LOOKS LIKE A GOOD IDEA

When drilling in drywall, stick a post-it underneath the drill, folded to catch all the dust. Then just throw away.

AND I QUOTE

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." – Anne Frank

TODAY IN HISTORY

SEPTEMBER 8

1960:Wilma Rudolph becomes the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field during a single Olympics. Rudolph, who had been stricken with polio as a child and wore leg braces until she was 9, wins the 100 meters, 200 meters, and the 4 x 100 meter relay at the Olympics in Rome.

1974: President Gerald Ford grants his predecessor, former President Richard Nixon, an unconditional pardon for all federal crimes he "committed or may have committed or taken part in" during the Watergate scandal.

MISSING A TENT STAKE? I CAN FIX THAT

HOW DO YOU DEFINE PERSISTANCE? TRY THIS ON FOR SIZE

Cha Sa-soon, a 69-year-old woman who lives by herself in South Korea, obtained her driver’s license last year—on the 950th try.

Related Facts: She’s become a national celebrity in South Korea. Last month, the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group gave her a new car, and she’s appeared in their commercials. It was the written test that she failed 949 times. She passed the two skill and road tests after failing each four times, for a total of 960 tests.

PEOPLE BEING PEOPLE

Another Pampered Pet: Gail Posner (the widow of legendary hostile-takeover executive Victor Posner) died in March in south Florida but left a will that endowed her beloved Chihuahua Conchita (and two other, less-loved dogs) a $3 million trust fund plus the run of her $8.3 million mansion for their remaining dog years. (After all, Conchita has a style to maintain, including a four-season wardrobe, diamond jewelry and full-time staff.) Mrs. Posner's only living child, Bret Carr, who admits he had issues with his mother, is challenging her $26 million-plus will (that left him $1 million), mostly because, he said, Mrs. Posner's staff and bodyguards suspiciously wound up with the bulk of the riches on the pretense that they would be caring for Conchita.

HERE COME THE "CRIT"

 The Edwardsville, Illinois Rotary Club is sponsoring its first bike race this coming Sunday. Here is a brief description of the event.

The Wells Fargo Advisors Edwardsville Rotary Criterium is a fast-paced, pro-am bicycle race held in Downtown Edwardsville, Illinois on Sunday, September 12, 2010. The course features seven turns, a picturesque historic downtown setting and lively spectators. If you would like additional information LINK HERE
Hope to see you there!

ROTARY STILL HELPING 5 YEARS AFTER KATRINA

Image via Wikipedia

Humanitarian group’s international convention in New Orleans, delayed four years by the storm, will pump millions into the local economy in May 2011

 Five years ago, the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina made it impossible for New Orleans to host the Rotary International convention as planned in June 2007.

But even as they coped with their own personal and professional losses and pitched in to rebuild their communities, New Orleans area Rotary club members remained determined that the humanitarian organization’s most important annual meeting would return when the city was ready. Their dream will be realized May 21-25, 2011, when more than 17,000 Rotary members from around the world will convene in the Crescent City for the first time in 35 years, injecting a much needed infusion of at least $20 million into the local economy.

After Katrina ravaged New Orleans and the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, Rotary members worldwide raised more than $19 million in donations and grants for relief and recovery efforts throughout the region. This includes a special Katrina Relief Fund that eventually exceeded $1.9 million, with support from Rotary clubs as far away as Australia, Japan, Sweden, Panama, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

New Orleans Rotarians were particularly involved in the restoration of Warren Easton High School, which was severely damaged by the floodwaters that inundated much of the city. Rotary clubs in California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, and Germany helped raise $60,000 for repairs. Rotary volunteers from California and other states joined their New Orleans counterparts during the sweltering summer of 2006 to get the school ready for its reopening. Project coordinator Henry Lowentritt, of the Rotary Club of New Orleans, said opening the city’s schools was crucial to the overall recovery. “Teachers, parents, and kids who have left New Orleans won’t be back without quality schools,” he said.

In the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, the UK-based charity ShelterBox, supported by Rotary clubs worldwide, provided 1,320 emergency shelter kits benefiting 13,200 people. Rotary clubs launched and continue to support scores of humanitarian and educational projects throughout the region, such as re-supplying a library and establishing low-income housing in Pass Christian, Miss.; replacing surgical instruments at a medical center in Houma, La.; providing a van for a senior center in Slidell, La., to help with the influx of new clients; and building a new community center in Bay St. Louis, Miss.

Looking ahead to the 2011 New Orleans convention, Rotary’s volunteer service again will be front-and-center as registrants can opt to participate in a local housing project and a wetlands restoration effort immediately before and after the sessions.

SNAPSHOT

HAS DISABILITY LAW OPENED DOORS?

How disabled adults say the 20-year old Americans wht Disabilities Act (ADA) has affected their lives:

• No difference-61%
• Made life better-23%
• Never heard of it-7%
• Not sure/refused-5%
• Made life worse-4%

(Source:Kessler/National Organization on disability survey.)

HOW 17 USA CITIES RECEIVED THEIR NAMES

You know that Washington, D.C., is named for George Washington, but how well do you know where other major cities got their names? Here’s a look at how a few of our bigger American municipalities found their monikers. (More after the break.)

IT'S IRONIC

HAPPY 140th BIRTHDAY-VASELINE

It’s difficult to find anything, especially a commercial product, that hasn’t really changed in 140 years. But Vaseline, that miracle product that is used for everything from softening tough skin to keeping beauty queens smiling, may just fit the bill. Vaseline turned up on the market in 1870—and the world has been just a bit softer, maybe a bit greasier since. (More after the break.)

TODAY IN HISTORY

SEPTEMBER 7

1921:The first Miss America pageant is held in Atlantic City, N.J., as a two-day event intended to encourage tourism. Sixteen-year-old Margaret Gorman, Miss Washington, D.C., wins the title.

1927: Television pioneer Philo T. Farnsworth successfully transmits an image—a simple straight line—through his image dissector camera tube in San Francisco. It is the first fully electronic television system.

1993: Joycelyn Elders is confirmed as surgeon general of the United States. She is the first African American and the second woman to hold the position as top spokesperson for public health in the federal government.