“There are many, many reasons why we do not want the price of gasoline to go up. We want it to go down.”
– Energy Secretary Steven Chu, reversing his quote from 2008 about the need to “boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe” to encourage energy efficiency.
Considering that gas prices in Europe average around $5 per gallon, that may not be such a good idea.
Filed under News
Survivalist Tip: Learn how to make an adjustable pot hanger with dead wood. This is a good skill for those who will be on foot in the immediate aftermath of the apocalypse and have to camp out at some point. Every outdoor enthusiast should know about this clever little technique to assist with cooking over an open fire. Find two pieces of standing deadwood. (If they’re not standing, that’s okay; just make sure they’re dead.) One piece has to be perfectly straight, and the other must have a V-shaped formation at the end. Drive the straight stick firmly into the ground. (If it doesn’t go into the ground with minimal force, then it’s probably a queer stick, and you need to find another one.) Attach the V-shaped stick to the straight stick with rubber bands, shoe laces, long reeds of grass, or thumb tacks. The opposite end will form a makeshift handle that will support your pot above the fire. If necessary, bind a second stick to either of the forked ends to give it extra support. I know this seems like a lot of work – and it is for someone who’s used to the microwave lifestyle – but it’s a vital skill to have should you have to flee your home. Besides, chocolate tastes good even if it’s warmed over an open fire in a metal pot.
Filed under Mayan Calendar Countdown
Better late than never! Earlier this month the Irish Times reported that Dublin’s Marsh Library received a 500-year-old medical textbook – 100 years after it was checked out. The antiquitous tome is the third volume in a series of five on the medical works of Galen, a Greek physician, philosopher and surgeon and was originally published in Basle, Switzerland in 1538. Marsh Library was Ireland’s first public library, built in 1701, so they’re accustomed to handling old books. But, according to Dr. Jason McElligot of the library, this find is “gold dust.”
The book in question had been part of the library’s collection since its founding. It is heavily marked with annotations and even has slips of paper held in place with a needle. The notes were made by Theodore Gulton, a 17th century English physician and previous owner of all the volumes, who had tried to improve upon Galen’s works by updating them and making the text clearer for students.
“In terms of scholarship and learning it is absolutely priceless,” Dr McElligott said. “What we have is a very important medic in the history of medicine working through his thoughts as he’s working through the work of Galen.”
Although Marsh is Ireland’s first public library, books have never been lent out, and Dr McElligott said a “significant” medical text like this would have been kept locked away even when it disappeared more than 100 years ago.
The man who returned the book said it had reached his junk shop following a clearance of a house in Dublin.
Dr McElligott said the library was very grateful to have the book back and described the man as a “complete gentleman and a scholar,” before adding, “What was particularly impressive is he declined all offers of a reward – all he wanted to do was do the right thing.”
Filed under News
If it’s yours, too, Happy Birthday!
Actress – singer – musician Patricia Morison (The Magnificent Fraud, The Roundup, One Night in Lisbon, The Song of Bernadette) is 97.
Musician (saxophone, trumpet, violin) – composer Ornette Coleman (Something Else!!!, Tomorrow is the Question!, The Shape of Jazz to Come) is 82.
Jazz singer Bill Henderson (And His Special Friends, Live at the Times) is 82.
Actress Phyllis Newman (Picnic, A Secret Space) is 79.
Writer Phillip Roth (Goodbye, Columbus, A.P.E.X., Ghostwriter) is 79.
Actress – screenwriter Renée Taylor (Acts of Love – and Other Comedies, The Nanny, Mary Hartman Mary Hartman) is 79.
Actress Ursula Andress (Dr. No, Casino Royale, Fun in Acapulco) is 76.
Singer Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry (Ain’t Got No Home, But I Do) is 75.
Lynda Bird Johnson, daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson, is 68.
Singer Ruth Pointer (The Pointer Sisters) is 66.
Actress Glenn Close (The Big Chill, Fatal Attraction, Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story) is 65.
Composer – trombone player Chris Brubeck is 60.
Drummer Derek Longmuir (The Bay City Rollers) is 57.
Actor Bruce Willis (Moonlighting, Die Hard series, Pulp Fiction) is 57.
Singer Terry Hall (The Specials, Fun Boy Three) is 53.
Filed under Birthdays
1813 – David Livingstone, missionary and African explorer, was born in Blantyre, Scotland.
1831 – The first bank robbery in America was reported. The City Bank of New York City lost $245,000 in the heist.
1848 – Wyatt Earp was born in Monmouth, Illinois.
1916 – The first air combat missions in U.S. history with the launch of 8 planes from the First Aero Squadron in Columbus, New México.
1931 – The state of Nevada legalized gambling.
1949 – The American Museum of Atomic Energy opened in Oak Ridge, TN.
1953 – The Academy Awards celebrated their silver anniversary with its first television presentation. NBC paid $100,000 for the rights to broadcast the event on both radio and TV.
1954 – Viewers saw the first televised prize fight shown in color as Joey Giardello knocked out Willie Troy in round seven of a scheduled 10-round bout at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
1954 – The first rocket-driven sled that ran on rails was tested in Alamogordo, NM.
1985 – IBM announced that it was planning to stop making the PCjr consumer-oriented computer. The machine had been expected to dominate the home computer market but didn’t quite live up to those expectations. In the 16 months that the PCjr was on the market, only 240,000 units were sold.
2003 – The U.S. launches air strikes as the Iraq War begins.
Filed under History
A man stands beside peat that was dredged from a bog in Ireland and will be cut into bricks and stacked to dry before burning. Using peat as fuel is one way Ireland is helping to reduce greenhouse gases. Photo by Rambling Traveler/Flickr, National Geographic
Filed under News
“It’s pretty cool to see our country doing things like this.”
– Army Sgt. Shawn Hudson, upon returning to Fort Bragg via Dallas / Ft. Worth International Airport
After 8 years, the “Welcome Home a Hero” program ended last week, as the last troops returning from Iraq passed through DFW. During that time, some 10,000 volunteers greeted thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and coast guardsmen. Many of the volunteers were military veterans, including Vietnam combatants who never received such a greeting.
Tom Downey, 71, who volunteers with the organization 'Welcome Home a Hero' greets a soldier with a rose on March 14, 2012 at the at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Filed under News
This is a provocative piece of art by Nedeljkovich, Brashick and Kuharich of Cleveland illustrating the hierarchical system of capitalist rule in the United States. It’s definitely socialist in nature, with its clear delineations of class structure and division. At the pyramid’s apex is the source of the trouble: a large bag of money. Beneath that is the upper class – the “1%,” as it’s called here in the U.S. Next are religious leaders and institutions who encourage obedience and acceptance of the status quo; beseeching the working masses to accept their unalterable fate and realize their rewards will come in the God’s kingdom, instead of on Earth. It’s interesting this came out after the “Gilded Age,” which saw the greatest accumulation of wealth in the U.S. It also came out in the same year as the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, in which 146 women and girls died in what was then the deadliest workplace fire in U.S. history.
Filed under Classics
Survivalist Tip: If you live in or near a large urban area like I do, then you most likely will be in close proximity to hazardous chemicals and materials, such as acid, butane, ethyl chloride and foreskin refuse from a Jewish synagogue. With a possible axis shift when the apocalypse hits, these chemicals will pose an extreme hazard to you and your loved ones. Therefore, it’s best if you amass a large quantity of gas masks to protect everyone, even your pets. There’s a strong likelihood that heavy winds will erupt at the same time, so these will disperse many of those chemical particles. But, until the air is clear, you’ll need that gas mask. And make sure your chocolate is sealed up, too!
Filed under Mayan Calendar Countdown
