Thursday, March 31, 2011
ROTARY SEEKS DIVERSITY
Rotary clubs interested in taking part in one of four new pilot programs approved recently by the RI Board can now download an application form and related fact sheets. Clubs have until 1 April to submit applications to Rotary International to be considered for a pilot. (more after the break)
WHAT'S YOUR FEAR LEVEL?
Happiness studies, sometimes also called positive psychology, is very trendy in university social-science departments these days. But lately, “fear studies” would seem to be more appropriate. (more after the break)
TODAY IN HISTORY
Image via Wikipedia| March 31 |
1492:Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain expelled Jews who would not accept Christianity.
1889:The Eiffel Tower in Paris officially opened.
1917:The United States took possession of the Virgin Islands.
1918:Daylight Saving Time went into effect in the United States.
1949:Newfoundland became Canada's tenth province.
1959:The Dalai Lama, fleeing Chinese repression of an uprising in Tibet, arrived at the Indian border and was granted political asylum.
1968:President Lyndon Johnson announced that he would not run for re-election.
1995:Major League Baseball players agreed to end the sport’s longest strike in history after a judge ordered a preliminary injunction against team owners.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
NOW YOU KNOW
What man-made artifacts can be seen from the moon?
None. Many objects are visible from space, but not from the moon.
None. Many objects are visible from space, but not from the moon.
THE BEST PLACE TO WORK
Google Is No. 1 on List Of Desired Employers
One in four young professionals wants to work at Google Inc., according to a survey by Universum, a consulting firm that helps companies improve their attractiveness to prospective employees.
Nearly 25% of survey respondents picked Google, almost twice as many as chose Apple Inc., which ranked second. Walt Disney Co., the U.S. State Department and Amazon.com Inc. rounded out the top five. (more after the break)
One in four young professionals wants to work at Google Inc., according to a survey by Universum, a consulting firm that helps companies improve their attractiveness to prospective employees.
Nearly 25% of survey respondents picked Google, almost twice as many as chose Apple Inc., which ranked second. Walt Disney Co., the U.S. State Department and Amazon.com Inc. rounded out the top five. (more after the break)
DO YOU REMEMBER?
It’s certainly no surprise that manufacturers of kid’s breakfast cereals have found much of their success by tying their product to popular cultural icons, such as television cartoons. But with the rapid rise in the popularity of video games in the early 80s, these computer-generated mascots were able to get in on the action as well. And with a game as enormously popular as Donkey Kong, few were surprised when a breakfast cereal soon followed. Unfortunately, its rightful place in the supermarket aisle was short lived.
Donkey Kong cereal featured little golden barrels of crunchy corn goodness, much like the ones that one smashed with a mallet in the video game. A series of animated commercials featured the hapless plumber Mario, his damsel in distress, and of course, the big guy himself – Donkey Kong.
The cereal was introduced by Ralston Foods in 1983, but started disappearing from store shelves the following year, replaced by a similar offering – Donkey Kong Junior – which was banana and strawberry flavored. It was equally short-lived, however, and the beloved Mario would have to wait a few more years for a return to cereal box fame when, in 1988, Ralston tried again with Nintendo Action Cereal, pairing Mario with another video game icon, Zelda. The success of the latter breakfast cereal mimicked its predecessors unfortunately, and manufactures turned back to other tried and true methods of cereal mascots.
TODAY IN HISTORY
MARCH 30th
1842:Anesthesia was used for the first time in an operation.
1856:The Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Crimean War.
1867:A treaty for the purchase of Alaska from Russia for the sum of $7.2 million, approximately two cents an acre, was submitted to the U.S. Senate.
1870:The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect, guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race.
1964:The game show Jeopardy debuted on television.
1981:President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest by John Hinckley as he left a Washington hotel.
2002:The Queen Mother Elizabeth of England died at the age of 101.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
THE NEXT BIG THING?
A New App Shares Photos With, Well, Everyone
When Bill Nguyen was in kindergarten, he probably got top marks for sharing.
Mr. Nguyen was the lead person behind Lala, a music-sharing service that was acquired by Apple in 2009. After spending about a year at his new parent company, Mr. Nguyen left to found a new start-up, Color, which introduces its first application on Thursday. (more after the break)
Mr. Nguyen was the lead person behind Lala, a music-sharing service that was acquired by Apple in 2009. After spending about a year at his new parent company, Mr. Nguyen left to found a new start-up, Color, which introduces its first application on Thursday. (more after the break)
ROTARY RESPONDS TO JAPAN DISASTER
Rotarians have been finding a number of ways to help victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan that killed thousands and left hundreds of thousands more homeless.
In response to the disasters, The Rotary Foundation established the Rotary Japan Disaster Recovery Fund , which will support long-term recovery projects in the affected areas. More than US$500,000 has been donated since the fund opened on 11 March. (more after the break)
THE GREAT SHRINKING NAPKIN
Image by dj venus via FlickrThe Great Shrink
Why have dinner napkins gotten so darn small?Others, at dinner, might worry about locality, seasonality or who the pig's grandparents were.
I worry about the size of the napkins. Large snowy fields of linen that drape my lap and protect me, with a graciousness you can measure: That's what I'm looking for. (more after the break)
TODAY IN HISTORY
MARCH 29th
1848:For the first time in recorded history, Niagara Falls stopped flowing. An ice jam in the Niagara River above the rim of the falls caused the water to stop.
1867:The North America Act was passed by the British parliament, creating the dominion of Canada.
1951:Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were found guilty of passing atomic secrets to the Russians and were sentenced to death.
1971:Lt. William Calley was convicted of murdering 22 Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre.
1973:The last U.S. troops left South Vietnam.
1999:The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 10,000 for the first time, at 10,006.78.
Monday, March 28, 2011
GETTING CLOSER EVERY DAY
Image by ungard via Flickr R ecent successes in India’s relentless effort to eradicate polio are raising hopes that the goal is in sight. The incidence of the disease is at a record low, with only one case reported in 2011, as of 1 March, and just 42 in all of 2010. That compares with 741 cases the year before. (more after the break)
NOW YOU KNOW
How many galaxies are visible to the naked eye?
Four, although from where you are sitting, you can only see two. The two in the Northern Hemisphere are the Milky Way and Andromeda. From the Southern Hemisphere, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds.
EVERYONE NEEDS CLEAN WATER
Villages in four regions of Ghana are being equipped with ventilated pit latrines, showers, and boreholes featuring hand pumps and mechanized pipes through the efforts of dozens of Rotary clubs in Latin America, North America, and Ghana.
The effort is part of the International H2O Collaboration, an alliance between Rotary International and USAID. Launched in 2009, it works to implement long-term, sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene projects in the developing world. The first phase of the partnership has focused on three countries: Ghana, the Philippines, and the Dominican Republic. (more after the break)
TODAY IN HISTORY
MARCH 28th
1797:Nathaniel Briggs patented a washing machine.
1930:The cities of Constantinople and Angora changed names to IstanbulAnkara, Turkey. and
1939:The Spanish Civil War ended.
1979:Nuclear power plant accident at Three Mile Island, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
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