TIME TO DECORATE THE TREE

Gussying up a Christmas tree seems like a pretty straightforward affair: stand it up straight, throw some lights around it, and hang the ornaments. Add in these clever tips for seating, stringing, and decorating your tree, however, for a professional tree dressing.

Martha Stewart shares some clever tricks for rocking the best looking Christmas tree on the block. The guide covers everything from pruning a fresh tree for maximum glamor to hanging ornaments that stay put no matter what. The following trick makes your tree look fuller and conceals the wires of your lights:

Lights should be added to your tree before other decorations. Our technique will play up the depth of the tree better than draping lights only around the perimeter, while also concealing the wires.
1. Starting at a bottom bough, string lights along the underside of each branch. When you get near the end, loop lights around the top of the branch.
2. Work back to the tree trunk, winding around branch and light strand. Continue around the tree. Reverse the procedure on upper branches (or those above eye level of an average adult), stringing lights first along the top, then back around bottom.

RULE OF THUMB

HOW MUCH SHELF SPACE 6 GIGS WOULD TAKE
600 gigabytes of data will fill about six floors of an academic library.

DO YOU REMEMBER?

It sounds like a story right out of Ripley’s Believe it or Not, and it probably contains more fiction than fact – but it’s still too good not to repeat for old time’s sake. In Burma, there lived a poor little shoeless girl named Pogo. Her bare feet made it too difficult to make her daily trek, along the muddy roads filled with jagged rocks, so she could pray at the local temple. Her father finally came upon a solution to her dilemma and fashioned a jumping stick so that she could propel herself over these various obstacles and strengthen her soul without sacrificing her soles. A worldly traveler named George Hansburg happened to witness this miraculous jumping stick in action during one of his trips and decided that the rest of the world could also benefit from Pogo’s jumping stick. (more after the break)

FOUNDATION GIVING CAN BE A CLUB TRADITION

It takes the financial contributions of Rotary club members for The Rotary Foundation to fulfill its mission: to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty.

How do some Rotary clubs maintain their high rates of Foundation support? One key is to establish a tradition of member giving – and capitalize on it when the opportunity arises. (more after the break)

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME

TIME TO START WORKING ON YOUR HOLIDAY NEWSLETTER

Sending a family newsletter can be fun and easy, if you have the right tools. Fear not, I am here! You can find holiday- and season-themed templates online. Fill them with information, schedules and pictures. Click send, and that's it!

Microsoft Word templates -There are plenty of free templates for Microsoft Word online. These templates also work in OpenOffice and other word processors compatible with Word.

Microsoft continually updates its selection, so there is a lot of variety. All you have to do is find one you like. Download it. Then just change the text and pictures as you like. If you use Microsoft Office for Mac, there are templates just for you!

iWork Community - Speaking of Macs, you may be using iWork has your productivity suite. If you are, you probably already know that Pages includes newsletter templates. These can be found in the Template Chooser, in the Page Layout section.

Still not satisfied? You can also get more templates online. iWork Community a site that Apple recommends for downloading user-made templates. You'll find some newsletter templates to help you out.

Microsoft Publisher templates - If you have Microsoft Office Professional, you may use Publisher. Publisher is quite a bit more robust for designing layouts and similar projects.

Microsoft also has a whole library of newsletter templates just for Publisher. They work the same as the word templates. Just download, open and change the content to your liking.

Microsoft Clip Art - Clip art can liven up any document or presentation. But you can spend hours hunting it down on the Internet. Who has time for that?

Well, Microsoft has put together a generous collection of free clip art. There are photos, drawings and animations. They'll add a little pizzazz to whatever you're working on.

HP Creative Studio - Usually you need software installed on your desktop to design newsletters and similar projects. But HP Creative Studio lets you make newsletters and other projects online. There's nothing to install.

HP Creative Studio lets you choose from a bunch of different layout options. You can choose whichever one you want. Then just upload your photos to it. Finally, customize the text, if applicable.

Kodak - Kodak doesn't offer newsletter templates. But you'll find plenty of other cool printable projects on its site. Of course, many of these are perfect for the Christmas season.

For example, you'll find party invitations and Christmas cards. There are also advent calendars to help you count the days 'til Christmas. You'll even find templates for creating ornaments!

TODAY IN HISTORY

NOVEMBER 30

1993:President Bill Clinton signs the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, nicknamed the Brady Bill, requiring background checks and a five-day waiting period for prospective handgun buyers. The legislation is named in honor of gun-control advocate James Brady, press secretary for former President Ronald Reagan, who was shot in the head and became partially paralyzed during John Hinckley Jr.’s assassination attempt on Reagan in March 1981.

1961: Burmese diplomat U Thant is unanimously elected by the General Assembly as the third secretary-general of the United Nations, replacing the late Dag Hammarskjöld.

2004: After winning 74 consecutive games and raking in more than $2.5 million over six months on the television game show Jeopardy!, trivia titan Ken Jennings is finally stumped by a question about tax preparation firm H&R Block and loses the game to challenger Nancy Zerg. 

NUMBER OF THE DAY

In 2008, 333,500 bachelor’s degrees were conferred in the field of business—the most popular of all majors.
Related Facts: In all, 1,563,000 bachelor’s degrees were awarded in 2007-08. Other popular majors included social sciences and history (167,000 degrees conferred), health sciences (111,000), and education (103,000).
Source: U.S. Department of Education.

THAT'S WORTH TALKING ABOUT

NOW YOU KNOW

Cover of The Beatles

thebeatlescompleteonukulele.com is a web project devoted to re-recording every Beatles song, using ukuleles, and posting the songs for free online. This is their Mission Statement:

At www.TheBeatlesCompleteOnUkulele.com we will release a new recording of a Beatles song* featuring a different artist every Tuesday. A short essay will coincide with every recording and each performance will include a ukulele.
The project began on January 20, 2009 (Inauguration Day) and will conclude on July 31, 2012. (The eve of the London Olympics)
*we consider a Beatles song to be one of the 185 original compositions released by The Beatles between 1962 and 1970.

And guess what, they’ve been doing just that for nearly two years now (they just released song #97). What’s surprising is the quality of the songs. While song trend towards kinda-crappy or clearly-recorded-on-a-lark, there are a lot of gems here. Some favorites: “All You Need is Love” performed by Nikki Gregoroff; “Help!” (with an “Imagine” riff added) performed by The Drastic Mono Band; “Here Comes the Sun” performed by Holly Palmer; “Don’t Let Me Down” performed by Craig Greenberg; “Don’t Pass Me By performed by Kenny White; “Rain” performed by Wang Chung (yes, really); and “Yellow Submarine” performed by The Fort Greene Children’s Choir (which includes a bunch of 4-year-olds!).

Also of interest to Beckett fans: a version of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” performed by Victor Spinetti in the style of Krapp’s Last Tape. Madness, wonderful madness.

ROTARY QUOTE

 

"A Rotary club gives us an opportunity that no social, political, or specialized business club can do. It is strong on the human side; it stands for the individual, unfetters him, appeals to his originality, brings out his latent powers, and puts him at his best by extending him the full measure of his confidence and appealing to the best that is in him — 'service not self.' ”

-- 1912-13 RI President Glenn C. Mead in The National Rotarian , January 1912

NEED A HANDLE FOR YOUR SKILLET? I CAN FIX THAT

AND I QUOTE

"Furious activity is no substitute for understanding."-H. H. Williams

VINTAGE AD-1961

TODAY IN HISTORY

Richard Byrd

NOVEMBER 29

1929:American explorer and naval officer Richard Byrd, along with three others, reach the South Pole in a Ford trimotor airplane called the
Floyd Bennett.

1890: In the first ever Army-Navy college football game, the Navy Midshipmen beat the Army Black Knights 24-0 at West Point, N.Y.

1947: The United Nations votes to partition Palestine, recommending the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states.

PEOPLE BEING PEOPLE

In October, police arrested a man arriving at the Madras, India, airport from Sri Lanka, bringing precious stones into the country in his stomach. After employing laxatives, police recovered 2,080 diamonds. [BBC News, 10-28-10]

AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN

TODAY IN HISTORY

 Nov. 28
1990-Margaret Thatcher resigned after more than 11 years as prime minister of Britain.
1520-Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reached the Pacific Ocean after passing through the South American strait that now bears his name.
1895-The first automobile race took place, between Chicago and Waukegan, Ill.
1925-The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville made its debut on radio station WSM.
1942-Fire destroyed the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston, killing nearly 500 people.
1943-President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin met in Tehran during World War II.
2001-Enron Corp., once the world's largest energy trader, collapsed after would-be rescuer Dynegy Inc. backed out of an $8.4 billion deal to take it over.

DO YOU REALY NEED AN EXTENDED WARRANTY?

Whenever you go to make a big purchase it's inevitable the salesperson will pitch you an extended warranty, care package, or other add-on. Skip their hard sale technique and enjoy extended consumer protection the easy way. (more after the break)

TIS THE SEASON FOR...CYBER CRIME

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Five ways to protect your wallet on Cyber Monday

Cyber Monday is around the corner, and the travel business is getting ready to hit you up with some great deals. If all goes as planned for them, you'll rush to pry open your wallet and book your next trip at a fantastic discount. Ready? Well, not so fast ...

There are a lot of other people who want access to your credit card, too. But, they don't want to give you anything in return. The scammers will be out in full force, and it's incumbent upon you to protect yourself. (more after the break)

NOW YOU KNOW

Many Thanksgiving turkeys are  outfitted with a wonderful little piece of technology that tells you, in a very straightforward manner, when the turkey is ready to come out of the oven: the pop-up timer.
Pop-up timers are pretty simple machines. They’re normally composed of a pop-up stick (usually plastic) attached to a spring and held in place by a blob of food-grade soft metal or wax at the bottom of the timer. These three parts are held in a plastic casing. If you’re wondering if the turkey is done, the timer gives you a “yes” or “no” answer. When the turkey is done cooking, the indicator stick pops up. If you peek in the oven and the stick hasn’t popped up yet, the turkey’s not done. It’s fool-proof.

How does the timer issue its proclamations with such concrete certainty? Â Depending on who you ask, turkey is done when it reaches 165-180 degrees Fahrenheit. The trick is holding the pop-up stick in place with a wax or metal that will melt somewhere in that temperature range. When the correct temperature is reached, the melted anchor frees the pop-up stick and the spring launches the stick up into its “Hey, the turkey is done!” position.

SNAPSHOT

TODAY IN HISTORY

November 27

1942-The French navy at Toulon scuttled its ships and submarines to keep them out of the hands of the Nazis.
1953-Playwright Eugene O'Neill died at age 65.
1970-Pope Paul VI, visiting the Philippines, was slightly wounded at the Manila airport by a dagger-wielding Bolivian painter disguised as a priest.
1973-The Senate voted 92-3 to confirm Gerald R. Ford as vice president, succeeding Spiro T. Agnew, who had resigned

NAUGHTY AND NICE....MERCHANTS

Which companies will be naughty or nice this holiday season?

As the holidays loom, who’s been naughty and who’s been nice?
Imagine if all companies behaved as if they really had customers’ best interests at heart? Wouldn’t it be something if advertisements were always sincere, minus the double-speak, fine print, and lip service?
Surely, no company would brag about squeezing every last nickel out of the American consumer by larding on questionable fees and hefty shipping costs, shortening return periods, and imposing obscene penalties for canceling contracts for everyday services. (more after the break)

LOOKING FOR HARRY

Image via Wikipedia

10 great places to fall under Potter’s spell

 

Although many spots in the wildly popular Harry Potter films are make-believe, there are plenty of real-life locations that any die-hard Potter fan will recognize and appreciate. With Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 opening in theaters today, Andrea Spain, editor of Britain magazine, shares with Sarah Sekula for USA TODAY locales worthy of putting on your spectacles and picking up your wand.(more after the break)

   

PEOPLE BEING PEOPLE

Image via WikipediaBERLIN (Reuters)- Two Germans fed up with eating Bratwurst sausages not fried to perfection have come up with a "Wursttoaster," or sausage toaster, to ensure caterers no longer have an excuse to serve anything less than the best. (more after the break)

BRINGING SMILES TO INDIA

Dr. Subodh Kumar Singh has performed more than 12,000 surgeries to correct cleft lip and palate birth defects since 2004. One of his most celebrated patients, Pinki Sonkar, was the subject of the documentary Smile Pinki , which won an Academy Award for best documentary short in 2009. The 39-minute film was directed by Megan Mylan. (more after the break)

TODAY IN HISTORY

November 26th

1789-A day of thanksgiving was set aside by President George Washington to observe the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.
1825-The first college social fraternity, Kappa Alpha, was formed at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y.
1832-Public streetcar service began in New York City.
1942-"Casablanca," starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, had its world premiere at the Hollywood Theater in New York.
1973-President Richard Nixon's personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, told a federal court that she'd accidentally caused part of the 18 1/2-minute gap in a key Watergate tape.
1975-A federal jury found Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, guilty of trying to assassinate President Gerald R. Ford.

A NEW THANKSGIVING TRADITION

Thanksgiving Traditions: Turkey, Apple Pie—and Tallow
 
Sculptures of Rendered Fat and Wax Are Centerpieces at Army Bases

When nearly 800 soldiers arrive at Fort Bragg's Smoke Bomb Hill dining hall Wednesday, they'll be greeted by the Mad Hatter—carved out of tallow. (more after the break)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving as we know it in the United States originates in the annual harvest feasts at Plymouth Plantation, Massachusetts which began in 1621. President George Washington declared a Day of Thanksgiving throughout the recently united states in October of 1779. And President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that the last Thursday in November should be set aside for Thanksgiving in 1863 even as the nation was embroiled in civil war. But the fourth Thursday of November was not formally designated a national holiday, Thanksgiving Day, until a joint resolution by Congress was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt on December 26, 1941. As a city, as a nation, as a people may we will always take time to acknowledge, to be grateful for and to share the rich blessings which have been given to us, preserving a tradition both common and sacred to the English pilgrims of Plymouth Colony and the Wampanoag people of what became known as Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

IT STARTS NOW

100 most played Christmas songs 

(from Radio-Info.com)
1.A Holly Jolly Christmas – Burl Ives
2.Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee
3.It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year – Andy Williams
4.Jingle Bell Rock – Bobby Helms
5.The Christmas Song – Nat King Cole
6.All I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey
7.Happy X-Mas (War Is Over) – John Lennon
8.White Christmas – Bing Crosby
9.Jingle Bell Rock – Daryl Hall John Oates
10.Feliz Navidad – Jose Feliciano
(the rest after the break)

DO YOU REMEMBER?

When you are in need of some quick advice, what better place to turn than to a trusted, all-knowing billiard accessory. For more than 50 years, people have been posing questions to the Magic 8 Ball, a toy that is never at a loss for words and ready to offer enigmatic solutions to all of life’s problems with a quick shake and a glance into the murky window of destiny. Let’s take a look back at this classic toy. (more after the break)

SNAPSHOT

IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE IT BAD....

Image via Wikipedia

We know that today and tomorrow, traffic is going to be brutal. With 42 million people traveling for the holiday – and 94 percent of them going by car – it's inevitable that someone's going to wind up frustrated. Throw in some nasty weather and highway construction, not to mention a handful of screaming kids, and you have a formula for misery.

Can it get any worse? The Weather Channel thinks so. Not every holiday driving experience is equally miserable: in fact, there are 10 spots where you're extra likely to lose your mind. So, let's take a peek at the 10 most congested roads in the country, according to The Weather Channel: ( more after the break)

SMILE

Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served. When little Logan received his plate, he started eating right away.

"Logan, wait until we say our prayer," his mother reminded him.

"I don't have to," the little boy replied.

"Of course you do," his mother insisted, "we say a prayer before eating at our house."

"That's at our house," Logan explained, "but this is Grandma's house and she knows how to cook."

AND I QUOTE

"Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest."

Isaac Asimov

PAUL HARRIS FELLOWS

The Paul Harris Fellow recognition acknowledges individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of US$1,000 to The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.

It was established in 1957 to show appreciation for and encourage substantial contributions to what was then the Foundation’s only program, Rotary Foundation Fellowships for Advanced Study, the precursor to Ambassadorial Scholarships.  (more after the break) 

PEOPLE BEING PEOPLE

The Ultimate Guinness Record Is the Record for Records

Mr. Furman Hopped, Chopped, Lollipopped to the Top; 'I Stabbed Myself Often'

Most visitors to Antarctica go to see the penguins and the glaciers. Ashrita Furman went to hop on a pogo stick.
Mr. Furman, seeking to break the Guinness World Record for the fastest mile on a pogo stick, jumped up and down a landing strip on the Antarctic tundra in 2003. (More after the break)

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME

ONE LAST CHANCE TO VISIT