TODAY IS MONDAY - APRIL 27, 2009

TODAY IS:

On this day in 1972 the Apollo-16 astronauts returned to Earth after 11 days on the moon. They brought back 200 pounds of moon rocks, a dozen T-shirts, and a set of lunar salt-and-pepper shakers.

-Today is Tell A Story Day. I’m doing that with the IRS right now.

-National Prime Rib Day! Where’s the best prime rib place in your town?

-Walter Lantz’s Birthday! He created Woody Woodpecker. How I do miss the classics. Remember Grape Ape? H.R. Puffenstuff? Fat Albert! How I miss him.

4977 B.C. - According to German astronomer Johannes Kepler the universe was created on this date.

1956 - Rocky Marciano retired as undefeated world heavyweight boxing champion.


THIS IS LIFE

This is Jefferson City’s Spring Clean Up Week. You know that time of year you drag all your junk out to the curb and the city will come by and pick it up for you.
So I am finding a bunch of junk while cleaning out the garage and it’s a bunch of junk my sons are NOW declaring they desperately need. They haven’t seen this stuff in years, but they insist they’ll probably need it in the future. What? Oh things like a broken remote control car, headless action figures, a bike seat with no bike attached to it. You know, really important stuff.


NEWS & STUFF


NFL DRAFT PICKS

From Missouri:
Jeremy Maclin is going to the Philadelphia Eagles. (Round 1)
Ziggy Hood is going to the Pittsburgh Steelers (Round 1)
William Moore is going to the Falcons (Round 2)
Chase Coffman is going to the Cincinatti Bengals ( Round 3)
Colin Brown is going to the KC Chiefs (Round 5)
Stryker Sulak is going to the LA Raiders (Round 6)


Bernie Madoff’s wife, Ruth, is saying she has her own money. She says she has $62 million in savings. She says it’s not swindle money; it’s not fraud money; it’s money she made from yard sales.


“Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” is returning to prime time. Due to the recession, it’s been renamed “Who Wants Five Bucks and a Taco.”


The Washington Times reports that PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA will soon get a new, high-tech, super-secure BlackBerry to use in and around the White House and during his travels. The BlackBerry 8830 is in the final stages of development by the National Security Agency, and could be given to the president within the next few months.
The NSA still has to test out the device's encryption software to make sure it meets federal security standards. First Lady MICHELE OBAMA and top White House aides will get the same devices.

And each model will include a super-secret, government-approved version of solitaire as well. (Okay we just made that part up!)

As PRESIDENT OBAMA's 100th day in office nears, the folks at Time magazine have posted some great, "behind the scenes" photos taken of the president, his family and staff since Inauguration Day. It's a neat slide show and reminder that important stuff actually takes place in the White House away from the media pool, the daily briefings and staged photo-ops.


Might as well have this information ready since it’s all over the news - The U.S. declared a public health emergency Sunday to deal with the emerging new swine flu, much like the government does to prepare for approaching hurricanes. Priority will be given to the five states with known cases so far: California, Texas, New York, Ohio and Kansas. Here are some basic questions answered by the World Health Organization:

Q. What is swine flu?
Swine flu is a highly contagious acute respiratory disease normally found in pigs. It spreads through tiny particles in the air or by direct contact. According to WHO it tends to infect large numbers of a given pig population, killing between 1 and 4 percent of those affected. Not every animal infected displays symptoms.

Q. How do humans contract the virus?
A. People usually become infected through contact with pigs, though some cases of LIMITED human-to-human transmission have been reported.

Q. Is it safe to eat pork products?
A.WHO says properly handled and prepared pork products are safe to eat. The swine flu virus dies when cooked at temperatures of 160 F/70 C or higher.

Q. Does a vaccine exist?
A. Pigs in North America are routinely vaccinated for swine flu, but no vaccine exists for humans. In any case, the flu virus evolves quickly, meaning that vaccines are soon obsolete. Health officials say there is no suggestion that the vaccine prepared for seasonal flu will protect against swine flu.


What would you give up first, air conditioning or your cell phone?
In tough economic times with people looking to cut costs many Americans said a cell phone or computer are must-have items and regard a clothes dryers, air conditioner and microwave as less of a necessity, according to survey by the Pew Research Center. Fun discussion with your listeners as to which one would they choose and why. The A.C. issue depends, of course, where you live. There is no way I would go without A.C. in the summer in Oklahoma. I’d lose sleep, perpetually perspire, become irritable, no one would want to talk with me att that point, so a cell phone would be obsolete.


From your Good News file - Somebody’s anonymously donating millions of dollars to colleges across the country. Nobody knows who’s doing it and why. The only common thread among all the schools is that every one of them is headed by a woman. Some people have speculated that Oprah is the donor, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. The gifts, ranging from $1 million to perhaps $10 million, and totaling up to $68.5 million so far, have arrived over the past seven weeks in similarly secretive fashion at colleges around the country, including Purdue in Indiana, Montclair State in New Jersey, and the University of Southern Mississippi. All were contacted by a law firm or other intermediary and given a highly unusual condition: College officials had to promise - in writing, in some cases - not to try to find out the donor’s identity. I think I might change my name to Dartmouth or Purdue and keep an eye on the mail box.


Classic School Prank - Probers are trying to get to the bottom of who sprinkled itching powder on the seats of teachers and students at a Brooklyn elementary school, the Daily News has learned.

A few teacher and student victims of the prank at East New York’s Public School 345 were scratching their heads - as well as other places - after Wednesday’s incident, sources said.

The city Department of Environmental Protection is still running tests to identify the substance.

“The itching was terrible,” said one victim. “When I sat down, I could feel it through my pants. It was very itchy.

“It got intense. When it became uncontrollable, I had to stop what I was doing. … It stopped me in my tracks.” The powder, which looked like tiny, prickly hairs, was found on teachers’ chairs after the itching started. Kind of like that pink insulation stuff. It was non-hazardous. Reminds me of simpler times. We have a candy store in the mall that has bubble gum that turns black when chewed, super hot candy, bugs in ice cubes, whoopee cushions, etc. Just like the itchy powder, I haven’t heard of them being used in quite a while.



A man in northern Idaho says he has seen a massive hand of God in his life, and he is willing to share it with the highest bidder. Paul Grayhek, 52, listed the rock formation he dubbed the “Hand of God Rock Wall” on the online auction Web site eBay. The highest bid was $250 early Sunday, with three days left to go in the auction.
The hand-like formation, approximately 9 feet tall and 4 feet wide, appeared in Grayhek’s backyard after a rockfall during Lent on March 8, he said. The Coeur d’Alene resident said he faced tough times after losing his job, and believed the rock was a sign. “I prayed between licking my wounds and looking for a job,” he said. “We rarely get rockfalls and this formation is 20 feet from my house. It’s definitely a symbol of the hand of God in my life.” However, the winning bidder on eBay should not start clearing out his backyard. Grayhek is not planning to part with the formation. The buyer will “basically be buying the rights, complete and exclusive rights” to the rock, including literary and movie rights, according to Grayhek. Grayhek said he plans to use the money from the sale to pursue an unpaid internship in counseling when he graduates with a master’s degree in social work in two years. “People think I’m some holier-than-thou person trying to get rich. I’m not,” Grayhek said. “The purpose is to spread the story of God and eBay is just a vehicle.



Toddlers Terrorize! ANDERSON, S.C. — Two young brothers caused an uproar in Anderson on Friday morning when they wandered away from their home and into a neighbor’s home. Neighbors and public safety officers launched an intense search after John and Matthew Farrar disappeared from their home. The boy’s mother called to report the 2- and 3-year-olds missing at about 9:45 a.m. About 100 city and county emergency workers scrambled into the neighborhood to search for the boys. Little did they know the toddlers were next door, in the home of a sleeping neighbor, playing out their own version of Goldilocks gone bad. Angie Lovorn was sound asleep on the other side of the house after working a third shift and had no idea the boys were in her house. While she slept, the toddlers ransacked her cupboards, munching on Teddy Grahams and marshmallows and chips. They also got on the top bunk to retrieve some stuffed animals. From the looks of it, they had a pretty good time before the brothers were returned to their family. Ever lose track of your kids, even in your own home?


HELP! I forgot my PC password. What can I do to start my computer? If you have Windows XP Home Edition do this:

1) Turn on your computer.
2) Immediately press the F8 button at the top of your keyboard.
3) Select “Safe Mode”.

Go into your User account and change or simply write down your password.



Did you do a Yard Sale this past weekend? Here are some Dos and Don’ts from Womans Day Magazine:

DON’T sell on Sundays. People think items are picked over. Saturdays are best.

DO stick close to traffic. Move tables to your lawn’s edge and display large, unusual signs.

DON’T skimp on used books, CDs and DVDs. Charge up to $2. They’re cash cows.

DO apply price stickers. And get ready to haggle.

DON’T be greedy. At most, charge $2 to $4 for every $10 you spent, even if the item is new.

DO say that you’re open to offers and want to sell it all–it gets folks in a buying mood.



Read an article from a mom who said that her 16 year old son won’t get his full license until he’s 17 and a half. And it’s HER choice. She figures that if he can’t remember to wear his bicycle helmet every time, maybe he’s just as inclined to forget turn signals, seat belts and speed limits. There’s no rule that says an American teen must have a license in his pocket. Not to mention that scientific studies show that the teen brain is, well, only half-baked. The prefrontal cortex, the part that controls judgement, values, long-term control, doesn’t finish ramping up until long after age 16–not until around 25 as a matter of fact. (No wonder the leading cause of loss of life among teens are car crashes, especially in the first year a teen is licensed.) What do you think? Let the debate begin!



Upcoming Summer Movies! Most have yet to be rated…

Star Trek (May 8) Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, and brief sexual content.

Terminator Salvation (May 21) going for a PG-13 rating

UP (May 29) 3-D animated film about a floating house

Land of the Lost (June 5)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (June 26)

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra (Aug 7)

I’m all after Land of the Lost with Will Ferrel! The TV show from 1974 to ’76 was the most wonderful, cheesy display of claymation dinosaurs, weird hissing,
humanoid/lizard creatures called Sleestak, monkey people and more!



With swimsuit shopping season here, enjoy this poem from Kathy Downey (altered a bit for decency sake)

As summer approaches, the weather gets hot,
and women face something that we’d rather not.
Yes…wearing a swimsuit, because as we know,
the body we’ve been hiding will all have to show.
I do some weeping, and gnashing my teeth,
but it does not provide very much relief,
So I head to the mall to begin my quest
for that one perfect suit that will make me look best.
As I search through the racks, I mutter and sigh,
“How can swimsuits so tiny have prices so high?”
A bikini won’t do, I am too old for that.
Ah, here is a one piece, this might hide my fat.
I squeeze into the suit and suck in my gut,
while attempting to stretch the cloth over my butt.
I look like a sausage link, latex encased,
a visual image I would like to erase.
When a voice rings out loudly,
a woman shrieks, “NO!”
“Pay that much to look like this, I don’t think so!”
Dead silence follows for one moment or two,
until someone else shouts, “Honey, I’m with you!”
Then the whole place erupts into cheers and applause,
as women emerge from the dressing rooms jaws.
Trampling the suits that we sling to the floor,
we dance and scream as we cause an uproar.
Someone starts to chant and we all sing along,
sharing our strength in the words of our song.
“We are women with curves, please heed our cry.
Make swimsuits that fit us or we will not buy.”
“T-shirts and gym shorts will be our swim wear.
Bathing suit makers had better beware.
Your profit margins will feel the bite.
We are women, united, and ready to fight.”
Pumping our fists and slapping high fives,
we are ready to take control of our lives.
Giddy with power, a loud happy bunch,
we decide to get dressed and go out for lunch!



TEN HOMESCHOOLED CELEBRITIES

Agatha Christie was a painfully shy girl, so her mom homeschooled her even though her two older siblings attended private school.

Pearl S. Buck was born in West Virginia, but her family moved to China when she was just three months old. She was homeschooled by a Confucian scholar and learned English as a second language from her mom.

Alexander Graham Bell was homeschooled by his mother until he was about 10. It was at this point that she started to go deaf and didn't feel she could properly educate him any more. Her deafness inspired Bell to study acoustics and sound later in life.

If Thomas Edison were around today, he would probably be diagnosed with ADD -- he left public school after only three months because his mind wouldn't stop wandering.
His mom homeschooled him after that, and he credited her with the success of his education: "My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me; and I felt I had something to live for, someone I must not disappoint." Mental Floss: Jefferson vs. Adams and the birth of negative campaigning

Ansel Adams was homeschooled at the age of 12 after his "wild laughter and undisguised contempt for the inept ramblings of his teachers" disrupted the classroom. His father took on his education from that point forward.

Robert Frost hated school so much he would get physically ill at the thought of going. He was homeschooled until his high school years.

Woodrow Wilson studied under his dad, one of the founders of the Southern Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS).

He didn't learn to read until he was about 12. He took a few classes at a school in Augusta, Georgia, to supplement his father's teachings, and ended up spending a year at Davidson College before transferring to Princeton. Mental Floss: 8 tuition-free colleges

Mozart was educated by his dad as the Mozart family toured Europe from 1763-1766.

Laura Ingalls Wilder was homeschooled until her parents finally settled in De Smet in what was then Dakota Territory. She started teaching school herself when she was only 15 years old.

Louisa May Alcott studied mostly with her dad, but had a few lessons from family friends Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Can you imagine?