Survey of Current Business May 2011 http://www.bea.gov/scb/index.htm

Quotes
Reading is my greatest luxury.
If you can't return a favor, pass it on.
I used to think about how I was conceived quite a lot when I was about 10 or 11, but I don't think about it at all now that so many other babies have been born in the same way.
Louise Brown (b. 1978) English author, first "test tube" baby

tyro or tiro (TY-roh) noun One who is beginning to learn something.
From Latin tiro (young soldier, recruit). Earliest documented use: 1611. A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg

Q: How many apples does Blanchard Valley Hospital in Findlay, Ohio give away each year? And when did it start?
A: Candy-stripers from the Blanchard Valley Hospital Auxiliary distribute nearly 55,000 apples a year, or an average of about 150 apples a day. The apple became a hospital fixture in 1986, when it was among the first to ban smoking. Apples replaced ashtrays for those who felt the urge to smoke. Soon, the apple became associated with the hospital and it was incorporated into its logo. Megan A. James, Blanchard Valley Health System.
Q: Was Johnny Appleseed real?
A: Yes. Johnny Appleseed was John Chapman, born Sept. 26, 1774, in Leominster, Mass. He began to plant apple nurseries throughout the Midwest in 1802. According to the Swedenborgian Church, "The record on Johnny Appleseed reveals him to be a careful, organized and strategic businessman who, over a period of several decades, bought and sold many dozen tracts of land in advance of the frontier expansion, and who developed countless thousands of productive apple trees throughout the upper Midwest. "John Chapman didn't simply walk around the countryside planting seeds and communing with nature. He was methodical in the selection of his nursery sites and the planting of his seeds. "By instinct, he (improved)...fruit by seeding rather than by grafting or budding. "He always selected a good, loamy piece of ground in an open place, fenced it in with fallen trees and logs, bushes and vines, sowed his seeds, and returned at regular intervals to repair the fence, to tend the ground, and to sell his trees," according to the church. He wore discarded clothing and would barter apple saplings for them. Chapman eventually owned more than 1,200 acres in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. He died at Fort Wayne, Ind., in March 1845. Ohio Historical Society, Swedenborgian Church.
Q: OK, then who was Johnny Apple?
A: R.W. Apple Jr., nicknamed "Johnny Apple," was a highly respected New York Times reporter and editor for more than 40 years. He died Oct. 3, 2006, in Washington at the age of 71. http://www.thecourier.com/Opinion/columns/2011/May/JU/ar_JU_052311.asp?d=052311,2011,May,23&c=c_13

Mark Twain may have said that: “Golf is a good walk spoiled” but there are millions around the world who say otherwise. While there is some dispute as to who can actually claim to have been the first person ever to have hit something with a stick, what Scotland can prove is that the earliest mention of the sport comes from King James II of Scotland, who, in 1457 banned golf as it was taking his archers away from their practice. And any mention of Scotland and golf can’t get very far without introducing the famous Leith Links. First mentioned in 1552 during a dispute between the rival “cordiners” (cobblers) of the Canongate and the cordiners and “gouff” ball makers of North Leith. This reference not only establishes the playing of golf on the Links in the 16th century, but also suggests that if cobblers were involved, then the equipment used was bespoke, and a long way from random hitting of round stones with sticks. The first open golf championship, on 2nd April 1744 is commonly held to be the first golfing activity of any golf club in the world. (The Royal Burgess maintains it was established first in 1735, but Leith has the first written records to support its claim.) The prize, presented to Edinburgh physician John Rattray, was a silver golf club. Initially the competition was open to anyone, but in 1764 it formalised its arrangements and limited the competition to Leith members. It was from around this time that they became known as the “Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers”. This title was formalised in a charter granted to them by the Lord Provost in 1800. During the early 18th century the game’s popularity declined, as did the coffers of the Honourable Gentlemen. Facing huge debts they sold off the club house, and play ceased for a time. When they next re-grouped it was in 1836 at a new eight-hole golf course inside the racetrack at Musselburgh. With no clubhouse, the gentlemen had to store their golf clubs under the racetrack – which proved highly unsuitable. A decision to build a club house necessitated funding, and so the club started to charge members an annual subscription. Overcrowding forced another move, and in 1891 the Honourable Gentlemen settled at another racetrack, at the East Lothian horse races on the Hundred Acres Park. This became the Muirfield course, designed by Old Tom Morris, originally 16 holes, but quickly built up to 18. Often referred to as Muirfield, the club’s official title remains The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. And its ancient lineage is still important today, according to Alastair Brown, Club Secretary. http://heritage.caledonianmercury.com/2010/03/07/the-noble-heritage-of-a-good-walk-ruined/00252

Nairobi/Washington DC, May 23, 2011—Against a backdrop of volatile food prices and increasing climate variability, more and more people are paying attention to the relationship between a healthy environment and resilient farmland. From policy makers to private investors, from researchers to smallholder farmers, many are looking for better ways to increase food security in a changing climate. Organizers of a three-day Investment Forum in Nairobi on May 25-27, 2011 are hoping these groups will focus their eyes on trees – trees in productive landscapes that can help achieve the ‘triple win’ of increased productivity, climate resilience and carbon capture, in ways that benefit smallholder farmers. “Feeding the planet in the next 20 years is not simply a quantitative challenge,” said Inger Andersen, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development, ahead of the Forum. “Unsustainable practices that degrade soil fertility will depress yields and keep pushing people further into remaining natural forests. We want to encourage agricultural practices that are part of the solution rather than part of the problem.” Agricultural expansion is the main driver of deforestation in many parts of the world, directly challenging conservation efforts. About 100 people representing farms, businesses, investment firms, research centers, NGOs and development organizations will convene in Nairobi for an Investment Forum devoted to Mobilizing Private Investment in Trees and Landscape Restoration in Africa. The event will be hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre, in a unique partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the World Bank, EcoAgriculture Partners, the Program on Forests (PROFOR) and TerrAfrica.
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:22921529~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html