The Elysian Fields, or Elysium, would be closest to what most people consider "heaven" to be like. The Elysian Fields were described as a wonderful place, where everything was delightful. There were soft green meadows, lovely groves, a delicious life-giving air, sunlight that glowed a soft purple, and everyone was happy and peaceful. The sound of music played on pipes and lyres filled the air. ttp://www.dl.ket.org/latin1/mythology/1deities/underworld/elysian.htm
artiodactyl (ahr-tee-o-DAK-til) adjective
Having an even number of toes on each foot.
From Greek artio- (even in number, perfect) + -dactyl (toed, fingered). The mammal order Artiodactyla is made up of animals such as pig, camel, and giraffe. Those having an odd number of toes are called perissodactyl, from Greek perisso- (uneven, strange). Examples: horse, tapir, and rhinoceros.
oligopoly (ol-i-GOP-uh-lee) noun
A market condition where there are few sellers.
From Greek oligo- (few) + -poly, patterned after monopoly, from polein (to sell).
Here's a little chart that explains it all:
monopoly: one seller, many buyers
duopoly: two sellers, many buyers
oligopoly: a few sellers, many buyers
monopsony: one buyer, many sellers
duopsony: two buyers, many sellers
oligopsony: a few buyers, many sellers
From Greek opsonia (purchase).
A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
J. D. Salinger, who was thought at one time to be the most important American writer to emerge since World War II but who then turned his back on success and adulation, becoming the Garbo of letters, famous for not wanting to be famous, died on January 27 at his home in Cornish, N.H., where he had lived in seclusion for more than 50 years. He was 91. Mr. Salinger’s literary reputation rests on a slender but enormously influential body of published work: the novel “The Catcher in the Rye,” (1951) the collection “Nine Stories” and two compilations, each with two long stories about the fictional Glass family: “Franny and Zooey” and “Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction.” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/books/29salinger.html?hpw
Totaling over 1.9 million square feet, Aqua Tower in Chicago is an 82-story mixed-use high-rise that includes a hotel, apartments, condominiums, parking and offices. See pictures at: http://www.contemporist.com/2009/11/24/the-aqua-tower-by-studio-gang-architects/
Architect Jeanne Gang started with a fairly conventional rectangular glass slab, then transformed it by wrapping it on all four sides with wafer-thin, curving concrete balconies, describing a different shape on each floor. The balcony overhangs of the façade serve an environmental purpose, shading apartments from the hot summer sun. More ingenious still, they protect the building from the force of wind, one of the most difficult challenges in skyscraper engineering. The landscape of rolling hills and valleys created by the balconies effectively confuses the heavy Chicago winds, giving them no clear path. The wind is broken up so much that the building didn’t require a device known as a “tuned mass damper”—a mass weighing hundreds of tons that engineers place at the top of tall buildings to stabilize them against the vibrations and sway caused by the force of wind. Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/skyline/2010/02/01/100201crsk_skyline_goldberger#ixzz0duZkYrVj
Q: Is "the old mill stream" really the Blanchard River?
A: Indeed it is. The Republican-Courier said so.
Tell Taylor (1876-1937) composed "Down by the Old Mill Stream" in 1910.
When Taylor died visiting Chicago on Nov. 24, 1937, we reported:
"The song was written by Mr. Taylor while he was fishing in the Blanchard near the golf green located along the road as one enters the country club ground from the west."
See rest of the story plus information on highest and lowest zip codes and chain e-mail at: http://www.thecourier.com/Opinion/columns/2010/Jan/JU/ar_JU_010410.asp?d=010410,2010,Jan,04&c=c_13
Comedian and writer Conan O'Brien was born on April 18, 1963 in Brookline, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, the son of Ruth (née Reardon), an attorney and partner at the Boston firm of Ropes & Gray[4], and Thomas O'Brien, a physician, epidemiologist and professor of medicine at Harvard.[5][6][7] He is the third of six children. O'Brien's family was Irish Catholic and descended from pre-Civil War era immigrants;[7] In a Late Night episode, O'Brien paid a visit to County Kerry, Ireland, where his ancestors originated. O'Brien attended Brookline High School, where he served as the managing editor of the school newspaper.[7] In his senior year, O'Brien won the National Council of Teachers of English writing contest with his short story "To Bury the Living."[8] After graduating as valedictorian in 1981, he entered Harvard University.[9] He graduated magna cum laude in 1985 with an A.B. in History and Literature.[11] His senior thesis concerned the use of children as symbols in the works of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor.[12] Throughout college, O'Brien was a writer for the Harvard Lampoon humor magazine. He also briefly served as the drummer in a band called "The Bad Clams".[13] During his sophomore and junior years, he served as the Lampoon's president.[14] O'Brien, like many Saturday Night Live writers, occasionally appeared as an extra in sketches; his most notable appearance was as a doorman in a sketch in which Tom Hanks was inducted into the SNL "Five-Timers Club" for hosting his fifth episode. O'Brien returned to host the show in 2001 during its 26th season. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_O'Brien
Days after he was ditched as host of "The Tonight Show" by NBC, Conan O'Brien's production company has sold an hour-long pilot to the network, it was reported January 27. The untitled O'Brien project, known as "Justice," was written by John Eisendrath and was described as a new take on a law show with a larger-than-life character at the center, The Hollywood Reporter said. In addition to buying the pilot, NBC ordered another concept show, from O'Brien's company Conaco, a multicamera comedy dubbed "The Pink House." Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/conan_sells_two_pilots_to_nbc_Ijvq0wzaWdAVxDpbf4HcwM#ixzz0dvRljX9U
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Chinese scientists have renewed their ongoing attack on the ‘Out of Africa’ theory of the origin of modern humans with the announcement of the discovery of a 110,000-year-old putative Homo sapiens jawbone from a cave in southern China’s Guangxi province. The 110,000 year-old jawbone obviously flies directly in the face of the ‘out-of-Africa’ timeline and provides support for the multi-regional theory of the origin of homo sapiens. The discovery was formally announced in November’s Chinese Science Bulletin by Jin Changzhu and his colleagues of the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology in Beijing. The Institute of Earth Environment of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Minnesota State University jointly tested the isotopic element detection on the fossil. Wu Xinzhi, an anthropologist of Chinese Academy of Sciences, said, “The bone shows that the evolution from ancient man to modern man occurred in East Asia, at least in the area of modern Chongzuo city. It indicates that the process of the evolution to modern man took place in various regions around the world.” “[This paper] acts to reject the theory that modern humans are of uniquely African origin and supports the notion that emerging African populations mixed with natives they encountered,” Milford Wolpoff, a proponent of the multiregional hypothesis at the University of Michigan was quoted in the media as saying. http://www.arthurkemp.com/?p=443
The Transportation Department announced a new rule January 26 that prohibits interstate commercial truckers and bus drivers from sending text messages while they are operating moving vehicles. Truckers and bus drivers who violate the rule, which is effective immediately, face civil or criminal fines of up to $2,750.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/technology/27distracted.html
Concert-goers were assured by regulators January 25 that the merger between Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. and Live Nation Inc. wouldn't harm consumers and might even provide benefits. After all, two new ticketing companies would be created under the concessions demanded by antitrust regulators, injecting new competition into the market. Critics of the agreement, however, say that regulators were focused on the wrong aspects of the marriage between the concert promoter and the ticketing giant. Indeed, they say, bringing more competition into the ticketing business—as stipulated by the Department of Justice— could end up raising prices for fans instead of lowering them. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704905604575027531997592958.html?mod=WSJ_Deals_LEFTTopNews
Muse reader Peter Silverman has a blog featuring franchises, and it's great. You can tell it's being read from the number of comments he gets. Take a look: http://www.bluemaumau.org/blog/peter_silverman_0
P.S. When I started this newsletter in January, 2008, it was Peter who called it Librarian's Muse on the first day.
Southward from New York State the lovely Susquehanna winds its meandering way through the wooded hills of Bradford County, Pennsylvania. At a point about ten miles below Towanda, between Wysox and Wyalusing, it arches eastward into a great horseshoe bend, half encircling a terrace of land that slopes gently backward into the western hills. From the highway that skirts the ridge of Rummerfield Mountain on the opposite side of the river, its 1,600 acres can be seen neatly divided into carefully tilled fields and pasture land. A fringe of trees borders the river's edge and small patches of woods stand near isolated farmhouses and on the bordering heights. A scene of undisturbed pastoral calm banded by a glistening arm of silvery water, this fertile crescent of land was Azilum-or Asylum. Many, many years ago when northern Pennsylvania was Indian country this place was known as Missicum-the "Meadows." The settlers who moved into the valley from Connecticut called it Standing Stone, after the monolithic stone shaft that rises high out of the river bed near the western bank, a landmark from time immemorial. But to a little group of exiles who stepped ashore at this remote spot in the late fall of the year 1793, it was a haven far removed from the dangers of revolution, imprisonment, slave insurrections, and yellow fever. To them it was Azilum-a place of refuge. These refugees, who had come up the Susquehanna from Catawissa and Wilkes-Barre in Durham boats and dugout canoes furnished by the trader Matthias Hollenback, were citizens of France and of her West Indies colony of Santo Domingo (Haiti) . Those from France had fled to Philadelphia to escape the certain imprisonment and probable death for which their loyalty to Louis XVI marked them
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/places/4278/french_asylum_on_the_susquehanna_river/472247
surcease (suhr-SEES)
noun: Stoppage, especially a temporary one.
verb tr., intr.: To bring or come to an end.
From Middle English sursesen/surcesen, via French from Latin supersedere (to refrain from), from super- + sedere (to sit). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sed- (to sit) that is also the source of sit, chair, saddle, assess, assiduous, sediment, soot, cathedral, and tetrahedron. The word cease is unrelated, though its spelling has influenced the word.
precatory (PREK-uh-tor-ee) adjective
1. Expressing a request.
2. Nonbinding: only expressing a wish or giving a suggestion.
From Latin precari (to pray). Ultimately from the Indo-European root prek- (to ask) that is also the source of words such as pray, precarious, deprecate, and postulate.
A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
Q: The Miss America Pageant is Saturday night. Has Miss Ohio ever won?
A: Indeed! Five Miss Ohios have won six crowns, tying our state with California and Oklahoma for most wins. But there's an asterisk with the first winner.
• Mary Katherine Campbell of Columbus won in 1922.
(*) She returned in 1923 to become the pageant's only two-time winner.
Campbell admitted to lying about her age at 15 when she first won.
• Marilyn Meseke of Marion won in 1938.
• Jacquelyn Mayer of Sandusky won in 1963.
• Laurel Lea Schaefer of Bexley, near Columbus, won in 1972.
• Susan Perkins of Columbus won in 1978.
By the way, the pageant began in 1921 as a "bathing beauty" contest on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J., which promoted it to extend the summer season one weekend beyond Labor Day. It moved to Las Vegas and January four years ago
Courtesy of Peter Mattiace, editor, The Courier of Findlay, Ohio
The Transportation Department announced a new rule January 26 that prohibits interstate commercial truckers and bus drivers from sending text messages while they are operating moving vehicles. Truckers and bus drivers who violate the rule, which is effective immediately, face civil or criminal fines of up to $2,750.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/technology/27distracted.html
Concert-goers were assured by regulators January 25 that the merger between Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. and Live Nation Inc. wouldn't harm consumers and might even provide benefits. After all, two new ticketing companies would be created under the concessions demanded by antitrust regulators, injecting new competition into the market. Critics of the agreement, however, say that regulators were focused on the wrong aspects of the marriage between the concert promoter and the ticketing giant. Indeed, they say, bringing more competition into the ticketing business—as stipulated by the Department of Justice— could end up raising prices for fans instead of lowering them. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704905604575027531997592958.html?mod=WSJ_Deals_LEFTTopNews
Muse reader Peter Silverman has a blog featuring franchises, and it's great. You can tell it's being read from the number of comments he gets. Take a look: http://www.bluemaumau.org/blog/peter_silverman_0
P.S. When I started this newsletter in January, 2008, it was Peter who called it Librarian's Muse on the first day.
Southward from New York State the lovely Susquehanna winds its meandering way through the wooded hills of Bradford County, Pennsylvania. At a point about ten miles below Towanda, between Wysox and Wyalusing, it arches eastward into a great horseshoe bend, half encircling a terrace of land that slopes gently backward into the western hills. From the highway that skirts the ridge of Rummerfield Mountain on the opposite side of the river, its 1,600 acres can be seen neatly divided into carefully tilled fields and pasture land. A fringe of trees borders the river's edge and small patches of woods stand near isolated farmhouses and on the bordering heights. A scene of undisturbed pastoral calm banded by a glistening arm of silvery water, this fertile crescent of land was Azilum-or Asylum. Many, many years ago when northern Pennsylvania was Indian country this place was known as Missicum-the "Meadows." The settlers who moved into the valley from Connecticut called it Standing Stone, after the monolithic stone shaft that rises high out of the river bed near the western bank, a landmark from time immemorial. But to a little group of exiles who stepped ashore at this remote spot in the late fall of the year 1793, it was a haven far removed from the dangers of revolution, imprisonment, slave insurrections, and yellow fever. To them it was Azilum-a place of refuge. These refugees, who had come up the Susquehanna from Catawissa and Wilkes-Barre in Durham boats and dugout canoes furnished by the trader Matthias Hollenback, were citizens of France and of her West Indies colony of Santo Domingo (Haiti) . Those from France had fled to Philadelphia to escape the certain imprisonment and probable death for which their loyalty to Louis XVI marked them
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/places/4278/french_asylum_on_the_susquehanna_river/472247
surcease (suhr-SEES)
noun: Stoppage, especially a temporary one.
verb tr., intr.: To bring or come to an end.
From Middle English sursesen/surcesen, via French from Latin supersedere (to refrain from), from super- + sedere (to sit). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sed- (to sit) that is also the source of sit, chair, saddle, assess, assiduous, sediment, soot, cathedral, and tetrahedron. The word cease is unrelated, though its spelling has influenced the word.
precatory (PREK-uh-tor-ee) adjective
1. Expressing a request.
2. Nonbinding: only expressing a wish or giving a suggestion.
From Latin precari (to pray). Ultimately from the Indo-European root prek- (to ask) that is also the source of words such as pray, precarious, deprecate, and postulate.
A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
Q: The Miss America Pageant is Saturday night. Has Miss Ohio ever won?
A: Indeed! Five Miss Ohios have won six crowns, tying our state with California and Oklahoma for most wins. But there's an asterisk with the first winner.
• Mary Katherine Campbell of Columbus won in 1922.
(*) She returned in 1923 to become the pageant's only two-time winner.
Campbell admitted to lying about her age at 15 when she first won.
• Marilyn Meseke of Marion won in 1938.
• Jacquelyn Mayer of Sandusky won in 1963.
• Laurel Lea Schaefer of Bexley, near Columbus, won in 1972.
• Susan Perkins of Columbus won in 1978.
By the way, the pageant began in 1921 as a "bathing beauty" contest on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J., which promoted it to extend the summer season one weekend beyond Labor Day. It moved to Las Vegas and January four years ago
Courtesy of Peter Mattiace, editor, The Courier of Findlay, Ohio
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
The modern use of the Olympic Flame began in 1936. It coincided with the advent of a long relay of runners carrying torches to bring the flame from Olympia to the site of the games. Once there, the torch is used to light a cauldron that remains lit until it is extinguished in the Closing Ceremony. http://www.infoplease.com/sports/olympics/history-olympic-torch.html
Passing the Torch: An Evolution of Form, the design history of the Olympic torch from 1936 to the present day.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/08/01/sports/20080802_TORCH_GRAPHIC.html#
The 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The opening ceremonies are on February 12, 2010; the closing ceremonies are on February 28, 2010. Over 80 countries will send a total of over 5,500 athletes to the competitions. This is the third Olympics held in Canada (the other Canadian Olympics were the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary). The motto of the 21st Vancouver Olympics is With glowing hearts / Des plus brillants exploits, excerpts from the English and French versions of the Canadian national anthem, O Canada!. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/olympics/
What are combining forms? You can think of them as the Legos of language. As the name indicates, a combining form is a linguistic atom that occurs only in combination with some other form which could be a word, another combining form, or an affix (unlike a combining form, an affix can't attach to another affix). A.Word.A.Day features five words this week made using these combining forms: theo- (god), oligo- (few), artio- (even number), helio- (sun), hagio- (saint) and -gony (origin), -poly (selling), -dactyl (toes or fingers), -latry (worship), -graphy (writing).
Using one combining form from each of the above two groups you could make 25 words. Whether all those words make sense is another matter. In fact, theoretically you could construct billions of words with just these 10 Lego blocks as a word can have more than one combining forms. Consider pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
What words can you come up with using the building blocks of this week's words? Share your constructions and their definitions on the bulletin board Wordsmith Talk or by email (words at wordsmith.org). Example:
theogony (thee-OG-uh-nee) noun
The origin of gods or an account of this.
From Greek theo- (god) + -gony (origin). A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
January to June in many languages
http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/months1.php
Explore alphabets, writing systems, articles, and phrases in many languages:
http://www.omniglot.com/ Songs, puzzles and artwork are also offered.
Barry Manilow has written or sung in nine commercial jingles. Probably the one for State Farm Insurance is known the best. See list at:
http://www.barrynethomepage.com/commercialjingles.html
Legal researchers: There’s a battle about to break out on your computer screen. On the third floor of West’s sprawling corporate headquarters outside Minneapolis, a veritable army of professionals has been working for nearly five years to create a revamped Westlaw. They are changing everything from the interface users see on their PC screens to all the technology that makes it work behind the scenes. Known as WestlawNext, the new platform will debut February 1. On its own suburban campus near Dayton, Ohio, LexisNexis—the other half of the duopoly that has ruled online legal research for almost 40 years (some call it “Wexis”)—is planning its own revamped platform. Referred to internally as New Lexis, it is slated to roll out publicly later this year on a date yet to be determined. Both companies claim to be creating a legal research experience that will mimic the ease of use their customers have come to expect from the leading Internet search engine, Google. The updated services come not a moment too soon, since the Mountain View, Calif.-based search engine has just gotten into the legal research business. In November, the company announced that its Scholar search engine now contains more than 80 years of U.S. case law from federal and state courts, as well as U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1791—all of it free. http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/exclusive_inside_the_new_westlaw_lexis_bloomberg_platforms/#ecamp=t-n322
Passing the Torch: An Evolution of Form, the design history of the Olympic torch from 1936 to the present day.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/08/01/sports/20080802_TORCH_GRAPHIC.html#
The 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The opening ceremonies are on February 12, 2010; the closing ceremonies are on February 28, 2010. Over 80 countries will send a total of over 5,500 athletes to the competitions. This is the third Olympics held in Canada (the other Canadian Olympics were the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary). The motto of the 21st Vancouver Olympics is With glowing hearts / Des plus brillants exploits, excerpts from the English and French versions of the Canadian national anthem, O Canada!. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/olympics/
What are combining forms? You can think of them as the Legos of language. As the name indicates, a combining form is a linguistic atom that occurs only in combination with some other form which could be a word, another combining form, or an affix (unlike a combining form, an affix can't attach to another affix). A.Word.A.Day features five words this week made using these combining forms: theo- (god), oligo- (few), artio- (even number), helio- (sun), hagio- (saint) and -gony (origin), -poly (selling), -dactyl (toes or fingers), -latry (worship), -graphy (writing).
Using one combining form from each of the above two groups you could make 25 words. Whether all those words make sense is another matter. In fact, theoretically you could construct billions of words with just these 10 Lego blocks as a word can have more than one combining forms. Consider pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
What words can you come up with using the building blocks of this week's words? Share your constructions and their definitions on the bulletin board Wordsmith Talk or by email (words at wordsmith.org). Example:
theogony (thee-OG-uh-nee) noun
The origin of gods or an account of this.
From Greek theo- (god) + -gony (origin). A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
January to June in many languages
http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/months1.php
Explore alphabets, writing systems, articles, and phrases in many languages:
http://www.omniglot.com/ Songs, puzzles and artwork are also offered.
Barry Manilow has written or sung in nine commercial jingles. Probably the one for State Farm Insurance is known the best. See list at:
http://www.barrynethomepage.com/commercialjingles.html
Legal researchers: There’s a battle about to break out on your computer screen. On the third floor of West’s sprawling corporate headquarters outside Minneapolis, a veritable army of professionals has been working for nearly five years to create a revamped Westlaw. They are changing everything from the interface users see on their PC screens to all the technology that makes it work behind the scenes. Known as WestlawNext, the new platform will debut February 1. On its own suburban campus near Dayton, Ohio, LexisNexis—the other half of the duopoly that has ruled online legal research for almost 40 years (some call it “Wexis”)—is planning its own revamped platform. Referred to internally as New Lexis, it is slated to roll out publicly later this year on a date yet to be determined. Both companies claim to be creating a legal research experience that will mimic the ease of use their customers have come to expect from the leading Internet search engine, Google. The updated services come not a moment too soon, since the Mountain View, Calif.-based search engine has just gotten into the legal research business. In November, the company announced that its Scholar search engine now contains more than 80 years of U.S. case law from federal and state courts, as well as U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1791—all of it free. http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/exclusive_inside_the_new_westlaw_lexis_bloomberg_platforms/#ecamp=t-n322
Monday, January 25, 2010
National Renewable Energy Lab - NREL Study Shows 20 Percent Wind is Possible by 2024
News release: "Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released the Eastern Wind Integration and Transmission Study (EWITS). This unprecedented two-and-a-half year technical study of future high-penetration wind scenarios was designed to analyze the economic, operational, and technical implications of shifting 20 percent or more of the Eastern Interconnection’s electrical load to wind energy by the year 2024."
UN Permanent Forum Origin and Development Report: State of the World's Indigenous Peoples, January 2010.
• "Indigenous peoples contribute extensibly to humanity's cultural diversity, enriching it with more than two thirds of its languages and an extraordinary amount of its traditional knowledge. There are over 370 million indigenous people in some 90 countries, living in all regions of the world. The situation of indigenous peoples in many parts of the world is critical today. Poverty rates are significantly higher among indigenous peoples compared to other groups. While they constitute 5 per cent of the world's population, they are 15 per cent of the world's poor. Most indicators of well-being show that indigenous peoples suffer disproportionately compared to non-indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples face systemic discrimination and exclusion from political and economic power; they continue to be over-represented among the poorest, the illiterate, the destitute; they are displaced by wars and environmental disasters; indigenous peoples are dispossessed of their ancestral lands and deprived of their resources for survival, both physical and cultural; they are even robbed of their very right to life. In more modern versions of market exploitation, indigenous peoples see their traditional knowledge and cultural expressions marketed and patented without their consent or participation."
DOJ OIG: Review of FBI's Use of Exigent Letters
A Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Use of Exigent Letters and Other Informal Requests for Telephone Records, January 2010, Unclassified, Redacted.
BLS Producer Price Indexes December 2009
Producer Price Index, January 20, 2010: "The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods moved up 0.2 percent in December, seasonally adjusted. This rise followed a 1.8-percent advance in November and a 0.3-percent increase in October. The index for finished goods less foods and energy was unchanged."
Thanks to solar panels, a geothermal heating and cooling system, and a gift of carbon-offset credits, Rangeview Library District’s new Anythink Brighton, Colorado, branch is believed to be the first carbon-positive library in the United States. The building, which opened in September, offsets 167,620 pounds of carbon dioxide—16% more than it is anticipated to use annually. Solar energy will save the library about $30,000 a year in energy costs. “For the 10 years it may take to see the return on investment, we’ll also be not emitting tons of carbon in the air,” Hansen said.
Other environmentally friendly features include:
Geothermal heating and cooling. A closed system of pipes carries fluid through the floors to wells 500 feet below the parking lot. While underground, the temperature of the fluid moderates to about 58 degrees Farenheit, year-round; when it’s pumping through the floors, it helps to cool the building in summer and heat it in winter, requiring about half the energy of blowing heated or cooled air.
Solatubes. These capture natural light outside, and deliver through reflective tubes to illuminate interior spaces, even if there is no window or skylight.
Lighting controls, including motion sensors and stepped ballasts to regulate the amount of artificial lighting needed.
South-facing facades. Windows receive direct light in winter, with awnings to provide shade during summer.
http://www.americanlibrariesmagazine.org/news/12122009/new-colorado-facility-becomes-first-carbon-positive-library
Magic in the air
Hummingbirds take extraordinary to a whole new level. They are the smallest warm-blooded creatures on the planet, but they are also among the fastest. With wings that beat up to 200 times every second, they are among nature’s most accomplished athletes, the only birds able to hover, fly backwards, and even upside down. http://www.rapidshareindex.com/PBS-Nature-S28E05-Hummingbirds-Magic-in-the-Air-2010-_410140.html
A muse reader, after viewing pictures of library cats, gave me the book Dewey about a kitten found in a book drop on a cold January morning in the public library at Spencer, Iowa. The cat was rescued and cared for by the library staff, and grew to love sitting on laps, warm copiers, and in boxes and drawers. His routine included greeting the staff, keeping them company during breaks, and being carried limply over a person's left shoulder. Dewey's picture appeared in magazines, newsletters, books, and newspapers. http://www.americanprofile.com/article/3897.html
Iowa’s Dewey Readmore Books gives Dr. Seuss a run for the money, ranking as a national celebrity. The acting debut in Puss in Books landed him a spot as Mr. January in a national pin-up cat calendar plus a mention on nationally syndicated radio by broadcaster Paul Harvey, and as the subject of two book chapters—he has his own Library of Congress listing.
http://www.wesleyancollege.edu/Academics/Library/LibraryCat/tabid/184/Default.aspx
See a picture of Dewey here: http://www.neatorama.com/2009/04/30/an-interactive-map-of-library-cats/
"The Gathering: Of Time, of Land, of Many Hands", an outdoor mosaic sculpture, has Dewey sitting on pages of an open book, on the west wall of the sculpture (The Story of Spencer). Find him slightly to the left of center in the upper half of the scene.
http://spencercreates.com/liveculturehistory.htm
http://www.surfiowa.com/spencer/parkart/
Products that use corn
Adhesives (glues, pastes, mucilages, gums, etc.)
Aluminum
Antibiotics (penicillin)
Asbestos insulation
Aspirin
Automobiles (everything on wheels)
xxx- cylinder heads
xxx- ethanol - fuel & windshield washer fluid
xxx- spark plugs
xxx- synthetic rubber finishes
xxx- tires
Baby food
Batteries, dry cell
Beer
Breakfast cereals
Candies
Canned vegetables
Carbonated beverages
Cheese spreads
Chewing gum
Chocolate products
Coatings on wood, paper & metal
Colour carrier in paper & textile, printing
Corn chips
Corn meal
Cosmetics
C.M.A. (calcium magnesium acetate)
Crayon and chalk
Degradable plastics
Dessert powders
Dextrose (intravenous solutions, icing sugar)
Disposable diapers
Dyes
Edible oil
Ethyl and butyl alcohol
Explosives - firecrackers
Finished leather
Flour & grits
See the other half of the list at:
http://www.ontariocorn.org/classroom/products.html
News release: "Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released the Eastern Wind Integration and Transmission Study (EWITS). This unprecedented two-and-a-half year technical study of future high-penetration wind scenarios was designed to analyze the economic, operational, and technical implications of shifting 20 percent or more of the Eastern Interconnection’s electrical load to wind energy by the year 2024."
UN Permanent Forum Origin and Development Report: State of the World's Indigenous Peoples, January 2010.
• "Indigenous peoples contribute extensibly to humanity's cultural diversity, enriching it with more than two thirds of its languages and an extraordinary amount of its traditional knowledge. There are over 370 million indigenous people in some 90 countries, living in all regions of the world. The situation of indigenous peoples in many parts of the world is critical today. Poverty rates are significantly higher among indigenous peoples compared to other groups. While they constitute 5 per cent of the world's population, they are 15 per cent of the world's poor. Most indicators of well-being show that indigenous peoples suffer disproportionately compared to non-indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples face systemic discrimination and exclusion from political and economic power; they continue to be over-represented among the poorest, the illiterate, the destitute; they are displaced by wars and environmental disasters; indigenous peoples are dispossessed of their ancestral lands and deprived of their resources for survival, both physical and cultural; they are even robbed of their very right to life. In more modern versions of market exploitation, indigenous peoples see their traditional knowledge and cultural expressions marketed and patented without their consent or participation."
DOJ OIG: Review of FBI's Use of Exigent Letters
A Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Use of Exigent Letters and Other Informal Requests for Telephone Records, January 2010, Unclassified, Redacted.
BLS Producer Price Indexes December 2009
Producer Price Index, January 20, 2010: "The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods moved up 0.2 percent in December, seasonally adjusted. This rise followed a 1.8-percent advance in November and a 0.3-percent increase in October. The index for finished goods less foods and energy was unchanged."
Thanks to solar panels, a geothermal heating and cooling system, and a gift of carbon-offset credits, Rangeview Library District’s new Anythink Brighton, Colorado, branch is believed to be the first carbon-positive library in the United States. The building, which opened in September, offsets 167,620 pounds of carbon dioxide—16% more than it is anticipated to use annually. Solar energy will save the library about $30,000 a year in energy costs. “For the 10 years it may take to see the return on investment, we’ll also be not emitting tons of carbon in the air,” Hansen said.
Other environmentally friendly features include:
Geothermal heating and cooling. A closed system of pipes carries fluid through the floors to wells 500 feet below the parking lot. While underground, the temperature of the fluid moderates to about 58 degrees Farenheit, year-round; when it’s pumping through the floors, it helps to cool the building in summer and heat it in winter, requiring about half the energy of blowing heated or cooled air.
Solatubes. These capture natural light outside, and deliver through reflective tubes to illuminate interior spaces, even if there is no window or skylight.
Lighting controls, including motion sensors and stepped ballasts to regulate the amount of artificial lighting needed.
South-facing facades. Windows receive direct light in winter, with awnings to provide shade during summer.
http://www.americanlibrariesmagazine.org/news/12122009/new-colorado-facility-becomes-first-carbon-positive-library
Magic in the air
Hummingbirds take extraordinary to a whole new level. They are the smallest warm-blooded creatures on the planet, but they are also among the fastest. With wings that beat up to 200 times every second, they are among nature’s most accomplished athletes, the only birds able to hover, fly backwards, and even upside down. http://www.rapidshareindex.com/PBS-Nature-S28E05-Hummingbirds-Magic-in-the-Air-2010-_410140.html
A muse reader, after viewing pictures of library cats, gave me the book Dewey about a kitten found in a book drop on a cold January morning in the public library at Spencer, Iowa. The cat was rescued and cared for by the library staff, and grew to love sitting on laps, warm copiers, and in boxes and drawers. His routine included greeting the staff, keeping them company during breaks, and being carried limply over a person's left shoulder. Dewey's picture appeared in magazines, newsletters, books, and newspapers. http://www.americanprofile.com/article/3897.html
Iowa’s Dewey Readmore Books gives Dr. Seuss a run for the money, ranking as a national celebrity. The acting debut in Puss in Books landed him a spot as Mr. January in a national pin-up cat calendar plus a mention on nationally syndicated radio by broadcaster Paul Harvey, and as the subject of two book chapters—he has his own Library of Congress listing.
http://www.wesleyancollege.edu/Academics/Library/LibraryCat/tabid/184/Default.aspx
See a picture of Dewey here: http://www.neatorama.com/2009/04/30/an-interactive-map-of-library-cats/
"The Gathering: Of Time, of Land, of Many Hands", an outdoor mosaic sculpture, has Dewey sitting on pages of an open book, on the west wall of the sculpture (The Story of Spencer). Find him slightly to the left of center in the upper half of the scene.
http://spencercreates.com/liveculturehistory.htm
http://www.surfiowa.com/spencer/parkart/
Products that use corn
Adhesives (glues, pastes, mucilages, gums, etc.)
Aluminum
Antibiotics (penicillin)
Asbestos insulation
Aspirin
Automobiles (everything on wheels)
xxx- cylinder heads
xxx- ethanol - fuel & windshield washer fluid
xxx- spark plugs
xxx- synthetic rubber finishes
xxx- tires
Baby food
Batteries, dry cell
Beer
Breakfast cereals
Candies
Canned vegetables
Carbonated beverages
Cheese spreads
Chewing gum
Chocolate products
Coatings on wood, paper & metal
Colour carrier in paper & textile, printing
Corn chips
Corn meal
Cosmetics
C.M.A. (calcium magnesium acetate)
Crayon and chalk
Degradable plastics
Dessert powders
Dextrose (intravenous solutions, icing sugar)
Disposable diapers
Dyes
Edible oil
Ethyl and butyl alcohol
Explosives - firecrackers
Finished leather
Flour & grits
See the other half of the list at:
http://www.ontariocorn.org/classroom/products.html
Friday, January 22, 2010
MUSE READER SHARES HIS COLUMN
Q: A lot of businesses these days refuse to accept anything larger than a $20 bill to pay for goods and services . How can this be legal on their part when printed right on the front of all bills is the statement, "This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private"? If someone wanted to press the issue, and the police had to get involved, how would that be handled? -- Robert Waxler, Findlay.
A: Who better to ask about our paper money than the people who literally make it, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington? "We've had this question in the past and this is how we respond: The government simply cannot force a private business to accept anything monetary that it doesn't want to accept," said spokeswoman Claudia Dickens. "Certainly, if it was a government institution, yes, they would have to accept it. But not a private business," she said. Interestingly, Dickens had a different take on what that statement on our money means. "The statement ... is exactly what (the bill) is," she said, "but it does not in any way imply that a merchant has to accept it." Courtesy of Peter Mattiace, editor of The Courier, Just Ask column appearing each Monday. See rest of the answer at:
http://www.thecourier.com/Opinion/columns/2010/Jan/JU/ar_JU_011810.asp?d=011810,2010,Jan,18&c=c_13
Free video courses from leading universities: http://academicearth.org/
23 "newest courses" listed
Children's board games help reinforce lessons learned in the classroom by Mari-Jane Williams Candy Land, for example, in its 61st year, might be one of the best deals going in early childhood education, using visions of sweet treats to disguise lessons in color recognition and counting. And its colorful cousin Chutes and Ladders has been subtly instilling early math skills since 1943 by exposing kids to the concept of numbers. There are so many benefits to playing board games. For years, they've been known to help children with social interaction, taking turns and learning to follow rules and to win and lose gracefully. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/12/AR2010011202134.html
Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur
"what is asserted without reason may be denied without reason"
See many Latin phrases translated at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_phrases_(full)
obscurantism (uhb-SKYOOR-uhn-tiz-uhm, ob-skyoo-RAN-tiz-uhm) noun
1. Opposition to the spread of knowledge.
2. Being deliberately vague or obscure; also a style in art and literature.
From Latin obscurare (to make dark). A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
Feedback to A.Word.A.Day
From: Ron Frazier (ronfraz@verizon.net)
Subject: Palindromic Dates
Concerning palindromic dates... I did write a small BASIC program to generate all palindromic dates and count the days between successive dates. Both ways of writing dates have 366 palindromic dates in the years between 0001 - 9999, but the distributions are quite different and have interesting patterns. The complete list is here.
The last palindromic date of the 10th millennium will be: 09/29/9290! The last date of our (the 3rd) millennium will be: 09/22/2290.
Towards the end of the First World War with the disintegration of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, Palestine was among the several former Ottoman Arab territories which were placed under the administration of Great Britain under the Mandates System adopted by the League of Nations pursuant to the League's Covenant (Article 22) .
All but one of these Mandated Territories became fully independent States, as anticipated. The exception was Palestine where, instead of being limited to "the rendering of administrative assistance and advice" the Mandate had as a primary objective the implementation of the "Balfour Declaration" issued by the British Government in 1917, expressing support for "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people". During the years of the Palestine Mandate, from 1922 to 1947, large-scale Jewish immigration from abroad, mainly from Eastern Europe took place, the numbers swelling in the 1930s with the notorious Nazi persecution of Jewish populations. Palestinian demands for independence and resistance to Jewish immigration led to a rebellion in 1937, followed by continuing terrorism and violence from both sides during and immediately after World War II. Great Britain tried to implement various formulas to bring independence to a land ravaged by violence. In 1947, Great Britain turned the problem over to the United Nations. After looking at various alternatives, the UN proposed the partitioning of Palestine into two independent States, one Palestinian Arab and the other Jewish, with Jerusalem internationalized (Resolution 181 (II) of 1947). One of the two States envisaged in the partition plan proclaimed its independence as Israel and in the 1948 war expanded to occupy 77 per cent of the territory of Palestine. http://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/ngo/history.html
More on banned music
Public performances of Wagner's music in Palestine ceased the day after Kristallnacht, in 1938. The then-Palestine Philharmonic, which had debuted two years earlier performing Wagner under the baton of Toscanini, removed the overture to Der Meistersinger from its program in a protest against that tragic night in Germany, and the ban has continued ever since. (A similar ban on Wagner's music in the Soviet Union lasted for fifty years, until the collapse of the communist regime in 1989). Wagner was not alone -- Richard Strauss and Carl Orff, both Nazi-affiliated in their lifetimes, were also banned for decades. The state-run New Israeli Opera Company avoids not only Wagner operas but all operas in German, with the exception of the occasional Mozart singspiel or Viennese operetta.
http://www.zeek.net/music_0405.shtml
Tried, tasted and approved
We tried two recipes from allrecipes.com recently and enjoyed them. Take a look at
pork tenderloin in bourbon http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pork-Tenderloin-in-Bourbon/Detail.aspx
and rosemary braised lamb shanks http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rosemary-Braised-Lamb-Shanks/Detail.aspx
Q: A lot of businesses these days refuse to accept anything larger than a $20 bill to pay for goods and services . How can this be legal on their part when printed right on the front of all bills is the statement, "This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private"? If someone wanted to press the issue, and the police had to get involved, how would that be handled? -- Robert Waxler, Findlay.
A: Who better to ask about our paper money than the people who literally make it, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington? "We've had this question in the past and this is how we respond: The government simply cannot force a private business to accept anything monetary that it doesn't want to accept," said spokeswoman Claudia Dickens. "Certainly, if it was a government institution, yes, they would have to accept it. But not a private business," she said. Interestingly, Dickens had a different take on what that statement on our money means. "The statement ... is exactly what (the bill) is," she said, "but it does not in any way imply that a merchant has to accept it." Courtesy of Peter Mattiace, editor of The Courier, Just Ask column appearing each Monday. See rest of the answer at:
http://www.thecourier.com/Opinion/columns/2010/Jan/JU/ar_JU_011810.asp?d=011810,2010,Jan,18&c=c_13
Free video courses from leading universities: http://academicearth.org/
23 "newest courses" listed
Children's board games help reinforce lessons learned in the classroom by Mari-Jane Williams Candy Land, for example, in its 61st year, might be one of the best deals going in early childhood education, using visions of sweet treats to disguise lessons in color recognition and counting. And its colorful cousin Chutes and Ladders has been subtly instilling early math skills since 1943 by exposing kids to the concept of numbers. There are so many benefits to playing board games. For years, they've been known to help children with social interaction, taking turns and learning to follow rules and to win and lose gracefully. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/12/AR2010011202134.html
Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur
"what is asserted without reason may be denied without reason"
See many Latin phrases translated at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_phrases_(full)
obscurantism (uhb-SKYOOR-uhn-tiz-uhm, ob-skyoo-RAN-tiz-uhm) noun
1. Opposition to the spread of knowledge.
2. Being deliberately vague or obscure; also a style in art and literature.
From Latin obscurare (to make dark). A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
Feedback to A.Word.A.Day
From: Ron Frazier (ronfraz@verizon.net)
Subject: Palindromic Dates
Concerning palindromic dates... I did write a small BASIC program to generate all palindromic dates and count the days between successive dates. Both ways of writing dates have 366 palindromic dates in the years between 0001 - 9999, but the distributions are quite different and have interesting patterns. The complete list is here.
The last palindromic date of the 10th millennium will be: 09/29/9290! The last date of our (the 3rd) millennium will be: 09/22/2290.
Towards the end of the First World War with the disintegration of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, Palestine was among the several former Ottoman Arab territories which were placed under the administration of Great Britain under the Mandates System adopted by the League of Nations pursuant to the League's Covenant (Article 22) .
All but one of these Mandated Territories became fully independent States, as anticipated. The exception was Palestine where, instead of being limited to "the rendering of administrative assistance and advice" the Mandate had as a primary objective the implementation of the "Balfour Declaration" issued by the British Government in 1917, expressing support for "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people". During the years of the Palestine Mandate, from 1922 to 1947, large-scale Jewish immigration from abroad, mainly from Eastern Europe took place, the numbers swelling in the 1930s with the notorious Nazi persecution of Jewish populations. Palestinian demands for independence and resistance to Jewish immigration led to a rebellion in 1937, followed by continuing terrorism and violence from both sides during and immediately after World War II. Great Britain tried to implement various formulas to bring independence to a land ravaged by violence. In 1947, Great Britain turned the problem over to the United Nations. After looking at various alternatives, the UN proposed the partitioning of Palestine into two independent States, one Palestinian Arab and the other Jewish, with Jerusalem internationalized (Resolution 181 (II) of 1947). One of the two States envisaged in the partition plan proclaimed its independence as Israel and in the 1948 war expanded to occupy 77 per cent of the territory of Palestine. http://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/ngo/history.html
More on banned music
Public performances of Wagner's music in Palestine ceased the day after Kristallnacht, in 1938. The then-Palestine Philharmonic, which had debuted two years earlier performing Wagner under the baton of Toscanini, removed the overture to Der Meistersinger from its program in a protest against that tragic night in Germany, and the ban has continued ever since. (A similar ban on Wagner's music in the Soviet Union lasted for fifty years, until the collapse of the communist regime in 1989). Wagner was not alone -- Richard Strauss and Carl Orff, both Nazi-affiliated in their lifetimes, were also banned for decades. The state-run New Israeli Opera Company avoids not only Wagner operas but all operas in German, with the exception of the occasional Mozart singspiel or Viennese operetta.
http://www.zeek.net/music_0405.shtml
Tried, tasted and approved
We tried two recipes from allrecipes.com recently and enjoyed them. Take a look at
pork tenderloin in bourbon http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pork-Tenderloin-in-Bourbon/Detail.aspx
and rosemary braised lamb shanks http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rosemary-Braised-Lamb-Shanks/Detail.aspx
Thursday, January 21, 2010
EPA Proposes Standards to Protect Florida’s Waters
News release: "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing water quality standards to protect people’s health, aquatic life and the long term recreational uses of Florida’s waters, which are a critical part of the state’s economy. In 2009, EPA entered into a consent decree with the Florida Wildlife Federation to propose limits to this pollution. The proposed action, released for public comment and developed in collaboration with the state, would set a series of numeric limits on the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen, also known as “nutrients,” that would be allowed in Florida’s lakes, rivers, streams, springs and canals."
• More on the proposed rule and public hearings
Ranking of compact cars and subcompact cars, generally priced under $20,000. Rankings based on an in-depth analysis by U.S. News editors of all published auto ratings, reviews and test drives.
http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/rankings/Affordable-Small-Cars/
The eight parts of speech are noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, adjective, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. See functions, example words and example sentences:
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/parts-of-speech_1.htm
The FAA last April opened its records on more than 100,000 reports of birds colliding with aircraft since 1990. The records showed that airplanes struck birds 16 to 78 times a year between 1990 and 2008 at Philadelphia. Airports, with open fields and grass, are particularly vulnerable to birds, and many of the nation's busiest airports are next to water or wildlife sanctuaries that attract birds. Bird populations have flourished in recent years with the banning of pesticides and environmental cleanup. Until 2008, the FAA saw a decline in bird-plane collisions considered "substantial" - causing structural damage, such as a hole in the wing or a destroyed engine. But in 2009, with an increase in strike reports, came "a jump in more serious damage strikes . . . Bird-detecting radar and special lighting on aircraft during takeoff and landing could alert birds that "something is coming at them very fast," Richard Dolbeer, wildlife expert for the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/20100113_Birds_vs__airplanes__The_menace_continues.html
WHO - Healthcare coordination crucial in earthquake-hit Haiti
World Health Organization: "Strong coordination of health services and supplies is needed to effectively treat thousands of people injured in the 12 January earthquake. WHO is sending medicines and supplies to treat 165 000 people for one month, plus drugs and equipment to treat 1000 people with trauma injuries. Water pumps, containers and water quality testers are being sent to help meet water demands."
U.S. State Dept. Resources on 2010 Earthquake in Haiti
2010 Earthquake in Haiti - Includes links to:
Briefings and Remarks
Fact Sheets
Interviews
Secretary Clinton's Visit to Haiti
White House Releases
Collected Releases
Red Cross Photos: 2010 Haiti earthquake
"Avatar's" record-breaking run worldwide is getting pulled up short in China.
Authorities are pulling the non-3D version of the science fiction epic from screens across the country as of Jan. 23, according to theater operators and state media, apparently for political and economic reasons. China Film Group, the state-run domestic distributor of the Hollywood blockbuster, has reportedly ordered cinemas to stop showing the 2D version of James Cameron's global hit by this weekend on the orders of China's censors, though the 3D and IMAX versions of the movie will continue their run into February.
http://news.findlaw.com/ap/e/1402/01-19-2010/20100119025007_03.html
What does avatar mean?
embodiment: a new personification of a familiar idea; "the embodiment of hope"; "the incarnation of evil"; "the very avatar of cunning"
the manifestation of a Hindu deity (especially Vishnu) in human or superhuman or animal form; "the Buddha is considered an avatar of the god Vishnu"
See other meanings here: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:avatar&ei=0DxYS6GREoiENrmu9NYE&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title&ved=0CAcQkAE
After days of tense negotiations, "The Tonight Show" host Conan O'Brien signed an agreement early Thursday, January 21 to part ways with NBC, according to a person familiar with the situation. The deal clears the way for rival Jay Leno to reclaim his old show at 11:35 pm. Mr. O'Brien signed the agreement around 1 a.m. Pacific time.
NBC is expected to announce the agreement later on Thursday morning.
While details on the final agreement were unclear, the deal was expected to include a payout of about $32 million for Mr. O'Brien and about $12 million for his staff. It is also believed to include a nondisparagement clause, both for the 46-year-old comedian and NBC. The deal has been said to include a provision that would bar or limit Mr. OBrien from appearing on other shows or hosting his own show for a period of time, according to people familiar with the negotiations. "In the end, Conan was appreciative of the steps NBC made to take care of his staff and crew, and decided to supplement the severance they were getting out of his own pocket," said Gavin Polone, Mr. O'Brien's manager. "Now he just wants to get back on the air as quickly as possible."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703699204575016514111492610.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines
Robert B. Parker, who wrote more than 60 books all told, including westerns and young-adult novels, died on January 18. In recent years he had come up with two new protagonists: Jesse Stone, an alcoholic ex-ballplayer turned small-town chief of police, who was featured in nine novels written since 1997, including “Split Image,” to be published next month; and Sunny Randall, a fashion-conscious, unlucky-in-love, daughter-of-a-cop private eye created at the request of the actress Helen Hunt, who was hoping for a juicy movie role.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/books/20parker.html
If you're a fan of NASA's Mars missions, a few things have started heading in the right direction - including a renewed flow of eye-pleasing pictures from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a new program that gives you a say in picking the orbiter's future targets, and new signs of progress in the months-long effort to free the Spirit rover from a sand trap. See story and pictures at: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/01/21/2181157.aspx
News release: "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing water quality standards to protect people’s health, aquatic life and the long term recreational uses of Florida’s waters, which are a critical part of the state’s economy. In 2009, EPA entered into a consent decree with the Florida Wildlife Federation to propose limits to this pollution. The proposed action, released for public comment and developed in collaboration with the state, would set a series of numeric limits on the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen, also known as “nutrients,” that would be allowed in Florida’s lakes, rivers, streams, springs and canals."
• More on the proposed rule and public hearings
Ranking of compact cars and subcompact cars, generally priced under $20,000. Rankings based on an in-depth analysis by U.S. News editors of all published auto ratings, reviews and test drives.
http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/rankings/Affordable-Small-Cars/
The eight parts of speech are noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, adjective, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. See functions, example words and example sentences:
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/parts-of-speech_1.htm
The FAA last April opened its records on more than 100,000 reports of birds colliding with aircraft since 1990. The records showed that airplanes struck birds 16 to 78 times a year between 1990 and 2008 at Philadelphia. Airports, with open fields and grass, are particularly vulnerable to birds, and many of the nation's busiest airports are next to water or wildlife sanctuaries that attract birds. Bird populations have flourished in recent years with the banning of pesticides and environmental cleanup. Until 2008, the FAA saw a decline in bird-plane collisions considered "substantial" - causing structural damage, such as a hole in the wing or a destroyed engine. But in 2009, with an increase in strike reports, came "a jump in more serious damage strikes . . . Bird-detecting radar and special lighting on aircraft during takeoff and landing could alert birds that "something is coming at them very fast," Richard Dolbeer, wildlife expert for the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/20100113_Birds_vs__airplanes__The_menace_continues.html
WHO - Healthcare coordination crucial in earthquake-hit Haiti
World Health Organization: "Strong coordination of health services and supplies is needed to effectively treat thousands of people injured in the 12 January earthquake. WHO is sending medicines and supplies to treat 165 000 people for one month, plus drugs and equipment to treat 1000 people with trauma injuries. Water pumps, containers and water quality testers are being sent to help meet water demands."
U.S. State Dept. Resources on 2010 Earthquake in Haiti
2010 Earthquake in Haiti - Includes links to:
Briefings and Remarks
Fact Sheets
Interviews
Secretary Clinton's Visit to Haiti
White House Releases
Collected Releases
Red Cross Photos: 2010 Haiti earthquake
"Avatar's" record-breaking run worldwide is getting pulled up short in China.
Authorities are pulling the non-3D version of the science fiction epic from screens across the country as of Jan. 23, according to theater operators and state media, apparently for political and economic reasons. China Film Group, the state-run domestic distributor of the Hollywood blockbuster, has reportedly ordered cinemas to stop showing the 2D version of James Cameron's global hit by this weekend on the orders of China's censors, though the 3D and IMAX versions of the movie will continue their run into February.
http://news.findlaw.com/ap/e/1402/01-19-2010/20100119025007_03.html
What does avatar mean?
embodiment: a new personification of a familiar idea; "the embodiment of hope"; "the incarnation of evil"; "the very avatar of cunning"
the manifestation of a Hindu deity (especially Vishnu) in human or superhuman or animal form; "the Buddha is considered an avatar of the god Vishnu"
See other meanings here: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:avatar&ei=0DxYS6GREoiENrmu9NYE&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title&ved=0CAcQkAE
After days of tense negotiations, "The Tonight Show" host Conan O'Brien signed an agreement early Thursday, January 21 to part ways with NBC, according to a person familiar with the situation. The deal clears the way for rival Jay Leno to reclaim his old show at 11:35 pm. Mr. O'Brien signed the agreement around 1 a.m. Pacific time.
NBC is expected to announce the agreement later on Thursday morning.
While details on the final agreement were unclear, the deal was expected to include a payout of about $32 million for Mr. O'Brien and about $12 million for his staff. It is also believed to include a nondisparagement clause, both for the 46-year-old comedian and NBC. The deal has been said to include a provision that would bar or limit Mr. OBrien from appearing on other shows or hosting his own show for a period of time, according to people familiar with the negotiations. "In the end, Conan was appreciative of the steps NBC made to take care of his staff and crew, and decided to supplement the severance they were getting out of his own pocket," said Gavin Polone, Mr. O'Brien's manager. "Now he just wants to get back on the air as quickly as possible."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703699204575016514111492610.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines
Robert B. Parker, who wrote more than 60 books all told, including westerns and young-adult novels, died on January 18. In recent years he had come up with two new protagonists: Jesse Stone, an alcoholic ex-ballplayer turned small-town chief of police, who was featured in nine novels written since 1997, including “Split Image,” to be published next month; and Sunny Randall, a fashion-conscious, unlucky-in-love, daughter-of-a-cop private eye created at the request of the actress Helen Hunt, who was hoping for a juicy movie role.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/books/20parker.html
If you're a fan of NASA's Mars missions, a few things have started heading in the right direction - including a renewed flow of eye-pleasing pictures from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a new program that gives you a say in picking the orbiter's future targets, and new signs of progress in the months-long effort to free the Spirit rover from a sand trap. See story and pictures at: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/01/21/2181157.aspx
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Texting Charitable Contributions to Haiti Overwhelms Telecoms
WSJ : "In a texting donation, a person types a so-called short-code such as 90999 and then types in "HAITI" to donate a preset amount of $10. The cellphone user then gets a text back asking that they confirm the donation. After a confirmation, the person receives a text saying, "Thanks! $10 charged to your phone bill for Red Cross Int'l Relief." But no money moves until a person pays their cellphone bill to cover the pledge. The money then is routed through a carrier that aggregates the donations before dispatching them to one of the foundations. Those then move the money to agencies such as the Red Cross. Meantime, officials warned that hundreds of charities that may not be equipped to help often try to raise money and others are simply fraudulent scams. The Federal Bureau of Investigation warned Americans to ignore unsolicited emails and to be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as surviving victims."
• See also Haiti Earthquake: FTC Warns Consumers to Give Wisely
What does mind your p's and q's mean?
Be on your best behaviour; be careful of your language. Or, advice to printer’s apprentices to avoid confusing the backward-facing metal type lowercase Ps and Qs. I've never heard any suggestion that printer should mind their ds and bs. Ps and Qs are just the plural of the letters P and Q. There some disagreement amongst grammarians about how to spell Ps and Qs - either upper-case or lower-case and either with or without a hyphen. You may see the phrase as mind your p's and q's or mind your Ps and Qs or (occasionally) mind your P's and Q's or (rarely) as mind your ps and qs. For other meanings, see: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/248000.html
Jazz was illegal in Nazi Germany. Hitler declared jazz to be a "degenerate music" just as he had so famously done to certain Western Classical composers like Mendelssohn and Mahler. Read more at Suite101: Hitler's War on Jazz in France: During WWII Jazz Music Was Banned in Paris by the Nazi Movement http://jazz-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_day_the_music_stopped#ixzz0cijOw56O
Wagner music unofficially banned in Israel since 1938
A week after its musicians voted to perform a special Wagner concert in December 1991, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra said that the program would be postponed until it asks its 36,000 subscribers if they agree with ending a decades-old ban on the 19th-century German composer. Technically, the decision to conduct a referendum means nothing more than a delay, perhaps for a month, Philharmonic officials said. But some musicians and arts writers were convinced that it would be a long time before the taboo is broken, especially since a ranking sponsor of the planned poll says that even if only 20 percent oppose change, they should be considered a sufficiently sizable minority to block a Wagner concert. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/23/arts/israel-philharmonic-puts-off-wagner-concert.html?pagewanted=1
In 1981, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Zubin Mehta, offered an encore at the close of a subscription concert. Commotion broke out, with shouts from the audience aiming to silence the music. In introducing the piece from Tristan und Isolde, Mehta had made a short speech in which he spoke of Israel as a democracy in which all music should be played. But, he added, if this particular music offended the feelings of some of the listeners present, they were free to leave. (Two orchestra members had, at their request, been excused from playing the encore). Some older members of the audience quietly got up and went home. A few continued for a while to protest noisily, even running threateningly onto the stage, but the piece was played to the end.
A few years later a survey was conducted on the question - should the Philharmonic play Wagner's music? Of those questioned, 50 percent were against playing Wagner, 25 percent for, and 25 percent had no firm convictions on the subject. In 1992, the Philharmonic conducted its own poll among its subscribers. The majority was in favour, 30 percent were against. In view of the large minority, it was decided to continue to refrain from playing Wagner, at least for the time being. In July 2001, the prestigious Berlin Staatskapelle performed the "Tristan und Isolde" overture at the Israel Festival. While the orchestra's condutor, Daniel Barenboim (himself a Jew), had promised to respect the ban on Wagner's music, he surprised his audience by asking them if they wanted to hear Wagner as an encore following the scheduled performance. Most of the audience was in favor of the encore, which received a standing ovation from all but a few of the listeners. However, during a half-hour debate that preceded the performance of the overture, numerous Israelis protested and walked out of the theater, some shouting insults as they went. The controversy over the foreign orchestra's performance rekindeled the debate over what course the Israeli orchestras should pursue. Yaakov Mishori, a leading Philharmonic musician, feels the orchestra should play Wagner. "After all," he says, "Wagner died 50 years before Hitler came to power. Moreover, he was a kind of private anti-Semite, refusing to sign any public declarations against the Jews." "I am opposed to any ban on culture," says Avi Chanani, director of the classical music division of Israel's state radio . "Zubin Mehta risked playing Wagner in one fell swoop, but I believe in introducing him gradually, and that is what I have been doing. Wagner was a revolutionary in music. His work is central to the development of European music. Without Wagner it is difficult to understand the history of music. That is one important consideration for playing his music. But what I feel is cardinal in my decision to present Wagner on the radio is my belief that in a democracy, the public has a right to know; it must be exposed to all information." http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/Wagner.html
American jazz pianist Harry Connick Jr. bumped up against China’s cultural restrictions when he was forced to make last-minute changes to his performance in Shanghai on 8 March 2008. Officials also refused to allow him to perform a revised set list. Players in Connick's band told a reporter from the Shanghaiist that 'government people' showed up an hour before they were to perform in Shanghai. The officials from the Cultural Bureau went to town on their set list, crossing off a number of tunes they disapproved of and replacing them with "safer" tunes. Tunes which the band did not happen to have charts on hand for. Thus explains the extraordinary number of solo piano-with-vocals tunes heard throughout the show.
http://www.freemuse.org/sw29177.asp
WSJ : "In a texting donation, a person types a so-called short-code such as 90999 and then types in "HAITI" to donate a preset amount of $10. The cellphone user then gets a text back asking that they confirm the donation. After a confirmation, the person receives a text saying, "Thanks! $10 charged to your phone bill for Red Cross Int'l Relief." But no money moves until a person pays their cellphone bill to cover the pledge. The money then is routed through a carrier that aggregates the donations before dispatching them to one of the foundations. Those then move the money to agencies such as the Red Cross. Meantime, officials warned that hundreds of charities that may not be equipped to help often try to raise money and others are simply fraudulent scams. The Federal Bureau of Investigation warned Americans to ignore unsolicited emails and to be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as surviving victims."
• See also Haiti Earthquake: FTC Warns Consumers to Give Wisely
What does mind your p's and q's mean?
Be on your best behaviour; be careful of your language. Or, advice to printer’s apprentices to avoid confusing the backward-facing metal type lowercase Ps and Qs. I've never heard any suggestion that printer should mind their ds and bs. Ps and Qs are just the plural of the letters P and Q. There some disagreement amongst grammarians about how to spell Ps and Qs - either upper-case or lower-case and either with or without a hyphen. You may see the phrase as mind your p's and q's or mind your Ps and Qs or (occasionally) mind your P's and Q's or (rarely) as mind your ps and qs. For other meanings, see: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/248000.html
Jazz was illegal in Nazi Germany. Hitler declared jazz to be a "degenerate music" just as he had so famously done to certain Western Classical composers like Mendelssohn and Mahler. Read more at Suite101: Hitler's War on Jazz in France: During WWII Jazz Music Was Banned in Paris by the Nazi Movement http://jazz-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_day_the_music_stopped#ixzz0cijOw56O
Wagner music unofficially banned in Israel since 1938
A week after its musicians voted to perform a special Wagner concert in December 1991, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra said that the program would be postponed until it asks its 36,000 subscribers if they agree with ending a decades-old ban on the 19th-century German composer. Technically, the decision to conduct a referendum means nothing more than a delay, perhaps for a month, Philharmonic officials said. But some musicians and arts writers were convinced that it would be a long time before the taboo is broken, especially since a ranking sponsor of the planned poll says that even if only 20 percent oppose change, they should be considered a sufficiently sizable minority to block a Wagner concert. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/23/arts/israel-philharmonic-puts-off-wagner-concert.html?pagewanted=1
In 1981, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Zubin Mehta, offered an encore at the close of a subscription concert. Commotion broke out, with shouts from the audience aiming to silence the music. In introducing the piece from Tristan und Isolde, Mehta had made a short speech in which he spoke of Israel as a democracy in which all music should be played. But, he added, if this particular music offended the feelings of some of the listeners present, they were free to leave. (Two orchestra members had, at their request, been excused from playing the encore). Some older members of the audience quietly got up and went home. A few continued for a while to protest noisily, even running threateningly onto the stage, but the piece was played to the end.
A few years later a survey was conducted on the question - should the Philharmonic play Wagner's music? Of those questioned, 50 percent were against playing Wagner, 25 percent for, and 25 percent had no firm convictions on the subject. In 1992, the Philharmonic conducted its own poll among its subscribers. The majority was in favour, 30 percent were against. In view of the large minority, it was decided to continue to refrain from playing Wagner, at least for the time being. In July 2001, the prestigious Berlin Staatskapelle performed the "Tristan und Isolde" overture at the Israel Festival. While the orchestra's condutor, Daniel Barenboim (himself a Jew), had promised to respect the ban on Wagner's music, he surprised his audience by asking them if they wanted to hear Wagner as an encore following the scheduled performance. Most of the audience was in favor of the encore, which received a standing ovation from all but a few of the listeners. However, during a half-hour debate that preceded the performance of the overture, numerous Israelis protested and walked out of the theater, some shouting insults as they went. The controversy over the foreign orchestra's performance rekindeled the debate over what course the Israeli orchestras should pursue. Yaakov Mishori, a leading Philharmonic musician, feels the orchestra should play Wagner. "After all," he says, "Wagner died 50 years before Hitler came to power. Moreover, he was a kind of private anti-Semite, refusing to sign any public declarations against the Jews." "I am opposed to any ban on culture," says Avi Chanani, director of the classical music division of Israel's state radio . "Zubin Mehta risked playing Wagner in one fell swoop, but I believe in introducing him gradually, and that is what I have been doing. Wagner was a revolutionary in music. His work is central to the development of European music. Without Wagner it is difficult to understand the history of music. That is one important consideration for playing his music. But what I feel is cardinal in my decision to present Wagner on the radio is my belief that in a democracy, the public has a right to know; it must be exposed to all information." http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/Wagner.html
American jazz pianist Harry Connick Jr. bumped up against China’s cultural restrictions when he was forced to make last-minute changes to his performance in Shanghai on 8 March 2008. Officials also refused to allow him to perform a revised set list. Players in Connick's band told a reporter from the Shanghaiist that 'government people' showed up an hour before they were to perform in Shanghai. The officials from the Cultural Bureau went to town on their set list, crossing off a number of tunes they disapproved of and replacing them with "safer" tunes. Tunes which the band did not happen to have charts on hand for. Thus explains the extraordinary number of solo piano-with-vocals tunes heard throughout the show.
http://www.freemuse.org/sw29177.asp
Monday, January 18, 2010
It is believed Haiti was first settled around 2600 BC by travelers from South America, though little seems to be known of these first inhabitants. The next wave of settlers was the ancient Arawaks who arrived around 250 BC, but again little is known of their presence. It is not until approximately 700 AD that the Taino, an Arawak tribe from Venezuela, arrived in Haiti. These settlers remained in what is now Haiti and the Dominican Republic until the Europeans arrived several hundred years later. http://www.earthyfamily.com/H-history.htm
Haiti charity organizations are listed here: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=haiti+charity+organizations&aq=3&oq=haiti+cha&aqi=g10 You may prefer to aid earthquake victims through local groups. Check your newspaper and television news for lists.
Movie selections, made by a Vatican committee in commemoration of the centenary of motion pictures in 1996, are films that the church feels exemplify what's best about the medium. See list, including Babette's Feast, at: http://cinepad.com/vatican.htm
See views of the Vatican and others on Avatar. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100112/ap_en_mo/eu_vatican_avatar
The New York Times is set to return to charging for access to its website. This is set to change - a spokeswoman for the paper confirmed changes were coming but said it was still working out the best business approach. But according to New York magazine the paper is set to go with a metered system something like that used by the Financial Times - which lets you read a set number of articles a month then asks you to subscribe. The alternative was to follow the Wall Street Journal which allows free access to some parts of the site but charges for the majority of its stories. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/18/nyt_charges_again/
aught pronoun date: before 12th century
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English āwiht, from ā ever + wiht creature, thing — more at AYE, WIGHT
1 : ANYTHING
2 : ALL, EVERYTHING
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aught
Square-foot gardens are in the news--Mel Bartholomew, originator and author has a Web site: http://www.squarefootgardening.com/
There are over half a million hits on the subject in a recent Google search: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=%22square+foot+garden%22&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g10
I saw a large creche last week in an outdoor setting, and all the figures were covered with snow. They looked like snowmen.
Mix and match open-face sandwiches/appetizers
Place thinly sliced cucumbers /radishes on sourdough/rye bread that is spread with butter/soft cheese. Vary ingredients as desired.
Haiti charity organizations are listed here: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=haiti+charity+organizations&aq=3&oq=haiti+cha&aqi=g10 You may prefer to aid earthquake victims through local groups. Check your newspaper and television news for lists.
Movie selections, made by a Vatican committee in commemoration of the centenary of motion pictures in 1996, are films that the church feels exemplify what's best about the medium. See list, including Babette's Feast, at: http://cinepad.com/vatican.htm
See views of the Vatican and others on Avatar. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100112/ap_en_mo/eu_vatican_avatar
The New York Times is set to return to charging for access to its website. This is set to change - a spokeswoman for the paper confirmed changes were coming but said it was still working out the best business approach. But according to New York magazine the paper is set to go with a metered system something like that used by the Financial Times - which lets you read a set number of articles a month then asks you to subscribe. The alternative was to follow the Wall Street Journal which allows free access to some parts of the site but charges for the majority of its stories. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/18/nyt_charges_again/
aught pronoun date: before 12th century
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English āwiht, from ā ever + wiht creature, thing — more at AYE, WIGHT
1 : ANYTHING
2 : ALL, EVERYTHING
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aught
Square-foot gardens are in the news--Mel Bartholomew, originator and author has a Web site: http://www.squarefootgardening.com/
There are over half a million hits on the subject in a recent Google search: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=%22square+foot+garden%22&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g10
I saw a large creche last week in an outdoor setting, and all the figures were covered with snow. They looked like snowmen.
Mix and match open-face sandwiches/appetizers
Place thinly sliced cucumbers /radishes on sourdough/rye bread that is spread with butter/soft cheese. Vary ingredients as desired.
Friday, January 15, 2010
CFR in XML Now Available on FDsys
"GPO is pleased to announce that the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) has been converted into XML (extensible markup language) and is now available via GPO's Federal Digital System (FDsys). Currently, the CFR is available from 2007 to present, and volumes dating back to 2000 will be added over the next few months. The CFR in XML is also available from the Government's new site for Government data."
The name Walla Walla is of Indian origin and means "many waters". Both the Cayuse and Walla Walla tribes called the Walla Walla Valley home. In the 1800s, fur traders established a settlements trading post and fort in the area. The historic Nez Perce Trail was located where Main Street is today. The historic Lewis & Clark expedition skirted the northern and western boundaries of the Walla Walla Valley in 1805. Their return trip from the Pacific Ocean in 1806 took them through present day Walla Walla County. In 1836, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman traveled what became the Oregon Trail, and founded a mission amongst the Cayuse Indians. After 11 years, the mission effort ended when the Cayuse attacked and killed the Whitmans and twelve others.
http://www.wallawalla.org/attractions.cfm
The story of Walla Walla Sweet Onions began over a century ago on the Island of Corsica, off the west coast of Italy. It was there that a French soldier, Peter Pieri, found a sweet onion seed and brought it to the Walla Walla Valley. Click on left to find recipes: http://sweetonions.org/
Wine, wheat, and ultimate frisbee in Walla Walla: The Whitman College Sweets announces the one hundred and thirty-first Annual Onionfest Tournament! http://groups.google.com/group/rec.sport.disc/browse_thread/thread/33ffaf6b96010300
New baseball team is called Walla Walla Sweets. See information and logo at: http://sportsyakima.com/2009/11/new-walla-walla-team-to-be-called-sweets/
Nestled at the foot of the Blue Mountains, Walla Walla has often been called an "oasis in the desert" because of the abundance of trees in this generally arid region.
With nearly 300 days of sunshine each year, you'll encounter bright summers, crisp yet moderate winters, and spectacular springs and falls. Walla Walla County is located in the southeastern corner of Washington State, near the borders of Oregon and Idaho.
http://www.wwvchamber.com/index.html?s=2&c=61
ALA - The Condition of U.S, Libraries: Trends, 1999-2009
"According to a new report prepared by the American Library Association (ALA), libraries of all types are feeling the pinch of the economic downturn while managing sky-high use. Compiled from a broad range of available sources, The Condition of Libraries: 1999-2009 presents U.S. economic trends (2009), and summarizes trends in public, school and academic libraries across several library measures, including expenditures, staffing and services. The report also highlights trends in services provided to libraries by library cooperatives and consortia."
• ALA American Library Association - The Condition of U.S, Libraries: Trends, 1999-2009: "The following report highlights US economic trends (2009) and summarizes trends in public, school and academic libraries during the current decade for: Number of Libraries and Population Served, Expenditures, Staffing, and Services. The compilation was prepared in December 2009 for the staff and member leaders of the American Library Association to support its planning activities."
The National Braille Press, an 83-year-old publishing house in Boston, printed the Harry Potter series on its Heidelberg cylinder; the final product was 56 volumes, each nearly a foot tall. Laura J. Sloate has been blind since age 6, and instead of reading Braille, calls a phone service that reads newspapers aloud in a synthetic voice for several hours every morning,
In the 1990s, a series of brain-imaging studies revealed that the visual cortices of the blind are not rendered useless, as previously assumed. When test subjects swept their fingers over a line of Braille, they showed intense activation in the parts of the brain that typically process visual input. These imaging studies have been cited by some educators as proof that Braille is essential for blind children’s cognitive development, as the visual cortex takes more than 20 percent of the brain. Given the brain’s plasticity, it is difficult to make the argument that one kind of reading — whether the information is absorbed by ear, finger or retina — is inherently better than another, at least with regard to cognitive function. The architecture of the brain is not fixed, and without images to process, the visual cortex can reorganize for new functions. A 2003 study in Nature Neuroscience found that blind subjects consistently surpassed sighted ones on tests of verbal memory, and their superior performance was caused, the authors suggested, by the extra processing that took place in the visual regions of their brains.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/magazine/03Braille-t.html?pagewanted=1
Elfreth's Alley in Philadelphia is often referred to as the oldest continuously inhabited street in America. It was opened shortly before 1702 by Arthur Wells, a blacksmith, and John Gilbert, a bolter. See a description of the historic district north of Market Street and six other walking tours at: http://www.ushistory.org/districts/marketstreet/elfre.htm
Feedback from A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
From: Bob Singleton (rmsing45@earthlink.net)
Subject: cothurnal
Being a secondary theatre teacher, I had long known about kothornoi as the high boots that tragic actors wore to give themselves more height on stage. When I took private Greek lessons from a native Greek speaker who was also an ancient Greek history professor, I asked him what he knew about kothornoi. After a moment he said they were oversized boots that would fit the left or right foot interchangeably kept by Spartan soldiers beside their beds so that they could slip them on quickly in case the battle alarm was sounded in the middle of a dark night.
From: kah454 (via@Wordsmith Talk)
Subject: cothurnal
There was a very impressive production of Agamemnon at Stratford years ago (late 70s) where the cothurni were close to a six-inch lift and the mask with a headpiece or ankus extended height close to a foot. There were arm extensions as well. This gave the actors the appearance of being like statues close to eight feet in height; certainly larger than life. Those ancient theatres were quite large and this helped those seated in the last rows. From: Tania Kumar (taniakumar@hotmail.com)
Subject: AWAD
Just a thought, the acronym for A Word A Day, "AWAD" is actually a name in Arabic which means "Reward, compensation" which is very true in a way because when I wake up in the morning and check my email, it's rewarding to come across these nice words and thoughts
"GPO is pleased to announce that the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) has been converted into XML (extensible markup language) and is now available via GPO's Federal Digital System (FDsys). Currently, the CFR is available from 2007 to present, and volumes dating back to 2000 will be added over the next few months. The CFR in XML is also available from the Government's new site for Government data."
The name Walla Walla is of Indian origin and means "many waters". Both the Cayuse and Walla Walla tribes called the Walla Walla Valley home. In the 1800s, fur traders established a settlements trading post and fort in the area. The historic Nez Perce Trail was located where Main Street is today. The historic Lewis & Clark expedition skirted the northern and western boundaries of the Walla Walla Valley in 1805. Their return trip from the Pacific Ocean in 1806 took them through present day Walla Walla County. In 1836, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman traveled what became the Oregon Trail, and founded a mission amongst the Cayuse Indians. After 11 years, the mission effort ended when the Cayuse attacked and killed the Whitmans and twelve others.
http://www.wallawalla.org/attractions.cfm
The story of Walla Walla Sweet Onions began over a century ago on the Island of Corsica, off the west coast of Italy. It was there that a French soldier, Peter Pieri, found a sweet onion seed and brought it to the Walla Walla Valley. Click on left to find recipes: http://sweetonions.org/
Wine, wheat, and ultimate frisbee in Walla Walla: The Whitman College Sweets announces the one hundred and thirty-first Annual Onionfest Tournament! http://groups.google.com/group/rec.sport.disc/browse_thread/thread/33ffaf6b96010300
New baseball team is called Walla Walla Sweets. See information and logo at: http://sportsyakima.com/2009/11/new-walla-walla-team-to-be-called-sweets/
Nestled at the foot of the Blue Mountains, Walla Walla has often been called an "oasis in the desert" because of the abundance of trees in this generally arid region.
With nearly 300 days of sunshine each year, you'll encounter bright summers, crisp yet moderate winters, and spectacular springs and falls. Walla Walla County is located in the southeastern corner of Washington State, near the borders of Oregon and Idaho.
http://www.wwvchamber.com/index.html?s=2&c=61
ALA - The Condition of U.S, Libraries: Trends, 1999-2009
"According to a new report prepared by the American Library Association (ALA), libraries of all types are feeling the pinch of the economic downturn while managing sky-high use. Compiled from a broad range of available sources, The Condition of Libraries: 1999-2009 presents U.S. economic trends (2009), and summarizes trends in public, school and academic libraries across several library measures, including expenditures, staffing and services. The report also highlights trends in services provided to libraries by library cooperatives and consortia."
• ALA American Library Association - The Condition of U.S, Libraries: Trends, 1999-2009: "The following report highlights US economic trends (2009) and summarizes trends in public, school and academic libraries during the current decade for: Number of Libraries and Population Served, Expenditures, Staffing, and Services. The compilation was prepared in December 2009 for the staff and member leaders of the American Library Association to support its planning activities."
The National Braille Press, an 83-year-old publishing house in Boston, printed the Harry Potter series on its Heidelberg cylinder; the final product was 56 volumes, each nearly a foot tall. Laura J. Sloate has been blind since age 6, and instead of reading Braille, calls a phone service that reads newspapers aloud in a synthetic voice for several hours every morning,
In the 1990s, a series of brain-imaging studies revealed that the visual cortices of the blind are not rendered useless, as previously assumed. When test subjects swept their fingers over a line of Braille, they showed intense activation in the parts of the brain that typically process visual input. These imaging studies have been cited by some educators as proof that Braille is essential for blind children’s cognitive development, as the visual cortex takes more than 20 percent of the brain. Given the brain’s plasticity, it is difficult to make the argument that one kind of reading — whether the information is absorbed by ear, finger or retina — is inherently better than another, at least with regard to cognitive function. The architecture of the brain is not fixed, and without images to process, the visual cortex can reorganize for new functions. A 2003 study in Nature Neuroscience found that blind subjects consistently surpassed sighted ones on tests of verbal memory, and their superior performance was caused, the authors suggested, by the extra processing that took place in the visual regions of their brains.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/magazine/03Braille-t.html?pagewanted=1
Elfreth's Alley in Philadelphia is often referred to as the oldest continuously inhabited street in America. It was opened shortly before 1702 by Arthur Wells, a blacksmith, and John Gilbert, a bolter. See a description of the historic district north of Market Street and six other walking tours at: http://www.ushistory.org/districts/marketstreet/elfre.htm
Feedback from A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
From: Bob Singleton (rmsing45@earthlink.net)
Subject: cothurnal
Being a secondary theatre teacher, I had long known about kothornoi as the high boots that tragic actors wore to give themselves more height on stage. When I took private Greek lessons from a native Greek speaker who was also an ancient Greek history professor, I asked him what he knew about kothornoi. After a moment he said they were oversized boots that would fit the left or right foot interchangeably kept by Spartan soldiers beside their beds so that they could slip them on quickly in case the battle alarm was sounded in the middle of a dark night.
From: kah454 (via@Wordsmith Talk)
Subject: cothurnal
There was a very impressive production of Agamemnon at Stratford years ago (late 70s) where the cothurni were close to a six-inch lift and the mask with a headpiece or ankus extended height close to a foot. There were arm extensions as well. This gave the actors the appearance of being like statues close to eight feet in height; certainly larger than life. Those ancient theatres were quite large and this helped those seated in the last rows. From: Tania Kumar (taniakumar@hotmail.com)
Subject: AWAD
Just a thought, the acronym for A Word A Day, "AWAD" is actually a name in Arabic which means "Reward, compensation" which is very true in a way because when I wake up in the morning and check my email, it's rewarding to come across these nice words and thoughts
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Justice Department Reaches Three Settlements Under the Americans with Disabilities Act Regarding the Use of Electronic Book Readers
News release: " The Justice Department today announced separate agreements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Pace University in New York City and Reed College in Portland, Ore., regarding the use in a classroom setting of the electronic book reader, the Kindle DX, a hand-held technological device that simulates the experience of reading a book. Under the agreements reached today, the universities generally will not purchase, recommend or promote use of the Kindle DX, or any other dedicated electronic book reader, unless the devices are fully accessible to students who are blind and have low vision. The universities agree that if they use dedicated electronic book readers, they will ensure that students with vision disabilities are able to access and acquire the same materials and information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as sighted students with substantially equivalent ease of use. The agreements that the Justice Department reached with these universities extend beyond the Kindle DX to any dedicated electronic reading device."
"The purpose of Data.gov is to increase public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. Although the initial launch of Data.gov provides a limited portion of the rich variety of Federal datasets presently available, we invite you to actively participate in shaping the future of Data.gov by suggesting additional datasets and site enhancements to provide seamless access and use of your Federal data." http://www.data.gov/
Dick Francis CBE (born Richard Stanley Francis on 31 October 1920) is a British horse racing crime writer and retired jockey. Francis was born in Lawrenny, south Wales, in October 1920, the son of a jockey and stable manager.[1] He left school at 15 without any qualifications,[2] with the intention of becoming a jockey and became a trainer in 1938.[3] During World War II, he served in the Royal Air Force, piloting fighter and bomber aircraft, including the Spitfire and Hurricane.[2] After leaving the RAF in 1946 he became a celebrity in the world of British National Hunt racing.[1] He won over 350 races, becoming champion jockey in the 1953-54 season.[1] From 1953 to 1957 he was jockey to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. In 1957 he was forced to retire from racing as the result of a serious fall. His most famous moment as a jockey came while riding the Queen Mother's horse, Devon Loch, in the 1956 Grand National when the horse inexplicably fell when close to winning the race.[4] Dick Francis has written more than 40 international bestsellers and is widely acclaimed as one of the world's best thriller writers. His first book was his autobiography The Sport of Queens (1957) which led to him becoming the racing correspondent for the London Sunday Express, a position he held for 16 years. In 1962 he published his first thriller Dead Cert set in the world of racing. Subsequently he regularly produced a novel a year for the next 38 years, missing only 1998 (during which he published a short-story collection).
Francis is the only three time recipient of the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award for Best Novel, winning for Forfeit in 1970, Whip Hand in 1981, and Come To Grief in 1996. Britain's Crime Writers Association awarded him its Gold Dagger Award for fiction in 1979 and the Cartier Diamond Dagger lifetime achievement award in 1989. In 1996 he was given the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award, the highest honour bestowed by the MWA. He was awarded a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2000. In 2003 he was honoured by being awarded the Gumshoe Awards' Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award. Dick Francis' manager (and co-author on recent books) is his son Felix Francis who left his post as teacher of A-Level Physics at Bloxham School in Oxfordshire in order to work for his father and who was the inspiration behind a leading character in the novel Twice Shy. His other son Merrick, formerly a racehorse trainer, later ran his own horse transport business, thus inspiring the novel Driving Force.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Francis
Explainer 2010: answers to your questions about the news from slate.com
http://www.slate.com/id/1787/landing/1
Contest results from This Week magazine: We asked you to come up with a name for the “aughts”—or the “oughts” or the “naughts.” You know: The decade that just, mercifully, ended. You rang in with:
FIRST PRIZE: The Uh-Oh's! Jo Choto, Middletown, MD
SECOND PRIZE: The Owes Michael D'Amato, Edison, NJ
THIRD PRIZE: The Dreckade Miles Klein, Frisco, TX
SELECTED HONORABLE MENTIONS:
The Blunder Years Doug Hundley, Willits, CA (and others)
The 0 No's Dee Dunn, Hillsboro, VA (and others)
The Zeroes Constantine Kounelis, Carlsbad, CA (and others)
Reign of Error Tom MacIntosh, Baltimore
Forget Me Aughts Barry Cutler, Palm Desert, CA
The Uncheery-O’s Paul Studebaker, Valparaiso, IN
0 Well Steve White, Boise
The Decade Whose Name Must Not Be Spoken Larry Fish, New York City
A story, appearing in the LAT and elsewhere on January 8, is that the French government is mulling something called a Google tax that it said would, according to the story, “help level the playing field between Internet portals that offer free content and the music, film and publishing industries that lost revenue partly because of it.” The money quote in the story comes from Patrick Zelnick, a music producer who co-led a recent government-commissioned report that outlines programs to encourage buying books, music and films online rather than viewing them for free. Zelnick told the French daily Liberation on Thursday: The world of culture is not only turned upside-down but profoundly threatened by the development of the Internet, and we hope that our action doesn't intervene too late. WSJ Law Blog January 8, 2009
Medicare is a government service that helps provide health care for senior citizens and disabled U.S. citizens. Medicare is part of Social Security and does not provide total health care coverage. It is available to all U.S. citizens at age 65. Medicare coverage is broken into 2 distinct categories: Medicare Part A helps with hospital costs and Medicare Part B requires a monthly fee and is used to pay medical costs. Medicare as we know it today came into existence in July of 1965 during the Johnson Administration. Franklin Roosevelt's administration was the first to address the subject of government assisted health care. During State of the Union speeches in 1943-1945, Roosevelt spoke about universal health care, and Americans being covered from "Cradle to Grave." Bills were introduced to Congress during the Roosevelt and Truman administrations; no bill ever got out of committee. Every Democratic administration from Roosevelt to Johnson lobbied and tried to introduce some sort of government assisted health coverage from 1935 until Medicare's passage in 1965. http://hnn.us/articles/1583.html
Trees New York’s Citizen Pruner Tree Care Course trains New Yorkers in tree care and pruning. The course consists of eight hours of classroom training and four hours of hands-on experience in the field. The comprehensive curriculum covers street tree basics, street tree identification and street tree care. The two-hour long classes meet once a week for four consecutive weeks, and for four hours of field training on a Saturday. Classes are held in the spring and fall of each year. The course fee is $100 and includes a comprehensive manual and other materials. Since the Citizen Tree Pruner Course is offered throughout the city, it attracts people from a wide variety of backgrounds and learning styles. Each class is tailored to those participating. As a result, although a standard curriculum is used, each class moves at its own pace. Following the course, participants take a final exam that certifies them to legally work on trees owned by the City of New York. This includes street trees and most park trees, excluding parks that have their own conservancies such as Central Park and Prospect Park. Certificates are issued by Trees New York and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. http://www.treesny.org/programs.html
wistful adjective date: 1714
blend of wishful and obsolete English wistly intently
1 : full of yearning or desire tinged with melancholy; also : inspiring such yearning
2 : musingly sad PENSIVE
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wistful
"Live Well. Learn How." from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services http://www.healthfinder.gov/
As people reach the top, they become more critical of others, less critical of themselves, study finds. http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.aspx?docID=634686
Thanks, Beth.
News release: " The Justice Department today announced separate agreements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Pace University in New York City and Reed College in Portland, Ore., regarding the use in a classroom setting of the electronic book reader, the Kindle DX, a hand-held technological device that simulates the experience of reading a book. Under the agreements reached today, the universities generally will not purchase, recommend or promote use of the Kindle DX, or any other dedicated electronic book reader, unless the devices are fully accessible to students who are blind and have low vision. The universities agree that if they use dedicated electronic book readers, they will ensure that students with vision disabilities are able to access and acquire the same materials and information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as sighted students with substantially equivalent ease of use. The agreements that the Justice Department reached with these universities extend beyond the Kindle DX to any dedicated electronic reading device."
"The purpose of Data.gov is to increase public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. Although the initial launch of Data.gov provides a limited portion of the rich variety of Federal datasets presently available, we invite you to actively participate in shaping the future of Data.gov by suggesting additional datasets and site enhancements to provide seamless access and use of your Federal data." http://www.data.gov/
Dick Francis CBE (born Richard Stanley Francis on 31 October 1920) is a British horse racing crime writer and retired jockey. Francis was born in Lawrenny, south Wales, in October 1920, the son of a jockey and stable manager.[1] He left school at 15 without any qualifications,[2] with the intention of becoming a jockey and became a trainer in 1938.[3] During World War II, he served in the Royal Air Force, piloting fighter and bomber aircraft, including the Spitfire and Hurricane.[2] After leaving the RAF in 1946 he became a celebrity in the world of British National Hunt racing.[1] He won over 350 races, becoming champion jockey in the 1953-54 season.[1] From 1953 to 1957 he was jockey to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. In 1957 he was forced to retire from racing as the result of a serious fall. His most famous moment as a jockey came while riding the Queen Mother's horse, Devon Loch, in the 1956 Grand National when the horse inexplicably fell when close to winning the race.[4] Dick Francis has written more than 40 international bestsellers and is widely acclaimed as one of the world's best thriller writers. His first book was his autobiography The Sport of Queens (1957) which led to him becoming the racing correspondent for the London Sunday Express, a position he held for 16 years. In 1962 he published his first thriller Dead Cert set in the world of racing. Subsequently he regularly produced a novel a year for the next 38 years, missing only 1998 (during which he published a short-story collection).
Francis is the only three time recipient of the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award for Best Novel, winning for Forfeit in 1970, Whip Hand in 1981, and Come To Grief in 1996. Britain's Crime Writers Association awarded him its Gold Dagger Award for fiction in 1979 and the Cartier Diamond Dagger lifetime achievement award in 1989. In 1996 he was given the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award, the highest honour bestowed by the MWA. He was awarded a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2000. In 2003 he was honoured by being awarded the Gumshoe Awards' Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award. Dick Francis' manager (and co-author on recent books) is his son Felix Francis who left his post as teacher of A-Level Physics at Bloxham School in Oxfordshire in order to work for his father and who was the inspiration behind a leading character in the novel Twice Shy. His other son Merrick, formerly a racehorse trainer, later ran his own horse transport business, thus inspiring the novel Driving Force.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Francis
Explainer 2010: answers to your questions about the news from slate.com
http://www.slate.com/id/1787/landing/1
Contest results from This Week magazine: We asked you to come up with a name for the “aughts”—or the “oughts” or the “naughts.” You know: The decade that just, mercifully, ended. You rang in with:
FIRST PRIZE: The Uh-Oh's! Jo Choto, Middletown, MD
SECOND PRIZE: The Owes Michael D'Amato, Edison, NJ
THIRD PRIZE: The Dreckade Miles Klein, Frisco, TX
SELECTED HONORABLE MENTIONS:
The Blunder Years Doug Hundley, Willits, CA (and others)
The 0 No's Dee Dunn, Hillsboro, VA (and others)
The Zeroes Constantine Kounelis, Carlsbad, CA (and others)
Reign of Error Tom MacIntosh, Baltimore
Forget Me Aughts Barry Cutler, Palm Desert, CA
The Uncheery-O’s Paul Studebaker, Valparaiso, IN
0 Well Steve White, Boise
The Decade Whose Name Must Not Be Spoken Larry Fish, New York City
A story, appearing in the LAT and elsewhere on January 8, is that the French government is mulling something called a Google tax that it said would, according to the story, “help level the playing field between Internet portals that offer free content and the music, film and publishing industries that lost revenue partly because of it.” The money quote in the story comes from Patrick Zelnick, a music producer who co-led a recent government-commissioned report that outlines programs to encourage buying books, music and films online rather than viewing them for free. Zelnick told the French daily Liberation on Thursday: The world of culture is not only turned upside-down but profoundly threatened by the development of the Internet, and we hope that our action doesn't intervene too late. WSJ Law Blog January 8, 2009
Medicare is a government service that helps provide health care for senior citizens and disabled U.S. citizens. Medicare is part of Social Security and does not provide total health care coverage. It is available to all U.S. citizens at age 65. Medicare coverage is broken into 2 distinct categories: Medicare Part A helps with hospital costs and Medicare Part B requires a monthly fee and is used to pay medical costs. Medicare as we know it today came into existence in July of 1965 during the Johnson Administration. Franklin Roosevelt's administration was the first to address the subject of government assisted health care. During State of the Union speeches in 1943-1945, Roosevelt spoke about universal health care, and Americans being covered from "Cradle to Grave." Bills were introduced to Congress during the Roosevelt and Truman administrations; no bill ever got out of committee. Every Democratic administration from Roosevelt to Johnson lobbied and tried to introduce some sort of government assisted health coverage from 1935 until Medicare's passage in 1965. http://hnn.us/articles/1583.html
Trees New York’s Citizen Pruner Tree Care Course trains New Yorkers in tree care and pruning. The course consists of eight hours of classroom training and four hours of hands-on experience in the field. The comprehensive curriculum covers street tree basics, street tree identification and street tree care. The two-hour long classes meet once a week for four consecutive weeks, and for four hours of field training on a Saturday. Classes are held in the spring and fall of each year. The course fee is $100 and includes a comprehensive manual and other materials. Since the Citizen Tree Pruner Course is offered throughout the city, it attracts people from a wide variety of backgrounds and learning styles. Each class is tailored to those participating. As a result, although a standard curriculum is used, each class moves at its own pace. Following the course, participants take a final exam that certifies them to legally work on trees owned by the City of New York. This includes street trees and most park trees, excluding parks that have their own conservancies such as Central Park and Prospect Park. Certificates are issued by Trees New York and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. http://www.treesny.org/programs.html
wistful adjective date: 1714
blend of wishful and obsolete English wistly intently
1 : full of yearning or desire tinged with melancholy; also : inspiring such yearning
2 : musingly sad PENSIVE
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wistful
"Live Well. Learn How." from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services http://www.healthfinder.gov/
As people reach the top, they become more critical of others, less critical of themselves, study finds. http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.aspx?docID=634686
Thanks, Beth.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Founded in 1972, the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey is dedicated to the preservation of the Garden State's distinguished, two-century aviation and space heritage. http://www.njahof.org/
As part of Lincoln Center's renovation, the Revson fountain has been reimagined. Instead of the old, low-walled fountain (designed by Philip Johnson), architects Diller, Scofido + Renfro created a "floating granite ring"—which acts as seating, if you don't mind getting a little wet—around the water. From the press release: The pool of water is lowered and converted to a shallow water surface at Plaza level. New technologies provide automated windspray sensors that adjust water pressure, height, and volume. Special nozzles and lighting systems allow for a multitude of special-effect water and light configurations. In terms of choreography, the fountain can create a wide range of water expressions from slow morphing geometric masses to fast paced chases. At night, the fountain is vibrantly illuminated with white light. The fountain's effects were designed by WET, the design firm behind the fountain at Columbus Circe and the famous fountain at Las Vegas' Bellagio Hotel. See pictures at: http://gothamist.com/2009/10/02/lincoln_center_fountain_returns_wit.php
WET (Water Entertainment Technologies), also known as WET Design, is a water feature design firm based in Los Angeles, California, founded in 1983 by former Disney Imagineers Mark Fuller, Melanie Simon, and Alan Robinson. WET is best known for its 9-acre (36,000 m2) Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas, but the company has also designed over two hundred fountains and architectural water features in many parts of the world. [1] T he antecedents of WET can be found in Mark Fuller’s undergraduate thesis in Civil Engineering at the University of Utah, for which he developed a large-scale laminar-flow nozzle that went on to be a major element in many of WET’s fountains and water features. After graduating Stanford University in product design, where he refined his laminar-flow nozzle, Fuller was hired by the The Walt Disney Company as an Imagineer. During his time at Disney, he created the “Leapfrog” fountain at Epcot, using laminar technology. [4] In 1983, Fuller and two coworkers left Disney to found WET. The company’s first major commission was Fountain Place (originally Allied Bank Tower) in Dallas, Texas, a collaboration with landscape architects, Peter Ker Walker and Dan Kiley. [5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WET_Design If you have been to the Navy Pier in Chicago, EPCOT Center at Disney World, the Detroit Airport, or the Brooklyn Museum of Art, you have probably seen fountains designed by WET.
THOMAS was launched in January of 1995, at the inception of the 104th Congress. The leadership of the 104th Congress directed the Library of Congress to make federal legislative information freely available to the public. Since that time THOMAS has expanded the scope of its offerings to include the features and content listed below.
Bills, Resolutions
Activity in Congress
Congressional Record
Schedules, Calendars
Committee Information
Presidential Nominations
Treaties
Government Resources
For Teachers
Help and Contact
http://www.thomas.gov/
All you need to know about FHA loan closing costs
http://www.fha-home-loans.com/closing_costs_of_fha_loans.htm
How did broad come to refer to a woman?
O.E. brad, from P.Gmc. *braithaz (cf. O.Fris. bred, O.N. breiðr, Du. breed, Ger. breit, Goth. brouþs), of unknown origin. Slang extension to meaning "woman" (1911) may be suggestive of broad hips, but it also may trace to Amer.Eng. abroadwife, for a woman away from her husband, often a slave. Earliest use suggests immorality or coarse, low-class women. Because of this negative association, and the rise of women in athletics, the track and field broad jump was changed to the long jump about 1967. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090523120231AAVDvbJ
I wondered what the five counties were in "Penta County" Vocational School in Perrysburg, Ohio. The school's Web site doesn't mention the counties, but a Google search brought up a 1965 article in the Toledo Blade naming Lucas, Wood, Fulton, Ottawa and Sandusky counties.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19650103&id=JgMVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WwEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7083,885013
There are seven places named Middletown in Pennsylvania. http://www.indo.com/cgi-bin/dist?place1=middletown%2C+pa&place2=
Silent letters
wrong, write, brought, bright
buskin (BUS-kin) noun
1. A thick-soled laced boot, reaching to the knee or calf, worn by actors of ancient Greek tragedies. Also known as cothurnus.
2. A tragic drama.
Perhaps from Middle French brousequin.
A thick-soled boot was a distinctive feature of a tragic actor in ancient Greece. It elevated him and raised his stature. Because those big shoes were often worn by tragedians, we came to refer to a tragedy itself as a buskin. A counterpart of buskin is sock (a comedy) after soccus, a lightweight low shoe worn by comic actors.
sock (sawk) noun
A light, low-heeled shoe worn by ancient Greek comic actors, and by extension a comedy.
From Latin soccus (slipper). The term "sock and buskin" refers to the theatrical profession collectively.
quantum (KWON-tuhm) noun
1. A quantity or amount.
2. A portion.
3. A large amount.
4. The smallest amount of something that can exist independently.
adjective: Sudden; major.
From Latin, neuter of quantus (how much or how great). In physics, a quantum jump or quantum leap is usually a small change, while in popular usage the term is used to mean a significant change. A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
To your health
This idea of lightening up on the calories can become harder than it has to be. Instead of going the "lite" route—where you end up eating chemical-laden dishes filled with substitutes for real cheese, real bread, real meat, and real sweets—check out cuisines that are naturally healthier and lower in calories. Look at Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodian, and Japanese cooking. These are countries where, with the exception of the occasional feast of pork or fried foods, dishes are vegetable-centered, low in fat and intriguingly seasoned. The Splendid Table January 6, 2010
As part of Lincoln Center's renovation, the Revson fountain has been reimagined. Instead of the old, low-walled fountain (designed by Philip Johnson), architects Diller, Scofido + Renfro created a "floating granite ring"—which acts as seating, if you don't mind getting a little wet—around the water. From the press release: The pool of water is lowered and converted to a shallow water surface at Plaza level. New technologies provide automated windspray sensors that adjust water pressure, height, and volume. Special nozzles and lighting systems allow for a multitude of special-effect water and light configurations. In terms of choreography, the fountain can create a wide range of water expressions from slow morphing geometric masses to fast paced chases. At night, the fountain is vibrantly illuminated with white light. The fountain's effects were designed by WET, the design firm behind the fountain at Columbus Circe and the famous fountain at Las Vegas' Bellagio Hotel. See pictures at: http://gothamist.com/2009/10/02/lincoln_center_fountain_returns_wit.php
WET (Water Entertainment Technologies), also known as WET Design, is a water feature design firm based in Los Angeles, California, founded in 1983 by former Disney Imagineers Mark Fuller, Melanie Simon, and Alan Robinson. WET is best known for its 9-acre (36,000 m2) Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas, but the company has also designed over two hundred fountains and architectural water features in many parts of the world. [1] T he antecedents of WET can be found in Mark Fuller’s undergraduate thesis in Civil Engineering at the University of Utah, for which he developed a large-scale laminar-flow nozzle that went on to be a major element in many of WET’s fountains and water features. After graduating Stanford University in product design, where he refined his laminar-flow nozzle, Fuller was hired by the The Walt Disney Company as an Imagineer. During his time at Disney, he created the “Leapfrog” fountain at Epcot, using laminar technology. [4] In 1983, Fuller and two coworkers left Disney to found WET. The company’s first major commission was Fountain Place (originally Allied Bank Tower) in Dallas, Texas, a collaboration with landscape architects, Peter Ker Walker and Dan Kiley. [5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WET_Design If you have been to the Navy Pier in Chicago, EPCOT Center at Disney World, the Detroit Airport, or the Brooklyn Museum of Art, you have probably seen fountains designed by WET.
THOMAS was launched in January of 1995, at the inception of the 104th Congress. The leadership of the 104th Congress directed the Library of Congress to make federal legislative information freely available to the public. Since that time THOMAS has expanded the scope of its offerings to include the features and content listed below.
Bills, Resolutions
Activity in Congress
Congressional Record
Schedules, Calendars
Committee Information
Presidential Nominations
Treaties
Government Resources
For Teachers
Help and Contact
http://www.thomas.gov/
All you need to know about FHA loan closing costs
http://www.fha-home-loans.com/closing_costs_of_fha_loans.htm
How did broad come to refer to a woman?
O.E. brad, from P.Gmc. *braithaz (cf. O.Fris. bred, O.N. breiðr, Du. breed, Ger. breit, Goth. brouþs), of unknown origin. Slang extension to meaning "woman" (1911) may be suggestive of broad hips, but it also may trace to Amer.Eng. abroadwife, for a woman away from her husband, often a slave. Earliest use suggests immorality or coarse, low-class women. Because of this negative association, and the rise of women in athletics, the track and field broad jump was changed to the long jump about 1967. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090523120231AAVDvbJ
I wondered what the five counties were in "Penta County" Vocational School in Perrysburg, Ohio. The school's Web site doesn't mention the counties, but a Google search brought up a 1965 article in the Toledo Blade naming Lucas, Wood, Fulton, Ottawa and Sandusky counties.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19650103&id=JgMVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WwEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7083,885013
There are seven places named Middletown in Pennsylvania. http://www.indo.com/cgi-bin/dist?place1=middletown%2C+pa&place2=
Silent letters
wrong, write, brought, bright
buskin (BUS-kin) noun
1. A thick-soled laced boot, reaching to the knee or calf, worn by actors of ancient Greek tragedies. Also known as cothurnus.
2. A tragic drama.
Perhaps from Middle French brousequin.
A thick-soled boot was a distinctive feature of a tragic actor in ancient Greece. It elevated him and raised his stature. Because those big shoes were often worn by tragedians, we came to refer to a tragedy itself as a buskin. A counterpart of buskin is sock (a comedy) after soccus, a lightweight low shoe worn by comic actors.
sock (sawk) noun
A light, low-heeled shoe worn by ancient Greek comic actors, and by extension a comedy.
From Latin soccus (slipper). The term "sock and buskin" refers to the theatrical profession collectively.
quantum (KWON-tuhm) noun
1. A quantity or amount.
2. A portion.
3. A large amount.
4. The smallest amount of something that can exist independently.
adjective: Sudden; major.
From Latin, neuter of quantus (how much or how great). In physics, a quantum jump or quantum leap is usually a small change, while in popular usage the term is used to mean a significant change. A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
To your health
This idea of lightening up on the calories can become harder than it has to be. Instead of going the "lite" route—where you end up eating chemical-laden dishes filled with substitutes for real cheese, real bread, real meat, and real sweets—check out cuisines that are naturally healthier and lower in calories. Look at Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodian, and Japanese cooking. These are countries where, with the exception of the occasional feast of pork or fried foods, dishes are vegetable-centered, low in fat and intriguingly seasoned. The Splendid Table January 6, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
What's New in THOMAS
News release: "Several changes have been made to THOMAS for the second session of the 111th Congress. These changes include: Bookmarking and Sharing Widget; Top Five Bills; New RSS feed: Bills Presented to the President; Contacting Members of Congress; Tip of the Week; Bill Text PDFs."
East Coast readers and travelers: The Georgia O'Keeffe exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art closes January 17. The exhibition includes more than 125 paintings, drawings, watercolors, and sculptures by O’Keeffe as well as selected examples of Alfred Stieglitz’s famous photographic portrait series of O’Keeffe. http://www.whitney.org/Exhibitions/GeorgiaOKeeffe
In between Chinatown and Little Italy in Manhattan sits almost three thousand square feet of Chile. Puro, Chile is dedicated to promoting high-end Chilean handicrafts, groceries, and wines.
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/2010/01/11/100111goav_GOAT_avenue_marx#ixzz0c2xWvWQc
In 1946, RADM Grace Murray Hopper, USN, while as a research fellow in Harvard's Computation Laboratory, worked on the Navy's Mark II and Mark III computers. She coined the term "bug," when she removed a moth from the switching contacts of the Mark II. http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/01070.htm The USS Hopper, christened in 1996, is called "Amazing Grace." http://www.hopper.navy.mil/default.aspx Thanks, Linda.
Find a list of U.S. naval ships named for women at: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_US_Navy_ships_are_named_after_women
Art Clokey, the creator of the whimsical clay figure Gumby, died in his sleep January 8 at his home in Los Osos, Calif., after battling repeated bladder infections, his son Joseph said. He was 88. Clokey and his wife, Ruth, invented Gumby in the early 1950s at their Covina home shortly after Art had finished film school at USC. After a successful debut on "The Howdy Doody Show," Gumby soon became the star of its own hit television show, "The Adventures of Gumby," the first to use clay animation on television. After an initial run in the 1950s, Gumby enjoyed comebacks in the 1960s as a bendable children's toy, in the 1980s after comedian Eddie Murphy parodied the kindly Gumby as a crass, cigar-in-the-mouth character in a skit for "Saturday Night Live" and again in the '90s with the release of "Gumby the Movie." http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-me-art-clokey9-2010jan09,0,3938052.story
Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796) (also known as Rabbie Burns, Scotland's favourite son, the Ploughman Poet, the Bard of Ayrshire and in Scotland as simply The Bard[1][2]) was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is also in English and a "light" Scots dialect, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. He also wrote in standard English, and in these pieces, his political or civil commentary is often at its most blunt. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Burns
Burns Suppers have been held in his honour for over 200 years. This site gives you the complete guide to Robert Burns the man, his poems, his travels, haggis, whisky and much more. http://www.rabbie-burns.com/
Haggis recipe http://www.gumbopages.com/food/scottish/haggis.html
(I swore I would never eat haggis, but when I smelled the peppery sausage in Edinburgh, I ate it anyway. I admit I liked it.)
Burns night: Haggis, Tatties and Neeps recipe
http://britishfood.about.com/od/menu/r/burnssupper.htm
Quotes
I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter.
Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor the lack of contradiction a sign of truth.
Blaise Pascal, French philosopher and mathematician (1623-1662)
News release: "Several changes have been made to THOMAS for the second session of the 111th Congress. These changes include: Bookmarking and Sharing Widget; Top Five Bills; New RSS feed: Bills Presented to the President; Contacting Members of Congress; Tip of the Week; Bill Text PDFs."
East Coast readers and travelers: The Georgia O'Keeffe exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art closes January 17. The exhibition includes more than 125 paintings, drawings, watercolors, and sculptures by O’Keeffe as well as selected examples of Alfred Stieglitz’s famous photographic portrait series of O’Keeffe. http://www.whitney.org/Exhibitions/GeorgiaOKeeffe
In between Chinatown and Little Italy in Manhattan sits almost three thousand square feet of Chile. Puro, Chile is dedicated to promoting high-end Chilean handicrafts, groceries, and wines.
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/2010/01/11/100111goav_GOAT_avenue_marx#ixzz0c2xWvWQc
In 1946, RADM Grace Murray Hopper, USN, while as a research fellow in Harvard's Computation Laboratory, worked on the Navy's Mark II and Mark III computers. She coined the term "bug," when she removed a moth from the switching contacts of the Mark II. http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/01070.htm The USS Hopper, christened in 1996, is called "Amazing Grace." http://www.hopper.navy.mil/default.aspx Thanks, Linda.
Find a list of U.S. naval ships named for women at: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_US_Navy_ships_are_named_after_women
Art Clokey, the creator of the whimsical clay figure Gumby, died in his sleep January 8 at his home in Los Osos, Calif., after battling repeated bladder infections, his son Joseph said. He was 88. Clokey and his wife, Ruth, invented Gumby in the early 1950s at their Covina home shortly after Art had finished film school at USC. After a successful debut on "The Howdy Doody Show," Gumby soon became the star of its own hit television show, "The Adventures of Gumby," the first to use clay animation on television. After an initial run in the 1950s, Gumby enjoyed comebacks in the 1960s as a bendable children's toy, in the 1980s after comedian Eddie Murphy parodied the kindly Gumby as a crass, cigar-in-the-mouth character in a skit for "Saturday Night Live" and again in the '90s with the release of "Gumby the Movie." http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-me-art-clokey9-2010jan09,0,3938052.story
Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796) (also known as Rabbie Burns, Scotland's favourite son, the Ploughman Poet, the Bard of Ayrshire and in Scotland as simply The Bard[1][2]) was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is also in English and a "light" Scots dialect, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. He also wrote in standard English, and in these pieces, his political or civil commentary is often at its most blunt. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Burns
Burns Suppers have been held in his honour for over 200 years. This site gives you the complete guide to Robert Burns the man, his poems, his travels, haggis, whisky and much more. http://www.rabbie-burns.com/
Haggis recipe http://www.gumbopages.com/food/scottish/haggis.html
(I swore I would never eat haggis, but when I smelled the peppery sausage in Edinburgh, I ate it anyway. I admit I liked it.)
Burns night: Haggis, Tatties and Neeps recipe
http://britishfood.about.com/od/menu/r/burnssupper.htm
Quotes
I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter.
Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor the lack of contradiction a sign of truth.
Blaise Pascal, French philosopher and mathematician (1623-1662)
Friday, January 8, 2010
A TANK AWAY FROM TOLEDO OR COLUMBUS
December 31, 2009-January 2, 2010
We were part of a group of 18 having New Year's Eve dinner followed by live entertainment at White Oak Inn in Danville, Ohio http://www.bbonline.com/oh/whiteoak/
On January 1, we explored snow-dusted gently rolling hills of central Ohio, and
visited Warsaw, http://www.warsawohio.us/
Dresden, in the 19th century an important trading town on the Ohio and Erie Canal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresden,_Ohio
and Coschoton http://www.cityofcoshocton.com/
including Roscoe Village http://www.roscoevillage.com/
ter•rif•ic adjective date: 1667
Etymology: Latin terrificus, from terrēre to frighten
1 a: very bad : FRIGHTFUL b: exciting or fit to excite fear or awe
2: EXTRAORDINARY 3: unusually fine : MAGNIFICENT
http://m-w.com/dictionary/terrific
Bans, boycotts and censorship may be an individual or group decision.
For nearly the entire history of film production, certain films have been either boycotted by political and religious groups or literally banned by a regime for political or moral reasons. Paradoxically, banning a movie often completely fails to achieve its intention of preventing a movie from being seen—the publicity given worldwide to banned films often results in it being given attention it might not otherwise receive.
http://wapedia.mobi/en/List_of_banned_films
Banned books and authors http://www.banned-books.com/bblist.html
You will know most of the authors; the books are divided into two sections because of the great number of them.
Banned music, a nine-page article
http://blogcritics.org/books/article/banned-music/
For Christmas, I received The Help by Kathryn Stockett, a first novel about housekeepers in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s. The book was rejected 45 times by publishers before being published by G.F. Putnam's Sons and then spending over half of 2009 on best-seller lists. I recommend you read this book, and then read" Kathryn Stockett, in her own words" at the end.
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1937562,00.html
Photos of library cats from around the world Thanks, Maria.
http://lovemeow.com/2010/01/library-cats-from-all-over-the-world/
Kings Park, New York and Sylvania, Ohio readers (you know who you are): What cat do you think of when you see the cat from Kansas?
British poet William Ernest Henley is most famous for the poem Invictus. See his 137 poems by doing a Google search such as henley 137 poems.
A possible New Year's resolution would be to memorize short poems or quotes on a periodic basis. You could even keep a list if you were so inclined. I'm not good at memorizing, but this one from a folk tale appeals to me: The swiftest thing in the world is thought. The sweetest thing in the world is sleep. The richest thing in the world is earth, for out of the earth come all the riches of the world.
Quotes
Is not this the true romantic feeling--not to desire to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping you.
Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938) American author
When the days are too short chances are you are living at your best.
Earl Nightingale (1921-1989) American radio commentator, personal development and self-help speaker
The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel too fast and you miss all you are traveling for.
Louis L'Amour, born Louis Dearborn LaMoore (1908 -1988) American author
Iceland is part of Europe, and Greenland is part of North America.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_continent_(data_file)
Notice that the following list of countries by continent omits Greenland.
http://www.worldatlas.com/cntycont.htm
It's still January, it's still cold, I still live in the north, but it's easy to see that every day there is more daylight. Viva the four seasons.
December 31, 2009-January 2, 2010
We were part of a group of 18 having New Year's Eve dinner followed by live entertainment at White Oak Inn in Danville, Ohio http://www.bbonline.com/oh/whiteoak/
On January 1, we explored snow-dusted gently rolling hills of central Ohio, and
visited Warsaw, http://www.warsawohio.us/
Dresden, in the 19th century an important trading town on the Ohio and Erie Canal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresden,_Ohio
and Coschoton http://www.cityofcoshocton.com/
including Roscoe Village http://www.roscoevillage.com/
ter•rif•ic adjective date: 1667
Etymology: Latin terrificus, from terrēre to frighten
1 a: very bad : FRIGHTFUL b: exciting or fit to excite fear or awe
2: EXTRAORDINARY 3: unusually fine : MAGNIFICENT
http://m-w.com/dictionary/terrific
Bans, boycotts and censorship may be an individual or group decision.
For nearly the entire history of film production, certain films have been either boycotted by political and religious groups or literally banned by a regime for political or moral reasons. Paradoxically, banning a movie often completely fails to achieve its intention of preventing a movie from being seen—the publicity given worldwide to banned films often results in it being given attention it might not otherwise receive.
http://wapedia.mobi/en/List_of_banned_films
Banned books and authors http://www.banned-books.com/bblist.html
You will know most of the authors; the books are divided into two sections because of the great number of them.
Banned music, a nine-page article
http://blogcritics.org/books/article/banned-music/
For Christmas, I received The Help by Kathryn Stockett, a first novel about housekeepers in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s. The book was rejected 45 times by publishers before being published by G.F. Putnam's Sons and then spending over half of 2009 on best-seller lists. I recommend you read this book, and then read" Kathryn Stockett, in her own words" at the end.
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1937562,00.html
Photos of library cats from around the world Thanks, Maria.
http://lovemeow.com/2010/01/library-cats-from-all-over-the-world/
Kings Park, New York and Sylvania, Ohio readers (you know who you are): What cat do you think of when you see the cat from Kansas?
British poet William Ernest Henley is most famous for the poem Invictus. See his 137 poems by doing a Google search such as henley 137 poems.
A possible New Year's resolution would be to memorize short poems or quotes on a periodic basis. You could even keep a list if you were so inclined. I'm not good at memorizing, but this one from a folk tale appeals to me: The swiftest thing in the world is thought. The sweetest thing in the world is sleep. The richest thing in the world is earth, for out of the earth come all the riches of the world.
Quotes
Is not this the true romantic feeling--not to desire to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping you.
Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938) American author
When the days are too short chances are you are living at your best.
Earl Nightingale (1921-1989) American radio commentator, personal development and self-help speaker
The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel too fast and you miss all you are traveling for.
Louis L'Amour, born Louis Dearborn LaMoore (1908 -1988) American author
Iceland is part of Europe, and Greenland is part of North America.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_continent_(data_file)
Notice that the following list of countries by continent omits Greenland.
http://www.worldatlas.com/cntycont.htm
It's still January, it's still cold, I still live in the north, but it's easy to see that every day there is more daylight. Viva the four seasons.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
If a university opens its doors and allows someone to enroll in a special program, does that mean that student has matriculated there and deserves to participate in all aspects of college life? A federal judge in Michigan ruled that it does. U.S. District Judge Patrick Duggan of Michigan's Eastern District ruled that Oakland University in Rochester violated federal law by not allowing a learning handicapped student from living in a campus dorm-a battle the man has waged for two years Here's the story, courtesy of the Detroit News, and a longer story by the local Daily Tribune.
A lawsuit on the West Coast is accusing LA's California Science Center of canceling the October screening of the documentary, which promotes the theory of intelligent design - that an intelligent being or “designer” is responsible for shaping life on Earth, rather than natural selection - after being pressured by The Smithsonian and other academics. The suit was filed in October in Los Angeles Superior Court by LA-based American Freedom Alliance, which says it has no official position on intelligent design but says it was concerned that the scientific establishment was stifling debate.
Here's the story from LAT. We also recommend clicking here for Margaret Talbot's fascinating piece about Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, in which a federal judge heard the first case to test whether it was constitutional for public-school classes to present the argument of intelligent design. (After a 2005 bench trial, the judge ruled it wasn't because the theory was a form of Creationism.)
WSJ Law Blog December 29, 2009
FTC Approves Two Reports to Congress on the National Do Not Call Registry
News release: "The Federal Trade Commission, as required by The Do-Not-Call Registry Fee Extension Act of 2007, has approved two reports to Congress: a biennial report focusing on the use of the Do Not Call Registry by both consumers and businesses, as well as the impact that new technologies have had on the Registry, and a one-time report on enforcement efforts and consumers’ perceptions of the Registry’s effectiveness . As detailed in the first report, the Do Not Call Registry now has more than 191 million active registrations, and more than 18 million new phone numbers were registered in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009. During that time, approximately 45,000 sellers, telemarketers, and exempt organizations such as charities subscribed to access the Registry, paying fees totaling more than $15.5 million. In addition, during FY 2009, the FTC implemented a new procedure for tracking disconnected and reassigned phone numbers, which addresses problems that may arise as a result of new telecommunications technologies and the ease of transporting numbers from one telephone service provider to another. According to the second report, since 2003 when the Do Not Call Registry was put in place, research has consistently shown widespread public awareness of the program and a steady increase in the number of phone numbers registered. Together, the FTC and the Federal Communications Commission have collected penalties totaling over $22 million from Registry violators, and due to these enforcement actions and the agencies’ consumer education campaigns, consumers who have joined the Registry have reported dramatic reductions in the number of unwanted calls they receive."
Amtrak Struggles to Get on the Fast Track
Follow up to previous postings on high speed passenger rail transport in the U.S., via New York Times: But faster trains are critical to [Amtrak's] future. So while Amtrak got some desperately needed financing from the federal government this year, its forecasts suggest that speedier rail travel in the United States remains a daunting challenge. For the Northeast corridor alone, Amtrak estimates that it will need almost $700 million annually for the next 15 years to maintain the system and to tackle a backlog of maintenance projects and upgrades. Reducing travel times between New York and Washington to two-and-a-half hours and times between New York and Boston to three hours — goals that were established in the 1970s — will require straighter track, improvements to bridges and tunnels, increased capacity through Manhattan and newer trains, among other investments."
See also CRS Report, December 08, 2009 - High Speed Rail (HSR) in the United States: "There are a handful of routes in the United States where track has been improved to allow service at up to 110 mph, and there are a few places along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor where speeds of up to 150 mph are achieved for a relatively short distance. But there are no dedicated high speed lines in the United States comparable to those in Europe and Asia, on which trains travel at sustained speeds of over 150 mph."
Reader feedback to frequent spelling, pronunciation and writing errors
How about “Febuary” instead of “February”
Many people say libary for library.
It's sherbet, not sherbert.
The slang term "jones" means a strong desire. It first meant an addiction to drugs, and may have originated among addicts who lived in Great Jones Alley, off Great Jones Street, between Broadway and Lafayette Street in Manhattan. See more jargon, slang and niche vocabularies at: http://www.yaelf.com/slang.shtml
In olden days, if the children became restless during the service, grandmother took a handkerchief and tied it into a church baby, a faceless doll made of cloth. I f dropped on the floor, it didn't make noise and disrupt the sermon. A church baby may also refer to a child born on Sunday.
I recommend the movie Invictus starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. It gives an uplift similar to More Than a Game with LeBron James. Both are inspiring biographical dramas stressing responsibility, change, teamwork, victory.
Invictus by William Ernest Henley
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.
http://www.wordinfo.info/words/index/info/view_unit/3981
'One Life: Echoes of Elvis' exhibit opens at the National Portrait Gallery
It has been more than 30 years since Elvis Presley's death, and yet his place in pop culture's consciousness has only become deeper. The King's records keep selling, Graceland is still a destination and he continues to be a subject of fascination and interest. In celebration of Presley's 75th birthday (Jan. 8), a collection of portraits ranging from realistic portrayals to mythical, spiritual and earthly images goes on display with works by such artists as Andy Warhol, Ralph Wolfe Cowan and Red Grooms.
Open January 8 through August 29 National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F streets NW. 202-633-5285 http://www.npg.si.edu. Free
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/06/AR2010010601763.html
A lawsuit on the West Coast is accusing LA's California Science Center of canceling the October screening of the documentary, which promotes the theory of intelligent design - that an intelligent being or “designer” is responsible for shaping life on Earth, rather than natural selection - after being pressured by The Smithsonian and other academics. The suit was filed in October in Los Angeles Superior Court by LA-based American Freedom Alliance, which says it has no official position on intelligent design but says it was concerned that the scientific establishment was stifling debate.
Here's the story from LAT. We also recommend clicking here for Margaret Talbot's fascinating piece about Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, in which a federal judge heard the first case to test whether it was constitutional for public-school classes to present the argument of intelligent design. (After a 2005 bench trial, the judge ruled it wasn't because the theory was a form of Creationism.)
WSJ Law Blog December 29, 2009
FTC Approves Two Reports to Congress on the National Do Not Call Registry
News release: "The Federal Trade Commission, as required by The Do-Not-Call Registry Fee Extension Act of 2007, has approved two reports to Congress: a biennial report focusing on the use of the Do Not Call Registry by both consumers and businesses, as well as the impact that new technologies have had on the Registry, and a one-time report on enforcement efforts and consumers’ perceptions of the Registry’s effectiveness . As detailed in the first report, the Do Not Call Registry now has more than 191 million active registrations, and more than 18 million new phone numbers were registered in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009. During that time, approximately 45,000 sellers, telemarketers, and exempt organizations such as charities subscribed to access the Registry, paying fees totaling more than $15.5 million. In addition, during FY 2009, the FTC implemented a new procedure for tracking disconnected and reassigned phone numbers, which addresses problems that may arise as a result of new telecommunications technologies and the ease of transporting numbers from one telephone service provider to another. According to the second report, since 2003 when the Do Not Call Registry was put in place, research has consistently shown widespread public awareness of the program and a steady increase in the number of phone numbers registered. Together, the FTC and the Federal Communications Commission have collected penalties totaling over $22 million from Registry violators, and due to these enforcement actions and the agencies’ consumer education campaigns, consumers who have joined the Registry have reported dramatic reductions in the number of unwanted calls they receive."
Amtrak Struggles to Get on the Fast Track
Follow up to previous postings on high speed passenger rail transport in the U.S., via New York Times: But faster trains are critical to [Amtrak's] future. So while Amtrak got some desperately needed financing from the federal government this year, its forecasts suggest that speedier rail travel in the United States remains a daunting challenge. For the Northeast corridor alone, Amtrak estimates that it will need almost $700 million annually for the next 15 years to maintain the system and to tackle a backlog of maintenance projects and upgrades. Reducing travel times between New York and Washington to two-and-a-half hours and times between New York and Boston to three hours — goals that were established in the 1970s — will require straighter track, improvements to bridges and tunnels, increased capacity through Manhattan and newer trains, among other investments."
See also CRS Report, December 08, 2009 - High Speed Rail (HSR) in the United States: "There are a handful of routes in the United States where track has been improved to allow service at up to 110 mph, and there are a few places along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor where speeds of up to 150 mph are achieved for a relatively short distance. But there are no dedicated high speed lines in the United States comparable to those in Europe and Asia, on which trains travel at sustained speeds of over 150 mph."
Reader feedback to frequent spelling, pronunciation and writing errors
How about “Febuary” instead of “February”
Many people say libary for library.
It's sherbet, not sherbert.
The slang term "jones" means a strong desire. It first meant an addiction to drugs, and may have originated among addicts who lived in Great Jones Alley, off Great Jones Street, between Broadway and Lafayette Street in Manhattan. See more jargon, slang and niche vocabularies at: http://www.yaelf.com/slang.shtml
In olden days, if the children became restless during the service, grandmother took a handkerchief and tied it into a church baby, a faceless doll made of cloth. I f dropped on the floor, it didn't make noise and disrupt the sermon. A church baby may also refer to a child born on Sunday.
I recommend the movie Invictus starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. It gives an uplift similar to More Than a Game with LeBron James. Both are inspiring biographical dramas stressing responsibility, change, teamwork, victory.
Invictus by William Ernest Henley
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.
http://www.wordinfo.info/words/index/info/view_unit/3981
'One Life: Echoes of Elvis' exhibit opens at the National Portrait Gallery
It has been more than 30 years since Elvis Presley's death, and yet his place in pop culture's consciousness has only become deeper. The King's records keep selling, Graceland is still a destination and he continues to be a subject of fascination and interest. In celebration of Presley's 75th birthday (Jan. 8), a collection of portraits ranging from realistic portrayals to mythical, spiritual and earthly images goes on display with works by such artists as Andy Warhol, Ralph Wolfe Cowan and Red Grooms.
Open January 8 through August 29 National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F streets NW. 202-633-5285 http://www.npg.si.edu. Free
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/06/AR2010010601763.html
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Imagine your day ending at sunset. Life without music, motion pictures, radio. Life without light itself. Our modern lives began at the turn of the century in West Orange, New Jersey. The Laboratory and home of Thomas Edison, stopped in time, continue to teach a new generation. For directions, pictures, operating hours and other information, see: http://www.nps.gov/edis/index.htm
Blanket of Cold Weather One of Nation's Most Widespread Since January 1985
WSJ.com: "An Arctic blast swept across a large swath of the U.S. on Monday, sending temperatures plunging from Minnesota to Florida and bringing a bone-chilling start to the first workweek of the year...Temperatures fell below zero from the Great Plains to the Northeast, following a weekend of heavy snow. The reading of minus-16 degrees in St. Joseph, Mo., Monday marked the city's coldest Jan. 4 since 1947, while minus-37 in International Falls, Minn., Sunday was the coldest there since 1911, said Frank Pereira, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. Dallas, Jacksonville, Fla., and Little Rock, Ark., fell nearly 20 degrees below their average temperatures for this time of year on Monday, he said. The cold snap is one of the nation's most widespread since January 1985, according to meteorologists at Accuweather.com. While the cold is expected to ease slightly starting Thursday, this winter is on track to be one of the coldest in the past decade or two, said Ken Reeves, director of forecasting operations at Accuweather.com"
• Winter of 2009-2010 Could Be Worst in 25 Years
60 Minutes' Bob Simon Reports On Research To Create An Elephant "Dictionary"
The Secret Language of Elephants: "For two decades, a group of wild African elephants has been watched over, studied and protected by their own guardian angel: an extraordinary American scientist named Andrea Turkalo. Turkalo's own story is pretty amazing, but not nearly as compelling as the insights into elephant behavior her research has revealed, especially when it comes to "the secret language of elephants."
The National Trust for Historic Preservation's BARN AGAIN! Program helps farmers and ranchers find ways to maintain and use historic barns and agricultural buildings as part of modern agricultural production. Created and managed in partnership with Successful Farming magazine, the BARN AGAIN! Program offers publications on technical issues, organizes educational workshops and recognizes good stewardship through an annual Awards Program.
How many historic barns are there? For the first time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Census of Agriculture included a question about historic barns. Information about the number of active farms with barns built before 1960 is now vailable, including a listing of the results by state. A new publication, Historic Barns: Working Assets for Sustainable Farms, is available from the National Trust. Written by Michigan small farmer and author Edward Hoogterp, this publication describes how older and historic barns can provide practical benefits to one of the most exciting and fastest-growing segments of the rural economy – sustainable agriculture. Using several case studies, the publication explains how historic barns can meet important functional, economic and marketing needs of sustainable producers. Download a free copy here. http://www.preservationnation.org/issues/rural-heritage/barn-again/
The preservation of historic barns
http://www.historichomeworks.com/hhw/pbriefs/pb20.htm
Dutch barns, bank barns, crib barns, round barns, multisided barns, prairie barns
http://www.barnsbuilt.com/about-us/articles/HistoricBarnTypes.php
Barnology: explore Iowa's rural heritage
http://www.wcfcourier.com/features/lifestyles/article_1a6756a5-d88e-57b7-9bec-18c488bb71cd.html
Many people say NUKE-yu-lar. The vowel sounds are wrong and the consonant ‘l’ is in the wrong place. It should be NEW-klee-ar.
athletic [e is often wrongly added- atheletic]
arctic [the first c is often omitted]
boundary [a is often omitted]
candidate [the first d is often omitted]]
history [o is often omitted]
laboratory [o is often omitted]
probably [ba is often omitted]
surprise [the first r is often omitted]
usually [the second u is often omitted]
http://wordspin.dk/wordspin/bloopers/bloopers-articles/article/dont-let-mispronunciation-mangle-your-message/
temperament: looks like four syllables, pronounced as three
quandary: looks like three syllables, usually pronounced as two
interest: looks like three syllables, pronounced as two
Margaret: looks like three syllables, pronounced as two
in other words sometimes pronounced or written as one word (anotherwords)
Marla Weeg moved from Iowa City, Iowa to Dodge Center, Minnesota to Chicago. Now her first short story has been published online:
http://www.tonopahreview.org/leif-ericsson.html
Marla says that "so far 4 people in the world have read it"--you can raise that number if you care to look at it.
2010 Saveur 100 list
Saveur magazine asked readers for ideas, inspirations, and favorite food finds. The list appears in the January-February 2010 issue, and comes from every corner of the world, on every imaginable culinary subject, from family recipes to treasured cookbooks to time-honored tips. Julie, see #1; Brit, see #33; see the six herbs of Provence at #40; Armenian cucumbers at #44, dried lemon zest at #79 on the Web:
http://www.saveur.com/article/Kitchen/The-2010-SAVEUR-100-List
Blanket of Cold Weather One of Nation's Most Widespread Since January 1985
WSJ.com: "An Arctic blast swept across a large swath of the U.S. on Monday, sending temperatures plunging from Minnesota to Florida and bringing a bone-chilling start to the first workweek of the year...Temperatures fell below zero from the Great Plains to the Northeast, following a weekend of heavy snow. The reading of minus-16 degrees in St. Joseph, Mo., Monday marked the city's coldest Jan. 4 since 1947, while minus-37 in International Falls, Minn., Sunday was the coldest there since 1911, said Frank Pereira, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. Dallas, Jacksonville, Fla., and Little Rock, Ark., fell nearly 20 degrees below their average temperatures for this time of year on Monday, he said. The cold snap is one of the nation's most widespread since January 1985, according to meteorologists at Accuweather.com. While the cold is expected to ease slightly starting Thursday, this winter is on track to be one of the coldest in the past decade or two, said Ken Reeves, director of forecasting operations at Accuweather.com"
• Winter of 2009-2010 Could Be Worst in 25 Years
60 Minutes' Bob Simon Reports On Research To Create An Elephant "Dictionary"
The Secret Language of Elephants: "For two decades, a group of wild African elephants has been watched over, studied and protected by their own guardian angel: an extraordinary American scientist named Andrea Turkalo. Turkalo's own story is pretty amazing, but not nearly as compelling as the insights into elephant behavior her research has revealed, especially when it comes to "the secret language of elephants."
The National Trust for Historic Preservation's BARN AGAIN! Program helps farmers and ranchers find ways to maintain and use historic barns and agricultural buildings as part of modern agricultural production. Created and managed in partnership with Successful Farming magazine, the BARN AGAIN! Program offers publications on technical issues, organizes educational workshops and recognizes good stewardship through an annual Awards Program.
How many historic barns are there? For the first time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Census of Agriculture included a question about historic barns. Information about the number of active farms with barns built before 1960 is now vailable, including a listing of the results by state. A new publication, Historic Barns: Working Assets for Sustainable Farms, is available from the National Trust. Written by Michigan small farmer and author Edward Hoogterp, this publication describes how older and historic barns can provide practical benefits to one of the most exciting and fastest-growing segments of the rural economy – sustainable agriculture. Using several case studies, the publication explains how historic barns can meet important functional, economic and marketing needs of sustainable producers. Download a free copy here. http://www.preservationnation.org/issues/rural-heritage/barn-again/
The preservation of historic barns
http://www.historichomeworks.com/hhw/pbriefs/pb20.htm
Dutch barns, bank barns, crib barns, round barns, multisided barns, prairie barns
http://www.barnsbuilt.com/about-us/articles/HistoricBarnTypes.php
Barnology: explore Iowa's rural heritage
http://www.wcfcourier.com/features/lifestyles/article_1a6756a5-d88e-57b7-9bec-18c488bb71cd.html
Many people say NUKE-yu-lar. The vowel sounds are wrong and the consonant ‘l’ is in the wrong place. It should be NEW-klee-ar.
athletic [e is often wrongly added- atheletic]
arctic [the first c is often omitted]
boundary [a is often omitted]
candidate [the first d is often omitted]]
history [o is often omitted]
laboratory [o is often omitted]
probably [ba is often omitted]
surprise [the first r is often omitted]
usually [the second u is often omitted]
http://wordspin.dk/wordspin/bloopers/bloopers-articles/article/dont-let-mispronunciation-mangle-your-message/
temperament: looks like four syllables, pronounced as three
quandary: looks like three syllables, usually pronounced as two
interest: looks like three syllables, pronounced as two
Margaret: looks like three syllables, pronounced as two
in other words sometimes pronounced or written as one word (anotherwords)
Marla Weeg moved from Iowa City, Iowa to Dodge Center, Minnesota to Chicago. Now her first short story has been published online:
http://www.tonopahreview.org/leif-ericsson.html
Marla says that "so far 4 people in the world have read it"--you can raise that number if you care to look at it.
2010 Saveur 100 list
Saveur magazine asked readers for ideas, inspirations, and favorite food finds. The list appears in the January-February 2010 issue, and comes from every corner of the world, on every imaginable culinary subject, from family recipes to treasured cookbooks to time-honored tips. Julie, see #1; Brit, see #33; see the six herbs of Provence at #40; Armenian cucumbers at #44, dried lemon zest at #79 on the Web:
http://www.saveur.com/article/Kitchen/The-2010-SAVEUR-100-List
Monday, January 4, 2010
The world-famous Tavern on the Green restaurant in Central Park closes on New Year's Eve. It's a beautiful site with a rich history, and the closing has been marked by serious legal tension, as WSJ reports. Tavern is losing its license with the city after more than 30 years. Another local restaurateur will operate an eatery there, instead. That prompted the Tavern owners to declare bankruptcy, which has unleashed a bar fight over the Tavern name. Lawyers for the LeRoy family, which opened the celebrity hangout and tourist haven in 1976, say the family trademarked the name in 1978, using it on the restaurant and later, a bottled salad dressing. The estimated value of the moniker, they say, is $19 million, and the company's biggest asset. But city officials are clearly nervous that the LeRoy family may capitalize on the Tavern brand, starting restaurants in Miami or, perhaps, elsewhere in New York. Lawyers with the city of New York have asserted in federal court that Warner LeRoy never had the city's permission to trademark the name and that he obtained the name fraudulently. WSJ Law Blog December 31, 2009
Census Bureau Projects U.S. Population of 308.4 Million on New Year’s Day
News release: "On the eve of the 2010 Census, as the Census Bureau prepares to conduct an actual count of the nation’s population, the bureau projects that on Jan. 1, 2010 — three months out from Census Day — the total U.S. population will be 308,400,408. This would represent an increase of 2,606,181, or 0.9 percent, from New Year’s Day 2009. In January 2010, one birth is expected to occur every eight seconds in the United States and one death every 12 seconds. Meanwhile, net international migration is expected to add one person every 37 seconds to the U.S. population in January 2010, resulting in an increase in the total U.S. population of one person every 14 seconds."
2010 (MMX) will be a common year starting on Friday in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. It will be the first year of the 2010s decade. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010
This is the calendar for any common year starting on Friday (dominical letter C). Examples: Gregorian years 1999, 2010 & 2021 or Julian years 1910 & 1899 (see bottom tables). A common year is a year with 365 days. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_year_starting_on_Friday
2010 Daylight Saving Time will be March 14 and November 7 except there will be no DST in Arizona, Hawaii and the Midway Islands. See all countries at:
http://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst2010.html
2010 Phases of the Moon
Universal Time
NEW MOON FIRST QUARTER FULL MOON LAST QUARTER
d h m d h m d h m d h m
JAN. 7 10 39
JAN. 15 7 11 JAN. 23 10 53 JAN. 30 6 18 FEB. 5 23 48
FEB. 14 2 51 FEB. 22 0 42 FEB. 28 16 38 MAR. 7 15 42
MAR. 15 21 01 MAR. 23 11 00 MAR. 30 2 25 APR. 6 9 37
APR. 14 12 29 APR. 21 18 20 APR. 28 12 18 MAY 6 4 15
MAY 14 1 04 MAY 20 23 43 MAY 27 23 07 JUNE 4 22 13
JUNE 12 11 15 JUNE 19 4 29 JUNE 26 11 30 JULY 4 14 35
JULY 11 19 40 JULY 18 10 11 JULY 26 1 37 AUG. 3 4 59
AUG. 10 3 08 AUG. 16 18 14 AUG. 24 17 05 SEPT. 1 17 22
SEPT. 8 10 30 SEPT. 15 5 50 SEPT. 23 9 17 OCT. 1 3 52
OCT. 7 18 44 OCT. 14 21 27 OCT. 23 1 36 OCT. 30 12 46
NOV. 6 4 52 NOV. 13 16 39 NOV. 21 17 27 NOV. 28 20 36
DEC. 5 17 36 DEC. 13 13 59 DEC. 21 8 13 DEC. 28 4 18
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/MoonPhase.php
The first month of the year
Deutsch: Januar, Jänner • English: January • Español: Enero • Esperanto: Januaro • Français : Janvier • Italiano: Gennaio • For pictures and other months of the year, see: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/January January is Janeiro in Portuguese.
Rio de Janeiro ("River of January", English pronunciation: /ˈriːoʊ deɪ ʒəˈnɛəroʊ/; Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈxiu dʒi ʒaˈneiɾu]) is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America.[1][2][3] The city was the capital of Brazil for nearly two centuries, from 1763 to 1822 during the Portuguese colonial era, and from 1822 to 1960 as an independent nation . It is also the former capital of the Portuguese Empire. Commonly known as just Rio, the city is also nicknamed A Cidade Maravilhosa or "The Marvelous City." Rio is considered a Beta World City.[4]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_de_Janeiro
A global city (also called world city or sometimes alpha city) is a city deemed to be an important node point in the global economic system. The concept comes from geography and urban studies and rests on the idea that globalization can be understood as largely created, facilitated and enacted in strategic geographic locales according to a hierarchy of importance to the operation of the global system of finance and trade.
The most complex of these entities is the "global city," whereby the linkages binding a city have a direct and tangible effect on global affairs through socio-economic means.[1] The terminology of "global city", as opposed to megacity, is thought to have been first coined by the sociologist Saskia Sassen in reference to London, New York and Tokyo in her 1991 work The Global City,[2] though the term "world city" to describe cities which control a disproportionate amount of global business dates to at least Patrick Geddes' use of the term in 1915.[3] See a list of alpha, bet and gamma world cities at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city
Palindrome dates in the 21st century
In the MMDDYYYY Date Format (first five (5) of 12 in 21st century):
October 2, 2001 (10022001)
January 2, 2010 (01022010)
November 2, 2011 (11022011)
February 2, 2020 (02022020)
December 2, 2021 (12022021)
In the DDMMYYYY Date Format (first five (5) of 29 in 21st century):
10 February 2001 (10022001)
20 February 2002 (20022002)
1 February 2010 (01022010)
11 February 2011 (11022011)
21 February 2012 (21022012) http://faculty.up.edu/ainan/palindrome.html
The swiftest thing in the world is thought. The sweetest thing in the world is sleep. The richest thing in the world is earth, for out of the earth come all the riches of the world. Clever Manka, Czechoslovakian folk tale
Census Bureau Projects U.S. Population of 308.4 Million on New Year’s Day
News release: "On the eve of the 2010 Census, as the Census Bureau prepares to conduct an actual count of the nation’s population, the bureau projects that on Jan. 1, 2010 — three months out from Census Day — the total U.S. population will be 308,400,408. This would represent an increase of 2,606,181, or 0.9 percent, from New Year’s Day 2009. In January 2010, one birth is expected to occur every eight seconds in the United States and one death every 12 seconds. Meanwhile, net international migration is expected to add one person every 37 seconds to the U.S. population in January 2010, resulting in an increase in the total U.S. population of one person every 14 seconds."
2010 (MMX) will be a common year starting on Friday in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. It will be the first year of the 2010s decade. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010
This is the calendar for any common year starting on Friday (dominical letter C). Examples: Gregorian years 1999, 2010 & 2021 or Julian years 1910 & 1899 (see bottom tables). A common year is a year with 365 days. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_year_starting_on_Friday
2010 Daylight Saving Time will be March 14 and November 7 except there will be no DST in Arizona, Hawaii and the Midway Islands. See all countries at:
http://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst2010.html
2010 Phases of the Moon
Universal Time
NEW MOON FIRST QUARTER FULL MOON LAST QUARTER
d h m d h m d h m d h m
JAN. 7 10 39
JAN. 15 7 11 JAN. 23 10 53 JAN. 30 6 18 FEB. 5 23 48
FEB. 14 2 51 FEB. 22 0 42 FEB. 28 16 38 MAR. 7 15 42
MAR. 15 21 01 MAR. 23 11 00 MAR. 30 2 25 APR. 6 9 37
APR. 14 12 29 APR. 21 18 20 APR. 28 12 18 MAY 6 4 15
MAY 14 1 04 MAY 20 23 43 MAY 27 23 07 JUNE 4 22 13
JUNE 12 11 15 JUNE 19 4 29 JUNE 26 11 30 JULY 4 14 35
JULY 11 19 40 JULY 18 10 11 JULY 26 1 37 AUG. 3 4 59
AUG. 10 3 08 AUG. 16 18 14 AUG. 24 17 05 SEPT. 1 17 22
SEPT. 8 10 30 SEPT. 15 5 50 SEPT. 23 9 17 OCT. 1 3 52
OCT. 7 18 44 OCT. 14 21 27 OCT. 23 1 36 OCT. 30 12 46
NOV. 6 4 52 NOV. 13 16 39 NOV. 21 17 27 NOV. 28 20 36
DEC. 5 17 36 DEC. 13 13 59 DEC. 21 8 13 DEC. 28 4 18
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/MoonPhase.php
The first month of the year
Deutsch: Januar, Jänner • English: January • Español: Enero • Esperanto: Januaro • Français : Janvier • Italiano: Gennaio • For pictures and other months of the year, see: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/January January is Janeiro in Portuguese.
Rio de Janeiro ("River of January", English pronunciation: /ˈriːoʊ deɪ ʒəˈnɛəroʊ/; Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈxiu dʒi ʒaˈneiɾu]) is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America.[1][2][3] The city was the capital of Brazil for nearly two centuries, from 1763 to 1822 during the Portuguese colonial era, and from 1822 to 1960 as an independent nation . It is also the former capital of the Portuguese Empire. Commonly known as just Rio, the city is also nicknamed A Cidade Maravilhosa or "The Marvelous City." Rio is considered a Beta World City.[4]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_de_Janeiro
A global city (also called world city or sometimes alpha city) is a city deemed to be an important node point in the global economic system. The concept comes from geography and urban studies and rests on the idea that globalization can be understood as largely created, facilitated and enacted in strategic geographic locales according to a hierarchy of importance to the operation of the global system of finance and trade.
The most complex of these entities is the "global city," whereby the linkages binding a city have a direct and tangible effect on global affairs through socio-economic means.[1] The terminology of "global city", as opposed to megacity, is thought to have been first coined by the sociologist Saskia Sassen in reference to London, New York and Tokyo in her 1991 work The Global City,[2] though the term "world city" to describe cities which control a disproportionate amount of global business dates to at least Patrick Geddes' use of the term in 1915.[3] See a list of alpha, bet and gamma world cities at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city
Palindrome dates in the 21st century
In the MMDDYYYY Date Format (first five (5) of 12 in 21st century):
October 2, 2001 (10022001)
January 2, 2010 (01022010)
November 2, 2011 (11022011)
February 2, 2020 (02022020)
December 2, 2021 (12022021)
In the DDMMYYYY Date Format (first five (5) of 29 in 21st century):
10 February 2001 (10022001)
20 February 2002 (20022002)
1 February 2010 (01022010)
11 February 2011 (11022011)
21 February 2012 (21022012) http://faculty.up.edu/ainan/palindrome.html
The swiftest thing in the world is thought. The sweetest thing in the world is sleep. The richest thing in the world is earth, for out of the earth come all the riches of the world. Clever Manka, Czechoslovakian folk tale
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