Labradors were invented, so to speak, in the fifteenth century. They were originally used as fishing dogs for the villagers of Newfoundland. Labs attained resistance to the cold waters of the North Atlantic by developing two distinct layers of hair - an inner layer of short fuzzy hair for insulation, and a longer guard hair for shedding water. They also developed webbed paws for swimming. Loyalty, dedication, and a wonderful temperament came standard. Genetic colors were black, yellow and chocolate. (See history of the Chocolate Lab for special information). By the 1800's Labs migrated to England and then on to the United States. Here, fishing was not the required task, but retrieving ducks took center stage. Hunters loved to show off their Labs, and worked with them diligently to develop their skills. Selective breeding kept the desire to retrieve coupled with a good nose in the lineages. Hunters began to hold events where their Labs were graded according to their performance against a set standard. These were called Hunt Tests. http://www.labpups.com/history-of-labrador-retrievers.htm As origins go, the one of Labradors (or Labrador Retriever as they are more correctly known) is rather remarkable--most people assume that the dog comes from Labrador. This, of course, is inaccurate. This breed's origins start in Newfoundland (the actual name 'Labrador' may come from the Labrador Current found nearby or the Portuguese word 'labrador', meaning laborer). Not so remarkable yet, but the difference between the Retriever's origins and other breeds is that no one is certain what dogs were crossed to create it. Most assume that the Greater Newfoundland played a part, but the rest is speculation. What is known is the instant popularity of the breed. http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/8-10-2006-105106.asp

January and February have a rhyming quality because in each word, the last four letters are the same, there are four syllables, and the emphasis is on the first syllable. September, October, November and December also have a rhyming quality because all words end in ber, and all except October end in ember. Also, all of these months have three syllables with the emphasis on the second syllable. Three months (April, July and August) have two syllables and three have one syllable (March, May and June).

2011 meteor showers http://www.theskyscrapers.org/meteors/

2011 astronomy calendar of celestial events contains dates for notable celestial events including moon phases, meteor showers, eclipses, occultations, oppositions, conjunctions, and other interesting events. Most of the astronomical events on this calendar can be seen with unaided eye, although some may require a good pair of binoculars for best viewing. http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy_calendar_2011.html

Daylight saving time (DST) has been a subject of recurring debate in the United States, the United Kingdom, and many other countries around the world for about a hundred years. Ancient civilizations were known to practice a similar process of the concept of DST where they would adjust their daily schedules in accordance to the sun, such as the Roman water clocks that used different scales for different months of the year. The idea of daylight saving time was first conceived by Benjamin Franklin in 1784 during his stay in Paris. He published an essay titled “An Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light” that proposed to economize the use of candles by rising earlier to make use of the morning sunlight. Although many believe that Benjamin Franklin invented DST, some say that modern DST was first proposed in 1895 by George Vernon Hudson, an entomologist from New Zealand. Hudson presented a paper to the Wellington Philosophical Society that proposed a two-hour shift forward in October and a two-hour shift back in March. He followed up his proposal with an article in 1898, and although there was interest in the idea, it was never followed through. The invention of DST was mainly credited to William Willett in 1905 when he came up with the idea of moving the clocks forward in the summer to take advantage of the daylight in the mornings and the lighter evenings. His proposal suggested moving the clocks 20 minutes forward each of four Sundays in April, and switching them back by the same amount on four Sundays in September. Willett’s daylight saving plan caught the attention of Robert Pearce who introduced a bill to the House of Commons in February 1908. The first Daylight Saving Bill was drafted in 1909 and presented to Parliament several times and examined by a select committee. However, the bill was opposed by many, especially farmers and thus the bill was never made into a law. Willett died in 1915 without getting the chance to see his idea come to life. DST was first adopted to replace artificial lighting so they could save fuel for the war effort in Germany during World War I at 11:00pm (23:00) on April 30, 1916. It was quickly followed by Britain and many countries from both sides, including the United States. Many countries reverted back to standard time post-World War I, and it wasn’t until the next World War that DST would make its return to many countries in order to save vital energy resources for the war. President Franklin D. Roosevelt instituted year-round DST in the United States, called “War Time” during World War II from February 9, 1942 to September 30, 1945. The law was enforced 40 days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and during this time, time zones were called “Eastern War Time”, “Central War Time”, and “Pacific War Time”. After the surrender of Japan in mid-August 1945, the time zones were relabeled “Peace Time”. Daylight saving was first recognized as an energy saving aspect during World War II when Double Summer Time was applied in Britain which moved the clocks two hours ahead of GMT during the summer and one hour ahead of GMT during the winter. http://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst/history.html

In the United States, clocks move ahead one hour at 2:00 A.M. on the second Sunday in March, daylight saving time begins--March 13 in 2011. Standard time resumes every year at 2:00 A.M. on the first Sunday in November when clocks move one hour back--November 6 in 2011. Arizona, and Hawaii do not observe DST.

Daylight saving time around the world in 2011 http://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst/2011.html

From muse reader: I wonder if your readers know that the book Catch 22 was originally named by Heller Catch 18? Heller's publishers were also publishing Leon Uris's book Mila 18,and so suggested the more "catchy" title.

If you enjoy Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, you may want to travel a few miles south to see Winterthur (pronounced “winter-tour”) museum of American decorative arts, founded by Henry Francis du Pont . Its 60-acre naturalistic garden is among the country’s best, and its research library serves scholars from around the world. http://www.winterthur.org/

Perceptions of Libraries, 2010: Context and Community While the economy was declining, the online activities of the information consumer were increasing. Seventy-seven percent (77%) of Americans were online, up 12% from 2005 (Internet World Stats, September 2010). comScore reported that a quarter of U.S. mobile phones are now smartphones that provide Internet access, a growth of 1,050% from 2005. Many of the online practices of young information consumers in 2005 were across all ages in 2010. Over 90% of Boomers used e-mail and search engines, and over 50% used a social networking site. In 2010, 68% of information consumers had a library card. For those Americans economically impacted, that rate was even higher—81%. Information consumers who have experienced a job impact were not just getting library cards at greater rates; they were using the library for more services and more often in 2010. And their perception of library value was significantly different from those not impacted—their perceived value was higher. http://www.oclc.org/reports/2010perceptions/2010perceptions_all.pdf

The best books I've ever read on clear writing have been aimed at lawyers; for instance, any edition of Plain English for Lawyers by Richard C. Wydick. For answering your grammar questions, there are two books called The Grammatical Lawyer. This week, a muse reader recommends: "Typography for Lawyers, Essential Tools for Polished & Persuasive Documents," by Matthew Butterick. It's not just for lawyers. Should be required reading for anyone who produces writings and I know you would enjoy it.
Remember: prepare, pare down, polish, persuade and package in an easy-to-read format.

Frank Cavestani and his wife fell behind on their Capital One credit card payments about a decade ago. Their accounts were subsequently closed by the lender, which wrote off about $2,000 in debt they couldn't pay. So it was more than a little strange when the Hollywood couple received a pair of bills from Cap One the other day for a combined $5,195.07 in debt and interest. Stranger still, when Cavestani contacted Cap One, he said a service rep told him the resurrecting of old loans is accommodated by recent credit card regulations approved by the Federal Reserve — even though most states have a statute of limitations for how long credit card debt can be pursued by a lender. In California's case, that statute of limitations is four years. Cavestani's debt dates back to 2000, which means Cap One can't sue him for failing to pay up.
Cap One spokeswoman Tatiana Stead essentially confirmed Cavestani's story. She said Cap One was complying with Section 226.5(b)(2) of the Federal Reserve's Regulation Z, which requires lenders to send a statement for each billing cycle. But it stipulates that "a periodic statement need not be sent for an account if the creditor deems it uncollectable, or if delinquency collection proceedings have been instituted." The regulation requires Cap One to send out statements for charged-off accounts, "regardless of whether we are still actively seeking to recover on the debt," Stead said. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20110201,0,639051.column