A status symbol is an object which is meant to signify its owners' high social and economic standing.   Expensive goods like luxury vehicles and large houses are mostly out of reach for lower economic classes, so these items serve as status symbols indicating that their owners are able to afford their extremely high prices.  Since much of the utility derived from status symbols comes from their high price, an increased price for a status symbol may actually increase its demand, rather than diminish it.  A product which exhibits this phenomenon is known as a Veblen good.  http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/status-symbol.asp

Trophy as status symbol or asset leads to its use with wife, husband, child; and in the school world:  student, sports team, and special program.

The Toledoan’s Creed  “I Serve-I Conquer”

I Believe in Toledo, the City of Real Values – the Nation’s natural gateway of commerce and travel; in the heart of great resources and markets; with unsurpassed railway, dock and harbor facilities, and the near-centre of population of the United States.

I believe in Toledo, the City of Real Opportunities – with its great institutions of art, education, religion and business; a “Going concern” in industry, government and social uplift; a Home city with rest and recreation for all, by river and lake; where it is worth while to live, rear children, invest money and life.

I Believe in Toledo, the City of Real Progress – modern in municipal equipment and spirit, aggressive in commercial activity and achievement, with inspiring visions and plans for tomorrow and a big chance for every man.  Copyright 1912 by The Toledo Chamber of Commerce  The Helper, v. 31, no. 2 November  1912

http://jupmode.wordpress.com/2011/06/16/the-toledoans-creed/  NOTE:  The Toledo-Lucas County Public Library has issues of The Helper, 1910-1911, 1918 (5 items).  See Folder 34 of Mss. Coll. 20,  Churches of Toledo Collection http://www.toledolibrary.org/images/docwidget/Mss_Coll_20_Churches/Mss_Coll_20_Churches.pdf

For nearly 170 years there has been a lodging establishment operating at the current site of French Lick Springs Hotel.  It all began in 1845, when Dr. William Bowles, a physician from Paoli, Indiana, opened the first French Lick Springs Hotel.  Bowles used his knowledge as a physician to explore the healing properties of the abundant mineral springs in this area of the country.  In 1901 the outgoing mayor of Indianapolis, Tom Taggart, along with a small group of investors, formed the French Lick Hotel Company and bought the property.  It was under Tom Taggart’s imaginative direction that French Lick Springs Hotel made great strides in décor, development and transportation.  He enlarged the east wing, now known as the Spa Wing, using the yellow “French Lick Brick,” scagliola (faux marble) and Italian mosaic floors.  While French Lick Springs Hotel was expanding, the game of golf was gaining popularity the world over.  In 1907, Taggart hired Tom Bendelow to design the hotel’s first championship golf course, known at the time as “The Valley Course.”  Just ten years later, Taggart commissioned Donald Ross & Associates to design and build “The Hill Course.”  Also in 1917, the world famous chef Louis Perrin first served tomato juice.  As luck would have it one morning he was out of oranges and could not serve the traditional orange juice.  Needing to serve some sort of juice at breakfast, Chef Perrin squeezed tomatoes and the rest is history.  In 2006, French Lick Springs Hotel reopened after an extensive renovation and new addition, French Lick Casino. The original 1917 “Hill Course” was reopened and restored as The Donald Ross Course.  With the completion of the West Baden Springs Hotel restoration in 2007 French Lick Resort was born.  See pictures at https://mg-2014.com/french-lick-springs-hotel-history/  NOTE:  The state beverage of Indiana is water and the state beverage of Ohio is tomato juice.  Find a list of 28 states, 3 territories and the District of Columbia designating state beverages at  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_beverages

To help meet the needs of the Federal Depository Library (FDL) community, the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) has made eBooks available in the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP).  These titles are joining the growing number of online resources that have been a vital part of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) for over 20 years.  Users can download GPO-provided files of eBooks free of charge, for use on various eBook reading devices.  GPO’s goal is to expand and provide greater access to U.S. Federal Government content.  eBook titles can be accessed via catalog records available in the CGP.  Catalog records include descriptive information, as well as Persistent Uniform Resource Locators (PURLs) that link to the eBook titles.  PURLs provide web links that can be reliably cited in other publications.  Each CGP record displays the available formats for a title—.mobi, .epub, as well as other digital formats.  Every month, newly-acquired eBook titles are added to the CGP for public access.  http://fdlp.gov/377-projects-active/1886-ebooks-gpo

North Carolina was the only gold-producing state in the nation from 1803 until 1828, and it continued to be a leading producer until gold was discovered in California in 1848.  In 1838 the federal government built a branch mint in Charlotte, North Carolina, that coined gold from 1838 until 1861.  Gaston County, North Carolina:  A Brief History by Rita Wehunt-Black

New constitutions are written every year.  The people who write these important documents need to read and analyze texts from other places.  Constitute offers access to the world’s constitutions that users can systematically compare them across a broad set of topics — using a modern, clean interface.  Constitute allows you to interact with the world’s constitutions in a few different ways.  The Comparative Constitutions Project has tagged passages of each constitution with a topic so you can quickly find relevant excerpts on a particular subject, no matter how they are worded . You can browse the 300+ topics in the expandable drawer on the left of the page, or see suggested topics while typing in the search bar (which also lets you perform free-text queries).  You can limit your search by country or by date using the buttons under the search bar.  To download or print excerpts from multiple constitutions, click the “pin” button next to each expanded passage you want to save. You can then view and download your pinned excerpts in the drawer on the right.  https://www.constituteproject.org/#/about

Mnemonics are memory devices that help learners recall larger pieces of information, especially in the form of lists.  Many types of mnemonics exist and which type works best is limited only by the imagination of each individual learner.  Nine basic types of mnemonics (music, name, expression/word, model, ode/rhyme, note organization, image, connection, and spelling) are explained by Dennis Congos at http://www.learningassistance.com/2006/january/mnemonics.html

BSPS is easy to remember and stands for bow (front), stern/aft (rear), port (left) and starboard (right).   Find ten sailing terms at http://www.discoverboating.com/resources/article.aspx?id=243

HOMES is easy to remember and stands for names of the Great Lakes:  Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior.

Spring forward, fall back reminds us to set clocks forward an hour in the spring to enter Daylight Saving Time and turn them back an hour in the fall to leave Daylight Saving Time.

Reader feedback  I heard an amusing turn of phrase today by a financial analyst referring to the answer of the CEO of the troubled J.C. Penney to the question of whether it would have positive cash flow for 2014:   I believe that stammer speaks for itself. 

Issue 1120  March 10, 2014  On this date in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell made the first successful telephone call by saying "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you."  In 2006, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrived at Mars.  In 1966, singer-songwriter Edie Arlisa Brickell was born.