HOW MUCH SALT IS TOO MUCH? NOT ENOUGH?

Experts have long blamed excessive salt in the American diet for rising rates of heart disease, high blood pressure, and kidney disorders. But too little salt can be a bad thing, too, says a new Institute of Medicine report. “Lowering sodium intake too much may actually increase a person’s risk of some health problems,” study author Brian Strom tells CBSNews.com.  (click below to read more)

OPENING A SUBMERGED SODA

NOW YOU KNOW

In 2011, 1.65 million American households—including 3.55 million children—were living on less than $2 per person per day, placing them below the World Bank’s average poverty line for developing countries.
WashingtonPost.com

VINTAGE ADVERT-1946

DOING GOOD

A restaurant owner in Albuquerque, N.M., discovered this week that one good deed deserves another. Back in the late ’90s, a teenage customer at Claus Hjortkjaer’s restaurant Le Café Miche took a date for a Valentine’s dinner but found himself $40 short when the check came. Hjortkjaer discreetly took care of it and told the teen to repay him one day. That day came this week, when the patron wandered into the restaurant and handed his old benefactor a $100 bill for the check, plus interest. “Sometimes it pays off to be a nice guy,” said Hjortkjaer.

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE EVERYTHING

If you’re one of the more than 10 million Americans who are color blind, theEnChroma Cx-D or Cx-PT sunglasses could change your life. Creator Don McPherson, who holds a Ph.D. in glass science, stumbled upon the concept when a color-blind friend borrowed laser-operator safety goggles one day to play ultimate Frisbee. McPherson discovered that the goggles allowed his friend to distinguish colors because the lenses isolated color wavelengths, keeping reds and greens from blurring into brown. The EnChroma lens “applies the same idea” but refines it, and comes in stylish aviator or Buddy Holly–style frames.
$599, enchroma.com
Source: Popular Mechanics

I SAYATH TO YOU

MEETING PROGRAM MAY 30, 2013

Madison County (Illinois) Veterans' Treatment Court Case Manager Nicolette Watson explains the services that are available via the court sponsored program. For additional information LINK HERE

THE WORLD'S LARGEST FLAG

An aerial picture shows the huge flag on the Clinceni airfield, south of Bucharest. Photograph: Bogdan Cristel/AP

A Romanian village has unfurled what is the largest flag ever made, according to Guinness World Records.

It took 200 people several hours to roll out the flag, which measured about 349 x 227 metres (1,145 x 744.5ft) , about three times the size of a football field, according to Jack Brockbank, an adjudicator for Guinness World Records who measured the flag before pronouncing it the biggest flag in the world. (click below to read more)

TODAY IN HISTORY

MAY 31

1790

The first U.S. Copyright Law was enacted, protecting books, maps, and other original materials.

1889

Heavy rains caused the South Fork Dam to collapse, sending 20 million tons of water into Johnstown, Pa. Over 2,200 people were killed and the town was nearly destroyed.

1911

The hull of the Titanic was launched in Belfast. At the ceremony, a White Star Line employee claimed, “Not even God himself could sink this ship.”

1961

South Africa became an independent republic.

1962

Former Gestapo official Adolf Eichmann was hanged in Israel.

1970

An earthquake in Peru left more than 50,000 dead.

2004

Alberta Martin, 97, one of the last widows of a U.S. Civil War veteran, died. She had married Confederate veteran William Martin in 1927 when she was 21 and he was 81.

2010

Nine people are dead after an Israeli navy commando attacks a flotilla of cargo ships and passenger boats on their way to Gaza to provide aid and supplies for the area.

AND I QUOTE

“Too often man handles life as he does the bad weather. He whiles away the time as he waits for it to stop.”-Alfred Polgar

NOW YOU KNOW

Americans think a family of four needs an annual minimum of $58,000 “just to get by,” according to a new Gallup poll. That’s twice the 2012 poverty threshold for a family of four, which was about $24,000 a year. CNBC.com

DOING GOOD

A Newark, N.J., kindergartner saved his father’s life this week by using spelling skills he learned at pre-school. Nathaniel Dancy Jr. was in the car when his dad suffered a stroke behind the wheel, just managing to pull the car off the road. The 5-year-old dialed his grandmother and mother for help and was able to spell out the letters of a nearby store sign, allowing rescuers to locate the car in time to send an ambulance to the scene. “They saved each other’s lives,” said mother Janelle Blackman. “My husband knew to pull over. My son knew to take action.”

MORE DINING OPTIONS

Talk about bad taste.

A South African "fly factory" that uses larvae to convert tons of blood, guts and other farm waste into protein-packed animal feed recently won a United Nations innovation award—a somewhat creepy reminder that insects will someday make up a lot more of what we eat. (click below to read more)

TIME FOR A CONSULT

PEOPLE BEING PEOPLE

Two burglars accidentally “butt-dialed” 911, enabling police dispatchers to listen in as they allegedly broke into a car. Police said Nathan Teklemariam and Carson Rinehart, both 20, were driving around Fresno, Calif., when one of their cellphones shifted in their pocket and dialed the emergency number. A 911 operator listened for 40 minutes as the duo allegedly boasted about breaking into cars, and dispatched officers after hearing the sound of a car window being shattered. After being arrested, one suspect said, “This phone really called 911? Dam

TODAY IN HISTORY

MAY 30
1416   Jerome of Prague is burned as a heretic by the Church.
1431   Joan of Arc is burned at the stake by the English.
1527   The University of Marburg is founded in Germany.
1539   Hernando de Soto lands in Florida with 600 soldiers in search of gold.
1783   The first American daily newspaper, The Pennsylvania Evening Post, begins publishing in Philadelphia.
1814   The First Treaty of Paris is declared, returning France to its 1792 borders.
1848   William Young patents the ice cream freezer.
1854   The Kansas-Nebraska Act repeals the Missouri Compromise.
1859   The Piedmontese army crosses the Sesia River and defeats the Austrians at Palestro.
1862   Union General Henry Halleck enters Corinth, Mississippi.
1868   Memorial Day begins when two women place flowers on both Confederate and Union graves. 1889   The brassiere is invented.
1912   U.S. Marines are sent to Nicaragua to protect American interests. 1913   The First Balkan War ends.
1921   The U.S. Navy transfers the Teapot Dome oil reserves to the Department of the Interior.
1942   The Royal Air Force launches the first 1,000 plane raid over Germany.
1971   NASA launches Mariner 9, the first satellite to orbit Mars.

TRIVIA

If you bounce three balls off a very rigid surface, one ball made entirely of glass, one of rubber and one of solid steel, which will bounce highest? Which will bounce second-highest?
(click below for the answer)

THE FIRST WORD

austerians

An economics paper by a pair of Harvard economists suggesting spending cuts could lead to growth was cited by many prominent "austerians," as Krugman calls them...

The word "austere" can be traced back to a Greek root meaning "dry." This term is meant to be a play on the "Austrian" school of economics, and is credited to Rob Parenteau, the editor of the Richebächer Letter.

NOW YOU KNOW

The Congressional Budget Office says the Department of Education is expected to make a record $51 billion profit from student loans this year. That’s more than the profits of companies like Exxon Mobil and Apple, and roughly equal to the combined net income of the four largest U.S. banks. HuffingtonPost.com

ONCE AGAIN, NO 50-50 WINNER

THE NEXT BIG THING?

Pumping the blood of young mice into the diseased hearts of old mice rejuvenated those organs, a new study found—raising the possibility that a similar technique will work in humans. As people and mice get older, their heart muscles thicken and sag, becoming less effective at pumping blood and sometimes failing altogether. (click below to read more)

TODAY IN HISTORY

MAY 29

1765

Patrick Henry bitterly denounced the Stamp Act in the Virginia House of Burgesses.

1790

Rhode Island became the 13th state in the United States, the last of the original colonies to ratify the Constitution.

1848

Wisconsin became the 30th state in the United States.

1917

John F. Kennedy was born in Brookline, Mass.

1942

Bing Crosby recorded his version of “White Christmas.” It would go on to sell over 30 million copies.

1953

Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

1990

Boris Yeltsin was elected president of the Russian republic by the parliament.

AND I QUOTE

“Friendship is born at the moment one person says to another: ‘What? You too? I thought I was the only one.’”
C.S. Lewis

LIGHTING THE WAY TO A BRIGHTER FUTURE

By Steve Welch, president of the Rotary Club of Northwest Austin, Texas, USA

In the squatter’s village of San Mateo, Belize, my Rotary club is providing solar lights for more than 100 school children who previously attempted to study by candle light. We are working in partnership with the Grid Earth Project, which was founded by members of our club, a charity dedicated to providing solar powered lighting to replace other dangerous light sources used in remote areas of the world.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2.5 million people die each year as a result of using kerosene, candles, or other unsafe and toxic fuel sources to light their homes after dark. These deaths occur from explosions, burns, aspiration, and respiratory illnesses.

In San Mateo, the use of candles was resulting in many burn injuries, and it limited the amount of time a child could read to about 30 minutes before the candle burned out. The light provided by a single candle is extremely inefficient, providing only a small percentage of the recommended light for reading.

After these lamps were distributed to the children, burn injuries decreased instantly. What was previously a daily event is now a rare occurrence in San Mateo. Additionally, the reading scores in all grades improved dramatically because children could spend more time reading and had sufficient light to study.

The children of the Rehma Orphanage in the Korogocho slum outside Nairobi, Kenya, were also attempting to study by candle light. As in San Mateo, these wonderful children were so anxious to learn that they were willing to risk burns and scars to be able to read a book. Today several of the solar lamps from The Grid Earth Project are being used by these children who huddle together under them. They need more, and fortunately, we will be delivering 100 more solar lamps soon.

In addition, the club is providing solar lamps to the Maasai, a semi-nomadic indigenous tribe in Kenya and Northern Tanzania; and two more villagers in Central America in coming weeks.

With these projects, our club is lighting the darkness that so many live in at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid, creating permanent change and providing hope and opportunity for those who need it most. Will you join us?

ROTARY MEETING PROGRAM MAY 16, 2013

Alton (Illinois) Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau President Brett Stawar talks about all the great events scheduled for the Riverbend area during the next few months. For additional information LINK HERE

BEFORE THE BELL TOLLS

SNAPSHOT

VIVID SYDNEY TIME-LAPSE

TODAY IN HISTORY

English: Mitchell Hepburn with Dionne Quintuplets Français : Mitchell Hepburn en compagnie des quintuplées Dionne (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

MAY 28

1863

Robert Gould Shaw, leading the first northern all-black regiment, leaves Boston for the Civil War.

1929

The first all-color, full-length talking picture, On With the Show!, debuted.

1934

The Dionne quintuplets were born in Ontario, Canada.

1957

Baseball owners voted to allow the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants to move to Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively. Many New Yorkers still haven’t recovered. See other baseball city and nickname changes.

1987

Mathias Rust, a 19-year-old pilot from West Germany, landed his private plane in Moscow’s Red Square. He was arrested and sentenced to four years in a labor camp, but was released after just one.

1997

Linda Finch completed Amelia Earhart's attempted around-the-world flight.

1998

Pakistan staged nuclear tests in response to India's nuclear tests two weeks earlier.

2003

Pres. Bush signed a $350 billion tax cut into law; the third largest tax cut in U.S. history.

TRIVIA

What state is home to the peaks of Mount Harvard, Mount Princeton and Mount Yale?
(click below for the answer)

THE FIRST WORD

equivocate

PRONUNCIATION:

(i-KWIV-uh-kayt) 

MEANING:

verb intr.: To be vague or ambiguous, especially in order to mislead.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin aequi-/equi- (equal) + vocare (to call), from vox (voice). Earliest documented use: 1590.

USAGE:

"The bishop equivocates and wrings his fat hands and procrastinates."
Susan Wiggs; At the Queen's Summons; Harlequin; 2012.

NOW YOU KNOW

England’s Norland College—which has trained professional nannies for the rich and famous since 1892—announced it is now teaching its students martial arts and getaway driving so they can fight or escape kidnappers.

STRETCH FOR SUCCESS

NOW YOU KNOW

The federal government spent at least $136 billion on disaster relief between 2011 and 2013, according to a new report. That includes $55 billion on general relief and flood insurance, and $27 billion on crop insurance related to droughts. Extreme weather events now cost the U.S. an average of $80 billion a year—about $400 per U.S. household.
The Washington Post

CHAMPION OF CHANGE

By Walter Hughes Jr., a member of the Rotary Club of Rocky Mount, Virginia, USA. 

(Hughes is one of 12 Rotarians being honored on 5 April at the White House as a Champion of Change.)

I am honored to be a White House Champion of Change. I’m accepting on behalf of Rotarians and friends from a team of more than 80 Rotary clubs in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Ghana, and South Sudan. We are celebrating the end of Guinea worm disease in Ghana in West Africa. It all started with a dream. I’m the lucky guy who gets to witness lives transformed around the world. (click below to read more)

TODAY IN HISTORY

MAY 27

1564		John Calvin, one of the dominant figures of the Protestant Reformation, dies in Geneva.
1647		Achsah Young becomes the first woman known to be executed as a witch in Massachusetts.
1668		Three colonists are expelled from Massachusetts for being Baptists.
1813		Americans capture Fort George, Canada.
1907		The Bubonic Plague breaks out in San Francisco.
1919		A U.S. Navy seaplane completes the first transatlantic flight.
1929		Colonel Charles Lindbergh marries Anne Spencer Murrow.
1935		The Supreme Court declares President Franklin Roosevelt's National Recovery Act unconstitutional.
1937		San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge opens.
1941		The German battleship Bismarck is sunk by British naval and air forces.
1942		German General Rommel begins a major offensive in Libya with his Afrika Korps.
1944		American General MacArthur lands on Biak Island in New Guinea.
1960		A military coup overthrows the democratic government of Turkey.
1969		Construction begins on Walt Disney World in Florida.
1972		President Richard M. Nixon and Soviet Communist Party chief Leonid Brezhnev sign an arms reduction agreement.
1999		The international war crimes tribunal indicts Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic for war atrocities.

AND I QUOTE

"The covers of this book are too far apart."- Ambrose Bierce

PEOPLE BEING PEOPLE

A New Hampshire man accused of shoplifting has argued that he is only guilty of taking the store’s name—Finders Keepers—too literally. Ruben Pavon was caught on surveillance camera removing a grill and a DVD player from the thrift shop, but claimed he didn’t realize he was supposed to pay for the items. “I thought it was there for the taking,” said Pavon. “The sign did say ‘Finders Keepers.’” Owner Laura Barker says that if she knew of a store that gave away everything for free, “I’d be there on a regular basis myself.”

THE ALLURE OF HEADGAMES

What's an effective way to recruit 21st-century engineering talent? Try a postcard or some other offbeat technique.Researchers working with a technology company in Belgium wanted to see if distinctive recruiting tactics could give firms an edge in the competition for talent. With a target pool of 1,997 potential applicants, roughly half were solicited by email. The other half got postcards with the same design and information. Only 62 of those solicited applied for the job—but 82% of them were postcard recipients, and they were better educated than other applicants. It wasn't necessarily the postcard. Rather it was the "strange recruitment medium," researchers said, adding that such a tactic is especially enticing to better qualified candidates who aren't looking for a job.

"Changing Things Up in Recruitment: Effects of a 'Strange' Recruitment Medium on Applicant Pool Quantity and Quality," Saartje Cromheecke, Greet Van Hoye, Filip Lievens, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 

KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE MAGIC CANISTER

CHARITY OF THE WEEK

More than 75,000 professional architects, designers, technicians, and construction workers aid those in dire need of their services through Architecture for Humanity (ArchitectureforHumanity​.org). They devote most of their resources to communities that have been wracked by poverty and natural disasters. Since 1999, AfH has built structures for more than 2 million people in 46 countries around the world. Some of their completed construction projects include a high school in Kenya, an orphanage in India, a community center in Haiti, and new houses for Mississippi families whose homes were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Prior to construction, AfH designers consult families to accommodate their needs. They also replace outdated designs with more durable structures in order to minimize subsequent damage.

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The charity has earned a four-star overall rating from Charity Navigator, which ranks not-for-profit organizations on the strength of their finances, their control of administrative and fundraising expenses, and the transparency of their operations. Four stars is the group’s highest ranking.