Point of Origin
Valentine's Day became associated with love because Feb. 14 was once believed to be the beginning of birds' mating season.
Easier Said
To kiss Ireland's blarney stone, long a symbol of eloquence, persuasiveness and god luck, one must be helped into an upside-down position by Blarney Castle staff.
Quotable
by H.L. Mencken, American journalist (1880-1956)
"To be in love is merely to be in a state of perceptual anesthesia."
In Other Worlds
In Denmark and Norway, men send women anonymous rhyming poems or love notes on Valentine's Day; if the women guess the sender's identity, they receive an Easter egg at Easter.
So Called
The two stone lions in front of the New York Public Library got their names, Patience and Fortitude, from former Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia.
Lore of Old
Maids in 17th-century England would put a piece of wedding cake, a symbol of fertility, under their pillows to ensure dreams of their future husband.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Joke
"Daughter," said the father, "is that young man serious in his intentions?"
"Guess he must be, dad," she replied. "He asked me how much I make, what kind of meals we have, and how you and mother are to live with."
Mother ------ "Louise, your hair is all mussed. Did that young man kiss you against your will?"
Louise -------"He thinks he did, mother."
"But darling, we can't live on love."
"Sure we can. Your father loves you doesn't he?"
"Guess he must be, dad," she replied. "He asked me how much I make, what kind of meals we have, and how you and mother are to live with."
Mother ------ "Louise, your hair is all mussed. Did that young man kiss you against your will?"
Louise -------"He thinks he did, mother."
"But darling, we can't live on love."
"Sure we can. Your father loves you doesn't he?"
Did You Know that ........
A substantial and growing body of scientific research has linked tart cherries to anti-inflammatory benefits, reduced pain from gout and arthritis and even an extensive list of heart health benefits.
Studies even suggest they can help reduce post-exercise muscle and joint pain!
Studies even suggest they can help reduce post-exercise muscle and joint pain!
Just how well do you know our Presidents?
In honor of Presidents Day, here's a little fun quiz to test and possibly expand your knowledge of U.S. presidents.
See what you know, see what you don't know, see whether every answer is "c".
Enjoy.
1. Pennsylvania's only president, James Buchanan (1857-1861), was a lifelong bachelor, likely gay and a die-hard drinker: He stopped at a distillery every Sunday for a 10-gallon jug of whiskey. But another president, who evidently would have loved Pennsylvania's old closed-on-Sunday state-store policy, banned all booze from the White House. Who was he?
a) Franklin Pierce
b) Warren Harding
c) Rutherford Hayes
d) Jimmy Carter
2. It's not uncommon for myths to rise around presidents. Some can be surprising. Which of the following surprising things about Abraham Lincoln is true?
a) He never was much of a rail-splitter.
b) That hat covered a congenital cowlick.
c) He was a licensed bartender.
d) He was born in Kenya.
3. What did President Clinton raise while in the White House that remains in place today?
a) The minimum wage
b) An Arkansas okra garden
c) A tent in his trousers
d) The annual salary of the president.
4. George Washington was known for many things, some actual, some fictional. Which of the following was something Washington actually did?
a) As a young man, threw a silver dollar across the Potomac River.
b) Wore wooden false teeth known as the George Washington Bridge
c) Refused a salary as president
d) Lived in a city named after him
5. Who was (so far) the only U.S. president for whom English was not his first language?
a) George W. Bush
b) Zachary Taylor
c) Martin Van Buren
d) Millard Fillmore
6. A president with four names is a real rarity. Which of the following actually has/had four names?
a) Barack Hussein Berko Obama
b) Lyndon Baines Billygoat Johnson
c) George Herbert Walker Bush
d) William Slick Willie Clinton
7. Who was the youngest person to serve as president?
a) Barack Obama
b) John Kennedy
c) Teddy Roosevelt
d) Ulysses Grant
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Answers : 1. (c) : Hayes; he kept his White House alcohol-free; first lady Lucy became known as "Lemonade Lucy." Carter banned hard liquor but allowed wine.
2. (c) : Bartender; young Abe and a partner owned a store/pub called Berry and Lincoln in New Salem, Ill., licensed to sell booze by the drink.
3. (d) : Raised the salary from $200,000 to $400,000 (where it stands today). It first was collected by George W. Bush.
4. (c) : Refused a salary which, amazingly, in 1789 was $25,000 ------ as much as $4 million today. Silver dollars weren't minted until after Washington was president. His false teeth weren't wooden. He never lived in Washington.
5. (c) : Van Buren, though evidence might suggest (a). Van Buren was raised speaking Dutch and learned English. He also was the first president born a US citizen (in 1782). His predecessors were born subjects of the British crown.
6. (c) : Bush; he's so far the only president with four names.
7. (c) : Roosevelt; he was 42 and vice president when President William McKinley was assassinated. Kennedy, at 43, was the youngest, elected president; Obama was 47; Grant was 46.
See what you know, see what you don't know, see whether every answer is "c".
Enjoy.
1. Pennsylvania's only president, James Buchanan (1857-1861), was a lifelong bachelor, likely gay and a die-hard drinker: He stopped at a distillery every Sunday for a 10-gallon jug of whiskey. But another president, who evidently would have loved Pennsylvania's old closed-on-Sunday state-store policy, banned all booze from the White House. Who was he?
a) Franklin Pierce
b) Warren Harding
c) Rutherford Hayes
d) Jimmy Carter
2. It's not uncommon for myths to rise around presidents. Some can be surprising. Which of the following surprising things about Abraham Lincoln is true?
a) He never was much of a rail-splitter.
b) That hat covered a congenital cowlick.
c) He was a licensed bartender.
d) He was born in Kenya.
3. What did President Clinton raise while in the White House that remains in place today?
a) The minimum wage
b) An Arkansas okra garden
c) A tent in his trousers
d) The annual salary of the president.
4. George Washington was known for many things, some actual, some fictional. Which of the following was something Washington actually did?
a) As a young man, threw a silver dollar across the Potomac River.
b) Wore wooden false teeth known as the George Washington Bridge
c) Refused a salary as president
d) Lived in a city named after him
5. Who was (so far) the only U.S. president for whom English was not his first language?
a) George W. Bush
b) Zachary Taylor
c) Martin Van Buren
d) Millard Fillmore
6. A president with four names is a real rarity. Which of the following actually has/had four names?
a) Barack Hussein Berko Obama
b) Lyndon Baines Billygoat Johnson
c) George Herbert Walker Bush
d) William Slick Willie Clinton
7. Who was the youngest person to serve as president?
a) Barack Obama
b) John Kennedy
c) Teddy Roosevelt
d) Ulysses Grant
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. (c) : Hayes; he kept his White House alcohol-free; first lady Lucy became known as "Lemonade Lucy." Carter banned hard liquor but allowed wine.
2. (c) : Bartender; young Abe and a partner owned a store/pub called Berry and Lincoln in New Salem, Ill., licensed to sell booze by the drink.
3. (d) : Raised the salary from $200,000 to $400,000 (where it stands today). It first was collected by George W. Bush.
4. (c) : Refused a salary which, amazingly, in 1789 was $25,000 ------ as much as $4 million today. Silver dollars weren't minted until after Washington was president. His false teeth weren't wooden. He never lived in Washington.
5. (c) : Van Buren, though evidence might suggest (a). Van Buren was raised speaking Dutch and learned English. He also was the first president born a US citizen (in 1782). His predecessors were born subjects of the British crown.
6. (c) : Bush; he's so far the only president with four names.
7. (c) : Roosevelt; he was 42 and vice president when President William McKinley was assassinated. Kennedy, at 43, was the youngest, elected president; Obama was 47; Grant was 46.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Earthweek: A Diary of the Planets (Jan. 24, 2014)
Bee-Killer Suspect
Chinese and U.S. researchers say a virus that typically infects plants has been found in honeybees. The pathogen could be at least part of what has killed vast numbers of the pollinating insects in recent years in a phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder. The scientists inadvertently found tobacco ringspot virus (TRSV) during routine screening of bees. "The results of our study provide the first evidence that honeybees exposed to virus-contaminated pollen can also be infected and that the infection becomes widespread in their bodies," said lead author Ji Lian Li, at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science. He added that the honeybees can also spread TRSV as they move between plants. TRSV is particularly dangerous since it produces a flood of mutations that infect in different ways. Bee colonies found with high levels of various viral strains didn't survive the harsh months last winter as well as those with lower levels of infections.
See-Through Wonder
A northern New Zealand fisherman and his two sons were baffled after pulling in anearly foot-long translucent marine creature that looked a lot like a see-though fish. "It felt scaly and was quite firm, almost jelly-like, and you couldn't see anything inside aside from this orange little blob," Stewart Fraser told the Daily Mail. Experts from the country's National Marine Aquarium examined photos of the catch and say it probably was a Salpa maggiore. "The salp is barrel-shaped and moves by contracting, pumping water through its gelatinous body," said Paul Cox from the aquarium. Little is known about the unusually large type Fraser caught, or how it came to be so far from its normal habitats in the Southern Ocean.
Global Smog Threat
The amount of air pollution from China's booming manufacturing industry is so great that it is affecting weather patterns across the Pacific in North America, according to a new study published by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. The report documents that cities like Los Angeles receive at least an extra day of smog each year from the nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide that China's exprting factories generate. Beyond being a public health threat, the pollution also causes changes in weather, the report cautions. "The models clearly show that pollution originating from Asia has an impact on the upper atmosphere and its appears to make ....storms or cyclones even stronger," said Texas A&M atmospheric scientist Renyi Zhang. The study concludes the pollution alerts cloud formation and precipitation patterns.
More El Ninos
The world's most influential global weather phenomenon is likely to more than double in freqency if efforts to limit global warming fail, according to a new report. An international team writing in the journal Nature Climate Change says that the current rate of greenhouse gas emissions will bring twice as many extreme outbreaks of El Nino ocean-warming to the tropical Pacific over the next century as have occurred over the previous 100 years. "Our research shows this will double to one event every 10 years," said study co-author Agus Santoso. El Nino events can trigger large-scale weather shifts that bring storms or drought to various parts of the world. The last extreme El Nino wreaked havoc on global weather patterns in 1997-1998, causing billions of dollars in damage and killing approximately 23,000 people.
Tropical Cyclones
Remnants of Cyclone June downed trees and knocked out power across parts of New Zealand 's North Island after the storm earlier drenched the French overseas territory of New Caledonia.
* Tropical Storm Lingling triggered floods that killed 45 people across the Philippine island of Mindanao and areas to the north devastated by Typhoon Haiyan last November.
* Five people were killed and hundreds made homeless in southwestern Madagascar by heavy rain and strong winds brought by Cyclone Deliwe.
Earthquakes
A 6.3 magnitude quake cracked buildings and tossed items off shelves on New Zealand's lower North Island, including Wellington.
* Earth movements were also felt in southern Sumatra, southern Italy and across much of Costa Rica.
Damming Evidence
The first wild beaver to be spotted in the U.K. since the species was hunted to extinction during the reign of Henry VIII in the 16th century has set up home on the River Otter. A farmer suspected the returning animal after spotting several trees that had been chomped on and felled along the waterway, which runs through Somerset and Devon. That's when retired scientist Tom Buckley set up a night-vision camera and captured footage of the animal chewing on a tree and approaching the camera for a brief close-up. Some beavers have been kept as pets, but none in the area has been reported missing or released.
Chinese and U.S. researchers say a virus that typically infects plants has been found in honeybees. The pathogen could be at least part of what has killed vast numbers of the pollinating insects in recent years in a phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder. The scientists inadvertently found tobacco ringspot virus (TRSV) during routine screening of bees. "The results of our study provide the first evidence that honeybees exposed to virus-contaminated pollen can also be infected and that the infection becomes widespread in their bodies," said lead author Ji Lian Li, at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science. He added that the honeybees can also spread TRSV as they move between plants. TRSV is particularly dangerous since it produces a flood of mutations that infect in different ways. Bee colonies found with high levels of various viral strains didn't survive the harsh months last winter as well as those with lower levels of infections.
See-Through Wonder
A northern New Zealand fisherman and his two sons were baffled after pulling in anearly foot-long translucent marine creature that looked a lot like a see-though fish. "It felt scaly and was quite firm, almost jelly-like, and you couldn't see anything inside aside from this orange little blob," Stewart Fraser told the Daily Mail. Experts from the country's National Marine Aquarium examined photos of the catch and say it probably was a Salpa maggiore. "The salp is barrel-shaped and moves by contracting, pumping water through its gelatinous body," said Paul Cox from the aquarium. Little is known about the unusually large type Fraser caught, or how it came to be so far from its normal habitats in the Southern Ocean.
Global Smog Threat
The amount of air pollution from China's booming manufacturing industry is so great that it is affecting weather patterns across the Pacific in North America, according to a new study published by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. The report documents that cities like Los Angeles receive at least an extra day of smog each year from the nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide that China's exprting factories generate. Beyond being a public health threat, the pollution also causes changes in weather, the report cautions. "The models clearly show that pollution originating from Asia has an impact on the upper atmosphere and its appears to make ....storms or cyclones even stronger," said Texas A&M atmospheric scientist Renyi Zhang. The study concludes the pollution alerts cloud formation and precipitation patterns.
More El Ninos
The world's most influential global weather phenomenon is likely to more than double in freqency if efforts to limit global warming fail, according to a new report. An international team writing in the journal Nature Climate Change says that the current rate of greenhouse gas emissions will bring twice as many extreme outbreaks of El Nino ocean-warming to the tropical Pacific over the next century as have occurred over the previous 100 years. "Our research shows this will double to one event every 10 years," said study co-author Agus Santoso. El Nino events can trigger large-scale weather shifts that bring storms or drought to various parts of the world. The last extreme El Nino wreaked havoc on global weather patterns in 1997-1998, causing billions of dollars in damage and killing approximately 23,000 people.
Tropical Cyclones
Remnants of Cyclone June downed trees and knocked out power across parts of New Zealand 's North Island after the storm earlier drenched the French overseas territory of New Caledonia.
* Tropical Storm Lingling triggered floods that killed 45 people across the Philippine island of Mindanao and areas to the north devastated by Typhoon Haiyan last November.
* Five people were killed and hundreds made homeless in southwestern Madagascar by heavy rain and strong winds brought by Cyclone Deliwe.
Earthquakes
A 6.3 magnitude quake cracked buildings and tossed items off shelves on New Zealand's lower North Island, including Wellington.
* Earth movements were also felt in southern Sumatra, southern Italy and across much of Costa Rica.
Damming Evidence
The first wild beaver to be spotted in the U.K. since the species was hunted to extinction during the reign of Henry VIII in the 16th century has set up home on the River Otter. A farmer suspected the returning animal after spotting several trees that had been chomped on and felled along the waterway, which runs through Somerset and Devon. That's when retired scientist Tom Buckley set up a night-vision camera and captured footage of the animal chewing on a tree and approaching the camera for a brief close-up. Some beavers have been kept as pets, but none in the area has been reported missing or released.
Tips to prepare for and survive power outages
The heavy snow that hit our area Monday can cause power outages.
Here are some tips to stay safe if you loose electricity and to prepare for future power outages:
Source: The nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes
Here are some tips to stay safe if you loose electricity and to prepare for future power outages:
- Include power outages in your family disaster plan, identifying alternative means of transportation and routes to home, school and /or work.
- Keep extra cash on hand since an extended power outage might shut down automatic teller machines or banks.
- Keep your car fuel tank at least half-full, since gas stations rely on electricity to power the pumps.
- During a power outage, resist the temptation to call 911 for information. That's what a battery-powered radio is for.
- Turn off all lights but one, to alert you when power resumes.
- Keep a supply of flashlights, batteries and a battery-powered radio on hand. Don't use candles as they pose a fire hazard.
- Don't run a generator inside a home or even in the garage. Use gas-powered generators in well-ventilated outdoor areas only.
- Connect only individual appliances to portable generators.
- Don't plug emergency generators into electric outlets or hook them directly into your home's electrical system ---- as they can feed electricity back into the power lines, endangering you and line workers.
- Power may come back with momentary surges or spikes that can damage equipment such as computers and appliances, including the air conditioner, refrigerator, washer or furnace.
Source: The nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes
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