General Motors Co. is prepared to wait until next week before making a decision on the future of the Saab unit as it reviews remaining bids, according to Paul Aakerlund, a Saab board member. GM told Saab last week that it would wind down the Swedish brand and simultaneously continue talks with bidders about a sale, said Aakerlund, who also heads the IF Metall union at Saab. Talks to sell Saab to Spyker Cars NV collapsed Dec. 18 and Spyker Chief Executive Officer Victor Muller blamed the failed deal partly on a “strict deadline” for an agreement by the end of this month. The Dutch carmaker submitted a new offer Dec. 20. “It’s our understanding that if there’s a bid that GM finds sufficiently interesting, then the 31st of December is not a date that’s holy,” Aakerlund said in a telephone interview. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2009-12-29/gm-likely-to-decide-on-saab-s-future-next-week-aakerlund-says.html
LLRX.com: Understanding the Limitations - and Maximizing the Value- of eBooks: The holiday season is here, and many signs suggest that thousands of people are finding themselves new owners of electronic book ("eBook") readers. Whether it's an Amazon Kindle, a Barnes & Noble Nook, a Sony Reader, or any of the less heavily advertised devices currently on the market, electronic book readers are being trumpeted as a product that has finally hit the mainstream after years on the bleeding-edge. eBook readers, in fact, do have the potential to radically reshape how books are read. Equally important, according to Conrad J. Jacoby, they are already reshaping how books are bought and owned.
It's been a tradition since 1907. But the annual New Year's Eve ball drop in New York's Times Square is getting a couple of new wrinkles this time around. The first has to do with the ball itself. T he 300 Waterford crystal triangles have been shaped into a new design. Organizers of the celebration say the crystals will be in an interlocking ribbon pattern, woven into a Celtic knot. http://www.wzzm13.com/news/watercooler/story.aspx?storyid=117016&catid=82
Census Bureau: Texas Gains the Most in Population
News release: "Texas gained more people than any other state between July 1, 2008, and July 1, 2009 (478,000), followed by California (381,000), North Carolina (134,000), Georgia (131,000) and Florida (114,000), according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates. California remained the most populous state, with a July 1, 2009, population of 37 million. Rounding out the top five states were Texas (24.8 million), New York (19.5 million), Florida (18.5 million) and Illinois (12.9 million)."
Federal Digital System Adds Public Papers of U.S. Presidents, CFR, Precedents of the House of Representatives
"GPO is pleased to announce the release of the following collections into the Federal Digital System (FDsys)":
Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States (1991 to 2005)
Code of Federal Regulations (2007 to 2009)
Precedents of the United States House of Representatives (as part of the GPO Federal Publications collection)
Senate Health Care Bill - The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed in the Senate on December 24, 2009. [Note - 2409 pages, PDF]
News release: "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released enforcement results for fiscal year 2009, and has developed a new Web-based tool and interactive map that allows the public to get detailed information by location about the enforcement actions taken at approximately 4,600 facilities. The new mapping tool allows the public to view the locations of facilities that were the subject of enforcement actions on interactive maps of the U.S. and territories. The maps show facilities where civil enforcement actions were taken for environmental laws for air, water, and land pollution, and a separate map shows criminal enforcement actions."
onomatomania (on-uh-mat-uh-MAY-nee-uh) noun
an obsession with particular words or names and desire to recall or repeat them
via Latin, from Greek onoma (name) + -mania (excessive enthusiasm or craze).
acrophobia (ak-ruh-FOH-bee-uh) noun
an abnormal fear of heights.
from Greek acro- (height, tip) + -phobia (fear). Some related words are acronym (a word formed with the tips of other words), acrobat (one who walks on tiptoes), and acropolis (a city built on high ground). A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
Feedback to A.Word.A.Day
From: J-Mag Guthrie (j-mag@brokersys.com)
Subject: onomatomania
an obsession with particular words or names and desire to recall or repeat them
A haiku or senryu consists of three lines of words ... the first and third lines are five syllables, and the second line is seven. It's an interesting challenge to write these forms with the second line containing only a seven-syllable word.
Over and over
Onomatomania
Over and over
From: Jamie Spencer (jspencer@stlcc.edu)
Subject: fear and trembling: astraphobia
an abnormal fear of lightning and thunder
A friend of my parents was a fan of James Joyce and visited him at his Paris apartment in the 30s. Apparently a storm was in progress and Joyce, he learned, had an intense case of astraphobia. The great writer literally shook in fear of the thunder throughout their visit.
Drugs of abuse information from National Institute on Drug Abuse
http://www.nida.nih.gov/drugpages/ also leads to articles on related topics
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
EPA Adopts Strong Standards for Large Ships to Curb Air Pollution
News release: "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finalized a rule setting tough engine and fuel standards for large U.S.-flagged ships, a major milestone in the agency’s coordinated strategy to slash harmful marine diesel emissions. The regulation harmonizes with international standards and will lead to significant air quality improvements throughout the country."
New GAO Reports
International Space Station, Medicaid, Nursing Homes
International Space Station: Significant Challenges May Limit Onboard Research, GAO-10-9, November 25, 2009
Medicaid: Ongoing Federal Oversight of Payments to Offset Uncompensated Hospital Care Costs Is Warranted, GAO-10-69, November 20, 2009
Nursing Homes: Opportunities Exist to Facilitate the Use of the Temporary Management Sanction, GAO-10-37R, November 20, 2009
Who is that masked man?
The Lone Ranger's last name is "Reid," because his brother who was killed in an ambush by the Cavendish Gang was named Dan Reid. (This is also the name of the Lone Ranger's nephew, although we do not know what his true first name was. His mother was killed in an Indian attack and the kindly woman who raised him got the name Dan from a locket that Dan's mother had worn.) No first name was given to the Lone Ranger during the radio and television program. http://www.endeavorcomics.com/largent/ranger/faq.html
Don Diego is Zorro. The story began with The Curse of Capistrano in 1919.
http://www.zorrolegend.com/development.html
Voltaire claimed that the identity of the Man in the Iron Mask was so obvious that it wasn't even necessary to state his name. He theorised that this man was indeed a brother of Louis XIV, not a twin but an older brother, son of the queen, his mother, but not of his father Louis XIII, whose existence would have complicated the line of succession. This enigmatic figure had originally been imprisoned at Pignerol and then St Margaret's Island before being transferred to the Bastille in 1698. There is still no definitive answer as to his identity. Historically, Voltaire was the first to record the Man in the Iron Mask, in an authenticated history entitled Siècle de Louis XIV. He records that a man who was never seen, except when his face was hidden by an iron mask, was transferred to the Bastille in 1698 and died there in 1703 at about the age of 60. It is thought that the existence of this mysterious figure was only brought to the notice of the general public after the storming of the Bastille by rioting citizens in 1789. During the insurrection they discovered a strange entry in the records of the Bastille that referred to a prisoner, number 64389000, described as the 'Man in the Iron Mask'. Those citizens had obviously not been reading Voltaire, as this notable writer and philosopher, who had written about this mystery, had already been dead for 11 years. The good citizens did discover, however, that the man had been buried under the name of Marchioli. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A293230
On New Year's Eve, when merrymakers crowd the streets, a blue moon will shine over their festive heads - bringing to the holiday both a night-sky rarity and a decades-old quibble. Most plainly, a blue moon means seldom ractically never. It's shorthand for an event that happens so infrequently you might as well wait for the big white pumpkin in the sky to change color. But the meaning and roots of the phrase are tangled up in error and dispute. Pick your own explanation and raise a glass to Earth's lonely satellite. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/health_science/story/258491.html
"America's poet" is a term sometimes used for the Poet Laureate of the United States. It has also been used for Robert Frost, Walt Whitman and Johnny Mercer.
Comic strip humor
Is "hearprint" a term? (response to the word hearsay) Get Fuzzy Dec. 21, 2009
I found the yule clog. (tree lights all tangled) Crankshaft Dec. 22, 2009
Shortened words
droid from android
blub from blubber
burbs from suburbs
meds from medications /medicines
vid from video
comp from computer/compensation
app from application
blog from weblog
The trick of jump-starting the cooking of foods that take longer to cook is a good one. Use it with other vegetables that you want to roast such as chunks of squash, carrots, turnips, rutabaga and such. Just microwave a few minutes then spread out on a shallow sheet pan to finish roasting in the oven. Keep an eye out for yellow or red turnips; they are sweeter and milder than the traditional varieties and taste great mashed with a little butter and nutmeg. The Splendid Table December 23, 2009
News release: "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finalized a rule setting tough engine and fuel standards for large U.S.-flagged ships, a major milestone in the agency’s coordinated strategy to slash harmful marine diesel emissions. The regulation harmonizes with international standards and will lead to significant air quality improvements throughout the country."
New GAO Reports
International Space Station, Medicaid, Nursing Homes
International Space Station: Significant Challenges May Limit Onboard Research, GAO-10-9, November 25, 2009
Medicaid: Ongoing Federal Oversight of Payments to Offset Uncompensated Hospital Care Costs Is Warranted, GAO-10-69, November 20, 2009
Nursing Homes: Opportunities Exist to Facilitate the Use of the Temporary Management Sanction, GAO-10-37R, November 20, 2009
Who is that masked man?
The Lone Ranger's last name is "Reid," because his brother who was killed in an ambush by the Cavendish Gang was named Dan Reid. (This is also the name of the Lone Ranger's nephew, although we do not know what his true first name was. His mother was killed in an Indian attack and the kindly woman who raised him got the name Dan from a locket that Dan's mother had worn.) No first name was given to the Lone Ranger during the radio and television program. http://www.endeavorcomics.com/largent/ranger/faq.html
Don Diego is Zorro. The story began with The Curse of Capistrano in 1919.
http://www.zorrolegend.com/development.html
Voltaire claimed that the identity of the Man in the Iron Mask was so obvious that it wasn't even necessary to state his name. He theorised that this man was indeed a brother of Louis XIV, not a twin but an older brother, son of the queen, his mother, but not of his father Louis XIII, whose existence would have complicated the line of succession. This enigmatic figure had originally been imprisoned at Pignerol and then St Margaret's Island before being transferred to the Bastille in 1698. There is still no definitive answer as to his identity. Historically, Voltaire was the first to record the Man in the Iron Mask, in an authenticated history entitled Siècle de Louis XIV. He records that a man who was never seen, except when his face was hidden by an iron mask, was transferred to the Bastille in 1698 and died there in 1703 at about the age of 60. It is thought that the existence of this mysterious figure was only brought to the notice of the general public after the storming of the Bastille by rioting citizens in 1789. During the insurrection they discovered a strange entry in the records of the Bastille that referred to a prisoner, number 64389000, described as the 'Man in the Iron Mask'. Those citizens had obviously not been reading Voltaire, as this notable writer and philosopher, who had written about this mystery, had already been dead for 11 years. The good citizens did discover, however, that the man had been buried under the name of Marchioli. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A293230
On New Year's Eve, when merrymakers crowd the streets, a blue moon will shine over their festive heads - bringing to the holiday both a night-sky rarity and a decades-old quibble. Most plainly, a blue moon means seldom ractically never. It's shorthand for an event that happens so infrequently you might as well wait for the big white pumpkin in the sky to change color. But the meaning and roots of the phrase are tangled up in error and dispute. Pick your own explanation and raise a glass to Earth's lonely satellite. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/health_science/story/258491.html
"America's poet" is a term sometimes used for the Poet Laureate of the United States. It has also been used for Robert Frost, Walt Whitman and Johnny Mercer.
Comic strip humor
Is "hearprint" a term? (response to the word hearsay) Get Fuzzy Dec. 21, 2009
I found the yule clog. (tree lights all tangled) Crankshaft Dec. 22, 2009
Shortened words
droid from android
blub from blubber
burbs from suburbs
meds from medications /medicines
vid from video
comp from computer/compensation
app from application
blog from weblog
The trick of jump-starting the cooking of foods that take longer to cook is a good one. Use it with other vegetables that you want to roast such as chunks of squash, carrots, turnips, rutabaga and such. Just microwave a few minutes then spread out on a shallow sheet pan to finish roasting in the oven. Keep an eye out for yellow or red turnips; they are sweeter and milder than the traditional varieties and taste great mashed with a little butter and nutmeg. The Splendid Table December 23, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Occupational Outlook Handbook and Career Guide to Industries. 2010-11 Editions, Now Online News release: "The 2010-11 editions of the Occupational Outlook Handbook and the Career Guide to Industries were released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Handbook and the Career Guide can be accessed online at www.bls.gov/oco and www.bls.gov/oco/cg, respectively. The print version of the Occupational Outlook Handbook is expected to be available in the spring of 2010. Considered the Government's premier source of career information, the Handbook and Career Guide profile hundreds of occupations and dozens of industries, respectively. Both publications provide comprehensive, up-to-date, and reliable labor market information that has helped millions of people plan their future work lives. In addition, this information has proven invaluable to counselors, students, jobseekers, career changers, education and training officials, and researchers."
100 notable books of 2009 by The New York Times Book Review
http://www.nytimes.com/gift-guide/holiday-2009/100-notable-books-of-2009-gift-guide/list.html
The ten best books of 2009 by The New York Times Book Review
http://www.nytimes.com/gift-guide/holiday-2009/10-best-gift-guide-sub/list.html
Six-foot tall Torvald Alexander, 38, just back from a New Year's costume party, was wearing a red cape and the Norse god Thor's silver-winged helmet when he spotted the raider in his front room rifling through a desk. Mr. Alexander, who runs building firm Alexander & Summers in Edinburgh, Scotland, said the burglar threw himself out of a first floor window of his £350,000 home in the Inverleith area of the city after being caught red handed.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/4059789/Burglar-scared-off-by-man-dressed-as-Thor-after-New-Year-party.html The story is a year old, but good enough to relate now.
Thor movie to be released July 2010: http://www.comicbookmovie.com/thor/
Another good year-old story Puzzle fan Graham Parker has finally solved his Rubik's Cube after 26 years' worth of attempts. Friends offered to solve it for him but he "had to do it himself."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4217732/Rubiks-Cube-finally-solved-after-26-years-by-avid-fan.html
Quote
Our land is everything to us... I will tell you one of the things we remember on our land. We remember that our grandfathers paid for it - with their lives.
John Wooden Legs - late 19th c. Cheyenne
http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Wisdom/JohnWoodenLegs.html
This quote has been mistakenly attributed to UCLA basketball coach John Wooden.
Mesopotamia is a region, not a country.
In the narrow sense, Mesopotamia is the area between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, north or northwest of the bottleneck at Baghdad, in modern Iraq; it is Al-Jazirah ("The Island") of the Arabs. South of this lies Babylonia, named after the city of Babylon. However, in the broader sense, the name Mesopotamia has come to be used for the area bounded on the northeast by the Zagros Mountains and on the southwest by the edge of the Arabian Plateau and stretching from the Persian Gulf in the southeast to the spurs of the Anti-Taurus Mountains in the northwest.
http://history-world.org/mesopotamia_a_place_to_start.htm
Timeline B.C.
3500 Sumerians settle on banks of Euphrates
3000 Introduction of pictographs to keep administrative records.
1700 Hammurabi brings most of Mesopotamia under his control, and introduces law code. http://history-world.org/mesopotamia_9000.htm
Besides establishing a highly efficient agriculture, the Sumerians invented new materials including glass and became outstanding glaziers. They were also metal- workers using gold, silver, copper and bronze. But without doubt the most important invention of these competent people was the wheel.
http://ancienthistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/sumer_the_birth_of_civilisation
100 notable books of 2009 by The New York Times Book Review
http://www.nytimes.com/gift-guide/holiday-2009/100-notable-books-of-2009-gift-guide/list.html
The ten best books of 2009 by The New York Times Book Review
http://www.nytimes.com/gift-guide/holiday-2009/10-best-gift-guide-sub/list.html
Six-foot tall Torvald Alexander, 38, just back from a New Year's costume party, was wearing a red cape and the Norse god Thor's silver-winged helmet when he spotted the raider in his front room rifling through a desk. Mr. Alexander, who runs building firm Alexander & Summers in Edinburgh, Scotland, said the burglar threw himself out of a first floor window of his £350,000 home in the Inverleith area of the city after being caught red handed.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/4059789/Burglar-scared-off-by-man-dressed-as-Thor-after-New-Year-party.html The story is a year old, but good enough to relate now.
Thor movie to be released July 2010: http://www.comicbookmovie.com/thor/
Another good year-old story Puzzle fan Graham Parker has finally solved his Rubik's Cube after 26 years' worth of attempts. Friends offered to solve it for him but he "had to do it himself."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4217732/Rubiks-Cube-finally-solved-after-26-years-by-avid-fan.html
Quote
Our land is everything to us... I will tell you one of the things we remember on our land. We remember that our grandfathers paid for it - with their lives.
John Wooden Legs - late 19th c. Cheyenne
http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Wisdom/JohnWoodenLegs.html
This quote has been mistakenly attributed to UCLA basketball coach John Wooden.
Mesopotamia is a region, not a country.
In the narrow sense, Mesopotamia is the area between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, north or northwest of the bottleneck at Baghdad, in modern Iraq; it is Al-Jazirah ("The Island") of the Arabs. South of this lies Babylonia, named after the city of Babylon. However, in the broader sense, the name Mesopotamia has come to be used for the area bounded on the northeast by the Zagros Mountains and on the southwest by the edge of the Arabian Plateau and stretching from the Persian Gulf in the southeast to the spurs of the Anti-Taurus Mountains in the northwest.
http://history-world.org/mesopotamia_a_place_to_start.htm
Timeline B.C.
3500 Sumerians settle on banks of Euphrates
3000 Introduction of pictographs to keep administrative records.
1700 Hammurabi brings most of Mesopotamia under his control, and introduces law code. http://history-world.org/mesopotamia_9000.htm
Besides establishing a highly efficient agriculture, the Sumerians invented new materials including glass and became outstanding glaziers. They were also metal- workers using gold, silver, copper and bronze. But without doubt the most important invention of these competent people was the wheel.
http://ancienthistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/sumer_the_birth_of_civilisation
Monday, December 21, 2009
Saab Story Auto enthusiasts across the country were dismayed by the news December 18 that General Motors was planning to shut down Saab, the Swedish carmaker it bought two decades ago, after a deal to sell it fell apart. Even with its modest and steadily declining sales, Saab long stood out as a powerful brand in spite of itself. “It wasn’t designed to be a fashion statement,” said Ron Pinelli, president of Autodata, which tracks industry statistics. “ It was designed to provide transportation under miserable weather conditions.” But in the process, Saab became a statement of its own. Saab had taut steering, requiring drivers to actively guide the car as it powered through ice and snow. Priced several thousand dollars above Japanese rivals, Saabs featured front-wheel drive and turbo-charged engines, and many were sold with manual transmissions.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/19/business/19brand.html
EPA Releases First-Ever Baseline Study of U.S. Lakes
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released its most comprehensive study of the nation’s lakes to date. The draft study, which rated the condition of 56 percent of the lakes in the United States as good and the remainder as fair or poor, marked the first time EPA and its partners used a nationally consistent approach to survey the ecological and water quality of lakes. A total of 1,028 lakes were randomly sampled during 2007 by states, tribes and EPA.
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2010, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:
50 cents per mile for business miles driven
16.5 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes
14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-09-54.pdf
In 2009, 275 new magazines were launched while 428 ceased publication, according to MediaFinder.com- the largest online database of U.S. and Canadian publications. Regional magazines topped the list of new launches with 21 new titles, such as Maine Magazine and B-metro Birmingham, while it also topped the list of ceased publications (34), with titles such Atlanta Life and Denver Living. http://mediafinder.com/public.cfm?page=pressReleases/275%20new%20magazines%20launch%20and%20428%20fold%20in%202009
On the morning of Dec. 8, several dozen volunteer newsies spread out across San Francisco to hawk copies of the city's brand new newspaper, the San Francisco Panorama. The 320-page doorstop, printed in full color on old-fashioned broadsheet paper, sold for $5 on the street and $16 in bookstores. With articles by Stephen King, Michael Chabon and Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist Robert Porterfield, the Panorama was an homage to the increasingly threatened—some would say obsolete—institution of print journalism. The paper's entire print run sold out in less than 90 minutes. Read more: http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1947391,00.html#ixzz0aA2u55QZ
The Naperville (Illinois) Public Library Board has decided to offer an “Internet Only” card to the public. The card would allow members of Prior to this decision, only Naperville Public Library card holders could have extended use of these machines. The Internet Only card will cost $50 for 12 months of service. This fee allows purchasers to use all the library's computer resources — broadband speed on the actual computers as well as access to the subscription databases — for up to three hours a day
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/1945632,Library-Internet-only-card-NA121709.article
Guide to green wrapping for gifts
1. Use scrap paper. Wrap with tissue paper, newspaper comics (for kids' gifts) or travel pages (for adult ones), colorful magazine pages, road maps, take-out menus, wall calendars, phone book listings, brown grocery shopping bags. Don't hesitate to make a collage if one piece is too small.
2. Try fabric. You can wrap gifts in a light blanket or scarf. If you're crafty, make a cloth sack.
3. Use gift bags/holiday gift boxes. These can be reused.
4. Reuse wrappings. Carefully unwrap a gift and save whatever paper isn't torn. Fold it up or put in a poster tube and stash away for next year.
5. Wrap gifts in gifts. Kitchen towels, for example, can hold kitchen utensils. A new kids backpack can contain toys.
6. Recycle whatever possible. Check, though, with your local recycling program to see if they accept traditional wrapping paper.
7. Use cereal boxes. Top with a ribbon or gift tag for a festive look.
8. Or baskets. Buy used, pretty ones from your local thrift store.
9. Buy recycled paper. Numerous companies sells attractive ones with recycled content, including hemp. Among them: paporganics; savitris ; KidBean; greenpaperstudio.com; fishlipspaperdesigns.com.
10. Don't buy stuff to wrap. Treat your friends or relatives to experiences, such as afternoon tea or massages (see my earlier holiday gift guide) or do something special for them, such as cleaning their car or babysitting their kids.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2009/12/go-green-save-green-with-christmas-gift-wrapping-alternatives/1
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/19/business/19brand.html
EPA Releases First-Ever Baseline Study of U.S. Lakes
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released its most comprehensive study of the nation’s lakes to date. The draft study, which rated the condition of 56 percent of the lakes in the United States as good and the remainder as fair or poor, marked the first time EPA and its partners used a nationally consistent approach to survey the ecological and water quality of lakes. A total of 1,028 lakes were randomly sampled during 2007 by states, tribes and EPA.
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2010, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:
50 cents per mile for business miles driven
16.5 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes
14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-09-54.pdf
In 2009, 275 new magazines were launched while 428 ceased publication, according to MediaFinder.com- the largest online database of U.S. and Canadian publications. Regional magazines topped the list of new launches with 21 new titles, such as Maine Magazine and B-metro Birmingham, while it also topped the list of ceased publications (34), with titles such Atlanta Life and Denver Living. http://mediafinder.com/public.cfm?page=pressReleases/275%20new%20magazines%20launch%20and%20428%20fold%20in%202009
On the morning of Dec. 8, several dozen volunteer newsies spread out across San Francisco to hawk copies of the city's brand new newspaper, the San Francisco Panorama. The 320-page doorstop, printed in full color on old-fashioned broadsheet paper, sold for $5 on the street and $16 in bookstores. With articles by Stephen King, Michael Chabon and Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist Robert Porterfield, the Panorama was an homage to the increasingly threatened—some would say obsolete—institution of print journalism. The paper's entire print run sold out in less than 90 minutes. Read more: http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1947391,00.html#ixzz0aA2u55QZ
The Naperville (Illinois) Public Library Board has decided to offer an “Internet Only” card to the public. The card would allow members of Prior to this decision, only Naperville Public Library card holders could have extended use of these machines. The Internet Only card will cost $50 for 12 months of service. This fee allows purchasers to use all the library's computer resources — broadband speed on the actual computers as well as access to the subscription databases — for up to three hours a day
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/1945632,Library-Internet-only-card-NA121709.article
Guide to green wrapping for gifts
1. Use scrap paper. Wrap with tissue paper, newspaper comics (for kids' gifts) or travel pages (for adult ones), colorful magazine pages, road maps, take-out menus, wall calendars, phone book listings, brown grocery shopping bags. Don't hesitate to make a collage if one piece is too small.
2. Try fabric. You can wrap gifts in a light blanket or scarf. If you're crafty, make a cloth sack.
3. Use gift bags/holiday gift boxes. These can be reused.
4. Reuse wrappings. Carefully unwrap a gift and save whatever paper isn't torn. Fold it up or put in a poster tube and stash away for next year.
5. Wrap gifts in gifts. Kitchen towels, for example, can hold kitchen utensils. A new kids backpack can contain toys.
6. Recycle whatever possible. Check, though, with your local recycling program to see if they accept traditional wrapping paper.
7. Use cereal boxes. Top with a ribbon or gift tag for a festive look.
8. Or baskets. Buy used, pretty ones from your local thrift store.
9. Buy recycled paper. Numerous companies sells attractive ones with recycled content, including hemp. Among them: paporganics; savitris ; KidBean; greenpaperstudio.com; fishlipspaperdesigns.com.
10. Don't buy stuff to wrap. Treat your friends or relatives to experiences, such as afternoon tea or massages (see my earlier holiday gift guide) or do something special for them, such as cleaning their car or babysitting their kids.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2009/12/go-green-save-green-with-christmas-gift-wrapping-alternatives/1
Friday, December 18, 2009
Geography facts
More than half of the coastline of the entire United States is in Alaska.
The Amazon rainforest produces more than 20% the world's oxygen supply.
Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country.
Canada has more lakes than any other country, making up much of the worlds fresh water. Canada is an Indian word meaning "Big Village."
Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, carries the designation M-1, so named because it was the first paved road anywhere.
Istanbul, Turkey, is the only city in the world located on two continents.
The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was Rome, Italy in 133 B.C. There is a city called Rome on every continent. See more fact at:
http://nowthatsnifty.blogspot.com/2009/12/interesting-geography-facts-and-tidbits.html Thanks, Bill.
Fourscore is an adjective originating in the 13th century meaning four times twenty or eighty. Its most famous use is in the first word of ten sentences spoken by Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Gettysburg_Address/
Ludovic Lazarus Zamenhof (pronounced /ˈzɑːmɨnhɒf/ in English; born Eliezer Levi Samenhof, December 15, 1859 – April 14, 1917) was an ophthalmologist, philologist, and the inventor of Esperanto, a constructed language designed for international communication.In 1910, Zamenhof was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, by four British Members of Parliament (including James O'Grady, Philip Snowden) and Professor Stanley Lane Poole.[9] (The Prize was instead awarded to the International Peace Bureau.) The minor planet (1462) Zamenhof is named in his honor. It was discovered on February 6, 1938 by Yrjö Väisälä. Also, hundreds of city streets, parks, and bridges worldwide have been named after Zamenhof[10]. In Lithuania, the best-known Zamenhof Street is in Kaunas, where he lived and owned a house for some time. There are others in France, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain (mostly in Catalonia), Italy, Israel, and Brazil. There are Zamenhof Hills in Hungary and Brazil, and a Zamenhof Island in the Danube River.[11] Zamenhof is honored as a deity by the Japanese religion Oomoto, which encourages the use of Esperanto among its followers. Also, a genus of lichen has been named Zamenhofia rosei in his honour.[12] His birthday, December 15, is celebrated annually as Zamenhof Day by users of Esperanto.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._L._Zamenhof
Census Bureau Releases 2010 Statistical Abstract Depicting the State of Our Nation
Texting More Than Doubles in the Last Year: "How r u? The way we communicate is rapidly evolving, as evidenced by the fact that the number of text messages sent on cell phones has more than doubled from 48 billion in December 2007 to 110 billion in December 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010. The Statistical Abstract, aka “Uncle Sam’s Almanac,” perennially the federal government’s best-selling reference book, has been published since 1878 — before automobiles, airplanes and motion pictures had even been invented. Contained in the 129th edition are more than 1,400 tables of social, political and economic facts which collectively describe the state of our nation and the world. Included are 53 new tables, covering topics such as worldwide space launch events this decade, the use of complementary and alternative medicine, the type of work flexibility provided to employees, employment status of veterans and road fatalities by country."
See also Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project: Teens and Sexting, December 2009
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational employment projections to 2018
Occupational employment projections to 2018: "Professional and related occupations and service occupations are expected to create more new jobs than all other occupational groups from 2008 to 2018; in addition, growth will be faster among occupations for which postsecondary education is the most significant form of education or training, and, across all occupations, replacement needs will create many more job openings than will job growth...Total employment, a measure of all jobs in the U.S. economy, is projected to increase by 15.3 million over the 2008–18 period, representing a growth rate of 10.1 percent. Among occupational groups, strong employment growth is expected in healthcare occupations and in computer-related occupations, whereas employment in production occupations as well as farming, fishing, and forestry occupations is expected to decline."
Condemned in Illinois
While living in Bloomington, Illinois, I put out my worn garbage can. When I went to retrieve it, I found that garbage collectors had turned it over, and taped a note to the bottom that said CONDEMNED.
Peas (Petits Pois)
1 small head lettuce
2 c. fresh peas
12 pearl onions
4 parsley sprigs
4 oz. butter
1/4 c. water
1 t salt
Pinch sugar
Remove outer leaves from the head of lettuce and remove stem. Cut lettuce head into quarters. Tie quarters together with kitchen string and place in a large pot. Add the peas and peeled pearl onions. Tie parsley sprigs together with fine kitchen string and place on top. Cut up butter and sprinkle on top of vegetables. Pour in the water. Sprinkle on the salt and sugar. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes over medium-low heat. Make sure water does not completely evaporate. Remove parsley and string from lettuce before serving. http://www.globalgourmet.com/destinations/france/peas.html
On December 18, 1944, the US Supreme Court decided Korematsu v. United States, upholding the wartime relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps. Read Executive Order 9066, issued by President Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, under which the internments were authorized. View photos from the Japanese American internment camps, collected by the University of Utah Library....." [more]
The Islamic calendar was created 1,414 lunar years ago (which is 1,371 years ago by the 2009 calendar's standards). And today—December 18, 2009 A.D.—is New Year's Day, 1431 A.H., in the Islamic calendar. The Writer's Almanac
More than half of the coastline of the entire United States is in Alaska.
The Amazon rainforest produces more than 20% the world's oxygen supply.
Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country.
Canada has more lakes than any other country, making up much of the worlds fresh water. Canada is an Indian word meaning "Big Village."
Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, carries the designation M-1, so named because it was the first paved road anywhere.
Istanbul, Turkey, is the only city in the world located on two continents.
The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was Rome, Italy in 133 B.C. There is a city called Rome on every continent. See more fact at:
http://nowthatsnifty.blogspot.com/2009/12/interesting-geography-facts-and-tidbits.html Thanks, Bill.
Fourscore is an adjective originating in the 13th century meaning four times twenty or eighty. Its most famous use is in the first word of ten sentences spoken by Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Gettysburg_Address/
Ludovic Lazarus Zamenhof (pronounced /ˈzɑːmɨnhɒf/ in English; born Eliezer Levi Samenhof, December 15, 1859 – April 14, 1917) was an ophthalmologist, philologist, and the inventor of Esperanto, a constructed language designed for international communication.In 1910, Zamenhof was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, by four British Members of Parliament (including James O'Grady, Philip Snowden) and Professor Stanley Lane Poole.[9] (The Prize was instead awarded to the International Peace Bureau.) The minor planet (1462) Zamenhof is named in his honor. It was discovered on February 6, 1938 by Yrjö Väisälä. Also, hundreds of city streets, parks, and bridges worldwide have been named after Zamenhof[10]. In Lithuania, the best-known Zamenhof Street is in Kaunas, where he lived and owned a house for some time. There are others in France, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain (mostly in Catalonia), Italy, Israel, and Brazil. There are Zamenhof Hills in Hungary and Brazil, and a Zamenhof Island in the Danube River.[11] Zamenhof is honored as a deity by the Japanese religion Oomoto, which encourages the use of Esperanto among its followers. Also, a genus of lichen has been named Zamenhofia rosei in his honour.[12] His birthday, December 15, is celebrated annually as Zamenhof Day by users of Esperanto.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._L._Zamenhof
Census Bureau Releases 2010 Statistical Abstract Depicting the State of Our Nation
Texting More Than Doubles in the Last Year: "How r u? The way we communicate is rapidly evolving, as evidenced by the fact that the number of text messages sent on cell phones has more than doubled from 48 billion in December 2007 to 110 billion in December 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010. The Statistical Abstract, aka “Uncle Sam’s Almanac,” perennially the federal government’s best-selling reference book, has been published since 1878 — before automobiles, airplanes and motion pictures had even been invented. Contained in the 129th edition are more than 1,400 tables of social, political and economic facts which collectively describe the state of our nation and the world. Included are 53 new tables, covering topics such as worldwide space launch events this decade, the use of complementary and alternative medicine, the type of work flexibility provided to employees, employment status of veterans and road fatalities by country."
See also Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project: Teens and Sexting, December 2009
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational employment projections to 2018
Occupational employment projections to 2018: "Professional and related occupations and service occupations are expected to create more new jobs than all other occupational groups from 2008 to 2018; in addition, growth will be faster among occupations for which postsecondary education is the most significant form of education or training, and, across all occupations, replacement needs will create many more job openings than will job growth...Total employment, a measure of all jobs in the U.S. economy, is projected to increase by 15.3 million over the 2008–18 period, representing a growth rate of 10.1 percent. Among occupational groups, strong employment growth is expected in healthcare occupations and in computer-related occupations, whereas employment in production occupations as well as farming, fishing, and forestry occupations is expected to decline."
Condemned in Illinois
While living in Bloomington, Illinois, I put out my worn garbage can. When I went to retrieve it, I found that garbage collectors had turned it over, and taped a note to the bottom that said CONDEMNED.
Peas (Petits Pois)
1 small head lettuce
2 c. fresh peas
12 pearl onions
4 parsley sprigs
4 oz. butter
1/4 c. water
1 t salt
Pinch sugar
Remove outer leaves from the head of lettuce and remove stem. Cut lettuce head into quarters. Tie quarters together with kitchen string and place in a large pot. Add the peas and peeled pearl onions. Tie parsley sprigs together with fine kitchen string and place on top. Cut up butter and sprinkle on top of vegetables. Pour in the water. Sprinkle on the salt and sugar. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes over medium-low heat. Make sure water does not completely evaporate. Remove parsley and string from lettuce before serving. http://www.globalgourmet.com/destinations/france/peas.html
On December 18, 1944, the US Supreme Court decided Korematsu v. United States, upholding the wartime relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps. Read Executive Order 9066, issued by President Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, under which the internments were authorized. View photos from the Japanese American internment camps, collected by the University of Utah Library....." [more]
The Islamic calendar was created 1,414 lunar years ago (which is 1,371 years ago by the 2009 calendar's standards). And today—December 18, 2009 A.D.—is New Year's Day, 1431 A.H., in the Islamic calendar. The Writer's Almanac
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Octopuses have been discovered tip-toeing with coconut-shell halves suctioned to their undersides, then reassembling the halves and disappearing inside for protection or deception, a new study says. The coconut-carrying behavior makes the veined octopus the newest member of the elite club of tool-using animals—and the first member without a backbone, researchers say.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/12/091214-octopus-carries-coconuts-coconut-carrying.html
Transcript of Wide Ranging Three Hour Interview with Al Gore
Jose Antonio Vargas, Technology and Innovations editor, Huffington Post: "This is the transcript of a wide-ranging, two-part, three-hour interview with Al Gore, touching on the impact of technology and the Internet in politics, both in the U.S. and abroad; the state of the mainstream media and the left and right blogosphere; the role of the Web in spreading the facts about global warming, among others topics. The interviews were held in early and late October, first in the San Francisco offices of Current TV, then in his geothermal system-powered home in Nashville, which is certified as Gold LEED, one of the highest ratings for green design. An excerpt of the Q&A appeared in the Dec. 10, 2009 issue of Rolling Stone."
T.J. Wisner used to buy a small Christmas tree for the downstairs floor of his home in Grand Blanc, Mich. Four years ago, though, after getting the idea from an art fair, he opted for something different: a "beer tree," bottles of holiday brews stacked on a terraced mound of inverted metal buckets. While the family has a separate artificial tree upstairs, the "beer tree" has become the real Christmas tree. Each year, the Wisners decorate the structure with Christmas cards and pile gifts around it. "This is actually where we have Christmas morning," says Mr. Wisner, a 59-year-old life coach and speaker. "The day after Christmas, we blind taste the beers."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704825504574585861970052566.html
Deep Web Research 2010: Marcus P. Zillman is a an internet search expert whose extensive knowledge of how to leverage the "invisible" or "deep" web is exemplified in this guide. The Deep Web covers somewhere in the vicinity of 1 trillion pages of information located through the world wide web in various files and formats. Current search engines are able to locate around 200 billion pages. Marcus identifies sources to mitigate the odds on behalf of serious searchers.
The Yale Book of Quotations Most Notable Quotes 2009 by Fred Shapiro
1. "Keep your government hands off my Medicare." Speaker at health care reform town hall meeting in Simpsonville, S.C., commenting on the government-created Medicare program, quoted by The Washington Post on July 28
2. "We're going to be in the Hudson." Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, responding to air traffic controllers asking on which runway he preferred to land US Airways Flight 1549 on Jan. 15 before he landed in the Hudson River.
See article and other quotes at: http://www.thestate.com/politics/story/1074336.html
Ode to soy
Studies have long shown that adding soy to a low-fat diet may help reduce your risk of heart disease. According to The American Heart Association, 25 grams of soy protein per day is needed to show significant cholesterol-lowering effects. See more health tips and also recipes at: http://www.dole.com/nutritioninstitute//DNIPUBNEWSLETTERS/DNI_NL20040419.htm
Breakfast is your first meal of the day, whether you eat it at 9 a.m. or 4 p.m. To my mind, you can't "skip breakfast," because the word comes from "break the fast."
Breakfast around the world Culinary imports to the breakfast table in the heartland of America are often of German or Scandinavian origin, and many of these involve a sensible hashing together of various ingredients (especially meat) to use up leftovers and create a delicious meal. For example, scrapple, a Pennsylvania Dutch side dish, is made by cooking a mixture of pork scraps, cornmeal, and herbs into a mush, pressing it into a mold, then cutting the loaf into slices and frying them before serving. The good old-fashioned, pre-healthfood breakfast is alive and well in the South. Many people still start their days with grits slathered with butter or red-eye gravy (which is, essentially, bacon grease mixed with the active "red-eye" ingredient, coffee); biscuits made with lard; a thick slice of country ham, as big around as the plate it is served on (or bacon, or a few slices of spicy pork sausage); crisp, fried hash brown potatoes; and a bottomless cup of coffee. In the western states one can still find hearty frontier "grub" in the form of the Irish-influenced corned beef hash and eggs breakfast (originally the eggs would always have been fried, but now, to class the dish up a bit, they might be poached). Hearty omelets, with plenty of eggs and lots of filling, are also characteristic frontier food. And home fries, chunks of potatoes skillet-fried with onion and bell pepper, are the western equivalent of hash browns. Baked goods have proven particularly attractive to Americans in search of breakfast items. Many of these, like the waffle (relative of the French gaufre and the Dutch wafel) are snack foods or desserts in their native countries. The doughnut has its origins in the Dutch olykoek and the French beignet, both of which are little nut-shaped hunks of deep-fried yeast dough. It didn't acquire its un-nutlike but definitive doughnut shape (that is, the "torus") until the early 19th century in America, when it was decided that having a hole in the middle of the dough would increase the surface frying area and improve the texture.
Find much more information on other countries at:
http://ravenclawgirl.veoc.net/HouseElves/he_breakfast.htm
On December 17, 1798, the US Senate began its first impeachment trial. Senator William Blount of Tennessee, a land speculator, was accused of plotting with England to wrest control of Florida from Spain. The Senate ultimately dismissed the charges for lack of jurisdiction - and, perhaps incidentally, lack of Blount, who had gone to Tennessee and had refused to return to the Senate for trial. Read more on the attempted arrest of William Blount. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/thisday/
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/12/091214-octopus-carries-coconuts-coconut-carrying.html
Transcript of Wide Ranging Three Hour Interview with Al Gore
Jose Antonio Vargas, Technology and Innovations editor, Huffington Post: "This is the transcript of a wide-ranging, two-part, three-hour interview with Al Gore, touching on the impact of technology and the Internet in politics, both in the U.S. and abroad; the state of the mainstream media and the left and right blogosphere; the role of the Web in spreading the facts about global warming, among others topics. The interviews were held in early and late October, first in the San Francisco offices of Current TV, then in his geothermal system-powered home in Nashville, which is certified as Gold LEED, one of the highest ratings for green design. An excerpt of the Q&A appeared in the Dec. 10, 2009 issue of Rolling Stone."
T.J. Wisner used to buy a small Christmas tree for the downstairs floor of his home in Grand Blanc, Mich. Four years ago, though, after getting the idea from an art fair, he opted for something different: a "beer tree," bottles of holiday brews stacked on a terraced mound of inverted metal buckets. While the family has a separate artificial tree upstairs, the "beer tree" has become the real Christmas tree. Each year, the Wisners decorate the structure with Christmas cards and pile gifts around it. "This is actually where we have Christmas morning," says Mr. Wisner, a 59-year-old life coach and speaker. "The day after Christmas, we blind taste the beers."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704825504574585861970052566.html
Deep Web Research 2010: Marcus P. Zillman is a an internet search expert whose extensive knowledge of how to leverage the "invisible" or "deep" web is exemplified in this guide. The Deep Web covers somewhere in the vicinity of 1 trillion pages of information located through the world wide web in various files and formats. Current search engines are able to locate around 200 billion pages. Marcus identifies sources to mitigate the odds on behalf of serious searchers.
The Yale Book of Quotations Most Notable Quotes 2009 by Fred Shapiro
1. "Keep your government hands off my Medicare." Speaker at health care reform town hall meeting in Simpsonville, S.C., commenting on the government-created Medicare program, quoted by The Washington Post on July 28
2. "We're going to be in the Hudson." Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, responding to air traffic controllers asking on which runway he preferred to land US Airways Flight 1549 on Jan. 15 before he landed in the Hudson River.
See article and other quotes at: http://www.thestate.com/politics/story/1074336.html
Ode to soy
Studies have long shown that adding soy to a low-fat diet may help reduce your risk of heart disease. According to The American Heart Association, 25 grams of soy protein per day is needed to show significant cholesterol-lowering effects. See more health tips and also recipes at: http://www.dole.com/nutritioninstitute//DNIPUBNEWSLETTERS/DNI_NL20040419.htm
Breakfast is your first meal of the day, whether you eat it at 9 a.m. or 4 p.m. To my mind, you can't "skip breakfast," because the word comes from "break the fast."
Breakfast around the world Culinary imports to the breakfast table in the heartland of America are often of German or Scandinavian origin, and many of these involve a sensible hashing together of various ingredients (especially meat) to use up leftovers and create a delicious meal. For example, scrapple, a Pennsylvania Dutch side dish, is made by cooking a mixture of pork scraps, cornmeal, and herbs into a mush, pressing it into a mold, then cutting the loaf into slices and frying them before serving. The good old-fashioned, pre-healthfood breakfast is alive and well in the South. Many people still start their days with grits slathered with butter or red-eye gravy (which is, essentially, bacon grease mixed with the active "red-eye" ingredient, coffee); biscuits made with lard; a thick slice of country ham, as big around as the plate it is served on (or bacon, or a few slices of spicy pork sausage); crisp, fried hash brown potatoes; and a bottomless cup of coffee. In the western states one can still find hearty frontier "grub" in the form of the Irish-influenced corned beef hash and eggs breakfast (originally the eggs would always have been fried, but now, to class the dish up a bit, they might be poached). Hearty omelets, with plenty of eggs and lots of filling, are also characteristic frontier food. And home fries, chunks of potatoes skillet-fried with onion and bell pepper, are the western equivalent of hash browns. Baked goods have proven particularly attractive to Americans in search of breakfast items. Many of these, like the waffle (relative of the French gaufre and the Dutch wafel) are snack foods or desserts in their native countries. The doughnut has its origins in the Dutch olykoek and the French beignet, both of which are little nut-shaped hunks of deep-fried yeast dough. It didn't acquire its un-nutlike but definitive doughnut shape (that is, the "torus") until the early 19th century in America, when it was decided that having a hole in the middle of the dough would increase the surface frying area and improve the texture.
Find much more information on other countries at:
http://ravenclawgirl.veoc.net/HouseElves/he_breakfast.htm
On December 17, 1798, the US Senate began its first impeachment trial. Senator William Blount of Tennessee, a land speculator, was accused of plotting with England to wrest control of Florida from Spain. The Senate ultimately dismissed the charges for lack of jurisdiction - and, perhaps incidentally, lack of Blount, who had gone to Tennessee and had refused to return to the Senate for trial. Read more on the attempted arrest of William Blount. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/thisday/
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
How to Learn Your Credit Score, by Andrea Coobes, WSJ
"The world of credit ratings is getting more transparent, thanks in part to a number of Web sites offering free credit scores and credit-management tools. But that doesn't mean understanding your credit ranking is any easier. It may be more complicated than ever. Those Web sites, while useful, often provide different answers to the same seemingly simple question: What's my score?"
rhopalic (ro-PAL-ik) adjective
having each successive word longer by a letter or syllable
from Latin rhopalicus, from Greek rhopalos (club, tapered cudgel)
A rhopalic verse or sentence is one that balloons--where each word is a letter or a syllable longer. The word is also used as a noun. Here's a terrific example of a rhopalic by Dmitri Borgmann:
"I do not know where family doctors acquired illegibly perplexing handwriting; nevertheless, extraordinary pharmaceutical intellectuality, counterbalancing indecipherability, transcendentalises intercommunications' incomprehensibleness." A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
Some search-and-seizure cases taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court concern sets of facts so specific and arcane that it's hard to know what to make of them. (For instance, in Arizona v. Gant the court last term ruled that a police officer r needs a warrant before searching a car after an arrest of the car's occupant, unless at the time of the search the person is unsecured and within reaching distance of the passenger compartment of the vehicle or police officers have reason to believe that the evidence for the crime the person is being arrested will be found in the vehicle. But on Monday, the court granted cert on a fact-pattern that any government employee with a BlackBerry can likely appreciate. The court agreed Monday to consider whether government employers can read text messages that their workers send and receive on workplace devices. Click here for the WSJ story. The case centers on this simple and rather compelling question: whether a police officer in Ontario, Calif., had a right to privacy for the text messages he sent and received on a pager provided by the police department. The city said Sgt. Jeff Quon used his pager to send hundreds of personal messages to his wife, his girlfriend and another officer.
WSJ Law Blog December 14, 2009
Caregiving in the U.S. 2009
National Alliance for Caregiving in Collaboration with AARP: "Caregiving is still mostly a woman's job and many women are putting their career and financial futures on hold as they juggle part-time caregiving and full-time job requirements. This is the reality reported in Caregiving in the U.S. 2009, the most comprehensive examination to date of caregiving in America. The first national profile of caregivers, Family Caregiving in the U.S. was published in 1997, and an updated version of the study, Caregiving in the U.S., was reported in 2004. The sweeping 2009 study of the legions of people caring for younger adults, older adults, and children with special needs reveals that 29 percent of the U.S. adult population, or 65.7 million people, are caregivers, including 31 percent of all households. These caregivers provide an average of 20 hours of care per week. The 2009 reports also begin to trend the findings from all three waves of the study."
A purist is what you call someone you disagree with.
A negative person is what you call someone you disagree with.
Irresponsible debate is language you disagree with.
Debate is language you agree with.
A gadfly is what you call someone you disagree with.
A whiner is what you call someone you disagree with.
"The world of credit ratings is getting more transparent, thanks in part to a number of Web sites offering free credit scores and credit-management tools. But that doesn't mean understanding your credit ranking is any easier. It may be more complicated than ever. Those Web sites, while useful, often provide different answers to the same seemingly simple question: What's my score?"
rhopalic (ro-PAL-ik) adjective
having each successive word longer by a letter or syllable
from Latin rhopalicus, from Greek rhopalos (club, tapered cudgel)
A rhopalic verse or sentence is one that balloons--where each word is a letter or a syllable longer. The word is also used as a noun. Here's a terrific example of a rhopalic by Dmitri Borgmann:
"I do not know where family doctors acquired illegibly perplexing handwriting; nevertheless, extraordinary pharmaceutical intellectuality, counterbalancing indecipherability, transcendentalises intercommunications' incomprehensibleness." A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
Some search-and-seizure cases taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court concern sets of facts so specific and arcane that it's hard to know what to make of them. (For instance, in Arizona v. Gant the court last term ruled that a police officer r needs a warrant before searching a car after an arrest of the car's occupant, unless at the time of the search the person is unsecured and within reaching distance of the passenger compartment of the vehicle or police officers have reason to believe that the evidence for the crime the person is being arrested will be found in the vehicle. But on Monday, the court granted cert on a fact-pattern that any government employee with a BlackBerry can likely appreciate. The court agreed Monday to consider whether government employers can read text messages that their workers send and receive on workplace devices. Click here for the WSJ story. The case centers on this simple and rather compelling question: whether a police officer in Ontario, Calif., had a right to privacy for the text messages he sent and received on a pager provided by the police department. The city said Sgt. Jeff Quon used his pager to send hundreds of personal messages to his wife, his girlfriend and another officer.
WSJ Law Blog December 14, 2009
Caregiving in the U.S. 2009
National Alliance for Caregiving in Collaboration with AARP: "Caregiving is still mostly a woman's job and many women are putting their career and financial futures on hold as they juggle part-time caregiving and full-time job requirements. This is the reality reported in Caregiving in the U.S. 2009, the most comprehensive examination to date of caregiving in America. The first national profile of caregivers, Family Caregiving in the U.S. was published in 1997, and an updated version of the study, Caregiving in the U.S., was reported in 2004. The sweeping 2009 study of the legions of people caring for younger adults, older adults, and children with special needs reveals that 29 percent of the U.S. adult population, or 65.7 million people, are caregivers, including 31 percent of all households. These caregivers provide an average of 20 hours of care per week. The 2009 reports also begin to trend the findings from all three waves of the study."
A purist is what you call someone you disagree with.
A negative person is what you call someone you disagree with.
Irresponsible debate is language you disagree with.
Debate is language you agree with.
A gadfly is what you call someone you disagree with.
A whiner is what you call someone you disagree with.
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