malaysia and South Korea to India and China, to cure a variety of ailments. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the horn, which is shaved or ground into a powder and dissolved in boiling water, is used to treat fever, rheumatism, gout, and other disorders. According to the 16th century Chinese pharmacist Li Shi Chen, the horn could also cure snakebites, hallucinations, typhoid, headaches, carbuncles, vomiting, food poisoning, and “devil possession.” (However, it is not, as commonly believed, prescribed as an aphrodisiac).

Historical mentions of other uses for the horns date back thousands of years. In Greek mythology, they were said to possess the ability to purify water. The ancient Persians of the 5th century BC thought that vessels carved from the horn could be used to detect poisoned liquids, causing bubbles in the presence of some poisons — a belief that persisted into the 18th and 19th centuries among the royal courts of Europe.Now, science is now stepping in to dispel some of the mystery and fiction surrounding the use of rhino horn.It is believed that there may be some truth behind the rhino horn’s ability to detect poisons which is linked to the composition of the horn.

Rhino horns are composed largely of the protein keratin, also the chief component in hair, fingernails, and animal hooves. Many poisons are strongly alkaline (or basic), and may have reacted chemically with the keratin.Unlike the horns of most animals, which have a bony core covered by a relatively thin layer of keratin, rhino horns are keratin all the way through — although the precise chemical composition of the keratin will vary depending on a rhino’s diet and geographic location. This fact has allowed ecologist Raj Amin of the Zoological Society of London and his colleagues to take “fingerprints” of horn samples and determine the animal populations they came from, which has helped law enforcement officials target and crack down on poaching.Rhino horns are not, as once believed, made simply from a clump of compressed or modified hair.

Recent studies by researchers at Ohio University using computerized tomography (CT) scans, have shown that the horns are, in fact, similar in structure to horses’ hooves, turtle beaks, and cockatoo bills. The studies also revealed that the centers of the horns have dense mineral deposits of calcium and melanin — a finding that may explain the curve and sharp tip of the horns. The calcium would strengthen the horn while the melanin would protect the core from being degraded by ultraviolet radiation from the sun. As the softer outer portion was worn away over time by the sun and typical rhino activities (bashing horns with other animals, or rubbing it on the ground), the inner core would be sharpened into a point (much like a wooden pencil).Overall there isn’t much evidence to support the plethora of claims about the healing properties of the horns.

In 1990, researchers at Chinese University in Hong Kong found that large doses of rhino horn extract could slightly lower fever in rats (as could extracts from Saiga antelope and water buffalo horn), but the concentration of horn given by a traditional Chinese medicine specialist are many many times lower than used in those experiments. In short, says Amin, you’d do just as well chewing on your fingernails.

Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

3-18

Iditarod Race

8-14

Universal Women's Week

11-17

Girl Scout Week

Turkey Vultures Return to the Living Sign

National Agriculture Week

12-18

International Brain Awareness Week

Wildlife Week

13-19

Campfire USA Birthday Week

Today Is                                                                      

Donald Duck Day

Earmuffs Day

Good Samaritan Involvement Day

Jewel Day

K-9 Veterans Day

Ken Day: for Barbie’s Ex

L. Ron Hubbard Day

National Agriculture Day

National Open An Umbrella Indoors Day

Planet Uranus Day

Today’s Other Events                                                             

Before 1000CE

607 - 12th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet

> 

1600’s

1639 - Cambridge College renamed Harvard for clergyman John Harvard

1677 - Massachusetts gains title to Maine for $6,000

1700’s

1759 - 27th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet

1800’s

1852 - Uncle Sam cartoon figure made its debut in the NY Lantern weekly

1865 - Jefferson Davis signs bill authorizing use of slaves as soldiers

1888 - Great Blizzard of 1888 rages

1897 - San Diego State University is founded

1900’s

1913 - Kansas legislature approved censorship of motion pictures

1921 - Mongolia (formerly Outer Mongolia) declares independence from China

1925 - Tennessee makes it unlawful to teach evolution

1970 - SF city employees begin 4-day strike

1980 - Eric Heiden skates world record 1000m (1:13.60)

1986 - Microsoft has its Initial public offering

1997 - The Phoenix lights were seen over Phoenix, Arizona by hundreds of people, and by millions on television. They are now a hotly debated controversy

2000’s

2003 - Human evolution: The journal Nature reports that 350,000-year-old footprints of an upright-walking human have been found in Italy

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 70’s

Neil Sedaka, singer/songwriter (Breaking Up is Hard to Do) is 73

In their 60’s

William H. Macy, actor (Homicide, Water Engine) is 62

In their 50’s

Dana Delany, actor (Colleen McMurphy-China Beach, Exit to Eden) is 56

Remembered for being born on this day

Peter Breck, actor (Black Saddle, Big Valley, Benji), in 1929

William J Casey, headed CIA during Iran-contra scandal in 1913

L[aFayette] Ron Hubbard, sci-fi writer/scientologist (Dianetics) in 1911

Sammy Kaye, orchestra leader (Sammy Kaye Show) in 1910

Percival "Percy" Lowell, US astronomer (predicted discovery of Pluto) in 1855

Edward O'Hare, American pilot , Namesake of Chicago Airport in 1914

Abigail Powers Fillmore, 1st lady (1850-53) in 1798

Joseph Priestly, English clergyman/scientist (discovered oxygen) in 1733

Today’s Obits                                                           

Stephen Vincent Benét, American author dies of heart attack at 44 in 1943

Susan Brownell Anthony, American suffragist, dies at 86 in 1906

Clarence S Darrow, Scopes Monkey Trial attorney, dies in Chicago at 80 in 1938

Benjamin Harrison, 23rd pres (1889-1893), dies of influenza and pneumonia at 67 in 1901

Owsley Stanley, Sound Engineer for The Grateful Dead and renowned LSD manufacturer dies at 76 in 2011

Maureen Stapleton, American actress dies at 80 in 2006

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.      Pumpernickel is to five as headquarter is to : twenty-five

2.      Flow is to cub as reed is to : fawn (flow backward is wolf)

3.      Comparison is to France as timberline is to: Germany (Paris is in comparison)

4.      Raise is to ram as spices is to : fish (raise is an anagram of Aires)

5.      Ordinary is to Iraq as shrubles is to: Russia (dinar is in ordinary)

6.      Recipe is to Franklin as tracer is to: Carter (Pierce is an anagram of recipe)

Wuzzle

• Foreign Legion
• Day after day or Day by day
• Old English Folk Song

 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 12

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

Today’s  Historical  Highlights

1622 - Ignatius of Loyola declared a saint

1755 - 1st steam engine in America installed, to pump water from a mine

1868 - Congress abolishes manufacturer's tax

1884 - Mississippi establishes 1st US state college for women

1933 - FDR conducts his 1st "fireside chat"

1945 - NY is 1st to prohibit discrimination by race & creed in employment

1964 - Malcolm X resigns from Nation of Islam

1970 - US lowers voting age from 21 to 18

2003 - Zoran Đinđić, Prime Minister of Serbia, is assassinated in Belgrade

♪Happy Birthday To: ♪                     

 

Free Rambling Thoughts   

A tad windy with lots of sunshine… We had a great discussion last night. Ever wonder who owns the internet? Well it seems the answer is nobody, everybody, anybody.  The discussion centered around how guidelines, rules, regulations can be placed on it. Since it is global, culture has to play a role in anything that changes the entire Internet. Then one has to look at various governments—theocracy, monarchy, democracy, a combination of varying degrees of each. How does one describe ‘pornography’ beyond ‘I know it when I see it’. In the US the baring of female breasts and/or male or female genitals is considered soft core porn, but in Islamic countries, showing a post puberty woman’s hair, arms or legs is forbidden. Paintings of Jesus are OK for most, but pictures of Mohammad are forbidden. Some countries do not want their population to learn about the world, others think it is necessary. Some countries don’t want ‘hate’ against a group of people available. Then, there is the cyber security issue…is it OK for some governments to pay for programs that might destroy Iranian reactors to stop them from getting an atomic bomb but not OK for others to pay for programs that destroy power grids of their enemies? We discussed the issue of a cyber attack on America. How would everyday Americans get anything from power, to money, to food, to water. When the power goes out, very few business, if any, can serve customers…this includes grocery stores, gas stations, banks, and just about everything else. The Feds have a plan if there is a major cyber attack on our systems…shut down everything at once…and within two weeks to six weeks, slowly bring everything back on line with clean computers. Of course there are many safeguards to prevent any large scale cyber attack…and most of us sure hope they work. Finally we discussed various groups that hack corporate and government computer systems for information they can make public—everything from ‘secret’ memos and deals to personal information. It was a lively discussion to say the least.

I watched Game Change today. Interesting. Reminded me of the ’08 election. Guess the Republicans have as much right to fight it out this year as the Dems did back then. One difference is that in ’08 we knew we were getting a new president, no matter which party won.

Game   Center   (answers at the end of post)

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

This puzzle involves meditation. Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase that starts with the initials "O-M." For example: protection for the hand while cooking? Answer: oven mitt.

1.      Kid’s card game:

2.      What you should maintain while considering a new idea:

3.      Big name in hot dogs and lunch meats:

4.      A fruity preserve you might put on toast:

5.      It might propel a boat carrying a water skier:

6.      Chain of peaks in Arkansas and Missouri:

7.      Supervisor for secretaries and administrative assistants:

8.      Nickname for a southern University:

9.      What a conservative jurist looks to in the constitution to decide cases:

10.   NBA team that Shaq first played for:

11.   Cry equivalent to ‘good Heavens’:

Wuzzles  What concept or phrase do these suggest?

Lifestyle  Substance     

Planet Earth—Mayan

Found on You Tube         

"R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE"

Harper’s Index         

Percentage of unemployed people in the US who are covered by primary unemployment insurance: ¼

Joke-of-the-day

Peter called his doctor’s office for an appointment. “I’m sorry,” said the receptionist, “we can’t fit you in for at least two weeks.” “But I could be dead by then!” “No problem. If your wife lets us know, we’ll cancel the appointment.”

Rules of Thumb   

Easy shortcuts to make an ‘educated’ guess

If you see a school of porpoise, the water is free from sharks.

Somewhat Useless Information    

A molecule is the smallest unit of a substance that retains the properties of that substance.

Neutrons are particles with no charge. Protons are particles with a positive charge, and electrons are particles with a negative charge.

"Buckyballs" are microscopic spheres of 60 atoms of pure carbon in a spherelike structure that resembles a geodosic dome. Also called fullerenes or buckminsterfullerenes, they were named after R. Buckminster Fuller who invented the geodosic dome. 

Buckyballs are of great interest to scientists because they contain a cavity large enough to hold other elements, even whole molecules. Once an element has been deposited into the cavity, it cannot emerge without being heated to high temperatures. This technology may someday be used to deliver medication to specific locations within the body.

Yeah, It Really Happened                 

OXFORD, England - Residents of a British town said they are rolling their eyes after workers misspelled the word "school" on the road outside an elementary school. Parents dropping their children off at Wolvercote Primary School in Oxford, England, Thursday said they noticed the crews who replaced the tarmac Wednesday after performing cable work under the road had written "schoul" on the road instead of "school," The Sun reported Thursday. "How embarrassing," said Annalie Cox, who has an 11-year-old and a 6-year-old at Wolvercote. "I hope that by the time my children leave this school they will be able to spell such basic words." An Oxfordshire County Council spokesman said contractors are believed to be behind the error.

Calendar Information        

…Happening This Week:

3-18

Iditarod Race

8-14

Universal Women's Week

11-17

Girl Scout Week

Turkey Vultures Return to the Living Sign

National Agriculture Week

12-18

International Brain Awareness Week

Wildlife Week

13-19

Campfire USA Birthday Week

Today Is                                                                      

Genealogy Day

Girl Scout Birthday Day--1912

Alfred Hitchcock Day

International Fanny Pack Day

Napping Day 

Gabon: National Day

Lesotho:  Moshoeshoe's Day (commemorate the death of the country’s founder-1870)
Mauritius:  Independence Day (1968 from UK)

Spain: Fiesta de las Fallas (Las Fallas literally means "the fires" in Valencian. The focus of the fiesta is the creation and destruction of ninots (“puppets” or “dolls”), which are huge cardboard, wood, paper-machè and plaster statues. The ninots are extremely lifelike and usually depict bawdy, satirical scenes and current events.)

Today’s Other Events                                                             

1300’s

1350 - Orvieto city says it will behead & burn Jewish-Christian couples

1400’s

1496 - Jews are expelled from Syria 1609 - Bermuda becomes an English colony

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1600’s

1619 - Dutch settlement on Java changes name to Batavia

1664 - 1st naturalization act in American colonies

1700’s

1737 - Galileo's body moved to Church of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy

1800’s

1850 - 1st US $20 gold piece issued

1858: The Ponca sign a treaty (12 stat.997) on this date which grants them a permanent home on the Niobrara River, and protection from their enemies, both white and Indians. For these privileges, the Ponca give up a part of their ancestral lands. Unfortunately, several years later, a mistake by a government bureaucrat will force them to share land with the Sioux.

1900’s

1930 - Mohandas Gandhi begins 200m (300km) march protesting British salt tax

1938 - Nazi Germany invades Austria 

1947 - Pres Truman introduces Truman-doctrine to fight communism

1959 - US House joins Senate approving Hawaii statehood

1969 - 11th Grammy Awards: Mrs Robinson, By the Time I Get to Phoenix wins

1977 - Sadat pledges to regain Arab territory from Israel

1980 - Jury finds John Wayne Gacy guilty of murdering 33 in Chicago

1984 - British ice dancing team, Torvill & Dean, become 1st skaters to receive 9 perfect 6.0s in world championships

1989 - 2 cyanide-contaminated Chilean grapes found (Philadelphia)

1999 - Former Warsaw Pact members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland join NATO

2000’s

2003 - Elizabeth Smart, was found after having been missing for 9 months

2011 - A reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant melts and explodes and releases radioactivity into the atmosphere a day after Japan's earthquake

Today’s Birthdays                                                           

In their 80’s

Edward Albee, playwright (Virgina Woolfe, Zoo Story) is 84

Andrew Young, US ambassador to UN (1977-79)/(Mayor-D-Atlanta) is 80

In their 70’s

Barbara Feldon, actor: Agent 99 - Get Smart is 71

Salvatore "the Bull" Gravano, mobster (testified against Gotti) is 70

Johnny Rutherford, auto racer (26 championship races) is 74

In their 60’s

Liza Minnelli, singer and actor is 66

Mitt Romney, 70th Governor of Massachusetts is 65

Jon Provost, actor (Timmy-Lassie) is 62

James Taylor, vocalist/guitarist (Up on the Roof) is 64

In their 50’s

Darryl Strawberry, LA California, baseball right fielder (Mets, Dodgers, Yankees) is 50

Remembered for being born on this day

George Berkeley, Ireland, philosopher/bishop of Cloyne in 1685

Jane Delano, US, nurse/teacher/founder (Red Cross) in 1862

Tony "Two-Ton" Galento, Orange NJ, boxer/actor (On the Waterfront) in 1910

Jack Kerouac, Beat writer (On the Road, Mexico Blues) in 1922

George W. Mason, American industrialist in 1891

Gordon MacRae, singer/actor (Oklahoma, Carousel) in 1921

William Perkin, inventor (1st artificial dye) in 1838

Walter M Schirra Jr, Capt USN/ast (Mer 8, Gem 6, Ap 7) in 1923

Richard Steele, Irish writer and politician in 1672

Clement Studebaker, automobile pioneer (Studebaker) in 1831

Today’s Obits                                                           

Anne Frank, diarist (Diary of Anne Frank), killed in Belsen Camp at 15 in 1945

Gregory I the Great, Pope (590-604), dies at 64 in 604

Innocent I, Italian Pope (401-417), dies in 417

Charlie "Bird" Parker, US jazz saxophonist, dies of cirrhosis at 34 in 1955

Cherokee Chief Tahchee (Captain William Dutch) dies in 1848

Throughout his life, one of the original groups of Cherokee to move west of the Mississippi river, a major political force in the "old settler party". He fought many fights with the Osage who leaved near the Cherokee. Eventually, he would become a scout for the U.S. Army, where he reached the rank of Captain

George Westinghouse, US engineer (Westinghouse Electric), dies at 67 in 1914

Sun Yat-Sen (孫文) , Chinese revolutionary president, dies of liver cancer at 58 in 1925

Answers                                                                                                                                            

Brain Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle

1.      Kid’s card game:

a.      Old Maid

2.      What you should maintain while considering a new idea:

a.      Open mind

3.      Big name in hot dogs and lunch meats:

a.      Oscar Mayer

4.      A fruity preserve you might put on toast:

a.      orange marmalade

5.      It might propel a boat carrying a water skier:

a.      outboard motor

6.      Chain of peaks in Arkansas and Missouri:

a.       Ozark Mountains

7.      Supervisor for secretaries and administrative assistants:

a.      Office manager

8.      Nickname for a southern University:

a.      Ole Miss

9.      What a conservative jurist looks to in the constitution to decide cases:

a.      original meaning

10.   NBA team that Shaq first played for:

a.      Orlando Magic

11.   Cry equivalent to ‘good Heavens’:

a.      Oh my

Wuzzle

• Raised eyebrows
• Stayed right around home
• Worry over nothing

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  ☺