TEXTING TURNS 20

SMS: Text Messaging Gets Redesigned (Photo credit: pouwerkerk)

Long ago, back before Twitter, way before Facebook, in a time when people still lifted a receiver to make a call and telephone boxes graced streets where people didn't lock their doors, Neil Papworth, a software programmer from Reading, sent an early festive greeting to a mate.
"Since mobile phones didn't yet have keyboards, I typed the message out on a PC. It read 'Merry Christmas' and I sent it to Richard Jarvis of Vodafone, who was enjoying his office Christmas party at the time," said Papworth.
On 3 December 1992, he had sent the world's first text message. (CLICK BELOW TO READ MORE)

THE NEXT BIG THING?

Designers Je Sung Park and Woo Jung Kwon, have developed a unique umbrella that only consists of the handle and nothing else. The Air Umbrella is a simple electronic device that takes in air from the bottom of the controller and shoots it out at the top to create a “curtain” of air that can repel raindrops.
The power of the air pushed through can be manually adjusted according to how heavy the rain is. The Air Umbrella can be retracted so it fits conveniently in your bag or pocket. You also don’t need to worry about carrying a dripping wet object around indoors.

A MAUI MAKE-UP IN NOVEMBER. NICE!

TODAY IN HISTORY

DECEMBER 3

1868: The treason trial of Jefferson Davis, former president of the Confederate States of America, begins in Richmond, Va. The case against Davis would be dropped following President Andrew Johnson's proclamation of amnesty for former Confederate supporters on Dec. 25.

1818:Illinois becomes the 21st U.S. State.

1927: The comedy duo of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy star as an official team in their first film, the silent short Putting Pants on Philip, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film centers on Hardy's embarrassment over the kilts worn by his Scottish nephew, played by Laurel. The comedy team would star in 107 films between 1921 and 1950, although they would both recognize Putting Pants on Philip as the first "real" Laurel and Hardy picture.

1999: American explorer Tori Murden completes a roughly 3,000 mile, 82-day journey across the Atlantic Ocean, having rowed the 23-foot boat American Pearl from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. She is the first American, and the first woman, to cross the Atlantic solo in a rowboat. Murden is currently the president of Spalding University in Louisville, Ky.


1931:Alka Seltzer goes on sale

1833:Oberlin College, Ohio started classes: first coed institution of higher learning in US

1609:Galileo makes first close-up observation of the moon through a telescope

AND I QUOTE

“A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It’s jolted by every pebble in the road.”
Henry Ward Beecher

NOW YOU KNOW

America now has more computer software engineers than farmers. More than 1 million people are trying to make a living writing apps and other software.

The U.S. electrical grid is so old and prone to failure that, even without a devastating storm like Hurricane Sandy, some 500,000 Americans lose electricity for at least two hours every single day.

Laws prohibiting smoking in bars, restaurants, and workplaces are now on the books in 30 of the 50 largest U.S. cities. In 2000, only one city—San Jose—had such a ban.

SERIOUS BIRDING

REMEMBERING..WHEN MARK WON THE 50-50

CHARITY OF THE WEEK

Established in 1989, the American Indian College Fund (collegefund​.org) is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to providing college scholarships to American Indians. Less than one in 20 American Indians living on reservations can afford to attend college without financial aid. In the last academic year, the Fund distributed $5.6 million in scholarships to more than 4,000 such students, selected on the basis of academic success, financial need, and community involvement. The AICF also helps to fund the nation’s 33 accredited tribal colleges, which integrate Native languages and culture into their curricula. Tribal colleges receive little or no tax support, so the charity’s assistance is crucial to the preservation of Native culture.
This 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 fund-raising expenses, and the transparency of their operations. Four stars is the group’s highest ranking.

VINTAGE ADVERT-1949

DO YOU REMEMBER?

Dolls have always happily provided companionship to little girls, acting as security blanket and trusted companion. But Chatty Cathy offered something more, something special. Not only could you talk to Chatty Cathy and share your woes but, thanks to the tug of a ring on a string, Cathy could talk back. And talk she did. (click below to read more)